After greeting the two elderly people, they walked along the flat dirt path beside the field toward the temple.
The monks in the temple were still chanting their evening sutras. Even before getting close, you could hear the chanting and the sound of striking the wooden fish. The temple lights illuminated the platform as bright as day.
"...Can you even see the stars here?" Wen Yun couldn't help but frown upon seeing this.
Just like how you can't see the stars clearly in the city, overly bright ground lights are not conducive to appreciating the night sky.
“It’s alright, the ‘evening study’ will be over in a little while.” Ruan Yu smiled and pulled her to sit down on the stone bench, looking up at the sky. “When I was little, not many people had left the village. In the evenings, especially in the summer, many people would gather here to chat and cool off, and they would go back to sleep late at night.”
"Isn't Buddhism a place for quiet cultivation?" Wen Yun asked, puzzled. "Why are so many people gathered here chatting?"
“Perhaps the monks in the countryside don’t care about these things,” Ruan Yu said. “I’m not sure either, I just know that this phenomenon exists.”
The mountain breeze of autumn night brings coolness, and the faint scent of sandalwood wafts into the air.
The two had been sitting for a short while when they heard the temple door open, monks leaving in waves, and the lights inside the temple going out one by one. Finally, only an old monk came out and slowly closed the door.
After all the lights were turned off, Wen Yun subconsciously looked up at the night sky. The stars were dazzling and incredibly bright. She opened a star chart app on her phone and could see the constellations displayed one by one on the screen.
“This should be the closest stargazing spot for ordinary people, right?” she said. “It’s really great. The view is much wider than in the city, and the edge of the night sky is completely dark, unlike in the city where there are lights everywhere in the distance.”
"Do you like it here?" the girl next to me asked.
"I like it," Wen Yun nodded without hesitation, "but for now, it's limited to the scenery, and the people and dogs I care about."
No matter how beautiful a place is, if the people there are wicked, it's best to never have the chance to come into contact with it.
Since this part of the story wasn't in the original text, Wen Yun wasn't quite sure how much of a role the original owner's status as a wealthy heiress played. This trip back to her hometown truly felt like coming home; the warmth far outweighed the unpleasantness.
Ruan Yu smiled and was about to speak when she suddenly heard a familiar voice from the side: "Benefactor Ruan, it's been a while."
“Abbot Huiheng!” Ruan Yu hurriedly stood up, greeted the old monk with a smile, and said apologetically, “I’m a senior in high school this semester, and I’m very busy with my studies, so I don’t have many opportunities to come back.”
“This is a good thing. For young people, learning should be the top priority.” Abbot Huiheng nodded, then looked at Wen Yun. After only a few glances, his brows furrowed slightly. “And this is…”
"Hello, I am Wen Yun, a distant relative of Benefactor Ruan." Wen Yun also stood up and introduced herself.
The old monk seemed to remember something and suddenly realized, "So it's Benefactor Wen. I've heard Benefactor Ruan's elders mention you. I apologize for my earlier rudeness. Your appearance is quite peculiar; I've never seen anything like it before, and I couldn't help but take a few more glances."
Wen Yun's heart skipped a beat, but she still smiled and laughed it off, saying, "It's okay, I don't mind."
She is no longer the original owner of this body, so of course her appearance will be peculiar.
“However, I see that you are a blessed person, and you are often helped by benefactors in times of crisis. Therefore, you tend to act according to your own whims. I can’t help but want to remind you of something.” Abbot Huiheng said, “You must remember that ‘misfortune and fortune are interdependent.’ Do not get involved in causes and effects that are not related to you. It is wise to get out of trouble in time. Otherwise, you may fall into a sea of suffering and encounter endless hardships.”
Wen Yun was taken aback and subconsciously asked, "What do you mean by 'unrelated cause and effect'?"
“The simplest example is meddling in other people’s business,” Abbot Huiheng said. “But what you are about to experience is not so simple, so I will not make any rash judgments, but only offer a brief reminder.”
For a moment, Wen Yun suddenly wanted to ask him if, after arriving in this world, choosing to take care of the protagonist despite not being forced by the system, it counted as getting entangled in unrelated karma.
Because she could have chosen to live a quiet, untroubled life, avoiding the protagonist. But instead, fueled by anger and sympathy after reading the story, she transmigrated into the book and became vengeful, showering the protagonist with kindness and slapping down any characters who were unkind to him.
