Financial freedom starts from graduation

Chapter 364 Confession and Encounter

In a narrow alley in Chongwenmen, Beijing, there is a building with an inconspicuous facade but a long history.

Gray brick walls, red doors, through the gate you can vaguely see the exquisite stained glass and the cross symbol on the main building.

This is the Chongwenmen Church of the Beidu Christian Church. It was built in 1870 and is the first worship church established by the church in Beidu and even in North China. In 06, it was listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit.

There are a total of 16 Christian churches in the entire northern capital. They not only have unique architectural styles, but also have their own historical and cultural backgrounds. These churches are one of the featured attractions in many CityWalk routes.

Of course, the above are all for tourists.

For those who truly have a pilgrimage mentality, these places are holy places.

At this time, in the small auditorium of Chongwenmen Church, in the confessional covered with black curtains, a girl in a light white suspender dress was sitting silently.

Only a faint light penetrated the dim confessional, but it could not obscure the radiance brought by the girl's beautiful face. Even in the darkness, her fair skin flashed with a bright halo, making people unable to look away.

But no one could see this scene at this time, not even the female pastor sitting opposite her separated by a curtain.

Seeing that the girl was reluctant to speak, the pastor on the other side finally couldn't help but said, "Child, from your voice, you should be young, can you tell me your name?"

"My name is Ji Xiaoxi, and I'm 23 years old."

Ji Xiaoxi hesitated for a moment, then spoke softly and politely, "Teacher, how about you?"

"Ji Xiaoxi, this name sounds nice. Can I call you Xixi? As for me, you can just call me Teacher Liu."

The elderly female priest was stunned for a moment before she laughed kindly, "This should be your first time to confess, right?"

"Yes...is there any process?"

Perhaps it was the female pastor's magnetic voice that made Ji Xiaoxi relax a little unconsciously, and she asked carefully.

She came to Chongwen Hall today because she was following her parents' instructions and accompanied by a relative to visit the priest here... The priest was a good friend of her father when he was studying abroad, and he was considered to be Ji Xiaoxi's uncle.

It was just that the other party was not there when she arrived. Ji Xiaoxi originally planned to put down the gift and leave, but she accidentally heard another couple passing by, who were laughing and asking each other what they had confessed.

Confession is a sacrament in the church, which means confessing one's sins to the priest and seeking forgiveness and psychological comfort.

The priest is obliged to keep confidential everything said in the confessional. In fact, it is to put aside prejudices based on identity, so there is a black curtain to ensure the privacy of the confessor.

Ji Xiaoxi was not interested at first, until she heard that the person temporarily presiding over the confessional today was a senior female pastor.

In traditional Catholicism, the positions of priests and pastors can only be held by single men, but in Protestantism, this is more relaxed and women can also serve as pastors.

If Ji Xiaoxi were to confide her secrets to a strange man, she would definitely feel extremely awkward, but if the other person was an older woman, she would feel a lot more at ease.

So after much hesitation, Ji Xiaoxi asked her sister and others who came with her to wait outside, while she mustered up the courage to walk into the confessional.

"There is no procedure that must be followed. The key is that you need to open your heart to me and tell me those unknown things that have always tormented you. Child, you must remember that it is not me who listens to you, but the great Lord. He will forgive all your sins."

Ji Xiaoxi nodded unconsciously, and finally spoke slowly:
"Teacher, I am guilty."

But at the moment she actually opened her mouth, Ji Xiaoxi couldn't help but clench her fingers.

"What kind of sin?"

Teacher Liu's voice remained calm, and it was obvious that he had heard a similar opening countless times.

"I am... unclean."

"Ok?"

Teacher Liu was slightly surprised, then became more serious, "Few women would describe themselves like this. What did you... do?"

"I was entangled with a man. I should say that he violated me when we were not that familiar with each other."

"Kid, this is not your fault. You are just a victim. Why are you blaming yourself for this?"

"But I cooperated... No, I should say I immersed myself in it unconsciously. The first time, I even asked him to continue. Yes, although I didn't want to admit it and although I was drunk, I knew that was just an excuse..."

Perhaps he had been suppressing his emotions for too long, and this was the first time he had the chance to express them freely to others, so as he spoke, Ji Xiaoxi let go of all his shame.

She told all of the stories from the first time she met Zhou Wang, to the first time in that guest room, to the later time in that restaurant, and even the fact that she called Zhou Wang late at night one day and accidentally heard Zhou Wang doing something bad, and she secretly listened in as if she was possessed.

There were also countless dreams during the middle of the night, with wet sheets and messed up quilts...

