28-3：At the Intersection of Hearts and Destinies

The clock at Ben Gurion International Airport finally pointed to 9:50 PM. The soft, melodic voice of the announcer echoed through the waiting hall, delivering the latest flight information in both Hebrew and English. The LCD display scrolled the same information: the flight from Beijing to Tel Aviv had landed on time.

Even though it would take some time for passengers to clear customs, Rui Xiaodan couldn't help but stand up and move closer to the exit. Many others were already gathered there, some holding signs with names, others instinctively peering into the corridor, even though they knew it was futile. Due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Ben Gurion Airport is undoubtedly one of the most secure airports in the world, with armed guards vigilantly watching everyone in the hall.

Rui Xiaodan had arrived in Tel Aviv over three hours earlier than Ding Yuanying's flight. She booked an $85 standard double room at the Pavativo Hotel along the coastline under both their names, exchanged $500 for Israeli shekels, took a shower, rested briefly, and arrived at the airport half an hour early to wait.

After a period of anxious waiting, a stream of passengers finally appeared, pushing large suitcases and carrying small bags, orderly filing through the corridor. Many started looking for their friends and family from a distance. Rui Xiaodan spotted Ding Yuanying in the crowd. He wore light gray pants and a light blue casual shirt, carrying almost no luggage except for a simple plastic shopping bag in his left hand, which contained hardly anything, making him look more like someone who had just left a convenience store rather than someone on an international trip.

Rui Xiaodan rushed to him and anxiously asked, "Where's your luggage?"

Ding Yuanying gestured to the plastic bag and said, "No need for clothes in the summer."

Rui Xiaodan exaggeratedly pretended to faint, then embraced him warmly, saying, "Is this how you travel abroad? Oh… darling, you're too adorable!"

Ding Yuanying asked, "Is the hotel booked?"

Rui Xiaodan replied, "Yes, the hotel and the tickets are booked. Let's eat first, then head to the hotel."

They left the waiting hall and took a taxi to the city. Ben Gurion Airport is less than twenty kilometers from downtown, and the taxi ride took over twenty minutes to reach Hayarkon Street. Tel Aviv, Israel's largest city, has the cosmopolitan feel of major Western cities, serving as the economic and cultural hub of Israel. Known for its vibrant nightlife, it's a city that never sleeps, with bustling bars and restaurants mostly patronized by young people and tourists from around the world.

Rui Xiaodan and Ding Yuanying had an Israeli-style dinner at a restaurant next to the Pavativo Hotel on Hayarkon Street, featuring tomato and cucumber salad, a large plate of grilled meat, bread, and a soup. They ordered a large beer, splitting it into two cups. It was a moment of happiness for Rui Xiaodan, who felt once again her importance in Ding Yuanying's heart through his trip to Tel Aviv. For a woman, what could be more satisfying than to love and be loved?

After dinner, it was already past midnight. They returned to the hotel, where Ding Yuanying presented his passport at the front desk to verify his identity and check in again. They took the elevator to the fifteenth floor and entered room 1508. Rui Xiaodan hung the "Do Not Disturb" sign in both Hebrew and English on the door, locked it, and turned the door latch.

Ding Yuanying put his "luggage" on the coffee table, opened the curtains, and looked out from the fifteenth floor. In front of him was the vast sea, with the lights of ships on the night sea resembling a magnificent palace. Rui Xiaodan came over, closed the curtains, pushed him to the bed, and pressed him down, taking off his shoes and straddling him.

Ding Yuanying asked, "No more foreplay?"

Rui Xiaodan smiled brightly, "Not this time."

Ding Yuanying said, "You've reached enlightenment."

Rui Xiaodan unbuttoned her loose shirt, revealing a delicate lace bra. The semi-transparent fabric made her ample bosom faintly visible. She looked down at him, her soft, shiny black hair falling over her shoulders. Her fair skin, beautiful face, sexy curves, moist lips, long, dense eyelashes, and charming eyes—all of her feminine beauty conveyed a captivating allure.

Rui Xiaodan asked tenderly, "Where do you want to go now?"

Ding Yuanying laughed, "Pride goes out the window when traveling far for love. Heaven or hell, it's up to you."

Rui Xiaodan said, "Then I'll take you to heaven and hell, no difference." She began unbuttoning his shirt.

...

After a surge of passion, Ding Yuanying lay exhausted on the bed. Rui Xiaodan lay beside him, her head resting on his arm, one hand on his shoulder. She said nothing, just quietly felt the moment. At this time, even a leaf could disturb the serene silence.

After a long while, Rui Xiaodan whispered, "You weren't sending yourself here, you still wanted me to detour to Jerusalem. You just didn't want to force me, and I can't pretend not to know because you didn't say it. Maybe I should've come alone, but I couldn't control myself, so I made you come. No matter how guilty I feel, I'm still very happy."

Ding Yuanying mumbled, "Honey, I... I'm tired..."

Rui Xiaodan looked up to see he had already fallen asleep. She pulled the thin blanket over him, turned off the wall light.

The next morning, Rui Xiaodan got up early to prepare for their trip, washing, applying makeup, changing clothes, checking the camera and film, and placing their credit cards, passports, and tickets in her bag for safekeeping. Ding Yuanying woke up around 9 AM, feeling rested after a night's sleep, his jet lag adjusted, and his travel fatigue gone. At 10 AM, they left the hotel and took a taxi to Jerusalem. Tel Aviv is 60 kilometers from Jerusalem, and the car ride took over an hour to reach the old city of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is a holy city for Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, with a history filled with sorrow and hatred, as well as prayers, sighs, blood, and tears. According to the Jewish Talmud, God gave ten measures of beauty to the world, nine to Jerusalem. So, it's said: God gave ten measures of sorrow to the world, nine to Jerusalem. When Jehovah, Jesus Christ, and Allah gather in one place, nowhere else can provoke such contemplation as Jerusalem.

