Temple of the Ever-Burning Lamp

---

Chi Yao was at home with the baby, painting. The baby liked to draw a little; he just scribbled with a pen on paper. Chi Yao, feeling idle, lay on one side drawing a portrait. He originally intended to draw casually, but when he started, it seemed like he was drawing Fu Rong. Chi Yao’s drawing skills were average; he learned a bit while playing, but the lines were well-defined, and with just a few strokes, he had drawn Fu Rong’s face.

Holding the drawing, Chi Yao asked the baby, “Yanyan, who is this?”

The baby raised his little head, tilted his face to look for a while, and immediately smiled, saying, “It’s big dad.”

Now the baby called Fu Rong “big dad” and Chi Yao “dad,” distinguishing between the two.

“Hmm, the baby is really smart,” Chi Yao praised.

“I!” The baby suddenly pointed at himself.

That meant he wanted Chi Yao to draw him.

“Okay, dad will draw you right away.” Chi Yao immediately picked up the brush, but before he could start drawing the baby’s face, the phone suddenly rang.

The servant handed Chi Yao his phone, and upon answering, he was stunned by what he heard.

“Mr. Chi, it’s not good; something has happened to President Fu.”

Chi Yao was stunned for a long time, and the voice on the other end anxiously asked if he was there.

“Where is he now?” Chi Yao asked hurriedly.

“I don’t know; the car fell to the bottom of the mountain. We’ve contacted the rescue team to search, but it’s been over an hour already.”

The voice was frantic.

“I’ll head over right away. Give me the address.” Chi Yao stood up, grabbed his coat, and walked to the door.

“Dad, I want to go,” the baby followed behind. Chi Yao’s face looked terrible; it seemed the baby sensed something was wrong and ran over to hold Chi Yao’s hand.

Chi Yao wanted to tell the servant to take the baby away, but after hesitating for a moment, he bent down and picked the baby up.

He took the baby to the car without calling the driver and drove out directly.

In the car, he switched to speakerphone and contacted the staff again. From what they said, he learned that Fu Rong had gone to the graveyard where he had filmed before, but what was Fu Rong doing there?

Chi Yao’s heart raced. He didn’t dare to think further; what if something happened to Fu Rong?

It can’t be anything serious; he kept telling himself that. There was no way that person could be in trouble.

Chi Yao wanted to drive as fast as he could, but when he saw the baby in the back seat, he suppressed his panic and controlled the speed of the car toward the graveyard.

The staff was waiting by the roadside. When they saw Chi Yao approaching, they immediately ran up. The staff member’s voice trembled; he didn’t know what had happened. Fu Rong had been at the graveyard, but when he went to relieve himself, he came back and Fu Rong was gone.

The staff quickly drove down the mountain. They saw Fu Rong’s car ahead, but suddenly the car’s front turned and went straight off the cliff, where dense trees were below, making the car no longer visible. The staff immediately called for rescue and quickly contacted Chi Yao again.

Chi Yao parked for a moment and then drove up the mountain, stopping halfway. The staff member got out of the car, walked to the edge of the cliff, and told Chi Yao that Fu Rong’s car had fallen from this spot.

The rescue team was already searching down below.

Chi Yao still held the baby’s hand. The baby didn’t quite understand but had heard something about Fu Rong.

“Daddy, where is big dad? Has he abandoned us?”

Upon hearing this, Chi Yao’s expression immediately changed.

“He wouldn’t abandon us.”

Chi Yao released the baby’s hand.

“Wait here for daddy; I’m going down to look for him. I’ll be back with big dad soon.” After saying this, Chi Yao let the staff member take the baby while he walked toward the edge of the cliff.

But there was no path down from here; if Chi Yao went down, he would surely fall.

The staff rushed up to pull Chi Yao back.

“Mr. Chi, what are you doing? There’s no way to go down here. We need to go down to the bottom of the mountain to search.” The staff member couldn’t let Chi Yao jump off the cliff, so he held onto him and pulled him back.

In the next moment, Chi Yao pushed the staff member away, causing him to fall to the ground.

It was as if Chi Yao couldn’t hear what the staff member was saying or didn’t realize how steep the cliff was; he wanted to go down, thinking that if he did, he might see Fu Rong.

The baby was scared by Chi Yao’s strange demeanor; his eyes turned red, and he started to cry loudly.

“Waaah!” Tears streamed down the baby’s face as he cried sorrowfully.

But Chi Yao just glanced at the baby, and suddenly he smiled, reaching out to pull the baby with him.

“Baby, let’s go down together to find him.”

The staff member was shocked and rushed forward, grabbing Chi Yao and trying to drag him back.

However, Chi Yao, though thin, was exceptionally strong; he threw the staff member to the other side against the mountain wall.

Chi Yao picked up the baby and stood at the edge of the cliff.

What was wrong with Fu Rong? How could he drive so recklessly as to roll to the bottom of the mountain?

It felt as if he thought Chi Yao didn’t care enough for him or love him enough.

What was he thinking? Wasn’t what he did enough?

