DF Chapter 8

Chapter 8 She Actually Likes You Quite a Bit

After that day, Song Ji’an remained quiet for a long time and didn’t take the initiative to talk to Sheng Jia again.

Senior year of high school is a busy time, but Song Ji’an is a very capable person. In Meng Yeran’s words, she is a natural at socializing.

Her considerate manner and humble attitude allowed her to quickly become familiar with the students in the class. Her good grades and generous, approachable attitude made her easily welcomed. Every day when she entered the classroom, many people greeted her.

Actually, it wasn’t that Song Ji’an didn’t want to talk to Sheng Jia, but Sheng Jia had made herself so clear that day, and Song Ji’an was embarrassed to bother her again.

There is a limit to human interaction. If the other person doesn’t want to communicate, then even if Song Ji’an takes ninety-nine steps, it’s useless. But she didn’t give up, she was just looking for a suitable opportunity, and before she found one, she decided not to do more, lest she annoy Sheng Jia.

The days went by like this, day after day. In the short week since school started, their desks were already piled high with practice problems and test papers. After finally making it to the weekend, Sheng Jia took a leave of absence from the cafe where she worked part-time and accompanied Sheng Huaiying to Fajin Temple early in the morning.

Fajin Temple is not far from the city, about a forty-minute ride on a small motorcycle. It is built on the coast, with a beach and blue sea water behind it. After entering the temple, the smell of incense completely covers the salty smell of the sea.

It had been raining on and off since last night. The sky cleared up for a while this morning, but now it’s raining again. Sheng Jia held a black umbrella and stood in the courtyard outside the hall, not going in.

Sheng Huaiying is very selective in her belief in gods and ghosts. She doesn’t recognize many Bodhisattvas, so she generally adopts the method of praying to whoever she sees. Whether it’s for peace, health, money, or those she doesn’t recognize, she prays to them all.

“May the Bodhisattva bless me to win every hand of mahjong and win back the money I lost to Xiyanghong…”

In the empty hall, Sheng Huaiying knelt in the middle and muttered softly. After a while, there was a “ding” sound, which was the sound of her scanning the WeChat QR code on the donation box to pay.

Sheng Jia stood at the door listening, only squinting her eyes to catch a few drops of rain falling from the eaves. After waiting for a while, Sheng Huaiying came out in a hurry, glanced at her, and then passed her, saying, “I think it’s more effective if you ask for yourself for things like the college entrance examination.”

Sheng Jia refused, “There’s no need for me to go.”

Sheng Huaiying sighed, “Okay, where are you going this afternoon? Are you going back with me?”

Sheng Jia thought for a while and replied, “You go back yourself, I’ll take another look here.”

Sometimes Sheng Huaiying feels that Sheng Jia is more mature than herself. She doesn’t look like a seventeen-year-old child at all. Sheng Huaiying doesn’t dare to look directly at her dark eyes. She also rarely interferes with Sheng Jia’s choices, and nodded when she heard the words, “Then I’ll go first, Xiyanghong also asked me to play mahjong.”

Sheng Huaiying held up a Frozen-themed Umbrella, which was the umbrella of Xiyanghong’s granddaughter. Sheng Huaiying has been playing mahjong downstairs so much that she almost considers Xiyanghong’s mahjong parlor her own home, and she takes things inside very smoothly.

Sheng Jia watched her back disappear before the threshold of the temple. The roar of a gasoline motorcycle sounded outside the door, and after a while, the roar became more and more distant.

She didn’t want to stand anymore, so she simply sat on the threshold, staring blankly at the rain.

Actually, she wasn’t thinking about anything. She rarely has such a time to empty her brain and not think about anything. Fajin Temple is very quiet, and today there are no pilgrims because of the rain. The whole courtyard is only her.

Not knowing how long she had been sitting, Sheng Jia was brought back to her senses by a monkey’s cry.

Monkeys? How could there be monkeys in the temple?

But in front of her, there really was a stout macaque squatting. It was well-fed and plump, with shiny fur and clear eyes. It was sitting opposite her scratching its head. In the rain, an old Master Feng was walking over leisurely with her hands behind her back, calling out to the monkey, “Danggui.”

Danggui immediately responded, and then tilted her head to look at Sheng Jia.

Sheng Jia glanced at it silently, and then took out the pear that Sheng Huaiying had left her in the morning from her backpack with a flash of inspiration. When Danggui saw this, she immediately took it from her hand and started munching on it.

“She actually likes you quite a bit,” Master Feng approached, stood beside her and watched, smiling and said: “Danggui is usually wild and untamed, and it is rare to see her close to anyone. Basically, she bares her teeth after saying a few words.”

Master Feng is an old master, looking like she is sixty or seventy years old, with wrinkles piled up on her face, but her spirit is very good.

Sheng Jia felt that she looked familiar, and only after thinking about it for a long time did she remember seeing her photo on the staff introduction wall at the door. She was deeply impressed at the time, because this was the first time she had seen the abbot of a temple being a woman.

“Is it your pet?” Sheng Jia sat on the threshold and looked up at Master Feng, revealing a bit of curiosity, “It looks like it’s not young either.”

The fur around Danggui’s eyes was a little white.

Master Feng said softly: “It’s not a pet, have you seen those mountains behind? Those are all Danggui’s territory. She is the only little monkey on the whole mountain. She plays in the mountains every day, and comes to me when she is tired.”

“But you’re right, Danggui is sixteen years old this year, she’s an old monkey.”

