Chapter 24. She must not let him lead her astray.

Halfway up, Wen Xue gradually ran out of energy. She was actually a very patient person who could endure all kinds of emotions. She pursed her lips, kept up with the pace without saying a word, and didn't even dare to breathe heavily, for fear that if she lost her breath, it would be very difficult.

"Let's rest here."

Every so often, there were benches for pedestrians to rest. He Yan stopped, somewhat troubled. The benches were soaked and covered in fallen leaves and dust, making them unsuitable for sitting. Wen Xue sensed his hesitation and, trying to control her breathing, said, "It's...it's alright..."

She couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Before He Yan came to see her, she had no idea what it meant for her health to deteriorate.

Perhaps it's true what they say: the younger you are, the more extravagant you are.

She wasn't particularly athletic in the past, but back then she wasn't as thin as she is now. She could shop for a long time without getting tired, and she could also go hiking, walking, and cycling when the weather was nice.

If the soul doesn't perish after death, and if He Heng were still by her side, he would probably be very angry.

It's her fault; she didn't love herself properly.

"Ten-minute break," He Yan said in an unquestionable tone.

Wen Xue finally caught her breath and felt a bit hot after stopping. She raised her hand to pull off her scarf, but he stopped her with a deep voice. She had no choice but to take off her gloves instead. This time, he didn't say anything. Her rapid breathing gradually calmed down. She had nothing to do, while He Yan was replying to messages with his head down.

He seems to be extremely busy lately.

He's either sending and receiving messages or making and receiving phone calls.

She gazed at him intently for a moment, then looked away, belatedly realizing that the scenery here was beautiful, quiet and secluded, far from the hustle and bustle. As she looked up at the tall trees on both sides, the umbrella tilted, and she exhaled a breath of warm air, involuntarily reaching out to catch the snowflakes.

It hit my palm, and it felt like the prickling of pine needles; it was a little itchy.

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

After replying to the work message, He Yan turned his stiff neck and his gaze inadvertently swept over the person beside him, settling on her bright and clear eyes. For everyone who had met Wen Xue, her eyes were probably the most memorable feature.

Even with sorrow, her eyes remained clear.

She is like this now, and she will still be like this eight years later in her previous life.

She is remarkable; she has never been defeated.

Ten minutes later, they set off again. If it weren't for Wen Xue, He Yan would have arrived long ago, but even so, he didn't feel she was a burden. The temple wasn't very popular, especially today with the bad weather, there were even fewer worshippers.

After giving her some brief instructions, He Yan, led by the young monk, went elsewhere.

Today, besides burning incense, he also wanted to enshrine the copied scriptures.

With a devout heart, Wen Xue followed the short queue. The monk rubbed her frozen hands and asked what kind of talisman she wanted. She wasn't particularly interested in the best-selling items like marriage and career. "I want someone to bless me with peace," she said.

She was a little skeptical; could it really work for just six yuan?

Clutching the amulet, whose ink was starting to bleed, she became increasingly uncertain. But since she had already bought it, she decided to believe it was effective. After pondering for a moment, she lowered her eyes and entered a room with a statue of a Bodhisattva. She clasped her hands together, the amulet in her palm, knelt on a prayer mat, and closed her eyes to pray silently.

I hope he is safe, safe, safe.

When He Yan came looking for her, he saw this scene and his lips twitched.

She actually believed it?

How could he tell her that, deep down, he didn't believe in gods or Buddhas at all, not even a little bit? He hoped she wouldn't be led astray by him and that she should focus on her studies.

However, he didn't interrupt her. He just leaned against the pillar, looked at her seriously, and began to wonder if he should let her watch something like "Approaching Science" when she got back.

Wen Xue kowtowed three times earnestly, then turned to the side and solemnly placed the amulet into the sandwich compartment of her toast.

He Yan: "..."

Oh no, she even asked for a talisman.

Wen Xue stepped over the stairs and bumped into him. She was taken aback. "So fast?"

