Chapter 92: Few believers make wishes, so they are effective
Dazzling sunlight filtered through the slits in the curtains, jolting Chang Xile awake. She squinted uncomfortably, momentarily losing track of the year. Memories of the past flashed through her mind like pages from a book, a dream she couldn't tell if real or not. If she didn't dwell on them, they would fade like the tide.
Chang Xile felt tear marks on her face. She tried to wipe them away, but her whole body felt as if it were entangled by an octopus and she couldn't move. It was as if she was back to the days and nights of high fever in her childhood.
Could it be that she hasn't woken up yet and is experiencing sleep paralysis again?
But in her dream she was still in the snowy winter day, and now the feeling of heat coming from her body was very real.
Chang Xile struggled to open his eyes and finally understood why he couldn't move.
She had been sleeping, curled up facing the window. Now, as she stood up, she felt a broad chest against her back. A pair of long arms passed through her arms and finally wrapped tightly around her waist.
She felt the warm breath spraying regularly on her ears and neck. She hadn't noticed anything in her sleep, but now, if she could look in the mirror, she would find that her earlobes were red as if they were about to bleed.
"What's going on..." Chang Xile muttered and tried to look back, but soon her eyes were gently covered by a slender hand.
The originally dazzling sunlight turned into a hazy light and shadow, which immediately made people feel relaxed.
A vague sigh, like someone coaxing a child to sleep, came from behind: "It's still early, you can sleep a little longer..."
Why am I even sleeping? Oh my god! Is there anything more terrifying than waking up to find a man in your bed?
Chang Xile tried hard to recall what happened before going to bed last night, and finally remembered everything from the auction to the part where Anping was forced to change back to his original form.
She breathed a sigh of relief, but soon her heart was in pain again.
Years of experience have taught Chang Xile that if you originally planned to get up early, but when you wake up you feel refreshed and the sky is bright, then nine out of ten times you are doomed!
Chang Xile became increasingly lucid. She finally remembered what year it was. With great difficulty, she turned around, placed her palm on the man's chest, and said to him in a rare, lecturing tone, "Didn't you tell me to go to bed early and get up early, and not to be lazy and stay in bed? Why is it that it doesn't count when it comes to you?"
Anping still had his eyes closed. From this close up, his face was almost translucently pale, his nose high, his lips rosy. Chang Xile's words sobered him up a bit, and when he opened his eyes slightly, the sunlight cast a small shadow on his skin from his long eyelashes.
It took him a while to fully understand the metaphor of this sentence, and he suddenly sat up with Chang Xile.
Chang Xile sat face to face with him, looking at his dazed expression and his hair which was rarely taken care of and messed up due to a long night's sleep, and couldn't help but laugh.
Before Anping could speak, Chang Xile raised her hand to stop him. She suddenly leaned forward, so close to Anping that he felt his heartbeat almost resonate with hers. When Chang Xile's right hand passed over his body,
She cried out "ouch!" and nearly fell on Anping, straining her arm to reach for the phone on the other side of the bedside table. Anping, expressionless, held her shoulders to help her maintain her balance, calmly scolding his own heartbeat to stop.
Chang Xile took back his phone and his first reaction was to check the time.
They had agreed to celebrate birthdays together in the dormitory today and would meet at four in the afternoon, so she had to rush back to school first.
The screen clearly displayed 11:00, and Chang Xile finally breathed a sigh of relief. She figured if she got up now, she should be able to eat by 12 o'clock and arrive at school by 1 o'clock, so she said to Anping, "Let's wash up and go eat."
Anping had a lot more to say, but he nodded obediently. Chang Xile walked towards the cloakroom in his slippers, then took a few steps back after remembering something and asked, "I forgot to ask you yesterday, why do you have so many girls' clothes here?"
It was in this pile of clothes that she found the nightgown she was wearing yesterday.
Anping bit his toothbrush, gestured at her height, and said, "I don't know how old or tall you'll be when we meet again, so I've prepared everything."
Chang Xile was stunned for a moment, silently looking at the neatly arranged clothes in the cloakroom. The clothes she wore before she was 12 were very similar to the styles she liked as a child. After that, she started buying clothes of all styles, and the only thing she could tell from the size was the age range they were chosen for.
This familiar feeling reminded Chang Xile of the paintings Anping had drawn of her downstairs.
After she changed her clothes and went to the bathroom to pick up her toothbrush and start washing up, Anping finally couldn't help but ask her, "You... remember everything?"
Chang Xile nodded and asked, "Where did you go after that day?"
Anping was silent for a moment, seemingly reluctant to recall that time. However, he continued, "After I died once, I wandered the forest in a daze for a long time before being picked up by my master."
