TCOR CH2

Chapter 2: Little Liar

On the first day of the New Year, there was a steady stream of people going to Lingyun Temple to burn incense. Because of the snow and traffic jams, the car went up and down the mountains, the rhythm was very sleep inducing. I yawned softly out of the window, my mind was about to stop working.

I had barely slept all night.

One reason was Du Jingchuan’s poor sleeping position next to me, and the other was my dirty thoughts about Bai Qixuan.

After dinner yesterday, everyone at the table was about to leave, but for some reason my sister-in-law asked Bai Qixuan how long he planned to stay and what his plans were for the next few days.

Bai Qixuan said that since Shen Wunian had returned to the country, he wanted to show him around, and that he planned to go to Lingyun Temple the next day to burn incense.

Lingyun Temple is a thousand-year-old ancient temple in Luoyang. It is famous for housing the National Lucky Tablet, which attracts pilgrims from all over the country. Even the various types of blessed jewellery and talismans sold in the temple often sell out as soon as they are released.

Are you going to burn incense? My sister-in-law winked at me and waved her hand. “Zhong Ai, if you have nothing to do tomorrow, let’s go together. Tomorrow is the first day of the year, and burning incense is most effective. I’ll pray for your cousin’s academic success and buy a talisman for you.

I was surprised and wanted to refuse, but I couldn’t think of a reason. After all, I didn’t really have anything to do. Besides, over the years, my sister-in-law had always been able to get me to do things without having to give a reason.

I hoped that Bai Qixuan would say no, but before he could say anything, Shen Wunian said, ‘Sure, the more the merrier.

I glared at him. What’s so fun about having more people? I’m not a talker, and it’s probably better to bring Du Jingchuan than me, because he can talk non-stop.

Maybe he could tell that my face wasn’t right, because Bai Qixuan’s tone was noticeably softer: ‘Zhong Ai, do you want to come with us?

At this point, if I said no in front of my sister-in-law, it would be very inconsiderate.

In life we inevitably have to do things we don’t want to do.

I want to. I’ll go with you. In the end, with a stiff upper lip, I agreed.

At nine o’clock the next morning, Bai Qixuan knocked on the door to tell me we were leaving. I followed him sincerely, and didn’t say a word to him from the time we went downstairs until we got into the car.

Shen Wunian lives near Lingyun Temple, and he said he’d go straight there,’ Bai Qixuan paused before adding, ‘Then we’ll pick someone up later.

I had a feeling that this person was no ordinary person, but I didn’t ask too many questions, just let out an ‘oh’.

She is the daughter of a friend of my aunt’s family. Last night, she suddenly said that we should bring her along. Bai Qixuan volunteered the information without my asking.

I knew immediately what this was about. This was the arranged marriage my elders had set up for me, wasn’t it?

I buried my face deeper into my scarf and muttered a low ‘hmm’ in response.

After that, there was silence in the car and neither of us spoke again.

The matchmaker arranged by Bai Qixuan’s aunt was called Zhou, and she was a first-class beauty. Her hair was black, her skin was white, her face was the size of a palm, and she had an intellectual and elegant smile. She said she had only graduated from the dance academy last year and was now a ballerina with the Mingjiang City Dance Troupe.

She said she was prone to motion sickness, so she sat in the passenger seat. At first she was a little reticent, but as we got closer to Lingyun Temple and the traffic got heavier, it became unbearable and she started talking more.

Mostly, of course, she talked to Bai Qixuan.

Your work is so interesting. This is the first time I’ve heard of an ‘art investment fund’,’ Miss Zhou said.

Financial products are much more diverse than people think, and our company focuses on alternative investments, so of course we are a bit different,’ said Bai Qixuan.

I was listening from behind, and my heart was full of mixed emotions. If I hadn’t known that Bai Qixuan was a finance student, how could I have been so presumptuous as to study finance myself? Heaven knows I have no interest in finance at all.

Lust clouds judgement, lust clouds judgement!

The two of them talked about everything from poetry and song to the philosophy of life, and I leaned against the car door, feeling the agony.

When we finally arrived at the Lingyun Temple car park, Bai Qixuan parked the car and I couldn’t wait to get out.

You didn’t say a word in the car and you looked very pale. Did you get carsick? Miss Zhou took a mint out of her pocket and handed it to me. “I often get carsick too. A mint will help.”

I thanked her and took the mint.

She was beautiful and thoughtful. Shen Wunian wasn’t wrong. The older generation really does have good taste.

