NH chapter 040

Chapter 40: Dajue Temple

On Saturday morning, Dajue Temple.

A group of people bought tickets and entered one after another, led by the noisy ones. Xia Zhiyao’s mother is a believer in Buddhism and often brings her to the temple to pray for blessings and experience the incense, so she is quite familiar with the place.

She acts like a little tour guide, eagerly introducing everything, talking with confidence and reason.

Xiong Ying said, “Why not go shave your head and become a nun? With such a good heart, if you don’t focus on your studies, you’ll achieve Buddhahood in anything you do.”

As expected, he was soon chased around by Xia Zhiyao.

Incense sticks were priced at ten and twenty yuan, and since everyone came, they naturally bought a few sticks of the most expensive.

On Saturdays, the place was crowded with tourists. Some carefully observed the Buddha and bowed, while others knelt on the mats with their palms together in true devotion, or lit incense and, bowing three times in homage, placed the sticks into the brimming incense burner marked with red stars. Some prayed for blessings, some made wishes, and others snapped photos for keepsakes.

Many students entered the hall looking for Wenchang Star, kneeling on the mats for a long time, as if the longer they knelt, the more scores they could earn. Bai Feiyu, known for his shortcuts and lazy dreams, exclaimed, “Wenchang Dala, please bless me to perform exceptionally well in the college entrance exam and exceed the first-tier scores!”

“Fool, if you say it out loud, it won’t work,” Wen Shiyi lightly kicked Bai Feiyu’s backside from behind.

On another side, Xiong Ying chimed in, “Wenchang Dala, please bless me to perform exceptionally well in the college entrance exams and get into Tsinghua or Peking University! I’ve bowed to you!”

Wen Shiyi: “…”

Huo Ye carefully placed three incense sticks into the burner and casually asked Shen Tingyu, “Young Master, have you thought about where you want to apply?”

“Don’t call me that, I don’t like it,” Shen Tingyu said after a long silence.

Huo Ye was taken aback. The title “Young Master” was just a joke; he had gotten used to it over time and momentarily forgot to change it.

“Oh, then I won’t call you that anymore…”

Shen Tingyu continued, “I’ll apply to Beijing. You should apply to Beijing too.”

“Of course I want to, but it’s not that I can definitely achieve it just because I want to,” Huo Ye paused, “What if I don’t make the marks?”

“There’s no ‘what if’,” Shen Tingyu insisted. “When did you become so pessimistic? As long as you want to, start following the plan tomorrow, and I’ll take you to apply in Beijing.”

Huo Ye blinked, confused, “What plan?”

Shen Tingyu said, “A study plan tailored for you. I’ve already prepared a timetable; until the day of the college entrance exams, every minute afterward belongs to me. Don’t ask too much, just follow it.”

“…Huh?”

Regarding whether Huo Ye could apply to the same city as him, Shen Tingyu’s attitude was serious to the point of being somewhat anxious. He seemed even more nervous and worried than Huo Ye, afraid that they might part ways.

Huo Ye felt the pressure mounting. He had seen this kind of gaze from Song Jianlan too. Logically, someone who is highly valued should forge ahead bravely, but for Huo Ye, such lofty expectations felt like a stifling shackle, making it hard for him to breathe.

He didn’t want to disappoint his mother, yet he still had; he was forced to repeat grades again and again. Having learned from past experiences, he didn’t want to disappoint Shen Tingyu either, making the future feel even more precarious.

…He didn’t want it this way.

Huo Ye stammered, weighed down by his thoughts.

“Come here, this is Guanyin Bodhisattva, pray for a good relationship! Guanyin Bodhisattva bless me to get into my desired fine arts university, then meet someone I like in college, and fall in love in a grand romance.”

Xia Zhiyao smirked, her hands clasped together as she began to describe her ideal type, “I hope my next boyfriend is 1.8 meters tall, has a muscular build, long legs, abs, is handsome, wealthy, a fire sign, can lower his head during arguments, knows how to coax people, has a good temper, and is completely obedient to me…”

“Talent, have you rehearsed this?” Zhao Yue commented with a pained expression.

Wu Zhen grabbed his head and gestured towards Xiong Ying, who was also reciting, “I hope my next girlfriend is 1.68 meters tall, has a slim waist and long legs, is gentle and pretty…”

Zhao Yue: “…”

“Open your eyes wide; that’s the Guanyin who blesses childbirth!”

This temple wasn’t large; it could be toured in just over an hour. Finally, they followed their usual custom of buying red cloth strips and blessings, standing under the ginkgo tree and each writing down wishes.

