Su Qingyi watched his back as he bent to place the kitten down.
She closed her eyes and took a slow breath.
Stop looking. The more you look at a man like that, the more it will hurt.
As if sensing her gaze, the man beneath the horse chestnut tree suddenly turned and looked at her.
Su Qingyi had liked people before, back in her school days. But she had never fallen for someone so quickly, so completely, at a single glance.
She forced herself to appear composed and looked away first.
Holding the incense sticks she had received when lighting the lamp, she walked toward the stone incense burner in front of the hall.
Beside it stood a tall iron candlestick. She dipped the incense into the oil and was about to light it when a shadow fell across her.
She turned.
The man in the black Chinese-style shirt stood behind her, holding the same temple incense. His expression remained calm and unreadable.
His eyelashes cast soft shadows over his eyes. His eyelids were long and fine, partially veiling his pupils. The bridge of his nose was straight and natural. Every line of his face looked carved, as if sculpted from stone.
He was looking at her too.
Not the way she looked at him.
There was no flutter in his gaze, only quiet scrutiny.
Her heartbeat quickened, but she did not show it. Seeing that her incense would not catch flame immediately, she stepped aside slightly.
"You first."
"No need. Take your time."
His voice was clear and gentle, like the distant ring of a temple chime. It calmed her almost against her will.
She glanced at the incense in his hand.
It was the same kind given by the temple.
Her lips parted slightly, about to speak.
Suddenly a laughing child dashed out of the main hall. The child did not see the candlestick ahead and ran straight into its metal frame.
The heavy triangular stand shook violently and began tipping toward Su Qingyi.
Her mind registered the danger instantly.
Too late.
She could only watch it fall.
In that critical moment, a strong arm shot forward and caught the middle of the stand, holding it at a distance from her as it tilted.
She saw clearly as several candles toppled and shattered.
Melted red wax splattered across his black shirt and pale hands, forming scattered droplets.
Her eyes widened.
He frowned faintly, realizing the weight was greater than expected. He shifted his grip, bracing the stand with his shoulder and back, shielding her within the space of his arms.
For a brief second, the scent of cedar and lily of the valley enveloped her.
It felt like the first snowfall in the north.
She stood there, stunned.
Gasps erupted around them. Monks and worshippers rushed forward, lifting the iron stand upright. The oppressive shadow over her disappeared.
She noticed the wax stains on his broad shoulders.
"Are you hurt?" she asked quickly.
He smoothed the slight crease between his brows and shook his head gently.
As if nothing had happened.
Without thinking, she grabbed the edge of his sleeve.
"Brother… is it really necessary for you to renounce the world?"
Putting everything else aside, she truly liked his face.
It was the kind that made people fall in love at first sight.
He looked momentarily bewildered.
More bewildered, perhaps, by the fact that she was still holding onto him.
His gaze dropped to her hand, then lifted again, hesitation flickering in his eyes. It was almost as if he were about to say, Female benefactor, please show restraint.
Only then did she realize what she was doing.
After a long, reluctant pause, she let go.
He parted his lips as if to speak, then simply exhaled softly and stepped past her toward the child.
A young novice monk hurried over, flustered. "This candlestick has stood here for decades without incident. How could this happen today?"
Anyone with experience could see the reason. Years of neglect. Problems only revealed themselves when something went wrong.
Su Qingyi opened her mouth to explain.
Before she could, the man lifted the child easily with one hand and said calmly, "If there's a problem, solve it. Don't think first about avoiding responsibility."
The novice monk flushed red and nodded repeatedly.
Su Qingyi's heart broke again.
Of course. All the good men become monks to save the world.
Even if he truly became one, he would surely rise to be an exceptional abbot someday.
He glanced at her once more, expression cool, then quickened his steps and left with the child's parents following behind.
She watched his tall, straight figure retreat, feeling an almost theatrical sense of heartbreak.
At that exact moment, Wang Zhenfeng dragged Jiang Yue out and snapped, "Didn't you say you were too old to handle that kind of torture? Then why were you pulling Brother Jiang just now?"
"What Brother Jiang?" Su Qingyi was genuinely confused.
"The one you were grabbing earlier! Brother Jiang!"
Realization dawned slowly.
"You mean that person just now was Jiang Jingye?"
"Who else?"
"That's impossible."
She remembered Jiang Jingye vividly. Even accounting for puberty miracles, he could not possibly have turned into that.
When she looked at that man just now, she felt something serene, almost sacred. A quiet compassion. The kind of presence that made one unconsciously calm, like walking across a barren plain and suddenly finding a mountain valley in spring.
How could that compare to the flamboyant boy she remembered?
"If it's not him, then who is it?" Wang Zhenfeng shot back. "Are you saying we're all blind and only you know better?"
Silence fell between them.
Gradually, Su Qingyi steadied herself.
No wonder he had been looking at her earlier.
The girl who once barely noticed him now staring at him like that.
Social death.
Still, she made one last attempt. "But he doesn't look like him at all."
"Girls are allowed to change when they grow up, but Brother Jiang isn't?" Wang Zhenfeng huffed. "Stay away from him. If you make Sister Xiaolan cry again, I won't forgive you."
"Wang Zhenfeng."
Her tone turned serious for once.
"Wang Chaoyan," Wang Zhenfeng corrected automatically, but her voice was noticeably weaker.
"Do you believe I won't tell Auntie what you just said?"
That threat worked immediately.
"And what about your name change? Should I mention that to your dad too?"
Complete surrender.
She released Jiang Yue's hand. "What's wrong, cousin?"
"Let's go eat. Then tell me everything about Brother Jiang."
…
There was not much to tell.
Jiang Jingye had lived abroad for years with his parents and only returned in the past two. He appeared occasionally at the temple, especially on significant Buddhist days. Otherwise, he was rarely seen.
Even when encountered, he carried that same distant composure. Speaking to him felt almost intrusive.
Su Qingyi recalled her first glimpse.
Yes. That was the feeling.
But that was not what she wanted to know.
"And that's all?" she pressed.
Wang Zhenfeng nodded.
"Aren't you curious how he transformed from… that… into this?"
The three girls looked at each other, bewildered.
Xiao Lan, clutching her guzheng case, spoke first. "We don't know what you mean. Everyone calls him Jiang Jingye. Who else would he be?"
Su Qingyi inhaled.
"In middle school his bangs covered half his face. He never stood straight. He swayed when he talked. I'm not insulting anyone with medical conditions, but he did not look like that naturally. It was… intentional."
They stared blankly.
Xiao Lan burst into laughter. "Chaoyan, your cousin is hilarious. She doesn't sound like you at all…"
She abruptly realized what she had implied and shut up.
Fortunately, neither noticed.
Wang Zhenfeng frowned. "What's the point of someone impersonating Jiang Jingye anyway?"
That question hit harder than expected.
Before liberation, the Jiang family had been prominent locally. Now they could barely afford to renovate their ancestral home. His parents had lived in Vietnam and Cambodia for years. There was no logic in someone pretending to be him.
She had to face it.
The handsome man was Jiang Jingye.
And that fact hurt more than before.
"Don't you think he's too handsome?" she tried weakly.
"If he wasn't, would Sister Lan even consider his conditions?" Wang Zhenfeng shot back.
That sealed it.
Su Qingyi finally surrendered.
The heartbreak deepened.
She would have preferred if he really had become a monk.
…
After a short period of melodrama in her heart, she recovered.
No one knew she had briefly been captivated.
And judging by his current personality, Jiang Jingye would hardly bring it up.
Best to pretend nothing had happened.