Qin Fujia and his sister Ann did not spend much time in the lounge. Within ten minutes, Qin Fujia was back in the hall with Ann in his arms.
In the reception room, Ye Xiaoyuan and Qin Yanyi were sitting in silence, not interacting with each other. The atmosphere was quiet and somewhat tense until the little one and Qin Fujia finally arrived.
Qin Yanyi immediately stood up and approached them. "Big brother, Ann, have you finished discussing things?"
"Yes," Qin Fujia said as he stood at the door, signaling to Qin Yanyi. "It’s Ann’s first time here. Could you show her around?"
Though phrased as a question, it was clear that Qin Yanyi had no room to refuse. He did not intend to refuse anyway and quickly walked over, extending his hands towards Ann. "Ann, let’s go and have a look around."
"Okay~" Qin Sui’an was also curious about the place and leaned into her second brother’s embrace.
Qin Yanyi securely held his sister and casually walked towards the nearest archway.
As they watched them walk away, Qin Fujia turned back to the reception room and looked at Ye Xiaoyuan. "What did you need to discuss with me?"
Ye Xiaoyuan asked straightforwardly, "Have you been to the place I used to live?"
Qin Fujia raised an eyebrow slightly. "Yes."
"Bennett’s influence in A City is still being cleaned up, so I can’t show up there myself," Ye Xiaoyuan said calmly, not mentioning his previous identity. "I left something in that apartment."
"So?"
"Could you help me with something?"
The temple was filled with the scent of incense, permeating every corner of the air.
Qin Yanyi had visited his older brother Qin Fujia’s temple before. He remembered that the first time he came, he smelled like incense all over his body, including his hair, and he had to take a long bath to get rid of it.
This time, however, he felt no aversion to the smell.
Qin Sui’an looked around with her large, dark eyes, curious about her surroundings. They were in one of the temple’s halls, with a plaque hanging in the center displaying four golden characters.
Qin Sui’an blinked and read aloud softly, "Da... um, Bao..."
Her literacy was limited.
Qin Yanyi smiled and gently corrected her, "That’s the Great Buddha Hall."
"Oh~ Great Buddha Hall~" Qin Sui’an’s small voice sounded much more confident now.
Qin Yanyi wasn’t superstitious but respected these deities to a degree. As he walked through the temple with Ann, he could only read out the names on the plaques and describe them as best as he could.
Inside the hall, a few monks in robes were cleaning. Upon seeing them enter, they politely put down their tools and clasped their hands together. "Amitabha."
Qin Sui’an immediately followed their example, folding her tiny hands and saying obediently, "Amitabha~"
The sight of the little girl saying this with her soft voice and innocent expression brought warm smiles to the monks’ faces. They continued cleaning while occasionally glancing at the little girl being held.
Seeing that Ann was interested, Qin Yanyi crouched down, gently setting her on the ground to explore at her own pace.
Qin Sui’an noticed the silent monks, much like her big brother, and unconsciously quieted her footsteps. When she saw the towering Buddha statue in the hall, her little head tilted back, and her round eyes blinked in wonder.
The silver bracelets on her wrist emitted a faint glow, warmly encircling her delicate wrist.
In a daze, Qin Sui’an seemed to hear some murmured voices:
"Isn’t that Miss Zhaosi’s daughter?"
"She looks so much like Miss Zhaosi..."
"A lively little human child, look, she seems mesmerized by us."
"Indeed, haha—"
The laughter abruptly stopped.
"Wait, can she see us?"
"Impossible!"
Confused, Qin Sui’an furrowed her brows and looked around, but she only saw some small Buddha statues on the sides of the hall.
"Can’t see us..."
"But it seems like she can hear us talking?"
"Those silver bracelets she’s wearing look so familiar..."
The conversation continued in a low murmur, but then Qin Sui’an heard her second brother’s concerned voice:
"Ann?" Qin Yanyi crouched down, noticing Ann’s puzzled expression as she looked at the Buddha statues. He gently asked, "What’s wrong?"
Qin Sui’an glanced at the monks who were cleaning and then at her second brother. With just the three of them in the hall, who else could be speaking?
Since her second brother didn’t hear any voices, it meant only Ann could hear them.
Qin Sui’an slowly shook her head, curiously glancing at the Buddha statues before taking her small steps and leaving the hall with her second brother to explore other parts of the temple.
The temple had other halls and scripture halls besides the Great Buddha Hall. The siblings wandered around, and by noon, the sun was directly overhead.
Qin Sui’an’s face looked even more puzzled than when they first started exploring. She replayed the mysterious voices she had heard in each hall.
Hearing voices without seeing anyone might scare others, but Qin Sui’an was just full of curiosity. She was particularly intrigued by the repeated mention of a name: Miss Zhaosi.
Who was Miss Zhaosi?
Among all the people she knew, only her mother’s name contained the syllable "si." So, was Miss Zhaosi her mother?
Did these "people" know her mother?
One question after another made Qin Sui’an eager to find her mother and ask her, even though her mother was likely still asleep and might not be able to answer her questions.
After leaving the reception room, Qin Fujia and Ye Xiaoyuan inquired with the temple’s young monks and headed towards where the little one was.
Qin Yanyi saw their figures first and waved to them. "We’re over here."
Qin Fujia quickened his pace and quietly asked Qin Yanyi, "Are we staying for lunch?"
"Sure, I brought milk for Ann," Qin Yanyi replied. With the milk, there was no need to worry about Ann not liking the temple’s vegetarian food. At least she wouldn’t go hungry.
Thinking of this, Qin Yanyi said, "Big brother, I’ll go get the milk from the car."
Qin Fujia kept his gaze on Ann. Once his second brother had gone, he considered whether to take Ann to the Dining Hall first.
Just as he was pondering this, a voice came from beside him:
"I’ll stay with Ann." Ye Xiaoyuan gave him a glance.
As if noticing Ye Xiaoyuan’s presence for the first time, Qin Fujia paused for a moment. "Are you staying for lunch too?"
Ye Xiaoyuan quickly responded, "Is that okay?"
The Dining Hall in the temple was open to everyone, not just the monks.
"Sure," Qin Fujia said, glancing at him. "Do you have any dietary restrictions?"
"No."
"Alright." Qin Fujia nodded lightly. "Then you stay with Ann while I go to the Dining Hall."
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