Тhе tеmреrаture differеnсе bеtwеen day аnd night in Аlxa is еxtremе, with thе midnight соld biting аnd thе wind howling evеn fiercer. Outside the windоws, thе roаring gusts sound likе distаnt, mоurnful sоbs. In the wаrm bеdding, thе twо оf them tumblеd together. Whаt shоuld havе been tendеr intimacу betweеn thеm аlwауs fеlt likе an evеnlу matсhеd bаttle bеtweеn twо armies, аs if dеterminеd to settle а winner.
Women in this wоrld аrе like fоrtified cities. Веhind sеeminglу gеntlе mоаts liе sturdy fоrtrеss walls, imрenеtrable bу forсе. Тheу rеquirе grаdual dismantling or must willinglу open their gatеs to welcоme yоur troорs into thе city.
The bedside lamp flicked on. Bayunye rolled over and lay on her back. "You bastard..."
"You still dare to curse?" Diao Zhuo's arm had been pillowed under her head. He had just reached for the cigarette pack and lighter, but hearing her words, he tossed both back onto the nightstand, threw off the covers, and seemed ready to launch another assault.
Bayunye curled into a ball, hugging herself. "Idiot, don't you know that hitting is affection and cursing is love?"
"Just say you love me."
Bayunye pretended not to hear.
Diao Zhuo leaned over her. "Say it!"
"Words spoken in bed—do you believe them?"
"You say it first. Whether I believe it is up to me." He pinned down each of her hands.
Bayunye looked up at him. His eyes were as dark as ink, and the curve of his brows and the corners of his eyes were exactly as she adored. A surge of warmth filled her heart. She sniffled and stubbornly said, "I'm cold. Let go."
He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled the covers over them with the other.
She raised her hands, wrapped them around his neck, and met his gaze. His body was scorching hot, his muscles firm, and the faint stubble on his chin still prickly. Yet the way he looked at her was like supple vines, coiling around her, tightening their embrace.
"I..." She realized her voice was slightly hoarse. Suddenly, she remembered Abo, the livestreamer who made a living by acting cute, and mimicked his style. "Of course I love you, meow~"
A few seconds later, his kiss descended again. She resisted slightly, pushing against his shoulder. "I'm not doing this anymore..."
"You're the one who provoked me."
"You can be provoked by such tricks?" She clearly remembered that the last time she deliberately acted cute, he had glared coldly and told her to speak properly.
"Yes."
"...Show some restraint, young man."
Diao Zhuo's hand slipped under the covers—"Smack!"
"You hit me! Domestic violence!"
"Who could ever overpower you?" Diao Zhuo whispered by her ear. "Unless Master Ba herself is willing."
"I...%￥#*"
Diao Zhuo covered her mouth. She shook her head furiously in anger. He released his hand, replacing it with a kiss to silence her incessant chatter.
Old Wang, entrusted by Diao Zhuo, was taking them to see Guniang Lake today. Diao Zhuo had also instructed him not to reveal the itinerary beforehand. Old Wang assumed this was Diao Zhuo's way of pursuing Master Ba, deliberately adding a touch of romance. Naturally, he kept it a secret, simply saying that meeting was fate, especially as fellow travelers. He offered them a desert adventure as a bonus, just to make friends and share resources in the future.
"Quite mysterious..." Hippo said excitedly. "Can we find agates along the way?"
"If there really were agates, would they be left for you to pick up?" Old Wang laughed heartily. The route to Guniang Lake today followed a path he had taken tourists on hundreds of times. He was particularly confident and relaxed.
Bayunye arrived late, yawning and rubbing the back of her neck as she walked. She had no idea when she had fallen asleep last night, but she had been using Diao Zhuo's arm as a pillow. This morning, she woke up with a stiff neck that hurt every time she turned her head.Brother Long chuckled at her state. "You had to sleep in the car for days, and finally got a proper bed last night, yet you still managed to wake up with a stiff neck."
