After hiking up Mount Yingri at dawn, Lin Wangye thought nothing could wear him out anymore. Compared to that, reaching Yingfu Temple should be a walk in the park.
But after what felt like a lifetime of climbing, when he finally reached a viewing platform where tourists could rest and grab drinks or snacks—only to see a sign saying they’d made it just one-third of the way—he suddenly realized he might be in trouble.
“I thought we had maybe half left at most…”
Lin Wangye slumped onto a stone bench, looking totally out of it, eyes glazed over. His voice trembled like he was about to cry. “Help… I wanna go back…”
Shi Yuan didn’t sit. He pulled out a thermos from his bag, opened it, and handed it to him. Then he studied the trail map for a moment before looking down and saying softly, “We can turn back if you want. There’s still a long way to go.”
Lin Wangye took the thermos, lifted his head, and gave him a pitiful pout.
“If we go back now, Lin Shen’s definitely gonna know I didn’t make it to the top. That’s so embarrassing. Plus, I still have a wish to make. I can’t just turn around without even seeing the Buddha…”
At this point, even Xu Suinian started to feel torn.
Lin Wangye’s expression said it all—he was exhausted and really wanted to give up, but he also really, really wanted to make it to Yingfu Temple and offer his wish.
Saying all this… he was just hoping for an answer.
If Shi Yuan said, ‘Let’s go back,’ Lin Wangye would agree in a heartbeat. But if he said, ‘Let’s keep going,’ then Lin Wangye would grit his teeth and climb on without hesitation.
Shi Yuan paused, checked the time, then looked down and gently said, “It’s still early. We can take a break and go slow—there’s no rush. We’ve come this far already… don’t walk away with regrets.”
Sure enough, Lin Wangye’s eyes lit up with determination. He took a big gulp of water, took a deep breath, and pulled himself together.
“Alright! Go, Xiao Lin! You can do this!”
Shi Yuan smiled, took the thermos back from him, twisted on the lid, and tucked it into his bag.
They’d only packed light—just water and some snacks to boost their energy—so they could move easier. After a few minutes of rest, Lin Wangye slapped his cheeks a couple times, got up with renewed spirit, and kept moving.
The climb was brutal, but the scenery along the way was absolutely stunning.
As they got higher and higher, the views changed. It was no longer just snow-covered ravines and icy streams. Now, when they looked out, it was endless mountain ranges stretching far into the distance. What once looked like a scenic view from the hotel’s big glass windows… had turned into a breathtaking bird’s-eye view.
Mist filled the valleys, turning the world into a dreamscape—like they’d stepped straight into a fairytale.
The closer they got to the summit, the colder it became.
But from beginning to end, the two of them held hands tightly, never letting go—not even once.
Finally, after more than two hours of nonstop effort, Lin Wangye caught sight of the main gate of Yingfu Temple.
At that moment, he finally understood why everyone said this temple was truly miraculous.
If someone was willing to go through all that just to climb up here for a single wish, then that wish must mean everything to them. That kind of determination… it had power. With that kind of will backing you up, what goal couldn’t be reached?
Years later, Yingfu Temple would be fully renovated—inside and out. The statues would be re-gilded, and even though the temple wouldn’t get any bigger, it would look grand and majestic.
But the one in front of them now still looked just like it did when it was first built. The mountain’s damp rainy seasons had peeled the paint off the walls here and there.
It might’ve looked a bit worn down, but the incense was burning strong.
Even before reaching the temple, Lin Wangye could already smell the faint scent of sandalwood in the air.
There was something about stepping into a place like this—it quieted your mind and washed away all your restless energy.
Everyone coming and going barely spoke. They passed each other in silence, bowing with deep reverence. Lin Wangye didn’t really understand much about Buddhism, but the second he stepped past the threshold, he didn’t dare speak carelessly. Faced with several different halls, he had no idea where to go, so he tugged on Shi Yuan’s hand and came to a stop.
Shi Yuan could tell he was nervous, so he smiled and led him over to a quiet corner, out of the way.
“There are so many Buddhas here… I don’t even know who’s who.”
Lin Wangye looked around carefully, lowering his voice. “I forgot to do my homework before coming here. The Buddhas won’t get mad at me, right?”
“Don’t worry,” Shi Yuan said gently. “Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are full of compassion. They won’t get mad just because you don’t understand.”
Hearing that, Lin Wangye finally relaxed a little and asked, “Then… who should I make my wish to?”
Shi Yuan chuckled and gently ruffled his hair. “That depends on what you’re wishing for. I don’t know all the details either, but I remember my grandma used to say, if it’s for doing well in school, you pray to Manjushri Bodhisattva.”
Lin Wangye’s eyes darted around a bit, not daring to look at him straight on.