This is still the case now.
She thought for a moment and asked, "If I've already been tainted by this karma, how can I break free from this predicament?"
“If I’m not mistaken, Benefactor Wen should have another chance to extricate himself,” Abbot Huiheng said. “As for when and what opportunity it will be, I’m afraid I can’t tell. You’ll have to keep an eye out for yourself.”
After saying this, he raised his hands in a gesture of respect, saying, "It is getting late, so this old monk will not disturb your enjoyment any longer."
After the old monk left, Wen Yun had just sat back down when she felt Ruan Yu tightly grasp her hand.
“Although Abbot Huiheng is an elder, you don’t have to listen to him!” Ruan Yu whispered. “Our destiny is in our own hands. Do what you want to do. As long as you think it’s right, do it and don’t let yourself regret it!”
"Yes, I know." Wen Yun smiled and reassured her, "After all, man proposes, God disposes."
Even if she could do it all over again, she would probably still choose to be good to the protagonist.
At first, she may have just wanted to survive, but as they spent more time together, she inevitably developed selfish motives.
She had no ties in her original world, and although she was no different from a rootless duckweed in this world, she was still young, had relatives and friends around her, and had an unlimited future.
She has always lived a carefree life and rarely tells anyone that she is lonely. However, deep down she still longs for a companion who can discuss, share, strive, and live with her.
As for this world, the only character she initially identified with was the protagonist. Now that she has encountered many more characters, the only person she feels she can "live with" is still the protagonist.
She doesn't really care about the reasons for being compatible; she only cares about how the other person makes her feel.
If she feels comfortable with the relationship, she doesn't mind giving all her enthusiasm and goodwill to the other person.
-
By the time we got home from stargazing, it was almost time to wash up.
This time, Wen Yun didn't ask to take a bath with Ruan Yu. When Ruan Yu was in the bathroom, she moved a chair to the side of the bed to block the way. Since she wasn't doing homework tonight, she might as well put it away in advance so she wouldn't be too lazy to move it when she got sleepy.
The Ruan family's bathroom was simple, but it was fully equipped with amenities and toiletries, and the bathroom light was a bright, cool glow. Wen Yun didn't mind the environment at all; in fact, she felt a little comfortable taking a bath inside.
To her surprise, as soon as she returned to the bedroom, she smelled the scent of Tiger Balm. The girl on the bed was wearing a white nightgown, holding Tiger Balm in one hand and trying to reach her back with the other.
Wen Yun hurried over, reached into the pocket of her changed clothes, and materialized the cooling balm from the system's inventory. As she took it, she asked, "Did you get bitten by mosquitoes?"
"Um... I got bitten while showering," Ruan Yu said shyly, her voice unconsciously softening. "The mosquitoes in the countryside are really vicious. I thought I could just bear it, but it just got itchier and itchier..."
"You haven't applied it yet, have you?" Wen Yun asked.
The smell of medicated oil is very strong and spreads easily. Just open it and put a little on your hand, and the whole room will be filled with a pungent odor.
The smell was pleasant, but Wen Yun was mainly worried that the medicated oil would irritate Ruan Yu's skin, which had just had an allergic reaction. The cooling balm she redeemed from the system was the safe and reliable option.
"Not yet, the mosquito bites are hard to reach." Ruan Yu's voice grew softer and softer.
"Let me take a look?" Wen Yun climbed onto the bed and moved behind her. "Let me apply some cooling balm for you. The scent of cooling balm is a little milder."
“Okay…” Ruan Yu obediently put the medicated oil back on and placed it on the bedside table.
She had just sat up straight when, in the next second, she felt a chill run down her back.
The man's hand slipped inside her clothes, his fingertips cool and soothing the unbearable itching caused by the mosquito bites.
A note from the author:
The first update is here!
Chapter 34
This was the first time Ruan Yu had her back touched by someone her own age. As soon as Wen Yun's fingertips touched her, she instinctively straightened up and sat up straight.
"Relax," Wen Yun said, almost amused by her earnestness. "It'll be over soon."
Ruan Yu responded softly.
But for some reason, as she slowly spread the menthol balm with her fingertips, she felt the itching caused by the mosquito bites begin to spread, gradually turning into a strange tingling sensation. This made her shift her body slightly and ask, "Is it almost better?"
"It'll be done soon," Wen Yun replied. "Where else were you bitten? I'll just apply it there too."
