Looking at the assistant who was obviously shocked and had lost his intelligence, Yu Wenning coughed lightly and looked at him coldly with an expressionless face, “Is there something wrong?”

That familiar cold expression and icy gaze successfully helped the assistant regain his intelligence. He quickly shook his head and said, “No… there’s nothing. I… I’ll leave now!”

Yu Wenning was about to nod when he was pulled by Lian Qing’s hand. He whispered to Yu Wenning, “Is that key in your assistant’s hand your house key?”

Yu Wenning took a glance and it was indeed his house key. Since the assistant often came to his house to deliver or pick up things, he had prepared one for him. It came in handy at this moment. He reached out a hand to the assistant and the other party obediently handed him the key without a word.

After Yu Wenning opened the door and returned the key to the assistant, he said, “If there’s nothing, you can take these things back with you. Also, I won’t be home for the next few days, so you don’t have to come over.”

This was like giving him a vacation! The little assistant immediately showed a genuine smile, “Okay, President Yu, see you later! I wish you all the best and always be happy.” After speaking, he quickly picked up the breakfast on the ground and left.

Lian Qing pulled Yu Wenning’s hand again and asked, “Don’t you need to explain to him? Aren’t you afraid he’ll talk nonsense in your company?”

Yu Wenning patted his hand and laughed lightly, “He signed a contract before becoming my personal assistant. It’s similar to the contract that stars sign with their assistants. Unless with the employer’s consent, he cannot easily disclose any information about the employer, including hobbies, private life, and so on.”

Lian Qing nodded seemingly understanding but also not quite, as he straightened the clothes hanger he had bent and thought about whether his assistant Chen Qi had also signed similar contracts… Chen Qi was assigned to him by Sister Cheng so he was not very familiar with these matters.

Yu Wenning picked up the key he had dropped last night, changed clothes, quickly packed his belongings, and informed the company management of some things. Meanwhile, Lian Qing took the now restored clothes hanger and returned to his own home. He called Sister Cheng to inform her, then packed his luggage.

He didn’t have many things, as the two sets of clothes and a pair of shoes he brought from home were already forbidden by Sister Cheng. Now, he only had four sets of seasonal clothes and two pairs of shoes that were prepared by Sister Cheng’s people. She also said that this was considering that he would mostly be on the set, so they didn’t buy him more clothes. Otherwise, his wardrobe would need to have at least ten sets of the latest seasonal styles. As a celebrity, appearance was important.

He only brought two sets of clothes, and his bag was mostly filled with various snacks, such as the bread and snacks filled by Zhao Chengyi’s assistant, and some fruits and tomatoes that could be eaten raw.

When he met with Yu Wenning at the door of his house, it was already half an hour later. They each had a shoulder bag, smiled at each other, and walked forward together. After they left the community, Lian Qing put on a mask, a pair of big black-framed glasses, and a black hat before confidently following Yu Wenning to the nearby shopping center.

They bought a phone for the shifu, got a SIM card, and bought a children’s watch phone for his shidi. Lian Qing also bought a lot of things they couldn’t find in the villages near their temple. Finally, when they had too much stuff, he bought a cheap suitcase and stuffed everything in it.

He didn’t mind spending money on his family, of course, mainly because he had a little money now.

Yu Wenning wanted to drive there, but Lian Qing said that it wasn’t convenient to park and the distance was a bit far, so taking the bus was more convenient.

As they rushed along the road, the two of them talked and laughed and ate, and the time passed fairly easily. When they got off the first car, they found a restaurant by the side of the road and had a meal before continuing on a smaller vehicle.

Lian Qing thought that someone like Yu Wenning, who relied on cars to get around most of the time, would not be able to tolerate such a rough ride. The main problem was that the car was noisy and the air inside was stuffy and unpleasant. Even Lian Qing, let alone Yu Wenning, felt uncomfortable. As for the food, there was nothing good to eat on the road. Lian Qing could only invite Yu Wenning to a relatively clean and tidy restaurant, but the taste of the food was not as good as what Yu Wenning could cook himself.

In fact, Yu Wenning did not show any displeasure throughout the journey, and his eyes were always calm and gentle. This made Lian Qing breathe a sigh of relief and look up to him even more. This person was indeed as tough as he had thought.

When the two of them arrived at the foot of the mountain where Sanlian Temple was located, it was almost dusk. Lian Qing first took his luggage to the familiar convenience store and greeted the owner, who pulled him aside for a while before he asked, “Auntie, have you received my letter?”

“I did, but your shifu hasn’t come down from the mountain these days, so your letter has been sitting here with me. It’s good that you came back this time, so here you go.”

