“Loming, where are we going?” Lin Shuwen asked.
“How about we grab a bite first?”
“Eat? Is there a restaurant nearby?”
“Yes! There’s a temple not far from here called Longhua Temple. The vegetarian noodles there are pretty good.”
“Huh? Going to a temple to eat vegetarian food? You finally treat me to a meal, and it’s vegetarian?”
“The vegetarian noodles are just on the way. The real point is to draw lots.”
Lin Shuwen was a bit speechless. “You believe in that stuff?”
“I used to be a firm materialist, but now…”
“Time travel and body swaps have both happened—I really can’t stay a materialist anymore!” Of course, Loming didn’t say that last part out loud.
Although Lin Shuwen was curious, she didn’t press further. From what she knew of Loming, if he didn’t say something, asking was pointless. This guy’s lips were sealed tight.
“Since you believe in it, let’s go then. It’ll be a good chance to get you a peace charm.”
“Why a peace charm?”
Lin Shuwen suddenly stopped walking and stared straight at Loming. “Because I hope you can stay safe and sound.”
Lin Shuwen said this with unusual seriousness. She looked sincerely into Loming’s eyes, saying she hoped he would be safe, which left Loming a bit confused.
“Wenwen, you…”
“What about me! Don’t get the wrong idea. We’re in the same boat now. If something happens to you, who knows what’ll happen to me?” Lin Shuwen hurriedly covered up her words.
Loming’s intuition told him that Lin Shuwen must have been through something unpleasant, but he didn’t know much about her past and didn’t know what to say to comfort her.
But since Lin Shuwen wanted him to be safe, he might as well go along with it. So Loming nodded and said, “Alright, then let’s get two peace charms.”
“Two charms?” Lin Shuwen was taken aback.
“I need to be safe, and so do you!”
Lin Shuwen was silent for a few seconds, then nodded firmly.
“No wait, we should get three charms.”
“Three?”
“Right! I didn’t originally want a peace charm.”
“Then what did you originally want to pray for?”
“I wanted to pray for a love charm.”
“A love charm?” Lin Shuwen’s head was full of question marks.
Her first thought upon hearing Loming wanted a love charm was: Do you even need one?
Isn’t a love charm something people with bad luck in love ask for? Where exactly is your love life not going smoothly?
Or is it that you, you big pig trotter, want to pray for a new romance?
Eyeing what’s in the bowl while staring at what’s in the pot?
Uh, no—you haven’t even gotten what’s in the bowl yet!
As a matter of fact, Loming hadn’t thought about it that way at all. He wanted a love charm hoping that his and Lin Shuwen’s relationship would go smoothly.
When people draw lots and pray to Buddha, it’s either because they want something or because they’re placing their good hopes somewhere.
It’s just that Lin Shuwen thought it was the former, while Loming meant the latter.
Lin Shuwen wasn’t the type to swallow her grievances. She spoke up directly: “Loming, do you think your love life is unlucky, or just no good?”
Loming wasn’t stupid. He immediately caught the implication behind Lin Shuwen’s words. Simply put, she was asking: “Loming, do you think I’m not good enough?”
And although Lin Shuwen asked it that way, there wasn’t a trace of self-doubt in her tone—it was purely a provocative tone.
Loming panicked a little. He quickly waved his hands and said, “No no no, that’s not what I meant.”
“Then what do you mean?”
“I mean… pfft! That came out wrong. I mean, I hope my love life can keep going as smoothly as it is now.”
Lin Shuwen’s pretty face turned red, and she lowered her head.
This guy really catches people off guard when he throws a straight ball.
Although Longhua Temple was also in Xuhui, it was still about 3 or 4 kilometers from where they were.
Walking there was obviously out of the question, so Loming hailed a taxi on the way.
Fifteen minutes later, the car stopped at the entrance of Longhua Temple.
“So this is what Longhua Temple looks like.” Lin Shuwen looked at the temple entrance and sighed.
“You’ve heard of it?”
“Of course I have. When my two TV dramas flopped, Sister Shan said she wanted to bring me to Longhua Temple to worship Buddha, burn some incense, and drive away the bad luck.”
“Then why didn’t you come in the end?”
“Because my song became a hit! So there was no need to come.”
“It’s not easy being a god in China! People come to worship when they need something, and shoo you away when they don’t.” Loming thought to himself.
“By the way, Loming, this Buddhist temple seems to have been built over 1,700 years ago by Sun Quan during the Three Kingdoms period for his mother. It must have been renovated many times since then. Is it really effective?”
“It should be pretty effective! Look at all the people inside.” Loming pointed to the people burning incense in the temple.
Lin Shuwen looked where he was pointing. There really were a lot of people.
“Then let’s go!” Lin Shuwen took off her mask.
“Why did you take off your mask?”
“Wearing a mask while worshipping Buddha is way too disrespectful. Besides, the people burning incense and praying inside are all elderly folks. No one’s going to take photos.”
Loming glanced inside and saw that it was true—most of the worshippers were elderly. He felt reassured and walked into the main hall of Longhua Temple with Lin Shuwen.
After queuing for a few minutes, it was their turn.
The two knelt on the red prayer cushions in front of the hall.
“May Buddha bless my family, career, and love life to all go smoothly.” Loming pressed his palms together, made a wish, and bowed.
When he finished and opened his eyes, he found Lin Shuwen beside him still holding her palms together with her eyes closed.
As if sensing something, Lin Shuwen opened her eyes and happened to meet Loming’s gaze.
“Loming, are you done with your wishes?”
“Yeah.”
“That fast? Not devout at all.”
“As long as the intention is there. Let’s go draw lots!”
Lin Shuwen nodded, bowed respectfully once more, and then got up from the cushion.
The two arrived at the lot-drawing area. Peace charms were sold directly at the temple, supposedly blessed by eminent monks, 68 yuan each.
Loming and Lin Shuwen each bought one.
The love lot, however, had to be drawn.
Loming picked up the bamboo lot tube and shook it. Soon, a bamboo stick fell out.
The monk at the lot-interpreting station glanced at the stick, then pressed his palms together and said, “Congratulations, benefactor. This is a supreme auspicious lot. You and your girlfriend are certain to grow old together and live a lifetime of joy.”
“Master, you don’t say that to everyone who comes to interpret their lot, do you?” Lin Shuwen asked in a strange tone.
“Benefactor, that is not so. Monks do not lie.”
Hearing this, Lin Shuwen broke into a bright smile. Whether it was true or not, the auspicious words were still pleasant to hear.
Clearly, Loming was also satisfied with the master’s answer. He pressed his palms together and bowed to the master. “Then let’s borrow your kind words, Master.”
Afterward, the master copied the lot text onto a piece of yellow paper, folded it into a triangle, placed it in a small red cloth bag, and handed it to Loming.
Loming dropped a hundred-yuan bill into the merit box and accepted the cloth bag.
