Blessing for Long Life

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Chi Yao actually wanted to visit the temple Fu Rong had mentioned, but he didn’t ask Fu Rong to avoid making him worry. So he went near the cemetery and, as it turned out, there really was a temple there.

The temple was accessible by a mountain road, but Chi Yao checked a bit and found that taking another set of stairs would be more sincere.

Chi Yao parked the car at the foot of the mountain, asked a passerby for directions, and found the staircase. He started climbing the stairs.

Thinking he could quickly reach the top, he found that after one or two hours, he seemed to be only halfway there.

At a rest stop along the way, Chi Yao sat down to take a break. After giving birth, even though he looked fine externally, walking for too long, especially on rugged mountain paths, was taxing on his body. He soon felt exhausted, especially in his ankles, which began to feel sore and numb.

After rubbing them for a bit, he got up and continued climbing.

After more than three hours, he finally reached the summit, where a temple stood. The surroundings were exceptionally quiet and desolate. The temple was open, and he could smell the incense. Chi Yao paused outside the temple to catch his breath before walking inside.

Inside, there seemed to be few monks. Chi Yao walked straight to the central room and, upon seeing the solemn and compassionate Buddha statue in front of him, his heart trembled.

The statue’s eyes seemed to be fixed on him, as if it could see through everything, as if it knew that Chi Yao was living a second life.

Chi Yao bought incense, candles, and lit a few sticks, kneeling down to pray sincerely.

If being able to live again wasn’t a gift of fate, then what was?

After praying, Chi Yao took out a check. He always carried checks with him and rarely carried cash. He wrote a series of numbers on the check and handed it to the monk nearby. The monk recognized the familiar sequence and expressed gratitude to Chi Yao.

Then, the monk informed Chi Yao that they could offer blessings for his family and friends.

The reason Chi Yao came to the temple was actually to pray for the Baby and Fu Rong.

The monk led Chi Yao outside, and just as Chi Yao was about to step out, he froze. To his right, someone walked out from the corridor, and that face—no matter how he tried, he wouldn’t mistake it.

It was Fu Rong. Fu Rong had come to this temple too?

Why?

Fu Rong seemed to sense something, turning his head to the left, where a monk stood with his back to him, seemingly talking to someone inside. Fu Rong felt a strange sensation but didn’t think too much of it at the time.

Another monk escorted Fu Rong out of the temple.

Fu Rong nodded and glanced one last time at the Buddha statue in the center before leaving. The incense guest walked inside, but Fu Rong still didn’t see Chi Yao.

He got into his car; previously, Fu Rong had walked up the mountain directly, letting his assistant drive up later.

When the assistant saw Fu Rong get in, he drove off to drop him off.

When Chi Yao arrived, the assistant had just gone to the restroom, so he didn’t see Chi Yao.

As the car left, Chi Yao stood in front of the Buddha statue, suddenly smiling silently.

So this was the place?

He had really found it.

This was where Fu Rong had lit ten candles for himself and the Baby in his past life.

Chi Yao turned to ask the monk about the man who had just come in. The monk had nothing to hide; in front of the Buddha statue, there was no need for secrets.

Chi Yao then learned that Fu Rong had come this time to light the candles for him and the Baby again, but this time it wasn’t for ten years, but for a lifetime.

Chi Yao walked down the corridor where Fu Rong had just exited, turned a few corners, and entered a small room where some candles were burning. As he entered, he sensed that two of the candles were lit.

The monk said those were the two candles that the incense guest had lit to pray for his wife and child, wishing for them to have long lives.

Chi Yao raised his hand to wipe away a tear that had fallen.

He told the monk to light a candle for his beloved as well, placing it behind those two candles.

The monk prepared a candle quickly and placed it behind the other two.

Chi Yao couldn’t shake the feeling that the candle behind seemed to burn brighter than the two in front, as if protecting them, illuminating them, guiding the way.

Chi Yao bit his lip and silently thanked Fu Rong.

As he walked out of the temple, the sky was painted with brilliant red hues, and Chi Yao took a photo with his phone and sent it to Fu Rong.

In the car, Fu Rong received a sudden message. When he opened it, he squinted, thinking the sky looked familiar. He rolled down the window to look outside, and the scene in the photo matched what he saw.

After a while, Fu Rong suddenly realized something. Just then, the car pulled up to the base of the mountain where another car was parked. If they hadn’t stopped, he might not have noticed, but after stopping, Fu Rong opened the car door and walked over.

It was Chi Yao’s car.

Fu Rong looked up at the mountain top, unable to see the temple, but he knew Chi Yao was up there.

Chi Yao called a car using his phone and offered extra money for a quicker ride.

He soon appeared at the foot of the mountain. Next to his car stood a person whose ride had already left, and they had been waiting there.

When Chi Yao got out, he raised his gaze to Fu Rong. He didn’t step forward; he and Fu Rong stood about ten meters apart, gazing at each other.

