Chapter 129: I Seem to Be Thinking of Him/Her

As the day grew brighter, the Dragon Transformation Temple at the mountaintop became clearer, and looking up, it seemed as if a faint Buddha light was emanating.

Upon seeing this scene, Grandma moved swiftly, leading the family quickly upwards.

Fu Chengque lagged behind, walking and observing, feeling delighted.

Halfway up the mountain, she saw a pair of birds playing on a tree branch, and suddenly discovered a hidden bird’s nest among them!

She took a photo, intending to show it to Wen Yu later. She felt that he couldn’t possibly spot a bird’s nest like she did at a glance.

When there was only a quarter left, a child sat on the steps crying, refusing to walk further or be carried. His parents were helpless, and a young novice monk approached. It was then that everyone noticed that the child actually wanted to help the novice monk sweep the steps! So, with the helpless gaze of the child’s parents, the novice monk led the child to sweep the steps…

She noted this incident carefully, planning to tell Wen Yu later and ask the clever strategist how to deal with a stubborn child throwing a tantrum.

As they approached the mountain gate, plum blossoms bloomed on both sides of the road, very beautiful. But she couldn’t bear to pick them, and the fallen petals were not easy to preserve, so she had to dismiss the idea of taking them back. However, there was a kind of leaf from an unfamiliar tree nearby that was also very beautiful, with a strange smell, not necessarily pleasant, but not unpleasant either.

She picked up a leaf like this on the side of the steps, intending to let Wen Yu smell it later and hopefully tell her what kind of tree it was.

Upon entering the mountain gate, Grandma shouted ahead, “Where’s Qiao’er, my granddaughter!”

The young girl had to put away her phone, tuck the leaf away, and quickly approach.

“Grandma!”

“Granddaughter, come, accompany Grandma to pay respects at the temple.”

Grandma smiled and reached out to hold her hand.

Fu Chengque quickly handed herself over and let Grandma pull her forward.

Behind her, the elders nervously shouted, “Grandma, slow down,” “Mom, don’t rush,” “Oh my, be careful, Qiao’er, help grandma!”

Fu Chengque nodded, taking over the effort, holding grandma’s arm and protecting her body.

Entering the temple, the girl witnessed her grandma’s piety.

At every incense burner or pagoda, her grandma had to ask someone to bring three long incense sticks, lit the nearest fire, bowed three times, then put three incense sticks on the hot stove, and urged her granddaughter to do the same.

When Fu Chengque was inserting incense, her grandma instructed from the side: “You should insert the middle one first, then the right one, and finally the left one…”

Offering incense all the way until the main hall of Longhua Temple.

Outside the main hall, there was a bustling crowd, but inside it was quiet.

When the worshippers arrived here, they all became silent, their steps lighter and more orderly.

The fragrance in the main hall was strong, and there were three Buddhas standing, one of which Fu Chengque didn’t recognize. She followed her grandma, doing whatever the old lady told her to do.

“Raise your hands high, higher than your head, pray to the Buddha for blessings… Lower them to your heart, then kneel down, your heart must be sincere…” Grandma earnestly instructed.

“I know, grandma!”

The girl looked up at the golden Buddha, clasped her hands together devoutly, and made a wish:

“Grandma, stay healthy~”

Then, following grandma’s instructions, she knelt on the cushion.

She repeated this two more times, making two more wishes.

“Mom and dad, stay healthy~”

“May all of us be happy and healthy~”

With that, the girl was quite satisfied!

On her journey to becoming Empress, her abilities were not enough yet, so she borrowed some light from the Buddhist temple for now, and would repay it later!

Just after she finished praying, her grandma next to her started to worship, murmuring prayers.

Fu Chengque was close by, listening attentively to every word:

“May Buddha bless us and keep our home safe.”

“Namo Amitabha Buddha, may Buddha bless our children with good health, food, and clothes…”

“May Guanyin Bodhisattva bless my granddaughter Qiao’er to find a good spouse soon, and have many children and blessings…”

The girl shrank to the side, feeling a tingling sensation in her head from listening.

When her grandma finished worshipping, Fu Chengque and the others helped her up, and the abbot in the distance, draped in a kasaya, walked over and invited her grandma to the Dharma hall. It seemed they would chat for a while.

Seeing that she had nothing to do for now, Fu Chengque leisurely walked outside.

In Longhua Temple, there was a small square with a pool of water in the center, in which a huge stone was soaking, inscribed with the words “Longhua”.

