A Twisted Love Affair-Chapter 198: On the Edge of the Unattainable, My Heart Itches (3)_1

The clothes were from the wardrobe at home.

It seemed Uncle Liang had been hijacked by this person midway.

Sun Qiyan looked around. The courtyard she was staying in was quite spacious. A wave of compassion surged in his heart. I’d quite like to live here for a bit, he thought, to experience what a temple retreat is like.

"It’s going to snow tomorrow. When are you going back to the city?"

"It’s peaceful here, comfortable to live in."

Ten days had already passed, and she was unwilling to go down the mountain, lighting one Prayer Lamp after another.

The temple provided her with simple meals. Her unadorned face was pale and colorless.

It broke his heart.

Sun Qiyan, who had opened several private restaurants in Shanghai, personally went down the mountain to buy fruits and vegetables and stayed in the temple to cook meals for her.

For several days, Shen Jing would lean quietly against the doorpost, watching Sun Qiyan busy himself preparing her three meals a day. She didn’t say thank you; the more one said it, the more formal it seemed. It felt as if they didn’t need such formalities between them.

She calmly accepted his kindness and lit a Prayer Lamp for him in return, without telling him.

When the original seven days were up, Shen Jing still hadn’t planned to pack her luggage and leave the mountain.

It snowed that night, and Shen Jing crouched in a corner, feeding a cat. It was a small Spotted Li Cat that the Abbot of the temple was raising. According to the Abbot, when he found the little kitten, it was barely breathing. After a few days of simple food, Buddha intervened, and it was saved.

Footsteps approached from behind, and the man’s calm voice held a hint of pleasure.

"I saw my name on the Prayer Lamp in the Cultivation Hall. Did you pray for me?"

Shen Jing nodded in confirmation.

Sun Qiyan’s lips curved slightly, but he quickly and imperceptibly concealed his emotions, silently accompanying her as she fed the cat.

"Zhou Luchen is going to marry Wenxin."

Let them hurry up and get married, Sun Qiyan spitefully thought at that moment. He would definitely send a generous gift with great enthusiasm, and then he could pursue the young woman before him with a clear conscience. No one to compete with. It was truly strange to find himself thinking this way.

Shen Jing’s hand paused as she stroked the cat. "I know."

"Do you understand what I mean, Ajing?"

He was direct and open.

Knowing Zhou Luchen was getting married—damn it, that was absolutely the best news Sun Qiyan had heard in his entire life. In that instant, he completely understood the nature of his feelings for Shen Jing. Love is twisted sometimes. He had actually become twisted enough to see even a callous playboy as a rival in love. Especially Zhou Luchen. Good, let him get married! Congratulations, best wishes! Shen Jing would never again entertain thoughts about a married man for the rest of her life.

In the darkness, surrounded by silence, Sun Qiyan’s voice was exceptionally clear and gentle, "Can’t you see the intention behind my kindness to you?"

Shen Jing could see it. No one is kind to another person for no reason—the subtle care, understanding her preferences, always paying attention to whether she was doing well or not. Her past interactions with Xie Qinyang had always been relaxed and comfortable. That was a genuinely sincere friendship, where teasing and joking around never felt out of line. With Sun Qiyan, it always felt different: cautious, polite, as if walking on eggshells, afraid they might accidentally cross a boundary with each other. This feeling was too dangerous.

Sun Qiyan looked at her back. "It’s alright if you don’t know. You don’t need to feel any burden. This is my own initiative; you’re single, and I’m single."

Shen Jing smiled bleakly. "I’m hardly what you’d call a good girl."

Sun Qiyan countered, "What’s the definition of a ’good girl’? Is there a standard answer? Everyone has their own shining qualities, and our Ajing is the best."

Shen Jing stood up and dusted off her hands.

"His getting married is his business. I’ll live my own life. It doesn’t affect my eating, working, or going clubbing."

Sun Qiyan raised his hand and ruffled her hair. "That’s the right way to think about it."

Her lips curved into a faint, charming smile.

「In those days.」

In the mornings, Sun Qiyan would accompany her for a run on the back mountain. At noon, they would go to the front courtyard to meditate and listen to the scriptures with the other pilgrims who had come to the mountain.

At night, he taught her how to play Go.

Sun Qiyan never went easy on her, only taught her. "If I let you win, you’ll never learn."

After being thoroughly beaten by him time and again, she finally managed to counter Sun Qiyan and win a round.

Suddenly, the Abbot came to knock on the door of the courtyard.

Shen Jing opened the door. "Master Chongtong."

The Abbot said, "Someone will be coming tomorrow, and we will need to close the temple for a long time. If Benefactor Shen needs anything, you should go down the mountain to buy it soon."

Sun Qiyan leaned against the door frame and politely responded, "We understand. Thank you for making the trip over personally, Master."