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In the end, the only person who went to the temple to burn incense with Xu Qi was...

Aponia.

To be honest, when Xu Qi set off, he was still doubting the authenticity of this matter.

A nun went to a temple—is this the latest lame joke?

Standing in front of the gate of Longhua Temple, the air is filled with the fragrance of sandalwood, and the incense is burning brightly.

"Sister Nia, there's really no need for that. I'm fine coming alone."

Aponia turned her head to the side and smiled.

"It's not that I'm accommodating you, Xu Qi, it's just that I'm genuinely curious."

"curious?"

"I'm curious, if Buddhas really exist in this world, will I be able to see their fate?"

Xu Qi stood there, mouth slightly open, speechless.

To be honest, although Nia usually acts very calmly, she can always come up with a few sentences that she considers natural, yet are super cool!

"Also, I'm quite curious about how other religions promote themselves and guide their followers. Xu Qi, you used to come here often, have you looked into that?"

"For advertising, all you need is money."

Aponia understood.

"As for how to guide believers?"

Xu Qi tilted his head, thought carefully for a moment, and replied, "It's true that as long as you have money, that's all that matters."

……

"It means that the church should contribute funds to help those in suffering..."

"Ah, I mean believers need to have money."

……

"Xu Qi, I'm not joking."

"But I'm serious."

Aponia suddenly wore an expression of utter despair for the religions of this world.

"There's no way around it; Buddhism is divided into Hinayana and Mahayana. Hinayana Buddhism is about helping oneself, while Mahayana Buddhism is about helping the world. But helping the world is also for the sake of helping oneself."

After all, Mahayana Buddhism evolved from Hinayana Buddhism.

Aponia advised, "Xu Qi, judge by actions, not intentions."

“I know, but that’s the standard for ordinary people. If we want to pursue a higher spiritual level, then the standards should be higher too. There’s no reason to judge them by their actions and not their intentions.”

That's true.

"I really loved watching Journey to the West when I was little, do you know why, Sister Nia?"

Aponia shook her head.

"On the one hand, I like watching Sun Wukong cause trouble, and on the other hand, I like the contrast. The Buddha, who should represent human compassion, actually talks about money and profit all the time."

When I got to junior high school, I thought that the TV series was deliberately smearing Buddhism, so I read the original "Journey to the West" and found that it was even worse than the TV series!

In high school, I started to think that Wu Cheng'en had a grudge against Buddhism, or perhaps he simply wanted to use Buddhism to satirize the Jiajing Emperor's reign. So I decided to find the answer myself.

Aponia listened intently and asked, "So, what's the conclusion?"

"The conclusion is—all bald monks are equally black."

"Pfft!" Even Aponia was amused by Xu Qi's words.

"Then why do you still come to burn incense and worship Buddha every year?"

"Isn't it funny? One person bows without any respect, and the other accepts it without a care in the world. Isn't that an interesting scene?"

Aponia clasped her hands together in front of her chest and made a prayer.

“Xu Qi, you seem to have a deep-seated prejudice against religion, which is very offensive to me…”

“You’re mistaken, Sister Nia.” Xu Qi’s expression suddenly turned serious. He pulled Aponia’s hands and held them firmly in his palms.

"I only have prejudices against hypocritical people and ethereal gods, but that doesn't mean I don't believe there are no true saints in this world."

Leaving aside things too far in the future, let's talk about what's right in front of us—Sister Nia, if you believe in Buddhism, then you are Buddhism.

……

The nun lowered her eyes, concealing the joy in them.

"Alright, stop trying to make me happy. Quickly light some incense, and after it's burned, go inside for a stroll."

After Xu Qi's explanation, Aponia also began to lose interest in the place, so she only said that she would take a quick look around and then leave.

After all, she had heard that Buddhism teaches that all sentient beings can be saved, which is why she wanted to come here to see for herself.

All I can say right now is that the incense is burning very brightly.

Xu Qi lit two incense sticks. For him and Aponia, this place seemed to have transformed from a solemn and sacred occasion into an amusement park.

The first activity they were to experience was lighting incense.

There were so many people that the candlesticks provided by the temple were clearly not enough. Xu Qi and Aponia basically had to queue up to light incense. In order to prevent Aponia from being pushed by others, Xu Qi very gentlemanly put his arm around her.

"You didn't do this because you wanted to take advantage of me, did you?"

At 175 cm tall, Aponia didn't seem to be nestled in Xu Qi's arms, but rather leaning against him.

