Tan Linyuan could sense that Nan Yu was obviously in a rather cold mood.
He lowered his eyes and looked at her.
"Something on your mind?"
"What could be on my mind?" Nan Yu pursed her lips and replied politely, "Uncle, you've taken such good care of me in everything. I'm grateful enough."
The more Tan Linyuan listened, the more he felt something was off. His eyebrows furrowed tightly. "What's gotten into you today?"
"Me? What's gotten into me?" Nan Yu curled her lips. Angered by his words, she couldn't help but sneer, "Isn't it that Uncle wants to get rid of me quickly so that you can smoothly date Qu Jiaran? Am I right?"
Some unknown anger welled up in her, and she blurted out all the words in her heart, "If I had drunk that glass of wine today, Qu Jiaran wouldn't have fainted, and Uncle wouldn't have felt heartache."
After saying that, she didn't even dare to blink and quickly lowered her head.
At this moment, Nan Yu herself was surprised.
No one knew better than herself how inexplicably this burst of anger had come.
What right did she have to blame him?
Tan Linyuan looked at her expressionlessly, his gaze growing more and more profound.
"I... I didn't mean anything else." The silence in the car made her feel oppressed. She swallowed hard. "Just pretend I didn't say anything just now."
Tan Linyuan still remained silent. Nan Yu's breathing gradually tightened, and her body began to tremble.
Tan Linyuan gradually slowed down the car until it stopped. He stepped on the brake.
Then, he turned his head. Most of his body was in the shadow, and his expression couldn't be seen clearly.
Only his gaze faintly fell on her. "Nan Yu, look at me."
His tone was still calm and extremely patient. "What exactly happened? Tell me."
"Really, it's nothing."
She didn't want to look him in the eye and just stared at the glass behind him.
Actually, her heart was in a complete mess now. She simply didn't know why she had impulsively said those words. Was it possessiveness towards him? Or was it out of physical cleanliness? Or perhaps...
She closed her eyes and didn't want to think anymore.
Indulge in pleasure at night and go about their own business during the day.
This was the relationship that should exist between the two of them, and it could only stop there.
"I've bothered you a lot by staying at Uncle's house these past few days. Since the Shen family will behave themselves, I'll move back in a while." She swallowed a few times, wanting to completely sever ties with him. "The piano... I might have to leave it here for a while longer."
Feeling indebted, she added awkwardly, "Or, I can pay a storage fee."
"I'm not that poor." Hearing her mention the storage fee, Tan Linyuan was a bit angry and laughed. "You can still think about the piano at this time."
Of course, she thought about it. It was a gift from her parents.
The space in the car was small. Nan Yu heard a "click" sound as Tan Linyuan unbuckled his seat belt.
The man's broad figure leaned towards her, gradually getting closer to her face.
He lifted her chin, forcing her to focus her gaze on him.
"Nan Yu, I don't like to keep asking for answers." Tan Linyuan's breathing was steady, and every word was full of composure. "If you don't tell the truth, I won't dig deeper either."
"Some things, I'll only ask once."
He said it lightly, but her chin was being held tightly. The air around her was filled with his unique cold sandalwood scent. She only felt a surge of indescribable grievance and a sharp pain in her heart.
There were signs of moisture in her eyes.
How was she supposed to answer?
Tan Linyuan took a deep look at her, calmly let go of her, and suddenly got out of the car.
Nan Yu looked at the man outside the car blankly and watched him walk into a pharmacy. He came out a few minutes later.
He got back into the car, holding a bag of medicine in his hand.
"If you're just not feeling well, go back, take the medicine, and rest early." Tan Linyuan said calmly.
Nan Yu lowered her head and looked at the ibuprofen painkillers in the bag. Her pounding heart suddenly had nowhere to rest.
Did he think she was in a bad mood because of menstrual cramps?
Nan Yu opened her mouth but finally said nothing.
The bag was on her lap, and she squeezed it nervously, making it creak.
The car started again.
Tan Linyuan held the steering wheel and suddenly spoke when turning. "My relationship with Qu Jiaran is very ordinary. Apart from the connection through her father, I hardly have any interaction with her."
"... What?" Nan Yu was inexplicably stunned.
"Do I need to make it clearer?"
Seeing her wide - eyed, Tan Linyuan continued calmly, "Her father, Qu Gaolin, needs the support of the Chamber of Commerce to gain a foothold; and the Chamber of Commerce also needs to expand some connections to develop better."
Nan Yu listened quietly.
She knew that this was what Tan Linyuan had said last time, that he also had times when he was constrained.
In this world, no one could easily dominate everything.
There were mostly complementary and mutually beneficial relationships.
There was no eternal affection, but there was eternal interest.
"If it weren't for this connection, I wouldn't have even helped Qu Jiaran back then." His tone was cold. "Moreover, when she fainted unexpectedly today, I didn't feel heartache at all."
"I just thought it was self - inflicted."
"You're so cold - hearted." Nan Yu couldn't describe how she felt and just summarized it flatly.
"Otherwise?" Tan Linyuan glanced at her. "Should I be like you, getting close to Shen Yanche one day and then having Liang Yi do me a favor the next?"
... This was all out of context.
"But you agreed to Qu Jiaran's pursuit of you."
"I didn't need to refuse." Tan Linyuan still answered indifferently. "Whether I refuse or agree, the result will be the same."
The same as being pestered by Qu Jiaran.
"It's not the same!" Nan Yu quickly denied his statement but soon fell silent. "... What I mean is, you're encouraging her like this."
"Even with the encouragement, the result will be the same." He curled his lips. "I won't be with her, nor will there be any closer and more intimate relationship."
Nan Yu thought, Bullshit.
She thought so in her heart and said so out loud. "You're lying. You've clearly had sex with her, and you two were even very compatible in bed..."
She blurted it out in a moment of desperation and felt her nose getting more and more sour as she spoke.
In the end, she simply stopped talking.
"... When did I have sex with her?" His eyebrows knitted together. He didn't seem to be pretending about the doubt in her words.
Nan Yu fell silent and didn't know how to start for a while.
Should she repeat everything Qu Jiaran had said - from the bedroom to the living room, from the kitchen to the study?
She really couldn't say it. Her heart was also aching with a sense of fullness, and her emotions were very unstable.
Her silence came suddenly, and his questions got no response.
Tan Linyuan observed her expression and suddenly understood in an instant.
He curled his lips and looked at her playfully. "So this is the reason you've been in a bad mood all night?"