Chapter 14
The next day, the eight of them packed up early in the morning and gathered in the hall.
On the third day, after a simple breakfast, the eight of us headed to Foshan's most famous attraction: the century-old Hanging Temple. While most temples are built on flat ground, this one is built on a mountainside cliff, suspended in mid-air. The mountain is steep, with vertical cliffs rising over 30 meters on either side, seemingly carved by an axe or a knife. The Hanging Temple is nestled within this.
On the fourth day, from afar, one could see the divine building and palace, hanging precariously in the sky. A light mist fell that day, and visitors ascended, passing through skylights, grottoes, plank roads, and long corridors, feeling as if they were in a fairyland.
Ren Qiaoan is no stranger to temples.
When she was a child, on the first and fifteenth day of every lunar month or the birthday of Guanyin, Ren Qiao'an always liked to go up the mountain with her grandmother to burn incense and worship Buddha. Her grandmother was a devout Buddhist, but Ren Qiao'an was not, but she liked the smell of burning incense and the sound of chanting scriptures to praise Buddha.
After growing up, Ren Qiao'an had fewer opportunities to go to temples, but no matter where he was, temples always gave him a familiar feeling. Perhaps it was the nationwide unified formula of ancient charm, solemnity, melodious bells, and smoke-filled air; or perhaps it was that here Ren Qiao'an could always think of his deceased grandmother and her pious and kind face.
"Step with your right foot first." Ren Qiao'an kindly reminded. She didn't expect Jin Xi to be interested in worshipping in the temple. After the others walked around twice for sightseeing, they all ran directly to the area selling peripheral goods.
Jin Xi's left foot, which had just been raised, stopped in mid-air. "You can't step on the threshold either. It's disrespectful." A gentle reminder came from her ear again. Jin Xi suspected that Ren Qiaoyuan was deliberately embarrassing her, so she could only retract her foot.
Ren Qiao'an came to Jin Xi's side and said, "Men on the left, women on the right. We will enter through the side door. Don't point at the Buddha statues inside." Compared to ordinary young people, Ren Qiao'an may have more respect for temples.
It wasn't that Ren Qiao'an had any personal wishes, devoutly asking the Buddha for his approval. His respect didn't come from the gods above, but from the thousands of pilgrims, tourists, and elderly people who shared the simplest aspirations.
Ren Qiao'an respects their beliefs and sincerely hopes for their wishes: the safety of their children, the health of their loved ones, and the happiness of their children. The gods can see this.
Perhaps influenced by Ren Qiao'an's serious demeanor, Jin Xi obediently followed him into the temple, imitating his example as they walked clockwise to worship the Buddha. Occasionally, Jin Xi would stop before the statue to examine it, while Ren Qiao'an quietly explained its identity and the significance of worship. Sometimes, Jin Xi would accidentally stand in front of pilgrims worshipping behind them, and Ren Qiao'an would quietly pull her away, telling her that this was bad behavior.
Throughout the entire pilgrimage, Jin Xi quietly followed Ren Qiao'an. This reminded her of the time when they walked down the steep stairs side by side, only now their roles were reversed, and she was the submissive one. Jin Xi didn't dislike this feeling; she even felt at ease.
This wonderful feeling made Jin Xi recognize the person in front of her for the first time. The You Ran Jian Nanshan on the Internet and the Ren Qiao'an who was next to her at this moment completely overlapped with each other. They were both people who could make Jin Xi feel at ease. They were the same person.
Throughout the entire journey, Ren Qiao'an's thoughts were much simpler. She had no particular suspicions about Jin Xi, treating her as a simple friend she had just met. At this point, she could be said to have no distractions. She bowed earnestly, completely unaware that her vest had been completely removed.
Near noon, it started to drizzle, and a few people decided to return early. Fortunately, the temple had a shuttle bus that went directly down the mountain.
The minibus can accommodate more than 20 people. Yan Yiyi and Ren Qiaoyuan were lucky enough to sit in the front row, Jin Xi and Tang Mu sat in the other two seats in the same row, and several boys had the misfortune of sitting in the last row, the most bumpy seat.
Taking the bus down the mountain was much easier than walking up, but after driving around the mountain road for so long, Ren Qiao'an stopped feeling relieved because she felt dizzy and uncomfortable. Like a wilted little yellow flower, Ren Qiao'an slumped onto Yan Yiyi's shoulder. "Yiyi, do you have motion sickness patches?"
"No, I'll ask other people for you." Yan Yiyi asked in the group, but no one brought her. Yan Yiyi touched Ren Qiao'an's head and said, "Are you feeling uncomfortable? Do you want to sleep on my lap?"
"No, let's leave it at that for now." Ren Qiao'an felt chest tightness and the smell in the car kept her awake. Next time, she would definitely carry Huoxiang Zhengqi water with her. Drinking a bottle would refresh her mind and cure all ailments.
