Coach: Coaching the Grizzlies at the beginning, playing the bantam

Hannah backed away, waterproof camera in hand, her heels hitting the brass scoop at the edge of the pool.

Lu Yong reached out to help, but ended up knocking over the fruit plate of frozen pears.

The purple-black flesh sank to the bottom of the pool. Hannah's toes touched the cold flesh and she screamed and jumped into Lu Yong's arms, causing the hot spring water to splash everywhere.

The fish spa pool glowed like broken silver in the twilight. Hannah endured the itch and watched the koi pecking at her feet: "It feels like the spicy hot pot in Dalian Dai Street is licking my toes."

Lu Yong suddenly tensed her calf muscles, and the startled shoal of fish knocked the bath towel headband on her head off.

The ochre rocks in the steam room were engraved with passages from the Book of Songs. Hannah traced the inscriptions of "life and death" with her fingertips: "You guys are even showing off your affection to the stones?"

Lu Yong took out a hot spring water boiled egg and rolled it on the stone slab, leaving burnt brown lines. "Try it, it's more flavorful than the tea eggs at Xinghai Square."

Hannah was burned while peeling the shells and blew on her fingers, with the runny egg yolk staining the corners of her mouth.

Lu Yong suddenly moved closer and rolled up the golden color with his tongue: "The taste of salted egg yolk." Hannah's ears instantly turned redder than the lantern peppers by the pool, and beads of sweat rolled down her spine into her waist.

As the moonlight shone through the gaps in the bamboo curtains, Hannah drew little figures holding hands on the misty glass. Lu Yong suddenly held her finger and filled in the German words "Ich liebe dich" in the comic dialogue box. The mist condensed into beads and meandered into a stream along the letters.

Amid the hum of the hair dryer in the locker room, Hannah suddenly grabbed Lu Yong's bathrobe and said, "My anklet is missing! It must have fallen off when I was soaking in the rose pool." The staff raised the ultraviolet flashlight, and the bottom of the pool suddenly sparkled with stars - the silver chain was wrapped around the drain, and the red coral on the pendant reflected the waves, like a dormant volcano.

The return shuttle bus lit up with pumpkin lanterns, and Hannah shook the anklet she had found: "This coral is even more delicate than the imperial beads in the Shenyang Imperial Palace."

Lu Yong suddenly produced a sealed jar with pebbles from the sulfur spring soaked in it: "Take it back and use it as a paperweight. It's more valuable than the sea glass you picked up in Qingdao."

As the highway sign passed the "Dalian Direction" sign, Hannah dozed off on Lu Yong's shoulder.

The car radio suddenly switched to "Mohe Ballroom" and she hummed the German version of the lyrics in a daze, the tail end of the song dissipating in the lingering scent of the hot spring from the air-conditioning vent.

.........

The next day, as soon as Lu Yong unscrewed the cap of the mineral water bottle, Hannah rushed over and poured it on the back of his feet: "This sand is hotter than the one at Dalian Golden Pebble Beach!"

She squatted down to pick up the shell fragments, and rolled up her sweatpants to her knees, revealing the marks on her calves that were stained red by the juice of the saltwort grass last time she was on the Red Beach.

The sea breeze blew over the parasol with a salty smell. Lu Yong suddenly pressed the back of her neck: "Don't move, there's a good thing stuck in your hair." His fingertips were holding a spiral shell, which was shining with mother-of-pearl in the sun.

Hannah snatched it and held it up to the light: "This looks like the souvenir I bought at Qingdao Pier, but--" She suddenly fell silent. A tiny heart-shaped symbol was painted on the inner wall of the shell with gold paint.

The roar of the motorboat came from far away. Hannah pulled Lu Yong towards the rental point and said, "I failed to beat you last time at Xinghai Square. I must avenge myself this time!" Her sunscreen jacket was blown into a bulging sail by the wind, and the sunburn marks from the Red Sea Hot Spring were faintly visible on her lower back, like half a faded kiss mark.

Hannah discovered the problem when she stepped onto the motorboat: "Why is this throttle handle heavier than the door knocker of the Shenyang Imperial Palace?" The lifeguard held back a smile and handed over a helmet: "Girl, hold on to your partner, the waves in Liaodong Bay are more violent than those in Dalian."

