Locking away my heart and love! Going back to 2000 to be a top student again.

In silence, the car came to a stop; we had arrived at our destination.

The driver opened the car door from the outside, and Zhou Mochen pulled Xu Su out of the car.

Puhua Temple is located on the top of Lianhua Mountain in the suburbs of Beijing.

At an altitude of over 600 meters and with more than 1,000 steps, the temple is a popular place of worship, attracting countless people seeking Buddhist blessings every day.

Occasionally, when faced with difficulties, some particularly devout believers would kowtow every three steps as they climb the mountain to worship Buddha.

Standing at the foot of the mountain, Xu Su could vaguely see the magnificent temple on the mountaintop, which looked solemn and majestic.

Zhou Mochen led her up the steps: "Let's go."

"Walk on foot?" Xu Su's eyes widened, and she pointed to the sedan chair next to her: "Why don't you patronize their business?"

She's been lazy for so many years. If she really climbed up on her feet, she wouldn't need to get out of bed tomorrow.

Zhou Mochen frowned as he looked at her slender legs encased in trousers, thinking back to just last night…

Zhou Mochen coughed awkwardly and nodded, saying, "Okay, I'll listen to you."

He summoned two sedan chairs, one for himself and one for Xu Su, and they stopped halfway up the mountain.

For the remaining half of the journey, Xu Su was forcibly dragged up by Zhou Mochen.

In his words, this is more devout.

It was as if he were a true Buddhist...

They climbed all the way to the flat ground at the top of the mountain. Exhausted, Xu Su slumped onto a rock, panting heavily: "If you had told me earlier that we were going to climb a mountain, I wouldn't have come."

“You really should exercise more.” Zhou Mochen stood in front of Xu Su, reached out and supported the back of her head, letting her lean against his waist to rest: “It’s only a few steps, and you’re already this tired.”

"How many steps is this?" Xu Su was exhausted, her face pale. She wrapped her arms around his waist and complained, "I've been climbing for over an hour, a full hour of stairs!"

This is such a huge amount of exercise for a frail high school girl who has just graduated!

Keep in mind that she hasn't even attended many physical education classes in the past three years!

Zhou Mochen sighed with heartache, stroked her hair, and, thinking that they had arrived at the entrance of the mountain temple, simply sat down and pulled the little girl into his arms to comfort her.

The mountaintop was shrouded in mist, so thick that it soaked through her hair. Even in the sweltering summer heat, Xu Su, dressed in short sleeves and trousers, was sneezing from the cold.

Zhou Mochen tightened his grip, took the coat from a black-clad bodyguard behind him, and draped it over Xu Su's shoulders.

The other of the two bodyguards who had been following them entered the temple and soon came out with a young novice monk. The novice monk bowed slightly in their direction and led the way.

Zhou Mochen helped Xu Su up by the shoulder, half-carrying her as they followed the young monk toward the back gate of Puhua Temple.

Xu Su, who thought she would finally get to see what a high monk looked like, was instead placed in a pavilion in the backyard, guarded by two bodyguards in black. After Zhou Mochen told her to wait there for a while, he was led alone by a young novice monk into a meditation room.

Xu Su sat there listlessly, glancing occasionally at the meditation room Zhou Mochen had entered not far away.

After an unknown amount of time, the wooden window of the meditation room was pushed open. Xu Su sensed something, looked up, and saw an old monk with a white beard standing at the window, who was also looking in their direction.

Xu Su was slightly taken aback, but quickly realized what was happening. She stood up, put her hands together, and bowed.

Thinking that I, as one of the parties involved, should also go in and have a chat, the wooden window had already been closed again.

Even though they had only met briefly and were quite far apart, Xu Su could still sense the profound Buddhist nature emanating from the old monk—a Buddhist nature that only those who live in seclusion deep in the mountains and are untouched by worldly affairs possess.

Whether Xu Su was truly an enlightened monk is unknown, but in any case, he did not appear to be an ordinary person.

No wonder Zhou Mochen personally climbed the mountain to pay his respects as soon as he returned to the capital.

Zhou Mochen didn't stay inside for long and came out quickly.

He walked up to Xu Su with a normal expression. Seeing her curious look, he simply patted her head and asked with a smile, "Have you rested enough? It's getting dark, we need to get down the mountain as soon as possible."

Xu Su nodded. After resting for so long, her legs were still sore, but she had finally regained some strength.

Sedan chair carriers were already waiting on the flat ground at the top of the mountain, so Xu Sule didn't have to walk herself, which made her feel very relaxed.

It wasn't until they got back into the car after descending the mountain that Zhou Mochen put his arm around Xu Su's waist and let her sit on his lap.

He parted her long hair, intending to remove the small jade lock she wore around her neck.

Xu Su quickly stopped her: "What are you doing?"

Zhou Mochen restrained her hand and said gently, "I'll give you something else to wear."

The jade lock was a birthday gift he gave to Xu Su for her eighteenth birthday. It was made of transparent jadeite and was exquisitely carved by a top master craftsman in the industry, with a clear and lustrous appearance.

Xu Su has been wearing it almost constantly for the past few months, and hasn't even taken it off when taking a shower.

But he took it off and replaced it with an oval bead of some unknown material.

"what is this?"

Xu Su held the new necklace that reached her chest. The oval beads were jet black and engraved with dense Sanskrit characters, the characters smaller than the smallest ant.

The sculptor is truly amazing.

"Good stuff." After putting the Buddhist beads on her neck, Zhou Mochen pinched the back of her neck, lowered his head to kiss her, and said with a smile, "Good stuff to keep you from being troubled by dreams."

Xu Su looked up: "What do you mean?"

"The master said that your soul is unstable, which is why you always have strange dreams. This is a Buddhist rosary that has been enshrined in Puhua Temple for fifty years. It's just right to help you settle your soul."

Zhou Mochen earnestly instructed, "You can't take it off when you shower or sleep, understand?"

"Really?" The more she heard about it involving the soul and stabilizing the spirit, the more it sounded like the talk of a charlatan. Xu Su stared wide-eyed. "You haven't been scammed, have you? How much does this thing cost?"

Zhou Mochen glanced at her and said softly, "Nine figures."

"..." Xu Su looked at him with an expression as if he were a fool with too much money: "You believed everything he said?"

"Hmm..." Zhou Mochen nodded and said calmly, "I'm extremely worried, so Su Su, just to ease my worries, please listen to me and don't take it off. Can you carry it with you at all times?"

This is no big deal. Regardless of whether this thing is a hoax or not, since it puts him at ease, Xu Su has no objections. She nodded solemnly: "Okay, I definitely won't take it off. I'll wear it every day from now on."

Zhou Mochen smiled, bent down and kissed her forehead, coaxing, "Our Susu is so good, is there any reward you want?"

Xu Su glanced at him and said, "Don't give me that."

They won't even kneel down, it's all just a way to appease people.

Zhou Mochen didn't mind her words. He slowly kissed Xu Su's delicate, jade-like neck and said softly, "Su Su, you belong to me alone, right?"

"Otherwise, who else would hug me like this!" Xu Su felt a tickle on her neck from his kisses and couldn't help but shrink back, pushing his face away. She said irritably, "What's wrong with you now? What did that Master Kongzhi say to you?"