Sheng Jia was a little surprised. Danggui was obviously well-raised, and she didn’t look sixteen years old at all, but only eight or nine years old. Except for the edges of her eyes, she didn’t look old at all.

She had seen old monkeys in the zoo, and none of them had Danggui’s spirit.

Danggui glanced at Sheng Jia. Probably it was a little uncomfortable sitting in the rain. She held the half-eaten pear and squatted beside her. The two of them sitting side by side on the threshold looked a bit harmonious.

Master Feng walked and asked, “Would you like to try our vegetarian meal here?”

The vegetarian meal at Fajin Temple is actually quite famous. Probably because they grow their own rice, the cooked rice is especially fragrant. Sheng Jia had eaten it several times when she accompanied Sheng Huaiying here before, but today her purpose for staying here is not to eat, let alone sincerely worship the Bodhisattva.

“No need, I’ll sit here for a while and then leave,” Sheng Jia said softly.

Master Feng didn’t force her, but smiled and said, “Then I’ll go in and prepare the vegetarian meal first. It’s not easy to get a taxi outside at noon, remember to go home early.”

Sheng Jia thanked her for her kindness.

Master Feng walked inside, and Danggui got up and jumped in after her. Sheng Jia looked at her watch, which showed half past twelve. Only then did she hold up her black plastic umbrella and walked out.

There is a highway outside Fajin Temple. As Master Feng said, this place is sparsely populated, and it is basically impossible to get a taxi. But Sheng Jia was not in a hurry. She walked slowly on the side of the road. The rain above her head stopped at noon when the temperature was at its highest. From time to time, a few cars passed by, until at a curve, a car that didn’t slow down passed by, and the wheels ran into a puddle, splashing Sheng Jia all over.

The culprit didn’t even bother to look at Sheng Jia behind her, and drove forward in a blink of an eye, leaving Sheng Jia standing alone in place.

Today she was wearing short sleeves and shorts. Her fair legs were covered in mud, and her white T-shirt was even more unsightly. The splash of water hit the top of her head, and even her hair was dripping water.

She is clean and hates being so embarrassed. This will evoke some bad memories for her, making her unable to help but frown. She glanced at the car that drove away, and then memorized the license plate number.

It would take at least ten minutes to walk to the nearest bus stop from here.

But she didn’t worry for long, the person she was waiting for came.

“Sheng Jia?”

A cry of surprise came from behind her.

It was Song Ji’an’s voice.

Sheng Jia turned around and saw Song Ji’an sitting in the car, leaning on the car window.

The girl was worried, without the usual concerns at school, and hurriedly asked Auntie Liu to stop the car, and then she came down.

“Did a car splash you with water?”

Even if Sheng Jia’s appearance was cold, she revealed a bit of pity. The hair sticking to her cheeks was still dripping water, and the dampness after the rain seemed to have wet her eyes, making those eyes that were never very approachable surrounded by mist.

Song Ji’an thought she was crying, and quickly said angrily: “Who is so rude, are you okay?”

Sheng Jia took two steps back as if a little embarrassed, “I’m fine.”

“It’s hard to get a taxi here, can I give you a ride back?” Song Ji’an suggested.

Sheng Jia lowered her eyes, her eyelashes wet, “No need, I’m too dirty.”

Song Ji’an had never seen her so fragile, and firmly grabbed her wrist, “It doesn’t matter, come on, I’ll take you home.”

She thought she would have to say something more, but this time Sheng Jia only struggled a little in resistance, and then she was easily moved by her, and obediently followed her into the back seat.

Sheng Jia looked left and right, unable to find a trash bag, took out a practice book from her backpack, and placed it under her to avoid dirtying the leather seats.

There were two other classmates in the car, one named Zhang Mingyue and the other named Zhou Yin.

As soon as Sheng Jia got into the car, they greeted her.

Whether it was Zhang Mingyue or Zhou Yin, they were both extremely enthusiastic and lively girls like Song Ji’an. The three of them often played together soon after they met, and they also made appointments to go out and play on weekends, to familiarize Song Ji’an, who had just come here, with the city.

Song Ji’an took the towel in the car and handed it to Sheng Jia, and explained Sheng Jia’s experience just now to Zhang Mingyue and Zhou Yin.

Several girls immediately condemned this kind of rude behavior in a clamorous manner, and Zhang Mingyue and Zhou Yin would comfort Sheng Jia from time to time.

Sheng Jia is a person who speaks very little. As the girls spoke, they changed the subject again, talking about the several attractions they had visited today and sharing photos together.

Sheng Jia leaned against the window, her eyes flickering slightly.

It was about what she guessed.

In fact, the three of them were in front of Sheng Jia when they discussed where to go on the weekend. Sheng Jia had heard their plan completely as early as Wednesday. It was a route from the city center to the edge of the city, and the end was on the beach of Fajin Temple, which was expected to end from eight in the morning to twelve thirty in the afternoon, and in the evening they also made an appointment to go to the cinema in the city center to watch the latest blockbuster.

It was raining on the weekend, and Sheng Jia wasn’t sure if they would still come, but if they went out when it wasn’t raining, it was inevitable that it would be raining when they arrived outside Fajin Temple. In this case, there was a high probability that Song Ji’an would call the driver Auntie Liu to pick them up for convenience of going home.

This is why Sheng Jia waited in the temple until twelve thirty. She was betting on whether Song Ji’an would come, but luckily, she bet correctly, otherwise she might really have to go home with this dirty mud on her body.