Sweet Temptation: After Rebirth, The Campus Heartthrob Can’t Hide His Feelings Anymore - Chapter 91

During the summer vacation, Xu Zhizhi continued to regularly teach Old Master Lu how to paint.

Once a week.

Old Master Lu couldn’t sit still for long. After painting for a while, he would complain that his old bones were stiff and pull Xu Zhizhi to the rose garden to tend to the flowers.

The piano in the garden’s glass room was always kept spotlessly clean. Every morning, Old Master Lu would pick a bouquet of roses he had grown himself and place it on the piano.

It was his endless longing for his departed lover.

Each time before Xu Zhizhi left the Lu residence, Old Master Lu would give her a bouquet of red roses.

Holding the flowers, Xu Zhizhi would board the bus and leave on her own, never taking Zhou Xuci with her.

She had her own little secret.

Zhou Xuci, being overly considerate, did not pry too much into Xu Zhizhi’s secret.

Though he claimed not to mind being left behind time and again, deep down, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of bitterness.

Lu Huaibei sipped his coffee while watching the melancholy Zhou Xuci and remarked sarcastically, “Got abandoned again? How pitiful.”

Zhou Xuci shot him a glare. “You’re even worse off, you don’t even have the chance to be abandoned.”

“Tsk, my stomach is too sensitive for the bitterness of love,” Lu Huaibei retorted stubbornly.

Zhou Xuci: “…”

Lu Huaibei set down his coffee cup and poured himself another. “Do you know why she doesn’t take you along?”

“A good partner should give the other enough space,” Zhou Xuci replied, sitting by the window and gazing at the garden full of roses outside.

“Last time,” Lu Huaibei paused, taking a sip of his bitter coffee before continuing softly, “I saw her take bus number 304.”

Four years had passed.

It was time for him to move on from the past that had trapped him.

Zhou Xuci stiffened slightly, a flicker of surprise in his eyes as he turned to look at Lu Huaibei.

“The final stop of bus 304 is Hanshan Temple,” Lu Huaibei said, walking over with his coffee to stand beside Zhou Xuci. “A-Ci, go find her.”

Hanshan Temple.

From the time he could remember, Zhou Xuci had accompanied his grandmother, climbing the steps one by one.

For ten whole years.

After his grandmother passed away unexpectedly, Zhou Xuci never dared set foot in Hanshan Temple again.

Guilt and remorse had grown into countless thorns, trapping him tightly. Though they pierced him all over, he never found the courage to cut through them.

Xu Zhizhi arrived at the final stop, got off the bus, and made her way to the foot of the mountain. Clutching the bouquet, she began climbing the steps one by one.

A full thousand steps.

Xu Zhizhi’s knees weren’t in the best condition, so she walked slowly, pausing from time to time. The weather was sweltering, but fortunately, the mountain path was shaded by lush trees on both sides, offering a hint of coolness.

Hanshan Temple was a sacred place of worship in Nancheng. Along the way, many fellow pilgrims made their way up, offering devout prayers.

Stepping on the dark stone steps, Xu Zhizhi looked up at the majestic temple standing solemnly on the mountainside.

Watching the backs of the climbers, she imagined the young Zhou Xuci supporting his grandmother as they ascended.

After his grandmother’s passing, Zhou Xuci had chosen to escape, and Hanshan Temple became a place he avoided mentioning.

If he didn’t dare come, then she would come for him.

By the time Xu Zhizhi reached Hanshan Temple, a light sweat had formed on her forehead. She placed the vibrant red roses on a rock by the mountainside.

This bouquet of red roses was for Zhou Xuci’s grandmother.

A lady she had never met.

“It’s been years since I’ve seen such bright red roses,” an elderly man remarked, gazing at the flowers with admiration.

Xu Zhizhi turned and offered the old man a polite smile.

“There was once a sincere person who would bring a bouquet of such vibrant roses every time they came to pray,” the old man began.

Xu Zhizhi asked softly, “That sincere person, was there a boy accompanying them, right?”

“Yes,” the old man recalled the days gone by. “At first, he was just a little boy. But as the years passed, the boy grew up, and now he’s quite tall.”

“They used to come to Hanshan Temple every year to pray, but in recent years, I haven’t seen them.” The old man stroked his snow-white beard. “Every time I see fresh roses, I can’t help but think of them.”

Xu Zhizhi asked, “Where did they hang their prayer strips?”

The old man pointed to a towering tree. “Over there. There are so many people praying now, it’s impossible to find them anymore.”

With that, the old man turned and walked away.

Xu Zhizhi walked over to the tree adorned with fluttering red prayer strips, each one carrying sincere and heartfelt wishes as they swayed in the wind.

Her hand gently brushed against the tree’s trunk.

It was said that this tree was five hundred years old, having witnessed the rise and fall of the southern city. Its bark bore the marks of countless hardships, yet it stood tall and flourished.

A gentle breeze swept by, and a loosely tied prayer strip drifted down with the wind.

Xu Zhizhi hurriedly bent down to pick it up but missed. The strip was carried away by the breeze, and she chased after it.

Suddenly, a familiar pair of shoes came into her line of sight.

Zhou Xuci crouched down and picked up the prayer strip that had landed near his feet.

Xu Zhizhi turned and froze visibly upon seeing Zhou Xuci. “What are you doing here?”

Zhou Xuci walked over and handed her the prayer strip, his eyes filled with tenderness. “Why can’t I be here?”

On the prayer strip were written the words: “Smooth sailing for the high school entrance exam! Please bless me to get into No. 1 High School!”

Xu Zhizhi stood on her tiptoes, trying to retie the prayer strip to a branch, but it was just out of reach.

Zhou Xuci approached, wrapped his arms around her waist, and gently lifted her up.

After securing the prayer strip, Xu Zhizhi slipped out of his embrace. “You still haven’t answered me. Why are you here?”

Zhou Xuci ruffled her hair. “You took bus number 304.”

“With your bad knees, you still climbed a thousand steps,” he murmured softly. “Xu Zhizhi, are you trying to break my heart?”

Xu Zhizhi opened her arms and wrapped them around his waist, resting her head against his shoulder. “I wanted to walk the paths you’ve walked.”

Grandma passed away here. I wanted to come and see her too.

And the prayers she never got to finish, I can complete them for her.

“Why didn’t you ask me to come with you?” Zhou Xuci asked.

Xu Zhizhi nuzzled her head against his chest. “I was afraid it would make you sad.”

Zhou Xuci looked up at the countless prayer strips swaying in the sky, his eyes slightly reddened. “This is the tree where Grandma hung all her wishes for me.”

“Grandma was a bit greedy. While others hung only one strip, she hung three, all for me. She said she was afraid the heavens might doze off and miss her prayers, so she hung more, in the most visible spots.”

“She was such a lovely old lady,” Xu Zhizhi said.

A faint smile touched Zhou Xuci’s lips. “Yes, lovely, but also quite stubborn. Once she set a date, rain or shine, she would climb up to Hanshan Temple.”

“When I was little, I’d be panting and out of breath halfway up, ready to give up. But Grandma wouldn’t let me. She sat with me on the steps for an hour, insisting I climb up on my own.”

He held Xu Zhizhi’s hand and walked out to the prayer strip distribution point.

Zhou Xuci took a prayer strip, thought for a moment, and wrote: “Grandma, may you be well in all things. A-Ci misses you dearly.”

He hung it on the tree himself, gazing at the fluttering prayer strip.

In that moment, he finally stepped out from the shadows of his past.

…