After a brief chuckle, He Juan gave the answer he had been preparing. "A good friend of mine is a devoted Buddhist. He told me that a person should always get an amulet for grand events—" like birthdays, he added inwardly. "—or after an unfortunate accident. The more I think about it, the more I feel like what he said makes some sense. So here we are."

Mu Yuze ran his gaze over He Juan’s right arm before trailing up to his face, nodding tentatively. "To wash away bad luck, I presume?"

"Xiao Ze is so smart!" He flashed a brilliant smile, earning him an exasperated huff from the boy. "And I think both of us need it after everything we have gone through, no?" When he saw Mu Yuze part his mouth as though to protest that he did not need one, He Juan quickly opened the car door to stop him. "Let’s go in before it gets crowded!"

Left with no other choice, Mu Yuze could only swallow his words and get down from the car to catch up with He Juan. The chilly breeze caused him to sneeze, but he only rubbed his nose carelessly and commented, "I didn’t expect you to be a spiritual person."

"I’m not," he chuckled, not intending to elaborate further. He took off the thick dark blue scarf around his neck and bent down to wrap it snugly around Mu Yuze. He sensed the weight of Mu Yuze’s gaze on him, but he did not raise his head until he made sure that the boy was covered nicely. He sang praises, "Wow, look at that. The scarf looks much better on you than me, Xiao Ze!"

He had to stifle a laugh at how the scarf ended up burying half of Mu Yuze’s face, only showing a pair of black-blue eyes that was tinged with a hint of annoyance.

’How cute,’ he found himself thinking with immense fondness.

He Juan was really not a devotee. He did not believe in the existence of God, but if... if God indeed existed in this world, then he only wished that They would protect this boy in front of him until the end of the time. To keep him safe and healthy. To let him grow up happily in this mundane world.

That’s all he could have ever asked for.

Another fierce wind blew by, sending shivers across Mu Yuze’s entire body. He buried his face deeper into the scarf that still retained He Juan’s warmth. His voice was muffled when he asked, "What about you?"

He Juan raised a brow, amused. "Gege is bigger than you, Xiao Ze. I will not get cold so easily." Seeing that Mu Yuze was sneezing again, He Juan hurriedly led him into the temple.

They walked through the cobblestone path and bumped into a monk that was sweeping the fallen leaves. "Amitabha," he greeted them with clasped hands. "Good morning, benefactors."

"Good morning, Venerable." He Juan dipped his head low in greeting. Beside him, Mu Yuze followed suit, albeit a little clumsily. "We are here to pray and ask for an amulet."

The monk nodded genially and led them into the main hall. He carefully instructed them on what to do, and after He Juan nodded to show that he understood, he excused himself, saying, "I will be right outside to continue my job. If there’s something benefactors are confused about, just call me."

"Thank you so much," He Juan nodded with a smile. After seeing the monk off, he turned to ask Mu Yuze, "Do you want to pray too, Xiao Ze? Or would you prefer to wait for me here?"

Mu Yuze hesitated for a while and said, "I will follow you..."

"Okay." He Juan chuckled and patted his head gently. He went to prepare three incense sticks for each of them, then led Mu Yuze to kneel on the cushion. "I’m not very good at this either. But I am told that you can just say your wishes in heart. You should try it too, Xiao Ze."

Mu Yuze nodded, held up the incense sticks with both hands and closed his eyes.

He Juan couldn’t resist a smile at the serious look on his face. He turned back to face the giant statue of Buddha and closed his eyes too, relaying the sincere prayers in his heart.

He opened his eyes and caught Mu Yuze staring at him through his peripheral vision, though the boy quickly looked away when He Juan turned to face him.

"Are you done?" He Juan asked and when Mu Yuze nodded, he took over the incense sticks and stepped forward to insert it into the censer. He did not ask what Mu Yuze was asking for. Instead he smiled and offered, "Let’s go and get our amulets."

They found the monk outside and were led into the side building where they could purchase the amulets they wanted. When Mu Yuze was distracted by the assortments of accessories, pendants and clothes displayed on the transparent display cabinet, He Juan brought the monk to the side and whispered to him, "Benefactor, today is that boy’s birthday. Can you give me an amulet that can let him grow up safely? Oh, and please don’t let him know. It will be a surprise."

The monk nodded with a gentle smile on his face. "You cherish your brother a lot."

He Juan was taken aback when he heard this. Of course, to outsiders, he and Mu Yuze must look like a pair of brothers – some even mistook them as father and son. But this time... why did he get the urge to deny it?

He Juan bit the inside of his cheek to suppress the unreasonable impulse, then offered the monk a helpless nod. "I truly cherish him a lot..."

The first schedule of the day went by without a hitch, and He Juan couldn’t stop smiling every time he turned to catch a new small amulet hanging around Mu Yuze’s neck. He knew that it did not truly mean anything, but at this moment, he’d like to believe that the amulet would truly protect Mu Yuze at a time of need.

Not like He Juan would allow something like that to happen, though.

Soon after, they returned to the comfortable warmth of the car. From the corner of his eyes, He Juan noticed the boy fiddling with the amulet and he quickly focused his gaze in front when the boy turned to him, asking, "Are we going home now?"

Home. He Juan really liked the sound of that, especially when it came from Mu Yuze’s mouth.

Smiling to himself, he turned on the car engine and easily maneuvered the car out of the parking area. "Sorry to disappoint you, but... no. We’re not heading home anytime soon. Now that we’re already here, what do you say about a little bit of fun? Hmm?" He Juan winked at him in the end.