“No, that’s all.” Ruan Yu shook her head. “Thank you for helping me.”
"Oh, there's no need to thank me." Wen Yun withdrew her hand, put the menthol ointment back on, and placed it aside. "If you still can't reach it next time, just tell me. You can do it at home too. Be bold, don't be shy. It's normal for girls to help each other like this."
Ruan Yu was taken aback. Recalling her reaction just now, she realized that she had indeed been shy. She blushed and nodded somewhat awkwardly.
It was still early before their usual bedtime, so Wen Yun opened her phone and started scrolling through her WeChat Moments.
The original owner was a tea connoisseur with a large number of wealthy friends on her friend list. She hadn't blocked anyone from her WeChat Moments. When Wen Yun checked her post from the afternoon, she found that it already had nearly fifty likes and a long list of comments.
[So envious! Which agritourism destination did Yunyun go to?]
[Purple sky, green hills and fields, and a dog! The scenery is so beautiful!]
I really want to live here forever!
[Waaaaah, Yunyun, can you take me on your next trip?! I haven't seen such a beautiful sunset in years, sob sob QAQ]
The message with the "sob sob sob" was sent by Lin Qiqi. After reading it, Wen Yun imagined the little devil crying and was immediately amused and exasperated. She simply sent her a message in return.
Cloud: [I'm in Xiaoyu's hometown.]
Cute and sweet Little Qiqi: [?? You actually went to that little village on purpose?!]
Cloud: [What's so surprising? That's my home too. [Confused]]
Cute Sweetheart Qiqi: [I thought you'd never go back. The village may have a nice environment, but its reputation is just...unspeakable. Apparently, women can't walk alone at night in that village, or they'll definitely disappear the next day! I don't need to tell you why, you can probably guess, right? And some of the villagers are really nasty! If I were you, I'd definitely try to distance myself from that village! Otherwise, if a scandal breaks out and it trends on social media, it'll be a disgrace to our family!]
After reading this, Wen Yun thought for a moment before replying: "On the contrary, I would try to use the power of the wealthy family to expose the culprits behind the village's dark side, fund infrastructure development, and attract talent to gradually improve the village's deep-seated problems."
Instead of seeing a problem and not solving it, we should try to solve the person who raised the problem.
Adorable Little Seven: [You're being way too idealistic! Have you gone crazy from doing too many political questions?]
Cloud: [hahaha, then just pretend I'm having a beautiful dream.]
After ending the conversation, Wen Yun sighed inwardly.
This is indeed something she has wanted to change ever since she saw related social news in her previous life.
Unfortunately, at that time she was just an ordinary person with no connections to the civil service. The only practical thing she could do was to donate money to women in the mountains from time to time.
She didn't look at the remaining comments, exited WeChat, opened her photo album, and started organizing the photos she had taken that day.
"Do I need to send you the photos I've processed?" she asked Ruan Yu.
The girl next to him had just put on her headphones to practice her listening skills, but upon hearing this, she took them off again, smiled, and replied, "Okay, but I've locked my phone with an app, so I won't be able to receive the pictures for an hour."
"It's okay, you can continue." Wen Yun lowered her head and skillfully dragged the photo into the image processing software, added some filters, and adjusted various attributes to make the photo look more saturated and vibrant.
Photo editing is very time-consuming. Wen Yun was focused on processing the photos. When there were only about twenty photos left, she heard a slight noise beside her. She looked up and saw that Ruan Yu had gotten out of bed and put her headphones and listening comprehension workbook back on the desk.
"It's time to sleep." Ruan Yu returned to bed, then wrapped herself in the blankets and lay down.
Wen Yun was almost exhausted from dealing with it, so she sent the few photos she had just saved to her, then lay down, turned off her phone, and waited for the girl next to her to turn off the light.
The countryside nights were quiet, with only the distant barking of dogs. They squeezed onto the small bed, and the slightest movement would bring them into contact with each other.
“This is the first time I’ve ever slept in the same bed as someone my own age,” Ruan Yu suddenly said after a few minutes of silence.
“If you’re willing, you can do it often in the future,” Wen Yun said. “There may not be a chance now, but when you go to university and meet some like-minded same-sex friends, when you travel around during holidays, if you want to get closer to them, you can sleep together like we do.”
Ruan Yu suddenly realized: "So, you can get closer to someone by sleeping with them?"
Wen Yun: "..."
That makes sense, but why does this sound so awkward?