Chang Xile thought for a moment and asked, "Is it the Taoist priest from Xiaoyu Temple?"
Anping nodded.
Chang Xile touched his chin, feeling very amazed. "You know, after our family moved back to my grandmother's house, she took me to worship Lady Laughter as her adoptive mother."
Anping tilted his head, tucked the fallen hair behind her ear, and asked, "Why?"
"Grandma said that my destiny is too weak, so I need a backer to help me calm down." Chang Xile herself had forgotten most of it, and it was all thanks to Tang You reminding her some time ago, but this time she still introduced it to Anping in a serious manner.
Anping seemed lost in thought. He asked, "There are so many gods and Buddhas in the sky, all with their own magical powers. Why did they choose the obscure Lady of Laughter?"
Chang Xile winked at him and said, "She has few followers, so she's naturally free to look after me."
Anping hadn't expected this answer, but it made perfect sense, and a look of sudden realization crossed his face. Chang Xile stared at him for a moment before she couldn't help but laugh. "Of course, that's not the main reason," she said.
The story begins when Chang Xile's grandmother Chen Ping was young. It was the war years at that time, and every family was poor. But every family had many children, and the children were not well fed or clothed since childhood.
Chen Ping, the eldest child in the family, dropped out of school early. When she was thirteen or fourteen, she would go up the mountain with her neighbors to collect firewood and wild fruits, and if she was lucky, she would even catch a rabbit.
Later, the war ended, but the family continued to live their lives as normal. One summer, when she was seventeen or eighteen, her neighbor was unwell and resting at home. But her younger siblings were still waiting for dinner. Chen Ping figured she'd walked this mountain road so many times before, so it wouldn't be a big deal. So, she gritted her teeth and headed up the mountain, carrying her backpack.
As luck would have it, there was a thick fog on the mountain that day, and it also rained. The road was slippery and muddy, and Chen Ping lost his footing and rolled down a slope. When he got up, he was completely lost.
She followed the river and found a Taoist temple. She thought that where there is a Taoist temple, there must be people. She was so excited that she knocked on the door to ask for directions and a drink of water.
Who would have thought that the door would open as soon as she knocked, but there was no one inside. It was an abandoned Taoist temple. She was dejected for a while, then comforted herself that at least she had a roof over her head.
She straightened the overturned incense burner in front of the statue and replaced a few scattered incense sticks. She waved her bare hands at the statue and said, "Goddess Zhuyan, please bless me and help me find my way home."
A man sat up from the pile of straw behind the statue, frightening Chen Ping so much that she almost screamed.
A closer look revealed a young man of about twenty. He spat out a mouthful of dogtail grass and burst into laughter before he even opened his mouth. After a long while, he said, "What Bamboo Words Goddess? Where did you hear that title?"
Chen Ping hadn't yet settled the matter of him scaring her, and she was laughing for no apparent reason. She said, "Isn't there something written on the outside of the door?"
The young man couldn't help laughing and said to her, "Those two words are pronounced as 'xiaoyu'. Why do you only pronounce half of it?"
Chen Ping had no chance to study, and could only occasionally go outside the school to listen. During the last two years of war, even the school was closed. She said angrily, "You're the only one who can read."
Seeing her annoyance, the young man stopped smiling. He said seriously, "I'm not kidding you. It's just that if you pray to the statue and pronounce the wrong name, I'm afraid it won't work."
Chen Ping thought this made sense, and she asked anxiously, "Then what should I do?"
"It is a great virtue to admit one's mistakes and correct them. If you worship carefully again and pronounce the name correctly, the Goddess of Laughter will naturally bless you." The young man took out a lighter from his pocket and lit the incense.
Because of the rain, only one of the three incense sticks was lit. He fanned it with his palm, handed it to Chen Ping, and said, "Come."
Chen Ping hesitated a little: "If you give me the incense, then you won't worship?"
The young man smiled and said, "Hey, you provide the incense, and I provide the fire. Lady Xiaoyu won't mind."
After Chen Ping finished praying devoutly, she became dazed. She waited for a long time but didn't see any miracles, which made her feel a little discouraged.
The young man comforted her, "Don't worry, Lady Laughter has very few followers, so she'll always have time to look after us."
Chen Ping glanced at the statue nervously and punched the young man: "Keep your voice down!"
What should I do if I offend the gods?
"Empress Laughter treats all living beings as her own children. She won't get angry so easily." The young man laughed. "As long as it clears up tonight, I will find a way to take you back."
Chen Ping had nothing to say to him. She was so tired that she sat down on the ground, staring at the compassionate smile of the statue. She couldn't help thinking that she really looked like her deceased mother.
In fact, the facial features were not similar, but the motherhood and gentleness in the statue made her feel very close.