Lu Yong's knees pressed against her lower back, and the warmth came through the swimsuit fabric. The moment the motorboat took off, Hannah's screams mixed with the waves and shattered into salt grains. When they rushed past the buoy line, a freighter in the distance blew its whistle, startling three seagulls that happened to fly over Hannah's head.

When they reached the shore, Hannah's pigtails spread out like golden curtains. She shook her soaked sunscreen jacket and shouted, "We have to delete the video of that drift just now!" Lu Yong raised his mobile phone, but the screen showed her embarrassing scene of biting her tongue while laughing. In the background, his arms were linked like a safety lock, appearing and disappearing in the waves.

The aroma of minced garlic wafted from the beach barbecue stall. Hannah sniffed and approached the iron plate: "This crab leg is thicker than the ones in Dalian Street!" She suddenly pointed at the seasoning jar and exclaimed, "You actually sprinkle sugar on seafood?" The proprietress laughed with a shovel: "Girl, try it, it's better than the black pepper and pork knuckle you have in Germany."

When Lu Yong came back with the grilled oysters, Hannah was struggling with the crab shell, with napkins piled up into a small snow hill at her feet. He suddenly poked the crab claws with the end of his chopsticks, and the white and tender crab meat burst open: "Who swore not to eat seafood in shells last time in Qingdao?"

The sauce splashed onto Hannah's collarbone. As soon as Lu Yong's tissue touched her skin, she jumped back as if she had been electrocuted: "Grease stains are harder to wash off than the mud on the Red Beach!" The setting sun just passed over her reddened ears. The proprietress turned around and poured a spoonful of white wine onto the iron plate. The rising flames scared away two sand crabs that were stealing food.

The tide line retreated 50 meters, revealing the wet creative area. Hannah held a plastic shovel and was eager to try: "I won the sand sculpture championship at the Munich Oktoberfest. I will let you see Neuschwanstein Castle later!" Lu Yong carried a bucket and poured out a Tai Chi diagram: "The pottery master at Beilv Tianyuan taught me that the foundation should be spirally compacted."

As soon as Hannah's castle spire took shape, Lu Yong's moat dug through the city wall. As the two of them twisted in a ball on the sand, the rising tide's pioneer wave successfully attacked, and Hannah's princess tower collapsed. She grabbed a handful of wet sand and stuffed it into Lu Yong's collar: "You are jealous!" The sand slid down her back muscles into her waistband, and set a circle of gold on the elastic band of her swimming trunks.

When the sunset sank behind the chimney of the freighter, Hannah suddenly ran barefoot: "Look! Does that cloud look like the saltwort on the red beach?" Her skirt was lifted by the sea breeze, revealing the faint sunburn line on the inside of her thigh. Lu Yong raised the telephoto lens, and the frame showed the shell anklet dangling on her ankle, each shell burning into gold foil in the twilight.

The tide flooded over the ruins of their afternoon sandcastle. Hannah picked up a piece of the ruins and said, "Is this the monument that Liaodong Bay has given us?" Lu Yong suddenly took out a glass bottle from his trouser pocket. 365 grains of sand of different colors had already filled three-quarters of the bottle. Hannah's pupils suddenly dilated and said, "Did you start collecting it in Qingdao?"

When the last ray of sunset glow was swallowed by the horizon, Lu Yong tightened the bottle cap: "When this is full, I'll take you to Taklimakan to fill the thirteenth color." Hannah pressed her thumb on the sunburned skin on the back of his hand. The new skin was pink and three times fresher than the morning light on Jinbo Beach. When the street lights came on, Hannah suddenly squatted in the intertidal zone and fumbled: "My shell earring fell off! It must have been thrown away when I was playing with the motorboat this afternoon." Lu Yong took out the flashlight on his mobile phone, and a silver light suddenly flashed in the beam - the earring was stuck in the crevice of the reef, and a rusty anchor hook lay next to it.

Hannah wiped the earrings she had lost and found: "Do the scratches here look like the tidal waves on the Red Beach?" Lu Yong suddenly pointed behind her. An arrow made of shells emerged on the beach at low tide, pointing to a sand pit illuminated by the moonlight.

