The two of them went out in the evening.
Jiangcheng is a southern city, and it always rains in autumn and winter.
The sky looked like a smear of gray paint, gloomy. There were always thick clouds pressing down, hinting at an impending rain tonight.
Tan Linyuan was dressed very casually. He wore a light - brown windbreaker, a white top, and light - brown trousers, which made him look extremely young.
Nan Yu was afraid of the cold and had already changed into a thin down jacket, the same color as Tan Linyuan's. She wore a white shirt as an inner layer and dark camel - colored trousers.
Since Tan Linyuan said he would take her out to find inspiration, she put on a light makeup in a rather ritualistic way.
Nan Yu thought she was wrapped up tightly enough, but as soon as she went out, she shivered in the cold wind. She trotted all the way to the car.
When she reached the car door, she reached out to pull it open.
The door didn't open.
Nan Yu paused and tried again.
Still, it didn't open.
A low laugh came from behind her.
"Tan Linyuan!" Nan Yu stamped her foot on the spot. She folded her hands and rubbed them back and forth, blowing hot air from her mouth. Her elegant eyebrows furrowed. "Open the door!"
Tan Linyuan was almost doubling over with laughter. He walked over to open the door for her and even made a "please" gesture.
"Please get in the car, Princess Jasmine."
He always liked to tease her about such trivial things, making her flare up and then effortlessly coaxing her back.
It was kind of his bad taste.
After they got in the car, Tan Linyuan stopped teasing her. He directly turned up the temperature and the wind power to the maximum.
As soon as the warm air in the car came on, the hot air began to blow in vigorously. Nan Yu immediately pointed the air outlet at herself.
Finally, the warmth kicked in, and Nan Yu felt warm. She moved her wrists. "Where are we going now?"
The light in the car was very dim, but her eyes were especially bright, like fragments of stars.
The car stopped in front of a newly opened store.
Judging from the overall decoration, Nan Yu guessed it was a bar that had just opened.
Even though it had just opened, it seemed very popular. All the parking spaces in front of the door were full.
"Is the place Uncle Tan said to find inspiration a bar?"
Tan Linyuan glanced at her. "Does it matter where it is?"
It seemed it didn't.
Inspiration always came and went without a trace.
Tan Linyuan slowed down the car and unhurriedly found a very narrow parking space to park the car.
"If you park here, others might accidentally scratch it."
Nan Yu looked at the gap between their car and the others outside the window and commented on his choice of parking spot.
"There are no other spaces left," Tan Linyuan said casually. "Let them scratch it if they want."
After getting out of the car, Nan Yu took a second look at the license plate and thought she had really worried too much.
Among all the luxury super - cars, his G - class SUV was rather ordinary.
But the license plate number was not.
It had started to drizzle outside. Tan Linyuan took out an umbrella from the car and held it above their heads.
"Let's go."
The umbrella wasn't big enough, so they walked carefully.
Since they were in public, Nan Yu subconsciously kept a bit of distance from Tan Linyuan, but then she inevitably got wet in the rain.
Nan Yu thought it didn't matter to get a little wet.
Just as she lifted her foot to move forward, Tan Linyuan said coldly, "You might as well just stand outside the umbrella. It would be even farther."
Nan Yu: "..."
Even so, Tan Linyuan tilted the umbrella a bit in her direction.
Seeing that most of Tan Linyuan's shoulder was exposed, Nan Yu quickly stepped back and got closer to his arm.
But she didn't dare to look at him. She only dared to stare at the road ahead.
When she was young, she had read some teenage romance comics. The plot of sharing an umbrella was clichéd, but it always made one's heart race.
She never thought that one day, she would be the heroine in a teenage romance comic, the one on the side where the umbrella was tilted.
Her heart was beating so fast it was out of control.
Nan Yu quietly looked up at the raindrops rolling down the edge of the umbrella, trying to divert her attention.
Although she and Tan Linyuan had had countless intimate moments, she really had no experience with such intimate behaviors that seemed to belong to the stage of courtship.
