Nan Yu walked out from behind Tan Linyuan.
There was a long - burning lamp in front of the tomb, faintly illuminating the photo on it.
The photo on the tombstone was a group photo of Nan Jiwen and Ye Hong, taken when Nan Yu was eighteen.
The two of them were lovingly nestled together, smiling kindly at the camera.
Nan Yu squatted down.
She was very silent. She reached out to pull out all the weeds in front of the tomb and then placed the white flower in her arms on it.
Tan Linyuan stood behind her. "Don't you want to say something?"
"Nothing to say." Nan Yu's voice was very soft. "I'm afraid that once I start talking, I'll say some blaming words and hurt them on the other side."
Tan Linyuan lowered his eyes. "Do you hate your parents?"
"No." Nan Yu didn't look at him. "I just feel sad that they never told me in advance when they made their decisions."
It used to be such a harmonious and happy family, but in just one day, suddenly there was only one person left.
She wanted to ask why they chose to escape, why they couldn't face the difficulties together, and why they chose the path of suicide.
Why... did they leave her alone without a word?
Tan Linyuan stood behind her and was silent for a while. His big hand hovered over her head for a second and then slowly retracted.
All sentient beings suffer. One can only save oneself.
On the way back from the cemetery, Nan Yu said nothing. She quietly followed Tan Linyuan back the way they came and walked out.
At the cemetery gate, another car was parked there with its headlights on.
Seeing the two of them, the people in the car immediately greeted them.
Shen Yanche quickly walked up to Nan Yu, his tone full of apology. "Yuyu, I'm sorry. I forgot that today is Mom and Dad's anniversary. If I had known, I would have come with you."
Nan Yu shook her head. "You're usually very busy. I can do it alone."
"How can you say that?" Shen Yanche said helplessly. "We'll be husband and wife in the future. It's better to discuss everything together. Don't always make decisions on your own."
In his gentle words, there was blame and complaint towards her.
Nan Yu lowered her eyes and remained silent.
"You didn't tell Miss Qu when you left. She was extremely worried and came with me."
After saying that, Qu Jiaran also got out of the car.
Seeing Shen Yanche, Nan Yu wasn't surprised; but when she saw Qu Jiaran also coming, she was really a bit stunned.
Qu Jiaran lowered her head, looking extremely guilty. "I didn't know today was such an important day... Nan Yu, I shouldn't have been so willful and forced you to come to my birthday party."
As she spoke, she was almost about to cry. "It's all my fault! I was so selfish and didn't even ask what you thought. I'm really damned!"
Nan Yu was already in a heavy mood, and now she was even more helpless. "... Qu Jiaran, this has nothing to do with you. You don't need to apologize to me."
But Qu Jiaran was still dejected, with a listless look in her eyes. "Nan Yu, I don't want to go home. I want to stay with you for one night."
Nan Yu felt a headache coming on.
If this young lady really pestered her and went back to her apartment tonight, it would really be a complete mess.
Her apartment was small and shabby, and besides, she didn't like sleeping with others.
Nan Yu raised her eyes and thought of a wonderful way that could definitely prevent Qu Jiaran from staying at her place for the night.
"I'm afraid it's not suitable tonight. Let's do it another day." After Nan Yu finished speaking, she added another sentence. "Let Uncle Tan take you home. I'll invite you to my place when I get the chance."
Qu Jiaran's eyes lit up. "Really?"
Tan Linyuan looked at Nan Yu with a calm look in his eyes. After a moment, he nodded. "Get in the car."
...
In the end, Tan Linyuan took Qu Jiaran home, while Nan Yu got into Shen Yanche's car.
The night was deep. There were almost no cars on the road, and the car was very quiet.
As the car started moving, and finally there were only the two of them, Shen Yanche said, "Yuyu, I'm really disappointed in you today."
Nan Yu looked up at him.
Shen Yanche continued, "We're going to be husband and wife. You should tell me everything in advance, instead of making Miss Qu and Uncle Tan laugh at me like today."
Nan Yu was silent for a moment.
She clearly told him in the manor that she was going down the mountain. He not only interrupted her but also forced her to stay and get along well with Qu Jiaran. Now he was blaming her instead.
After a moment of silence, Nan Yu spoke up. "Who told you I was in the cemetery?"
"Uncle Tan sent me a text message and told me to come and pick you up quickly."
Shen Yanche replied to her. "Uncle Tan originally went to Miss Qu's birthday party. In the end, he had to go out of his way to take you to the cemetery. Now, everyone is unhappy."
Hearing this, Nan Yu was slightly stunned.
It was like a basin of extremely cold water pouring from the top of her head to the soles of her feet, making her feel bone - chillingly cold.
It turned out that Tan Linyuan thought she was a trouble.
In the cemetery, she really thought he was like the reincarnation of Buddha, helping and pitying her.
And she herself almost became his follower.
But the mask was just a mask after all.
His false compassion and kindness were just tools for him to deceive people.
He was still with her, talking about Buddhist sayings like "saving others and saving oneself" and doing good deeds, but it was all just false kindness.
She felt rather bored.
Nan Yu shifted her gaze, her tone calm and emotionless. "I'll pay attention in the future and try not to cause trouble to everyone."
She didn't like to explain too much.
After dropping Nan Yu off at the apartment building, he said like giving a sweet after a slap, "Yuyu, don't feel too guilty about tonight. Have a good sleep."
Nan Yu: "Okay, thank you."
Shen Yanche: "Also, when I drove Miss Qu to the cemetery just now, she had already promised in advance to cooperate with the Shen family. Her personality is really very outgoing."
Nan Yu ignored this compliment because she knew there was more to come.
"Yuyu, actually, I was quite surprised to know that you and Miss Qu are good friends today. I hope you can always be good friends. When we hold our wedding, we can invite her to be our bridesmaid."
After he finished speaking, he even said with a smile, "As long as she's willing, we can arrange the wedding according to her schedule."
The time of one's own wedding had to depend on whether the bridesmaid was available.
What a funny thing to say.
Nan Yu certainly knew what he meant by flattering to this extent.
It was nothing more than wanting her to get closer to Qu Jiaran, which would be beneficial for the Shen family and the Qu family to become closer.
She had also privately learned about Qu Jiaran's background. She came from a family of political dignitaries. Her father was engaged in political activities, and her mother had many economic connections.
A daughter born into such a political and business family was naturally born with a silver spoon in her mouth and was cherished like a pearl in the palm.
No wonder her personality was so outgoing and unrestrained. It made sense.
However, Nan Yu didn't want to do as Shen Yanche said.
"Let's talk about it later. I probably won't need a bridesmaid."
...
Qu Jiaran finally got into Tan Linyuan's car as she wished and happily sat in the front passenger seat.