Ji Xiaoxi, with her dazed eyes, didn't even notice that her face had been flushed like the glow of the sunset.

"..."

The pastor on the other side of the curtain remained silent until Ji Xiaoxi finished speaking.

"That day abroad, although I drank a lot of wine, I knew I was sober. I tried my best to get myself drunk, but I failed. When he found me again, I compromised. Although I was still reserved, I knew that I had compromised..."

Ji Xiaoxi murmured, "I responded to him so passionately, but it was really comfortable, the feeling of kissing. Later, he asked me... and I agreed again. Under the gaze of the saint, I pleased him in such a shameless way."

At this time, Teacher Liu finally spoke up, "What does that feel like?"

"what?"

Ji Xiaoxi was stunned and asked in confusion.

"Oh, I'm asking about your inner feelings."

Teacher Liu coughed lightly and repeated what he had said.

"I am very happy too."

Ji Xiaoxi whispered, "I can't lie to myself. This is how I really felt when I woke up the next day and recalled that incident... But the more I think about it, the more panic I feel. I obviously hate these things so much. I don't know why I have become like this."

"Xixi, after listening to your description, I think the problem is not as serious as you think."

"is it?"

"Yes."

Teacher Liu adjusted his tone and smiled, "From what I've heard from you, you probably don't have much experience in this area. But in fact, once you have enough experience, you will find that this is just human nature."

"Human nature?"

"Yes, we are animals after all. Do you know what is the most special thing about humans among all the animals on earth?"

"What is it?"

Ji Xiaoxi asked curiously.

"Humans are the only species among all animals that are in estrus 24 hours a day. The instinct to reproduce seems to be engraved in our genes and cannot be erased."

Teacher Liu said softly, "No other animal is like this, except humans. To put it another way, it is human nature to be lustful."

"Lustful..." Ji Xiaoxi fell silent.

"My child, you should also know that in traditional doctrines, clergy are not allowed to get married. Then why do you think our Protestantism can gain more believers?"

Teacher Liu answered his own question with a smile, "Because only we understand the Lord's true intention and no longer restrict clergymen from their human nature, so as pastors we can also marry freely and form our own families... So, you don't need to blame yourself, it's just nature, and the Lord won't blame you for it."

Ji Xiaoxi nodded when she heard this. After Teacher Liu finished speaking, she couldn't help but speak again: "But my sins are more than that."

"What else?"

Teacher Liu asked in surprise.

"In addition to being unfaithful, I am also... unfaithful."

Ji Xiaoxi said what was most painful for her, "I had a boyfriend, and we had always had a good relationship. I betrayed him. Teacher Liu, do you know that I have never even had a real kiss with Chen He..."

"..."

Teacher Liu was silent again. After a long while, she slowly spoke, "Have you ever carefully examined your own heart? Who do you really want? Or...what do you really want?"

Ji Xiaoxi looked up in a daze and murmured, "Yeah, what is it?"

……

More than ten minutes later, when Ji Xiaoxi finally walked out of the church, two men and one woman who were taking pictures at the door of the church hurried over to greet her with a smile.

"Xixi, you're so slow, come on, let's take a photo together!"

The girl who waved to Ji Xiaoxi was a little older than Ji Xiaoxi. Although she was not as pretty as Ji Xiaoxi, her regular facial features and slightly mature outfit gave her a unique charm.

She is Ji Xiaoxi's distant cousin Cheng Xueqing. The young man next to her, who is wearing a baseball uniform and glasses and looks quite honest, is her fiancé Li Fei. They got engaged just a few days ago.

Because of Zhou Wang's request, Ji Xiaoxi and the company's vice president Wu Yanqiu were temporarily stranded in Beidu. Although Zhou Wang has not contacted them to this day, Wu Nala would not take her away as long as Zhou Wang said something, and Zhang Shihao would not care about such a small matter, so Ji Xiaoxi inexplicably got an extra ten days of vacation.

Although Beidu Wuyou Media also has a branch, Ji Xiaoxi still has some miscellaneous work tasks, but overall, she is much more free.

It just so happened that her cousin Cheng Xueqing was getting engaged in Beidu, and she helped to arrange it. The two had a good relationship when they were young, and now they have become much closer again. It was also because of Cheng Xueqing's presence that Ji Xiaoxi's parents felt at ease to leave Beidu after the engagement party and let Cheng Xueqing look after her.

Otherwise, if her parents had followed their usual practice, they would probably have stayed in Beidu to accompany her...

This also made Ji Xiaoxi feel relieved.

Such "free time" is quite rare for her.