The road from the car park to Lingyun Temple was full of people. We followed the flow of people and entered the temple gate. Bai Qixuan took out his phone and called Shen Wunian from the ticket booth of Lingyun Temple.

Hello? We’re here, where are you?

Bai Qixuan held the phone and looked into the distance. Miss Zhou and I looked in the same direction as him, thinking that Shen Wunian would come from there.

Where? Can you see us? Why can’t I see you…’

Suddenly, I felt a strong body pressing against my back, as if I had been pushed there by the crowd.

A hand was on my waist. I felt uncomfortable and tried to free myself when I heard Shen Wunian’s lazy, low voice above me.

‘I’m here.

I turned to see Shen Wunian standing behind me. I looked at him and he lowered his eyes and looked at me.

‘Good morning,’ he said, removing his hand from my waist.

Good… morning,’ I replied reflexively.

Bai Qixuan also noticed him at that moment, put down his phone and asked curiously, ‘How did you find us? There were so many people, and I didn’t even see you, but you saw us right away.

Shen Wunian smiled and said, ‘Maybe it’s destiny.

Shen Wunian had bought the tickets in advance, so we went straight to Lingyun Temple.

The temple was not much better than the outside, and there were so many worshippers that the huge incense burner was filled with incense and candles by morning, making it hard to open one’s eyes.

I carefully avoided the crowds, took the incense and bowed in all directions, not for Du Jingchuan, but just in the hope that all the problems that had been troubling me would be resolved.

When I opened my eyes, I happened to see Shen Wunian breaking the incense and throwing it carelessly into the incense burner.

This person is really something, if he doesn’t want to bow, fine, but how could he do such a disrespectful thing as breaking the incense?

Once again I held the incense in front of my eyes and bowed devoutly towards the main hall.

Buddha, please don’t be angry. Shen Wunian has been abroad for a long time and doesn’t know the rules. He must not have meant it. Please don’t be angry with him.

After praying, I put the incense in the incense burner, said hello to Bai Qixuan, and went to the volunteer booth next door to get a safety charm for my sister-in-law.

It really does seem to be very effective, as there were a lot of people asking for charms, and there was a line about 20 metres long. However, the signal was not good, which made payment very slow.

I queued for more than ten minutes, and when I saw that it was past eleven and the queue was still long, I called Bai Qixuan and asked her to go and get something to eat first, and I would join them after I bought the amulets.

After standing in the queue for another five minutes, I had only moved one place forward. I was getting cold standing there, so I started kicking the spot alternately with my left and right feet, and kept blowing air into the palm of my hand.

Suddenly I caught a whiff of a refreshing flowery scent. I stopped and turned sharply, only to find that Shen Wunian had walked up behind me unnoticed.

He looked a little taken aback at first, but soon smiled and said, ‘I wanted to surprise you.

You smoke? I frowned at him and lowered my voice, “This is a Buddhist sanctuary, you shouldn’t do that, the Buddha will be really angry.

He lowered his voice too, ‘They’re not cigarettes, they’re painkillers.

Paralysing the nerves with nicotine? How can this person lie without blinking?

‘You…’

He handed me what he was carrying behind his back.

I looked at it and saw that it was the very amulet that everyone at the end of the queue was trying to buy.

‘Where did you get it?’ I asked in surprise.

He took my hand and slipped the amulet into my palm. I saw how much others were buying it for, so I asked if they would sell it to me at a higher price. Here, take it and give it to me.

I looked at the small yellow bag in my palm and closed my fingers around it. How much is it? I’ll give you the money.

‘No, keep your money and buy yourself something to eat,’ he said, looking down at me and measuring my body. ‘You’re too skinny.

I was obviously fully clothed, but I had the illusion that I was standing naked in front of him.

I wrapped my down jacket around my face, which was getting a bit warm, and whispered, ‘Thank you…’.

Bai Qixuan had chosen a vegetarian restaurant for dinner, and we arrived as soon as they had finished ordering. The restaurant was still very busy, but fortunately the food was served quickly, probably because it was all pre-prepared.

“What does Mr Shen do? Is he in finance too? Miss Zhou asked Shen Wunian during the meal, just as she had asked Bai Qixuan in the car.

Shen Wunian picked up a small piece of green tofu, brought it to the table and said, ‘It’s kind of related to finance. I’m a curator.

He took a small bite, frowned and didn’t touch it again.

I followed suit and tasted it curiously. It wasn’t delicious, but it wasn’t bad either. It was just ordinary tofu with a little vegetable juice.

Being a curator sounds like an interesting job. I wonder if I’ll ever have the chance to see an exhibition curated by Mr Shen with my own eyes. Miss Zhou is a dancer herself and is particularly interested in the arts, so she got on well with Shen Wunian.

