Part 2
He smiled brightly: “Oh my god, you’ve missed out on so much… But that’s good too, because every day in the future, there will be so much more to look forward to!”
All delicious snacks are the most enjoyable when you eat them for the first time.
That feeling can stay in your memory for a very long time; you may not remember when you first fell, but you will remember how sweet your first candy was.
That moment of happiness can accompany you with courage through countless winters.
The little monk had never expected such an answer.
It’s good that he missed out, so that every day in the future there will be more beautiful things to look forward to… right?
The person he was with was urging him again. Berlin waved goodbye: “I’ll come back again. Next time I’ll bring you my favorite cookies and cucumber-flavored potato chips!”
The little monk’s hand holding the broom curled slightly, and he hesitated to raise his hand, but then he saw Berlin backing away while muttering: “By the way, my name is Ba… Xiaolin! Tell me, besides Little Monk, what else can I call you?”
The little monk hesitated for a moment, instead of using his Dharma name, he told the other person his name.
The eighteen or nineteen-year-old boy’s handsome, clear eyes were bright and black and white; his voice was clean and clear: “Chen Qingqiu.”
Berlin repeated the name a few times: “Chen Qingqiu, Chen Qingqiu… Little Monk, your name is so pretty, like a little girl.”
The little monk was silent: “…Have you ever seen a little girl with eight-pack abs?”
Berlin pinched his nose and made a grimace: “I know you can beat thirty people with one punch, just kidding.”
He waved and left with his friend, retracing their steps.
The little monk watched his back disappear, a little lost in thought; he’d waved to him so many times.
Was it necessary to wave that many times to say goodbye…?
Why did he wave so hard each time?
After only a short while together, the little monk felt like he knew the person at a glance. Even though he’d just met him, it felt like he could say, “I understand him.”
He told himself that people have many sides.
This person coming to the mountain to find him was wrong.
They should maintain their online relationship, maintaining parallel lines in real life, not disturbing each other’s lives.
But after much hesitation, the little monk didn’t know why, but he couldn’t directly refuse or stop the other party from coming again.
He stood there for a long time without moving, just lost in thought. The person who suddenly appeared was too loud, even without any response from him, the other party could happily chatter on and on by themselves.
After the brief bustle, only the wind could be heard again.
The little monk daydreamed for a while, murmuring: “Ba Xiaolin.”
There’s a movie called “Hachiko.” It turns out that besides dogs named Hachiko, there are also lively people with the surname “Ba.”
Han Yuzhe took Berlin back to the hotel.
In less than a second, Berlin went from a snowy mountain to a warm hotel room.
Berlin, experiencing spatial travel for the first time, was excited, but quickly calmed down and shifted his attention.
He turned on the light and carefully studied the ring.
Han Yuzhe settled into the sofa, stroking his chin in confusion: “Why did you pick this up? It’s not pretty.”
Berlin’s eyes shone brightly: “It has sentimental value. Memories become blurry with time; if I keep this, when I see the ring again after a long time, I’ll be able to clearly remember this day.”
“That’s why every tourist attraction sells souvenirs. It’s the same principle. Most souvenirs sold around tourist attractions are small trinkets; everyone knows that the materials are cheap and the workmanship isn’t refined, yet the price is several times higher than normal, but many people still buy them.” Berlin mimicked Han Yuzhe’s posture, comfortably throwing himself onto the sofa back, patted his belly contentedly, like a satisfied cat. “It’s not that they’re stupid, because they’re not paying for the souvenir itself, but for the current beautiful memories.”
“Souvenirs reflect local characteristics, and most have inscriptions. Even after many years, seeing this small object will instantly take you back to that time.”
Berlin concluded: “The symbol of ‘been there’ is a souvenir, convenient for collecting memories you don’t want to forget.”
Han Yuzhe understood. The ring was Berlin’s chosen souvenir for today’s short trip, a vessel for his memories.
