One and Only

Chapter 41: Extra Story Three – A Century Together

It wasn't until the third anniversary of Wen Xing's passing that they returned to the old house in Zhenjiang.

After visiting the cemetery, Zhou Shengchen unexpectedly suggested going to offer incense. Shi Yi was utterly surprised but didn't object. She simply held their youngest, Zhou Mushi, on her lap and teased him with amusement, "My scientist, what suddenly opened your eyes?"

He smiled, about to reply when Zhou Mu'an grabbed his finger.

The one-year-old immediately tried to put his index finger into his mouth, but Shi Yi stopped him. She wiped Zhou Shengchen's fingers clean with a disinfectant wipe before letting the baby suck on his index finger...

This renowned scientist studying Venus had completely become his son's plaything.

As she played with their son, she forgot her earlier question.

Zhou Shengchen watched her with a smile and didn't continue either.

Their two-year-old twin daughters were far more active than their little brother. Having just learned to walk, they loved wandering slowly around the temple grounds. With Uncle Lin and two maids looking after them, there was no need to worry.

Shi Yi preferred not to bring the children into the main hall, so she carefully handed them over to the nursemaids and entered alone.

She was a devout Buddhist. When offering incense, she always prayed with utmost sincerity—hands pressed together, kneeling on the cushion already worn with two deep grooves, bowing three times before the Buddha. But when she opened her eyes, she noticed someone kneeling beside her.

It was Zhou Shengchen.

She stared at him in disbelief as he pressed his palms together, closed his eyes, and silently made a wish to the Buddha.

In all these years, she had never seen him pray... This change was astounding.

The Buddha smiled down upon them in the hall.

Shi Yi watched him unblinkingly until Zhou Shengchen lowered his hands and opened his eyes.

"Since when did you believe in Buddhism?"

He smiled. "Three years ago."

"Three years ago?"

"Yes, three years ago," he said, helping her up. "Three years ago, you wouldn't wake up—you kept sleeping."

"And then?" she pressed eagerly.

"Then I took you back to Shanghai. While cleaning the room, I found what you had written."

"I know that part... but what does it have to do with you believing in Buddhism?"

"You wouldn't wake up, and in my desperation, I tried everything—even coming here," he told her quietly, recalling. "It was night when I arrived, and no one was around. I stood right here and remembered how we once discussed faith outside this hall. I told you I was an atheist."

She hummed in acknowledgment, almost picturing him standing in the flickering lamplight of the hall, facing the Buddha.

"Back then..." He chuckled. "I stood against the Buddha for a long time before finally surrendering. I begged him to let you wake up. Since he had allowed you to remember all your past lives and brought you to me, you should wake up and stay with me."

"Mhm..."

This ancient temple, which he had visited countless times since childhood...

He had once told her he was an atheist, always standing outside the hall to admire the scenery.

Three years ago, when she woke up, he had said he believed everything she had written. She could hardly believe it then. Now, hearing him recount that night—how he had knelt before the Buddha, begging for her to wake up—Shi Yi even felt a pang of heartache.

It was pain, the agony of loss, that could bring about such a transformation in a person.

She gently tugged at his shirt sleeve. "You're making my heart ache..."

He smiled."Really," she said softly, "it hurts my heart so much."

When you truly love someone to the bone, you wish for them to be free from all constraints—both in mind and body—to follow their heart's desires. She even felt that making him shift from believing in science to embracing Buddhism was somehow doing him an injustice...

"Shi Yi?" He couldn't help but chuckle.

"Hmm?"

"We have three children," Zhou Shengchen reminded her. "I think your maternal love doesn’t need to be allocated to me—save it for them." The way he phrased it... She burst into laughter.

They stepped out of the grand hall.

Suddenly, Shi Yi thought of something and asked him, "What do you see when you look at the Buddha now?"

"Are you asking if my answer has changed from before?"

"Yes, I’m curious."

Zhou Shengchen turned back to glance at the Buddha in the hall. "Compassion—still compassion. But now, it feels more... humanized." She laughed. "Why does that sound so strange when you say it..."

"Or perhaps, it’s not just compassion for all living beings," he turned back, wrapping an arm around Shi Yi’s shoulders as they stepped fully into the sunlight. "It’s also compassion for me. He finally... let me off the hook once."

She laughed again.

Ever since they had children, Zhou Shengchen had grown increasingly fond of joking.

She even felt that this man was entirely different from the one she first met at the airport. Back then, though polite and smiling, he gave off an air that made people hesitant to speak to him. But now... well, he had finally been touched by the warmth of mortal life.