The smile at the corner of Fu Rong’s mouth slowly lifted as he walked toward Chi Yao, who also moved toward him.

They embraced.

There were many words to say, but in that embrace, it felt like all words froze on their lips. No need for much talk; their close bodies conveyed how they felt at that moment.

Fu Rong began to realize that his earlier illusion, what he thought was a dream, was real.

His beloved and the Baby had indeed left him once.

Fu Rong held Chi Yao tightly, and Chi Yao reciprocated with equal fervor.

After a long while, Fu Rong said, “It’s time to go home.”

Last time it was Chi Yao who said it; this time, it was Fu Rong.

Chi Yao held Fu Rong’s hand and nodded with a smile. “Yes, let’s go home.”

What could be more important than returning home together?

Nothing.

After that day, their relationship resumed as it had before, seemingly unchanged, but they both knew that, at their core, it was different.

There was no need for verbal explanations; they understood each other’s feelings.

Two people, two bodies, two souls, seemed to have become one.

Chi Yao still often went out to socialize, occasionally spending time with the Baby, and sometimes accompanying Fu Rong, but Fu Rong no longer felt jealous or uncomfortable because he was confident that no one could take His Son and Chi Yao away from him.

Time flew by, and soon the child turned three years old. There was a kindergarten near Chi Yao’s home, but it seemed to have average facilities. Fu Rong invested a sum to renovate the kindergarten from top to bottom, and Chi Yan began attending this nearby kindergarten.

The baby didn’t attend for long before becoming the darling of the kindergarten. The teachers and classmates all liked him.

Every day, the Baby would come home with little gifts from his classmates.

The children attending the kindergarten were all local kids from well-off families. Other children would bring their toys, even the ones they liked very much, to the kindergarten and give them to Chi Yan.

As long as Chi Yan accepted them, the other kids were very happy.

Chi Yan loved going to school. During class, he paid special attention and listened intently. When classmates talked to him, he would glare coldly at them. Many of the mischievous kids, who were like little tyrants at home, liked Chi Yan but didn’t know how to express it. When Chi Yan refused their gifts, those little tyrants would bully him, trying to make Chi Yan remember them through such behavior, but Chi Yan would retaliate by sitting on their stomachs and hitting them.

After crying, Chi Yan even stepped on the little tyrant again for daring to pull his hair and wanting to dirty his clothes, which were custom-made by his dad and made him look particularly handsome, according to his dad.

Standing next to the little tyrant, Chi Yan proudly raised his chin and looked down at the sobbing child on the floor.

He even taunted, “Crybaby, hum!”

The little tyrant sniffled as a teacher helped him up, comforting him. Meanwhile, Chi Yan played with others, ignoring the little tyrant. Other classmates came over to defend Chi Yan, saying it was the little tyrant who bullied Chi Yan first by pulling his hair.

Clearly, the little tyrant liked Chi Yan, yet he still tried to bully him on purpose.

There was a little girl, small but very clever, who could tell at a glance that the little tyrant just wanted Chi Yan to pay attention to him. She noticed that when Chi Yan talked to others, the little tyrant was particularly jealous.

The teacher had asked the little tyrant about it, and the boy admitted his wrongdoing. The teacher wiped away the boy’s tears and snot, then took his hand to bring him to Chi Yan, instructing him to apologize.

Chi Yan’s expression was cold: “No need.”

He didn’t need someone else to apologize to him; does apologizing mean that nothing happened?

Hmph, Chi Yan turned his back on the boy and the teacher.

The teacher also favored Chi Yan; the little guy was too adorable, like a doll, and his dad was extremely handsome as well. Both of Chi Yan’s dads were exceptionally outstanding.

Chi Yan had a bad temper, but he wouldn’t take the initiative to hit anyone. The little boy had interacted with Chi Yan before and knew his personality, yet he still dared to bully Chi Yan. The teacher was aware that the little boy’s parents spoiled him, but didn’t say anything because while school education is important, family education and atmosphere are also paramount.

Now that other kids were educating this little tyrant a bit, it was already too late, so there was nothing more to say.

The teacher held the boy to the side to comfort him, but the boy pushed her away, still sniffling, yet he kept looking at Chi Yan. Everyone was talking to Chi Yan, who was smiling back at them, but he had never smiled at the little tyrant.

The boy ran straight over, pushing aside a few people in front of Chi Yan and charging up to him. Everyone was surprised, worried that the boy might hurt Chi Yan.

Chi Yan clenched his small fist, his eyes filled with provocation, as if he wanted to be hit.

“I-I’m sorry!” the boy apologized to Chi Yan.

“I don’t accept it,” Chi Yan replied.

He really disliked it when others said sorry to him.

“Why not?” The boy didn’t understand; isn’t it enough to just apologize?

“I don’t accept it; there’s no need for a reason,” Chi Yan raised his small chin.