Nan Yu thought there was no flaw in her words.
But Shen Yanche seemed surprised for a moment. "Yu Yu, why do you think so? Did you misunderstand something?"
Nan Yu didn't know what went wrong.
"Did I say something wrong?" She was stunned for a moment, and a bold guess popped into her mind: "Actually, he's not unmarried but in a secret marriage?"
If Tan Linyuan was married, then the casual relationship he had with her before would count as... cheating?!
Just thinking about this made Nan Yu's scalp tingle.
"Yu Yu, you're so cute!" Shen Yanche finally couldn't help laughing. "Uncle Tan is definitely unmarried. He's never even had a girlfriend. He's a man untouched by the world."
Untouched by the world...
It was really a black humor.
Anyway, the fact that Tan Linyuan was unmarried at least made her heave a sigh of relief.
"You don't have to worry. Uncle Tan is devoted to Buddhism." Shen Yanche said firmly. "He's not only unmarried, but he'll never get married or have children in his life."
"Why?" Nan Yu pressed.
Nan Yu had recently learned that Tan Linyuan wasn't really a monk. He was just a lay Buddhist who had practiced meditation under Master Wenjing and had received the ceremony of taking refuge.
Even so, the charity work and personal contributions he had made had still earned him the respect of the whole Jiangcheng, as if he were a god on earth.
However, in this case, he didn't need to strictly abide by the monastic rules like the monks in the temple. He could totally get married and have children.
"Maybe it's because he once made a vow to the Buddha."
Shen Yanche was very vague and didn't explain the specific reason. It seemed that he didn't know either. "Anyway, he won't fall in love with any woman, let alone get married."
"Then he might as well become a real monk." Nan Yu concluded.
If he became a monk, he would only have the desire but not the courage.
Shen Yanche shook his head. "I don't know. It's all the arrangement of the previous generation."
...
Shen Yanche didn't send Nan Yu back immediately. Instead, he took her to the mall to buy several sets of clothes and pick out some jewelry. Finally, they had dinner together.
It was not until the twilight fell and the sky was completely dark that Shen Yanche sent her back.
When the car pulled up downstairs of the apartment building, Nan Yu glanced out of the window and politely thanked Shen Yanche as usual. "Thank you for sending me back today."
"I'm your fiancé. It's my duty to send you home." Shen Yanche smiled slightly. "After we get the marriage certificate, we'll be husband and wife. You don't need to say thank you."
A hint of impatience flashed through Nan Yu's mind, but her expression remained polite. "Tell the driver to drive slowly on the way back. Pay attention to safety."
After saying that, she reached out to open the car door.
"Yu Yu, wait a minute."
Suddenly, Shen Yanche called out. Nan Yu turned back, looking rather reserved. "Is there anything else?"
Her words suddenly reminded him of what Tan Linyuan had said meaningfully that day -
"Aren't you afraid that she'll run off with someone else halfway?"
He hadn't taken it seriously at that time, but now seeing her always being so aloof, Shen Yanche began to feel a bit uncertain.
After a few seconds of silence, Shen Yanche tentatively said, "Yu Yu, you don't have to be so distant from me. We'll be a family from now on."
Nan Yu said, "I understand."
Then Shen Yanche said in a joking tone, "In that case, shouldn't you give your fiancé a goodnight kiss before you leave?"
His sudden request surprised Nan Yu, but at the same time, it seemed reasonable.
The Shen family just wanted a woman who could carry on the family line. No matter how polite she and Shen Yanche had been before, there would always be a time when they would lie naked in the same bed.
Moreover, she had kissed Tan Linyuan many times.
It was just a kiss. What was there to be repulsed about?
She wasn't a virgin either. There was no need to act so high - and - mighty. Nan Yu criticized herself in her mind.
After making all these mental preparations, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "You're right."
Then she opened her eyes and slowly leaned towards Shen Yanche.
It was just a kiss.
She repeated this sentence in her mind over and over again until she was almost touching Shen Yanche's lips.
Although she had agreed readily, her body's instinctive stiffness and repulsion were undeniable.
From Shen Yanche's perspective, she was like a robot with low battery. Every movement was so stiff that it might shut down at any moment.
She said she was going to kiss him, but her lips were pursed tighter than anyone else's.
Just as she was about to kiss him after taking another deep breath -
"Yu Yu, forget it."
As soon as he said this, Nan Yu obviously heaved a sigh of relief and subconsciously shrank back to a safe distance. Then she asked, "Why?"
Only after she asked did she realize how bad her performance had been just now.
"Let's wait until you can accept it. I'm willing to wait for you." Shen Yanche smiled helplessly. "There's a look of relief on your face, as if you've survived a disaster."
Nan Yu didn't deny it.
The carriage was silent for a few more seconds. Nan Yu said in a low voice, "I'll go back first. Bye."
"Bye."
The car fell into silence again.
The driver was just about to ask if they should go back now when Shen Yanche didn't say a word for a long time.
After a while, there was a sound of a fist hitting the back of the seat from the back row.
Shen Yanche's eyes were full of impatience. He took out a cigarette case, lit a cigarette, and took out his phone at the same time. He dialed a number.
"Brother Shen~"
A charming and coquettish voice came from the other end of the phone. "Why did you call so late? I've missed you so much."
Shen Yanche took a deep puff of his cigarette, his voice full of irritation. "Are you still at the bar?"
"Oh, look at what you're saying. I've been waiting for you." The woman on the other end still giggled. "What, your fiancée still won't let you touch her?"
Soon, Shen Yanche's car disappeared into the night. Only then did the door of the big G parked not far away open. A cold - looking figure could be vaguely seen getting out of the car. It seemed that he had been observing there for a long time.
...
When Nan Yu got home, she still couldn't fall asleep in bed.
She wasn't used to wearing the Buddhist beads on her wrist yet. They were a bit uncomfortable, so she casually took them off and put them on the bedside table, then closed her eyes again.
Half an hour later, she opened her eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling.
She was in a bad mood.
Since her family's accident, she had been in a bad mood quite often. Her way to relieve stress was to go to the bar for a drink.
Drinking oneself into oblivion was a good way to temporarily forget the pain of life.
But she couldn't do that now.
Now that she knew the people from the Shen family were watching her, she had to give up this idea. Instead, she got dressed and went downstairs, planning to buy a can of beer at the convenience store.
The lights of the 7 - Eleven downstairs were still on. Nan Yu put her hands in her pockets and walked in that direction.
From the moment she walked out of the unit door, the man who had been there earlier quickly glanced at her. His expression tightened slightly, and he followed her at a distance.
Nan Yu didn't notice any of this.