Chapter 38

The itinerary at Laoshan Temple was completely different from what Lin Langyi had imagined.

Cheng Yanjin's intoxicating voice kept echoing in her ears, and she thought it was some kind of dangerous place, but Yuan Pingran had arranged it to be very relaxing and comfortable, almost like a mountain oxygen therapy session.

Starting from the mountain gate, Lin Langyi walked along the central axis. She glanced at the "tourist group" that had gathered. Everyone was dressed in comfortable, loose-fitting long sleeves and trousers, and wearing sun hats, in accordance with the requirements of a Buddhist holy site, and walked slowly.

She had only been observing for a while when a girl who was taking strict precautions against sunburn suddenly emerged from the group. Without saying a word, the girl ran straight to her side, stopped, and then walked alongside her.

Lin Langyi looked closely but didn't recognize the person. The girl pulled off the sun-protective mask that was covering half of her face and glanced at her.

Lin Langyi: "...Hello, Miss Zhuang."

Zhuang Lan snorted through her nostrils to indicate that she had heard, and continued to follow Lin Langyi's steps inside.

There are many pigeons raised by people on the trail. They are all plump and strong, and they are not afraid of people. They nod their heads and stroll along the road.

Lin Langyi glanced at the front of the group, wanting to pass the buck: "Yuan Chuyu is in front."

Zhuang Lan showed no intention of chasing after them, simply replying, "Oh, I saw it."

Lin Langyi was confused, so she reminded him, "I heard that Cheng Yanjin will be waiting for us in the main hall. If you go up there early, you can see him sooner."

Zhuang Lan remained uninterested, following Lin Langyi and the other person as slowly as an eighty-year-old man, replying with a lack of surprise, "Oh, I see."

Lin Langyi couldn't hold back any longer and blurted out, "Why do you suddenly seem uninterested in the two of them?"

“Yeah,” Zhuang Lan rolled her eyes dramatically, “Men are all the same, money is the most important thing.”

Lin Langyi: ...This wasn't taught by her, was it?

“I took your advice to heart last time, and it makes some sense. I’m very busy right now, working at my dad’s company, which is the most reliable place.” Seeing that Lin Langyi was staring at her with her face turned away and didn’t even notice the lazy pigeon lying on the ground blocking her way, Zhuang Lan naturally reached out and took her arm, pulling her to the right. The two of them had a strange, almost crazy, friendship.

"I think if I have the chance, I can also come to your village for a visit."

Lin Langyi, the "township entrepreneur," had a blank face, only his lips moved: "Welcome leaders to visit and provide guidance."

The closer they got to the main hall, the stronger the tranquil scent of incense filled the air. Cheng Yanjin leaned against a pillar outside the door, a broom tucked into his arms. Only when he saw the group in the distance did he begin to sweep the broom a few times in a perfunctory manner, like an ox pulling a millstone.

The "tourist group" included both elders and younger generations, and everyone who saw him praised him. At this moment, Cheng Yanjin seemed to have his soul cleansed and remained unmoved, treating all the praise as fleeting clouds. He just kept his head down, sweeping that small patch of ground repeatedly with an unfathomable face, just like a primary school kid who, after being praised by relatives for playing the piano well during the New Year, would stop eating and frantically play the piano waiting for praise.

As Yuan Chuyu passed by, Cheng Yanjin's broom took a turn and landed right in front of his shoes.

Yuan Chuyu turned his head and saw Cheng's winking mouth: "Did you bring any wine?"

He nodded slightly, and the other party was immediately delighted.

Cheng Yanjin felt relieved, thinking that his brothers were the ones who stepped up in this crucial moment. Sure enough, only his brothers cared about him when he was locked up. He had always refused when Yuan Chuyu asked him to bring him wine before, but this was the first time he had offered to bring him wine.

Before he could even enjoy his moment for two seconds, a "click" sounded in his ear. Cheng Yanjin turned his head and saw a camera shoved right in his face—

Lin Langyi took several close-up photos with her camera, then casually flipped through them before looking up and giving him a mocking laugh.

Cheng Yanjin immediately glared at him angrily.

After entering, we offered incense and paid homage to the Buddha, counted the Arhats, and even participated in a morning prayer for a while. The morning flew by, and soon it was time for our vegetarian meal.

"You'll find out soon enough what I've been eating every day." Cheng Yanjin, after much back and forth, finally stayed by Lin Langyi's side, offering advice as someone with experience. "We eat very simple meals here, really—"

He sighed for a moment, then swiftly grabbed her hand and pressed it onto his chest muscle, his shoulders tensing: "Look, my muscles have shrunk!"

Lin Langyi blinked, tightened her fingers, and gave it a squeeze. Sensing that the person opposite her was flexing their shoulders and neck to strike a pose, she suppressed a laugh and said, "Hmm, it's too small."

"Where is it small?!?!" Cheng Yanjin immediately broke down, so excited that he almost overturned the small table. He forcefully pressed her hand repeatedly onto his chest muscles, chattering incessantly, "Feel it again, feel it properly. I work in the fields or pick wild fruits every day. This is all real training, you tasteless person!"