Demons didn’t have this seemingly meaningless sense of ritual that humans possessed.
Human lifespans were only a hundred years, fleeting like a drop in the ocean to Han Yuzhe. He had too many memories he wanted to forget but couldn’t, so he had never been able to empathize with the human desire to preserve their mere hundred years of memories.
But now, perhaps because of the phrase “memories you don’t want to forget,” Han Yuzhe didn’t object to Berlin keeping the ring.
He thought, this day was spent with me.
Regardless of whether the focus of his memories is on me, I will forever be a part of this memory.
Berlin compared the size and put the ring on his left index finger.
He thought it would be larger, but it fit perfectly.
Berlin: “Wow, this ring and I are truly meant to be!”
What he didn’t notice was that after he lowered his hand, intricate golden patterns faintly appeared on the surface of the ring, flashing with an ancient, ethereal glow, like the setting sun.
The view outside was blocked by the curtains, and even Han Yuzhe didn’t notice anything unusual.
At the same time, the dawn broke, and a blood-red skyline dyed the sky, as if some untouchable entity was waking from its slumber, about to break free from its restraints and open its long-closed eyes.
Berlin, oblivious, patted his stomach and mumbled: “Let’s go find Xiao Wu. I want Xiaolongbao, char siu bao, shrimp dumplings, cheung fun, chicken feet, layered oil cakes.”
Han Yuzhe, who was only using Xiaolongbao as an excuse to leave: “Didn’t we just eat?”
Berlin naturally found this strange: “That was vegetarian food; what’s the difference between that and not eating?”
…The eyes about to open in the sky closed again.
The anomaly only lasted less than a second; no one noticed this fleeting change, and even those who happened to look up only took it to be a mirage.
There were many more spectacular mirages than this; it was nothing special.
Five minutes later.
When Berlin and Han Yuzhe arrived at the restaurant, Wu Hengyao was already sitting at the table waiting.
People always say that dogs have the most sensitive noses; Berlin disagrees: he believes Wu Hengyao’s is even better; a wolf’s nose is the most powerful.
The evidence is that as soon as he and Han Yuzhe entered the hotel’s buffet restaurant, Berlin felt a gaze so strong that it couldn’t be ignored, piercing through the crowd and precisely locating him and Han Yuzhe.
Berlin inexplicably felt guilty, although he didn’t understand what he had done wrong: “…”
He followed his sixth sense and looked over.
Sure enough, Wu Hengyao was standing far away, arms crossed, staring at them. Teacher Wu’s face was full of displeasure, his expression clearly saying, “Let me see where you two went galavanting early this morning”—that cliché line from old melodramas.
Berlin: “…”
The line “Let me explain” flashed through his mind, but before he could utter it, Berlin felt he was being manipulated without realizing it, so he swallowed the words.
Berlin thought back and didn’t find anything to be nervous about. He calmly walked with his head held high through the crowd, and before reaching Wu Hengyao… he turned to get a plate.
If the sky is falling, eating is the most important thing!
There were many people in the restaurant at the moment. The elites’ so-called “high-quality life” is achieved through involution and self-discipline, step by step, except for those born with silver spoons: in other words, ninety percent of these people are in hotels on business trips, and they wouldn’t choose to sleep in, with multi-million or multi-billion contracts on the line.
Everyone had their own work to do, so the atmosphere was extremely harmonious—no one looked up from their phones, and no one noticed Berlin, so he could enjoy his meal undisturbed.
Wu Hengyao looked at Berlin carrying two large plates of food and sitting down opposite him with a sullen face, sniffing to confirm: “Where did you two go early this morning?”
Berlin silently recited the line to himself and couldn’t help but giggle: It was indeed that line.
There’s a reason why classics remain timeless; it was used perfectly.
Berlin and Han Yuzhe spoke simultaneously.
Berlin, stuffing half a bun into his mouth, mumbled: “Where did we go?”