The two walked along the shell road sign, one step deep and one step shallow, and Hannah's toes suddenly touched something cold. After digging through the wet sand, they found a glass bottle filled with sand buried there, and at the bottom of the bottle there was a golden shell with a map of Liaodong Bay embedded in it. Lu Yong raised his phone, and the photo showed that when he secretly returned to set up the equipment two hours ago, the waves just happened to bloom into a pearl necklace at his ankles.

The aroma of pepper and salt wafted from the barbecue stalls at the seaside market. Hannah poked the clams on the iron plate and said, "This is as delicious as the eggs boiled in the Red Sea hot springs!" She suddenly lowered her voice and said, "The couple at ten o'clock followed the same route as us from Beilu Tianyuan."

Lu Yong broke open the crispy brown crab, the crab roe glowing orange-red in the moonlight: "The uncle in the blue striped shirt took a photo of us at the hot spring park." Hannah's fork froze in mid-air: "Did you find out a long time ago?"

As the sea fog blew over the neon signs, Lu Yong wiped his fingers and drew a map of their route around Bohai Bay on a napkin. Hannah suddenly marked the next location with ketchup: "Since you are regarded as a travel blogger, shall we go to the Liaohe Stele Forest to perform a play tomorrow?" Her golden hair was stained with cumin seeds, and it trembled like wind chimes with her laughter.

Amid the roar of the hotel laundry room, Hannah was holding a sweatshirt soaked in seawater and worried: "This salt stain is more stubborn than the sedge juice on the Red Beach." Lu Yong suddenly opened his newly bought cultural and creative T-shirt and said: "Put it on, the limited edition for Liaohekou Wetland Protection Day."

Hannah turned to face the bathroom mirror: "Why does this red-crowned crane pattern seem to be mocking my tanned shoulders?" Lu Yong's fingertips stroked the dividing line between her old and new skin color: "When we get to Changbai Mountain, I'll buy you a high-necked edelweiss."

When the dryer rolled out the warm clothes, Hannah's shell earrings suddenly fell off and rolled out a small arc on the floor tiles. Lu Yong leaned over to pick it up, revealing the unfaded sunburned skin on the back of his neck, which resembled the wave patterns of Liaodong Bay. Hannah took a picture of this "living tattoo" with her mobile phone and set it as the background of a WeChat chat. Then, the whistle of a cargo ship setting sail was heard outside the window, shattering the reflection on the glass.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, but Hannah's trekking pole had already made the wooden plank road rattle. "This anti-slip pattern is even more exaggerated than the stone pavement of the Red Sea Hot Spring!" Lu Yong grabbed her backpack strap and said, "It just rained in the wetlands, be careful of the moss." Before he finished speaking, Hannah's shoe soles slipped on the joints of the antiseptic wood, and she fell into the reeds, startling three egrets that fluttered across the water.

With her trouser legs wet with dew sticking to her calves, Hannah stood up, grabbing a reed stalk and asking, “Is this a welcome gift from the Liaohe Wetland?” She suddenly discovered a blue-gray bird egg hidden among the fallen reed leaves, with spider-web-like cracks all over the eggshell. Lu Yong took out his phone and scanned it: “This is the nest of the Chinese bush warbler. The reserve only observed their return last year.”

The iron ladder of the bird-watching tower vibrated with a buzzing sound. Hannah climbed to the third floor and grabbed the railing: "This height is even more terrifying than the lighthouse at Jinbo Beach!" As the telescope was pointed at the river branch, the lens was suddenly covered with a white shadow - a flock of bean geese were flying over their heads, and their down fell on Hannah's hair, like a string of breathing pearls.

The dock pontoon rose and fell with the waves. Hannah clutched the life jacket strap and worried: "This slipknot is more complicated than the door latch of the Shenyang Imperial Palace." Amid the rumbling sound of the ferry's motor, the captain held a reed in his mouth and laughed: "Hold on to the railing, girl. It will be more exciting than riding a roller coaster when you cross the shallows!"

