Those amber eyes belonged to a chubby figure lazily basking in the sun on a stone pillar in the temple.
Nancy hesitated for two seconds. Still sticking to her earlier thought, she pressed "Decline".
The reason for her rejection was simple. She didn't want any more interaction or connection with Tan Linyuan.
Exhausted from over - exertion, Nancy was on the verge of dozing off.
She had just put down her phone and closed her eyes when sleep overtook her in an instant.
As she slept, she faintly heard someone knocking on the door.
At first, the sound was faint, then it gradually grew louder and finally turned into a pounding on the door that startled Nancy awake.
The person outside seemed oblivious to disturbing the neighbors, pounding on the door so hard that Nancy's heart tightened with each thud.
She tiptoed bare - footed to the door and bravely asked, "Who is it?"
"It's me."
The knocking suddenly stopped.
Even through the door, Tan Linyuan's voice carried a quiet, lonely charm, as if all the wind and snow had ceased. "Open the door."
Thank goodness it wasn't those debt - collectors who had come to harass her before. Nancy let out a sigh of relief.
However, she didn't open the door. Instead, she said through it, "Uncle Tan, it's not appropriate for you to come here so late. If you have anything to say, please contact me tomorrow."
Tan Linyuan sneered, "How? Through telepathy?"
Only then did Nancy remember that she had rejected Tan Linyuan's friend request before going to bed.
As for his phone number, she had blocked it long ago when she decided to end their casual relationship.
There were dozens of phone numbers in her blacklist, all from people who had bombarded her with calls to demand debt repayment. It would be difficult to find Tan Linyuan's number among them.
This meant that Tan Linyuan couldn't reach her on the phone and hadn't been added on WeChat.
Was this the reason he had come to pound on her door at this late hour, disturbing others' rest?
"Uncle Tan is like a living Buddha with a heart as shrewd as a seven - orifice exquisite heart. Why don't you figure out how to contact me by yourself?"
She paused and added, "If you like, telepathy works too."
Tan Linyuan was almost amused by her words.
Losing his patience, he said, "Nancy, if you don't approve my friend request, I'll have to ask Shen Yanche why his fiancée is reluctant to add her uncle on WeChat. Maybe you have some prejudice against me?"
He always spoke in a slow, measured tone, yet his words could easily threaten her.
"I'll approve it! I'll approve it, okay!"
Already annoyed at being woken up, Nancy impatiently ran her hands through her hair. She turned back to the bedroom, picked up her phone, clicked on the red notification, and tapped "Approve".
"Now, can you leave, Uncle Tan?"
Her tone was far from friendly. If Tan Linyuan didn't leave, she was ready to hurl the most venomous insults at this respected Buddhist disciple.
After her words, there was no sound from outside for a long time.
Nancy was taken aback.
Had he left without a word?
Nancy waited for a while. After making sure there were no footsteps outside, she hesitantly opened the door a crack to see if Tan Linyuan had really left.
As soon as the door opened a bit, a man's leather shoe came into her line of sight.
Nancy's heart sank.
Before she could let out a scream, the man, with his superior strength, pushed the door open and strode into her house.
"Who let you in..." Nancy's words were cut short. The next second, a big hand grabbed her throat, stealing her breath away.
Tan Linyuan kissed her without warning.
This kiss was different from their previous passionate and lingering ones. It carried a cold, frosty air, and there was a chill in his mouth as if soaked in frost.
Nancy's eyes widened as she looked at the man's face in front of her and his dark, stormy eyes.
Even though they had been casual lovers, Nancy strongly resisted this kind of forced intimacy. Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, she suddenly bit him hard.
There was a metallic taste of blood on her lips. Immediately after, Tan Linyuan quickly released her.
Nancy wiped her mouth and, seeing the blood that didn't belong to her, sneered, "Uncle Tan, you're not only breaking your vows but also about to break the law."
"What law am I breaking?" Tan Linyuan asked calmly, showing no sign of anger from the bite. He just stared at her quietly.
His eyes were as calm as a lake, and his gaze on her was unruffled.
"Attempted rape after breaking into a house."
Nancy warned him, "If you don't leave right now, I'll call the police immediately and let the whole Jiangcheng know what an ugly face you, the so - called jade - faced Buddhist disciple, really have."
The two stared at each other.
Facing her threats and sarcasm, Tan Linyuan remained unresponsive, as if he didn't care about the consequences she described at all.
His eyes were cold and distant, his gaze on her unmoved. With a cold sneer in his voice, he said, "Having a fiancé really makes a difference. You're so eager to keep yourself pure for him."
At times, Nancy could sense a certain divine quality in him.
Just like now.
Tan Linyuan's lips were still bleeding. With his typical fair skin, the smear of red on his face made him look even more cold and fragile, like a colorful cloud - like glass that would shatter at a touch.
She mercilessly retorted, "Uncle Tan, since you understand my position, yet you still pester another man's fiancée. Can I say you're being a jerk?"
After her words, the whole house fell into silence.
Nancy waited for a long time but didn't hear Tan Linyuan's response. He didn't even refute her word "jerk".
He remained silent, as if he had calmly accepted her accusation.
But usually, he would always argue with her and never back down.
Nancy suddenly felt a bit flustered.
After a while, Tan Linyuan said, "Go to sleep."
He raised his hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
When he left, he even gently closed the door for her.
This time, Nancy could clearly hear his fading footsteps and the sound of a car engine downstairs.
At this moment, her tense body and nerves finally relaxed.
She got back into bed, but Nancy just couldn't fall asleep.
Although she was extremely sleepy and fatigue was overwhelming her, her brain was overly active. Her temples throbbed, preventing her from sleeping.
She picked up her phone, hoping that the nonsense Qu Jiaran had sent would help her fall asleep.
Even after Nancy had said good - night, Qu Jiaran had still been enthusiastic and sent her a lot of messages, mostly meaningless small talk.
After reading for a while, Nancy was so sleepy that she could hardly keep her eyes open.
Half - asleep, she vaguely saw one of the messages:
[ Nancy, I've shared your WeChat with Linyuan. You must help me chase him in the future, hehe! ]