Qu Jiaran beamed. "Hurry up and call him over. It's not gentlemanly at all to let such a beautiful fiancée wait for him by the roadside."
Nan Yu felt as if she was being roasted on a fire, caught between a rock and a hard place.
Especially at this moment, someone was adding fuel to the fire, looking at her with a playful glint in their eyes. "Otherwise, shall I make the call?"
"…No need to trouble Uncle." Nan Yu took a deep breath, hung her head, and walked to the roadside with her phone in hand.
As expected, no one answered the call.
A few minutes later, she returned expressionlessly.
Tan Linyuan stood in front of her, his gaze cold as it landed on her.
At this moment, his demeanor really resembled that of a Buddha statue, looking down on all sentient beings and the earth.
It's just that now he was looking down on her, trying to fathom her thoughts.
Qu Jiaran, on the other hand, was full of enthusiasm, her face brimming with anticipation and excitement. "So, is Mr. Shen coming right away? It's so romantic for him to come and pick up his little wife at night!"
Although she had long expected that the call wouldn't be answered, Qu Jiaran's words really humiliated Nan Yu.
And Tan Linyuan's fleeting glances were also challenging the last line of her self - esteem.
In fact, Nan Yu didn't really care whether Shen Yanche would come to pick her up or not. It would even be better if he didn't come, as she didn't want to see him anyway.
But for some reason, she was in a really bad mood. There was an awkwardness and unease as if her pretense had been exposed, as well as a sense of shame that she thought she had long discarded.
She had lost everything, yet that cheap pride and self - esteem always popped up inappropriately.
She called it an untimely rebellion.
Nan Yu lowered her eyelids and was silent for a long time.
Qu Jiaran blinked, looking puzzled. "Nan Yu, what's wrong? Are you not feeling well?"
Tan Linyuan's gaze lightly swept over Nan Yu's head. His eyes twitched slightly, and after a moment, he said calmly, "Let's go. Don't wait for him anymore."
This was giving Nan Yu an out.
At least, it saved her from having to say in front of Qu Jiaran that "Shen Yanche won't come to pick me up".
Qu Jiaran was initially stunned for a moment, then she happily ran over and hooked her arm through Nan Yu's, saying cheerfully, "Men are very career - oriented. Mr. Shen is just working hard to support you. So, our Yu Yu has to bear with it for a while."
Then she turned back and said with a smile, "Anyway, Linyuan is usually free. If you need anything, just ask him to do it for you. He'll definitely be willing."
Tan Linyuan remained silent.
In the end, Nan Yu got into Tan Linyuan's car.
However, this time she sat in the back row.
Qu Jiaran sat in the front passenger seat and chattered non - stop throughout the journey, as if nothing had happened just now.
Tan Linyuan was very gentle the whole time. He would occasionally respond to her, but it was just his usual kind - hearted Buddha - like persona. There was no over - stepping or intimate behavior.
Although Tan Linyuan had taken Qu Jiaran's hand in the meditation room this morning, it might just have been an impulsive act in the heat of the moment.
After all, she could tell that Qu Jiaran had a very spoilt - princess personality and needed to be coaxed to be obedient.
Apart from that, all his subsequent actions were proper, and he even exuded an otherworldly air that was beyond that of ordinary people.
Sitting in the back row, Nan Yu thought that perhaps this was the side of Tan Linyuan that he showed to the outside world.
Modest, warm, cold, and compassionate.
It was a pity that it was all fake.
He was actually selfish, despicable, crazy, and self - righteous.
That so - called cold and handsome Buddha - like figure was probably just a mask on his face.
Nan Yu even maliciously thought that if one day someone were to take off Tan Linyuan's mask, how shocking it would be!
By then, Jiangcheng would lose a "living god" that everyone respected and believed in.
Although the possibility was slim, Nan Yu was quite looking forward to seeing this scene.
Tan Linyuan first dropped Nan Yu off at her home.
Nan Yu opened the car door and got out. Qu Jiaran still enthusiastically rolled down the window and leaned out half of her body to wave at her. "Nan Yu, see you next time!"
…It would be better if they never saw each other again.
Looking at her exaggerated actions and the way she was almost falling out of the car, Nan Yu sighed helplessly. "See you."
…
Although she didn't do much today, and thanks to Qu Jiaran, she didn't even have to copy Buddhist scriptures, she still felt exhausted.
The mental fatigue from being highly tense made her too tired to even open her eyes.
Summoning her last bit of energy, Nan Yu took a hot bath in the bathroom, dried her hair, and lay down on the bed. Sleepiness immediately washed over her.
She closed her eyes, but then her phone on the bedside table rang non - stop.
She opened her eyes irritably and really wanted to throw the phone away.
[Nan Yu, I'm so happy today. I've made the most important friend in my life. Today is the most interesting day!]
[Linyuan said before that Yu Yu is not approachable. I didn't believe it at first, but today I've learned my lesson…]
[What do you think of Linyuan? Isn't he charming? He was so handsome and gentle when he bandaged my wound today!]
[If he agrees to be with me, I'll be so happy that I'll die. You have to remember to pinch my philtrum then so that I don't faint!]
[…]
Nan Yu found it hard to get used to this kind of interaction for a while.
In fact, she didn't have many friends. Most of them were just acquaintances. Qu Jiaran was the first person she had ever met who was close enough for her to share her girlish thoughts with.
It was fine if it was someone else, but unfortunately, the person she had a crush on was Tan Linyuan.
Looking on the bright side, if Qu Jiaran and Tan Linyuan really got together, she could completely get rid of Tan Linyuan in the future and no longer have to worry about him telling the Shen family one day that she and he had once had an affair.
Thinking like this, helping Qu Jiaran might not be a bad thing.
Nan Yu was in a good mood.
Suddenly, she belatedly realized a more terrifying problem:
If Tan Linyuan were to be with Qu Jiaran in the future, would he, on a day when they were arguing, suddenly tell Qu Jiaran that Nan Yu, the best friend she thought she had, had once slept with her boyfriend, and more than once?
…It was really a terrifying thing.
Her mood was no longer so good.
Before she could think about how to reply to the young lady's messages, Qu Jiaran had already rambled on to the next topic, not caring whether Nan Yu would reply or not.
In just a few minutes, she had changed at least three topics.
Nan Yu really didn't have the patience to read all her messages. So, she simply scrolled to the bottom, sent a "Good night", and then exited the chat interface.
Suddenly, a friend request popped up on the screen.
The other person's name was "river". Nan Yu thought it was just another salesperson or debt - collector and was about to click "Reject", but when she glanced at the avatar, her finger hesitated.
It was an orange cat.