goddaughter
The idea of taking Wen Dai as his godparent first came to him on the day Wen Dai left.
In the middle of the night, after finishing her skincare routine and giving herself a final rinse, Qi Ya came out of the bathroom, gently patting the water droplets off her face. Her gaze fell on the man leaning against the bedside, typing away on his laptop. "Hey," she asked, "what do you think of Wen Dai?"
She sat down on the other side of the bed, pulling back the blanket as she moved further in, and said to herself, "We don't need to care about social status in this family. If she were to be with Chen Sizhe, I wouldn't object, but I'm afraid he might be interested but she might not. Did you see that? Our son personally took her back! Last time I introduced her to Xu Jing, do you know what he did? He just left her here and made her find her own driver. The housekeeper told me that later. It was so rude."
Chen Wenkang's fingers, which had been hovering over the laptop, stopped. His gaze remained fixed on the screen, a deep breath emanating from his nostrils. His face, now imbued with a refined air due to his age, had droopy eyelids. "Marriage is a matter of fate. I actually think her fate with us is deeper—first meeting you at the temple, and then… bumping into me." He almost blurted out the word "temple," but quickly glossed it off.
“I think she would be better as our daughter than the daughter-in-law you want.”
Qi Ya, who was leaning on the bed and facing Chen Wenkang, paused for a moment. She frowned in thought, and the past of Wen Dai that she had heard at the dinner table came back to mind. Her tense shoulders relaxed. "Sigh, she was a pitiful child too. In this world, there are still people who didn't even finish high school..."
“People who are unfortunate don’t wear signs on their faces saying they’re unfortunate. It’s not just high school; there are plenty of people who didn’t even finish elementary school. I was thinking of taking her in as my goddaughter. That way, even if she doesn’t end up with Chen Sizhe, we can still act as her parents and help her out as best we can—even if it’s just raising another person, it won’t be a burden for our family.” At noon, this idea was still just a seed, but now Chen Wenkang was increasingly convinced of it.
He turned and glanced at Qi Ya, then said in a low voice, "If you think it's okay, let's pick a time to talk to Chen Sizhe and see what he thinks."
What was Chen Sizhe thinking? When he returned to Cuihu District from Changhai District, he received a phone call asking him to come home. Filled with confusion, he rushed over, only to be met by Qi Ya, who pressed him down to sit on the sofa.
What was he thinking? When he heard his parents say they wanted to adopt Wen Dai as their goddaughter and make her their sister, he didn't know what he was thinking either, because he was more curious about what his parents were thinking.
Qi Ya was in charge of acting as the mediator. She stood before him, one hand across her chest, the other tapping in the air. "Look," she said, "you've grown up all alone, it must have been quite lonely. You're our only son, and we only wanted a daughter. Who would have thought you'd be born? And now I'm constantly worrying about your marriage… I think Wen Dai is quite nice, a pretty young girl. I don't expect you to develop anything with her. Anyway, your father and I will take her in as our goddaughter, and we'll be her support. You know, she's so young and doesn't have any parents…"
His heart was torn in two, and Chen Sizhe couldn't figure it out. He felt as if he had been transported to another independent space, separated from them by a barrier. All he could hear was a faint buzzing. So he said, "Do whatever you want, I don't care."
Unconsciously, he recalled the villa with its remaining burn marks, the desolate and forlorn courtyard, and her standing outside the gate. His gaze inadvertently swept over her through the car window. He could have simply left, but he was moved by that lonely figure and stopped the car, getting out instead.
Unconsciously recalling the redness in her eyes when I approached her, I always felt as if I were seeing a scabbed wound.
He didn't want to think about it anymore. He raised his head, his gaze shifting from Qi Ya in front of him to Chen Wenkang, who was glancing at him from the other end. "Do whatever you want, I don't care."
-
Zhong'an Temple is located at the foot of Zhong'an Mountain. Its dark ochre gate is tightly closed. Camphor trees are planted along the street outside the temple, and rows of houses are all dark wood in color, intentionally decorated in a rustic style.
Chen Wenkang led Wen Dai to the gate, where he was on his phone talking to a Taoist priest inside the temple. Wen Dai stood at the bottom of the steps, glancing casually at the street. She didn't notice the woman standing under the camphor tree not far away—her short, ear-length hair was curled and stuck to her ears, and wrinkles made her face look saggy. Underneath her fitted gray coat were black pencil pants, and her loafers were covered in mud.
