Give life to time, and not time to life - Pascal

Later, in order to find Ma Zi's mother and Old Lady Song, Wei Qian and his friends almost turned the entire city upside down. However, the city was too big, and all the clues they found turned out to be groundless.

Some people said they saw them near the artificial lake in the park, some said they walked towards the moat, and some said they saw these two women, one old and one disabled, in an abandoned bridge hole.

However, they finally got nothing.

Ma Zi's mother and Old Lady Song are gone just like that.

The one who was most affected by this incident was Xiaobao.

If possible, no one wanted her to know about this, but it was impossible to hide it from her when two people who had been together day and night suddenly disappeared.

When his parents passed away, Xiaobao was too young to understand and has long forgotten about it, but it was different for his grandmother.

Grandma is the person closest to her.

She was originally a little girl in the Garden of Eden who knew nothing about wind and rain. The departure of Old Lady Song dragged her into the human world without any warning. What faced her was the knife-like wind of time, which she had never valued or truly experienced. As soon as she saw blood, she felt the pain deeply.

During that period, Xiaobao would always be in a daze without any warning. Occasionally, she would remember something and would turn around and burst into tears. She would remember quarreling with her grandmother, remembering how she got angry with her, and remembering how she always felt that training and exams were more important and would always involuntarily ignore her.

When Old Mrs. Song was about to die of hunger and cold, when she took a last look around the world and found that there was no one she knew in the entire city and that all she saw were strangers, would she regret the decision she made in that moment of heat of the moment?

Nobody knows.

She may be desolate and sorrowful, or she may have one foot in the kingdom of death and feel at home.

It was all a matter of fate, a matter of a single thought. Old Lady Song cut off all possibilities of a terrible future, and in another form, she continued herself in the bloodline of her relatives.

Later, Mrs. Xiong Chen Lu also disappeared.

I don’t know if she is at peace. I think she must be unwilling to accept the many disappointments in her life.

She was too young and it was not a happy funeral, so the funeral was held in silence and solemnity. Almost everyone in the company who could go went.

Compared with his successor Wei Qian, Lao Xiong seems to be particularly gentle. He is loyal and rich, not too old. He does not look that good, but it is rare for middle-aged men to be visually handsome, so it is not really a disadvantage.

After Chen Lu's death, a small group of people had their eyes on "Mrs. Xiong". Some of them were simply concerned and wanted to introduce him to a new partner, while others had ulterior motives and tried to take his place.

Unfortunately, these people stopped their activities not long afterward - because Lao Xiong did something particularly outrageous.

He divided the family wealth. His parents were richer than him, so he didn't have to worry about it. Therefore, Lao Xiong divided the property into two, leaving half to Chen Lu's parents and donating the other half to a temple on the outskirts of the city. Then he shaved his head and became a monk.

It is said that because of his outstanding economic contribution to Buddha, Lao Xiong became the abbot's disciple right after he entered the temple, becoming a late-coming and older disciple.

After so many years, he has turned back into the idiot who used to hike in the cold and oxygen-deficient mountainous areas to buy pots.

after that……

Wei Qian parked the car and dragged out the newly bought large suitcase from the trunk. There were already some things in the suitcase, all of which he thought he would need. The suitcase felt good to hold, and it was very large and not heavy. It looked very sturdy and good-looking - of course it was good. Wei Qian picked for a long time before picking the most expensive one.

This does not fit Wei Qian's personal style. Although he has long been no longer poor, he has not become a spendthrift nouveau riche as he imagined. Most of the money spent from his wallet and personal cards is not used to buy anything for himself. Chairman Wei is still an impressively miser.

If he personally needs something, he will go into a store and buy something that is medium-priced or even below average. All his clothes are basic and the shirts are all white without any fancy things - so he doesn't have to buy a lot of ties to match his clothes.

To be honest, if it weren't for his spirit and appearance, when others saw this young man, they would probably think he was either an insurance salesman or someone from a real estate sales office.

He still drove his tattered little Malibu, so whenever he needed to go out and meet people, he had to switch to the company bus to avoid looking too shabby.

Of course, he was not willing to use the suitcase himself, so Wei Qian carried it all the way upstairs and placed it at Wei Zhiyuan's door. He reached out and knocked on the door to attract the attention of the person in the room who had his back to him, and then turned around and left without saying a word.

Wei Zhiyuan turned around and saw that his brother had already left. The sound of a door closing was heard not far away.

He stood up, silently dragged the suitcase into the house, and rubbed the handle of the suitcase. Then he hesitated for a moment, walked to Wei Qian's door, stood still for a long time as if he was punished, raised his hand to knock on the door three times, and put it down three times.

