"Oh, I can't make any promises! It depends." Evelyn's smile was as beautiful as a blooming white orchid, instantly warming Sheffield's heart.
They continued to walk deeper into the forest and just when Evelyn thought that there was nothing more ahead, a high arched door appeared in front of them. The words "Temple of Dharma" were engraved on it with large letters.
According to Buddhist beliefs, Sangharama Bodhisattva and Skanda Bodhisattva were regarded as the two protectors of Buddhism temples. Sangharama Bodhisattva was the right guardian and Skanda Bodhisattva was the left guardian.
Evelyn glanced at Sheffield and snickered. "Are you really going to become a monk?"
"Yes, I am disillusioned with love," he said, pretending to be serious. In fact, Sheffield wasn't even aware that there was a temple so deep inside the woods.
Evelyn giggled, deeply amused. "You? A monk? You can't even control your lustful desires."
Sheffield put his hands together and pretended to look devout. "Oh female benefactor, the truth is, I had been disillusioned with love, up until the moment I met you. You are the only reason I can't insulate myself from the world of love! Amitabha. Form does not differ from emptiness; emptiness does not differ from form. Form itself is emptiness; emptiness itself is form."
'Has he finally lost his mind?' Evelyn wondered. "Seriously? Have you been practicing in secret so that you can speed up the process of becoming a monk?"
"Yes, if you dump me and marry another man one day, I will become a monk. But if you come to regret marrying someone else, you can come here to find me! For you, I will be willing to return to the secular life."
Evelyn couldn't take anything of what he had just said with any seriousness. She simply laughed and said, "Mr. Tang, you quoted the Heart Sutra of Buddhism, but do you even understand what it means?"
"Of course, I do." Sheffield wasn't happy about being belittled.
Evelyn couldn't stop laughing, but when she remembered that they were in a sacred place, she straightened her back and looked at Sheffield in a serious manner. "Tell me, what do those words mean?"
Sheffield put his hands down and said, "Listen to me carefully! 'Form' means substance and phenomena, like the things we see, hear and feel. 'Emptiness' means immaterial. It appears easy to understand, but difficult to really comprehend the meaning."
Soon after, they saw a man, who looked like the abbot, coming over their way. The temple was small and relatively remote, which was why very few people visited it on ordinary days, let alone on lunar December 30th, the day before New Year. Upon seeing them, the abbot walked to them with great enthusiasm. "Amitabha! Are you going inside to worship?"
They greeted him politely and then Sheffield asked Evelyn, "Now that we're here, shall we go inside and pray?"
Evelyn nodded.
With a gentle smile, he took her hand and said to the abbot, "Yes, we're going inside."
"Amitabha, please come in!"
In truth, Sheffield wasn't a religious man, but since they happened to pass by this temple and Evelyn had showed some interest, he decided to go along with the moment.
They walked into the hall together and lit incense sticks. Evelyn prayed sincerely.
Sheffield quietly watched her pray with her eyes closed. Then he whispered to the Buddha in his heart, "Buddha, I'm Sheffield Tang. The woman next to me is Evelyn Huo. Please let her become my wife. If you bless me with this gift, I will renovate this temple and make a generous donation. If she marries someone else, I will live here and bother you every day until you bring her back to me. Please, please, please, please…"
They put their incense into the censer. Evelyn knelt before the Buddha.
Instead of kneeling, Sheffield bowed down with his hands clasped together.
There was a quiet room behind the hall, which was filled with items for sale.
Sheffield wasn't planning on going inside the room at first, but then something dawned upon him and he dragged Evelyn along with him.
Evelyn looked at him in confusion. "Do you want to buy something?"
"Yes!" Since the elderly were more inclined to believe in Buddhism, he wanted to buy Miranda a New Year's gift.
When they came out of the temple, they met the abbot again. "Amitabha, are you leaving? The road back can be very slippery in this season. Please be careful and may you be safe."
"Thanks a lot!" They both expressed their gratitude politely.
The abbot smiled and waved his hands at them. "Don't forget to redeem your wishes!"
Sheffield and Evelyn looked at each other. "Sure," said Sheffield. After all, if his wish were granted, he would worship the Buddha in every festival. However, the fact that this old monk thought to remind them about redeeming their wishes seemed interesting to Sheffield. Was he implying that Evelyn would marry Sheffield?
The mere thought of it excited his senses.
It was already getting dark, but the people inside the Huo family manor were still surrounded by boisterous conviviality.
Everyone, apart from one man. "See what's going on here? You all went easy on him and now what did he do? It's Lunar New Year's Eve. He tricked Evelyn into going out with him and he still hasn't brought her back yet. We can't even have a family reunion dinner. This is outrageous!" Carlos spat rancid saliva with each maliciously punctuated word and his facial muscles twitched.
Meanwhile, Joshua had sent Terilynn a message wishing her happy new year, and she was just replying to his message silently.
Matthew was a lot more relaxed. It was a nice change of pace to have his father's attention focused on Sheffield rather than him.
However, he felt sorry for Sheffield, since he was going to become the new punching bag for Carlos in the Huo family.
"What's so outrageous about it? Evelyn is also celebrating the festival." Debbie pursed her lips in disapproval.
"She hasn't come back home yet. What festival would it be if she is not with her family?"
"Valentine's Day! As you said, it's Valentine's Day every day when you are with your beloved," Debbie retorted.
Carlos was fuming with anger, but he didn't dare to talk back to Debbie.
"We are back!" Speaking of the devil, Sheffield's voice came from the door.
Carlos was rendered speechless. 'Son of a gun! I was hoping he'd come back much later so I could tell him off longer!'
Sheffield and Evelyn started their long day with a lunch at the House of Sound. They didn't return to the city center until 3 p.m., and then they went to the mall to pick out New Year's gifts for the Huo family.
When they appeared in the living room of the house, Sheffield was carrying a lot of bags in his hand. He had prepared a gift for everyone in the family.
However, Evelyn's hands weren't carrying any bags. Instead, her hand was holding Sheffield's arm, but as soon as they came inside the house, she let go of his hand.
Debbie approached Sheffield and asked, "Why did you buy so many things?"
Handing over the gift bags to the housemaid, Sheffield replied to Debbie with a smile, "Aunt Debbie, I haven't had much chance to visit you, but it's Lunar New Year's Eve today, so Evelyn and I picked out some gifts for you, as a token of my respect."
"Sheffield, I'm just happy that you are here with us. You didn't have to get us anything. From now on, just think of this place as your own." Debbie's words sent Sheffield into a fit of wild excitement, while Carlos snorted angrily.
"Okay! Thank you, Aunt Debbie!" Sheffield replied instantly.