She murmured, "If I could really find the way back, I would definitely come and fulfill my vow."
After a good night's sleep, the young man nudged Chen Ping and pointed outside the door, saying, "Your wish really came true. Look, the sky is clear now."
It was already very late at night. This was the first time Chen Ping had been away from home for so long. She stood up and asked anxiously, "It's already dark. How can I find my way home?"
The young man said to her patiently, "Look up at the sky."
Chen Ping looked up and saw only a bunch of stars. She said, "Just a bunch of glowing things. What's there to see?"
"Alas." The young man sighed, but he didn't laugh. He stretched out his hand to gesture to Chen Ping, "Look at those brightest stars in the sky. Do they look like a spoon when you put them together?"
"You're right, there is a little bit." Chen Ping looked for a while and answered truthfully.
"The Big Dipper can point people in the direction. If we follow it, we can go back." The young man explained.
"So that's how it is..." Chen Ping had never heard of these things before. She felt awkward and laughed at herself, "You're really amazing! I'm illiterate and don't understand these things."
The young man shook his head seriously. "I just knew it a little earlier than you. After I told you today, you will know it too, right?"
Chen Ping nodded thoughtfully.
The young man smiled and held out his hand to her, saying, "Let's go while the weather is nice."
Chen Ping looked at his outstretched hand. It was smooth and delicate, without the calluses common to people like them who were used to doing rough work. She asked, "Are you from Qianping Town too?"
"Yes." The young man winked at her with a sly look in his eyes. "We even met through the window of the school. Don't you remember me?"
Chen Ping curled her lips, wondering if this was a student from a wealthy family. She had never heard of such a person in Qianping Town.
Before leaving, Chen Ping returned to the temple to clean it up. She clasped her hands together and said to the Goddess of Laughter, "When life gets better, I'll definitely bring some fruits back to fulfill my vow!"
She followed the young man and listened to his stories. She had never heard of these stories or knowledge before, and with a gleam in her eyes, she exclaimed, "I never knew this before."
The young man looked at her seriously and said, "You are smarter than me. You can learn quickly and apply what you have learned to other situations. If you can persist in learning, you will achieve as much as I do."
The light in Chen Ping's eyes dimmed a little, and she said, "My family doesn't have the conditions."
The young man put his hands behind his back and smiled: "What's the big deal? You can learn anything, it's never too late. I have a lot of books at home, I'll lend them to you. If you have any questions, just ask."
As they chatted, they unknowingly walked to the end of the forest. The sky was turning pale, with only a few stars still hanging at the end of the sky.
Chen Ping said softly, "But I don't even know who you are."
The young man turned to her and said, "My name is Tang Zhixiao."
Chen Ping frowned and wanted to ask what the three words were, but was embarrassed.
Tang Zhixiao seemed to see through it. He smiled and took Chen Ping's hand, writing these three words on her palm stroke by stroke. Finally, he asked her, "Did you remember it?"
Chen Ping thought for a while, nodded, and said affirmatively: "I remember it!"
Tang Zhixiao was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay, I live in the academy in Qianping Town. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me."
Chen Ping was puzzled. "That academy closed down a long time ago, and there are no students there at all. Why are you going there?"
"I'm the new teacher in town." Tang Zhixiao looked at the sun rising higher and higher in the sky, with the youthful vigor and ambition of a young man. "I don't charge tuition. As long as there are people willing to learn, I'm happy to teach."
Chen Ping looked at the glimmer in his almond-shaped eyes, and seemed to see the sun in a trance.
She thought to herself: Lady Laughter is truly effective.
Later, as the townspeople watched Chen Ping make a fortune and move into a new house with her family, they couldn't help but ask her, "What wish did you make at the temple that day?"
"Is it to find the way home?"
"Making a lot of money?"
"I guess she's looking for a good marriage partner?" Someone knew that Chen Ping was close to Mr. Tang in town, and couldn't help but teasing her.
Chen Ping smiled generously and shook her head: "None of them."
"What is that?" When young Chang Xile heard this question, she couldn't help but ask her grandmother.
Chen Ping's hair was already gray. She glanced at the man working on a new dish in the small kitchen, stroked little Chang Xile's hair, and whispered to her, "I told Lady Xiaoyu that I wanted to leave this mountain and go back to school."
"So, she immediately decided to let me recognize Empress Xiaoyu as my adoptive mother." Chang Xile said as he spit out the foam in his mouth and used his hands to catch water to rinse his mouth.
"It's amazing to say, but I haven't seen any ghosts since then," Chang Xile said, his eyes curved. "I've been living an ordinary life for several years now."
Anping took the wet tissue and carefully wiped the foam from the corners of her mouth. He smiled and said, "Really, it's really good."
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