Xu Qi glanced at Aponia's tofu—even wrapped in thick clothes, a slight curve could still be seen.

That's terrible, Nia! It's winter! Can you please respect your thick coat?

Today, both of them were wearing thick black cotton-padded coats, and snuggling together like this, they looked like two giant pandas, which was very cute.

"Are there any customs? Crowdfunding group 456127940 worship Buddha."

"Give three salutes to each side, front, back, left, and right."

Aponia seemed to understand, but not quite. So the two of them, one clockwise and the other counterclockwise, bowed to each other face to face, and simultaneously raised their heads.

When we saw each other bending over in a Buddhist gesture, it didn't seem like we were actually worshipping Buddha...

I want to get married!

Then they all burst out laughing again, as if by prior arrangement.

"It feels like we're doing something really outrageous."

"Is there?"

“This should be considered happening right under their noses…” Aponia said, then trailed off.

Xu Qi knew that Nia could be shy at times, so he added with a smile.

"Dating under someone else's nose."

Aponia shyly turned her head away—even though something beyond friendship had happened, Aponia still felt that it was strange to hear a nun say the word 'love'.

I feel so guilty.

599. This world seems a little too small.

Honestly, if he had a choice, Xu Qi would never choose to go out on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year next time.

After all, Xu Qi isn't the only one who comes to offer incense and welcome the God of Wealth at this time.

Inside the main hall, Xu Qi was about to leave when he accidentally bumped into someone. The other person was very light and had a soft shoulder, so Xu Qi instinctively reached out his hand.

After all, he was worried that he might bump into someone.

As it turned out, Xu Qi's worries were correct. The soft, fragrant body fell downwards, but Xu Qi's strong and powerful arms caught it firmly.

But he only caught it; Nia was right beside him, so Xu Qi wouldn't do anything unnecessary.

"Oh, sorry, you didn't..."

Words are like gears that get stuck when they turn.

Xu Qi stared wide-eyed at the woman he had accidentally bumped into, while the woman's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Xin'an..."

"Xu Qi?"

Beside her, Aponia glanced at the two of them with a puzzled look, then turned her gaze to Xin'an.

It's all so chaotic, I can't see any future—so that's why she had a past entanglement with Xu Qi?

So he squinted at Xu Qi.

The resentful look in her eyes made Xu Qi forget everything else and turn around to explain, "Ah! Sister Nia! I really don't have her! She was my former colleague!"

They helped me a lot during the 956 incident!

Aponia suddenly realized.

He glanced at the girl who looked quite nice, and she was looking back at him with a lot of questions.

"You guys chat first, I'll go look around other places."

Seeing the incredibly tall woman leave, Xin'an breathed a sigh of relief.

The other person is so outstanding that even a woman would feel some pressure.

However, the way they looked at Xu Qi was somewhat complicated.

"I thought you were the kind of man who was devoted to one person."

Xu Qi scratched his head awkwardly.

"So you dumped Mei?"

"Uh...no."

Now Xin'an looked at Xu Qi with deep disdain.

"Even worse!"

Well... in other people's eyes, having two relationships at the same time is definitely worse than dealing with one of them separately.

The two casually found a shady spot to rest, and their unexpected encounter there was truly beyond their expectations.

"You seem to be quite popular with girls now... You're even capable of two-timing someone. Have you been influenced by the atmosphere at the animation company?"

"Um... this is a complicated matter." And there are more than just two boats.

Xu Qi asked, "And you? Are you adapting well to the position of technical supervisor?"

"I have to adapt, even if I don't want to. Although I didn't say it, everyone seems to know that Chief Engineer Xia of the group is very close to me. I feel a lot of pressure and can't afford to do a bad job."

This is what it means to enjoy resources while also bearing pressure...

"After you and Xia left, I realized the lack of technical talent. At first, when problems arose, I didn't know who to ask for help."

Instead, they were all staring at me, clearly in pain.

Seemingly recalling his days troubleshooting and maintenance at the subway company, Xu Qi couldn't help but smile.

"You seem to be doing a great job. Was that woman your boss or your colleague?"

She's a nun—but I just can't bring myself to say it...

"It's the leader..."

Sorry... Nia, you'll have to pretend to be Bronya for now.

They are also quite similar in temperament.

"Heh..." Xin'an sneered, "I thought you would always be the kind of pervert whose eyes are only on work, but I didn't expect you to be so good at pleasing women."

"Please let me go..."

Xin'an shrugged.

"Why are you begging me to let you go? It's your business how many girlfriends you have. Just don't let Mei or your boss find out you have other women."