The day before leaving Jincheng, the guide took Shen Yu and Tang Li to a temple under the nearby mountain.
This temple is called Baoguang Temple. It is small in scale, but it is very famous all over the country. As long as people visit Jincheng, they will go to Baoguang Temple to pay their respects.
When they came to the temple, it was a working day and there was not much traffic.
Although Jincheng is very warm for the winter months, there is still a thin layer of snow on the ground around Baoguang Temple, and the front courtyard of the temple is covered with snow.
When Shen Yu and others followed the guide into the temple, they saw two or three pedestrians and monks sweeping snow along the roadside.
There was a strong sandalwood fragrance in the air, like a warm current, touching people’s hearts invisibly. Just smelling the smell, Shen Yu felt both somewhat restless and yet still very calm.
Burning incense in front of the temple is free of charge. By walking along this road, you can see temples of all sizes.
The guide said to Shen Yu,
As praying is such a solemn matter, I, an outsider, will not follow you anymore. Call me when you’re ready, and I will wait for you here.
Shen Yu smiled and told the guide,
Thank you.
Oh, yeah –
The guide suddenly remembered something, and his solemn expression became more subtle. He deliberately lowered his voice and pointedly said,
The red top temple on the right is for marriage. I heard it’s very effective…
The guide’s words had not yet faded when he was interrupted by a boy’s voice.
We didn’t ask.
The guide was stunned and turned to the boy who was almost as tall as him. He found that the boy’s eyes were very gloomy, like they were covered with a terrible black fog.
Somehow, the guide was so shocked that he immediately shut his mouth and stopped talking.
Shen Yu was busy observing the temple environment, but when he turned around, he saw the strange expression on the guides face. Following the guide’s line of sight, he could see the now innocent eyes of Tang Li.
Even if his IQ was cut in half, he could still guess the expression of Tang Li just now.
Shen Yu remained silent for a moment, somewhat helpless:
… Chestnut.
Tang Li immediately felt wronged and said,
I didn’t do anything.
Shen Yu:
…
Naturally, he knew that Tang Li had not done anything. In fact, Tang Li had just turned eleven years old. Even if he wanted to do something, he might not be able to do it. However, maybe it was because Shen Yu knew the little villain’s role in the original novel, that sometimes, just the look in Tang Li’s eyes…
It’s scary.
Shen Yu wearily sighed and rubbed Tang Li’s head.
When the bodyguards went ahead, took the incense, and left together, Shen Yu took Tang Li’s hand and whispered to him,
Don’t you think it’s rude to treat other people with that attitude?
The accused Tang Li was not angry at all. Instead, he stared at Shen Yu with his dark phoenix eyes.
People came and walked around them, but they remained motionless.
Shen Yu was being watched by Tang Li’s direct eyes, making his nose feel somewhat uncomfortable, and then, after thinking for a moment, he took the initiative to step his previous words back:
I don’t blame you, but when you have done something wrong, I should point it out.
Hearing this, a question suddenly burst out of the little villain’s mouth:
Do you want to get married?
…
Shen Yu was stunned for several seconds and stared in surprise.
I’m not discussing this topic with you.
Tang Li’s face was expressionless, and his eyes were calm, like a still lake without the slightest ripple. He stubbornly turned back to the topic:
Shen Yu, do you want to get married?
Shen Yu was upset by Tang Li’s reaction, but in order to calm the child’s mood, he chose to answer honestly:
I have no intention of marrying yet, and I promised you that you will not marry before you grow up.
Oh.
Tang Li said.
But Shen Yu could clearly feel that the fear and anxiety in Tang Li’s eyes was slowly dissipating, and he seemed relieved.
Afterwards, Tang Li showed a brilliant smile:
Uncle Zhang is still waiting for us. Let’s go quickly.
Shen Yu:
…
Today’s sunshine is just right, it shined gently on the snow, setting up the surrounding environment brilliantly.
Shen Yu gazed at Tang Li’s beautiful little face, his tall nose, his thin lips, and his tiny phoenix eyes, which seemed to contain thousands of bright spots and were full of smiles.
At the same time, Tang Li was watching Shen Yu.
His eyes were intense.
It seems that in this vast world, his vision can only hold the person in front of him.
For a second, a familiar strange feeling climbed into Shen Yu’s heart again. He was momentarily stunned and then turned his face away awkwardly.
Let’s go.
After Shen Yu finished speaking, he took control of the wheelchair and quickly went over to Uncle Zhang who had already walked on ahead.
Fortunately, Shen Yu’s emotions came and went quickly. Before long, he returned to normal. He was in a happy mood, burning incense with Tang Li and kneeling down.
Of course, in reality, kneeling is Tang Li and Uncle Zhang’s business.
Passing by the red-top Temple mentioned by the guide, Tang Li suddenly pushed Shen Yu’s wheelchair forward, hoping to be far away from the temple. Uncle Zhang and two bodyguards saw Tang Li’s intentions and followed silently.
Tang Li did not release Shen Yu’s wheelchair until they had gone a long way.
Shen Yu took a deep breath:
Tang Li…
Sorry!
Tang Li apologized unequivocally, looking pitifully at Shen Yu and saying,
Brother Shen Yu, I was wrong.
Shen Yu:
…
Since Tang Li took the initiative to admit his mistake, he didn’t know what to say.
After searching for the right words for half a day, Shen Yu’s face turned a little red. He slowly spit out the muddled feelings in his heart and said in frustration,
Let’s forget it…
Tang Li’s eyes were shining with laughter, and he went forward to grab Shen Yu’s arm. He rubbed his face against him, like a pet who was begging for affection, and his voice was soft and waxy.
Brother Shen Yu, you are so kind.