After that bizarre annual meeting, the two of them have been in this state ever since - Wei Qian still does everything he can for Wei Zhiyuan, but always treats him as air. If he has to talk to him, he will keep it brief and as economical as sending a telegram, and he will never look him in the eye.

According to Wei Qian's usual temper, he would definitely be furious.

Wei Zhiyuan was sobered up by his punch and thought he was going to get a good beating. On the way home, he even thought that Wei Qian might break off relations with him and never have any contact with him again.

But there is none.

A series of events that happened later made both of them exhausted, and Wei Qian had neither the time nor the energy to beat him.

As for the worst outcome Wei Zhiyuan imagined... he realized belatedly that he had underestimated his brother's feelings, even though that feeling was not the kind he wanted.

When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, Wei Zhiyuan would inexplicably introspect and reflect. He found that things like "cutting off all ties and destroying everything" were things that only he could do. As long as his elder brother still had some feelings for him, he would never go that far.

Wei Qian's love and affection for his younger siblings had become almost imperceptible like the background color in his silent expression day after day, but now, it was highlighted in such a resistant attitude.

Wei Zhiyuan felt a kind of dying attachment - now that things had come to this, he was going to leave.

Leaving was not his idea. One day, Wei Qian printed out the admission information of several famous foreign universities and placed it in front of Wei Zhiyuan along with a card with money saved on it. He didn't say anything, but everything was implied: it's up to you.

A year later, Wei Zhiyuan completed the application and a series of procedures. He was about to take the admission letter and leave on a flight the next day to a strange country more than ten hours away.

But the person he loves is on the other side of the earth, and the long time difference makes the ancient saying of "sharing the beauty of the moon from thousands of miles apart" an impossible illusion.

In the end, Wei Zhiyuan did not disturb Wei Qian. He went out quietly alone.

He sat aimlessly on the bus, passing through the streets and alleys of the entire city. This place was very different from what it was more than ten years ago. At first glance, the changes were almost unrecognizable. At that time, Wei Zhiyuan had never thought that this would end his wandering.

...Later, he didn't expect that this would not be his last stop.

Wei Zhiyuan didn't know how far he had traveled. The bus drove all the way to the terminal. He was the only passenger left in the city carriage that was so crowded that people could be photographed.

The conductor looked at the young passenger strangely and walked over to remind him: "Young man, this is the final stop. Get off now."

Wei Zhiyuan finally woke up from his dream and got off the bus in a strange place in a daze.

Sometimes, the suburbs of a city seem as far away as the next county town. Wei Zhiyuan didn't realize where this place was at first. He stood on the side of the road for a while and saw an illegal "one-day tour" group disbanding. The tour guide was holding a small red flag and leading the way with saliva flying, followed by a line of tourists who were as tired as dogs.

Fragments of the commentary floated into Wei Zhiyuan's ears. He heard the name of a temple. After a while, he remembered that this seemed to be the place where Lao Xiong became a monk.

Wei Zhiyuan didn't know what was going on as he followed the group of tourists all the way to the temple gate. He originally just wanted to take a look and didn't expect to meet Old Bear, but he unexpectedly saw that guy at the ticket office.

I saw Lao Xiong with a big bald head and wearing a monk's robe. He collected money with one hand and handed out tickets with the other, and he didn't forget to sell to tourists with saliva flying: "Do you want to buy incense? Our temple is very effective for making wishes. Female donors who want to pray for love, please line up here. Today is a special promotion. Buy incense and give away amulets. The incense has been blessed by the master himself, etc. Today is only for female donors. You, the young man over there, don't get in!"

Wei Zhiyuan: “…”

Only after a large group of tourists passed by did Lao Xiong take a break. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with his wide sleeves, picked up the mineral water next to him and drank half a bottle in one breath. Then he sighed in comfort: "Amitabha!"

Wei Zhiyuan finally had the chance to walk over: "I thought you were here to practice meditation."

Old Bear looked up and saw him, a little surprised. He waved and called a half-grown monk to take over, and asked Wei Zhiyuan: "Xiaoyuan? Why are you here?"

Wei Zhiyuan smiled bitterly.

The old bear looked at his expression, thought for a moment, and said, "Well, since you are here, come with me to the Zen room where I live and sit for a while."

Wei Zhiyuan nodded indifferently and was about to follow him.

Lao Xiong turned around and added, "Wait, buy your ticket first. We are a small business, you are not allowed to evade the ticket by relying on your acquaintances."

Wei Zhiyuan reluctantly took out a handful of change. He finally understood that Lao Xiong's so-called "becoming a monk" was just a special trip to blaspheme Buddhism.

The temple is located in the mountains. In the hot summer, the lush vegetation on the mountain is protected as a tourist area, and each one is kept green and lush.

Passing through the front yard filled with tourists, Lao Xiong led Wei Zhiyuan into the backyard where tourists were not allowed, but it suddenly became quiet.

