2 In the Temple

Wang Zhenfeng could not see her expression, and continued with her head bowed. “Where are you going? I’ll take you there, then I can ride over to pick up Jiang Yue.”

“Get on. Once I reach the destination, I’ll give you the bike.”

Wang Zhenfeng said nothing. She obediently climbed onto the back of the electric scooter, but her mood was still plainly sour; stubbornly, she refused to touch Su Qingyi. Su Qingyi did not bother with her and kept riding forward.

It was obvious that Su Qingyi rarely rode an electric scooter. She was exceptionally law-abiding all the way, and as Wang Zhenfeng watched the time she had arranged with Jiang Yue draw closer and closer, she could not help opening and closing her lips as though she had something to say. At last she asked, “Why don’t I ride instead?”

Su Qingyi did not indulge her. Looking ahead at the traffic lights counting down to red, she twisted the scooter’s handle and said, “No need. I’m afraid you’ll stab me in the back.”

The moment Wang Zhenfeng heard that, she flared up again. “How could I possibly stab you in the back—mmph!”

Before she could finish, the scooter suddenly surged forward, and Wang Zhenfeng slammed hard into Su Qingyi’s back. For Wang Zhenfeng, who was determined not to touch her at all, it was more unbearable than death.

But the place where Su Yu had beaten her still throbbed faintly with pain, and she did not dare provoke Su Qingyi too much. Her face had gone black as thunder, while Su Qingyi endured for a long time before she finally managed not to laugh out loud in front of her.

As they neared the destination, Su Qingyi got off early. Wang Zhenfeng took the scooter with a disgruntled look. “How are you getting back later?”

Su Qingyi thought her cousin was unexpectedly cute at times. Even now, she still remembered to ask how Su Qingyi would return. Unable to resist teasing her, she said, “What, are you coming to pick me up?”

Wang Zhenfeng hated that face of Su Qingyi’s to death and snapped, “Who’s coming to pick you up?”

Then she rode off.

Su Qingyi called after her back, “Put on your helmet.”

Not only did Wang Zhenfeng ignore her, she actually sped up. Su Qingyi shook her head helplessly and continued toward the temple ahead.

Dadong was a city nestled in the hilly region of Huainan, with a great river running through it. On both banks of the river, one side was a modern metropolis changing with each passing day, while the other was an old county town that still preserved the architecture of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The old city was divided into East Market and West Market. East Market was mostly local residents, while West Market was largely made up of tourists. In earlier years there had not been many visitors here; compared with several famous ancient towns, it had been almost obscure. Yet over the past two years, perhaps due to the power of the internet, it too had gradually grown popular.

The temple Su Qingyi was heading to was located east of West Market, with a distinct air of seclusion amid the bustle. Along the road, vendors set up stalls one after another, yet inside the temple all was quiet, with the faint sound of sutras being recited in low voices.

A solemn stillness arose unbidden.

This temple was ancient and was protected as a provincial cultural relic. Its statues and buildings all followed the style of the Tang Dynasty, majestic and orderly, dignified yet open. Su Qingyi quickly passed through the grand and hushed halls and reached the Tang-era timber structure deep inside.

Workmen were in the midst of restoring it.

This building was one of the few remaining Tang timber structures today. Its beams and columns were all joined by mortise-and-tenon without a single nail, and because of the damp climate, it had to be repaired once every few years.

Su Qingyi had come looking for someone.

The moment she poked her head in, someone began shooing her away, but the person she was looking for had already recognized her and quickly climbed down from the beam. “What are you doing here?”

Seeing this, the people around them immediately began to jeer.

The young man being teased scratched his head rather awkwardly, holding a pair of gray-white gloves as he said, “Let’s talk outside.”

The jeering did not stop.

The man’s face flushed bright red. Only after he had completely left everyone’s line of sight did he finally breathe out in genuine relief and ask again, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Nothing serious. I just have a small matter I want to ask you about.”

“Sure, go ahead.” The man shoved the gloves into the back pocket of his jeans and lowered his head slightly, looking at her with grave attention.

For a moment, Su Qingyi did not know how to begin.

After all, what she was about to do next was in some measure competitive with the business he was already running.

He might look dusty and plain now, but he was the inheritor of Dadong’s intangible cultural heritage wood carving tradition, someone who traveled everywhere for exhibitions and performances and even appeared on television. He had several factories in the county, held a place in the provincial wood carving association, and was a celebrated young talent in the city. For most people, making a living from wood carving was difficult; he, however, was making a fortune and had a fine reputation besides.

If Su Qingyi did not have the old classmate connection with him, with her current status she would have found it difficult even to see him, let alone seek his guidance.

While she hesitated, Zhou Xu was also studying her in silence. People said the northern wind and sand were harsh and made no place hospitable, yet this old classmate of his had only grown more beautiful over the years, as though she had stepped out of a film and onto the screen of reality. Even in the simplest white shirt and jeans, she was so lovely that she seemed to belong to an entirely different plane from everyone else.

Zhou Xu could not help but drift off for a moment.

His eyes remained fixed on her, and it was only when Su Qingyi spoke to him that he snapped back to himself.