Chi Yao prepared to step off the cliff; one foot was already out, and it looked like he was about to fall.

A voice came from behind, “Chi Yao!”

It was a familiar voice; it had to be an illusion. Fu Rong’s car had already fallen; it couldn’t be Fu Rong’s voice.

Chi Yao looked down at the baby. “Don’t be afraid, baby. This time we will stay together; the three of us.”

Chi Yao smiled and leaned forward when someone suddenly rushed over, grabbing Chi Yao’s body and pulling both him and the baby back.

Chi Yao smiled, tears rolling out of his eyes.

The person in front of him was Fu Rong; Chi Yao recognized him.

He laughed out loud, “You’re not dead!”

It was as if he regretted that Fu Rong hadn’t died.

Fu Rong didn’t say anything; he just held Chi Yao and the baby tightly.

“Don’t leave me,” Fu Rong’s voice was hoarse, as if he had already cried.

Chi Yao smiled, “It’s clearly you who has left us, both in the past and now.”

In the previous life, and in this life too—why did it always have to be like this?

Chi Yao couldn’t understand.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Chi Yao…” Fu Rong held Chi Yao, bowing down to kiss the tears on Chi Yao’s face. When the baby saw Fu Rong appear, he immediately stopped crying, but the tears still lingered in his eyes.

The staff member, realizing that Fu Rong was actually fine, walked over and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. He leaned against the mountain wall and took a few deep breaths.

“Fu Rong, what about your car?”

How could the car did not fall? The staff member clearly saw the car still moving then fell off the cliff.

Fu Rong pulled Chi Yao back, leading him away from the cliff.

“I suddenly had a headache and stopped the car, but I was careless and didn’t pull the handbrake.” The road was steep here; after Fu Rong got out of the car, he didn’t notice it was rolling back. His head was pounding, and he didn’t go after the car. He walked to the side, where he found a small path behind some bushes, wanting to find a place to sit, never expecting such a blunder to happen.

The staff member was sweating profusely, blaming himself for misjudging the situation. He quickly apologized to Chi Yao, then stepped aside to call the search and rescue team, informing them that Fu Rong was fine and it was his mistake for not seeing clearly.

The search and rescue team halted their search and left.

Fu Rong pulled Chi Yao toward his car, which was parked not far away. He brought him inside, with the baby being held by the staff member. Fu Rong noticed Chi Yao’s sudden change in demeanor; he held Chi Yao’s face and kissed him deeply. Chi Yao’s gaze flickered, as if he were coming back to himself.

Confirming that the person in front of him was Fu Rong and that his body was warm—not just a figment of his imagination—Chi Yao raised his hand and slapped Fu Rong.

The slap turned Fu Rong’s face aside.

However, Fu Rong didn’t feel any pain; instead, he grabbed Chi Yao’s hand and asked if it hurt.

Chi Yao suddenly closed his eyes tightly and then opened them again, looking at Fu Rong with cold, dark eyes.

“What are you doing here?” Why did he come to see this graveyard?

Was it to deliberately scare him?

To test how much he cared?

To doubt him?

Chi Yao felt a pang in his chest. He thought this person would never doubt or deceive him, yet now he was doing something like this to test him.

Chi Yao raised his hand and slapped Fu Rong again.

Fu Rong didn’t dodge; he simply let Chi Yao hit him.

Chi Yao turned around, wanting to push the car door open and get out, but Fu Rong directly hugged him from behind.

“I don’t know if I’m dreaming. I’m not sure. I saw you and the baby leaving me; you were lying in the hospital, silent, with the baby in your belly, you and him…”

“I saw you lying there with your eyes closed, Chi Yao. I don’t know if it was real or fake.”

“That video, the one you filmed for that web dama, you cried in the graveyard. I felt the scene was familiar; a voice kept urging me to come over, and I couldn’t control myself. I felt that something was wrong that I should know.”

“In that place without you, I went to a temple and had the temple light a lamp for your baby for ten years. I don’t know what’s real and what’s fake.”

“I drove back to the graveyard and had a car accident. That was a real accident; I climbed up from the cliff to see you and the baby.”

“Later, I don’t know what happened, but I was driving again, my head hurt so much. I got out of the car, and it slid back; I don’t know how that happened. I never meant to make you sad.”

“Chi Yao, I really didn’t.”

“I’ve lost you once. This time, you and the baby won’t leave me, right?”

Fu Rong’s eyes were full of pleading; he was begging Chi Yao not to leave him.

Chi Yao was too shocked. Everything Fu Rong said seemed to be from the previous life, but he didn’t know—had Fu Rong been to the temple?

To pray for him and the baby.

Chi Yao smiled suddenly, realizing why there was this life. If this world had some supernatural power, he thought that he and the baby could come back because of Fu Rong, right?

Regardless of whether that was true, Chi Yao wanted to have some connection with this person; otherwise, he wouldn’t be with him in this life.

Chi Yao kissed Fu Rong, and the two embraced. What had happened in the past no longer mattered; what mattered now was that they were together.