Chapter 8

In the kitchen, Zachary took a phone call.

When he came out with the fruit, he had actually wanted to tell me he needed to go back to work.

In the end, I didn't ask what made him choose to stay home instead.

Similarly, I didn't touch his phone either.

Zachary knew better than anyone that I couldn't tolerate even a speck of sand in my eye.

If he had really done something he couldn't let me know about, he wouldn't leave any traces in plain sight.

I don't like to drag things out - it's either all or nothing for me.

"Honey, I want to go to Zen Cloud Temple on Saturday."

Zachary didn't have to work on weekends, so he happily agreed.

I got up early, leaving before sunrise.

As the car passed through the highway toll booth, I received a message from Neo.

He had already taken Zachary's car keys and was on his way to Mia's house.

On the day we arranged the interview, Neo had suggested going to her home first to shoot some behind-the-scenes material, as I had requested.

He was an expert in this field and easily convinced Mia.

The ancient temple stood amidst layered mountains.

I climbed the steps one by one.

As the clouds parted and the mist cleared, Buddhist scriptures chanted, and the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's statue looked solemn yet compassionate.

The fortune slip fell to the ground.

— Young love of wine and flowers, unlike the old feelings.

"Do you want to draw another one?"

Zachary bent down to help me up.

I turned around. Dark clouds obscured the sun above, as if a heavy rain was coming.

A few minutes ago, Neo had driven Zachary's car out of Mia's neighborhood.

Whether going in or out, he wasn't stopped once while driving Zachary's car.