Do you understand destiny?

(Trying out the newly added illustration feature: Lin Xiaomeng's artistic portrait in period costume)

"Lin Zhe, do you believe in love at first sight?"

"Uh..."

"If you hesitate, that means you don't, right? I don't believe in it either, actually, but Huanhuan does."

"Depends on the person. Some believe in it, some don't. Either way, there's no right or wrong."

Lin Zhe didn't really believe in love at first sight.

How could two people fall in love when they knew absolutely nothing about each other?

Someone might look perfectly respectable in public, but who knew what they did behind closed doors?

The women in those amateur hookup videos on certain shady websites were each prettier and more elegant than the last.

Lin Zhe felt that so-called love at first sight was mostly lust at first sight, a craving for someone's looks and body.

But then again...

Du Huan and Dan Teng really did seem to have something like love at first sight going on.

Mainly because Dan Teng genuinely had no "good looks" to speak of!

His appearance was utterly ordinary: small eyes, sparse eyebrows, a big face, and thick lips. There really wasn't anything worth praising.

He was broad and stocky, too, standing less than 175 centimeters tall and weighing over a hundred kilos.

There was no way Du Huan had fallen for his looks.

Dan Teng certainly had no advantage in the looks department, but he did have an interesting soul.

He was loyal, warmhearted, outgoing, and a bit of a goofball...

His character and personality were precisely why Lin Zhe had become best friends with him.

"You have a point. Could you grab me a bottle of peach-flavored Maidong? Thanks."

Li Li pointed to where the Maidong was stocked in the cooler. When she reached into her pocket to pay, she realized she'd forgotten to bring her phone downstairs.

"Ha, this one's on me."

Lin Zhe laughed cheerfully, opened the cooler, and took out a bottle of peach-flavored Maidong for Li Li.

Li Li accepted the Maidong and politely said, "I couldn't possibly. I'll send you the money on WeChat once I get back to my room."

"No need," Lin Zhe said with a smile. "Aren't we friends? We don't need to keep such a careful tally over something as small as a drink."

"Hehe, thanks, then. Let me solemnly declare that I absolutely did not come here intending to freeload off you."

Li Li raised her hand as though taking an oath and teased Lin Zhe with a smile.

"All right, I still have a task to finish, so I'll leave you to it. I'm heading upstairs. Bye, good night."

"Good night."

Lin Zhe waved to Li Li and watched her go upstairs before turning his attention back to the courtyard.

Dan Teng and Du Huan had just finished talking, too, and were walking side by side toward the inn's entrance.

Even from a distance, Lin Zhe could smell the sickening sweetness of romance coming off them.

"Good evening, Lin Zhe. I'm heading upstairs."

After entering, Du Huan waved to Lin Zhe, then turned and pattered up the stairs.

Dan Teng's gaze followed Du Huan the whole way, and he still refused to look away after she disappeared from the stairwell.

"Quit staring, buddy. What, have you got X-ray vision?"

Lin Zhe waved a hand in front of Dan Teng's face and teased him with a smile.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... Love really is a wondrous experience."

"Come on, Lin Zhe, you're not getting any younger. My advice is that if you get the chance, you really ought to experience it."

"If you don't have anyone suitable in mind, my mom, Li-"

"Stop. Don't you dare finish that. Say another word and see if I don't ruin things between you and Du Huan."

"Oh, come on! You don't appreciate a good deed when you see one! Fine, fine, I won't say it. Happy now?"

"That's more like it."

No one in the world understood Dan Teng better than Lin Zhe, who had instantly found his new weak spot.

"Hey, Fatty," Lin Zhe joked, "what kind of Taoist priest are you? Why are you getting more and more attached to worldly pleasures?"

"Pfft. This is where you don't get it, Lin Zhe. You're showing your ignorance."

Dan Teng puffed out his chest, raised his head, and declared in a ringing voice:

"The Scripture of Great Peace says: all things under heaven require both yin and yang to give rise to and nurture one another.

If yang alone does not bring forth life, yin remains empty, with nothing to nurture; if yin does not receive transformation, yang has nowhere to bestow life."

"I admit it, you bastard. You really pulled off that act. You've got a whole spiel ready, and it sounds pretty impressive."

Lin Zhe gave Dan Teng a thumbs-up. His words conceded defeat, but his face was full of disdain.

"What do you mean, 'sounds impressive'? I'm telling you, these are lessons for a successful life passed down by our predecessors. They're worth studying and learning from."

Once Dan Teng got talking, it was hard to shut him up. He continued rattling on:

"As the saying goes, 'One yin and one yang are called the Tao.' Yin alone cannot give birth, and yang alone cannot grow.

The early Taoist text, the Scripture of Great Peace, holds that without marriage, 'yin and yang cannot unite,' leading to extinction, with no generations to follow."

"Speak plain English..." Lin Zhe looked at Fatty, speechless. The bastard was even showing off his classical quotations now.

Grinning, Dan Teng continued explaining:

"What it means is that although we Taoists advocate cultivation in pursuit of longevity,

when it comes to marriage, we take an affirmative and supportive stance.

Aren't plenty of deities in our Taoist pantheon also entrusted with bringing joy to marriages?

For instance, the Two Immortals of Harmony and Union, who help couples enjoy harmonious, happy marriages;

the Old Man Under the Moon, who 'joins destined lovers across a thousand miles with a single thread';

and the Lord of the Taiyin Star, the Red Matchmaker Star, the Heavenly Joy Star, and so on."

"Oh, right, Lin Zhe, did you know? Du Huan's family is from Han City, exactly a thousand kilometers from our Rao City!"

"Tell me that's not a coincidence! Seriously, what are the odds?"

"We really are destined lovers joined across a thousand miles by a single thread!"

"Is this how you sweet-talked Du Huan into falling for you?"

Lin Zhe looked at Fatty with disdain. He genuinely wondered whether the guy had become a Taoist priest just to study mysticism for picking up women.

"What do you mean, sweet-talked? This is destiny! Do you understand destiny?"

Dan Teng chuckled. "I can feel an invisible red thread connecting Du Huan and me.

The Old Man Under the Moon brought her to my side from a thousand miles away. This time, I'll do everything I can to make things work with her and live up to his kind intentions."

Lin Zhe summed it up. "The short version: you're determined to get the girl."

"Get lost! How can you call it that? A hopelessly clueless straight guy like you doesn't understand a damn thing. This is genuine love."

"All right, I'm done arguing with you. It's getting late. I'm staying here tonight."

As he spoke, Dan Teng headed for the room on the shady side at the corner of the hallway, acting as though he were in his own home without the slightest formality toward Lin Zhe.

"You haven't paid yet," Lin Zhe reminded him.

"Paid, my ass! Is money all you think about? We're family! Don't treat me like a stranger!"

"Who said we're family..."

Before Lin Zhe could finish, Dan Teng had already opened the door, gone inside, and slammed it shut with a bang.

"I treat you like a buddy, and you treat me like a stepdad..."

Lin Zhe rubbed his chin as he looked at the room Dan Teng had taken, utterly baffled.

What puzzled him even more was why Auntie Li was so fond of him, too.

Because I'm handsome? But at Auntie Li's age, she should be past caring about looks...

There was no such thing as a handsome person who didn't know it, and Lin Zhe certainly didn't deny that he was good-looking.