The room was deathly silent.
The air still carried the faint scent of the once - passionate hormones, but the heat had long dissipated.
Tan Linyuan remained silent, his eyes filled with a frigid storm.
Just as he was about to decline, Nan Yu spoke up before him, "Didn't Uncle Tan say before that you wouldn't drive me away unless I wanted to leave?"
She took a deep breath and whispered, "Now, I don't want to stay anymore."
After saying that, Nan Yu turned to look directly into Tan Linyuan's eyes.
His expression remained unchanged, as calm and composed as ever.
His gaze was like a thick fog, even more unfathomable than before, revealing no trace of emotion.
After an unknown period of silence, Tan Linyuan got out of bed. He quickly and neatly put on the trousers and the top he had thrown on the chair earlier, carefully buttoning up the topmost button.
Standing at the foot of the bed, he didn't look at her even once. "Do as you please."
It was the same old line.
Finally, he closed the door.
Nan Yu lay on her side in bed, motionless for a long time.
She didn't move until the scalding tears rolled from her left eye across the bridge of her nose and gradually into her right eye.
It must be a bout of rhinitis that made her chest ache with the stuffiness.
That night, Tan Linyuan didn't return to the room to sleep. It seemed as if he deliberately left her some space to be alone.
...
Nan Yu couldn't sleep soundly. Her dreams were filled with the scene of burning scriptures under the tree that day.
When she opened her eyes, it was just dawn.
The drowsiness faded quickly, and she began rummaging through her belongings to pack.
This time, it took longer than the previous one, and obviously, she had more things. One suitcase wasn't enough.
She had to find another empty one and put the extra things in it.
After packing, she walked out of the room. The door of the study was tightly closed, and a faint light leaked out from the crack.
Nan Yu let out a long sigh and then remembered something else.
She still owed him a meal.
Nan Yu tiptoed past the door, trying to make as little noise as possible, and started making breakfast in the kitchen.
She tried to be as quiet as she could, but she still managed to disturb Tan Linyuan upstairs. He came downstairs and stood at the kitchen door, watching her.
The air was filled with the gentle aroma of sweet congee.
It was the same smell as the half - bowl of congee Tan Linyuan had finished on the first day she came here.
Nan Yu was so focused that she didn't notice the figure standing at the door until she turned around with the congee in her hand.
She was slightly surprised at first and then calmly said, "Breakfast is ready."
Tan Linyuan looked at her, his eyes a bit cold.
Nan Yu tried hard to ignore his frosty gaze and placed the congee on the table.
Tan Linyuan sat down. His tone was as calm as if everything was within his expectations. "You want to use breakfast to pay off the meal you owed me before?"
He really knew her well. He could even guess the intention behind this meal clearly.
There was a moist feeling in her heart, like being soaked in hot water. For a moment, she forgot that this was their last breakfast together.
It seemed just like any other ordinary morning.
There was silence at the table.
He ate the congee very gracefully. The porcelain spoon hardly touched the side of the bowl, making no sound at all.
It was so quiet that Nan Yu even thought she could hear her own swallowing.
The quieter it was, the more indescribable her mood became.
She just wanted to end this breakfast quickly.
Finally, she heard the sound of Tan Linyuan putting down the spoon. She knew it was time to say goodbye.
"Yuyu."
His tone was calm, no different from usual, showing neither intimacy nor alienation.
Nan Yu's heart skipped a beat for a moment as she waited for him to continue.
Tan Linyuan stared at her. As if he was weighing his words, he slowly said, "Qu Jiaran put the ring on my finger yesterday. I've taken it off."
After saying that, he slightly raised his left hand for her to see.
The cuff of his robe was rolled up, revealing a slender and fair arm.
His ring finger was bare.
Was Tan Linyuan trying to show her in this way that accepting the ring was not his intention and that he had no feelings for Qu Jiaran?
Nan Yu felt her heart sinking bit by bit, like it was sinking to the bottom of the sea, wrapped in the cold sea water, making it hard for her to breathe.
Maybe this was the last concession Tan Linyuan could make for her.
He was telling her that there was really no one else in his heart.
However, her mood didn't improve. Instead, it became even heavier and more painful.
Nan Yu took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Uncle Tan, do you think the reason I've been throwing a tantrum and insisting on moving out since last night is because you didn't keep your promise, accepted Qu Jiaran's gift, and wore the ring she gave you?"
Tan Linyuan remained silent, which was no different from a tacit admission.
Nan Yu let out a long breath slowly. As she thought, it was exactly so.
If he were an arrogant and conceited man, he might have said, "I've done this much for you. What else do you want?"
But fortunately, he wasn't that kind of person.
The relationship between them was far from the point of having a fight, let alone making up.
The atmosphere didn't ease up because of Tan Linyuan's explanation. Instead, it became even more stagnant.
She had intended to say it in a light - hearted tone, but her voice inexplicably tasted bitter. "According to Uncle Tan, since Qu Jiaran put the ring on your finger, were you being so dull - witted at that time that your fingers were tied up and you didn't even know how to dodge?"
Tan Linyuan looked down at her. After a moment, he calmly replied, "No."
He wasn't tied up, and he wasn't a motionless wooden man. How could he so easily absolve himself of all blame?
She had never been more sober.
In the social etiquette of adults, the so - called "half - hearted resistance" was nothing but a guise to cover up one's complacent acceptance.
If one really detested and rejected something, one should avoid it like the plague.
Nan Yu felt that there was no point in continuing this conversation. She got up to go upstairs to get her suitcases. "Uncle Tan, I'm leaving. I called a taxi on my phone just now. It should be here soon."
Tan Linyuan squinted his eyes and watched as she clumsily carried the red suitcase downstairs alone.
He didn't even want to go up and help.
It took a lot of effort to carry the fully - packed suitcase downstairs. Nan Yu took a few deep breaths and then carried the other one down.
Sitting on the sofa, she checked the time every few minutes.
Tan Linyuan was feeling a bit restless. After thinking for a while, he broke the silence again. "Didn't you have a happy time staying here these days?"
Nan Yu was silent for a few seconds.
To be honest, she really couldn't lie and say "unhappy".
If she had initially moved in here out of necessity, then all the little things that had happened later made her subconsciously rely on this place.
She relied on every single moment spent with him.
"If you were happy, then why do you want to move out?"
Tan Linyuan's expression was cold, and his voice was as clear as a jade stone hitting the ground. "As long as you stay with me, no one can hurt you."
Nan Yu fell silent.
It was only now that she saw the arrogant side of this "Buddha".
Yes, as long as she could seek shelter under his protective wing, who could ever hurt a single hair on her?
Who cared about the Shen family? Even the Wang family or the Zhao family, he could protect her from them all.
He said that no one could hurt her.
But ironically, he was the one who had hurt her the most.