Zhou Jing and Abby skillfully finished their makeup. Basically, they only drew on their eyebrows, eyeliner, and red lips. They didn't apply any foundation. The eyebrows and eyeliner would be covered by the goggles, so they wouldn't come into contact with the water. There was no need to worry about whether it would pollute the water. The lipstick was different from the common ones on the market. It seemed to be hand-mixed, probably with waterproof natural pigments.
Snowy had already said what she needed to say. What else could she say? Although she had good intentions, she had to rely on this job to support her family. If she lost this job, there might be more terrible consequences.
Zhou Jing and Abby were still wearing one-piece diving suits. Before going into the water, they had to change into adult fish suits. Zhang Zian thought they would at least find a place like a locker room to change clothes. He didn't expect them to take off their clothes in front of him.
He was about to turn his head to avoid them, but then he realized that it was unnecessary, because the two of them had already put on bikinis under their diving suits.
They put on swimming goggles. They weren't ordinary swimming goggles, but diving goggles. They were white and transparent, and even covered their eyes and noses. However, they couldn't wear breathing tubes because it would affect their appearance. The breathing tubes prepared indoors were for practice and couldn't be used in official performances.
"One minute." Abby raised a finger to Zhou Jing.
Zhou Jing nodded.
Since they didn't have breathing tubes and scuba equipment, they relied purely on holding their breath to dive underwater, interact with aquatic creatures, and greet the audience. Even if they were well-trained, in order to ensure safety, they usually held their breath for a minute, and then alternately floated up to breathe. Frequently floating up to breathe affected the audience's feelings, so if there was a big shot visiting and watching the mermaid performance, they would try to hold their breath underwater for one and a half minutes. This was the safety limit. If it exceeded two minutes, it was very likely that they would be in danger.
Some of the viewers in the live broadcast room with big balls said that holding their breath for two minutes was too easy, but their holding time was calculated in the swimming pool. If they were to dive five to ten meters underwater, their body's oxygen consumption would increase greatly. Coupled with nervousness, people who had not undergone training would probably be squeezed out after one minute, let alone two minutes …
Today was just a regular performance, so one minute was enough.
They couldn't wear watches, so they could only count in their hearts.
There was a small electric kettle in the room, which Zhang Zian had noticed before. Since Chinese people liked to drink hot water wherever they went, he didn't pay much attention to it.
At this time, Zhou Jing filled a pot of cold water, took out a small bag of brown sugar and shredded ginger from the small refrigerator, and turned on the kettle. Two to three minutes later, the water boiled. The sweet smell of brown sugar and the spicy smell of ginger quietly permeated the room. She poured two cups and handed one to Abby, who took it without hesitation and held it in her hands, silently waiting for the temperature to drop to a suitable level. She poured the rest of the ginger tea into the thermos flask and placed it by the side of the pool. She would drink it after the water came out.
Brown sugar ginger tea was a trick brought by Zhou Jing, a Chinese. Abby didn't care about it at first. She preferred to drink a cup of coffee or black tea before going into the water. However, after drinking it once out of curiosity, she regretted not knowing about this trick before.
"You can't see the performance from here. The side door leads to the visitor area. You can go there and watch our performance." Zhou Jing pointed to a small door in the room and said to Snowy. She mischievously squinted her eyes and whispered, "Remember to give me more shots and make me look better."
Zhou Jing was just joking because she didn't have to deliberately lower her voice. Abby didn't understand Chinese anyway.
Snowy nodded and said worriedly, "Then you … you guys be careful, don't force yourself …"
"Okay, see you after the performance!" Zhou Jing smiled and waved.
Zhang Zian was about to follow Snowy into the side door to the visitor area, but he was stopped by Zhou Jing.
"Ah, wait a minute! If you don't mind, can you do me a small favor? "Zhou Jing asked.
"What kind of favor?" Zhang Zian asked.
Zhou Jing smiled bitterly. "I may not be in a good state today. When the performance is over, I am afraid it will be difficult for me to go ashore. Can you please stay here and help us pull us up when we go ashore?"
Two sets of mermaid costumes had been placed by the small pool. The edge of the pool was a gentle slope, like a slide into the water. The surface of the slope was covered with rubber to increase friction.
It was easy to enter the water, just rolling in the water. However, when they came out of the water, the 50-pound fishtail was soaked in water, and the weight was far more than 50 pounds. The mermaid actors had to drag their heavy fishtail and climb ashore on the slope with their arms raised, just like the primitive fish that climbed from the sea to the land with two evolved pectoral fins, becoming the first land animals.
If the slope was made of smooth tiles without rubber, they wouldn't be able to climb it with their arms. However, if it was made of rubber, the friction would make it more difficult for them to crawl with their tails. It was a double-edged sword that had to exist.
They were already tired after performing in the water, and they still had to get themselves ashore. This process was very difficult. If it was the usual Zhou Jing, it would not be a problem, but today, her physical strength was relatively weak. She was worried that she would not have the strength to climb halfway. She had to wait for Abby to climb up first, take off her fishtail, and then pull her.
Zhang Zian happened to be there, so Zhou Jing asked him to stay by the pool and pull her and Abby when they came out of the water.
"Okay, no problem." Zhang Zian agreed without thinking, and then his calf was kicked by Snowy Lionet, because he could not see the performance if he stayed.
"Thank you, I am delaying your performance." Zhou Jing bowed her head and apologized.
"It will not be delayed." Zhang Zian took out his mobile phone. "Snowy went over there to do a live broadcast. I can see the same from her live broadcast room."
However, the effect of watching it live and watching it through a mobile phone was completely different. It was like the difference between watching a movie on a mobile phone and watching a movie in a movie theater.
Zhou Jing also knew this, so she smiled apologetically. "Next time when I am in good condition, if you come again, I will pay for the tickets. Consider it as compensation."
"No need. You can take us backstage and let us see the preparation process of the mermaid performance. This is a novel experience that no amount of tickets can exchange for," Zhang Zian said.
It was almost time. Zhou Jing and Abby sat by the pool, put their legs into the fishtail, and then tried to pull the fishtail up until it was around their waist.
Their fishtails … or rather, their legs were soaked in the pool. They picked up the brown sugar ginger tea and drank it in one gulp, then splashed water to wet their upper bodies. When their bodies adapted to the water temperature, Zhou Jing nodded at Zhang Zian, put on her goggles, and jumped into the water with Abby.
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