Watching them, I suddenly thought, “A dead friend is not as bad as a poor friend. It’s better for Miss Zhou to like Shen Wunian than Bai Qixuan.

How despicable of me. I felt a bit depressed.

The other day, I got a call from the surveillance office saying that someone with Redvein Syndrome wanted to apply for my blood to save his life…

The sound of conversation from the next table came from behind me. It was two young men.

“So are you going to give blood? I heard that you have to do it all the time, not just once.

I immediately said that blood was out of the question, but urine was more likely. Hahahahaha… And guess what? The other person agreed.

Wow, you’re so bad. But it’s good that you can provide urine. You don’t have to save him.’

‘Exactly, I can see the dead man clearly and not help him, and he should be grateful to him! I want to pee in his mouth, he will probably be happy to catch it in his mouth, hahahaha…’

Can I see a photo, maybe it’s a beauty?

‘It’s a boy, I wish it was a girl…’

They weren’t whispering, I heard them and so did everyone else.

Miss Zhou frowned, “These people are really vulgar.”

Bai Qixuan also looked disgusted, “Have you finished eating? Let’s go after we finish.”

We are finished,” I wiped my mouth with a handkerchief.

Bai Qixuan nodded and took out his hand to scan the QR code in the corner of the table.

What he said is the truth, isn’t it?

Shen Wunian’s voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone at the table.

‘He really had no obligation to save the Redvein. He stirred the plate of tofu in front of him, and in no time at all he had reduced it to a pulp. Just like this bowl of inedible tofu, when it is served on the table, it is the guest’s choice whether or not to eat it.

It took me a moment to realise that the ‘Redvein’ he was referring to was, like ‘antidote’ and ‘cure’, another international term for people with Redvein Syndrome.

It’s a human life after all,’ Miss Zhou said disapprovingly, ‘you can choose not to save it, but you can’t humiliate the person, can you?

Shen Wunian put down his chopsticks lightly and didn’t argue, just smiled and said, ‘I hope Miss Zhou will always be innocent and kind.

The words were all good, but they just didn’t sound right. Miss Zhou’s face fell, and I could almost see her inner feelings of goodwill towards Shen Wunian instantly turn negative.

I secretly tugged Shen Wunian’s sleeve under the table to indicate that he should stop talking.

Okay, okay, I’ve paid the bill, let’s go,’ Bai Qixuan quickly changed the subject, ‘Zhou Yun, did you just say you wanted to go back to the temple to ask for a set of marriage bracelets for your girlfriend? Let’s go, I’ll accompany you.” He winked at me and handed me the car keys, “You go back to the car and wait for us.”

After leaving the vegetarian restaurant we split into two groups, one heading for the car park and the other for the temple.

Hey, I should have held back earlier. It seems Miss Zhou doesn’t like me anymore. On the way to the car park, Shen Wunian walked shoulder to shoulder with me and suddenly sighed, looking quite regretful.

Not only will she dislike you, but she will also tell her friends that you are cold-hearted and rude.

It’s okay, Miss Zhou won’t care,’ I comforted him hypocritically.

After a long silence, Shen Wunian spoke again after we had walked about ten metres.

But maybe Miss Zhou will like Qi Xuan. After all, they are the same kind of people.

I didn’t know what kind of person he meant, but I went along with him: ‘Well, Brother Bai has a good personality, is steady in his work, and is also quite good-looking. He is a very good husband and father. In the past, there were always many girls who liked him, but he didn’t accept any of them. I don’t know if he will change his mind this time…’.

He hasn’t accepted any of them, so I feel undeservedly jealous, and I feel… that I can fight for him too.

‘What about you?’

‘Huh?’ I looked at Shen Wunian doubtfully, not understanding what he meant.

He paused: ‘Do you like him?

He casually finished the question, which hit me like a thunderbolt.

I froze, my heart beating so fast it felt like it was going to jump out of my throat.

‘I… of course I like him too. My smile was stiff and I could barely look the other person in the eye, “He’s so nice, who wouldn’t like him?”

Did he see through me? Did he see that I liked Bai Qixuan?

I almost wanted to run away, but the cold dampness under my feet rose on the way, freezing my legs and making me unable to move.

Little liar, you know exactly what kind of like I’m talking about,” Shen Wunian smiled and leaned closer, “then I’ll ask more directly…”

In the midst of the crowd, he leaned closer to my ear, breathing menacingly like a poisonous snake.

Do you want to sleep with him?