Lin Mo didn’t agree to meet with Dr. You and instead wandered around the campus of No. 1 High School.
Dr. You was a doctor with a strong sense of justice. If he found out about these circumstances, he would undoubtedly report it to the police.
But she didn’t want to involve the police.
The campus of No. 1 High School hadn’t changed much over the years.
A few new classroom buildings had been added, along with a large new gymnasium.
Lin Mo looked up and saw the letters on the building.
SS—Shan Shan…
Before, she had never associated these two letters with her childhood nickname.
The autumn sun was still blazing during the day.
Lin Mo didn’t feel like wandering anymore and left the school.
Huang Mao spotted her and greeted her, "Fairy Sister!"
Lin Mo walked over and bought a roasted sweet potato to eat—she hadn’t had breakfast that morning.
Huang Mao noticed her low spirits and said with a smile, "Fairy Sister, have you ever thought about how there’s a skeleton living inside us? When we laugh, it laughs too."
Lin Mo thought about it and realized it was true, but she still couldn’t bring herself to smile.
Life had poured cold water on her. She wanted to ask if it could be swapped for jasmine milk tea.
Obviously, it couldn’t.
So Lin Mo bought herself a cup of jasmine milk tea and hailed a taxi.
Huang Mao was puzzled.
Class was about to start—where was Fairy Sister going?
Lin Mo didn’t know where she was headed either.
After getting into the car, she said, "Driver, take me somewhere nearby where I can calm my mind."
Half an hour later.
The car stopped in front of a temple.
The taxi driver said, "This Nianshan Temple has been very popular in recent years. Everyone says it helps soothe the mind. You can take a look around, miss."
Nianshan Temple?
Lin Mo asked, "Was this temple donated by Xie Guanyan?"
The taxi driver nodded. "Yes, it was funded by Mr. Xie."
Entering the temple required climbing a long, long flight of stairs.
Lin Mo took them one step at a time.
In the main hall stood a towering golden Buddha statue, radiant and gleaming.
Lin Mo didn’t have any particular faith in such things.
But standing before the enormous Buddha, she couldn’t help but feel a natural sense of reverence.
She imitated the others and knelt down.
Bowed three times.
After paying her respects, she wandered around the temple.
An elderly monk suddenly approached her, clasping his hands together. "Greetings, benefactor. This humble monk’s Dharma name is Yuantong."
Lin Mo also clasped her hands. "Hello, Express Delivery."
The next second, she slapped herself. "Sorry, sorry! Master Yuantong, hello!"
Yuantong chuckled lightly. "Benefactor, may we speak in private?"
Lin Mo nodded.
Master Yuantong led her through twists and turns until they stood outside a room.
Lin Mo’s lips twitched. "Master, that was at least eight hundred steps."
Yuantong didn’t respond and instead pushed the door open. "Benefactor, go in and take a look."
Lin Mo stepped inside.
The room was dimly lit, with a Buddha statue standing in the center.
The walls were lined with yellow lamps, and beneath each lamp, words seemed to be carved.
Lin Mo leaned in for a closer look, and her heart skipped a beat.
Beneath the lamps was her name—Lin Mo.
Master Yuantong clasped his hands again. "Benefactor, now that you’ve come back to life, I believe these eternal lamps can be extinguished."
Lin Mo’s breathing slowed. "Did Xie Guanyan light these for me?"
Master Yuantong nodded. "Yes. In every temple Mr. Xie donated to, there’s a room like this with eternal lamps for you. On the first and fifteenth of every month, he would kneel before the Buddha all night. No one knew what he prayed for, but I suspect it was mostly about you."
Lin Mo’s heart ached with a dull, throbbing pain.
Xie Guanyan had been secretly in love with her for so long.
How had he endured these eleven years?
They had been nothing more than strangers—he hadn’t even had the right to mourn her openly.
Lin Mo’s nose stung. "Master, can you tell me about the Xie Guanyan you knew?"
Yuantong recalled the past. "The first time I met him was in the woods behind this temple. I was gathering firewood, and he was hanging from a tree."
"Hanging?" Lin Mo’s peach-blossom eyes widened. "Was he trying to kill himself?"
Yuantong: "Yes. It wasn’t his first attempt—I saw scars from wrist-cutting on his arms."
"I saved him, and he cried, saying the only light in his world had gone out. He had no reason to live anymore."
"He was only eighteen then. I couldn’t bear it, so I brought him back to the temple and tried to console him."
Lin Mo’s throat tightened as if something were stuck in it. After a long pause, she managed to say hoarsely, "Thank you, Master. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to see him again."
Master Yuantong smiled. "This humble monk also benefited. Later, when Mr. Xie became wealthy, he rebuilt this dilapidated, nearly abandoned temple, renamed it, and made me the abbot."
"We became friends. I hadn’t seen him in a while, so I searched for updates about him on Douyin and found out you’d come back to life."
Lin Mo was about to cry when— "Huh?"
Yuantong clasped his hands. "We monks can use phones too."
"By the way, the day your second brother came to the temple, Mr. Xie happened to be here too. When he learned your brother was praying for you, Mr. Xie asked me to gift him a string of prayer beads."
"All these years, Mr. Xie has been supporting your second brother, keeping an eye on your third brother’s search for your fourth brother. Sometimes, I felt like he was alive, yet also as if he were already dead. But recently, he’s truly come back to life."
"Benefactor Lin, this bond between you is hard-won. Treasure it."
Xie Guanyan had been restless the entire day.
When he woke up that morning, he realized he’d forgotten to close the secret room in his study.
Perhaps it was because of the incense or because of Shan Shan—he had slept unusually deeply.
Shan Shan had left without eating breakfast.
All day, she hadn’t replied to his messages.
He didn’t dare ask the bodyguards where she had gone. Right now, he didn’t dare do anything.
Shan Shan must have seen the secret room.
Shan Shan must despise him now, find him disgusting, and never want to see him again!
It was very late by the time he mustered the courage to return home from work.
Whatever awaited him, he had to face it.
If this was goodbye, he would at least see her one last time.
The villa staff had all clocked out, and Shen Sizhan wasn’t home either.
Only the study on the second floor was lit.
Xie Guanyan didn’t go straight there. He took a shower, changed his clothes, and fixed his hair.
Even for a final meeting, he wanted to leave the best impression.
He thought he was prepared to face what came next.
But the moment he stepped into the study, his legs trembled and weakened.
The door to the secret room was open, and the lights inside were on.
Xie Guanyan forced himself forward with unbearable difficulty, his palms bleeding, droplets splattering on the floor, leaving a trail behind him without him even realizing.
In the end, he had still lost the girl he loved most…
But as soon as he entered the secret room—
He saw the radiant young woman tilting her head at him and asking, "Xie Guanyan, wanna do it?"