The bow split the dark green water hyacinth, and Hannah's sun hat was blown away by the air current. Lu Yong leaned over to grab it, and just as his fingertips touched the brim of the hat, the whole boat suddenly tilted 30 degrees. Hannah screamed and fell into his arms, and the camera lens cover rolled into the water in the cabin, reflecting the distorted blue sky and white clouds.

"Look! The water spiders are writing Morse code!" Hannah suddenly pointed at the foam at the stern. Lu Yong leaned over to take a closer look. There were indeed dots and long lines made of bubbles floating in the ripples. The captain veered sharply to avoid the reef: "Those are the traces left by the water beetles breathing. You city people are really imaginative!"

Thunder rumbled in the clouds in the afternoon. Hannah squatted on the hydrophilic platform and poked the water lilies: "This purple flower is more colorful than the ones in the Munich Palace Garden. What a pity..." She suddenly retracted her hand. The back of the lotus leaves was densely covered with transparent frog eggs, which trembled gently with the waves.

The wooden sign suddenly squeaked and turned. Hannah leaned in to identify the rusty arrow: "The wild lotus pond is on the left, and the reed maze is on the right?" Lu Yong tore off the mosquito repellent sticker and pressed it on the back of her neck: "Follow the sound of the cicadas. It's more reliable than electronic navigation."

The smell of humus soil became stronger and stronger, and Hannah's sandals suddenly sank into the mud. Lu Yong pulled her too hard, and they both fell into the cattails. The startled fireflies set off green waves, and Hannah's silver bracelet hooked three reed spikes, swaying like miniature wind chimes in the twilight.

The cement wall of the abandoned observatory was covered with lichens. Hannah scraped off a piece of dark green with her fingernails: "Does this moss pattern look like oracle bone inscriptions?" Lu Yong swept the corner of the wall with an ultraviolet flashlight, and the bricks covered with mildew suddenly showed fluorescent graffiti - the bird statistics code left by the 2018 scientific expedition team.

The rainstorm came without warning, and the two squeezed into the rusty iron tool box. Hannah's breath made white circles on the glass window: "Are we like sardines in a can?" Lightning flashed for a moment, and she saw a German love poem engraved on the inner wall of the tool box, and the date of the inscription was the Chinese Valentine's Day twenty years ago.

When the rain gradually subsided, Lu Yong suddenly opened the lid of the box. The accumulated rain rushed down the slope, forming a temporary stream in the depression, carrying broken petals and insect shells, washing out a glittering Milky Way. Hannah's sandals floated three meters away, and the damselfly perched on the toe of the shoe flapped its wings and flew towards the reappearing sunset.

The camping area was filled with the scent of mugwort under the moonlight. Hannah argued with the tent stand: "This ground spike is harder to deal with than the saltwort on the Red Beach!" Lu Yong took the spring hook and turned it half a circle. The slight "click" sound startled the crickets among the grass leaves, and the chirping one after another formed a web of sound.

A small bulge suddenly appeared on the moisture-proof mat. Hannah lifted a corner and exclaimed, "The earthworm has escaped from prison!" Under the flashlight beam, the pink segmented animal was struggling to drill into the sleeping bag.

Lu Yong used a branch to lead it back to the soil. Amid the rustling sound, Hannah suddenly became quiet: "When I was a child in the suburbs of Berlin"

Before he could finish his words, silver splashes of water exploded on the river surface in the distance.

The two of them rushed to the tent window at the same time. The golden scales of the carp leaping up in the moonlight sparkled, and the water droplets splashed when falling penetrated the gauze and condensed into a dense galaxy on Hannah's profile.

The plank road before dawn was covered with milky white mist. Hannah's thermos cup knocked against the iron railing: "If we go to the bird watching platform now, can we see the morning fishing?" Her woolen socks were soaked with dew, and every step made a slight squeak. Lu Yong suddenly stopped, with his index finger raised to his lips - the sound of woodpeckers came from deep in the reed marsh.

The telescope lens was covered with moisture, and Hannah wiped it with her sleeve in a hurry.

At the moment when the morning light pierces the thick fog, the silhouette of the heron hunting is frozen in the circular field of vision: the slender bird beak pierces the silver fish, and the splashing water drops decompose into a seven-color spectrum in mid-air. (End of this chapter)