Lian Qing took the letter and thanked her, then took Yu Wenning up the mountain. After the convenience store owner watched the two of them walk away, she started gossiping with her neighbors: “Ah, you think that little monk has made it big? Look at all the stuff he’s carrying. And those shoes on his feet, I remember my son’s classmate had a pair that was some famous brand, and even the knockoffs were worth a few hundred yuan…”

“It’s not about whether the little monk has made it big or not, it’s that handsome friend he brought back. He looks like a young master from a wealthy family. Look at his skin, so fair and tender. And his hands, it’s clear he’s never done any manual labor…”

“Well, I think it’s mainly because he has that… that temperament. Yes, temperament…”

Lian Qing vaguely heard the voices of those people. He looked at Yu Wenning apologetically and said, “Don’t mind them. We live in a remote area and rarely have outsiders come here. They are just curious, and they were complimenting you too…”

Yu Wenning didn’t mind and said calmly, “It’s okay. I don’t care about these things.” He had heard all kinds of slanderous and malicious remarks from others since he was young, so he learned not to care about them. He didn’t mind the harmless voices of strangers.

Lian Qing couldn’t help but look at him sideways, wondering why Yu Wenning was so indifferent. He himself didn’t care about gossip about himself from others, but that was because he had heard it so much when he was young and learned not to care. But why was Yu Wenning like this..

He pursed his lips but didn’t ask. They walked up the mountain, with Lian Qing in front and Yu Wenning following behind. Every ten or so minutes, Lian Qing would stop and ask if Yu Wenning was tired or needed him to carry anything.

Yu Wenning always shook his head, until the third time Lian Qing asked. He was about to refuse when his gaze accidentally fell on a certain tree, and he paused.

Lian Qing followed his gaze and saw a slightly larger pine tree with a missing piece of bark. He asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”

Yu Wenning looked away and shook his head, “Nothing. Give me your luggage, I’ll take it.”

“No, I’ll carry my own stuff.” Lian Qing didn’t want Yu Wenning to get tired. He had been going up and down this mountain since he was a child, so he was used to it. Yu Wenning was different and couldn’t be allowed to tire himself out.

Yu Wenning had to retract his hand and said, “Let’s continue walking.”

“Okay.” Lian Qing picked up his luggage and continued to lead the way. Before Yu Wenning caught up, he couldn’t help turning his head to look at the tree again. There were faint black marks under the missing bark. Two years ago, it was red blood…

In Yu Wenning’s heart, there was something hidden. When he noticed that something was off with his expression, he thought he had remembered something unpleasant. So, he began to try to cheer him up as they walked. The first thing that came to mind was a story that his shifu used to tell him, and later on, he told his shidi.

“Big brother, how about I tell you a story?”

Yu Wenning nodded instinctively, but he immediately had a feeling of foreboding. Two years ago, the little monk who saved him also wanted to tell him a story. He did tell one, but it was…

“Once upon a time, there was a temple on a mountain…”

Sure enough! Yu Wenning didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. It was the same story that almost lulled him to sleep when he was on the verge of unconsciousness two years ago. He listened helplessly as Lian Qing earnestly continued to tell the story without interruption.

It was fortunate that the little monk had a conscience and realized that he couldn’t keep telling the same story. He started to talk about other things. For example, his shifu looked serious, but he was actually just an old child at heart. His shidi was well-behaved but mischievous. When he was a child, he was bitten by a snake while playing on the mountain, and he became afraid of snakes. However, he recently heard that snake meat was delicious and wanted to try it but was too scared to do so…

Yu Wenning quietly listened to Lian Qing as he rambled on about the past and present, feeling neither impatient nor annoyed. With each familiar phrase, he seemed to see the still-inexperienced little monk from two years ago, carrying him on his back, spouting similar words, and rushing down the mountain…

Everything seemed to be happening again. The only difference was that Yu Wenning was now healthy, and they were walking up the mountain.

In the midst of the verdant greenery, a simple and ancient temple was faintly visible. The blue bricks and tiles were tranquil and quiet, giving off a peaceful atmosphere, reminiscent of a paradise on earth.

However, this peace was soon shattered by a clear and cheerful shout.

“Shifu, Xiao Saner, I’m back!”

Lian Qing held Yu Wenning’s hand and carried his luggage as he excitedly shouted and walked into the temple.

Before reaching the end of the courtyard, the wooden door of one of the small houses suddenly opened from the inside. Accompanied by a cheerful “*Shixiong~~”, a small figure suddenly appeared and ran straight towards Lian Qing.

TN: Shixiong – Senior disciple brother under the same master.

Without a word, Lian Qing threw away Yu Wenning’s hand, threw the luggage aside, and opened his arms to catch the small figure like a cannonball, kissing the smooth little head hard.

“Muah~”

Yu Wenning, whose hand was thrown away: “…”

Ah, why did he feel a faint sadness in his heart…

TN:

Little Monk enthusiasts, let me introduce you to the tiny/baby monk. I’m now contemplating on whether I should have referred to Lian Qing as Young Monk so that I could refer to this baby monk as Little Monk. But it’s too late😭. Now what should I call him? Because the author uses “Xiao Xiao heshang” which is “very little monk”. Too long! So should it be small monk, baby monk, tiny monk,wee monk, mini monk or very little monk?