She thought he was going to talk to the young monk about Buddhism again, but he returned in just over ten minutes.

"Let's eat vegetarian food before we go down the mountain." He Yan looked at her with mixed feelings, then lowered his eyes and looked at her bag.

"Um!"

The temple has limited manpower, and not everyone can eat vegetarian meals. He Yan is a special case because he donated a lot of money in the name of He Heng, making him a well-known pilgrim. The monks all know him, and when they heard that he wanted to eat, they quickly told the kitchen to make more lunch.

He Yan and Wen Xue did not eat with them, but sat down elsewhere.

Perhaps because it was Chinese New Year, they were given two bowls of steaming hot vegetarian dumplings.

Wen Xue saw him engrossed in eating dumplings, one after another, eating a lot and very quickly. Before she even picked up her chopsticks, he had already eaten three or four.

He Yan was focused on eating dumplings, still thinking about other things, when suddenly several more dumplings appeared in his bowl. He looked up and saw her putting dumplings from her bowl into his. He raised his hand to stop her, "Aren't you going to eat them?"

“Too much.” She glanced at him cautiously.

"That's enough." He picked up the bowl and turned it around. "I don't like vegetarian fillings either."

Upon hearing this, Wen Xue looked hesitant, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

He Yan: "Speak your mind."

"It's nothing." Her voice was soft, tinged with uncertainty. "I heard Yuejiang say that he..."

She stammered, but He Yan glanced at her and guessed what she wanted to say. "Did he tell you that I'm going to become a nun?"

Every time he visited the temple, Wu Yuejiang's bitterness and resentment deepened.

Wen Xue nodded slowly, "Is that so?"

"Don't listen to his nonsense," He Yan said, half-jokingly. "I can't eat vegetarian food, I can't live without meat, and besides—"

"And what?" she pressed.

She was genuinely worried about him. She wanted to advise him that believing in this, copying scriptures, and using it as a form of solace was fine, but it was best not to become too obsessed with it.

He's still so young. He should step out of this and have a bright future. Besides, He Heng's death has nothing to do with him. He's already the best brother she's ever met. She believes that He Heng thinks the same way.

"Besides, there are requirements to becoming a monk now," he told her, trying to mislead her. "You need a university degree."

Wen Xue's eyes widened. "Really?"

This was the first time she had ever heard of it.

He Yan smiled, "Ask me anything else you want to ask."

"Then I'll ask?" Sensing he didn't intend to become a monk, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on her face. "It's the manager at that karaoke bar..."

"Who?" He didn't hear clearly, so he leaned forward, getting closer to her.

"It's nothing, it's nothing!"

Not wanting to appear too gossipy, Wen Xue quickly shut up and sat down properly.

He Yan understood, and looked at her strangely, "Who told you that?"

"I saw it myself," she murmured.

"That's not true."

"Uh-huh."

"Eat it while it's hot, and then leave."

Wen Xue picked up the bowl with both hands and took a sip of dumpling soup to warm herself. This was the strangest New Year she had ever experienced, yet it was also very interesting. The vegetarian dumplings had a unique flavor.

After eating and drinking their fill, the two descended the mountain and left amidst the swirling smoke.

Going down the mountain was much easier than going up. To prove she wasn't physically weak, Wen Xue took the lead this time, carrying a long black umbrella and nimbly descending the steps. In the afternoon, there were noticeably more pilgrims going up the mountain, and everyone who passed by He Yan couldn't help but turn around and look at him.

After all, a tall, sturdy man over 1.8 meters tall holding a small floral umbrella is quite eye-catching.

Wen Xue asked, "Should we switch them?"

He Yan's tone was flat, "No need, watch the road."

…

Originally, watching a Lunar New Year film wasn't part of He Yan's plan. He could count the number of times he'd been to the cinema on one hand, and that was only with Wu Yuejiang. But today was different. He'd brought Wen Xue out, and since it was still early, he didn't want her to have a dull New Year. However, he knew very few entertainment options, and watching a movie was the only one he could think of. They drove along the road, passing a large shopping mall, merging onto the side road, and queuing to enter the underground parking lot.

