WSSAPF chapter 13

The sudden rain subsided, but the sun came out at the same time. The sky was half cloudy and half sunny, with light gray clouds to the east and a clear blue sky to the west.

Li Zhuoyao slowly separated his lips from Zhou Chulan’s, sitting up straight, feeling a bit lacking in oxygen in his brain. He looked at the man beside him. The man was also looking at him, and they gazed at each other, their breaths not yet completely dissipated.

“So, can our relationship go further?” With a bit of hesitation, Li Zhuoyao asked this question. He saw that Zhou Chulan’s expression was very calm, almost returning to tranquility from the moment his lips left him. Meanwhile, his own mind and cheeks were still heating up, not cooling down. He wanted to take advantage of this lingering warmth.

“What was our relationship before?” Zhou Chulan looked at him. It was that kind of gaze that seemed to see through a person’s heart, and Li Zhuoyao hesitated to meet it.

But he was indeed confronted with a crucial question. What was their relationship before? From the first encounter until now, it had been just over half a month. They had met fewer than 10 times, and their WeChat chat records were only a few sentences. A little over half a month ago, they were still strangers worlds apart. One was a well-known variety show director in the country, a well-off second-generation in Guangzhou, while the other was a villager from a remote mountain village in Guizhou. Due to a past conviction, his future was ruined, forcing him to return to his hometown and barely make a living by running a deserted gas station.

Li Zhuoyao had refueled here, stayed overnight because of a broken car, been fed fever medicine by Zhou Chulan, hammered handmade sticky rice cakes together because he wanted to eat them from the market, and Zhou Chulan had actively kept his distance because he learned that he had stabbed someone and been in jail. And now, he came to rescue him in a moment of danger.

The relationship between them seemed to be based on some simple cause and effect. Each encounter occurred under these “reasonable” reasons. Without a reason, it seemed there was no connection. Except for the lingering and affectionate kiss just now, an extremely off-script part existed independently in their relationship.

Li Zhuoyao searched his brain for a long time but couldn’t find a word that precisely stamped their relationship. However, he didn’t want to evade this question, choosing to express his feelings directly.

“…For me, you are special. I felt that way from the first moment I saw you.”

“Why do you feel that way?” Zhou Chulan’s question came immediately.

“I don’t know. It’s a subtle feeling, as if… as if…” Li Zhuoyao blinked, trying hard to accurately describe this indescribable subtle emotion.

“As if we’ve known each other for a long time.” Zhou Chulan said lightly.

“Yes! That’s exactly the feeling. But we’ve never met before…”

“Do you believe in past lives? The Buddhist theory of past lives.” Zhou Chulan suddenly asked an unrelated question, not joking at all, his eyes very serious.

Why ask about past lives all of a sudden? Li Zhuoyao was a bit puzzled. He didn’t know the purpose behind Zhou Chulan’s question, whether it was to deliberately change the topic or if there was another meaning.

“Can’t say I don’t believe at all. My mom believes in Buddhism and donates a lot of incense to the temple every year.” Without thinking too much, he had to follow the conversation.

“The Buddhist theory of past lives and karma says that when two completely strangers meet for the first time and feel a sense of familiarity, it’s likely from a past life.” Zhou Chulan looked towards the distant mountains, his expression gentle. Li Zhuoyao couldn’t quite understand his expression; this rarely seen tender expression seemed like it was directed at him but also not quite.

“Doesn’t it sound kind of abstract?” He turned to look at Li Zhuoyao, a smile still on his face, with a hint of self-deprecation.

By this time, the rain had completely stopped. Zhou Chulan took off his raincoat, revealing the jade Bodhisattva pendant hanging around his neck, the same one as before. Li Zhuoyao found it somewhat familiar; remembering, the last time they made sticky rice cakes together at the market, Zhou Chulan was wearing it.

“Do you believe in Buddhism? You seem to always wear it. Which Bodhisattva is that?” Li Zhuoyao pointed to the jade pendant. The jade figure was light blue, crystal clear all over, appearing to have been worn for many years, emitting a warm luster.

“Sunday Bodhisattva.”

“Which Sunday? The one from my name?”

“Yeah. The holy name comes from the Buddhist scripture, ‘Illuminating a thousand lights, shining all over the world, breaking through darkness.’ ” He looked into the distance, murmuring softly.

At this moment, the clear sky completely covered the previous rain, and the entire sky was dyed orange-pink. The sunlight and clouds painted a myriad of colors, a radiant scene. A beam of rose-colored light fell perfectly on Zhou Chulan’s face. He was gently brushing over the jade pendant with his fingers, his gaze devout.

Under the reflection of this rosy light, Zhou Chulan’s silhouette and the jade Bodhisattva pendant on his hand seemed to merge into one, with soft lines and a compassionate gaze. Li Zhuoyao, looking at him like this, felt hesitant to disturb. Soon after, he saw Zhou Chulan stand up. Half of his body remained bathed in the sunset, while the other half walked into the shadow.

“The rain has stopped. I’ll fix your car for you.” He tucked the jade Bodhisattva pendant into his clothes and walked towards the car hanging on the edge of the cliff. The black Sedan remained motionless, displaying a fragile connection and stability with the ground.

“Fix the car? Why do you need to fix a car at this time?”