It took a while for her heart to return to normal.
After entering the bar, Tan Linyuan put away the umbrella and led Nan Yu in.
The light in the bar was very dim. The decoration was in an American retro style. There were huge English graffiti on the walls, and the counter was full of liquor.
They played some rock music for a while, and then switched to R&B. The place was very lively.
As soon as they entered the door, Liang Yi came up to greet Tan Linyuan. "Hey, you really came to support me!"
Liang Yi liked to dabble in small investments in his spare time. This bar was opened by him, and it had just started its trial operation this week.
"I was free, so I came to take a look."
Liang Yi pretended to be arrogant. "You didn't even tell me in advance that you were coming. My place is really lively today. All the seats are booked."
"Then we'll go to another one."
After saying that, Tan Linyuan got up to leave. Liang Yi quickly stopped him and said with a smile, "You're no fun. Can't you take a joke?"
Liang Yi snapped his fingers and called over a waiter. "Take them to a VIP table on the second floor."
Tan Linyuan looked cold throughout. He was led by the waiter to a window seat on the second floor and sat down.
It was a great seat. They could see the stage performance downstairs and the street view outside the window.
It was still raining. A layer of mist had formed on the window, and the street lights outside were emitting a dim yellow light.
Tan Linyuan across from her ordered some food and asked if she wanted to order anything.
When she was out with Tan Linyuan, she didn't have to worry about the danger and embarrassment of getting drunk, so she told him to order whatever he wanted.
When the food and drinks were served, Nan Yu noticed that he didn't order any alcohol. The waiter placed a glass of lemon water in front of each of them.
She couldn't help but ask, "Don't you order alcohol in a bar?"
Tan Linyuan rolled up his sleeves, picked up the glass, and said, "I still have to drive back later."
"I'm not driving."
Tan Linyuan said, "I don't want you to drink too much."
He said this in such a casual tone that it was impossible to resist.
She tried to act nonchalant, but her earlobes involuntarily turned red.
What was going on? She hadn't even drunk any alcohol, but she felt like she was already tipsy.
Before Nan Yu could respond, Tan Linyuan slowly explained, "You're too noisy when you're drunk. I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep well."
Nan Yu: "… Oh."
After a while, the waiter served a dessert. Tan Linyuan raised his hand, indicating it was for the person across from him.
When the lid was lifted, it was a serving of almond tofu.
It had the texture of milk jelly, with a layer of matcha powder sprinkled on top and two mint leaves as decoration.
Nan Yu scooped up a spoonful.
"It's delicious."
Seeing her reaction, Tan Linyuan said, "It seems I can suggest to Liang Yi that he open a dessert shop. He has plenty of energy anyway."
Hearing him seriously teasing Liang Yi, Nan Yu couldn't help but laugh. Her shoulders were shaking.
The bar had been playing heavy - metal rock music, and now it had switched to some popular American golden oldies from the 1990s.
Nan Yu was eating the dessert, and her eyes would occasionally glance at Tan Linyuan.
He had taken off his windbreaker, revealing the white top inside. The cuffs were slightly rolled up, showing his wrist bones.
He always gave people a sense of aloofness, as if all the desires in the mortal world had nothing to do with him.
Even when he was here, it wasn't he who seemed out of place, but the bar.
Nan Yu lowered her head and unconsciously mashed the mint leaves.
She took the initiative to bring up the way Tan Linyuan and Liang Yi had talked earlier. "You seem to have little patience with Liang Yi."
"We've known each other for a long time and are used to this way of getting along."
This was their way of interacting. Although it might seem a bit cold to outsiders.
But it didn't affect their relationship.
Nan Yu nodded, not surprised. "That's right. You're a nostalgic person. You should maintain a relationship for a long time."
Tan Linyuan looked at her. "What do you want to say?"
Nan Yu took a deep breath and forced a relaxed smile. "I'm just curious. How long can the relationship between Uncle Tan and me last?"