Tan Linyuan's voice was somewhat cold, stating the fact matter-of-factly.
As soon as he said this, Nan Yu almost froze on the spot.
He... Why didn't he lie?
Nan Yu's fingers curled up tightly in an instant. On the surface, she remained calm, but in fact, her mind was in a complete mess.
Sure enough, Qu Jiaran was stunned for a couple of seconds. Then she turned to look at Nan Yu blankly and asked, "Nan Yu... Didn't you say you bought this yourself at the temple gate?"
Rather than an interrogation, her tone was more of a puzzled one.
This made Nan Yu feel even more uncomfortable. She lowered her eyelids and couldn't think of a more appropriate excuse for the moment.
The atmosphere fell into silence for a while.
Just then, Nan Yu caught a glimpse of a pair of men's leather shoes out of the corner of her eye.
She raised her head again. Her eyes followed the long pants up, landed on Tan Linyuan's Adam's apple, and then fell back on Qu Jiaran's face. "I'm sorry. I lied to you," she said.
Nan Yu took a deep breath and said helplessly, "It was Uncle Tan who told me to say so. He didn't want me to mention the origin of the Buddhist beads to others."
It was a smart move on her part -
Using the same tactics against the opponent.
Since Tan Linyuan had thrown the blame on her, she didn't mind making the situation even more intense.
Qu Jiaran turned to look at Tan Linyuan strangely.
Obviously, Tan Linyuan was much calmer than Nan Yu. He was completely unfazed and simply said, "It was indeed me who told her to say so."
"Why?" Qu Jiaran pursed her lips. She was already suspicious of their explanations but still waited for Tan Linyuan's answer.
"Before, the Shen family asked me for help and I took a look at Miss Nan's birth chart," Tan Linyuan said in a deep and steady voice.
"Miss Nan has a weak destiny according to the eight characters in her birth chart, and her five elements are dominated by water, so she needs the balance of wood and fire."
"The Buddhist beads belong to the wood element. Forming a bond with them can also help extend her lifespan."
He spoke so profoundly, talking about the eight characters and the five elements, that Qu Jiaran was completely confused. "So, Linyuan's Buddhist beads are to extend Nan Yu's life?" she asked.
He nodded. "You can understand it that way."
... Nan Yu finally understood. Tan Linyuan had deliberately thrown the blame on her just now, and now he was subtly mocking her for having a short lifespan.
Bah! He really couldn't say anything nice!
Based on his words just now, Nan Yu was sure that he must have deceived many people in the temple.
Whether others believed it or not, she definitely didn't.
Anyway, it seemed that Qu Jiaran had dispelled her doubts. She even apologized to Nan Yu guiltily. "I'm sorry, Yuyu. I was just being playful just now. I'll never take your things without permission again."
Nan Yu whispered, "It's okay," and finally let out a sigh of relief.
Just then, a staff member knocked on the door and poked his head in. "Are you Miss Nan? A gentleman in the audience said he must see you. He has something to tell you."
Nan Yu didn't want to stay in the same room with Qu Jiaran and Tan Linyuan any longer, so she followed the staff member out.
Qu Jiaran shouted after her to come back later, but she pretended not to hear.
It was easy to guess that Qu Jiaran would probably invite her to dinner or shopping in the name of celebrating. Nan Yu wasn't interested in such unnecessary socializing.
Apart from avoiding those two, Nan Yu was also curious about who wanted to see her.
When she went out, she saw an elegant old gentleman with white beard, dressed in a well-tailored suit. He bowed gracefully to Nan Yu.
"Miss Nan, may I ask if you are the daughter of Mr. Nan Jiwen and Mrs. Ye Hong?"
It had been a long time since Nan Yu heard her parents' names. She was stunned for a moment and then replied, "I am."
The old gentleman said politely, "Your parents paid in full to customize a piano in my piano store before, but they never came to pick it up."
...
Nan Yu followed the old gentleman to his piano store.
The old gentleman led her to a separate piano room. He opened the door gentlemanly and invited her in.
In the middle of the piano room, there was only one piano.
"This is a limited-edition Steinway ivory-white piano. It's currently very rare," the old gentleman introduced to her kindly. "Your parents said this was a birthday gift for you. Since they ordered it half a year in advance to prepare a surprise, it has been stored here."
Since she entered the room, Nan Yu's eyes hadn't left the piano.
"Can I try it?" Nan Yu looked up and asked.
"Of course. It belongs to you anyway," the old gentleman smiled and made a gesture of invitation.
Nan Yu nodded slightly and walked up to the piano.
She could feel her hands trembling slightly. Her heart tightened uncontrollably, and tears welled up in her eyes.
When she sat down and saw a line of small words engraved on the left side of the piano - "A birthday gift for Yuyu on her 22nd birthday." Her tears finally flowed down.
That penmanship was exactly her father's.
Tears kept streaming down her face. She lowered her head deeply and pressed her forehead against the piano.
Against the last gift her parents left for her.
She cried quietly, her shoulders shaking constantly. Finally, she covered her face with both hands.
Nan Yu still couldn't believe that her parents, who loved her so much and prepared such a beloved birthday gift for her half a year in advance, would abandon her and commit suicide.
But the dead couldn't come back to life. She couldn't find a reason, let alone an answer.
Acceptance was the best way to heal the wound.
After calming down her emotions, Nan Yu followed the old gentleman out of the piano room.
At this time, there were new customers outside.
Liang Yizheng walked around the piano store with his hands in his pockets. His handsome face looked very arrogant. He didn't look like someone coming to pick a piano but more like someone coming to buy groceries.
The girl he had been pursuing recently was an accordion player. He came here to pick a gift to please her.
When he saw Nan Yu, his eyes lit up. He thought to himself, Isn't this the girl he met in Tan Linyuan's meditation room that day?
He didn't get a good look at her that day because it was too rushed. But now, under the light, he could see that she was really a fair and beautiful girl.
He immediately became interested and walked over with a smile. "Hello, beauty. Are you here to buy a piano?"
Nan Yu looked up and glanced at Liang Yizheng. Her mind quickly filtered through her memories and she remembered that he was the man who knocked on the door outside Tan Linyuan's meditation room for a long time that day.
Liang Yizheng also read the familiarity in her eyes. He couldn't help but curl his lips and said generously, "See anything you like? Pick whatever you want. I'll buy it for you."
Then his tone changed. "But if I buy something for you, you have to go on a date with me for a day."
Nan Yu looked at Liang Yizheng's carefree appearance and didn't want to talk to him anymore. "I'm here to pick up my piano. I've already bought it," she said.
Her tone was very calm, both aloof and polite, clearly drawing a line between her and Liang Yizheng.
In short, she wasn't interested in his flirting at all.
Liang Yizheng, a playboy who had been through many women, naturally understood her rejection. He whistled and said, "Okay. Have a nice day then."