But it was not that "free" because of the young and middle-aged man standing next to my cousin Cheng Xueqing and future brother-in-law Li Fei.

Ji Xiaoxi herself calls her middle-aged and young. It's not that she hates older men. In fact, in this regard, Ji Xiaoxi is like most girls. In relationships between men and women, she can even accept an age difference of less than ten years.

The only thing she hated was that this man named Yue Junnan was not even 30 years old, but he dressed and looked very old-fashioned.

To put it simply, it seems gentle, mature and steady, but in fact it is greasy everywhere.

"Greasy" has become one of the most annoying traits of modern women, and it has always topped the list. Ji Xiaoxi is no exception.

In the eyes of her parents, Yue Junnan, who is impeccable in terms of family background, character, work and academic qualifications, is exactly the blind date assigned to her by her parents.

In fact, it cannot be said that they were blind dates. It was just that after seeing her cousin Cheng Xueqing getting engaged, Ji Xiaoxi's parents, who had always been traditional and conservative, seemed to suddenly come to their senses, or they finally realized that their daughter was already 23 years old and was actually old enough to get married.

As for Chen He's existence, because Ji Xiaoxi had always told them that it was the company's arrangement to create a couple account, so in the eyes of her parents, their daughter has always been single...

However, although her parents thought Yue Junnan was a good guy based on the introduction from acquaintances, they did not mean for her to get married right away. They just asked her to spend some time together first so that Ji Xiaoxi could gradually enter into a relationship.

This is also one of the reasons why Ji Xiaoxi was not so resistant.

Of course, this is Ji Xiaoxi's idea.

But Yue Junnan was struck by Ji Xiaoxi's beauty when he first saw her. Although she didn't act or speak as rashly as a young boy, her attentiveness in various ways made Ji Xiaoxi feel a little annoyed.

But Yue Junnan thought that he was following Ji Xiaoxi's "parental orders" and was very fearless. Even though he was constantly ignored by Ji Xiaoxi, he persisted.

For example, today, Ji Xiaoxi just wanted to go to the church to return the gift accompanied by her cousin, but Yue Junnan followed her.

She knew that it was her cousin who betrayed her again, but she was helpless.

Declining her cousin's invitation to take a photo, Ji Xiaoxi couldn't help but frown and look at Yue Junnan: "It's not even noon yet, don't you have to go to work? I remember you told me last time that you're not a leader, so you should be very busy, right?"

"Something has happened to our group recently, and I'm afraid we'll have to suspend business for a long time, so I've had more free time recently."

Yue Junnan replied with a smile.

"Brother Yue, isn't your Xueren Group a listed company? Can you shut down now?"

Cheng Xueqing on the side asked in surprise.

"There have been some changes in the group's top management. I'll tell you slowly when we get to the dinner place. Although you may not understand, this matter involves too many things."

Yue Junnan said lightly.

Although they didn't know what he was talking about, his expression made Cheng Xueqing and Li Fei feel a little awe-inspiring.

"Let's take a picture together and then go to the restaurant. I've already booked a table. It's the hottest western restaurant in Beidu recently. If we go too late, I'm afraid it won't be possible to arrange it."

Yue Junnan glanced at the Rolex White Panda on his wrist and then smiled.

Under the pull of her cousin Cheng Xueqing, Ji Xiaoxi had no choice but to agree to take photos together. However, she clung to her cousin and deliberately stood on the other side, not giving Yue Junnan the opportunity to take advantage of the opportunity to do intimate actions with her.

Li Fei found a passerby with his camera, and the passerby was very generous and took a few photos for them.

What surprised them was that this passerby seemed very professional and even gave them advice on their posture and position.

"Hey, relax a little, man, move to the side. Right, I'm talking to you... Don't you know you're a little fat? You're blocking the light!"

The passerby was talking in a loud voice. After Yue Junnan inexplicably moved to the side for a long time, he nodded with satisfaction, "Well, this is good enough... Two beauties, smile, come on, eggplant!"

But when she heard the voice of a passerby, Ji Xiaoxi, who had been absent-minded, suddenly looked up and looked at the tall young man holding a camera and dressed in a very sunny manner with some disbelief. She even suspected for a moment that she had an illusion.

After taking the photos, the young man put down the camera, revealing that handsome and familiar face. Only then did Ji Xiaoxi realize that she was not mistaken.

It's really Zhou Wang...

Why is he here?

While Ji Xiaoxi was still in a daze, the young man came over with a bright smile, handed the camera to a few people to check, and said:

"Two beautiful ladies, I wonder if I have the honor to treat you to a meal?"

(End of this chapter)