A small coastal city in the south, it was just the end of the working day.
A group of men and women filed out of a small factory after work, among them a middle-aged woman standing out starkly.
The woman wore an ordinary gray work uniform, her posture upright, her gaze steady, her entire demeanor radiating a "keep away" signal, making her distinctly different in the relaxed crowd.
Her appearance was charming, her face plain like any other, the only distinct feature being her bright red lips; the only vibrant color on her was those fiery red lips, the single spot with lipstick on her otherwise plain face.
The red stood out against the gray, seemingly declaring her difference and underscoring her coldness.
Others were chatting and laughing, but she remained alone, with no one within three feet of her, her expressionless face declaring her disdain clearly.
As she reached a corner, she halted because a timid man stood in her way, holding a wildflower awkwardly and wanting to offer it but not daring to. The flower trembled in his grip.
She averted her eyes, not looking at the man before her, indifference etched on her face.
"Chu Wan, I... I've made up my mind, I still want to take care of you." He seemed to muster immense courage, speaking nervously, "You... You may be six years older than me, but I don't mind. Everyone says an older woman is a treasure, and I'm willing to have two treasures."
"Heh." Her red lips barely parted, she responded coldly, "I'm not willing." Saying this, she bypassed him and continued walking.
The man watched her recede into the distance, her upright back making his heart ache as he shouted, "I won't give up. This weekend I am going home briefly. We have a fishing festival, and I am going on a sea voyage. Don't worry, I will come back soon."
Her stiff back suddenly paused. The man widened his eyes and, after hesitating for a few seconds, quickly ran over.
"Chu Wan, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" he asked, concerned.
Chu Wan merely gazed ahead, seemingly lost in contemplation.
Images from the past flashed through Chu Wan's mind.
"Daddy, Daddy, I want more candied hawthorn."
In a bustling market, an eight-year-old girl sat astride a tall man's shoulders, laughing gleefully, her face full of happiness.
The man, clad in a green military uniform, looked adoringly at her, coaxing, "My sweetie, you've already had two skewers today. If you have more, Mommy will scold us when we get home."
"Hee hee hee..." Her laughter rang like silver bells, "Daddy, then get me something else."
The man thought for a moment before saying, "Alright, next time Daddy returns, I'll take you to the seaside to go on a big boat and fish. How about that?"
"Yes!" She responded joyfully, "Pinky swear."
"Okay, pinky swear."
The large and small hands interlocked, glowing brightly under the sun in a moment of beauty.
There was no next time...
Chuchu's eyes grew moist. She looked up at the anxious man before her, her red lips parting softly, "You're going home to fish?"
He was excited, thinking Chuchu was finally showing concern, and quickly nodded, "Yes, don't worry, I will be back soon. I will definitely come back for you."
Chuchu showed slight impatience and asked again, "Are you going home to fish?"
"Huh?" He looked confused for a moment, then instinctively said, "Yes. Every year at the fishing festival, the men in our family go out to sea. It's our tradition, so I have to go back..."
"I want to go too," Chuchu said.
"What?"
"I want to go out to sea and fish."
The man was at a loss, "Well... the sea isn't fun at all, and it's dangerous. There might be sharks..."
"I want to go out to fish!" Chuchu said firmly, interrupting his feeble refusal. Her piercing eyes fixed on him, her stubbornness allowing no rejection, as if she would turn away and leave forever the next moment.
He dared not refuse again, hastily agreeing, "Okay, okay, I'll take you with me." Having her with him shouldn't be a problem, right? This was her first request to him, and he had to agree.
Three days later.
In the vast ocean, a fishing boat drifted among the endless blue waves. At the bow, Chuchu stood straight, gazing into the distance, feeling the sea breeze.
"So this is what it's like to fish at sea." She murmured softly.
The man stood cautiously next to her, prepared for any unforeseen events.
On the mid-deck, several men were sorting the catch of fish and shrimp from the nets, their faces bright with the joy of a good haul.
"What's that?" Chuchu suddenly pointed to the distance.
On the rippling waves in the distance, football-sized black shadows began to appear. The man squinted at them and frowned, they looked like sharks. How come there were sharks?
"It looks like a school of sharks, Chuchu, move away from the bow, it's dangerous, we need to steer clear of this area," he said worriedly, turning to shout to his family on the deck, "There are sharks ahead, turn back quickly."
In the resulting chaos, the sharks got closer to the fishing boat. Chuchu could now see their sharp teeth.
The young man came over to pull Chuchu's arm. She suddenly turned and hugged him. His body froze, unresponsive, disbelief in his nose as he inhaled her fresh scent.
In a rare moment of softness, she said, "Wu Zhong, thank you, you're a good person."
Then she released him and, before anyone could react, jumped overboard.
"Chuchu!" The man's anguished cry tore through the air. He wanted to follow her but was held back by others on the boat.
Chuchu, like a skilled swimmer, glided through the water easily, moving swiftly towards the sharks.
It turned out she had never forgotten how to swim. With a slight smile, she recalled the scene of that man teaching her to swim, her hands and feet propelling her towards the sharks.
From the boat came a second heart-wrenching cry, "Chuchu!"
She glanced back once, her face beaming with a smile of relief and final release, a smile he had never seen. In the next moment, a searing pain shot through her body, and then everything went black, and she lost consciousness.
Chuchu: female, parentless, childless, alone in the world.
As a teenager, named Wan Chuer, timid and rebellious, angered her mother to death;
In her youth, she got married, causing turmoil and breaking up a harmonious home;
As a middle-aged woman, she renamed herself Chuchu, ventured to a distant place, cold as ice, living a solitary life.
At thirty-five, she died in a shark's maw.