After the filming of the TV series had ended, Hui Yin stayed in Shanghai for another week.
She spent her mornings jogging along the less traveled sidewalks, and used the rest of the day touring around the city. But no matter where she went, and no matter what she did, Hui Yin could see the two of them everywhere.
Lu Shen and Nian Zhen.
Their faces were on the newspaper stands, on the television screens plastered against the display glass of the appliance stores, and on various social media sites no matter how much she tried to avoid them. Even when she couldn't see their faces, the two of them were being talked about by almost everyone.
Even had been overshadowed by their engagement.
Su Jing was enraged by all this when she called Hui Yin once again.
"Those arrogant second generation heirs! Can't they choose to get engaged on another day? Why do they have to pick a week that coincided with the release of the PV? Damn it!"
Hui Yin was amused by this. "Calm down, Sister Su. After this fuss about the engagement has settled, will get popular once again. They're both in two different categories after all. They won't cancel each other out."
Su Jing was slightly consoled by this. "Fine, fine. It's not as if I can do anything about it anyway. When are you ing back to Beijing? We need to decide your next project."
"I'll be back tomorrow. I'm just taking a break for now."
"Alright then." Su Jing exhaled a sigh of relief. "Be safe."
"You too, Sister Su."
After Su Jing hung up, Hui Yin stared blankly around her surroundings for a moment. She was resting in a park bench, trying to recover her breath from jogging. After drinking from her water bottle, Hui Yin stood up and stretched her legs.
She was exiting the park when she took notice of a beggar sleeping underneath a large dawn redwood tree. Hui Yin slowed down. The beggar looked familiar to her.
Recognition flashed in her eyes, and Hui Yin approached the beggar. Crouching down, she poked his arm with a finger.
"Senior?"
He still didn't wake up.
"Senior Yue Lao?"
There was not even a twitch in his prone form. He looked to be deeply asleep.
Hui Yin sighed. "He probably drank a lot of beer again..."
The old man bolted awake, startling Hui Yin. His hand grabbed her wrist, his eyes looking alert as he asked, "Beer? You said there's beer? Where's the beer?"
Hui Yin was speechless.
He didn't respond when she called him, but only one mention of beer and he looked like he was given a new lease on life! What kind of depraved elder was this?
It seemed that the old man had realized there was no beer as he sullenly loosened his hold on her. "What the heck, you were lying to me..."
His rheumy eyes focused on her face, and he yelped. "Eh? It's you! What are you doing here?"
What do you mean what am I doing here...Hui Yin scratched her nose.
"Senior this is a park, and I was jogging here when I saw you. Senior, you don't have a home? Why are you sleeping on the ground?"
The old man ignored her question. "Are you here for the reward? Well, I suppose it's around that time now. So? Have you finally remembered me?"
Hui Yin greatly disliked being called 'girl'. She had a name! But she kept quiet, because she had long since figured out that the identity of this senior could not be simple.
"Senior, you were the one who gave me and Lu Shen those red promise bracelets as a wedding gift, right?" [1]
The old man uproariously laughed. "Right, that's right! You had truly remembered me. I'm glad that I still left a lasting mark in your heart. Of course, you saved me back then too."
Hui Yin knew what he was talking about. In her past life, this senior had nearly been beaten to death by a couple of gangsters on the side of the road. Fortunately, Hui Yin saw them and reported their misbehavior to the police. Later, Hui Yin took the old man to the hospital and paid for his medical fees. He then offered her a reward. Hui Yin didn't want him to feel indebted, so she randomly told him to give her a gift.
On the day of her wedding, he presented her and Lu Shen a pair of red string bracelets.
It was easy for Hui Yin to connect the red bracelet to her rebirth. This senior knew of her past life, and he seemed annoyingly cryptic too, as if he knew more than what he let on. If his strange name was added into the equation, Hui Yin could only draw one conclusion from all this.
Her breathing quickened, and Hui Yin's mouth turned dry like cotton. It seemed improbable, but being reborn was an improbable event too.
Softly, she asked, "Senior, are you the god of marriage and love, the matchmaker deity Yue Lao?"
[1]: Refer to Chapter 2.
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