The mother and child quickly changed into their swimsuits in the room.

Xie Wanning wore a conservative two-piece swimsuit with a large bath towel wrapped around her.

Du Zhiyuan put on his favorite blue dinosaur swimsuit, with a big dinosaur pattern on the chest, looking extremely cute.

They wrapped themselves in towels, holding hands as they walked out the door towards the hotel’s swimming pool area.

At hotels in Bin Hai, as long as they are of a slightly better standard, they usually have swimming pools. After all, it’s a coastal city, and swimming is one of the tourists’ favorite activities.

Some high-end hotels even have several pools to meet the needs of different guests, including a standard pool for adults to swim and work out, an infinity pool for couples to relax, and a parent-child pool designed specifically for children.

The hotel where Xie Wanning and her friends stayed was just like that, with four pools of varying sizes scattered in different areas of the hotel.

She didn’t take Du Zhiyuan to the largest and most crowded standard pool in front of the lobby because the water there was too deep, and the crowd was too mixed for her comfort.

Instead, she led him through the garden at the back of the hotel to the smallest parent-child pool.

The water here was much shallower than in the other pools, reaching only adults’ waists at the deepest point, and just the knees in the shallow area, so there was no need to worry about kids drowning.

Around the pool were children’s facilities like small slides, little fountains, and water swings in bright colors, clearly designed specifically for kids.

Soft non-slip mats were laid around the pool, with some lounge chairs set up, and staff patrolled occasionally to ensure visitors’ safety.

At this moment, the pool was already filled with many parents playing with their children.

The sounds of children’s laughter and water splashing created a lively yet relaxed atmosphere, full of innocence and joy.

Du Zhiyuan immediately loved it here, his eyes shining as he fixed his gaze on the water slide in the pool.

"Mom, I’m going in first."

He tossed his little yellow duck float into the water. The float bobbed on the surface, its cute yellow duck design especially eye-catching.

Then he stepped back two steps, ran forward, and leapt into the water with a splash, causing a burst of joyful splashes, making the children nearby scream.

"Be careful, don’t swallow water," Xie Wanning quickly reminded him.

She also slowly took off her bathrobe, placed it on a lounge chair by the pool, then gingerly held onto the pool’s handrail and started to step down.

The pool water was just the right temperature, neither cold nor hot, feeling warm and comfortable to the touch.

Xie Wanning stepped into the water, sank in gradually until it reached her ankles, shins, and then her thighs, which steadied her, slightly easing her inner unease.

She wasn’t very good at swimming. There was a drowning incident during her childhood, and since then, she had always retained a slight fear of water.

If it weren’t for her son, she most likely wouldn’t have willingly gone in the water.

Thankfully, the pool wasn’t deep at all here. Her feet could firmly touch the bottom, which gave her a lot of reassurance. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Mom, come here, it’s so nice here," Du Zhiyuan called, paddling like a nimble little frog, quickly swimming to Xie Wanning, his little face full of excitement.

Seeing his mom still a little hesitant, he proactively reached out his small hand, grabbed hers, and nudged his little yellow duck float beside her like a little man: "Mom, don’t be scared, be brave. I’ll protect you; this float is for you."

Xie Wanning burst into laughter at the sight of the small float.

"Your float is so small I can’t fit in it. It’s of no use to me," she giggled, tousling her son’s hair.

Du Zhiyuan paused for a moment, glanced at the float, then at his mom’s figure, his little head processing, realizing his mom was right.

He retrieved the float, put it back on himself, and then solemnly looked at Xie Wanning, saying: "Now it’s better. Mom, hold my shoulder, I’ll swim with you. I’m really good at swimming."

Indeed, this was quite a good approach.

Xie Wanning lightly held her son’s shoulder—though small, it provided her with great security.

The bit of fear within her melted away little by little, and she gradually let herself go.

She tried gently moving her arms, slowly swimming forward along with her son’s rhythm.

The water rippled softly around her, with sunlight refracting through the water, casting sparkling reflections on her face and body, warm and comforting.

Du Zhiyuan paddled ahead, laughing and glancing back at his mom, paddling his short little legs like a happy little duckling, slowly leading his mom towards the water slide.

"Mom, look, the slide is so high! Let’s go play on that."

"Mom, don’t be scared, sliding down isn’t scary at all."

"Mom, watch me, I can slide down all by myself."

Du Zhiyuan chattered excitedly, occasionally splashing water on purpose, drenching Xie Wanning’s face, and then giggling and dodging away.

Xie Wanning, too, stopped being so reserved, laughingly retaliating, raising her hand to splash water at her son.

The mother and child splashed water in the pool, playing together gleefully.

Before she knew it, Xie Wanning’s face showed a truly relaxed, heartfelt smile.

But that didn’t mean the sadness and pain had disappeared. The gap in her heart remained, like an unhealable scar.

Yet, at this moment, in this shallow pool, next to her son’s little figure, amidst his pure smile and joyful laughter, she suddenly felt: Maybe those pains weren’t so unbearable after all.

Perhaps, life wasn’t so dark and gloomy.

It might be that the future could gradually light up.

As long as her son was by her side, as long as she could see such a smile, she’d have the courage to keep moving forward, to fight against those negative emotions, and to face every new day.

Nonetheless, her stamina couldn’t quite match her energetic son’s. She soon felt a wave of fatigue.

So she said, "You go play by yourself; I’m going to rest on the shore for a while."

"Okay," Du Zhiyuan immediately responded.

At this point, he was completely attracted by those water facilities and his newfound friends.

Du Zhiyuan, having a rather outgoing personality, made friends quickly—kids were like that, greeting each other, chatting for a bit, and they could play together in no time.

After glancing at her son, Xie Wanning turned and swam towards the shore. She wasn’t worried as the pool water wasn’t deep, and there was a lifeguard nearby.

Once ashore, she kept an extra eye on things, ensuring there’d be no issues.

Soon she reached the edge but, unfortunately, had swum off course; she was a bit farther from the handrail. However, Xie Wanning didn’t plan to swim back to the handrail. Instead, she held onto the pool’s edge, intending to climb straight out.

At that moment, a large hand reached out, intending to pull her up.

Raising her head, Xie Wanning saw a familiar face smiling dazzlingly at her in the sunlight.

Xie Wanning felt her mind buzz, leaving her a bit dazed, with a sense of unreality.

"Hus... Husband?"