“Well… what if I have more than one wish?”
Shi Yuan looked at him steadily, eyes softening. After a pause, he smiled and said, “Then pray to the Buddha himself. The Buddha watches over everything.”
“Okay.” Lin Wangye nodded. “Then let’s go pray to Manjushri first—for good luck in the college entrance exams!”
After that, they went over to the incense stall and asked where to find Manjushri’s statue. After watching how others lit incense and followed the steps, they made their way to the main hall, standing in front of the statue of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Lin Wangye had quite a few wishes. He hesitated for a long time, then reached through his shirt to touch the necklace he always wore. In the end, he decided not to be greedy. He only made two wishes.
One of them… was for Lin Shen’s health.
And the other, for Xu Suihe’s speedy recovery.
More and more people started reaching the mountaintop. Since the temple was pretty small, the two of them didn’t hang around for long. After paying their respects to the Buddha, they headed back down.
Lin Wangye was curious. He kept sneaking glances to the side, stealing looks several times before he finally couldn’t help asking, “Hey, do you think making a wish to Buddha is like making a birthday wish? Like, if you say it out loud, it won’t come true?”
Shi Yuan let out a soft laugh and shook his head. “Nah, it doesn’t work like that.”
Lin Wangye jumped on that right away, “Then what did you wish for?”
Shi Yuan didn’t hesitate at all and answered almost instantly, “I wished that you’d be happy on time, every single day.”
The second those words landed, Lin Wangye blinked quickly, feeling that all-too-familiar flutter in his chest. He looked down at the mountain path and didn’t say another word.
Deep down, he had this faint feeling that Shi Yuan had already figured something out.
And had been gently testing him all along.
But he just couldn’t be sure. He didn’t know if he was imagining it.
Climbing up was easy, but going down was way harder.
Neither of them was in a rush, so they slowed down and took their time descending the mountain. Before they knew it, they were back at the base.
It was still early, so they decided to check out another spot that didn’t involve any serious hiking — just a bit of walking. They wandered around until it got dark, then headed back.
As they were climbing the steps at the hotel entrance, Lin Wangye suddenly remembered the scene from that morning — when Lu Chengxuan carried Lin Shen on his back. He quickly glanced up at Shi Yuan, then deliberately stumbled in place and grabbed onto his arm.
“Ow!”
Shi Yuan instinctively reached out to steady him, his words coming out fast and anxious, “What happened? Did you twist your ankle?”
Lin Wangye hung his head, and after forcing himself for a while, he finally managed to make his eyes turn red. Then he looked up at him with this pitiful, teary-eyed face and said, “Yeah.”
In just a few seconds, a hotel staff member had already come over.
Since the manager had already informed them that these two were friends of Lu Chengxuan, the staff treated them with extra care. After asking what happened, they sprang into action — and before long, a wheelchair was rolled out.
“…”
Lin Wangye looked down at the wheelchair in front of him, dead silent.
When he just stood there for ages without moving, Shi Yuan gave him a confused glance. Then he noticed that Lin Wangye’s pained expression from earlier had totally vanished — and instead, he actually looked kind of… disappointed. That’s when it suddenly hit him.
He couldn’t help curling his lips into a smile and looked at the hotel staff, eyes filled with amusement.
“No need, thanks.”
Right after he said that, Shi Yuan turned his back to Lin Wangye and bent down slightly. “Come on.”
Lin Wangye’s heart instantly burst with joy. He jumped up on the spot, clinging to Shi Yuan’s back with ease, wrapping his legs around his waist, and happily hooking his arms around his neck.
The hotel staff were all stunned, just standing there, watching the two of them ride the elevator up.
Shi Yuan carried Lin Wangye all the way to their room before finally putting him down. As he opened the door, he couldn’t help teasing, “If you wanted me to carry you, you could’ve just said so. No need for those sneaky little tricks.”
The acting had been clumsy from the start, so even after getting called out, Lin Wangye didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty. He just raised his chin and gave him a smug little eyebrow raise.
Lin Shen had been losing at his game all day and had already gone to bed by now.
The long and exhausting day had finally come to an end. After dinner, Lin Wangye enjoyed a nice hot bath and slipped into bed, ready to sleep. Out of habit, he reached for his chest — but his hand came up empty.
He froze and suddenly sat up, flipping on all the lights in the room.
The necklace around his neck was gone.
Panic hit him instantly. He threw on his shoes in a rush and started searching the room, flipping the whole place upside down.
By the time Shi Yuan came out of the shower, the room was already a complete mess and Lin Wangye was nowhere in sight. He hurried outside to look — and saw Lin Wangye curled up on the couch, barefoot, hugging his knees, crying so hard he could barely breathe.
