Zero-sum game

It was late when Zhou Xingchuan got home. Before he parked his car in the garage, he felt a little strange when he saw the lights on in the living room on the first floor. When he opened the door and went in, he found that some luggage was still piled up not far from the door. Sister Lin, the resident aunt, was in the kitchen. He knew that his mother had returned from the villa in the suburbs ahead of schedule.

Zhou Xingchuan didn't see his mother on the first floor, so he went to the kitchen and took a bottle of water to drink, and asked Sister Lin, "Where's my mother? You don't want to stay for a few more days, why are you back?"

"Don't talk about it," said Lin Jie, who was cooking fish soup, and put a handful of wolfberry in it. "There seems to be a murder case in Xitang Mountain, and many policemen came. My wife rushed back overnight without eating dinner. Said it was a bad omen."

Zhou Xingchuan knew that his mother believed in these numerology and feng shui, so he didn't think it was strange.

Recently, it is said that the weather should be cool at the end of August, but the daytime is still hot and dry. Yesterday, Zhou's mother took Sister Lin to the villa on Xitang Mountain to escape the summer heat.Over there is the outskirts of Dingchuan. There are few people and the air is good, even cooler than in the city.

Zhou Xingchuan asked again: "Do you know what the murder is?"

"I don't know, I heard that the one who died was a young girl who was killed..."

Before Sister Lin finished speaking, she heard Zhou's mother shouting in the living room: "Xiao Lin! Didn't I say not to mention it again?"

Sister Lin fell silent when she heard the words, Zhou Xingchuan smiled and walked out, saying: "Mom, why are you so nervous, we haven't done anything wrong."

"What do you know, I invited the Bodhisattva at home," Zhou's mother said, "It will be bad if you collide."

"The Bodhisattva has a benevolent heart. Even if he finds out, he will help the police find the criminal earlier."

"Oh, you don't understand," Zhou's mother thought for a while and still felt that something was wrong, and said, "Tomorrow you and I will go to Qingshui Temple to burn incense and worship."

Zhou Xingchuan was dissatisfied, "Why should I follow?"

"Of course you're going," Zhou's mother said, "don't make excuses, I know you've been busy recently."

This strike hit Zhou Xingchuan's vital point. He had been too idle recently, so he had no choice but to agree.

In the early morning of the next day, Zhou Xingchuan was woken up by his mother, and when he went downstairs, he saw that her mother and sister Lin had prepared all kinds of things, and there were even two plates of Vegetarian Vegetables inside, specially made in exquisite food boxes Pretend.

"So well prepared? Do you still have to bring your own lunch to pray to Buddha?" Zhou Xingchuan was surprised.

"Nonsense, this is for Master Renyi, he likes to eat this." Mother Zhou said.

"..." Zhou Xingchuan didn't know whether he was worshiping a Buddha or a master.

After finally arriving at Qingshui Temple, even though it was Zhou Xingchuan's first visit, he could still tell that the place was full of incense, and there were people inside and out.Entering the main hall, a golden Buddha is quite intimidating, with a sense of majesty that makes people dare not speak loudly.

After burning the incense, it was the "Master Renyi" whom Zhou's mother called "Master Renyi" who came out to receive him in person, and very skillfully let the little novice under him take over the things he brought over.

However, this Master Ren seemed to have a friendly smile, wearing a pair of glasses and sneakers, which was a bit different from Zhou Xingchuan's image of an eminent monk who didn't hide mundane things in TV dramas.

He was not interested in listening to the master's lecture on Buddhism, so he didn't follow him, saying that he was walking around alone.

Zhou's mother was dissatisfied, and she didn't dare to get angry in Buddhism, so she had to go with him.

Turning around the Crescent Gate, we came to another courtyard. There were very few people here, only two or three monks passed by occasionally, and there was no noise from outside behind a wall. Zhou Xingchuan felt a little strange.

He didn't know which places he could enter and which places he couldn't, so Zhou Xingchuan only chose a place that looked like a garden. When he came to the edge of a bamboo forest, he found a monk sleeping on a big rock.

Are you being lazy here?Zhou Xingchuan thought it was interesting, but he didn't go over to disturb him. He turned around and was about to leave when he suddenly heard the monk behind him calling him, "Benefactor, please stay."

Zhou Xingchuan turned his head: "Master called me?"

The monk stood up and nodded, "I see that you have some depression in your heart."

Zhou Xingchuan thought to himself, can this be seen?Then he realized that this was probably a cliché, "Why did the master say that?"

The monk looked very young, but he spoke with an inexplicable maturity, "If you don't have depression, then you are not an ordinary person, and you can enter my Buddhist school."

The master actually admitted so frankly that he was talking nonsense. Zhou Xingchuan wanted the master to guess why he was troubled again, but he didn't expect the master to speak again.