Zhuang Lan waited impatiently to the side, changing her posture one after another.

If she hadn't only wanted to travel with Lin Langyi among this group, she would have left long ago. Seeing that Cheng Yanjin wanted Lin Langyi to touch her all over, Zhuang Lan immediately grabbed two wet wipes, pulled Lin Langyi's hands over, and wiped them haphazardly: "Let's go, let's go eat."

"No, what do you mean?" Cheng Yanjin's face fell, and he said unhappily, "I take a shower every day! In that damn shabby bathroom."

Zhuang Lan didn't want to listen to Cheng's daily cultivation routine, so she simply pulled Lin Langyi away.

Cheng Yanjin followed Lin Langyi relentlessly, going wherever she went. As soon as they entered the room, he saw the menu for today's vegetarian meal and his pupils dilated in shock.

Besides the usual pumpkin, eggplant and tofu dishes, there are also vegetarian Dongpo pork, porcini mushroom set meal, vegetarian pork chop noodles, shumai, wontons, radish and kelp soup, fried wontons... and even panda rice set meal and mushroom rice set meal that he doesn't even know what they are.

Yuan Pingran has always been generous, and the vegetarian meals for this month are completely free for the public. Many tourists, even those who are just visiting the attractions, will come over and have a taste of the food.

Cheng Yanjin angrily rebuked: "What kind of cultivation is this?!"

Everyone except him ate comfortably, and the afternoon's plan was to copy Buddhist scriptures.

The scriptures can be copied with a soft brush or a hard gold pen. It takes about an hour and a half to copy one. If you don't finish copying, you can leave it at your seat and copy it next time.

"May it eliminate my karma and remove my obstacles, and save me from my calamities..."

Originally, it was agreed that the elders would go to the waterfall for Zen tea after the event, while the younger generation could go to the mountain stream to eat watermelon. Lin Langyi and the others did not want to stay here to copy scriptures. Although they were physically present, their minds were elsewhere. After copying for a while, they gradually slipped away.

As Lin Langyi passed by Yuan Chuyu, she turned her head and glanced at him.

A felt mat was placed under the sutra copying paper on the table, with a paperweight gently pressing down one corner, while the other side was held loosely in his left hand. When he sat quietly, his back was straight, his shoulders broad and his waist narrow, his shirt tucked into his trousers, and his whole figure was smooth.

He picked up his brush and wrote each character carefully in small regular script. His brushstrokes were vigorous and powerful, with silver hooks and scorpion tails. The whole sheet of scripture was neat and dignified, and it truly conveyed a sense of profound understanding and tranquility.

He was being stared at, and his hand speed gradually slowed down. After carefully writing a sentence, he dipped his brush in ink again and turned his head to look at her.

Lin Langyi invited, "Want to go eat watermelon?"

Cheng Yanjin followed behind her, frantically making drinking gestures at Yuan Chuyu.

Yuan Chuyu turned his gaze away from behind her and put down his pen: "Okay."

A group of people headed straight for the waterfall at the back of the mountain. Lin Langyi and Zhuang Lan walked in front, while Cheng Yanjin, Yuan Chuyu, Lin Xiangshuo, and others followed behind.

"Brother, it's a deal, okay? I'll sneak out tonight, and you'll cover for me." Cheng Yanjin kept his eyes on Lin Langyi out of the corner of his eye. "The most dangerous time is the safest time. Most importantly, with a whole carload of you here, the temple is busy receiving people and doesn't have time to count. I also have you as an indestructible shield."

Yuan Chuyu followed his gaze to Lin Langyi without saying a word.

Cheng Yanjin had already planned everything perfectly: "Our rooms are both single rooms and far apart. You can stay at my place tonight. I'll definitely get there before dawn tomorrow... Trust me, I'm getting moldy and need to get some fresh air."

Yuan Chuyu lowered his eyes, concealing his emotions, and slowly said, "What if Lin Langyi comes looking for you?"

"Don't you know how clingy Zhuang Lan is? Either she looks down on others and is too lazy to pay attention to them, or she follows people like crazy, wherever they go. Lin Xiaozhu is going to have a hard time."

Yuan Chuyu glanced silently at the backs of the two girls ahead.

After passing the last bamboo grove, the sound of the waterfall suddenly filled my ears, and what came into view was the rushing water that looked like a white rainbow drinking from a stream, shimmering with the luster of white silk in the sunlight.

Lin Langyi kept taking pictures with her camera, exclaiming, "It's like a myriad of clouds, I think it's beautiful every time I see it. I recommend climbing up to the top of the waterfall to watch the sunrise, it's breathtaking."

Zhuang Lan pulled her sun hat down and refused, saying, "I can't walk anymore."

“I travel like a special forces soldier,” Lin Langyi said, deleting photos that included tourists. “Whenever I go out to play, I’m always on a walking spree.”

When the group arrived at their destination, they tacitly kept a considerable distance from their elders, with a bamboo forest serving as a natural barrier between them, one group upstream and the other downstream.

The watermelons were also picked from the land planted by the temple. A small bamboo basket with a rope was placed downstream of the waterfall, and the watermelons were put in and soaked in the mountain stream. After half an hour, they were ice-cold.