Shi Yuan rushed over and asked what happened. That’s when he found out the necklace was missing.
He didn’t know exactly where that necklace came from, but he did know how much Lin Wangye treasured it. He wore it every single day, like it meant the world to him.
So Shi Yuan helped him search every corner of the suite.
As expected, Lin Wangye had already searched it pretty thoroughly. The necklace just wasn’t there.
While Shi Yuan was looking, Lin Wangye stared at him the whole time, eyes full of desperate hope.
But when Shi Yuan finally walked back over empty-handed, all that hope in Lin Wangye’s eyes collapsed into despair. The tears he’d managed to hold back started falling all over again.
Shi Yuan was clearly at a loss, not quite sure what to do either.
Lin Wangye had been crying so long that his cheeks were red from wiping them with tissues. Shi Yuan went into the bathroom, soaked a towel with water, and gently wiped his face, still trying to comfort him.
“Don’t be sad. Tomorrow we’ll look around the hotel again.”
In this state, Lin Wangye could barely get his words out, but he still tried his best to speak between sobs: “I… I already asked… just now… they said the whole hotel… has been cleaned… no one’s seen… a necklace. If it’s not here, then… it’s lost.”
Shi Yuan caught the key detail. “You lost it today?”
Lin Wangye nodded, grabbed a tissue, and wiped his nose. “When we were at Yingfu Temple, I still had it… It might’ve been the spring clasp — probably snapped. I think it fell off when we were coming down the mountain…”
If that really was the case, then yeah… it was pretty much impossible to find now.
That necklace was one of a kind. If it was lost, there’d never be another one like it.
Even if Shi Yuan tried to recreate it himself, it could never bring back what it once meant.
Lin Wangye knew that better than anyone. That’s why he completely broke down.
Shi Yuan tried everything he could think of to comfort him, but nothing worked. In the end, all he could do was sit there quietly and stay with him while he cried it out.
Everyone has their limits, and after a whole day of hiking, Lin Wangye didn’t have much energy left. It didn’t take long before he started dozing off, still sniffling, head leaning on Shi Yuan’s shoulder.
Once he’d fully fallen asleep, Shi Yuan gently carried him back to the room.
In the soft glow of the nightlight, tear stains still clung to the boy’s lashes. Shi Yuan sat on the edge of the bed for a long time, staring at him in silence — then got up, got dressed, and quietly walked out.
*
In a swirl of strange dreams, Lin Wangye found himself back in time.
He was dreaming about the night of his 16th birthday.
Over the years, Uncle Shi had given him so many things — big stuff like houses and cars, and smaller gifts like watches and cufflinks. He couldn’t even count them all.
But his favorite, hands down, was that necklace.
Because that was the one thing Uncle Shi had designed and made with his own hands — there was only one like it in the whole world.
He’d always dreamed of growing up, thinking that if he could just get older faster, maybe he could close the gap between them a little more.
When he finally turned sixteen, he really believed he was getting closer.
But after that hug… after the way Shi Yuan had pulled back so quickly, he realized he’d actually fallen way, way behind — so far that for a while, he thought he might never catch up again.
In the years that followed, he dreamed about that night over and over again. And every time, he’d gather his courage and take that step forward.
And every time, the ending was the same.
Ever since he came to this time, Lin Wangye hadn’t had that dream again. But now, in this half-asleep haze, he felt like he was back there once more.
In the blur, he saw someone sitting by the bed.
Lin Wangye was so tired. He forced his heavy eyelids open, heavier than they’d ever felt before, trying to get a good look.
The face kept shifting — sometimes clear, sometimes blurry.
But even through the blur, he could tell exactly who it was.
Once his vision finally cleared, Lin Wangye saw the person in front of him move slightly, slowly raising their arm — just like in his memories.
This time, the shiny pendant wasn’t swaying in the air like it used to. It was resting quietly in the middle of a palm. Lin Wangye looked from top to bottom and noticed that the clasp at the end of the chain had snapped.
He instinctively reached out to touch the pendant — and as his fingers brushed against Shi Yuan’s hand, he realized it was cold.
That familiar voice sounded right beside his ear.
“Don’t be sad. I found it.”
Lin Wangye’s breath hitched, and in that moment, everything came rushing back.
It was like something deep inside him had finally snapped — completely.
He tossed the necklace aside and threw his arms around the person in front of him, holding him tight with all his strength.
The cold sting of snow and wind slipped through the fabric of Shi Yuan’s clothes and into Lin Wangye’s nose, making his heart race faster and faster without him even realizing it.
Then, all at once, he pulled back — and before Shi Yuan could react, Lin Wangye climbed onto his shoulders, leaned in, and with his eyes shut tight, pressed a burning kiss to his lips.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
