The cruise ship sailed the new route for two days and one night, then docked at Bei Island on the return trip.
Because of its uniquely favorable geography and policy support, Bei Island had spent the past few years continuously reclaiming land from the sea and expanding its area, becoming a new shopping paradise.
Chen Wan had always had very little material desire. He was not especially particular about his own food, clothes, or daily necessities, and he usually had no large expenses. He only chose a jade watch and a set of gold jewelry for Song Qingmiao at the duty-free shop.
Seeing the large sums that had been charged to the supplementary card over the past few days, Chen Wan knew Song Qingmiao had gone to the casino again. He sighed inwardly.
He took back the card after the sales associate finished swiping it. Then, suddenly, he saw a pair of cufflinks displayed in the central counter at Xiludeng. They were not the season’s main style, but the craftsmanship was extremely detailed, and they had a heavy weight in the hand.
Chen Wan asked the sales associate to take them out for him to look at. With one glance, he decided. “Please wrap them up for me. Thank you.”
The sales associate’s introduction hung uselessly at the edge of her mouth. In truth, she had wanted to say that this pair of cufflinks was not very suitable for Chen Wan. She had wanted to recommend enamel or pearl cufflinks to this handsome guest instead.
But Chen Wan’s attitude was very decisive, so she only smiled and said, “Of course. Please wait a moment.”
Qin Zhaoting saw and walked over to ask, “You like heavy craftsmanship?”
The Longevity Without Limit style from the roof-tile series—wasn’t it a little too domineering and solemn?
Chen Wan was young, with a tender-looking face and a gentle temperament. He might not be able to carry it.
“No.” Chen Wan took the sales receipt from the associate and signed it. “It’s for a friend.”
Qin Zhaoting knew Chen Wan was very good at treating people well, as if he had been born knowing how to love others. Still, he was a little surprised. Even on a duty-free island, the whole set was not cheap. He smiled enviously. “Then being your friend must be too fortunate. I wonder who’s so lucky.”
Chen Wan only smiled and did not answer.
What friends did he have? His only friend was Zhuo Zhixuan, and Zhuo Zhixuan had never lacked these things.
Even the sales associate had probably seen that this pair of cufflinks was not suitable for him.
Because Chen Wan had bought them for Zhao Shengge.
Perhaps when one liked someone, anything that seemed suitable made one want to buy it for him.
Chen Wan had a separate cabinet at home where he stored the things he saw in daily life and thought suited Zhao Shengge.
A purely handmade tie bought on a business trip to Northern Europe, a silk pocket square bought at a market while attending a forum in the mainland… Ties, watches, lighters. In his imagination, Chen Wan had already dressed Zhao Shengge thousands upon thousands of times.
The gifts kept growing like ornaments, but Chen Wan had never planned to send them out. They would never see the light of day. Their purpose was limited to letting Chen Wan imagine how they would look worn by Zhao Shengge. They were Chen Wan’s private stamp-collecting diary, the secret material for some night dream of his…
Chen Wan accepted the gift box from the sales associate in quite a good mood. When he lifted his eyes, he met the gaze of the cufflinks’ true owner, in the most meaningful sense, though it could not be said aloud.
Zhao Shengge was nearby and had heard their conversation. He was not particularly surprised. Chen Wan looked like someone with many friends and excellent popularity. He was thorough and considerate even toward people he was not close to; toward a friend, he would naturally be even more meticulous, even more willing to grant whatever was asked.
That pair of cufflinks, that style, that design—what sort of person they were meant for did not seem hard to guess.
So he had a friend like that too.
With both hands in his pockets, Zhao Shengge thought coldly. The counter lights made him look expensive and austere.
Chen Wan noticed that the other man’s gaze had stopped on his cufflinks. Feeling a little guilty, his hand holding the gift bag unconsciously drew inward toward his chest. He probably did not quite know that this made him look as if he were afraid Zhao Shengge had taken a liking to that pair of cufflinks too.
“……”
Zhao Shengge looked at him like that. Chen Wan politely nodded to him in greeting, smiled once, then lifted his foot and walked toward another counter.
Whale Ship 17 docked at Little Star Pier. Chen Wan chose a day to call Song Qingmiao out and give her the jade and gold jewelry he had bought at the duty-free port—unless he absolutely had to, he would not take the initiative to go to the Chen residence.
They had not seen each other since the last Ghost Festival, when Chen Wan returned to the Chen old residence. Chen Wan was busy, and Song Qingmiao was even busier—shopping, playing cards, buying bags, drinking tea. Every day was splendid.
Chen Wan called her regularly to ask after her. On the phone, Song Qingmiao said she had been unwell recently. The family doctor said it was stagnant qi damaging the liver and excessive dampness, and asked him, after he came ashore this time, to accompany her to Sea Goddess Temple to offer incense and greet the Sea Goddess.
Chen Wan said yes. He also did not ask about the large sums she had charged to the supplementary card again two days before.
The money and affection Song Qingmiao needed—Chen Wan did his best to satisfy both.
The incense at Sea Goddess Temple was flourishing. People in Hai City did not believe in Guanyin or Buddha; they believed in the Sea Goddess. Men and women, old and young—whether they were sick, taking exams, or doing business, they all had to greet the Sea Goddess.
Song Qingmiao had waterfall-like black hair and wore an elegant, understated cheongsam. Her unaging face and girlishly charming temperament made her look like a young woman. Walking beside Chen Wan, she looked more like his older sister. It would not have been strange to call them lovers either.
Song Qingmiao said she wanted to enter the inner courtyard to worship the Heavenly Consort Dragon Lady. Today was an auspicious day she had asked someone to calculate—the twenty-fourth at the end of the month, when the goddess sent prayers upward to heaven’s hearing. It was suitable for prayer and wishes.