"All conditioned dharmas are like dreams and bubbles, like dew or electricity, and the world is unpredictable, just follow your own heart." After finishing speaking, the master performed a Buddhist ceremony and walked out of the bamboo forest.

Zhou Xingchuan was trying to figure out what these words meant when Sister Lin's voice calling him was heard not far away, saying that he was going to go back, so he had no choice but to leave too.

On the way back, Zhou Xingchuan told about his experience, but Zhou's mother said: "Nonsense, I have been to Qingshui Temple so many times, but I have never seen a bamboo forest there."

Seeing that she didn't believe it, Zhou Xingchuan asked Sister Lin again, "Sister Lin, you called me just now, you should have seen it, right?"

Sister Lin also shook her head, saying that she didn't notice that there was such a large bamboo forest in his description.

Zhou Xingchuan was puzzled for a while.

When Shen Yan got off the train, the long-distance journey made him feel that his body was soaked in the smell of the carriage, even in the crevices of his hair, there was the greasy smell of instant noodles mixed with the faint smell of sweat-stained feet.

However, when he got out of the car, he realized that the school hadn't started yet, and he couldn't enter the dormitory without a pass card. He also canceled the house he had booked to rent, so he had to find a small hotel to live in first.

The small hotels next to the school are very cheap, but most of them are not spacious, and even the lighting is not good. Usually the main source of income is student couples who do not want to go back to their respective dormitories.

Shen Yan pulled the box and walked in, sat on the edge of the bed and was stunned for a while.

There was a yellow stain on the bed sheet that hadn't been washed. It looked very fresh, making one wonder if the bed sheet had also been favored by the previous room owner.Mineral water and buckets of instant noodles were placed on the low cabinet in the corner. Shen Yan remembered that he hadn't eaten much all day, but he was not very hungry, because his clothes seemed to still have that greasy smell, which even made him feel a little tired. Nausea.

It's not the first time to take a long train, why does it seem like a cleanliness... He thought to himself.

The sky outside the window began to darken, the curtains were not completely closed, and Shen Yan did not stand up to turn on the light. The darkness made people feel that the mold spots in the corner seemed to be taking advantage of the trend, climbing up his ankles, spreading step by step ...

Twilight is always easy to suffocate.

As Wang Xiaobo said, I felt my life was taken away.

When Shen Yan opened his eyes again, the room was already completely dark. He fell asleep lying on the side of the bed without knowing it. There was a damp feeling on his cheek against the quilt. The air conditioner was not turned on, so his whole body was covered with Sticky hot sweat, my mind is confused, and my throat feels a little dry.

He stood up and turned on the light, only to find that it was past nine o'clock in the evening, and there was a missed call on his mobile phone, which was from Tian Xin.

He called back, but it took a while to pick up.

"Hello?" Tian Xin's voice sounded very happy, "Shen Yan, why did you answer the phone!"

"Ah... fell asleep just now," he opened his mouth and realized that his voice was a little hoarse. He cleared his throat, "Senior, what's the matter?"

"Are you still at home? Hurry up and buy tickets for tomorrow! There is a big boss who wants to invest in our drama tour!"

"I just came from home... what drama?" Shen Yan asked subconsciously.

"What else can we do? "Daydream"! A cooperative company approached us and said that they would give us a tour, so that the two protagonists can come back for closed rehearsal!" Tian Xin couldn't hide his joy in his voice.

Shen Yan was overjoyed, but was worried for a moment—to be more realistic, he was really out of money.

After deducting the tuition fees, the remaining money in his body is not enough for him to live until the start of school, so he has already found a job in a summer care class, which at least allows him to save enough for living expenses before the start of school.

Tian Xin noticed his hesitation and felt a little puzzled, "Do you have anything else to do? Are you still out of town? Traveling?"

"No...that's right, I'm doing a summer job to earn some living expenses."

"Quickly resign! This little money is for you! When you become famous..." Tian Xin was getting excited, and there was another rush.

Shen Yan stood in the room of the small hotel, staring at the yellow stain on the bed sheet, knowing very well in his heart that he should decisively agree to Tian Xin to go back to rehearse.

Tian Xin on the other end calmed down a little after finishing speaking, and asked again: "Are you really short of money?"

"En." Shen Yan heard his own breathing.

"I see! This semester, I will help you apply for a school-level bursary, and I guarantee you will pass it."

Shen Yan tightened his grip on the phone, "...Will it delay the students who really have difficulties at home..."

"Hey, how many of them are really poor, and they all have a good relationship with the instructors and leaders. Are there still few who bought AJ with the subsidy? Don't worry, I will write a recommendation for you, and I guarantee it will pass."