Nan Yu took a hot shower and sat in the living room, slowly blow - drying her hair.
Suddenly, there was a loud “boom” of thunder outside, which startled her so much that she almost dropped the hair dryer on the ground.
This autumn rainstorm was really menacing.
Outside, there was lightning and thunder. Nan Yu lay in the bedroom bed, watching the white lightning flashing from time to time outside the curtain and the thunder getting louder and louder each time. She was really scared.
She was already a bit used to her own bed, and coupled with this rainstorm that almost seemed to devour the night, she simply couldn't fall asleep.
After tossing and turning in the quilt for several hours, she fished out her phone from under the pillow.
Nan Yu: Uncle, are you asleep?
Since she couldn't sleep anyway, she tried to bother Tan Linyuan.
The other side replied quickly: Not yet. What's up?
Nan Yu immediately sat up from the bed and turned on the room light.
It had to be said that after knowing that the other person in the villa was also awake, the fear in her heart dissipated a bit.
Nan Yu: Aren't you going to sleep yet?
Tan Linyuan: I'm copying Buddhist scriptures in the study.
Nan Yu: I'll come to you now.
She put down the phone and didn't wait for his affirmative or negative answer. She got up, put on her slippers and walked towards the study.
As she got closer to the study door, the light inside was indeed still on.
Nan Yu pushed the door open and walked in. The warm - yellow light covered every corner of the room, gilding all the items with a pale gold.
She saw Tan Linyuan's straight back and the several Buddha statues enshrined in front of him.
It was no different from that day.
Nan Yu tiptoed over and saw that he was copying Buddhist scriptures.
Or rather, he was memorizing the scriptures.
After staying in the temple for more than twenty years, the scriptures he should memorize and recite were already well - known to him by heart. He didn't need to put a copy of the scriptures beside him like her when copying.
He was wearing a monk's robe. His eyebrows and eyes were calm, and even the opening of the door had no effect on him.
He was sitting on the cushion, with a transcendent and ethereal temperament, like an immortal surrounded by celestial aura.
The only window in the study had already had its curtains drawn in advance, but white - light - like lightning still flashed from time to time.
But Nan Yu didn't feel that scared anymore. She sat on the cushion with him.
Xuan paper was laid out on the other side of the meditation table, as if it had been prepared for her in advance.
Nan Yu sat up straight like him, held the writing brush, and copied the scriptures stroke by stroke.
She didn't recognize what Tan Linyuan was memorizing; but she knew that when copying scriptures, one should be pious and make prayers or confessions from the heart.
So she started to copy the “Ullambana Sutra” to pray for the souls of her deceased parents.
She didn't know how long she had been copying, but her mood gradually became calmer, and the thunder outside didn't seem so terrifying.
Perhaps it was because the living Buddha who could save all sentient beings and subdue demons was sitting beside her.
Tan Linyuan got up and sorted out the copied scriptures in front of him. Nan Yu also stopped and craned her neck to look at the words on his Xuan paper.
She took a quick glance. Before she could see clearly, the other person put them away first and stacked the papers together.
“Go back to sleep?” Tan Linyuan's voice was extremely calm.
Nan Yu nodded. The sound of the rain outside still didn't abate, as if it was going to rain all night.
Copying the scriptures had calmed her mind a bit, but it was still a bit difficult for her to sleep alone in a strange room.
She simply sat on the sofa in the living room, hugging a pillow and preparing to watch TV. She planned to go back to her room to sleep after she was sleepy enough.
When she was at Jinya Xiaozhu before, she also transitioned little by little in this way. She already had the experience.
“Not sleepy?” Tan Linyuan asked her casually.
“Not yet.” Nan Yu lied casually. “I'll turn the TV volume down so as not to disturb Uncle.”
Tan Linyuan turned to look at her and didn't say anything else. He went straight back to his room.
After a while, Nan Yu heard the sound of someone coming downstairs. She turned her head and saw him coming out again. He put an incense burner on the corner cabinet of the stairs and lit an incense stick.
He had changed into a dark - green nightgown. Under the dimmed light, there was a bit more lazy and homely feeling in his usually transcendent temperament.
Nan Yu silently turned her head back, thinking it was just a Buddhist practice that Tan Linyuan must do before going to bed.
She continued to lean on the sofa, boredly changing TV channels.
Not long after, she smelled the faint aroma of the incense filling the air.
It was very similar to the smell she usually smelled on Tan Linyuan when she was with him, but a bit different, as if some other soft spices had been added.
Sleepiness came earlier than she expected. She couldn't even support herself to walk back to her room.
Sleeping on the sofa for a night wasn't bad.
Just as this thought crossed Nan Yu's mind, she unconsciously closed her eyes.
...
Early the next morning.
Nan Yu opened her eyelids and saw the dawn faintly shining through the bedroom curtain.
Oh, it was dawn.
When she wanted to turn over, she suddenly felt as if her waist was being tied, firmly fastening her in a man's arms.
Wait.
Didn't she fall asleep on the sofa last night?
The arm around her waist suddenly tightened. The man behind her moved his head closer and pressed it heavily on her shoulder.
“Tan Linyuan...” She opened her mouth to call him. Her voice was hoarse from just waking up. “Let go of me.”
The man behind her seemed not to hear.
Nan Yu thought he was still asleep. She turned her head and just met his deep eyes, looking at her half - smiling.
Judging from the current situation, it was very likely that he had carried her from the sofa to the bed last night.
But this wasn't what she was concerned about now.
Because Nan Yu felt a certain part of him next to her pressing against her little by little, and she could clearly feel the outline.
Nan Yu took a breath and said in a very ordinary tone: “Uncle, you're going to break your vow again.”
Tan Linyuan didn't answer her. He loosened the arm around her a little and slipped his hand under the hem of her nightgown.
His chin still clung tightly to her shoulder, and his nose would occasionally rub against her neck, making her skin itch.
The mood and atmosphere were right, and the two were such a tacit - understanding pair. She easily fell into his rhythm.
His fingers wandered everywhere, like using a lighter to start a fire on her skin.
She couldn't help but let out a low moan, but he kissed her lips to stop her from making any sound.
After the kiss ended, all his movements stopped. He lifted the quilt and got out of bed.
Nan Yu blinked her eyes. She thought his ending was a bit sudden and provocatively asked him: “Not going to continue?”
Tan Linyuan glanced at her face. “It's not convenient.”
After he walked into the bathroom, Nan Yu only then realized later: Could it be that he didn't buy condoms?
She rummaged through the bedside drawer. Sure enough, it was empty.
Nan Yu couldn't help but let out a low laugh.
The all - calculating Tan Linyuan actually had such a day.
The morning exercise didn't succeed. Nan Yu tied her hair into a bun and was also about to get up and wash up.
At this time, Tan Linyuan's phone on the bedside kept vibrating.
Nan Yu glanced at the incoming call screen: Qu Jiaran.