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

"Hannah! Your sun hat is going to be blown away by the wind!" Lu Yong pedaled hard on the shared bicycle, and the bell rang on the streets of Langfang in the early morning.

The girl in the back seat was holding up her cell phone to take pictures of the shadows of the sycamore trees. The hem of her floral skirt, blown by the wind, brushed against the back of his neck, making his neck itch and causing the handlebars to sway.

"It's all your fault for insisting on experiencing some retro riding experience!" Hannah gripped his waist tightly, her laughter and the morning breeze seeping into the collar of his sweatshirt, "We agreed to take the high-speed train to Tangshan in half an hour, but now you're riding like you're in a 1980s romance drama!"

Lu Yong deliberately shook the handlebars, and when he heard the exclamation from behind, he smiled and steadied himself: "You don't understand this, do you? This is called an immersive travel experience."

He stretched out his right hand and grabbed the girl's straw hat which was about to fly away. "Besides, the hotel we booked is right in front of Hetou Old Street. We can just drop off our luggage and start playing right away."

At this time, the sun had already reached a scorching temperature. Fortunately, Tangshan was not far from Langfang. After riding for forty minutes, the two saw the hotel's neon sign flashing in the morning light.

Lu Yong parked his car in the shadow of the sycamore tree in front of the revolving door. Just as he was about to take out his ID card, Hannah grabbed his sleeve.

"Wait!" She sniffed the air like a suddenly alert cat, "Do you smell it?"

"What?" Lu Yong followed her gaze and saw that there was not even a fly in the lobby except for the girl at the front desk who was sorting out the check-in forms.

"It tastes like caramel pudding!" Hannah's eyes lit up like a squirrel that found pine nuts. She dragged her suitcase and headed for the elevator. "When I looked up the guide, I saw there was an open-air restaurant on the top floor of the hotel. At this time..."

She suddenly turned around and walked backwards, her ponytail brushing Lu Yong's chin, "Do you think they have just finished baking the first batch of egg tarts?"

At the moment when the elevator door dinged shut, Lu Yong looked at the numbers jumping on the display screen and suddenly felt that it might be the right decision to leave the travel planning entirely to his girlfriend - after all, who could refuse a girl who even studies the hotel breakfast menu three days in advance?

When the wheels of the suitcase rolled on the wool carpet with a dull sound, Hannah had already rushed to the floor-to-ceiling window.

The morning light was cutting obliquely into the 270-degree viewing room, coating the skyline of Tangshan New City in light gold. In the distance, the green waves of Nanhu Park could be vaguely seen shimmering in the sun.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry!” She turned around and threw her sun hat onto the bed. The ends of her hair were still stained with morning dew. “Give me the camera bag. We have to book the entire Old Street before the tour group arrives!”

The bluestone slabs of Hetou Old Street glowed with warmth in the midday sun. Hannah was jumping in front holding a cotton candy, and Lu Yong followed behind with a backpack on his back. The camera kept following the light yellow skirt. The aerial roots of the old locust tree on the street swayed gently in the wind, occasionally brushing against her hair, startling her so much that she ran into his arms like a frightened bird.

"Lu Yong, look at this!" She suddenly stopped in front of a sugar painting stall, her nose almost touching the glass counter, "I want the one with the phoenix pattern!"

The old master smiled and scooped up a spoonful of golden syrup. With a flick of his wrist, the phoenix's tail feathers bloomed on the stone slab. Hannah was about to scan the code to pay when Lu Yong suddenly grabbed her wrist and said, "Wait, let's play a game."

He took out two coins from his trouser pocket and slapped them on her palm: "Guess heads or tails, and the winner will decide where to go for the last stop of the day." The sugar painting gradually solidified in the sun. Hannah stared at his rolling Adam's apple and suddenly tiptoed close to his ear: "What if I lose?"

The warm breath swept over his earlobe, and Lu Yong's hand trembled, and the coin fell on the bluestone slab with a clang. The old master's sugar spoon drew a crooked arc in the air, and the phoenix's right wing was missing.

