Jiangdong District Pedestrian Street, a rather petit bourgeois-style bookstore.
Walls of books fill the sight, along with a workbench holding a bean grinder and a coffee machine.
Many sit down to order a drink, flip through books, and while away the time, making it look more like a coffee shop located inside a bookstore.
By the window, a mature and charming woman frowns slightly, her grey suit trousers cross over her beautiful, well-rounded legs.
Her slender fingers, like white jade, pinch a tiny bone china spoon, stirring incessantly in the coffee cup, yet her gaze remains fixed on the streetscape outside the window.
The simple and efficient women’s suit still cannot hide her voluptuous and graceful perfect figure.
A white silk scarf tied around her neck, hanging over her chest, not only adds a touch of elegance but also conceals the overly proud curvature.
Feeling glances occasionally stealing over from around her, Lin Chuqiao’s lips curl into a slight smile, feeling somewhat proud but also a bit helpless.
With the face of an angel, the body of a devil, and an awakened Special Ability, she has always been very confident.
Just one glance into the crowd, and she can easily capture unsuspecting prey for her to dispatch.
Especially mesmerizing those filthy men till they are utterly befuddled and obedient.
Yet upon turning away, they instantly forget all memories.
However, the guy she met recently made her feel powerless for the first time, unable to see through his thoughts.
Thinking of this, Lin Chuqiao looked downward at a sheet of drawing paper on the table.
Her eyes gazed intently at the figure of a young man studying in the library depicted on the paper, slightly lost in thought.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a figure that had just entered the door.
The date had finally arrived.
The man had a tall stature, handsome face, deep and mysterious eyes.
Wearing gold-rimmed glasses made him appear even more refined, seemingly harmless to humans and animals.
Lin Chuqiao’s expression faintly froze.
Then she quickly packed away the drawing and pretended to pick up a collection of proses and poems, as if savoring the wonderful writings within.
Fang Cheng asked the server and glanced over the seats surrounded by bookshelves.
He walked straight toward the familiar silhouette and was the first to greet her:
"Miss Lin, what do you need to see me for?"
Lin Chuqiao raised her eyes and immediately closed the book, smiling and beckoning with her hand for him to sit down:
"Can’t I find you for a chat when there’s nothing to do? After all, we’re somewhat acquainted."
Then, she gracefully offered to treat Fang Cheng to a drink and asked what he would like.
Fang Cheng waved his hand, indicating he’s not accustomed to drinking coffee.
The two exchanged a few pleasantries and sat down separately.
Lin Chuqiao observed Fang Cheng’s eyes closely, asking curiously:
"Why did you think of wearing glasses? I almost didn’t recognize you just now."
"Recently reading too much has been tiring, getting a pair of glasses can protect my eyesight a bit."
Fang Cheng pushed his glasses up his nose, explaining casually.
Lin Chuqiao nodded with a smile, not pressing further.
The two people, both wearing glasses, sat there facing each other, the atmosphere growing somewhat awkward.
After all, they both knew little about each other, lacking common topics of conversation.
Noticing this, Lin Chuqiao took the initiative to start a conversation, caring and asking:
"How’s your life lately? Have you encountered any troublesome difficulties that need help?"
Fang Cheng looked at her with some surprise upon hearing this.
After thinking a bit, he also spoke frankly without reservation:
"I’ve indeed encountered a rather troublesome issue recently."
Lin Chuqiao immediately perked up, her eyes full of anticipation as she looked at him.
Fang Cheng paused briefly in his tone, then continued:
"Following your suggestion last time, I decided to self-study meditation to cultivate my character, but I’ve come across some barriers that I simply cannot break through."
"Is it just about meditation?"
A flicker of disappointment passed through Lin Chuqiao’s eyes.
She then spoke with a calm tone:
"You could describe your issues in detail, perhaps I can offer some advice."
Fang Cheng guessed she must have also delved into research in this area.
He proceeded to roughly share his experiences and feelings during the process of meditation.
Lin Chuqiao’s brows furrowed slightly, after pondering for a moment, she replied:
"The focus of meditation practice is maintaining habits, having clear goals, and overcoming the distractions of the mind."
"To break it down, there are eight steps — observing precepts, diligence, sitting posture, breathing control, concentration, concentration, entering meditation, samadhi, which are the traditional eight-fold path."
"According to your description, you have managed to reach the step of concentration, but there seems to be a misinterpretation at the step of concentration."
At this point, Lin Chuqiao spoke with a somewhat solemn tone:
"First, I want to ask you a few questions. What do you think observing precepts means, and what do concentration and concentration mean?"
After hearing her questions, Fang Cheng pondered briefly, then replied:
"Observing precepts should be like the ascetic practices of monks, suppressing the distractions and desires that arise in the mind."
"As for concentration and concentration, it’s about maintaining focus, clearing away distractions, and after eliminating external interference, bringing the consciousness into an intensely self-aware state."
Upon hearing this, Lin Chuqiao responded with a smile and a shake of her head:
"What you’ve described is just the concept of meditation as understood by the average person."
"The true meaning of observing precepts is not about self-restraint, nor is it suppressing negative thoughts, but using appropriate methods to assist and guide oneself onto the right track."
"As the first step of meditation practice, its primary purpose is to set a correct direction for oneself, to avoid meaningless mental consumption."
"Because if the direction at the outset is wrong, no matter how much effort is put in later on, it’s just a waste of one’s energy, achieving nothing."
"Many people, though they may indeed manage to enter into a state of tranquility through various methods, will continuously be troubled by the problems that existed at the outset and won’t be able to cross over the threshold of concentration."
"Therefore, the key to truly achieving meditation lies in ’goal’ and ’guidance.’"
After listening to Lin Chuqiao’s explanation, Fang Cheng felt even more perplexed.
"Clear goals, specific methods of guidance."
Lin Chuqiao nodded, continuing to speak:
"These two aspects seem simple but are actually very challenging to implement, because the so-called ’goal’ is not a certain thing you want to achieve, but is..."
It seemed she thought of something, and her words abruptly stopped.
She then rummaged through her wallet and handed Fang Cheng a slightly worn business card:
"Some things are hard to describe in words. If you genuinely want to make further progress in meditation practice, you can go to this place and see for yourself. By then, you’ll probably understand a lot."
"I myself stumbled into it once and spent some time there, which changed my fixed preconceptions about the world."
Fang Cheng took the business card and scrutinized it.
It was emblazoned with several bold characters — "Truth and Meditation Joint Practice".
Fang Cheng suddenly felt this woman was truly a great mentor and friend.
He couldn’t help but harbor the thought of wanting to know more about her background and strengthen their relationship.
Lin Chuqiao then mysteriously added:
"I’ll give you a piece of advice in advance: when joining this ’True Thought Society,’ remember to wear glasses and don’t reveal your real identity."
Hearing these meaningful words and looking into her witty eyes,
Fang Cheng couldn’t help but restrain the burgeon of goodwill he had just felt.