"Tastes awful!"
"Help!"
"I can't believe this!"
"What kind of strange taste is this?!"
The Longjing hotpot made Luo Ye swear out loud. He left the restaurant with a disgusted face and decided to follow the advice of the waiter from yesterday and go get some Lanzhou noodles instead.
By now, it must be noon, and the senior probably should be home by now. Luo Ye took out his phone and sent a message to his "fairy" senior.
Luo Ye: "Senior, are you home yet?"
A reply came almost immediately.
Fairy Senior: "Not yet."
Luo Ye thought to himself, "It's already noon. She can't still be on the train, can she?"
Luo Ye: "Has Senior had lunch yet?"
Fairy Senior: "No."
Luo Ye: "What would you like to eat? Your loyal junior can order takeout for you."
Fairy Senior: "I don't feel like eating."
Luo Ye: "Is your appetite not good?"
Fairy Senior: "I don't know."
Luo Ye paused for a moment. Though every message from his senior was cold, she responded immediately each time. It was a bit contradictory. If she didn't want to talk to him, she could easily ignore him. But she replied every time, and so coldly. Could it be… that she was hinting that she was in a bad mood?
Luo Ye recalled what Gu Mingxuan had warned him before the holiday and decided to send another message.
Luo Ye: "Senior, your home is in Hangzhou, right? What fun places are there in Hangzhou?"
Fairy Senior: "None."
Luo Ye: "Senior… is there anywhere that left an impression on you? I won't know where to go if I visit Hangzhou later."
After reading this, Su Bai Zhou actually paused and started thinking seriously.
She sat at the entrance of the neighborhood, looking exhausted, and her mind was blank as she tried to think of something fun to do in Hangzhou. Although it was her hometown, she couldn't come up with any answers right away.
At that moment, Luo Ye sent another message.
Luo Ye: "Hangzhou actually has an observatory?!"
Luo Ye: "Do you like looking at the stars?"
Su Bai Zhou blankly looked up at the sky. Then, she lowered her head again with a confused expression. She must have lost her mind. It was daytime, so where were the stars?
Her thoughts were completely caught up in Luo Ye's messages. As soon as he mentioned the stars, she instinctively looked up.
Suddenly, another message came in from Luo Ye.
Luo Ye: "Senior! You've been tricked by bad men. Hangzhou doesn't have an observatory!"
Su Bai Zhou couldn't help but laugh.
Luo Ye: "But Hangzhou does have Lingyin Temple! Is it the same Lingyin Temple as the one with Ji Gong?"
Su Bai Zhou confirmed with a simple "yes."
The two letters made Luo Ye's mood brighten. It seemed like his senior wasn't as cold as before. This meant that maybe her mood had improved a little, right?
Luo Ye: "Would you like to go pray for a fortune? Maybe the bad things will go away on their own."
Talking about praying, Luo Ye was actually planning to do it himself. He wanted to pray for love fortune! But since it was a long weekend, Lingyin Temple would probably be crowded.
When Su Bai Zhou saw his message, her expression turned slightly annoyed. Was this junior trying to cheer her up like a child?
She mumbled, "I'll knock your head."
But she had never tried praying for a fortune before. Was it really effective?
She wanted to pray for her mother's health and happiness. Her mother had already messaged her saying she was with her uncle in their rural hometown and asked Su Bai Zhou to visit when she had time.
Time wasn't an issue, so before returning home, Su Bai Zhou decided to visit Lingyin Temple to pray for a blessing for her mother.
Although she knew it was just superstition, it was more about the intention.
As she thought about it, Su Bai Zhou stood up. Unconsciously, her mood lightened, as though she had forgotten the unpleasant events earlier. The only reminder was the slap mark on her face, but it no longer hurt.
Just as she was about to leave, she saw someone familiar.
A girl with an average appearance, carrying a suitcase, was walking toward the neighborhood. She was Su Bai Zhou's childhood friend, and they were classmates until high school. They would have been good friends if not for the rumors about Su Bai Zhou after graduation. She had thought her friend would believe her, but she had underestimated human nature and never really understood this childhood friend.
When the girl saw Su Bai Zhou, she froze for a moment. Then, they walked past each other like strangers.
Su Bai Zhou glanced back but didn't dwell on it. Whether or not the girl believed her didn't matter anymore. They had grown up together, and Su Bai Zhou knew the truth. Even so, her friend had chosen to slander her.
The city where Su Bai Zhou had grown up now felt so unfamiliar, as though everything around her was gray.
She grabbed her suitcase and prepared to head to Lingyin Temple to pray for a fortune.
Meanwhile, Luo Ye had already arrived at Lingyin Temple.
He took a photo and posted it in their dorm group, asking his roommates if they needed any fortunes.
Wang Dachui: "What the hell, you went to Hangzhou? Awesome."
Li Haoyang: "May Buddha bless you."
Shen Qiao: "LOL, coach, Amitabha."
The three roommates were a bunch of clowns. When no one spoke, the chat was silent, but when they did, it was like throwing firecrackers into a bonfire.
Lingyin Temple was located within a scenic area, surrounded by several tea mountains that stretched far and wide.
Luo Ye took several photos to prove he had been there.
The area was packed with people, and it was so crowded that even before reaching Lingyin Temple, it was already a struggle to move through.
Although it was still the afternoon, he guessed he'd probably have to wait until evening to get a fortune.
At that moment, Luo Ye received a private message from Shen Qiao.
Shen Qiao asked him to get a peace talisman.
Luo Ye happily agreed.
Though he didn't know why the male celebrity needed it, since it was his "son's" request, he, as a father, had no choice but to comply.
After three hours of waiting in line, Luo Ye finally got the chance to pray and offer incense.
Besides getting the things Shen Qiao asked for, Luo Ye also made three wishes for himself:
1. He wished for his parents to be reincarnated as happy people.
2. He wished for world peace.
3. He wished for his fairy senior to become the happiest girl in the world.
Originally, he wanted to pray for love fortune, but then he realized that love shouldn't be something you pray for from Buddha. It was something you had to work for yourself.
By the time Luo Ye left Lingyin Temple, it was already 6 PM. The temple was closing, and now people could only exit, not enter.
As expected, the Buddhist temple kept strict hours.
As he stepped out, he suddenly noticed a familiar figure.
Not far away, a beautiful girl, carrying a suitcase, was sitting on the steps in front of the gate, looking confused.
It was Su Bai Zhou.
She had arrived too late.
She had waited in line for a long time, but by the time it was her turn, the temple had already stopped accepting visitors.
What was the point of waiting so long if she couldn't get in?
Was it fate that she couldn't get a fortune today?
As she thought, Su Bai Zhou fell silent, staring at the ground, looking like she had lost all sense of purpose.
At that moment, a figure appeared in front of her.
"Amidst the Buddha's blessing."
A familiar voice reached her ears. Su Bai Zhou looked up and saw a handsome, sunny boy with his hands pressed together in a prayer pose, smiling at her. "If you're troubled, can you tell this monk?"
Seeing his face, a wave of emotion hit Su Bai Zhou. She didn't know how to describe this feeling.
Her nose twitched, and if she hadn't held back, tears would have fallen by now.
Despite all the confusion in her mind, the most important thing was…
She hadn't left empty-handed after all.
She had received the best fortune in the world.