There was no specific explanation about making wishes, but the pool was filled with glittering coins.

Even at this moment, there was a continuous sound of coins being tossed into the water.

Fu Chengque leaned in for a closer look, nearly blinded by the glittering coins in the pool, momentarily feeling disrespectful to the gods…

Hastily suppressing the thought of rolling up her pants legs, she silently recited “forgive me, forgive me”. Then she took out her phone again and took many more photos. She wanted to show them to Wen Yu. With so many wishing coins, it completely illustrated that being a deity could also be a profession!

The young girl felt elated.

Wen Yu, oh Wen Yu, there are so many things I want to tell you~

After thinking for a moment, she took out a 50-cent coin from her pocket, placed it in front of the camera, and took a photo with the pool as the background – this was a found 50 cents!

Golden and radiant.

Suitable for making wishes.

With her hands clasped together, the girl placed the coin in her palm and began to make wishes:

“I hope for good health.”

“I hope this year will be better than last year!”

“I hope to become Empress sooner…”

“Wen Yu, too, must be well, be a competent strategist, and help me achieve the great ambition of unifying the earth!”

“Yes, Wen Yu is very important, spend another cent! I hope Wen Yu… can always be by my side, assisting me!”

Excited, she opened her eyes, gently biting her lip, aimed at the large rock in the middle, and lightly tossed the coin. The coin drew an arc, hit the rock with a “ding”, and then “plunk” fell into the water.

The coin’s entry into the water stirred up a circle of ripples, which collided with other ripples, creating more and more ripples, spreading throughout the pool.

Fu Chengque looked at these ripples, as if each one had become a separate mirror, and Wen Yu’s face was reflected in each one.

So many Wen Yus!

Can each one of them come out individually to listen to her talk about interesting things?

In that case, she could tell everything she saw and heard all at once, gathering all things into one, and the surprise and joy would burst forth in an instant, how exciting!

And Wen Yu understands her very well. He can definitely fully receive the emotions in what she says.

So, she really wants to tell him!

She doesn’t need the system to send tasks, and she absolutely doesn’t want the system to send tasks. She just wants to tell him on her own!

Speaking directly face to face, she can see his expression for the first time, whether surprised, puzzled, or bursting into laughter…

Yes!

She wants to be in front of him!

Even separated by… not more than the distance of their bedroom window, talking about interesting things!

Really want to!!

Fu Chengque’s heart suddenly stirred up ripples, like a coin being thrown into the sea of her heart!

After the splashes, the ripples surged…

And when the circle of ripples calmed down and presented itself like a complete mirror, the girl had a clear idea in her mind —

Wen Yu, it seems like I’m thinking about you.

Unrelated to the system.

***

A pair of wild birds flew past the sky, crossing over the airspace of Longhua Temple and flying towards the mountains.

Wen Yu watched the fleeting shadow of the bird, adjusted his scarf to block the mountain wind, and his mind was filled with the cliché thought of “if only I had wings like that bird,” or maybe the system would send a “Combat Qi Wing” directly, it wasn’t that he was tired, just climbing the mountain was troublesome.

Most of the pilgrims who had climbed the mountain had joy on their faces, naturally, their sincerity had passed the test, and the mountain gate was open within reach, where the smell of incense flowed out naturally.

This strong smell, that’s affinity.

“We should go to worship Buddha first!” Mother Wen called out.

Actually, there weren’t any strict requirements now, especially during the Spring Festival when there were many pilgrims and the rules varied depending on each person’s “understanding of Buddhism”.

But in the Wen family, if Mother Wen said to worship Buddha first, then they worshiped Buddha first!

The family quickly passed through the mountain gate and arrived in front of the Buddha hall.

Beside the main hall of Longhua Temple, there was a huge tree, hugged by six or seven people, lush with branches and leaves even in winter.

On the hanging branches, there were countless red wishing plaques, filled with countless wishes.

The red ropes that had been hanging for a long time had faded, and the characters on the wooden plaques had long been washed clean.

At this moment, some pilgrims were hanging them, while others were trying to throw them up high.

Mother Wen looked at the tree full of red and was very pleased, “This looks interesting.”

“We didn’t have these plaques before,” Father Wen also said.

“Your son, young people like this kind of thing.”

“Mom, when you say young people, don’t include me. I’m still young, not a youth.”

“Young or not, you’re still a young person.” Mother Wen was amused by her son’s joke, “Come, let’s go worship Buddha.”