Zhou Chulan glanced at Li Zhuoyao and continued to move forward.

“That car is about to fall off. Don’t bother; I’ll call a tow truck later.” Due to anxiety, Li Zhuoyao’s speech speed increased.

“Your car probably won’t last until then.” Zhou Chulan nodded towards the car. Li Zhuoyao followed his gaze and noticed that the car seemed to have slid slightly outward compared to before.

“If it falls, it’s okay. I can do without it. Let’s go down the mountain.”

“So you mean the Sedan isn’t expensive. It’s been driven for many years, not worth much, right?” His emphasis was on the words “worth much,” his mouth curved with a hint of irony. Li Zhuoyao didn’t understand why Zhou Chulan seemed so concerned about his old car.

“The car doesn’t matter. What’s important is your life, more precious than all my cars combined.” He said immediately.

Once the words were spoken, Li Zhuoyao regretted it. This sentence, sounding like the first part of an unfinished statement, was a spontaneous utterance. How could he compare Zhou Chulan’s life to the cars in his garage? But in his haste, he used examples of other cars to refute Zhou Chulan’s comment about the Sedan. Many people were surprised why Li Zhuoyao liked driving this Sedan, always using it as his vehicle. The wealthy circle in Guangzhou even considered it a typical case, praising Li Zhuoyao as the richest and most down-to-earth young man in the city. He didn’t mind. He felt a bit reluctant to abandon this Sedan now. However, he actually used his idle items in the garage to compare Zhou Chulan’s life, making him feel foolish.

He nervously stared at Zhou Chulan’s reaction. After a few seconds, Zhou Chulan actually smiled. Though the smile was fleeting, Li Zhuoyao immediately caught it, capturing it in his eyes. Zhou Chulan’s smile was very beautiful, with the corners of his mouth stretching, a slightly curved arc. Li Zhuoyao was a bit dazed, recalling that this seemed to be the first smile Zhou Chulan had shown since they met, warm and as if it could melt all the ice and snow in the world.

“Let it be; if it falls, it falls. That car doesn’t matter.” Zhou Chulan who was taking a few steps towards the car was stopped by Li Zhuoyao who shouted to him again. Zhou Chulan didn’t turn around but continued to walk forward.

“But this car is important to me.” He muttered, speaking with a voice only he could hear.

He first walked to the motorcycle, took out a toolkit from the trunk, and returned to the car. The car door was still half-open. Li Zhuoyao followed closely behind, holding the climbing rope in his hand. When Zhou Chulan stood still, he silently reached out, using the rope to tie his waist, wrapping him in the middle, a series of winding actions similar to a two-person hug.

Zhou Chulan did not object, standing quietly, letting him act.

The other end of the rope was tied to a tree by Li Zhuoyao. Then, he went to open the car trunk, taking out a section of climbing rope. It wasn’t very long, about five or six meters.

With this short rope, Li Zhuoyao firmly tied himself to the rope connected to Zhou Chulan.

“Are you crazy? Untie it quickly.”

Zhou Chulan reached out to grab his rope, but Li Zhuoyao took a step back, out of his reach.

“Just having a big tree is not enough; adding me, double insurance.” He said.

Li Zhuoyao’s gaze was very determined, and Zhou Chulan couldn’t resist, so he had to give up.

“I’m heading up now.” He took a few steps and turned back to remind.

Then he slowly climbed into the car. The Sedan immediately made a sharp “creak” sound, and the car began to sway slightly. Li Zhuoyao stood on the side, watching Zhou Chulan’s movements nervously. He unscrewed the screws of the steering wheel, slowly put it down, and used a screwdriver to check the condition of the bearings and springs inside. It was stuffy and hot inside the car, and Zhou Chulan’s back quickly became soaked with sweat. But he didn’t care about all this, carefully removing the faulty parts, wiping off the rust and dust from each component with alcohol, and replacing them with new ones. After almost half an hour, Zhou Chulan finally breathed a sigh of relief, sat in the driver’s seat, started the engine, and the car began to sway again. He quickly turned the steering wheel to the left, stepped on the gas, and drove the car back onto the road.

“It’s fixed. The car is too old; the parts and springs inside are damaged, causing a steering failure.” Zhou Chulan walked down from the car, untied the rope from his waist.

Cold sweat behind Li Zhuoyao began to warm up gradually until this moment, his pores finally relaxed. He took a deep breath.

Zhou Chulan still had that calm demeanor. This person risked his life for him for the second time. The first time was to save his life, and the second time, it was just to help him fix an old car that had been driven for many years. Each time, he faced life and death calmly, with an open and honest expression.

All for him.

Li Zhuoyao felt his eyes were a bit sore; he reached out and touched his eyelids, surprisingly damp.

“Let’s go down the mountain.” Zhou Chulan called him from inside the car, but he found that Li Zhuoyao was standing still, as if he hadn’t heard him.

“Li Zhuoyao?” Zhou Chulan called again, but Li Zhuoyao still didn’t respond.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Zhou Chulan, anxious, pushed open the car door and was about to get out. However, Li Zhuoyao walked over, pressing his hand on the hand Zhou Chulan had placed on the car door.

“Zhou Chulan, can we be together?” Li Zhuoyao’s voice was hoarse, and his eyes were slightly red.