The cinema was on the fourth floor. During the Chinese New Year, the mall was packed with people. The two of them struggled to ride the escalator up and saw that the cinema entrance was also crowded.

Observing his impatient expression, Wen Xue suggested softly, "Why don't we go back?"

In fact, He Yan really wanted to buy her a ticket to go in and watch, and he was willing to wait for her outside.

He had absolutely no interest in watching movies, especially with so many people around. It easily stirred up some unpleasant memories for him. He was not yet twenty at the time, and Wu Yuejiang came to visit him during his summer vacation. The two of them had nowhere else to go, so they bought two cheap movie tickets and went inside to enjoy the air conditioning and sleep. However, the person sitting next to him was even less civilized than him. He kept eating sunflower seeds and talking on the phone, which made him irritable. He said a few words, but it had little effect. He couldn't stand it anymore, so he patted the person on the shoulder and asked him to come outside and have a chat about life.

From then on, Wu Yuejiang never mentioned watching movies together again.

"Wait here for me, I'll go buy the tickets." He Yan gestured for her to wait for him in a less crowded area, then squeezed into the crowd to queue for tickets.

Wen Xue would occasionally tiptoe and crane her neck to look in his direction.

Finding He Yan in the crowd was easy because he was very tall.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, He Yan returned, carrying a large bucket of popcorn in his left hand, a cup of cola in his right hand, and two movie tickets that were not together. He explained, "The tickets are almost sold out, there are only a few seats left."

Wen Xue took the movie ticket, glanced at the seat, and saw it was still in the last row.

She is number seven, and he is number nine.

There was one person in between.

After checking their tickets and entering the screening room, He Yan asked Wen Xue to go in first while he took a phone call. She agreed, took her seat with popcorn, and sat down according to the seat on her ticket. Soon, the room was almost full. Wen Xue felt a shadow fall over the room and thought it was He Yan returning. She looked up and saw a strange man wearing glasses.

The other person paused slightly, then sat down abruptly, clutching the ticket tightly in their hand. Their eyes occasionally drifted towards Wen Xue, and seeing that she wasn't talking to anyone around her, they assumed she was like them.

He Yan entered just as the movie started. He leaned forward, whispered "Excuse me," and finally reached his seat. Before he could even settle in, he heard a faint male voice drifting over from beside him—

"I haven't touched this milk tea yet, I just bought it, it's still hot... Hey, have you seen the other movie that's currently the highest-grossing? The next showing seems to be at 6:30, you..."

He tilted his head slightly to make sure that Number Eight was talking to Wen Xue, "..."

Wen Xue is a person who doesn't talk much in front of strangers.

She stared silently at the screen, seemingly used to these advances, not even bothering to respond with a "hmm." This was the most obvious change in her since He Heng left; she had become so numb to advances and pursuits from men that she couldn't even maintain the most basic politeness.

The young man number eight paused briefly.

Undeterred by setbacks, he came up with another topic, and just as he was about to speak, an arm suddenly appeared in front of him in the darkness. He gasped in surprise, and the next second, the arm brushed past him and reached for the popcorn bucket held by the woman next to him, grabbing a handful.

He turned his head and looked over, meeting He Yan's deep eyes.

? ?

He Yan casually withdrew his hand, popped some popcorn into his mouth and chewed it. Wen Xue leaned over and handed him the popcorn bucket, but he waved it off, refusing to eat any.

Number Eight immediately felt uneasy and lowered his voice as a way of salvaging the situation, "Dude, let me switch seats with you."

He Yan calmly said, "Dude, stop talking and just watch the movie."

"……oh."

The last row finally quieted down.

Wen Xue belatedly realized He Yan's purpose in eating popcorn. She turned her head to look at him, as if he had noticed her gaze. Although he did not meet her eyes, he raised his hand and pointed to the big screen in front of him, reminding her to concentrate on watching the movie.

She quickly sat up straight, faced forward, and smiled slightly.