Zhuang Lan complained that the stone tables and benches here weren't clean, but ate a lot of watermelon: "I heard you can watch the sunset here. Let's go to the rooftop tonight and have some drinks."

Lin Langyi suddenly became alert and glanced at Cheng Yanjin, who was in a great mood: "Where did this wine come from?"

"You brought them all, right? I brought one, and it seems like Brother Yu brought one too."

Did you bring everything? Lin Langyi wanted to avoid the party that evening even more, so she declined, saying, "I don't drink alcohol."

Zhuang Lan advised, "The alcohol content is very low. We have beer and fruit wine. You can drink them like water and you won't get drunk. Don't you believe the alcohol I brought?"

She had a sudden inspiration, tilted her chin up and looked down at people, and continued, "Your Yingshan Lake area isn't very developed, is it? I heard it's hard to get a taxi there? Do you think there should be hotels in such scenic areas if they are developed in the future?"

She patted her chest: "Hmm?"

This was the intention Lin Langyi had expressed before; I never expected to find it here today.

Lin Langyi stretched out both hands towards Lin Xiangshuo at the same time, strongly recommending: "My brother is here, I'll have him come and keep Miss Zhuang company tonight, we'll drink until we drop, I won't mind if you make him drink until he has to go to the hospital to induce vomiting."

"I get annoyed just seeing men now, you'll drink with me!"

A gentleman would bow down for five pecks of rice, and Lin Langyi sighed and agreed.

Even though she had made ample preparations and eaten many vegetarian meals to line her stomach, she was already feeling dizzy while the sunset was still illuminating the sky.

Zhuang Lan stared in disbelief at the opened bottles of fruit wine and dark beer on the table. She weighed them in her hand and realized that Lin Langyi hadn't even finished the bottle of dark beer, and had only drunk one and a half bottles of fruit wine.

She held up her stout and emphasized, "This is 6.7 degrees."

Then he picked up the fruit wine: "This one is 12 degrees."

Zhuang Lan was truly astonished: "Is that all you have?"

"I really can't go on... I," Lin Langyi stammered as she stood up unsteadily, "I'll go back first, you guys play cards, I have cards..."

Cheng Yanjin was at the men's table when he turned his head and saw Lin Langyi's drunken appearance. His eyes almost lit up. He didn't expect that the last variable today would be resolved with God's help. It had to be Zhuang Lan. Why don't they say God is a girl?

He rushed over to help Lin Langyi up, showering her with attention: "You want to go back to sleep, right? Okay, okay, go to sleep."

Hearing his voice, Lin Langyi laboriously lifted her eyelids to glance at him, then leaned her entire weight against him with relief: "Carry me on your back."

"Okay, okay, I'll carry you, I'll carry you." He grinned so hard his white teeth practically shone. "I just can't do anything with you!"

Cheng Yanjin easily lifted her up, letting her limply cling to his neck. He then used his right hand to support her thigh, freeing up his left hand to send a WeChat message to his friend who had organized the gathering.

"Good news, I can come out now. I'll go back and get my skateboard."

After sending the message, he put his silent phone back in his pocket, feeling the soft, light breaths on his skin near his neck, and glanced at her.

She was like a small animal burying her face in the pillow, pressed against his shoulder and neck, her cheek squeezing out a little flesh. She swayed her head gently with each step he took, sleeping soundly.

Cheng Yanjin had been staring for too long when he tripped over a small stone. He swayed, but his first reaction was to stop the shout that was about to come out of his throat and quickly steady himself so as not to wake her up.

Lin Langyi's head still shifted slightly due to the sudden braking. He quickly shrugged and pressed down on one shoulder, then twisted his free hand to stop her head from falling back into his neck.

He got too close and caught a faint, sweet scent of mangosteen and white rum emanating from her breath. The aroma was subtle yet lingering, like the sweet and sour fruit juice that children love. But upon closer inspection, he could still detect a bitter and strong alcoholic note.

He stopped and stared at her for a while, realizing that her personality reflected this as well.

The peach-pink clouds stretched across the sky like long veils, and the daytime heat released its last warmth, which is why her skin, pressed against it, felt so hot.

Cheng Yanjin turned around, lifted her up a little higher, tightened his arms, and steadily carried her back to her room.

Lin Langyi's room wasn't far from his. Cheng Yanjin took the key from her wrist, opened the door, and went straight in. He laid her flat on the bed, pulled the blanket over her, and then stood by the bed with satisfaction, tilting his head and crossing his arms to admire her drunken state.

The sunset glow stained her face, and it wouldn't fade.

He snorted and reached out to pinch her cheek, which looked as if she had applied rouge. But when he touched her delicate skin, he loosened his grip and only gave it a light pinch. He said smugly in a low voice, "Now I've seen what you look like when you're drunk. We're even."

He closed the door, and the route he had figured out beforehand allowed him to sneak out smoothly. Once outside the mountain gate, he excitedly shouted to his friends like a bird released from its cage that he would be there soon.

The twilight in the distance was deep, like reefs beneath a calm sea.

Night is finally approaching.