The woman was holding a girl who looked to be about five years old in her arms. She held the girl's head with one hand and supported her bottom with the other. She paced back and forth in small steps. After making eye contact with Wen Dai, she paused briefly and then quickly turned to face away.
Just then, the tightly sealed temple gates opened, and Wen Dai slowly withdrew her gaze, then followed Chen Wenkang into the Taoist temple.
The last sound coming from outside the door the moment I entered was a series of rapid footsteps, as if someone was running, approaching from afar.
The Taoist temple wasn't very big. Guided by the young Taoist priest, Wen Dai followed Chen Wenkang unhurriedly through the paths between the palaces to a corner of a house with a closed lattice door.
"Master usually receives guests here." The young Taoist priest walked to the door, knocked twice, and announced, "Master, I've brought our two guests here!"
He pushed the door open, stretched out one arm to brace against it, turned his body slightly to the side, and gestured "please" with his other hand.
For some reason, she felt as if she had jumped back to Wen Daiyan a thousand years ago. She blinked twice and stepped into the house with Chen Wenkang.
Passing through the painted screen into the inner room, tea sets were laid out on a rectangular tea table. The man sitting at the table was rather thin, with a completely white beard on his chin. His long hair was tied into a bun, and his triangular eyes, with their drooping eyelids, held clear pupils. A dark blue Taoist robe hung on his body, and his hands, which emerged from the sleeves, were somewhat withered as he poured tea into cups from an earthenware teapot.
When his eyes caught her gaze, Wen Dai felt inexplicably nervous.
Chen Wenkang bowed to him, saying, "Daoist Zhang Chengyuan." He lowered one hand, palm up, and extended it to Wen Dai's side, his smiling gaze lingering on Zhang Chengyuan. "This is a friend I met by chance, named Wen Dai. Don't let her young age fool you."
The old man, having finished pouring the tea, stood up, clasped his hands in a cupped-hand salute, and bowed to them in turn, prompting Wen Dai to quickly return the gesture. Zhang Chengyuan scrutinized Wen Dai for a moment, nodded twice, a mixture of amusement and complexity in his eyes, and said in a thought-provoking tone, "Indeed, she should not be underestimated."
He gestured for them to sit down. Beneath Chen Wenkang's mature appearance, his inner curiosity was on full display. As he pulled out a chair and sat down, he asked curiously, "Daoist Master, do you think you can spot anything about her, like how she's different from ordinary people?"
"Hmph." Zhang Chengyuan shook his head and chuckled knowingly. He brought the teacup in front of him to his lips and took a few sips to moisten his throat. He looked at the somewhat uneasy Wen Dai and his hoarse voice came out from his throat: "There are definitely differences between people, but there is no such thing as ordinary or extraordinary. Everyone is an ordinary person. There are people in this world who are just like her."
Her hands, hanging on her thighs, quietly clenched into fists. Wen Dai swallowed hard. She looked up and met Zhang Chengyuan's eyes, only to see his pupils, hidden beneath his eyelids, also staring at her.
“The road ahead isn’t easy, is it? I don’t need to say anything to you, you understand yourself. You’re using the abilities you’re supposed to use. You’re not walking this path for yourself, and it won’t let you do it for yourself, for this side of yourself—” Zhang Chengyuan turned around, opened the cabinet door next to the window with one hand, and took out a Rubik’s Cube.
He twisted the Rubik's Cube into an irregular shape, raised the hand holding the cube, pointed at the front with the other hand, and then moved back along the curved edges of the cube. "Behind me are many faces that do not belong to me."
Chen Wenkang, sitting next to Wen Dai, frowned, pondering the meaning of those words. Meanwhile, Wen Dai, the person directly involved, focused her attention on something quite unique—
"Master, do you still play with Rubik's Cubes?"
Chen Wenkang raised one eyebrow and instinctively turned his face toward Wen Dai, his eyes filled with surprise.
However, Zhang Chengyuan seemed to have known this all along. He turned the Rubik's Cube back to its original form, ran his wrinkled fingertips over the cube, and laughed, "Of course, it's educational. Playing with these little gadgets can increase your wisdom. There are unexpected things hidden in everything."