Chen Wan turned his head and looked toward the temple entrance. He paused very lightly, then said softly, “Should I wait for you outside?”
“No.”
Song Qingmiao insisted he go with her, saying that if he came and did not worship, the Sea Goddess would blame him.
Chen Wan thought of the Maybach he had seen when parking just now and very skillfully persuaded her. “I heard someone say that one should see the Heavenly Consort at most once every three months. Any more than that, and the Sea Goddess will think people are greedy.”
There were five Sea Goddess statues. Chen Wan only recognized the Great Sea Goddess Lin Moniang and the Third Sea Goddess Zhuang Jingyun, the two Song Qingmiao most often worshipped. One presided over good fortune and peace; the other over wisdom and virtue.
“You worshipped Lin Moniang only last month. This time, you can have a proper talk with Jingyun Sea Goddess.”
The Jingyun Sea Goddess statue was in the west hall. They should not run into anyone there.
Song Qingmiao thought what Chen Wan said made some sense, but she was still not very happy. It was as if, if she could not see Lin Moniang Sea Goddess today, her luck for the coming while would turn poor.
Chen Wan could only coax her again, saying he would invite a goddess statue into her home as well, made of mutton-fat jade.
In the inner courtyard, the abbot called a young monk to add tea for Zhao Shengge. The man before him was a God of Wealth more real than the gilded ones in their temple halls.
Hai City had plenty of wealthy people, but not everyone was this generous. With such an enormous sum of incense money every year, if Buddha did not favor him, who would he favor?
Zhao Shengge had come today to calculate an auspicious day and offer incense for the start of construction on the new terminal project. He did not believe in ghosts or gods. He only believed in himself.
But Zhao Maozheng had insisted that he make this trip.
It was not that Zhao Maozheng was pedantic or stubborn. He only wanted to temper his heir’s temperament. Zhao Shengge looked composed, decisive, and unreadable, but his true nature was still too proud, too sharp-edged. He did not understand empathy and lacked human feeling. He could not undertake greater things that way.
At this point, Zhao Maozheng finally had no choice but to admit that the methods he had once used to train his eldest grandson had been too much of an overcorrection. For a young child, they had indeed been too harsh and too severe.
Zhao Shengge had no normal human emotions. Even toward him, there was probably not much familial affection.
When Zhao Shengge was very young, Zhao Maozheng had burned many of his models. The methods had been crude and brutal. There had also been the incident where he had someone shoot a stray dog Zhao Shengge had picked up. He did not know whether Zhao Shengge still remembered that.
The young Zhao Shengge had watched it happen with his own eyes and had not shed a single tear.
In short, there were countless things like that. In short, all the anxiety, urgency, and rage Zhao Maozheng felt because his eldest son had failed to amount to anything had been vented in one breath onto his eldest grandson.
It was only when Zhao Shengge had more or less taken shape that Zhao Maozheng belatedly realized he seemed to have raised a man—and also seemed to have ruined one.
But now, he could no longer control Zhao Shengge. He could only say, “The terminal and the new route both need Buddha’s blessing.”
Without the slightest emotion, Zhao Shengge replied in a businesslike tone, “Four-thirty to five. I can only spare half an hour to take a look.”
He was very busy. It was not that he was going to see the Bodhisattva; it was the Bodhisattva who had to wait until he finished his meeting.
“……”
Less than five minutes after stepping into the temple, Zhao Shengge already regretted it. With this time, he could have had the drawings for the new project reviewed at the meeting.
The abbot spoke like he was chanting sutras. Zhao Shengge did not listen seriously to a single sentence, but for the sake of the new project, he could still maintain friendly communication with him for several minutes.
Even before the divine statue, Zhao Shengge remained the same. Mild, steady, and perfectly courteous. Not even gods or Buddhas knew what he was thinking.
Occasionally, he nodded in response to the abbot’s output, while his thoughts had already drifted through the hollowed diamond-pattern window to the person in the outer courtyard.
The hands on his watch had already pointed to five-thirty. He did not believe that someone who watched six roads and listened in all directions had not seen his car.
The other man was wearing a very soft cotton-linen shirt today, which made him look gentle.
This place had originally been a temple built by South Seas immigrants. Later, locals converted it into a Sea Goddess Temple. Some parts still preserved the golden statues and carved eaves. When Chen Wan passed through it, he looked like the purple water lily in the courtyard’s water vat.
Because of the gilded and glazed architecture, a trace of something indescribable was added to his purity.
He was holding the bag for the woman beside him, his expression very patient.
Zhao Shengge raised an eyebrow with some mockery. Chen Wan looked pure and free of desire, yet here he was, talking romance before a sacred Buddhist place. This kind of taste truly made one unable to offer praise.
Seeing that Zhao Shengge’s expression had turned somewhat cold, the abbot did not dare ramble too much. He only asked him to send greetings to the old man and wished him health and peace.
Zhao Shengge lifted his chin toward the west hall and asked, “What’s worshipped over there?”
Seeing that he had shown rare interest, the abbot explained in detail. “The west hall is Jingyun Sea Goddess, the left attendant of the heavenly palace, specifically presiding over wisdom.”
“Oh.”
Chen Wan still needed to ask for wisdom?
Was there anyone with more schemes than him?
As if he were in a meeting, Zhao Shengge asked, “When was the goddess statue repaired?”
The abbot’s eyes shifted, very quick to seize an opportunity. “It has been several decades. The gold body and gilded colors have both faded in places. At present, we are still preparing funds for restoration. If Benefactor Zhao is interested, this old monk can accompany you over to offer a stick of incense as well. It may be considered seeking a good omen.”
Zhao Shengge, who had claimed he would leave in half an hour, turned his wristwatch and said, “That’s acceptable.”