When getting off the car, Ren Qiaoyuan felt dizzy and her legs were a little weak. Fortunately, Yan Yiyi supported her, but she did not vomit. However, Xu Xing and Wang Xiaoer vomited all over the floor.
"Let's take a break." Jin Xi couldn't stand seeing someone looking so sick. Zhao Guofu agreed completely. After 180,000 people had passed through the mountain road, they were not in a good state. "Okay, Haoran and I will go buy some water. You guys sit down for a while."
There are many rest areas at the foot of the mountain, as well as small tents for outdoor use, making it very convenient for everyone to rest or shop.
After a gust of wind, Ren Qiao'an felt much better, so he and Yan Yiyi bought some snacks to fill their stomachs. After eating and resting enough, they took a taxi back to the train station.
But the good condition did not last long. Ren Qiao'an felt dizzy again in the taxi. It might be because she had eaten a lot of mixed food before leaving, such as fried stinky tofu, spicy duck intestines, and pancakes. In addition, when she was taking the bus down the mountain, Ren Qiao'an felt really uncomfortable, so she asked Yan Yiyi to open the windows and let in some cool breeze. As a result, Ren Qiao'an felt carsick frequently today.
Perhaps everyone was a little tired on the return trip, the car was silent the entire way. Jin Xi seemed to sense something and rolled down the window a little. A gust of cool wind blew against Yan Yiyi's forehead, and she frowned unhappily. Yan Yiyi remained silent the entire time, simply because she was sitting in the middle, with Jin Xi on her left and Ren Qiao'an on her right.
Unlike Yan Yiyi, a breeze blew into the car, making Ren Qiao'an feel much more comfortable. Since Jin Xi opened the window first, Ren Qiao'an also rolled down the window a little to let the air in the car flow.
What the hell… one or two people, the road is so noisy, Yan Yiyi complained in her heart. Just when she was about to glare at Ren Qiaoyuan, she realized that Ren Qiaoyuan’s face was not right. “What’s wrong, are you carsick again?”
"Yeah, I feel a little uncomfortable." He was not in a good mood today. Normally, Ren Qiaoyuan would not get carsick for such a short distance.
"Then roll the window down a little more?" No wonder Ren Qiaoyuan wanted to open the window. Yan Yiyi expressed her understanding. Then why did Jin Xi open the window first? Was she also carsick?
Jin Xi reminded, "It's still raining outside." Is she trying to make someone sick?
"Yeah, that's all." Yan Yiyi thought it made sense, but why did Jin Xi say that? Yan Yiyi secretly glanced at Jin Xi. She looked pretty and calm, not like she was carsick... Could it be that she had already noticed that Ren Qiao'an was feeling unwell? Hmm... strange.
Fortunately, the journey was not very long. Ren Qiao'an persevered for an hour and finally arrived at the train station. If it had taken longer, she might have really vomited. Considering that her lunch was a mess, Ren Qiao'an couldn't imagine what she would vomit.
Then, dazed, Ren Qiaoan boarded the train. This time, he sat between Yan Yiyi and Jin Xi, but she didn't care at all, as she had no energy to pay attention. The train felt much more refreshing, and Ren Qiaoan fell asleep while listening to music. A few moments later, he swayed and fell onto a shoulder.
Seeing Ren Qiao'an fall on Jin Xi's shoulder, Yan Yiyi thought she was confused and fell in the wrong direction, "Sorry, I asked her to lean on me."
"No need, let her lean on it." Jin Xi lowered her eyebrows and looked at Ren Qiaoyuan who was sleeping soundly. "Do you want to cover her with some clothes?" Jin Xi said again.
"Oh, sure." Yan Yiyi bent down and pulled out her coat from her bag, covering Ren Qiao'an with it. While covering her, she secretly observed Jin Xi. Seeing that she had already closed her eyes to rest, Yan Yiyi could only swallow the confusion in her mind. Jin Xi is a nice person? Hmm... It's really a bit strange.
Finally, when they got off the bus at school, Ren Qiaoan almost rushed out, squatted down by the bushes, and vomited gorgeously. After vomiting, Ren Qiaoan felt much better in her chest, but the taste in her mouth was...
At this moment, a pair of hands promptly handed over a bottle of water. Ren Qiao'an, who was bending over, took it without even looking at it. "Thank you, Yi Yi."
After rinsing her mouth with water several times, Ren Qiao'an finally felt the taste in her mouth lighten. When she turned back to her waist, she saw Yan Yiyi standing beside her blankly with a napkin in her hand, not knowing what she was looking at. Ren Qiao'an took the paper from Yan Yiyi's hand and wiped her mouth. "What are you doing?"
"Strange... Really strange." Yan Yiyi kept muttering to herself. Just when she rushed over to check on Ren Qiaoyuan, Jinxi was already here. She handed her a packet of paper, then left with a stern face. Hmm... What a strange person.
"What's strange?" Ren Qiao'an felt that Yan Yiyi was quite strange now.
Yan Yiyi said solemnly: "Jinxi."
“???” Ren Qiao’an was full of questions.
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