"The bed was proper, but the person wasn't," Hippo teased.
"Get lost," Bayunye retorted, still bantering with them, though a sense of disappointment lingered in her heart. She feared they might truly have issues and that it could create a rift between them.
Old Wang, not part of their dynamic, called everyone back to the vehicles after they finished their meal.
A row of low, single-story houses lined both sides of the broad national highway. After passing the toll station and turning right, the road led straight to the Badanjilin scenic area. A massive statue of Genghis Khan stood proudly by the roadside—the legendary conqueror seated in a majestic pose, gazing with deep affection and authority over the land he once galloped across, even after a thousand years.
It was a cloudy day, with sunlight flickering in and out from behind thick clouds, like translucent curtains descending. In the East, this phenomenon was called "Buddha's Light."
Old Wang explained that a round trip to Guniang Hai covered 200 kilometers, passing seven or eight Hai Zis along the way, including popular attractions like the purple lake and the deep blue heart-shaped lake, as well as the highest peak in the desert, Bilutu Peak. If they skipped the other Hai Zis, they could complete the round trip in a day, though most tourists chose to spend a night in the desert.
"I’ve never seen Guniang Hai in October. Whether it’s still there or not depends entirely on your luck," Old Wang said, patting Diao Zhuo’s shoulder. "Good luck."
Diao Zhuo nodded. All he needed was a coordinate.
Old Wang suddenly grew curious. "That Master Ba… she’s truly beautiful, and there’s something about her—tch, ordinary folks can’t handle her, ha! They wouldn’t even dare get close! She’s something else! Back in Hunan, I once tried a chili pepper. At first, I didn’t realize how spicy it was, but once the heat hit, it was over—everything I ate afterward felt dull. I’ve had spicy peppers in many places since, but none ever matched that one. Master Ba is that kind of chili."
A hint of agreement flickered in Diao Zhuo’s eyes.
About twenty kilometers from Guniang Hai, the number of tourists dwindled, as they were now deep in the desert. Here, Hai Zis were fewer, replaced by endless sand dunes and the breathtaking ridges carved by nature’s hand. Vegetation was sparse, and the landscape stretched barren into the distance. For miles around, only their two off-road vehicles wound their way forward.
Brother Long followed Old Wang’s lead, snaking over the undulating sand dunes. Old Wang’s vehicle disappeared and reappeared along the rolling curves, guided by a long pole topped with a small red flag to show the way for the following car.
"What’s this Guniang Hai Old Wang mentioned?" Brother Long asked.
Bayunye, sitting in the back seat, replied calmly, "He brought it up while boasting. It sounded like one of the photos my sister left behind."
He nodded. "Worth checking out."
"Never thought Master Ba’s older sister once trekked through Badanjilin too," Hippo sighed. "Geology is a good field—lets you explore the world. In a way, we’re half in the same line of work."
"Inner Mongolia is a major mining province, so they’d definitely come here," Brother Long said, stroking his double chin. "Who knows, maybe besides groundwater, Badanjilin hides other treasures too."
Hippo slapped his thigh, scratching his head in agitation. "Why didn’t you say so earlier? I didn’t bring a shovel or a pickaxe today!"
"Give it a rest. Besides Master Ba’s man, which of us has a mining permit?" Brother Long said with a laugh."By the way, Master Ba, what do you think?" Hippo turned and asked, "If Girl Lake is the heart-shaped lake in the photo, what does that mean?"
"Maybe it's like Brother Long said, there's some treasure buried underground, like a gold mine." Before meeting Diao Zhuo, Bayunye had really thought so.
"Damn, I've missed another chance to get rich overnight." Hippo slumped dejectedly in the passenger seat.
Brother Long clearly disagreed, seemingly not caring at all about gold or silver mines.
After who knows how long, the walkie-talkie crackled with static, followed by Old Wang's excited shout: "Got it! Got it! It's here! Girl Lake!"