Shen Yu had no idea what to do with Tang Li. He stretched out his hand to rub the soft hair of the little villain.
Tang Li did not struggle. Half squinting, he seemed to enjoy Shen Yu’s touch very much.
When the big child and the small child in front of him walked away, Uncle Zhang, who wore a stiff expression, loosened up. He turned his head and looked at the two bodyguards whose faces were also full of inexhaustible words.
The three men looked at each other for a long time and sighed together.
According to the current situation, their master may be eaten to death by the child, and it’s not yet known whether this development will have some impact on Shen’s family.
When Uncle Zhang remembered the rumors about the Shen family and the whispers that Tang Li was about to become the Shen heir, suddenly, his heart felt a little heavy.
There is a wall of wishes in the back courtyard of the temple[1] . Nearby, there are wooden cards for hanging on the wall.
Shen Yu is not very interested in these things, mainly because he is too lazy to write on the card.
However, since they were already here, Shen Yu still ordered Uncle Zhang to take two wooden cards and pass one of them and a marker to Tang Li.
Tang Li looked curiously at Shen Yu’s wooden card and asked,
Shen Yu, what are you going to wish for?
Shen Yu thought for a moment:
Family members are healthy and safe, and you are able to grow up happy.
Unfortunately, this wooden plate is only as big as his palm, and the characters written by the marker are very thick, so Shen Yu can’t write such a long sentence on the wooden card.
Eventually, Shen Yu wisely changed to a more important wish…
Hoping that the company would not go bankrupt.
Standing behind Shen Yu, Uncle Zhang saw a few words that Shen Yu had written on the card, the corners of his mouth twitched as he felt both helpless and amused.
Shen Yu asked Uncle Zhang to hang their wooden cards on the wall of wishes and looked at the little villain’s wooden card with his head tilted.
Tang Li was next to Shen Yu, with his head lowered, one hand holding a wooden card, the other hand holding the marker, writing carefully on the card.
Tang Li’s handwriting is very beautiful, although it is not convenient to hold such a thick marker, there is a feeling of practice in the little villain’s writing. It can be seen that he learned this when he was a child.
However, Shen Yu, who was sitting in a wheelchair, was not as tall as Tang Li when the little villain was standing. He stretched his neck and could only see a word or two written on the edge of the card.
Shen Yu probed his brain for half a day and still couldn’t make out what the other person was writing. Finally, he opened his mouth, somewhat depressed, and said,
Chestnut, what did you write?
He thought that the childlike Tang Li would be too embarrassed to show others the wishes he had written down, but suddenly, Tang Li’s wrist turned, and he handed Shen Yu the wooden card generously.
It clearly says
Don’t ever get married.
Shen Yu stayed in a daze for a long time and became even more depressed:
How can you wish this on your good brother?
Tang Li tilted his head and looked at Shen Yu quietly without speaking.
Shen Yu was soft-hearted to Tang Li’s puppy eyes. He raised his hand and pinched the tip of Tang Li’s nose with his fingers. He smiled and said,
Aren’t you afraid of being gossiped about in the future?
Tang Li disagreed:
What gossip haven’t I already heard?
Shen Yu instantly choked.
From the outsider’s point of view, Shen Yu and Tang Li’s wishes were very funny.
At noon, they had some food in the temple.
The guide and the abbot from the temple were very familiar with each other, and with the lobbying and donation of Uncle Zhang, Master Hui Jing, who only appeared a couple times a year, actually asked to see Shang Yu on his own initiative.
The meeting was scheduled for two o’clock in the afternoon. Shen Yu looked at the time, and seeing that it was still early, he took advantage of Tang Li and Uncle Zhang’s rest time to go out alone in the back courtyard.
In fact, he wanted to get rid of those two wooden cards that had his and Tang Li’s wishes. Maybe he had a guilty conscience. He was afraid that the more they cared about it, the more likely it was to come true[2] .
And Tang Li’s wish…
It’s really strange.
Sometimes, even the naïve Shen Yu was frightened by Tang Li’s almost crazy level of possessiveness.
In the afternoon, there was no one by the wishing wall, and even the monks who handed out wooden cards were nowhere to be seen.
Shen Yu looked at the wall for half a day and could not find a way to take down the two wooden cards.
At that moment, a young monk with a clean and elegant appearance slowly came towards Shen Yu, and with his hands folded, he spoke with a kind voice. He gently asked Shen Yu what he needed help with.
Shen Yu, somewhat embarrassed, pointed to his and Tang Li’s wooden cards and said he wanted to take them off the wall.
The monk looked up at the wooden cards and did not doubt whether or not they were hung by Shen Yu. He simply took them down without saying a word.
Shen Yu put away the cards and said with a smile,
Thank you.
Benefactor is polite.
The monk’s eyebrows kindly nodded his head, and then quietly watched Shen Yu.
Somehow, the monk’s smiling eyes seemed very calm and friendly, but Shen Yu suddenly developed a sense of panic. It felt like this monk could see through him.
He did not even have the courage to look back into the monk’s eyes.
A layer of cold sweat formed on Shen Yu’s forehead. He quickly said goodbye to the monk and manipulated his wheelchair to turn around and leave.
But the monk said,
May I ask the donor if he can take one moment to speak?
[1] If you watch anime or read manga you’ve probably seen something similar. It’s a wall where temple goers can usually purchase or are given a piece of paper or a wooden plate from the temple so they can write their wish on it before hanging it on the wall.
Wishing Wall
[2] This sentence is kind of like saying he’s afraid that if he’s actively wishing against bankruptcy, the more likely it is to happen. A good example is that in some countries, people won’t even say the word
cancer
because their afraid that by speaking about it the more likely it is to happen.