Walking through the bustling streets of the old city, they saw vendors, tourists, beggars, police officers, worshippers, and Israeli soldiers wearing bulletproof vests and carrying rifles. The calls of vendors, the bells of churches, distant sirens, and the rumble of armored vehicles blended into one. Rui Xiaodan had only seen reports of suicide bombers and military reprisals on TV; being here in person made her feel the immediate and omnipresent danger. She saw a primal, deeply embedded fear in people's eyes.

Ding Yuanying said, "The two world wars lasted only ten years, but the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been ongoing for fifty years in this century. What kind of nation can endure such suffering? Yet, neither God nor Allah has saved them. Nowhere else can make one understand this truth so clearly."

Rui Xiaodan said, "I knew it without coming; there's no savior in the first place."

Ding Yuanying said, "You knew it as self-awareness, now it's about making you understand others. Many people know this truth, but it exists as reason and knowledge, not self-awareness. Reason and knowledge are useless, only a condition for being useful. Making you understand others' ignorance, their useless reason and knowledge."

Rui Xiaodan smiled, "Sir, let me remind you, only Buddha attains self-awareness and understanding others. I can only think about making a living myself, so as not to be a burden. As a woman, it's good enough to give Buddha a break."

Ding Yuanying smiled too, "Understanding others is possibly a better way to make a living. No one can save everyone. Many things don't need to be understood immediately; information reserve is just a condition for being useful."

Rui Xiaodan smiled, "You have expectations for my future, I understand. Everyone wants others to exist according to their will, to become the kind of person they hope for."

Ding Yuanying said, "Not wrong, but not ultimate, not definitive."

Rui Xiaodan asked, "So how do you define ultimate and definitive?"

Ding Yuanying said, "It's not about wanting you to become a certain kind of person, but about who you are meant to be."

Rui Xiaodan smiled again, "Is there really someone meant to be a certain kind of person? That's fate, beyond understanding."

Ding Yuanying said, "That's not beyond understanding, that's not understanding."

Rui Xiaodan was taken aback, hesitated for a moment, and said, "It's not understanding, then what's beyond understanding?"

Ding Yuanying didn't answer immediately but played with a lighter in his hand. Suddenly, he tossed it to Rui Xiaodan, who instinctively caught it.

Rui Xiaodan held the lighter and asked, "What do you mean?"

Ding Yuanying asked back, "Did you think when you caught the lighter? Did you contemplate?"

Rui Xiaodan answered, "No, there wasn't time, it was instinct."

Ding Yuanying said, "This shows that in catching the lighter, you've reached nirvana, beyond thinking and contemplating. Beyond understanding isn't about describing mysterious things, it's about 'as it is,' inherently so, not allowing for thinking and contemplating. It's also a warning, telling you not to think, you can't contemplate. In mathematical logic, one plus one equals two, can you contemplate it? You can't, it's a law, a rule that doesn't change with human will. You can only understand, follow, not contemplate."

Rui Xiaodan nodded, "I see, that's what it means." Then she questioned, "But you can't say that who someone is meant to be is also a rule, right?"

Ding Yuanying explained, "It's not saying that who someone is meant to be is a rule, but that it's a condition's possibility. Cause and effect don't lie, cause and effect are laws, beyond understanding."

Rui Xiaodan stopped at a street vendor and bought two pieces of a pastry called "Baklava." When she handed one to Ding Yuanying, she suddenly asked, "If a bomb exploded here now, what would happen?"

Ding Yuanying said, "We might die."

Rui Xiaodan said, "Exactly, if we die, then what?"

Ding Yuanying said, "Then there would be nothing."

Rui Xiaodan said, "No, it would still exist. Love would be eternal."

Ding Yuanying asked, "So should you pray for a bomb or for no bomb?"

Rui Xiaodan smiled, "I can accept existence and eternity, what's the difference?"

Ding Yuanying also smiled, "That's an impressive insight, directly pointing to the heart. You're close to enlightenment."

They arrived at the Western Wall Plaza, the famous Jewish holy site known as the Wailing Wall. From a distance, they saw Israeli military vehicles and ambulances parked nearby, with armed soldiers vigilantly watching the area around the wall, ready for any potential violence. The wall is divided into sections for men and women, with pilgrims, tourists, and armed soldiers present. There's a place to get small hats for those coming to pray, as it's considered disrespectful to face God without a head covering.

Rui Xiaodan set up a tripod and took a few photos with the wall as the background, then put on a sunhat and went to the wall alone. The prayer areas were divided, with the men's section in the center, more spacious than the women's section, making her reflect on how even before a loving God, men were favored, and women were relegated to a corner.

The crevices in the wall were filled with papers bearing the prayers of pilgrims, believed to bring blessings if left there. Rui Xiaodan wrote a prayer on a piece of paper, tore it out, folded it, and placed it in the wall. Her prayer read: "Dear, may God grant you happiness!" She prayed, mimicking others: "Dear, may God grant you happiness! Dear, may God grant you happiness! Dear..."

Next to her, a Jewish woman was kissing the wall and praying, crying uncontrollably.

Back at the plaza, Ding Yuanying took more photos of her with the wall in the background, then asked, "Praying is part of life here. What do you think they're praying for?"

Rui Xiaodan said, "Peace."

Ding Yuanying asked, "If you were God, how would you face Jerusalem?"

This time, Rui Xiaodan only said one word: "Cry."