Chapter 42: Make a Wish, Stay Together

“Three, two, one... Release the bottles!” With the photographer’s shout, the once pitch-dark courtyard was instantly illuminated.

Beyond the original lighting in the yard, new ambient lamps encircling the wishing pool cast a luminous brilliance upon the scene. Lights embedded in the ground shone upward, bathing the deer bearing the whale aloft in a hazy, ethereal glow. At the apex, the whale spouted water from its blowhole, spraying a cascade of iridescent colors.

Lin Shenlu’s vision had proven correct: under the bright lights of night, the wishing pool dazzled far more than it ever could by day. The crowd gathered around was momentarily stunned by the spectacle before them. In that instant, everyone erupted in joyous cheers and, with delight, tossed their message bottles into the pool, setting off a flurry of splashes.

Dozens of bottles tumbled and bobbed in the water, and the elated faces of the crowd were all captured in candid snapshots. Hailan Jing was at the center of it all, her smile outshining everyone else’s, her surprise and joy beyond compare. The bottle in her hand, “The Lost Monastery Truth,” drifted and spun in the water until the ripples nudged it to rest at the feet of the water’s deer sculpture. Inside was a story belonging to Hailan Jing—a story no one knew until the bottle was fished from the pool.

Of course, every bottle in that pool held a story unique to its owner.

“All right, the bottles are in! From now on, each day I’ll draw one bottle from the pool and share its story with everyone in my livestream. Even if you’re not in Dali, stay tuned—one day, it might be your story I tell!” Hailan Jing announced to the guests.

“And tonight, everyone here gets a complimentary bottle of wine—just head to the bar in the hall to collect it!” she added with a bright smile.

Cheering, the crowd surged toward the house. In an instant, the area around the wishing pool was empty, its elegance and sanctity restored.

Now alone, Hailan Jing stood by the pool, quietly gazing up at the immense structure that had so suddenly appeared in the heart of the courtyard. The moment felt utterly dreamlike and wondrous.

Lin Shenlu stubbed out his cigarette and rose gently to his feet. Carrying his own message bottle, now filled with a story, he approached the wishing pool. His bottle was the plainest of all—utterly unremarkable, the kind you might slap a label on and call “Snowflake’s Adventure.” But perhaps it was that very ordinariness that made it most genuine and true.

Without a word, Lin Shenlu sat at the pool’s edge, then pushed his bottle softly into the water. It glided away, soon lost among the multitude, indistinguishable from the rest.

“You just tossed it in like that? How am I supposed to find it?” Hailan Jing walked over, eyeing the jumble of bottles in the pool with curiosity.

“That’s the nature of fate,” Lin Shenlu replied with a smile. “If destiny wills it, you’ll draw it at once. If not, it might be the very last one you ever fish out. And as word spreads and more people come to leave bottles, there’s a good chance you’ll never find mine at all.”

Hailan Jing sighed. Her own bottle was so conspicuous, drifting right by the deer’s feet—easy to spot at a glance. Perhaps that was the one she would never dare to retrieve herself. When, she wondered, would she be brave enough to fish out the very bottle she’d placed, and share the story within with everyone?

Lost in thought, she watched as Lin Shenlu quietly drew a coin from his pocket—a five-jiao piece adorned with a plum blossom. He clutched it gently, pressed his forehead to his hand, and, eyes closed, stood silently by the pool for several seconds. Then, he tossed the coin into the water.

“What are you doing?” Hailan Jing asked, puzzled at this strange act of throwing money.

“Come on, it’s a wishing pool! You’re supposed to toss in a coin and make a wish—otherwise, why call it a wishing pool? Did you really think it was just for holding wine bottles?” Lin Shenlu laughed.

Hailan Jing blinked in surprise. So, the wishing pool truly was for making wishes. The drifting bottles really were meant to drift. You see the whale when the sea turns blue. You see the deer when the forest grows deep. And when you awaken from a dream, you see yourself...

But perhaps, in truth, when the sea turns blue, the whale hides; when the forest grows deep, the deer vanishes; when you awaken, there is no whale, no deer, and no you...

“Lin Shenlu, what wish did you make just now?” Hailan Jing asked after a pause, curiosity getting the better of her.

“If I tell you, it won’t come true. When you blow out birthday candles, do you share your wishes?” Lin Shenlu replied with a smile.

“No... But tell me, please! Here—if you make another wish, I’ll give you another coin!” Hailan Jing produced a coin from her own pocket.

Lin Shenlu smiled, accepting her coin. “From now on, this wishing coin is mine. You’re not allowed to make a wish until I return it to you. When I give it back, you can wish again.” He slipped the one-yuan coin into his pocket.

“No, no! You traded my one-yuan coin for your five-jiao coin!”

“Then when I’ve got two five-jiao coins, that’ll make a yuan, and I’ll return your money!”

“Brother Deer... Please, just tell me!” Hailan Jing pleaded, tugging at his arm.

“Fine, the wish I made was for three more wishes,” Lin Shenlu finally relented, unable to resist her coquettish charm.

“Wait, isn’t that cheating? And how do you know your wish will come true?” Hailan Jing asked innocently.

“Because I’ll wish for three things that are easy to achieve. When all three come true, I’ll know my wish worked. Then I’ll return to the pool and toss in another five-jiao coin. When the two coins come together, your one-yuan coin will be returned to you.”

As the two conversed, Ye Yaochen approached, leading Xiao Ai, who had changed into different clothes.

Hailan Jing had been right—her bikini really was too small, at least on Xiao Ai, for whom it barely fit at all. Ye Yaochen had to admit, Xiao Ai’s skin was impossibly fair, as delicate as bird’s nest soup. Even in the soft glow of the courtyard’s ambient lights, her pale figure was captivating. The blue-and-white patterned bikini was like sky and sea, clouds and ocean, yet even the vastness of the world could not contain her figure.

“Xiao Ai, sit in the pool and let the water soak your hair as much as possible,” Lin Shenlu instructed, inspired. “Turn your face away, and when the camera zooms in, look back and sweep a damp strand from your forehead. Then, gently bend down and pick up a bottle at random.”

Xiao Ai nodded, taking a deep breath as she let herself relax completely. She moved toward the wishing pool.

Lin Shenlu stood beside Ye Yaochen, who at that moment was gazing at Xiao Ai’s back, eyes shining. He absently wiped his lower lip.

“Damn, man, what did you just do?” Lin Shenlu asked.