Qu Jiaran turned to look at Tan Linyuan, who was concentrating on driving. With a bright smile, she said, "I'll forgive you just because you're sending me home."
Tan Linyuan responded, "Forgive me for what?"
"Didn't you just skip my birthday party without even saying hello? Shouldn't you try your best to get my forgiveness?" There was pride in her words.
Tan Linyuan retorted calmly, "I never promised to go in the first place. I only said I'd go if I had time."
"So you didn't have time to celebrate my birthday, but you had time to take Nan Yu to the cemetery?" Qu Jiaran pouted. "Surely in your eyes, Nan Yu is more important than me."
"No." Tan Linyuan denied her words. "Everyone is the same to me. There's no one more or less important."
"I don't believe it. I must be very important to you."
Qu Jiaran raised her chin. "What do you think of Nan Yu? I want to hear your evaluation of her."
Tan Linyuan said calmly, "I'm not familiar with her. I don't know much about her."
Qu Jiaran was quite satisfied with this answer.
"Then do you think..."
She rolled her eyes and asked him with a smile, "Does she have a better figure than me? Is she prettier than me?"
Without hesitation, Tan Linyuan answered with one word: "You."
Qu Jiaran immediately beamed with joy, but still pretended to be reserved and said, "However, I think Nan Yu is also very pretty. Her skin is much fairer than mine, and her eyes are so big... And her butt is perkier than mine!"
Tan Linyuan's expression remained unchanged. "I haven't observed."
"I know. You must be too shy to look." Qu Jiaran looked as if she knew him very well. "You're not allowed to look at others in the future. You can only look at me."
"Actually, Nan Yu is really nice." She blinked her eyes and said seriously, "Nan Yu is my best friend. You're not allowed to bully her in the future."
"I don't have to be in contact with her," Tan Linyuan replied objectively. "There's no question of bullying or helping."
He was clearly distancing himself from Nan Yu.
Qu Jiaran was very satisfied with his attitude towards Nan Yu and changed the topic. "Where's my birthday gift?"
"Someone from the Tan family will send it to you later."
"I don't want you to fob me off with those jewels." Qu Jiaran sat up straight unhappily. "I want something you give me personally. I want—"
Halfway through her words, her eyes caught sight of the little finger on Tan Linyuan's left hand holding the steering wheel. "I want this ring."
This ring was the one Nan Yu had exchanged for the Buddhist beads with Tan Linyuan that day.
It was Nan Yu's mother's relic.
Qu Jiaran's gaze was fixed on the plain silver ring, showing great interest. "It seems to be a women's ring. Why haven't I seen you wear it before?"
Tan Linyuan said, "I just started wearing it recently."
"Then it should not be very important. Just give it to me." She said casually and waved her finger beside him. "I'm just short of a ring on my hand."
Tan Linyuan refused straightforwardly, "No."
"Why not?" Qu Jiaran was stunned. "I don't want anything else. I just want this as my birthday gift."
"Anything else is okay, but not this."
Tan Linyuan's tone was calm, but his words already contained a warning line that should not be crossed. "Qu Jiaran, don't be unreasonable."
He usually called her "Miss Qu". Once he seriously called her "Qu Jiaran", it meant she had touched his bottom line of patience.
Qu Jiaran was taken aback, and tears welled up in her eyes. "Tan Linyuan, you're scolding me..."
Tan Linyuan still remained expressionless and didn't even intend to comfort her. He just stepped on the accelerator a little harder.
"Okay. They say that wearing a ring on the little finger of the left hand means 'keeping a vow for someone'. So are you keeping a vow for me?"
Qu Jiaran adjusted her mood very quickly. The tears stopped as soon as they came, and she immediately shifted to another topic.
As usual, Tan Linyuan denied it. "No."
Qu Jiaran was unhappy. "You don't even want to lie to me and say that you're wearing the pinky ring because you want to marry me."
"Qu Jiaran, enough is enough." Tan Linyuan said expressionlessly. "You're almost home."
His patience was limited, and it was completely used up now.
But even so, Qu Jiaran still didn't care at all. She shrugged and gently shifted her gaze from the plain ring. "I don't want to. There's no such phrase as 'enough is enough' in my dictionary."
The car just stopped outside the Qu family's villa.
Qu Jiaran unbuckled her seat belt and leaned over to Tan Linyuan.
Her cheek was less than an inch away from his, almost kissing him. "I'll get whatever I want, even if I have to go to any lengths."
When coming down the mountain, Qu Jiaran just put on a coat. She deliberately unbuttoned it, and one could see the bikini inside from the collar.
It was so red that it was blinding.
Tan Linyuan lifted his eyelids slightly and remained unmoved. "It's time for you to get out of the car."
"You're such an unromantic guy." Qu Jiaran was silent for a while, then said confidently, "Anyway, we'll get married sooner or later. Even Nan Yu hopes that I'll be with you."
After saying that, she proudly turned back, opened the car door and got out.
The Qu family's nanny was already waiting. Seeing the young lady getting out, she quickly stepped forward to greet her.
Tan Linyuan turned the steering wheel. Before Qu Jiaran even walked into the villa gate, he had already driven the car away.
Hearing the engine sound behind her, Qu Jiaran was so angry that her face distorted. She stamped her foot hard on the spot and couldn't help turning around and shouting at the car speeding away, "Tan Linyuan! You'll be mine sooner or later!"
...
Nan Yu gave Niannian piano lessons as usual.
Niannian indeed showed great talent in piano. In just two months, she could already play various beginner-level pieces smoothly.
Nan Yu praised her, "Niannian, with your current piano level, you can even participate in the children's piano competition and win the first place."
"Really?" Niannian's eyes sparkled with longing. "Nan Yu, can I participate in the piano competition?"
"Of course you can. I'll check if it's still within the registration period." Nan Yu replied with a smile. "At that time, you'll compete with hundreds of other kids, and the most outstanding young pianist will be selected from them. Try to win the first-place trophy."
"Then... Do I have to go out?" Niannian suddenly seemed a little hesitant. "But Niannian doesn't want to go out."
Because of that car accident, she had a strong fear of the outside world. She was so afraid that she didn't even dare to take a step out of the house.
Nan Yu just then remembered this and also recalled Wen Ruoyi's worried look.
What would happen to Niannian when she grew up if she couldn't go out for the rest of her life?
Nan Yu pursed her lips and stroked her head. "Niannian, the piano, as a musical instrument, exists for the audience."
"If you always stay at home, then your only audience will be me, your mom, and your uncle."
She gently persuaded, "Don't you want more people to recognize your music and praise you as an excellent pianist? Then you must take a brave and difficult step."
After saying that, she was stunned for a moment.
These words were very familiar. Her mother had said them to her when she was a child.
And now, she was using the same words to encourage another little girl who loved the piano.
She couldn't help feeling a little teary.
It seemed that she also had to take a brave and difficult step now.