The three of them squeezed into the main hall, where there were even more people.

Faint chanting could be heard inside the hall, and the sound of wooden fish strikes seemed to come from nowhere, resonating in people’s hearts. Pilgrims couldn’t help but naturally lower their voices and slow down their steps as they walked here.

In the hall, there were three Buddha statues standing tall.

Wen Yu only recognized the central Buddha statue as Sakyamuni Buddha, but that didn’t stop him from bowing three times and making a wish —

“I hope everyone in the family stays healthy, I hope everyone stays safe, I hope there are as few regrets as possible.”

“One more, I hope future relationships go smoothly.”

Wen Yu got greedy and made one more wish.

He looked up at the Buddha statue. The majestic golden Buddha statue appeared dignified, with boundless power. It shouldn’t mind one more wish, right?

After paying respects to the Buddha, the Wen family left the main hall and burned some of the incense they brought in the giant incense burner in front of the main hall. This year’s “first incense” was considered complete.

After everything was done, Wen Yu turned around and looked at the giant tree, saying, “Dad, Mom, I’m going to hang another wishing plaque.”

“See, I told you young people like this!” Father Wen looked up at the tree again and said to his wife, “Should we try these plaques too?”

“I’m not going, I’m going to see other Buddhas and pay my respects!”

“Alright! Let’s go, I’ll go with you.” Then, he turned to Wen Yu and said, “Son, you hang it yourself, and wait for us here after you’re done.”

“Okay.”

Wen Yu watched his parents disappear into the crowd and then turned to “claim” a wooden plaque tied with a red string, took out a pen, and prepared to leave something under this tree.

This tree was entirely red, full of wishes and blessings, and each wisher carried their own expectations.

But what should he leave behind?

Write something about peace and security?

Smooth sailing in the university entrance examination?

Or just wish to always be happy?

Wen Yu held the pen, pressed the tip of the pen against the wishing plaque but didn’t move. His eyes unconsciously looked around.

The tourists and pilgrims were crowded.

Suddenly, a blue figure appeared in his field of vision, extremely conspicuous among the dark-colored clothes around. The blue figure was obviously a girl, and she was wearing a scarf very similar to his own, and her figure was very similar in length, although her hairstyle was different.

She was stuck in the crowd, slightly shorter than the people around her. In order to see ahead clearly, she hopped lightly like a bird…

Wen Yu suddenly felt delighted, stepped forward quickly, and shouted, “Fu…”

Before he could finish the word “Chengque,” he saw the person’s face turning towards him — it wasn’t Fu Chengque, just a somewhat similar unfamiliar girl!

Ah!

Mistaken identity!

Right!

Fu Chengque wasn’t here!

She was at her grandma’s house…

Wen Yu took two steps back, returning to his original position, feeling slightly embarrassed. He resumed his previous action, still holding the pen, but his thoughts had completely changed —

How could he forget?

How could he forget that Fu Chengque wasn’t here yesterday or today?

Ah, it seemed like he had been chatting with her all along! Since she left, he had been talking about this and that. Not only did the conversation not decrease, it seemed to have increased a lot!

And, the chat was especially enjoyable.

It was like he had never talked like yesterday and today, chatting with her across the distance. Although they hadn’t met in person, it felt like she had been by his side all along.

Anything that happened on her end, he knew about it, where she went, what she did, what mood she was in, he knew it all like the back of his hand!

But they had been climbing for quite a while now, and neither of them had had the chance to say anything.

He was also a bit curious.

He just wanted to hear what the other was doing, what she would say…

Or, to take it further, he just wanted to see her!

But she—

Fu Chengque!

As for others, he didn’t care at all, he just wanted to see her.

To see her acting all excited in front of him, to see her bouncing around in front of him, to see her pretending to be an Empress in front of him, and gradually inflating with cuteness when he flattered her!

Wen Yu took a deep breath, his mind starting to feel a bit chaotic.

At this moment, suddenly a gust of wind rose in front of the temple, quite strong, it stirred most of the hanging red plaques, the wooden plaques swayed in the air, hitting each other, making a clanging sound.

A thought suddenly emerged faintly in this wind.

He started to miss Fu Chengque a little, wanting to see that beautiful, cute, lively, energetic, chuuni, a bit silly… but real Fu Chengque.

In that instant, Wen Yu’s heart suddenly felt a little warm, a clear thought emerged in his mind—

Fu Chengque, I seem to be thinking of you.

Irrelevant to past lives.

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