"It'll soon be your turn to shine again, I'm counting on you." The Taoist priest, who at first glance seemed ethereal and otherworldly, was now calmly playing with a Rubik's Cube. Completely bewildered by his antics, Wen Dai looked around, pointed at herself, and hesitantly asked, "Me? What am I supposed to do...?"
The door was knocked on again, but this time Wen Dai was inside.
The urgent "knock knock" was accompanied by the young Taoist priest's shouts from outside: "Master, Master! There's an auntie outside kneeling and crying with her child in her arms. No matter how we try to persuade her, she won't leave and insists on your help!"
Wen Dai's eyes widened slightly. Her legs were angled diagonally towards the door, as if she was about to get up, but her gaze was turned towards the composed Zhang Chengyuan. "This—wasn't this the place I came to see you? You don't expect me to do this, do you?"
Gradually, knocking turned into pounding on the door, clearly indicating that they were at their wits' end.
Zhang Chengyuan finally raised his eyes slowly and deliberately. Instead of answering, he asked, "Don't you know how to make a move?"
"Ha, how can I help? I'm not some kind of immortal, I'm just a human." Wen Dai put on an expression of indifference, but her body betrayed her by getting up from the chair. She took a few steps and stood to the side of the painted screen, turning her head back as she paused.
Looking at Zhang Chengyuan, who was still sipping his tea, she seemed somewhat incredulous, her eyebrows slightly raised, "Aren't you really going to do anything about it?"
The old man shrugged as if it were the most natural thing in the world, spread his hands, and feigned innocence, saying, "Why should I care? What should I care about? You're on your way, she's on her way, and I'm on my way; it would be too impolite to suddenly step into someone else's path."
“...She needs someone to walk up to her and help her up. If you won’t help her, I will.” With an almost self-destructive tone, Wen Dai lowered her eyelids, clenched her fists tightly, and said simply, “Anyway, I didn’t own anything to begin with, so she can’t extort anything from me.” It sounded more like she was convincing herself.
Her legs moved forward on their own, and Wen Dai hurriedly walked over and pushed open the door.
Still anxiously waiting outside the door, raising her hand as if to knock again, the young Taoist priest nearly slapped Wen Dai across the face. Just as he was stunned by the shock, Wen Dai, who was about to be slapped, calmly tilted her head and lowered it, slipping under the young Taoist priest's raised arm.
She strode hurried toward the door, the sounds of weeping and pleading growing clearer as she stepped over the threshold; there she saw the woman kneeling at the foot of the steps—the same woman from before.
Her palms, red with cold, stretched from the back of the little girl's head to her cheek in her arms. Wen Dai's heart leaped into her throat. She glanced at the girl in the woman's arms; her eyes were tightly closed, her face deathly ashen, and her lips cyanotic.
"Don't meddle in other people's business."
The fairy who rarely paid attention to Wen Dai spoke up.
But the feelings that had already been stirred would not easily fade away, especially for Wen Dai.
Since it was something she truly wanted to do, she decided to do it first and worry about the consequences later. As for the price... she had to swallow quite a bit of it.
She stepped forward anyway, and reached out her hand. She bent down and stood in front of the woman, placing her outstretched hand on the forehead of the little girl in the woman's arms. The intense heat of the back of her hand against the skin terrified her.
Her brows furrowed unconsciously as she stared at the woman and asked sternly, "Is this your daughter? How long has she had a fever? Have you taken her to the hospital? Not just Western medicine, but traditional Chinese medicine as well. Has she been in a coma since the onset of the fever, or did she fall into a coma some time after the fever started?"
The woman, her face streaked with tears, raised her chin. Her choked voice, tinged with a slightly heavy southern accent, said, “We’ve been to so many hospitals, done all sorts of tests. What did the doctors say? They said there’s no treatment available in China right now. A kind doctor suggested we try traditional Chinese medicine. The doctor prescribed some medicine, but my daughter didn’t get better. Then they tried acupuncture, and she fainted.”
"The traditional Chinese medicine practitioners there told us to try finding a Taoist doctor, to see the Thirteen Ghost Needles, but they said not many people know it. They told us to come directly to Zhong'an Temple, where there are very powerful Taoist masters... I waited for many days, I came for many days, but I never saw the door open. People who came just stood at the door and left. But I saw you go in with that man."
She was holding the child and pretended to kowtow on the steps. Wen Dai quickly reached out to support her and advised, "Auntie, calm down. Don't kowtow. Let's explain the problem clearly."
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