Tan Linyuan lowered his eyes. "At the request of her parents, I once divined her fortune. Miss Nan has good luck. She will surely enjoy great wealth and success in the future, and everything will go smoothly for her."
Hearing that he didn't mention the matter between them, Nan Yu suddenly felt relieved. But when she listened to his words carefully, she almost burst out laughing.
Great wealth and success?
If it had been before, Nan Yu would have thought this description was perfectly accurate for her. But hearing it now, she only felt it was extremely ironic.
Nan Yu's parents were well - known for their deep affection for each other. The Nan family was one of the top - ranking enterprises in Jiangcheng, and she was their only daughter, truly a beloved treasure in their hands.
Countless people came to propose marriage, but her parents politely declined, saying that they wanted to respect their daughter's choice. Her parents' open - mindedness allowed her to freely choose her favorite career in piano without any obstacles or restrictions.
After graduating from the Berklee College of Music, she should have started to enjoy the life of the eldest daughter of the Nan family.
Unexpectedly, a disaster struck. The Nan family's enterprise suddenly had a serious break in the capital chain. A major decision - making mistake caused the couple to be burdened with huge debts overnight. Without telling Nan Yu, her parents both jumped from the top floor of their company.
From then on, the Nan family no longer existed in Jiangcheng.
Nan Yu instantly went from being a beloved treasure to a rat scurrying in the street, shunned by everyone.
Right after arranging her parents' burial, she had to rush around non - stop to pay off the debts. The only skill she could rely on was the piano she had learned for more than a decade, so she could only give piano lessons to the children of wealthy families to barely make a living.
Most of the people she met were familiar faces. The flattery and praise of the past had turned into countless sarcasms. She gradually went from enduring to accepting, and even had to show a smiling face in the face of the sarcasm.
However, this was not enough to pay off the debts. She had to gradually sell all her houses, jewelry, and other valuable items. She moved into a small rental house. But even so, there were always thugs threatening her personal safety to force her to pay off the debts.
She was almost at the end of her rope.
Just when Nan Yu was in despair, the Shen family reached out a helping hand. They were willing to pay off her debts on the condition that she marry into the Shen family.
Before the collapse of the Nan family, Shen Yanche had actively proposed marriage. Now they were the only ones willing to help her when everyone had turned their backs on her. Of course, she had no reason to refuse.
"Thank you, Tan..." She opened her mouth to respond to this meaningless flattery, but for a moment, she didn't know how to address him. Her pleading eyes fell on Shen Yanche.
Tan Linyuan was the late - born son of the Tan family. Although he was not much older than Shen Yanche, if strictly speaking, he was of the same generation as Shen Suhai, one generation higher than Shen Yanche.
Out of respect for his age, Tan Linyuan still respectfully called Shen Suhai Uncle Shen.
Shen Yanche quickly helped her out. "The Tan and Shen families are old family friends. He is the second in his family. Just call him Uncle like I do."
Tan Linyuan nodded slightly, his expression calm, as if he had silently approved of this way of addressing. "Call me."
Nan Yu: "...Thank you, Uncle."
The man who had once been her passionate lover, now she had to address him as an elder. She almost gritted her teeth, but Tan Linyuan on the opposite side remained calm, looking like he was taking advantage and still playing innocent.
During the chat after the meal, Nan Yu accidentally heard several female relatives of the Shen family talking.
When they mentioned Tan Linyuan, their eyes sparkled. They said that he had a compassionate heart, a kind face like a Buddha, and never indulged in the seven emotions and six desires. He was truly a living Buddha in this world.
Nan Yu lowered her eyes and listened, secretly finding it funny.
A living Buddha? She had never heard of such a thing.
Having a Buddha - like heart and a religious nature? It was even more unheard of.
Of course, if taking safety measures every time and preventing her from getting pregnant could be considered a kind of Buddhist nature, then he might be a little bit like that.
As for not indulging in the seven emotions and six desires...
She looked up at his back in the plain clothes and couldn't help but let out a snort.
It was extremely absurd.
The sound was neither too loud nor too soft, but it was heard by Tan Linyuan who was chanting scriptures.
Seeing him turn his head, Nan Yu immediately closed her mouth and lowered her eyes, not wanting to cause any more trouble.
When under someone else's roof, one has to bow one's head.
No one understood this truth better than her who had gone through this period of time.
He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping across Nan Yu, his tone neither cold nor warm. "I just took a hasty look before. Now I find that Miss Nan is indeed haunted by a bit of evil spirit, which may bring bad luck."
Nan Yu:?
Nan Yu thought he was just talking nonsense, but Shen Yanche started to worry about her instead. "Then Uncle, how can we resolve this?"
Tan Linyuan said unhurriedly, "Find an empty room. I'll chant scriptures for her alone to resolve it."
Shen Yanche immediately nodded repeatedly. "I'll go find someone to clean the room right away. Please wait a moment."
Watching the servants start to get busy, Nan Yu had a bad feeling in her heart.
Could it be that he wanted to continue...
When the room was ready, she was pulled into the room by Shen Yanche. Before leaving, he told her to listen to Uncle obediently.
The Shen family was a wealthy family. They inevitably believed in the theory of feng shui and fate, so they naturally believed every word Tan Linyuan said, even regarding them as the highest standard.
This made her feel quite novel.
Just as she was thinking about it in her heart, the door was suddenly closed tightly by someone outside.
"Come here." Tan Linyuan in the room opened his lips. His voice was as quiet as an ancient bell, and his clear and thin eyes showed no waves at all.
"I'm not interested now." Nan Yu wasn't a fool. Seeing him deliberately get rid of others and want to be alone with her, she could guess what he wanted to do. "No matter whether you are a respected elder or the head of the Tan family, this is still the Shen family."
He couldn't act recklessly here.
"Since you know I'm an elder, you should listen to the elder." His tone was cold, with a sense of oppression that he had never shown before.
This lofty aura and posture made Nan Yu stunned for a second.
The image of his ID flashed through her mind. She had seen it on the table in the hotel before.
Tan Linyuan was twenty - eight this year, and she was twenty - one. He was seven years older than her.
In terms of age, experience, and status, he was indeed one step higher than her.
Nan Yu straightened her back and chose to soften her tone first. She pursed her lips slightly. "Tan Linyuan, no matter what the situation is now, we've already agreed before. We'll go our separate ways from now on..."
"Call me Uncle." Tan Linyuan said neither coldly nor warmly.
Nan Yu: "...Uncle."
Tan Linyuan's gaze swept across her lowered face. He slightly lifted his thin lips. "First, finish what we didn't finish before."
Nan Yu deliberately lowered her voice and sneered at him. "Uncle is a person who has converted to Buddhism. Why do you insist on doing something that breaks the precepts? Aren't you afraid of being defiled by a mundane person like me?"
Tan Linyuan's voice was calm and without any pause. "You don't believe in Buddhism anyway."
What he meant was that she was an atheist and had no awe of these things, so there was no so - called defilement.
Nan Yu was amused by his theory, but it didn't mean she would agree to his request. "I've said that our relationship is over. I won't sleep with you anymore."
Tan Linyuan glanced at her, grabbed her wrist hanging by her side, and pulled her towards him. He hinted meaningfully, "On the day of the engagement, if the fiancée of the Shen family is involved with the uncle who is an old family friend of the Shen family, I don't know if Yanche will mind."
Tan Linyuan took off the belt of his long robe and put the robe aside. He was wearing a dark - gray shirt and black trousers inside, looking a bit more solemn and cold than before.
His tone was casual as he reminded her suggestively, "If the Shen family cancels this marriage because of this, how will you pay off all the debts the Nan family owes?"