Chapter 14: Autumn Excursion (Part 7)

Raindrops fell between the dark-tiled, upturned eaves of the temple. A young man listened to the rain beneath the roof overhang, while beneath the canopy of heaven, an ancient, rustic cluster of grey-black architecture dissolved into the rain as if rendered in traditional ink wash.

Whether it was the rain, the temple, or the "Siu Nim Tau" turning in his palm, He Tianran’s mind grew much more serene.

At the covered corridor of the temple where wind and rain met, he ran right into Cao Aiqing, who was strolling leisurely.

"Where are you going?"

"I want to go to the Guanyin Hall to pay my respects. Do you want to come along?"

Mimicking He Tianran's posture, Cao Aiqing walked with her hands clasped behind her back.

Knowing she was teasing him for adopting such an old-fashioned posture for his age, He Tianran brought his hands to the front, inadvertently revealing the string of star-moon Bodhi seeds he was holding.

The girl, equally fond of saving money, narrowed her eyes. "Did you get ripped off?"

He Tianran defended himself, "A thousand gold can't buy a man's happiness."

Cao Aiqing spread her hands. "You shouldn't buy things at scenic spots. Still, it's a case of the willing buyer and the willing victim."

"Can you worship the Bodhisattva at a scenic spot, then?" He Tianran attempted to shift the logic.

"Why wouldn't you worship if it's free?" Cao Aiqing won with a single stroke.

"Isn't it a bit vulgar to talk about money in front of the Bodhisattva?"

"How many people who worship the Bodhisattva aren't ordinary mortals?"

He Tianran paused, finally finding an excuse for the ninety-nine yuan he had spent: "Just consider it spending money to buy a rainstorm. I think it's worth it."

"Well, quite poetic. I like that reason. You're finally starting to look like someone who switched from the humanities to the arts."

Reaching a consensus, Cao Aiqing took two cheerful steps forward, then turned her head to look at He Tianran, who was left standing in a daze. With a slight tilt of her head, she gestured for him to come along and worship Guanyin.

He Tianran caught up with her. "Did you know I was planning to apply for art academies?"

Cao Aiqing replied, "I originally only heard rumors, but when I was flipping through your photo album, I found many textbooks on film art, and that's how I confirmed it."

He Tianran gave a dry laugh. "Haha, I originally thought the fewer people who knew, the better. After all, if I failed the exams, I could just pretend nothing ever happened."

"That's why you should pay your respects to Guanyin Bodhisattva. Wouldn't it be even better if she blessed you to top the imperial examinations?"

"Everyone coming up the mountain today is a high school senior just like you and me. Most of them are probably praying for the exact same thing; she won't be able to handle all of us."

Hearing this, Cao Aiqing was displeased. "We might be ordinary mortals, but the Bodhisattva certainly isn't!"

He Tianran countered, "Do you believe in Buddhism?"

"My family has an orange cat named Bodhisattva. Guess whether I believe or not?"

"Whoa, naming a cat that—can it handle such a heavy name?"

"That's precisely why I'm praying to the Bodhisattva! I hope the Bodhisattva stays healthy and lives a long, long life!"

He Tianran was almost dizzy from the wordplay. "Is this... supposed to be a joke?"

"Take it literally!" Cao Aiqing said triumphantly.

"So, you have no personal desires?"

"Of course I do. Very mundane ones—like my studies. I want to get into the Architecture Department of Hong Kong City University, but it's so hard. A senior student told me last year that I need to score at least 680 points." Cao Aiqing sighed self-pityingly.

He Tianran was dumbfounded. "I finally understand why you brought up studying when I said I wanted to pursue you. You really can't afford any distractions. I didn't expect you to reject someone so seriously; I thought you were just making up a random excuse."

Cao Aiqing was startled.

"Relax. It's good to joke around. Let's turn the page on that, okay? We're still friends."

He Tianran spun the prayer beads in his hand with an indifferent expression.

The two arrived at the Guanyin Hall. It was bustling with people and thick with the smoke of burning incense, forming a sharp contrast with the Earth Treasury Hall they had visited earlier.

"You're not coming in?"

Cao Aiqing looked at He Tianran, who had stopped outside the threshold. He shook his head.

"I have nothing to pray for."

The girl blinked, suddenly unable to read the boy's intentions.

Clearly, she had been able to perceive them easily before.

"Alright then, wait for me." With no other choice, Cao Aiqing headed into the hall alone.

He Tianran watched her enter and kneel devoutly before the statue of Guanyin, holding the incense sticks high above her head. The boy looked at her back; the curves of her figure were concealed beneath her sweater, and apart from the few moments she bowed, her back remained ramrod straight. One could easily imagine how devout she was.

