"Don't accept it."
Tan Linyuan spoke indifferently. His eyebrows and eyes had returned to their usual calmness. "The neroli scent doesn't suit you. It's too pungent."
Like an elder, he gave an objective evaluation without any emotional influence.
"You say it doesn't suit me, and that's it?" Nan Yu's stubbornness flared up. "I think it suits me very well, and I like it a lot."
Did he hate to hear the word "like"? Well, she just had to say she liked it.
Whether it was Zhou Yu's understanding and affection for her, Li Nan's kindness and cheerfulness, or the love from this unknown male fan...
As long as it was something he didn't allow, she would like it all.
Tan Linyuan stared at her with heavy eyes. His thumb wiped her swollen lips, and his tone inexplicably soured. "You like the things others give you so much?"
"What about the things I gave you? How come I never see you cherish them that much?"
Even such an important Buddhist rosary could be taken away by someone casually. It was obvious how little she cared about him.
How he wanted to ask her: Was it because he wasn't important that she didn't care?
Nan Yu was silent for a moment.
The room was deathly quiet. The warm yellow light in the living room diluted the hostility and chill that had surrounded him just now.
It seemed that he was just calmly asking her, hoping to get an answer.
"But this isn't fair."
She sniffed and only then realized that she felt a bit wronged. "You won't let me accept gifts from others. Then you shouldn't accept them either from now on."
"Who gave me a gift?" Tan Linyuan thought her words were rather strange.
"… Not now, but it doesn't mean it won't happen in the future."
Caught off guard by his question, Nan Yu stammered and quickly tried to organize her words. "If someone gives you a gift in the future, will you refuse it too?"
She knew it wasn't right, but she still said it. "You talk so high - and - mighty, saying that you'll be loyal enough to your partner. But you're just making demands on me."
She stopped halfway and then used his own explanation to excuse herself. "You said yourself that a sexual partner is also a partner."
Nan Yu wasn't used to such straightforward words. After saying them, she blushed furiously.
Through this halting conversation, Tan Linyuan more or less understood.
Her abnormal behavior tonight, deliberately emphasizing that she liked the gift from the male fan, or even arguing with him now, was actually all about asking him for equal rights.
If she had to reject the overtures of the opposite sex, then he should also keep a distance from the opposite sex.
Only then could it be considered an equal treaty.
Tan Linyuan was silent for a moment. "How do you know someone will give me a gift?"
"… I don't know." Nan Yu hung her head, not daring to tell him about Qu Jiaran's plan to propose to him.
Partly because she was afraid, and partly because she didn't want to.
Her tone was calm enough, but one could still detect a hint of moisture in her voice.
Sure enough, the corners of her eyes were a bit red.
"What gift is Qu Jiaran going to give me?" Tan Linyuan had already guessed the answer. "It seems to be quite meaningful."
"… No. I just wanted to set this rule in advance." Nan Yu panicked and started to lie randomly.
She knew she was a bad actress, and her emotions were out of control. What she was thinking was impossible to hide from him.
But she still refused to say it.
"Since you're so determined, why not set all the other rules at once?"
Having found the root of the problem, Tan Linyuan began to coax her into giving the answer.
Nan Yu looked up and met his clear and calm eyes.
There was no frost or anger in those eyes, just the usual calmness in the face of changes.
She didn't know what rules she could set.
Tan Linyuan answered for her. "For example, don't accept gifts from other members of the opposite sex, don't have dinner alone with them, and don't sleep with them..."
The more Nan Yu listened, the more annoyed she became. "All of these count."
"Is that all?" he asked playfully.
Of course not.
These were just superficial acts. If he really needed them, she wouldn't really care.
But what really mattered wasn't these things, but the choice in his heart.
Nan Yu bit her lip and didn't dare to say what was on her mind for a long time.
But Tan Linyuan answered for her again.
"The most important thing is that there shouldn't be any other opposite - sex person here." Tan Linyuan took her hand and placed it on his heart. "Right?"
His tone was extremely slow, asking her softly.
Feeling the vibration from his chest through his pajamas, Nan Yu's fingers trembled slightly.
She was so startled that she quickly lowered her eyes and didn't dare to look into his all - seeing eyes anymore.
At this moment, she just wanted to ask if Tan Linyuan had learned some kind of mind - reading technique somewhere.
Or did he have some supernatural power that allowed him to hear what she was thinking?
There seemed to be a faint laugh in her ears, or maybe it was just an illusion.
She didn't answer.
A long time later, she heard Tan Linyuan's calm voice, with an unyielding tone. "Yuyu, there won't be anyone else for me."
"Is Uncle talking the truth in front of me, or just trying to please me?" Nan Yu asked softly.
She admitted it. She surrendered.
In front of Tan Linyuan, she couldn't tell the real from the false.
She couldn't even dig deep into the meaning of his words "there won't be anyone else".
Did it mean he wouldn't like anyone else, or that he wouldn't be with anyone else?
The boundaries were too vague. She even began to wonder what it was that she really minded.
Tan Linyuan used his finger to lift her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes.
His gaze was deep, and his tone was free of any teasing or playfulness. "I can swear in front of the Buddha. If I break this, let me go to hell after death and never be reincarnated..."
"Stop! That's enough!" Nan Yu was so startled that she quickly covered his mouth. "Don't make such a poisonous oath. The Buddha will hear it."
"So what if he hears it? I'm saying it to him anyway." Tan Linyuan really didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
As a Buddhist believer, he was much more trustworthy than those men who casually swore to be struck by lightning.
That was also why it was easier for his words to come true.
Nan Yu fell silent and just looked at him.
Under the warm yellow light, her eyes looked like those of a wet puppy.
Clear and clean.
At this moment, Tan Linyuan could tell that the last trace of her sadness had dissipated.
"Happy now?" Tan Linyuan asked her. Seeing the uncontrollable upturn of her lips, he couldn't help but hold her face.
Originally, he just wanted to kiss the corner of her lips, but he didn't know who initiated it first.
The ambiguous atmosphere that had been interrupted just now resumed unconsciously.
He held her waist, and their bodies sank into the sofa. Dampness and heat surrounded them.
While kissing, Tan Linyuan suddenly let go of her and kissed her neck. His breath tickled her, and her breathing became rapid.
She struggled and then went limp in his arms, but he didn't make any further moves.
So she opened her eyes blankly.
Tan Linyuan's calm tone forced her to regain her senses on the verge of losing control.
"What you owed me this morning. It's time to make it up voluntarily now."
It was agreed that her sincerity was only half - shown; he had arrived on time for the book signing, and she should fulfill the other half.
She had to take the initiative.
——