"My dear little comrade," the old man knocked on the stone slab with his shovel, "you will have to pay compensation for mental damages if you disrupt the creation."

Hannah laughed so hard that she couldn't straighten her back. Lu Yong apologized and took out his phone to scan the code. He heard a crisp shutter sound behind him. He turned his head and saw Hannah holding the camera. She bit the candy painting and said incoherently: "This one should be set as the lock screen. The name is "The Price of Hand Shake"."

As the sun was setting, fine rain began to fall on the old street. Hannah dragged Lu Yong into a creative store. Raindrops formed a beaded curtain outside the glass door. In the warm yellow light of the store, the sweet fragrance of scented candles mixed with the scent of rice paper.

"Here!" She suddenly held up an oil-paper umbrella with a blue-and-white porcelain pattern hand-painted on it. "How about we hold it up and go to Nanhu Lake to watch the sunset?"

Just as Lu Yong was about to take out his wallet, he caught a glimpse of a sandalwood box in the corner of the counter. He opened the lid and saw a pair of gilded bookmarks lying quietly on the velvet lining, carved into the shape of a lotus. He glanced at Hannah, who was trying to make a hairpin in front of the mirror, and quietly put the bookmarks into his trouser pocket.

The rain became heavier as dusk fell, knocking the lotus flowers in the South Lake to the ground. Hannah tilted her umbrella toward Lu Yong, and half of her shoulder was soaked. "Look!" She suddenly pointed at the pavilion in the middle of the lake, "There's a girl in Hanfu taking a photo shoot!"

Before he finished speaking, a gust of wind came with raindrops, and the oil-paper umbrella flipped over. Lu Yong frantically tried to hold the umbrella ribs, but was suddenly dragged by Hannah to run into the pavilion. His canvas shoes stepped into the puddles, splashing water. The two seemed to be back in their middle school days when they chased and played during breaks.

"It's all your fault for buying this useless umbrella!" Hannah shook her wet bangs, and water droplets from the ends of her hair dripped onto the back of Lu Yong's hand, making his heart tremble with cold.

"Then buy an automatic umbrella next time?" He took out a tissue to wipe her neck, and suddenly stopped when his fingertips touched the warm skin.

"There won't be a next time!" Hannah suddenly turned around, her skirt sweeping away a cloud of water mist. "In this kind of weather, we should go to the hotel to soak in the hot springs!" Her eyes sparkled, reflecting the neon-lit city skyline in the distance. "I remember the guide said there was a private hot spring on the top floor..."

Lu Yong looked at her reddened ears and suddenly realized that the rain might be coming at the right time. He was about to speak when his cell phone suddenly vibrated in his trouser pocket.

"Mr. Lu? This is the hotel front desk." The voice in the receiver froze both of them. "The rooftop hot spring room you booked may need to be adjusted. A guest had a sudden allergic reaction. We..."

Hannah looked at his suddenly tense jawline, and suddenly reached out to press the back of his hand as he hung up the phone: "Don't panic." She drew a circle on his palm with her fingertips, "I remember we booked a room with a view, and the hot spring room was an extra surprise, right?"

In the rain, the two of them ran towards the hotel in the puddles. Lu Yong wiped the rain off his face and was suddenly dragged into a 24-hour convenience store by Hannah. She grabbed two dry hair towels and two bottles of orange soda from the shelf under the surprised eyes of the store clerk.

"Why are you running so fast?" She pressed the soda against his burning face. "The hotel won't grow legs and run away."

Lu Yong looked at her watery eyes under the warm yellow light, and suddenly remembered last winter in Harbin Ice and Snow World, when she dragged him into a roadside shop in the same way and used the warmth of roasted sweet potatoes to dispel the severe cold of minus 30 degrees Celsius.

"Hannah." He suddenly spoke, swallowing the unfinished words with his Adam's apple rolling. The rain streaks on the glass were like tears, and the girl bit the straw and tilted her head to wait for his next words, with water drops on her hair sliding down her neck into her collar.

