MNL Chapter 24
by VolareThey passed through the back door of the temple and arrived at a courtyard. Compared to the scenery of Qiyuan Mountain, this place had a different kind of quiet and leisure. Looking around, both sides of the path were lined with locked rooms, roughly ten or so.
The monk walked lightly and stopped at the end without saying a word. This room was also locked, but it was different from the ones they had seen along the way. The door had hollow carved windows with two “quiet” characters written in brushstrokes pasted on them. Facing the sun, the angle allowed all the flowers in the courtyard to be seen at a glance, obviously carefully chosen by the resident.
The monk turned his head expressionlessly, “Please come in.”
Shen Yan and Xu Jing hesitated for half a second and slowly walked in.
Inside the room, only the bed in the corner was large, taking up a lot of space. On the wooden table, besides the necessary daily necessities, there was almost nothing else. A faint lavender scent permeated the air, and the overall style was fresh and elegant.
The monk’s pupils were dark, looking like two black gems in the dim light. He nodded slightly and said, “What do you want to ask?”
Shen Yan looked at him, “What is this place?”
The monk walked to the head of the bed, opened the box placed there, and came back with many things in his hand, spreading them out on the table one by one in front of the two.
“A hotel, do you want to stay?”
On top were an ID card, property ownership certificate, construction land planning permit, and countless contracts, with a transfer agreement hidden at the bottom, only revealing the title.
The name on them was the same: Liu Xibai.
The two’s gazes wandered between the ID card and the face in front of them for a while. Except for the slightly more mature appearance, they could confirm that it was the same person.
However, strangely, this monk was already twenty-five years old.
Liu Xibai had a neutral appearance, with sharp eyebrows like a man but delicate lips and chin, coupled with bright skin, making him look at most like them in age.
“Staying?” Liu Xibai asked again.
Shen Yan glanced out the window, the rain was still heavy, constantly hitting the green leaves of the courtyard along the corners of the roof.
Liu Xibai had already put away the things on the table, his movements silent. The monk’s robe he wore was loose, and half of his slender, white wrist was exposed from the flat cuffs, as well as the smooth, full nine-bead agate bracelet.
Liu Xibai waited for a while, and seeing that Shen Yan and Xu Jing hadn’t made up their minds, he said, “The room opposite was just cleaned this morning and hasn’t been locked yet. If you want to stay, feel free.”
“Also, don’t touch anything here, and don’t mess around.” When he said this, Liu Xibai’s expression was different from before, and his eyes became somewhat gloomy.
Giving people a sense of threat.
In this short moment, Liu Xibai had already walked out the door.
Seeing the frustrated expression on Xu Jing’s face, Shen Yan straightened his lips and said slowly, “Sorry, I didn’t expect it to rain today.”
Xu Jing struggled internally for a long time, and finally muttered, “I’m not blaming you.”
The rain was blown into the corridor by the wind. Xu Jing was about to close the door when he saw a pair of hands timely holding it from the outside. At the same time, a slightly immature voice came, “Two elder brothers, wait a moment.”
Xu Jing paused and didn’t see anyone when he looked directly, only to lower his head and realize that it was a boy who spoke.
“Elder brother, can you listen to me for a few words?”
Seeing the boy’s dress, he was probably one of the people here. Xu Jing happened to have some questions, so he let go and nodded.
The boy was not shy at all. After entering the door, he circled his watery eyes on the sitting Shen Yan and the standing Xu Jing, and suddenly said, “Two elder brothers, you must not hold my Shixiong accountable.”
Although they hadn’t figured out the cause and effect, they could guess that the Shixiong the boy was talking about should be Liu Xibai.
“Why do you say that?” Xu Jing asked.
“My Shixiong is in a bad mood every year on this day. I used to be the one to entertain guests, but I accidentally overslept today.” The boy lowered his head. “Don’t report my Shixiong when you go out. He didn’t do it on purpose.”
The boy looked about eleven or twelve years old, but he spoke clearly and fluently.
So the owner of this place wasn’t originally Liu Xibai.
Liu Xibai was an orphan since he was a child. At the age of seven, he met Liu Chenye, who was five years older than him, in the orphanage. Life in the orphanage was very difficult. They comforted each other and survived the most difficult days. Years passed in a flash, and life finally got on track, but a sudden car accident directly took Liu Chenye’s life.
Liu Chenye was very smart and had a business mind. He knew long ago that Qiyuan Mountain was a treasure land with good Feng Shui. Later, the theory of gods and Buddhas became popular in Linhe City for a long time, and this place gradually developed with the tourism industry. The municipal government specially gave a large subsidy. Liu Chenye seized the opportunity to expand the scale. The rooms they saw along the way were actually used to accommodate tourists.
But Liu Xibai had a bad temper since he was a child. Even growing up in a place like an orphanage, he was very naughty. But at that time, no matter what trouble he caused, there was always someone named Liu Chenye behind him to clean up the mess.