A big, long-haired dog was lying at the door. It was not surprised at all to see people. A young monk was cleaning the yard. When he saw them, he greeted the old bear politely.

The sounds of knocking wooden fish and chanting sutras can be heard faintly in the distance, melting into the lingering chirping of cicadas. The sound of incense and candles is far away, and the feeling of a "Buddhist holy land" comes to you.

This is an ancient temple, so of course the rooms are all very run-down. Of course, as the richest man in the temple, the place where Lao Xiong lives is already the best.

Lao Xiong boiled a pot of hot water and made tea for Wei Zhiyuan.

Wei Zhiyuan picked it up and took a sip, only to find it had the flavor of coarse tea stems. He lowered his head and saw the tea leaves inside undulating and dancing gracefully, all of them growing very roughly, as if they had been plucked directly from a large willow tree and the leaves had been used directly to make tea for the guests.

So he put the glass down again.

Lao Xiong asked, "It's almost time for dinner. You came all the way here. Have you told your family about this? Does your brother know?"

Wei Zhiyuan placed his two fingers on the edge of the cup, spun the wet cup around, and answered the question in a low voice, "I'm leaving the country on a flight tomorrow."

Lao Xiong was stunned at first, then he was silent for a moment and sighed: "That's good too. When you come back in the future, you will be a 'returnee' and more successful than the rest of us... at least more successful than me."

Wei Zhiyuan's mouth curled up mechanically. He thought: Come back? Can I come back?

He changed the subject abruptly: "How does it feel to be a monk?"

"It's OK, but the kitchen doesn't make pork stewed with vermicelli, which I miss." Old Bear sniffed, "Why, do you want to come too?"

Wei Zhiyuan smiled but said nothing - he didn't tell Lao Xiong that this idea really came to his mind the moment he saw the mountain temple from afar... but it was later dispelled by the buy-one-get-one-free offer at the ticket office.

"Don't come. You have the ten feet of soft red dust in your heart, so you definitely can't stay here." The old bear said, and then he remembered something, and his tone became low, and he said with some self-mockery, "I am different. My ten feet of soft red dust has turned into colorful clouds and floated away."

Wei Zhiyuan asked: "Besides selling tickets and incense, what else do you do every day?"

"What do you mean by selling? How ugly it sounds. Monks also need to eat. My main job is still to cultivate myself. I just use the temple as my home occasionally and try to make some money for everyone."

Wei Zhiyuan didn't argue with him and still asked, "What are you repairing?"

The old bear said, "I am a Hinayana practitioner. I practice the emptiness of self and dharma. I cannot learn the four means of attraction and the six perfections of Mahayana. I just want to escape from the sea of ​​suffering. I have no intention of saving sentient beings or bringing others with me. If you come to me for comfort, forget it."

Wei Zhiyuan shook his head: "I don't plan to ask for comfort, I have given up."

The old bear sneered: "Young man, do I believe you?"

Wei Zhiyuan remained silent for a long time.

The two of them were silent for a while, and finally Old Bear couldn't help but speak again.

"I am the one standing outside the threshold. No matter how shocking you are, you can't shock me. Let me give you some advice." Old Bear said, "When I first met you, I told your brother that you are a very 'thin' person. I haven't had much contact with you in the past few years, but every time I see you, I feel that you are getting thinner and thinner, and you are about to become as thin as a cicada's wing."

Wei Zhiyuan said calmly, "Brother Xiong, are you saying that I am narrow-minded?"

"Yes, I mean wisdom," Lao Xiong admitted frankly, "Think about it, what do you think is the most insurmountable, the most unattainable, and the most invincible thing in your life?"

Wei Zhiyuan didn't say anything, but an obvious look of pain appeared on his young face. Old Xiong knew who he was thinking of without asking.

However, he just waved his hand without any sympathy: "You want to say that he is your brother? You are a little boy who can't get through puberty... Your brother loves you so much that he can't wait to see you. How wronged he must be. He has inexplicably become the biggest psychological trauma in your life."

Wei Zhiyuan’s fingers were about to pinch into the teacup.

Old Bear: "Young man... it's better to go, see the outside world, give yourself ten minutes every day, and think carefully about how you have lived for the past twenty years. Qian'er is not your problem, child. Even if it is against morality, as long as he is still alive and well, it is not your problem. You have a lot of problems, but in the final analysis, it's still you."

Wei Zhiyuan looked up at him blankly.

Old Bear pointed to the tattered cushion and walls in his Zen room and said, "Since you are here today, just sit here and meditate. I'm going to go out and sell tickets. For some things, if you think clearly, you will be invincible. If you don't think clearly, you will be trapped. Your brother... This is how his life will end. You still have a chance."