The street was bustling with noise and excitement. The city square was bathed in sunlight. The house prices in the city seemed soaring up without limit. There were real-estate advertis.e.m.e.nts everywhere. Dong Ci wondered if there were so many rich people who would like to buy houses at such a high price in this city.

A big banner was draped across the gate of a housing estate saying, "Bring your lover home." It was an attractive advertising slogan.

"Bring your lover home?" Dong Ci shook her head and didn"t agree with the advertising slogan. She squinted her eyes and stood there staring blankly.

Chai Xiuwen waved at Dong Ci from a distance and yelled, "Dong Ci, I"m here."

They went to a coffee shop. Chai Xiuwen asked, "Did you really see the ghosts? Maybe it"s because you are having your period and in poor health so that you were hallucinating last night."

"I saw them clearly. They all have horrible faces." Dong Ci took a mouthful of coffee and left a little lipstick on the white coffee cup. "If you had been with me last night, you would have been scared too. Anyway, I am out of luck recently."

"Don"t be scared. There"s no ghost in the world. Believe me." Chai Xiuwen was a confirmed atheist and her boyfriend was a doctor of philosophy.

"I don"t want to go shopping today. Let"s go to the temple and wors.h.i.+p Buddha." Dong Ci paid the bill and the two of them left the coffee shop.

There were so many people in the smoggy temple. Devout men and women prayed for blessings from Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The Buddhist abbot sat cross-legged on the cattail ha.s.sock, chanted scriptures while beating the wooden fish rhythmically. Buddhists kneeling on the floor murmured, going over multiple thought in their minds. As the time went on, they began to think about what to eat after prayers.

"Bodhisattva, please bless me with a smooth and happy life. I don"t want to see those ghosts again," Dong Ci prayed in her mind.

In front of her was a statue of the Bodhisattva who was looking coldly at her.

Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were all busy and sometimes they would forget to grant their believers" wishes.

When Dong Ci walked out of the main hall of the temple, the Buddhist abbot cast a glance at her, shook his head and continued beating the wooden fish. The monotone sound of knocking the wooden fish echoed in the main hall. Everyone, including Buddhist monks, lived a dull life.

"Well, it is the last time I conduct a party of tourists to a scenic spot. Wish me luck." Dong Ci kissed Luo Nan on the lips before she went out. She liked him from the bottom of her heart. In her view, since she didn"t hate being with him, she might have fallen love with him. Luo Nan was her first boyfriend and also her fiance. They were going to get married. In the eyes of others, she was a lucky dog.

Dong Ci shook her head and quickened her pace. Maybe it was G.o.d"s will.

This time she was not late.

There were 40 tourists from all over the country in the tour bus. They were going to take a one-day sightseeing tour around the city. It was a cushy job, and the guide didn"t have to spend lots of time on the road and could returned home in the evening. If someone wanted to loaf on the job, they could easily find a way. So, Dong Ci snagged the job of being the guide of this tour group.

Their destination was an amus.e.m.e.nt park similar to Disney, but it was much smaller.

Xia Yan drove the bus at a steady speed. The tourists were delighted and excited. They asked Dong Ci to tell them a story.

Dong Ci slowly said, "Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion"s guest room. Instead the angels were given a small s.p.a.ce in the cold bas.e.m.e.nt. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren"t always what they seem."

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night"s rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel, "How could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him. The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die."

"Things aren"t always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the bas.e.m.e.nt of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn"t find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren"t always what they seem.""

Almost all the tourists were nearly asleep and it was very quiet in the tour bus.

Dong Ci added, "Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don"t turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every out come is always to your advantage. You just might not know it until some time later."

Only one tourist called Chen Qi was still in his senses and smiled, "Miss, your story contains a profound lesson."

Dong Ci secretly rolled her eyes and thought, "To h.e.l.l with this story. I told this story just because I wanted to make you all sleepy. Otherwise, I would be asked to sing a song or speak the rustic dialect, like a clown pleasing audiences. I can"t bear that."

She looked out of the window and quietly yawned. Then she twisted her head and looked at that tourist. "I might have met him before. Er, I have seen so many tourists and maybe one of them looked like him. Anyway, he has a sunny smile," she thought to herself.

Dong Ci nodded, "Thank you for your compliment."

Chen Qi looked at Dong Ci and thought, "I seem to have seen her before. Maybe it"s because I have met so many women and one of them looked like her. Anyway, she has a real smile."

Sometimes, you fell in love with someone at first sight. Sometimes, even if you had met someone 10,000 times, you wouldn"t like to spend a winter with him.