Liu Xibai thought that it would continue like this in the future, but he never thought that after that night, no one would support him in this world again.
After playing around for more than twenty years, Liu Xibai was like a newborn who had just come into this world, not knowing how to deal with people, let alone how to manage Liu Chenye’s industries. Because of Liu Chenye’s death, his personality changed drastically, and the whole person was very decadent.
The partners of those industries saw Liu Xibai’s bad attitude and pointed at his nose, scolding him for being inferior to Liu Chenye. As soon as he heard this name, Liu Xibai went crazy and rushed up to beat people half to death. During those six months, he basically stayed in the police station.
Later, Liu Xibai probably figured it out and simply asked the monks at the top of Qiyuan Mountain to shave his head, become a monk, and be free from worries.
After telling the whole story, the boy cautiously stepped forward and tugged on Xu Jing’s clothes, with a pleading tone in his voice, “My Shixiong is really pitiful, so don’t report him, okay? Elder brother.”
Liu Xibai hadn’t done anything anyway, and they didn’t need to do such a boring thing for this.
Xu Jing nodded and replied, “No, don’t worry.”
The boy showed a bright smile and asked, “Are you two elder brothers here to make a wish too? Usually people who come here hang blessing bags on the tree on the top of the mountain, but it’s raining so heavily now. Do you want to stay here for a night and go tomorrow?”
Seeing that the two didn’t say anything, the boy added, “We clean every room regularly, sterilize, and the bedsheets and quilts are all disposable, absolutely clean, elder brother, don’t worry.”
“We’ll think about it.”
Shen Yan’s voice came from behind. The boy looked over, smiled, and replied, “Okay.” Then he asked, “If you two elder brothers want to stay here tonight, do you want one room or two rooms?”
Before Shen Yan could say anything, Xu Jing decisively said, “Of course it’s two rooms!”
The boy was startled by Xu Jing’s reaction and shrank back in a panic. Xu Jing also felt that he had been a little too excited just now and was thinking about how to change the subject when he heard a calm and composed voice from behind, “Why would you ask that?”
The boy’s face was full of doubts, as if he was the one who should be surprised.
“Two rooms are more expensive than one room. Guests who come here usually choose to stay in one room if there are only two people, and—” The boy looked blank, scratched his head, and continued to explain, “And when Shixiong’s brother was still alive, they slept in one room.”
Hearing this, the two of them stiffened instantly.
Shixiong was indeed Liu Xibai, and Liu Chenye died in a car accident. The brother mentioned here should be him, and that was right too.
They slept in the same room?
Xu Jing thought about what he hadn’t finished thinking about when he was holding the umbrella just now, and instantly felt his blood congeal.
The boy noticed Xu Jing’s strangeness and blinked, asking, “What’s wrong, elder brother?”
Xu Jing’s eyes darted around, “Nothing.”
“Then I’ll go find the key to the other room for you.”
After the boy finished speaking, he walked out, completely unaware that the atmosphere in the room had become very delicate because of his words.
After a long while.
Shen Yan took the initiative to break the silence, “Why was your reaction so big just now?”
Xu Jing found a reasonable reason for himself, “I’m not used to sharing a bed with others.”
After hearing this, Shen Yan nodded and said, “Come sit for a while.”
Xu Jing walked over. Shen Yan’s coat was on the stool, waiting to dry. At this time, he was only wearing a short sleeve, and his firm and strong arm muscles were exposed to the air. Raindrops dripped down his dark hair, making his eyebrows and eyes even darker. After looking at it twice, Xu Jing couldn’t help but open his mouth, “Ask you a question.”
“Say it.”
“If you find that person, what’s the first thing you’ll do?”
Shen Yan commented unceremoniously, “What a boring question.”
Xu Jing: “…”
Shen Yan had never thought about this kind of thing. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Say thank you to him?”
Xu Jing waited for a while and asked, “That’s it?”
“I’ll try my best to satisfy the requests he makes.”
As soon as he heard this, Xu Jing couldn’t help but frown. He thought, isn’t it just a racing car model, is it worth it to go this far? Then he could also give it, and any style could be chosen at will. Would Shen Yan also satisfy any request he made?
Xu Jing’s voice became somewhat heavy, “If it’s something excessive, would you agree too?”
“Like what?”
“You.”
Shen Yan raised his eyebrows slightly, as if he didn’t quite understand, “Me?”
“Yes, if he wants you to be with him, would you agree too?” Xu Jing stared into Shen Yan’s eyes, as if he was seeking a very important answer.
Shen Yan didn’t even think about it and said decisively, “No.”
“Why?”
“I don’t like him, why would I be with him?” As if feeling that this question was too stupid, Shen Yan even couldn’t help but laugh and added, “I’m not selling myself.”
“…”
Xu Jing felt like he was really an idiot right now.