Xiao Qi was woken up by the rumbling sound of the steam whistle.
She opened her eyes and looked at the scene in front of her, wondering if she was dreaming.
She closed her eyes and opened them again.
She was not dreaming.
She really was in a luxurious hotel room.
Floor-to-ceiling windows with curtains that could open and close automatically. The switch was right by the bedside. She pressed it.
A whirring sound rang out as the curtains slowly opened automatically.
What came rushing to meet her was the sea.
And on the sea there was an enormous cruise ship.
It really was very big, like a building.
Xiao Qi was very curious. She got out of bed without even washing up and opened the floor-to-ceiling glass door to the balcony. The balcony railing was also glass. She leaned over it and watched the ship in the distance, moving slowly like a building.
Nearby there were other boats that looked tiny like shrimp compared to the big cruise ship.
Xiao Qi stared blankly for a while until the sunlight shone on her face.
The bed was too soft and she was a little groggy from sleep.
She rubbed her eyes. There were big clumps of eye boogers in the corners.
After watching the cruise ship for a while, she felt the sea breeze was getting a bit strong, probably because of the height of the building. It blew her oversized T-shirt that she slept in, flapping noisily.
She went back into the room where there was no wind and felt better.
The room really looked beautiful with a living room and soft sofas, a bar, and even a bathtub on the balcony where you could take a bath while looking at the sea.
Xiao Qi was so excited when she arrived yesterday that she had played with the bathtub for a while.
She didn't know how to make bubbles so she poured in a bottle of shower gel and shampoo and finally made a tub full of bubbles.
She didn't dare soak in it, just stood with her feet in for a while.
She used the hotel's bathrobe. It was very pretty with a big floral pattern but not gaudy at all. It felt nice and smooth to wear but Xiao Qi still changed back into her old cotton T-shirt to sleep, as she was used to.
Now she used the hotel's toothbrush and toothpaste. Her parents had bought her new ones but it was too much trouble to open them so she didn't.
The hotel's toothpaste and toothbrush were very nice, in a wooden box, and were disposable even though they looked so luxurious.
There was soap too.
On the sink in the lobby there were carved decorative soaps the size of a palm.
By the face washing sinks there were also palm-sized soaps.
And by the bathtub too.
Xiao Qi checked online and found you could just take these and use them as you liked.
She felt like just taking the soaps she saw and using them would be enough to last her a year.
The shampoo and shower gel were in tiny bottles with long necks, no prices marked so they were clearly free to use as you liked.
After washing her face and brushing her teeth, Xiao Qi took milk out of the fridge.
She found a beautiful glass and poured the milk into it, drinking a glass of milk.
Then she took out her practice calligraphy book, brush and ink bottle.
She poured a bit of ink from the bottle onto the lid, dipped her brush in it and got ready to practice calligraphy.
Yesterday when the mechanical voice in her mind prompted her that she had reached the expert level, in that moment, writing actually flowed very smoothly. She felt an irresistible urge to write.
But the swaying of the train was a waste of that feeling, so Xiao Qi did not continue writing.
The hotel suite had a writing desk, made of red wood, with a black textured leather surface in the middle.
The chair was also very luxurious, large and heavy wood.
Sitting on it, Xiao Qi felt the height did not match the desk very well for calligraphy practice.
The most suitable height seemed to be a school desk and chair.
But this was all she had so she would make do first.
Everything she had come into contact with from yesterday until now was new. Newness made Xiao Qi a little nervous.
She felt she should practice calligraphy to find herself, find something familiar.
The view from the desk was also extremely good.
Looking inward, it was the luxurious hotel room, clean, grand, beautiful yet dignified. The lighting was also very cozy.
Looking outward was the endless sea, with the occasional passing ship making it very open and expansive.
When the familiar ink met the soft rice paper, a light touch would make it spread gently. She had to control her wrist strength, not too heavy or too light. Too light and the characters would be weak and limp.
Too heavy, and the ink would bleed easily.
High moral character was required for calligraphy practice.
Gradually, the opulent surroundings faded away, the sound of the sea breeze disappeared, leaving only the sound of the brush tip meeting the paper. Xiao Qi's suspended heart also settled back into place.
Quietly, heavily, she felt the joy of calligraphy practice.
She used up a whole lid of ink like this until the strokes grew fainter and fainter.
Finally Xiao Qi put down the brush.
She seemed to have been purified, not as nervous and flustered, much more relaxed.
Looking again at the characters on the paper, they were different than before, really different.
But Xiao Qi herself also could not say exactly where the difference was, because she was the one who wrote them.
Perhaps it was just a spirit they now contained.
Her previous calligraphy was also quite good, having practiced for many years since childhood.
But the characters now seemed to contain something more, not just the strokes on paper but also a carefree yet settled feeling.
Xiao Qi looked and felt they were not bad.
She also felt more grounded, indeed doing familiar daily things was being herself.
One must study, study to improve, study to enrich oneself.
After finishing calligraphy practice, Xiao Qi's plan was to go swimming.
The hotel had a swimming pool, she had flipped through the hotel guide in her room yesterday.
The pool was on the 5th floor.
It was the hotel's instagrammable spot because many people could take pictures there with the pool extending visually into the sea beyond, like an infinity pool.
The railings around the pool were glass, creating the visual effect of being one with the distant sea.
The hotel advertisement had shots posing in the pool.
Xiao Qi was not going for pictures, no one would take any of her anyway.
She just missed swimming a lot. Ever since winning the award she could only swim a couple laps telling Coach Wu she was staying late after the pool closed. During open hours people would crowd around her and she couldn't swim at all.
Swimming in Meng City should be very convenient, able to swim in pools and the sea.
Xiao Qi wanted to swim in the pool first, then shower and eat after.
She brought her swimsuit, the provincial team one was plain but very good quality.
There was also the swimsuit Madame Liang gave her, quite pretty, but she was most comfortable swimming in the team uniform.
Plus swimming counted steps too, easier than running.
The hotel also had treadmills that could be used.
Xiao Qi went up to the 5th floor with her swimsuit.
The huge 5th floor platform had indoor and outdoor pools.
Meng City was not cold. Even in the morning the outdoor pool could be used.
When Xiao Qi arrived there were not many people.
The lanes did not look very professional, a very pretty irregular pool, water flowing noisily seemingly cleaner than sports center pools.
Xiao Qi stretched by the poolside briefly then jumped in.
The swimming talent buff had ended but with the buff Xiao Qi swam nearly every day, preserving the effects the most.
So now there was no noticeable difference. She still loved it, swimming happily without feeling bored.
Her body also felt very comfortable underwater.
The reason Xiao Qi was unwilling to keep competing was because she loved swimming, but as a competitive sport for races, it felt different with all the pressure, even the sport she used to love became unlovable.
Before it was for the bonus but now she felt this was good enough.
She swam energetically back and forth several laps by herself.
Tired, she clung to the outer glass railing, seeing the distant sea and street scenes below.
What an amazing place.
Looking out from Gumula Village all you saw were mountains, and more mountains beyond.
She never knew there was the sea so far away on the high speed rail.
Tall buildings.
Xiao Qi rested for a while then continued swimming. More and more people came to the pool, some taking pictures.
After a while a whole group arrived, not to swim but looked like they came just for pictures. Some carried ring lights and surrounded a woman taking photos of her.
The woman wore a swimsuit and hat with dry hair, full make-up on her face.
Xiao Qi looked at the pool and realized it would be hard to swim with so many people around. She decided to leave the pool, stretch on the side for a bit, then head to the showers.
After her shower, Xiao Qi felt famished, as if she could eat a whole pig! Happily she headed downstairs for breakfast.