Lunch was at a vegetarian restaurant at the foot of the mountain—the children’s first time trying monastic cuisine.

The two daughters could already feed themselves with spoons, albeit distractedly, while the youngest son still needed to be fed. Shi Yi cradled her son, softly coaxing him, when she heard repeated greetings of "Young Master."

Someone lifted the curtain, and Zhou Shengren walked in.

Before he could steady himself, the two girls began calling out "Uncle!" in overlapping voices.

"Which one should I hold first?" Zhou Shengren’s dark eyes rarely held laughter. "Maybe I shouldn’t hold either—fairer that way." Shi Yi smiled. "Up to you. Just sit down quickly, or they’ll toss their spoons and climb off their chairs any second."

The young man, not yet twenty, already stood taller than her, exuding an air of authority.

Yet he truly listened to his elder sister-in-law, promptly pulling out a chair and sitting down. "Alright, I’m seated. Now, you two eat properly."

He had just picked up his chopsticks.

The two little girls had already abandoned their spoons...

Well, truly uncontrollable.

Shi Yi sighed helplessly. Zhou Shengchen never forced the children to eat, nor did he interfere. Eventually, the two girls gleefully latched onto Xiao Ren, who gave up on eating altogether, scooping one into each arm as he settled onto the sofa to play with them. "Big Brother, give me one of your daughters... No, wait, give me both. I promise to raise them exceptionally well."

Zhou Shengchen merely shook his head, ignoring him.

By the time they returned to the old estate, the midday sun was blazing. Shi Yi changed into comfortable clothes in their room, while Zhou Shengchen settled in the open study on the second floor to check his emails. When she stepped out, she heard him on a phone call.

She was about to approach when their son’s crying drew her back.

The moment she picked him up, he giggled.

Unable to put him down, Shi Yi carried him over and sat beside Zhou Shengchen.She could faintly hear familiar voices, likely Mei Hang's. The topic of their discussion was beyond her understanding, so she simply sat there accompanying them, amusing her son. The little rascal was thoroughly enjoying his playtime when Zhou Shengchen finally ended the call, watching with amusement as she entertained their child.

"Finished talking?" she asked casually.

"Finished."

"Your good friend really is tireless in his duties."

"He's making money too—it's not like he's working for me for free." Zhou Shengchen chuckled, reaching out to pat Shi Yi's forehead.

It was a natural gesture, but he paused midway. The beauty beside him was like fine jade. His hand slid down from her forehead, his index finger lightly hooking to caress her cheek—a warm, ambiguous, yet tender motion. Shi Yi had no resistance to such gestures. With him, she always felt like a girl experiencing first love.

His every word, his every action, could make her heart race.

She breathed softly, her fingers still held by their son.

Zhou Shengchen's hand finally descended further, tilting her chin up slightly to raise her head higher, then gently brushing her lips. Shi Yi turned away. "I'm still holding our son..."

Unexpectedly, he was persistent. Without another word, he simply asked quietly, "Continue?"

Her face flushed instantly.

"Continuing" now was far less innocent than it had been in the past.

It was barely past one in the afternoon... If they handed their son to the nursemaid, their intentions would be obvious.

She hesitated.

Zhou Shengchen already cupped her chin, ready to kiss her again, dissolving her indecision.

Before their lips could meet, a tiny palm smacked his face with a slap.

Their son had thrown a tantrum...

Zhou Shengchen froze for a moment before bursting into laughter.

Shi Yi couldn't stop giggling either, standing up with their son in her arms. "Well, you hit your dad—tonight you'll be punished again and won't get to sleep with Mom." Before she could finish, Zhou Shengchen called the nursemaid in to take their son away.

The nursemaid smiled as she carried Zhou Musi off, whispering soothing words about not disturbing his parents.

Before Shi Yi could even feel embarrassed, he had already wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Earlier, when I saw you kneeling in the great hall, it suddenly struck me that I was a coward in my past life."

Her slender figure, kneeling alone in the vast, empty hall before a ten-meter-tall Buddha statue, had looked so small. He thought of what she had written—about that lifetime when she couldn't speak, how she would silently read and pray for his safety in the palace library every time he led troops into battle.

And yet, he had simply let her love him her entire life without ever responding.

Shi Yi shook her head, correcting him. "A great hero, not a coward."

Neither of us is divine—how could we have foreseen the future?

This was the best possible outcome.

"Zhou Shengchen."

"Hmm?"

"Let me paint a portrait of you."

"What do you want to paint?"

"You," Shi Yi thought for a moment before suddenly smiling. "I paint people even better than I paint lotus flowers."

(End of Chapter)