If one approached everything in life with this kind of attitude, would they surely succeed?

So He Tianran thought. As for whether a believer's prayers would be answered, he had no desire to investigate.

He only knew that his own wish could never come true, so there was no point in making a petition.

Why move?

He Tianran let out a self-deprecating laugh, spinning the prayer beads in his hand even faster.

Having finished offering her incense, Cao Aiqing began to shake the bamboo divination cylinder. Two long bamboo slips bounced out in response. She hesitated for a moment, then picked them both up.

She stood up, hurried over to He Tianran, and hid the two slips behind her back.

"Two slips popped out. That doesn't count, right?" He Tianran asked skeptically.

"I know it doesn't count, so you have to bow to me before I share one with you," Cao Aiqing said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Bow to you?"

"Right. Seeing that you wouldn't come in, I prayed on your behalf too. I didn't expect the Bodhisattva to actually give me two slips, but I can't just give one to you for free. You have to bow to me once first."

"Really treating yourself like a Bodhisattva now?" He Tianran teased.

"You aren't allowed to say things like that in a place like this. If I tell you to bow, you bow. Hurry up!" Cao Aiqing quickly stopped him.

"Alright, alright..."

With no other choice, the boy put on an act: he lowered his head, brought his clasped hands high above his head, and bowed twice toward the girl, who was trying to maintain a nonchalant expression. He muttered under his breath:

"Oh, female Bodhisattva, you simply must bless me to get my heart's desire and smooth sailing in everything."

Seeing He Tianran's embarrassed look after making his vow, Cao Aiqing smiled faintly. "My divine powers aren't that profound. I'm just a trainee Bodhisattva, borrowing the tiger's majesty!"

He Tianran looked up. "What do you mean?"

Immediately after, two bamboo slips appeared before his eyes—one on the left, one on the right—and he heard her voice:

"Pick one."

"Then let's go with 'men choose left, women choose right'."

He Tianran drew the wooden slip on the left. Cao Aiqing hurriedly took back the remaining one and retreated to the side to read it quietly. Judging by the pleased expression on the girl's face, the boy guessed she must have drawn a supreme slip.

Afterward, he glanced down at his own wooden slip. It only had a short doggerel poem written on it.

"What does it say?" Cao Aiqing inched closer, asking with nervous anticipation.

He Tianran rolled his eyes. "Female Bodhisattva, I didn't even know what you were praying for on my behalf; how would I know what it means?"

"Well..." Cao Aiqing let out a soft murmur. "People say the marriage fortune slips at this temple are very accurate..."

The boy nearly passed out. "What were you thinking? You prayed for my romance, but you prayed for your own academics?"

Cao Aiqing defended herself, "Didn't you choose this yourself? Besides, didn't you suffer a heartbreak? Getting over the shadow of a broken heart early will also help with your studies!"

He Tianran massaged his temples. "You really are a Bodhisattva."

Cao Aiqing said blankly, "Is it an unlucky slip? If worst comes to worst, I'll swap with you!"

"You can do that?" He Tianran was stunned.

"You called me a Bodhisattva, so of course whatever the Bodhisattva says goes!"

Cao Aiqing handed over her own slip. He Tianran took it and looked. It was also a poem, which read:

*"Just like the third, fourth, or fifth day of the lunar month when the moon is waning, / Half-absent and half-present, not yet full and complete. / Wait for the bright night of the fifteenth, / Then brilliance and completion will be found everywhere."*

"Judging by the meaning, this tells you to persevere. Your progress hasn't reached completion yet, but hope will eventually come. It's a good slip; you'll definitely get into the Architecture Department," He Tianran attempted to interpret it.

"Mhm, I know. So what about yours? Let me interpret it for you too." Cao Aiqing held out her hand.

"Then I shall trouble the Bodhisattva."

He Tianran simply handed his slip over as well. It was inscribed with the following:

*"Peach blossoms fragrance the season of the spring breeze, / Petals flying across the sky with a powdery pink brilliance. / Do not be anxious upon seeing the blossoms and tasting their nectar, / A fresh peach will surely be given to you to taste."*

A blush crept onto the girl's face as she cast a glance at He Tianran.

"It says you're about to have a stroke of romantic luck!"

"Is it really that direct? But I have a feeling both of these poems simply mean one shouldn't be impatient. Besides, I refuse to believe I'll remain single for the rest of my life. Even if this poem comes true, it's a bit too vague, isn't it?"

Cao Aiqing put away both slips and said, with a mix of shyness and annoyance:

"How come mine is a good slip, while yours becomes vague?"

He Tianran hurriedly apologized:

"They're both good slips, both good slips. My mistake, my mistake."