Chapter 40. "You weren't so thin-skinned last night."
Song Huai shook Bai Xiao's hand excitedly and said, "Bai Xiao, look! A cable car has been built here! We didn't have one before!"
Bai Xiao smiled, her eyes crinkling as she looked at Song Huai, who was practically jumping up. A faint smile bloomed on her lips as she softly replied, "Mm."
The cable car has only been in operation for a short time, but it has already become a popular tourist attraction in the city. On social media platforms, many bloggers have called it "one of the 100 places that couples must visit in their lifetime".
While queuing, Song Huai and Bai Xiao were seen holding hands in the crowd. The two handsome men were elegant and extraordinary, especially Bai Xiao, who was almost a head taller than the passersby. He was very eye-catching in the crowd and quickly attracted everyone's attention.
Noticing the many eyes on him, Song Huai felt a little embarrassed. He looked around, hesitated for a moment, and slowly let go of Bai Xiao's hand.
Bai Xiao had been standing close to Song Huai, but after Song Huai let go, his heart suddenly felt empty, as if something was missing.
He immediately became unhappy and simply pulled Song Huai into his arms, pressing him tightly against him until Song Huai's body temperature reached him and he could smell the faint fragrance emanating from Song Huai. Only then was the missing piece in his heart filled again.
At this moment, everyone around them turned to look at them, and they could almost hear faint gasps of surprise.
Song Huai was losing face. He tried to remove Bai Xiao's hand from his shoulder. "Bai Xiao, you... let go."
Bai Xiao's hand remained motionless. He lowered his head and whispered in Song Huai's ear in a voice only the two of them could hear, "You weren't so thin-skinned last night."
"You, you..." Song Huai racked his brains but still couldn't understand what was wrong with Bai Xiao. He was usually a very proper person, but after last night, he... it was as if some seal had been broken in his body, and he had completely changed into a different person.
Song Huai was speechless, and could only glare at Bai Xiao.
Bai Xiao stared ahead nonchalantly, completely unconcerned about the stares of others; his skin was as thick as a city wall.
As the sun set, the two finally boarded the cable car.
When he was a child, Song Huai first learned about cable cars from television. He had longed to ride a cable car to the top of a mountain without having to climb high mountains. However, Song Boyu was still young at the time, and there was no one around to ride the cable car with him. Song Chengping and Qin Wanyi would definitely not take the time to take him. Gradually, Song Huai forgot about this idea.
Upon seeing the cable car today, the joy and anticipation that Song Huai felt as a child returned to his heart.
The setting sun melts into gold, and the evening glow is like fire.
The cable car slowly ascended to the mountainside. Bathed in the glow of the sunset, Song Huai danced and shouted excitedly amidst the whistling wind, "Bai Xiao, look, we're so high up here!"
Seeing that Song Huai was about to jump up again, Bai Xiao was afraid that he would accidentally fall, so she quickly scolded him: "Be careful!"
He tightened the slightly loose scarf around Song Huai's neck again, then reached out and wrapped his arms around Song Huai's waist to prevent Song Huai from losing control and jumping around on the cable car again.
Looking down, the people at the foot of the mountain appear as small as tadpoles, while looking up, the mountaintop is still in the distant clouds.
In a daze, Song Huai felt as if he were in another world. In this world, there were only the two of them. Here, Bai Xiao was no longer Bai Xiao, and Song Huai was no longer Song Huai. They had no shackles; they were simply a pair of lovers, nothing more.
As Song Huaigang boarded the cable car, his restless heart gradually calmed down, and he softly called out, "Bai Xiao."
Bai Xiao replied, "What's wrong?"
"I...I..."
I love you.
Just now, Song Huai almost blurted out those three words in a moment of impulse.
Even though Song Huai had repeated those three words to Bai Xiao countless times in his heart, he just couldn't bring himself to say them.
These three words were too heavy, and Song Huai feared that if he were to actually say them, neither he nor Bai Xiao would have a way out.
Bai Xiao was puzzled as to why Song Huai was only saying half a sentence: "You, you, what's wrong with you, little stutterer?"
After a long pause, Song Huai finally asked, "Where...where are we going later?"
"There's a temple on the mountaintop. Let's go check it out later."
Song Huai thought carefully for a long time but couldn't recall any temples here. "Bai Xiao, have you been too busy with work lately and your brain isn't working properly? Where are the temples around here?"
Bai Xiao wasn't angry at all. He looked at Song Huai with a playful expression and whispered in his ear, "Don't you know whether I'm good or not?"
For some inexplicable reason, Song Huai thought of his trembling legs when he woke up this morning, and his ears suddenly turned bright red. He quickly turned his head to look out the window, no longer looking at Bai Xiao.
After getting off the cable car, Bai Xiao led Song Huai to a secluded and narrow path. After walking around for a while, the view suddenly opened up, and there really was a temple standing in the open space.
No wonder Song Huai didn't know about the temple's existence. This place was so remote that unless someone had done their research beforehand, who would come here?
A large plaque hangs above the temple gate, which reads: Dingguang Temple.