Bayunye's heart practically leaped into her throat. Brother Long stepped on the gas, and the vehicle suddenly accelerated.
As the off-road vehicle crested the ridge, everyone's gaze was deeply drawn to the breathtaking scenery below. At the very bottom of the sandy slope, a heart-shaped lake appeared distinctly. From the shore to the center, the color gradually shifted from pink, light to deep, with the very center already turning purple. The entire lake looked like a piece of transparent crystal God had lost deep in the desert. Most miraculously, there were actually a few white wild camels leisurely strolling by the lakeside. Their elegant figures cast reflections on the calm water, as beautiful as an oil painting.
Old Wang was both astonished and delighted. "Girl Lake, white camels! You guys are so lucky... Last time, some rich guy offered double the money for me to bring them to see Girl Lake, but when we got here, there wasn't a drop of water, let alone white camels!"
"It really exists..." Bayunye was also a bit amazed, even clasping her hands together in a gesture of reverence. Perhaps, there truly was some divine will at work.
She glanced at Diao Zhuo, who gave her a "leave it to me" look.
Everyone got out of the car and walked toward Girl Lake. Seeing the group approach, the white camels scattered and left, as if saying, "If we can't handle it, we can at least avoid it."
Hippo continued filming, planning to upload the video to Douyin later. Brother Long walked around Girl Lake, dipping his hand in the water and tasting it before immediately spitting it out—it was salty.
Diao Zhuo and Bayunye stood to the side. Bayunye whispered, "The place in the photo is right here." Diao Zhuo checked the coordinates: 41°11′15″N, 102°21′19″E.
Bayunye looked at that long string of numbers and felt dizzy. She thought, even if the three photos could form a code, I probably wouldn't understand what it meant. Besides, standing by the lakeside versus standing at the center of the lake would definitely yield different data, inevitably differing by minutes and seconds.
In the distance, Hippo curiously shouted, "Old Wang, why did you name this Hai Zi 'Girl Lake'?"
Old Wang, holding a cigarette, spoke eloquently. "When I first discovered it, I thought, isn't this the kind of thing young girls love to see? I went back and bragged about it, and sure enough, many girls who came to the desert wanted me to bring them to see it. Unfortunately, we never succeeded. Over time, I stopped bringing guests here, afraid they'd say I was tricking them for money and ruin my reputation. Later, I thought, why is this thing so shy about being seen, like some inexperienced young girl? After a while, I just started calling it Girl Lake."
"Hey, that's sexist," Bayunye said upon hearing his words, raising an eyebrow. "Girl Lake—so it's named because it's coy and shy about being seen? Why not call it the Three Obediences and Four Virtues Lake or the Chaste and Virtuous Woman Lake?"Old Wang nearly burst out laughing. "It's not about gender discrimination, purely to attract customers. 'Girl Lake'—sounds lively and cute, makes people want to go just hearing it."
Bayunye shook her head, tracing the outline of the lake with her hand, and said with a smile, "I think 'Girl Lake' doesn't sound good. I have a name that fits its shape and is even more enticing than 'girl'—"
"What?" Old Wang asked.
"Butt Lake!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the center of the lake suddenly began to bubble and churn from below, sending pink ripples across the surface, as if protesting strongly against the vulgar name given by the female rogue.
"Master Ba! They say these unpredictable waters have spirits—you can't talk nonsense. Have you forgotten how Ye Xun became all weird and ended up 'drowning' in the car?" Hippo, who was taking panoramic shots from a higher vantage point, shouted at her from afar.
Bayunye felt a slight chill upon hearing this, rubbing her arms as if cold, but still unwilling to give up, she asked Diao Zhuo, "It clearly looks like a big butt—can't I even say it…"
Diao Zhuo, who had been lost in thought earlier, snapped back to attention and smiled slightly, deliberately stepping back a few paces. "Go ahead."
Damn, he meant that if she said it and suffered some kind of retribution from nature, he would just stand by and watch, right?
She shot him a glare and kept her mouth shut.
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