【Gift】

Although he knew full well that the date printed on Ba Yunye’s ID card was not necessarily her actual birthday, the straightforward man took the matter quite seriously and typed the words “gifts women like” into the Zhihu search bar, which promptly returned tens of thousands of answers.

After a lengthy process of data collection, he arrived at what was reportedly the safest option: cosmetics.

First, lipstick. When it came to choosing a shade, this man — who had reportedly scored over a hundred points above the university entrance exam threshold — found himself utterly at a loss. He had no idea until now, but under the single category of “red,” there existed shades with names like Mars Red, True Red, Rotten Tomato Red, Maple Leaf Red, New Year Red, and Chili Red — to say nothing of the more mysterious entries that existed entirely outside a straightforward man’s frame of reference, such as Aunt Flow Red and Bull’s Blood Red.

Diao Zhuo spent a full week frowning at lipsticks before finally settling on a shade he personally found acceptable.

As for perfume — faced with terminology like top notes, middle notes, and base notes — he stared in complete incomprehension and simply walked into a department store and bought one he had never encountered before.

On the eve of her birthday, our Ba Ye received a heartfelt gift from her straightforward man: a lipstick and a shimmering loose powder compact styled like a glittering meteor ball.

Ba Ye’s face registered a look of deep uncertainty. She pointed at the shimmering meteor ball loose powder and asked, “This… what on earth is this? Candy??”

“No idea.” Said the straightforward man. “It’s for rubbing on your face.”

Indeed — in a straightforward man’s world, all cosmetics fell into exactly two categories: “for rubbing on your face” and “for rubbing on your mouth.”

Ba Yunye then opened the lipstick cap, and her expression grew particularly grave: it was a death-defying Barbie pink — a straightforward man’s eternal favorite.

“Put it on and try it.” Diao Zhuo proactively handed her a mirror.

Ba Yunye looked at him, raised an eyebrow, applied it firmly to her lips, then puckered up and batted her eyes. “Well — do I look good?”

“…Y-you… look… good.” That sentence cost Diao Zhuo a tremendous effort. No straightforward man could ever comprehend why the color of a product in its tube and the effect once applied to one’s face could be separated by a distance of a hundred thousand miles. The iron-clad evidence before him proved that even someone as striking as Ba Ye could not casually pull off death-defying Barbie pink.

“Oh, right — why did you suddenly give me a gift?” Ba Ye asked, dabbing her lips with a tissue.

“To celebrate you completing this leg of the grand loop safely.”

She thought about it. “I thought it was a birthday gift.”

“It’s not.” Diao Zhuo denied it with remarkable speed. “What would you like for your birthday gift?”

“Hmm…” Ba Yunye touched her chin, thinking it over. “I’d like to go to the seaside with you for a bit.”

She had spent the better part of the year in the inland regions and on the high plateau — it was perfectly natural that she wanted to see the ocean. After a moment of surprise, Diao Zhuo let out a resigned smile. “Let’s go whenever you’re ready.”

And it really was that simple.

【Swimming】

First thing in the morning, Ba Yunye changed into her swimsuit and launched herself joyfully into the infinity pool, sending a burst of splashes into the air — and all over Diao Zhuo.

Ba Yunye had comrades-in-arms scattered across every corner of the country, and they could always point you to the best spots. This particular bay, once the tide went out, was the sort of place you never wanted to leave.

She and Diao Zhuo had spent the previous afternoon catching crabs along the shore. When it was time to go, they released them all — but they had thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The high plateau had its own beauty; the coast had its own too. And on this trip, her companion suited her perfectly.

Diao Zhuo swam a few laps, wiped the water from his face, and rested at the edge of the pool. His powerful upper body and the lines of his muscular frame drew the eyes of several young women passing by. A few fresh-faced young men frolicking in the pool nearby were instantly rendered somewhat unremarkable by comparison.

“Wow… look at that man — what a physique…”

“Please. Anyone built like that is obviously full of himself. Don’t bother.”

“He came with a woman.”

“Really? Where??”

Ba Yunye, submerged beneath the surface like a slow-moving shark, crept steadily toward him and lunged — grabbing his calves and yanking him down. He had spotted her long before she made her move, and without so much as a twitch, he let her pull him under — then took a deep breath, dove down, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. It was a move she had absolutely no defense against: if she didn’t surface for air soon, she was going to actually drown.

“You absolute scoundrel!” Ba Yunye shook the water from her face, glaring at him with wide eyes, pointing accusingly.

“There are worse things I could do — care to find out?” He tossed the words at her and was already swimming away.

Ba Yunye dove back under in a flash, thrashing forward with furious speed, until she had swum around and cut him off. She treaded water in front of him and asked, “Let’s race — what do you say?”

“Another race?” Diao Zhuo stopped. “What are we racing?”

“Swimming, obviously — who’s fastest.”

“What do I get if I win?”

“That look on your face means you already think you’re going to win.” Ba Yunye called it precisely. “Last time, at the Badain Jaran Desert, when we raced climbing the sand dune by car, you ended up betting yourself away to me.”

Diao Zhuo’s eyes held a quiet smile. “A glorious defeat.”

Ba Yunye didn’t immediately parse the meaning beneath those words, so she asked, “What else have you got left to bet away?”

“Race first, talk later.”

Ba Yunye swam alongside him to one end of the pool. “Breaststroke or freestyle?”

“Butterfly. First one to complete three lengths wins.”

Butterfly?! This man really had no mercy. Ba Yunye stared at him in disbelief. “Who… who learns butterfly stroke for fun? Freestyle is so much faster over the same distance.”

Diao Zhuo raised his thumb and pointed it at himself. “Allow me to reintroduce myself. Diao Zhuo. Member of the university swim team. Butterfly stroke specialist. Winner of the 200-meter butterfly at the National University Athletic Games.”

So she was about to race a former national butterfly champion — in butterfly stroke?

“Ba Ye — are you in?” Diao Zhuo asked.

“I’m in!”

“Want me to give you a head start?”

“Absolutely not!” That was Ba Ye — if the mountain had tigers, she would charge straight toward it.

The result, naturally, was a crushing defeat.

“Oh, for the love of…” Ba Yunye wheezed and sprawled against the edge of the pool like a dying frog.

“Ba Ye — what are you going to lose to me?” Diao Zhuo’s breathing was completely steady. He swam several leisurely laps around her.

“Fine — dinner’s on me tonight. Seafood. A proper spread.”

He was unimpressed. “All these years of butterfly training, and that’s what it’s worth to you? A seafood dinner?”

“A thousand yuan worth.” Ba Yunye was completely magnanimous about it.

He still looked entirely indifferent.

A bet was a bet, and she would honor it. Ba Yunye caught her breath, lifted her chin, and said, “What do you want, then?”

Diao Zhuo looked at her steadily, reached out, and pulled her close. “From this moment on — whether you’re alive, you’re my woman, and whether you’re dead, you’ll be my ghost.”

Ba Yunye paused. She remembered the stakes of their last race climbing the sand dune — if she won, he would be hers in life and hers in death. Today she had lost, and it seemed the primary and secondary positions had shifted somewhat.

She was still turning it over in her mind when Diao Zhuo drew her into his arms, his forehead touching the tip of her nose, a look of quiet tenderness on his face. But truly — between the two of them, what was there to count in terms of winning or losing? Two people who had no reason to ever cross paths, brought together through trials and hardship, and now holding on to each other — it had always been a story of mutual belonging, a reunion that neither owed the other and both had earned together.