As Song Huai stepped across the threshold, he was surprised. The temple looked deserted from the outside, but inside it was bustling with people. As a sacred Buddhist site, no one dared to speak loudly.
Inside the main hall, a golden Buddha statue, as tall as the hall itself, stands on a lotus pedestal. The Buddha lowers his head and looks down upon all living beings, his eyes filled with compassion.
Many people kneel and pray before the Buddha, holding a stick of incense, not knowing what they are asking for.
Perhaps the atmosphere in the hall was too solemn, Song Huai couldn't help but want to join in the fun. He quietly asked Bai Xiao, "This is a rare opportunity, why don't you also offer a prayer?"
Bai Xiao retorted, "What do I have to ask for?"
After thinking for a moment, Song Huai said, "I only wish you abundant wealth, a house full of gold and jade, and that you become the world's richest man as soon as possible!"
Bai Xiao glanced at him irritably, too lazy to explain to him that with the current assets of the Bai family, they were not much different from the world's richest people.
Later, Bai Xiao couldn't resist Song Huai's repeated requests, and together with him, bent down and knelt obediently before the Buddha.
Bai Xiao was a materialist who had never believed in ghosts or gods since childhood. He glanced at the Buddha statue casually, then turned to look at Song Huai.
Song Huai closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and muttered something under his breath, showing great sincerity.
Bai Xiao couldn't help but want to laugh.
Song Huai respectfully knelt on the prayer mat and kowtowed three times. He then lit an incense stick and placed it in the incense burner in front of the Buddha statue.
When he turned around, he saw Bai Xiao staring at him with a smile in her eyes, her gaze as clear as water. Where was there any god or Buddha in her eyes?
Song Huai was anxious, worried that the Buddha would discover Bai Xiao's disrespect, so he quickly pulled him out of the main hall.
Song Huai lowered his voice and said angrily, "What were you looking at just now!"
Bai Xiao's eyes still held a smile: "Looking at you."
Song Huai stomped his feet in anger: "This is in front of Buddha! How can you be so unseemly!"
"Okay, okay, I was wrong..."
The two were chatting away, preparing to head back, when a voice came from behind them.
"Please wait, benefactor!"
Suddenly, a young novice monk appeared out of nowhere and called out to Song Huai.
Song Huai asked politely, "Little Master, is there anything I can help you with?"
The young novice monk trotted up to Song Huai, staring blankly at Song Huai's face for a long while before he came to his senses and said with an embarrassed smile, "Just now, from a distance, I felt that you looked like an old friend, but I didn't expect that I was blind and mistook you for someone else. I am really sorry."
Song Huai was completely confused: "It's nothing, it's nothing."
"Are you two leaving now? Amitabha." The young novice clasped his hands together and bowed.
Song Huai returned the greeting in a proper manner, saying, "See you again someday!"
After leaving with Bai Xiao, Song Huai was still thinking about the little novice monk. He found it strange that the little monk, who was so young, had such poor eyesight. What would happen to him when he got old?
"What are you thinking about, so engrossed?" Bai Xiao waved in front of Song Huai, interrupting Song Huai's thoughts.
"I...I wasn't thinking anything." After leaving the temple, Song Huai's mood suddenly became low for no apparent reason.
Bai Xiao said thoughtfully, "That little monk is quite handsome, no wonder you're thinking about him so much..."
"Bai Xiao!" Seeing that Bai Xiao's words were getting more and more outrageous, Song Huai hurriedly interrupted him, "What kind of nonsense are you thinking?"
Song Huai's adorable, easily teased manner was so endearing that Bai Xiao couldn't help but pinch his cheek before running forward.
"Bai Xiao, slow down! Just because you have long legs doesn't mean you can't walk!" Song Huai followed closely behind Bai Xiao.
--
The young novice monk remained standing there, motionless, long after the two had walked away.
The moment he saw Song Huai, he couldn't help but recall a day many years ago.
He couldn't remember exactly how many years ago it was; he only remembered that he had just arrived at the temple that year.
That day, the wind was biting cold and the rain was pouring down. Most of the small animals in the mountains had probably gone to take shelter from the rain, and the only sound in the world was the pattering of the rain.
He happened to be on duty and was idly mopping the floor in the main hall.
Suddenly, a figure rushed in through the gate. He looked closely and saw it was a boy slightly younger than him. He was immediately filled with doubt. Logically speaking, no one would be willing to climb such a high mountain to burn incense in this kind of bad weather. The road was slippery in the rain, and if he fell, it would be terrible.
The boy was soaking wet; rainwater streamed down his hair, down his trouser legs, and onto the ground.
The little boy was about to step into the hall, but he stopped when he saw the smooth, mirror-like floor inside.
So he didn't go into the hall, but knelt down on the bluestone slab outside the hall. He looked at the golden Buddha statue in the hall with devotion, and I don't know what he was thinking. Then, he kowtowed three times heavily to the ground with perfect form. When he stood up after the third kowtow, there was already a red mark around his forehead.
The young novice monk immediately dropped the mop, opened an umbrella, and ran to him, wanting to help the person on the ground up. "Benefactor, it's raining so hard, why didn't you use an umbrella? You'll freeze."
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