Su Qingyi could not help repeating, “Hm?”

Only then did he suddenly recover. “What did you say?”

“I said, you know my grandfather is in this line of work too, right?”

“Yes, yes.” Zhou Xu nodded. “I know. When they were restoring this building back then, I looked for Grandpa Su too, but Grandpa Su was unwilling, so I did not ask further.”

Su Qingyi did not know about that and did not care. She said casually, “Mm. My grandfather is old now; he isn’t suited to this sort of climbing around anymore.”

“Mm-hmm.” Zhou Xu nodded in agreement.

There was a faint trace of restraint in his refined features.

Su Qingyi did not know why, but he seemed more embarrassed than she was, the one asking for a favor. Still, she did not mind. “My grandfather has a pile of wood-carved handicrafts that have been sitting at home for a long time...”

Before she could finish, Zhou Xu had already answered, “Ah, I can find a channel to help Grandpa sell them, and I won’t take any commission.”

Su Qingyi had not expected him to be so warmhearted and could not help being a little surprised. “Thank you, but you don’t need to trouble yourself with that. I know you have a shop selling wood carvings in West Market...”

“Four shops.” Zhou Xu cut her off with a serious expression and corrected her.

Only then did Su Qingyi realize he meant he did not have one shop, but four, and she fell silent.

Zhou Xu immediately realized that this had upset her.

As though he were showing off, when in truth he simply wanted Su Qingyi to know that he was doing quite well, he hurriedly explained, “I’m not trying to brag or anything. I just...”

“It’s fine. I was just going to ask whether, if I wanted to open a shop like that in West Market, what I’d need to prepare?”

“Oh, I see.” Seeing that she did not dislike him, Zhou Xu actually relaxed, showing not the slightest sense that another tradesman was a rival. “You can come to my shop tomorrow, and I’ll walk you through everything inside and out, so you don’t waste time taking the long way around.”

Su Qingyi was surprised again. “You’re not afraid I’ll steal your business?”

Zhou Xu smiled faintly. “The cake is big enough that one person can’t eat it all. Besides, Dadong wood carving is so famous, and there’s more than just my shop doing this in West Market. I only look like the biggest one. My dad and I both know Grandpa Su’s skill. When West Market first started developing a couple of years ago, we looked for Grandpa Su to do it together, but he didn’t agree. If you’re willing to do it, of course I’m happy.”

Su Qingyi naturally knew why her grandfather had refused.

The Zhou family was powerful and well-established. They spoke of partnership, but in truth they simply wanted to gather skilled old craftsmen under their banner: they would provide the capital while others provided the labor, much like an investment by capital itself, with profit no matter how it was cut.

Her grandfather had spent more than half his life as an independent craftsman. When he was younger, he had been a respected master whom everyone addressed deferentially. Never mind Zhou Xu; even if Zhou Xu’s grandfather came, he would have to call him senior apprentice-brother.

Naturally, he could not have spent his sixties taking Zhou Xu’s orders.

But Su Qingyi had no intention of criticizing Zhou Xu either. For him to have made the wood-carving business this large, he must have his own abilities. Seeing him agree, she said no more and was about to find an excuse to leave.

Sensing the intent to part in her words, Zhou Xu hurriedly seized on a topic to keep her there. “How have you been in the capital these years?”

Su Qingyi had not expected him to care about her life and was a little surprised, momentarily at a loss.

Zhou Xu thought she had guessed something, and both his ears and the back of his neck turned red. Rather awkwardly, he said, “No, I just mean I’m curious what life in the capital is like for you. After all, it’s the center of the country, right?”

“Not very well,” Su Qingyi answered honestly.

Zhou Xu was startled. “Why not?”

But Su Qingyi had no intention of going on. Zhou Xu did not press further and instead asked tentatively, “There must be a lot of people pursuing you, right?”

“No.”

“How could that be?” Zhou Xu exclaimed.

Su Qingyi did not know what he was so shocked about. “Why not?”

“You... no one chases you?” Zhou Xu stammered a little.

“It’s perfectly normal that no one chases me,” Su Qingyi said, finding his words rather amusing.

“You...” Zhou Xu wanted to say: You’re this beautiful, and no one even tries to pursue you? Do people in the capital spend every day looking at goddesses? But when the words reached his lips, they sounded as though he were trying to flatter her, so he closed his mouth in frustration.

Su Qingyi did not pursue the matter either. “Then I’ll go first. See you tomorrow.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow.” Zhou Xu looked at her without blinking.

Just as Su Qingyi was about to turn and leave, she heard a familiar name.

“Wang Zhenfeng, could it be you like me?”

Su Qingyi looked over and saw a boy about Wang Zhenfeng’s age noisily saying, “Don’t mess with me. I really don’t like your type.”

“Who likes you?” Wang Zhenfeng plainly did not like him at all, her chubby little face full of disgust. “I’m asking what type your brother likes.”

“You like my brother? Then you really have no chance. Setting aside what type my brother likes, he’s twenty-six this year. He’s practically from a different generation than you. What are you even thinking?”

“What are you thinking?” Wang Zhenfeng kicked him in the shin. “Just answer what I ask. Why all this nonsense?”