"Ding—" The sound of a cell phone notification broke the sticky silence. It was a message from the hotel manager: "Mr. Lu, the guest with allergies has been sent to the hospital. The hot spring room is reserved for you until 2 a.m."

Hannah looked at his suddenly relaxed expression and suddenly stood on tiptoe to whisper in his ear: "What did you want to say just now?"

The warm breath swept over her earlobe, and Lu Yong suddenly grabbed her wrist and ran towards the hotel. The moment the convenience store's sensor door dinged, he heard his heartbeat mixed with the sound of rain: "I said--"

"If you don't run to the hot spring, the water will get cold!"

When the elevator number jumped to the 27th floor, Hannah suddenly broke free from his hand. She leaned her back against the mirrored wall, her wet dress outlining the curves of her young body. She turned the room card with her fingertips and smiled, "Mr. Lu, it's not too late to beg for mercy now."

Lu Yong stared at her rouge-colored ear tips and suddenly remembered the pair of gilded bookmarks from the day. He unbuttoned his shirt with one hand and carried Hannah sideways as she screamed, "Beg for mercy? Let's discuss this topic after we finish taking a shower."

The moment the door unlocked, Hannah suddenly hooked her arms around his neck and pressed him down. When their soft lips touched, she smiled vaguely, "You know what? Actually, today I..." "Shhh..." Lu Yong pressed his forehead against hers, his eyelashes brushing across her wet eyelids, "Some things are best said in the hot spring."

The water temperature of the hot spring pool was just 40 degrees, and it was filled with steam. Hannah leaned against the white marble wall and watched Lu Yong sprinkle rose petals into the water. His wheat-colored back shone softly in the water, and his shoulder blades moved slightly with his movements, like a butterfly flapping its wings to fly.

"When did you become so good at it?" She scooped up a handful of water and splashed it on his back, watching the water droplets slide down the grooves of his spine.

Lu Yong turned around and grabbed her wrist, water dripping down her hair onto her collarbone: "Last year in Sanya, someone fell asleep in the hot springs, and I had to carry you back to the room."

"That's called hot spring therapy!" Hannah pulled her hand back, and the ripples on the water surface shattered a pool of starlight. "But you..." She suddenly leaned close to his ear, "Did you hide something in your pocket in the cultural and creative store today?"

Lu Yong froze, and just as he was about to find an excuse, she tapped his chest with her fingertips: "Don't move." She swam behind him, and her cold fingertips brushed across his back. "Let me guess, is it the sandalwood box?"

"Hannah!" He turned around suddenly, and the water splashed three feet high. The girl had already swam to the edge of the pool, and with water dripping from the ends of her hair, she smiled at him frantically wiping his eyes.

"Why are you so nervous?" She shook the gilded bookmark she had taken from his trouser pocket, "Twin Lotus, Mr. Lu, are you asking me for..."

"Shut up!" Lu Yong suddenly pounced over, and the splashing sound startled the night heron perched outside the window. Hannah screamed and tried to escape, but he grabbed her waist and pressed her to the edge of the pool. Rose petals swirled around her shoulders, and his wet hair brushed across her nose: "If you say anything more, I'll throw you in."

"Are you willing to do that?" She suddenly raised her head and kissed his Adam's apple, her fingertips circling his lower back. "Just now by the South Lake, someone couldn't even utter a complete sentence."

Lu Yong groaned, and was about to take over when he heard his cell phone vibrate in the locker room. Hannah took the opportunity to break free from his embrace and ran to the pool with wet feet: "What if it's the hotel calling? Asking about our hot spring time..."

"Let them wait!" Lu Yong grabbed her ankles and pulled her back. Her long legs under the water suddenly wrapped around his waist. "Now, it's time to talk about begging for mercy."

As the night deepened, Hannah curled up in Lu Yong's arms and browsed her social media. The latest post was a nine-square grid of photos: a sugar-painted phoenix with missing wings, an oil-paper umbrella fluttering in the rain, and the backs of two people running on the water. The caption had only three words:

"It's a rainy day."