That ginkgo tree was at least a hundred years old; ten people couldn’t wrap their arms around it. Every branch was tied with red cloth strips, and countless delicate blessings tied with wishes jingled together in the gentle breeze, creating a pleasant sound that calmed people’s hearts.

The blessings were very small, allowing for few words, so everyone wrote carefully, earnestly etching out their desires.

After finishing, Huo Ye noticed Shen Tingyu getting quite close. When he turned, they both startled at nearly bumping noses.

However, the slight brush felt like being ignited by a spark.

You had no intention, yet I felt like a raging fire.

He initially thought Shen Tingyu had some sense of boundary and would step back at the right moment, but instead, he not only didn’t, but also leaned in closer, reaching out to take Huo Ye’s blessing, asserting, “Let me see.”

“You can’t look.” Huo Ye protected it tightly, shaking his head, “Wishes seen by others won’t work.”

Shen Tingyu was not happy: “What did you wish for?”

“I won’t tell you.”

Shen Tingyu was annoyed, called him stingy, and then turned to hang up his blessing first. Being tall, he casually hung it up in a high position, but adjusted it several times, still not satisfied, and climbed onto a stool to hang it even higher.

“Does it really matter where you hang it? Does this need to be compared?” Huo Ye looked up at him, his eyes slightly squinting from the sunlight.

After hanging it up, Shen Tingyu lowered his hand and looked down.

It was still from a lofty angle, but the arrogance and sharpness from their first meeting had vanished, replaced by a softness as if a deity was gazing upon their follower.

“…Huo Ye, don’t you want to know what my wish is?” Shen Tingyu spoke in a low voice, calling his name.

To Huo Ye, the thin lips parted like enchantments, and after a few seconds, the words finally turned into text in his mind.

Shen Tingyu found his reaction too slow to bear and blurted out: “You don’t want to tell me? Then I’ll tell you.”

Huo Ye’s heart skipped a beat.

Feeling a bad omen, he hurriedly said, “Don’t…”

“I made three wishes, all concerning you.” Shen Tingyu was straightforward and unreserved, saying, “The first is I want us to apply to the same city. We don’t need to be close, but not too far either.”

“I don’t like making phone calls; I want to see you often, and I don’t want to post those private circles that only you can see. I want you by my side.”

Huo Ye was stunned, blinking lightly.

It felt as if a breeze brushed through the mountains; others were still chattering away in the distance, and even time appeared to have forgotten about them.

“The second is I want to ski in the French Alps after the exams, ride horses in Iceland and Moscow, see the aurora in Finland, and go to all the most beautiful places in the world that you’ve never been to. As long as you want, we can set off that day.”

As Shen Tingyu spoke, he walked down, no longer looking down from above. His steps were light, carefully closing the distance without startling Huo Ye.

A force pushed Huo Ye forward. He understood he should retreat, but ultimately just stood there, unable to dodge.

“The third is…”

Shen Tingyu had already brushed against his shoulder, leaning in with an ordinary pose as if whispering, his lips brushing against Huo Ye’s ear, the touched skin feeling like it was on fire.

——He seemed to be replicating what Huo Ye had done to him. What had once felt like mere friendship now felt like Shen Tingyu entwining Huo Ye like a fox spirit.

Was I this suggestive back then?

Huo Ye recalled every moment of past flashes of memory, sweating.

“Hey, what are you two doing?” Before Shen Tingyu could share his third wish, Xiong Ying intruded unceremoniously.

Huo Ye immediately turned away instinctively, while Shen Tingyu stood upright again, regaining his noble and aloof demeanor, letting out a light “tch.”

Xiong Ying, oblivious, shrank his neck and sneaked a glance at Huo Ye, then turned to him, “Boss, are you done hanging it? If you are, let’s go. We’re waiting for you at the door.”

Huo Ye didn’t look at him, raising his head to stare at the ginkgo tree, mumbling a quiet okay in his throat. Xiong Ying, perceptive, quickly slipped away.

An intangible connection had been interrupted, and it felt challenging to reconnect. Huo Ye suddenly felt a bit impatient, swiftly hanging his blessing and declaring it was time to go.

Shen Tingyu casually glanced over, mentally noting the general position where the blessing was hung before turning to follow.

Huo Ye silently walked ahead with quick steps, as if some great flood or beast was chasing him from behind.

Just outside the temple, there happened to be a few abandoned, unlocked small meditation halls nearby. As Huo Ye was about to walk towards Xiong Ying, a familiar, powerful arm suddenly wrapped around his waist, pulling him into the abandoned meditation hall.

Huo Ye was startled, unable to struggle, and was forced to walk backward. With a “bang,” the door was slammed shut.

“——The third wish.”

In his flustered state, he heard Shen Tingyu whisper in his ear.