Lu Yong watched the water droplets on her hair condense into beads on her collarbone, and suddenly turned over and pressed her against the French window. The city lights flickered outside the glass, and his fingertips brushed across the itchy flesh on her waist: "Miss Hannah, is it too late to beg for mercy now?"

"Why don't you try it?" She bit his earlobe and smiled, but her fingertips quietly touched the gilded bookmark on the bedside table. When the cool touch of the metal touched his back, Lu Yong suddenly remembered the words of the owner of the cultural and creative store -

"Pair of lotus flowers, you have to buy two together for good luck."

"Lu Yong." Hannah suddenly became serious, and the ends of her hair brushed across his chest, causing him to shudder. "Actually, today I..."

"Ding——" the phone alert sounded again, and this time it was her screen that lit up. Hannah glanced at the message and suddenly laughed on the pillow: "The hotel said that due to the weather, we were upgraded to the presidential suite for free!"

Lu Yong looked at her eyes that were filled with tears from laughing, and suddenly turned over and lay flat. The mirror on the ceiling reflected their intertwined limbs, and he heard his own voice with a smile: "It seems that we have to discuss the topic of begging for mercy again."

Hannah turned over and sat on his waist, her wet hair falling like black silk: "This time it's my turn to attack, Mr. Lu, do you want to..."

"Ding Dong--" The doorbell suddenly rang, and the two froze at the same time. Hannah was in a hurry to get under the quilt, but Lu Yong held her back and said, "Don't move, it's room service."

"Mr. Lu, Miss Hannah." When the waiter pushed the dining cart in, the bubbles of champagne were climbing up the wall of the glass. "This is the midnight snack given by the hotel. I wish you two..." He looked at the wet clothes on the ground and the hot spring with rose petals floating on it, and suddenly coughed, "Good night."

The moment the door closed again, Hannah had already fallen on his chest with laughter: "Now the whole hotel knows what we just did!"

"So what?" Lu Yong pulled her back into the hot spring. The water had already cooled down, but it couldn't extinguish the burning heat in his palms. "Anyway, we still have to go to Kaiping Ancient Town to see the Diaolou tomorrow."

Hannah suddenly hooked her arm around his neck and pointed at the new stubble on his chin with her fingertips: "Lu Yong."

"Ok?"

"Actually, today..." She buried her face in the crook of his neck, her voice muffled, "When I saw the pair of bookmarks in the creative store, I almost rushed to pay for them."

Lu Yong was stunned for two seconds, then suddenly burst into laughter. The water splashed up and down, creating ripples in the silent night. He hugged his trembling shoulders tightly, and heard his own voice mixed with laughter: "Hannah, we seem to..."

"Ok?"

"I use the lines from the proposal in my daily conversations."

The rain was still falling, tapping against the glass window. Hannah put her face against his chest, listening to the steady heartbeat coming from there, and suddenly felt that this might be the most perfect love - there is no need to wait until a certain moment to say "I love you", because every moment of looking at each other and smiling, every joke, has already kneaded the sincerity into the wrinkles of life.

"Lu Yong."

"what happened again?"

"Tomorrow, let's go ride the shared bikes again, okay?" She drew circles on his palm with her fingertips, "You give me a ride, just like we did this morning."

Lu Yong grabbed her rebellious hand and pressed it against his chest. He heard her smiling reply amid the rain: "Okay, but this time..." He lowered his head and kissed the top of her head, "It's your turn to hold up the camera and take a picture of me."

As the night deepened, the neon lights turned into blurry spots of light in the rain.

Hannah snuggled into Lu Yong's arms in the cooling bath, listening to his steady heartbeat and counting sheep.

When she counted to the hundredth, she looked up as if she suddenly remembered something and said, "You still haven't told me what you wanted to say by the South Lake today?"

The only response she got was the sound of even breathing and someone's arms quietly tightening.

Hannah smiled and snuggled into his arms, turning her unspoken question into a wet kiss, imprinting it on his moisture-covered collarbone.

At this moment, the sound of rain, body temperature, and the lotus bookmarks intertwined in my palms are enough to piece together a complete summer. (End of this chapter)