Nan Yu didn't answer.
A subtle silence fell over the room.
Nan Yu actually wanted to ask when she had found out.
Was it the tail ring on Tan Linyuan's hand, or the string of Buddhist beads on her own wrist?
Or was it her disappearance halfway through that night in the hotel?
She couldn't be sure.
There were simply too many minor details. Because Qu Jiaran had never held her accountable, Nan Yu had deluded herself into thinking that she had never noticed.
Now that the truth had come out, it obviously didn't matter when Qu Jiaran had found out.
Originally, Nan Yu thought that she would be embarrassed, flustered, and at a loss when exposed.
But now, she felt extremely calm inside.
It was as if she had long had a premonition that this day would come.
Now that this day had arrived, it was actually a good thing, for she would no longer have to live in fear.
Nan Yu didn't bother to explain. She let out a soft sigh and said, "Consider this as my repayment for all your kindness before. From now on, let's call it square."
"Call it square?" Qu Jiaran repeated these four words, her tone a bit dazed. "How exactly do you want to call it square?"
"Never have anything to do with Tan Linyuan again, or with me?"
Nan Yu lifted her eyelids slightly. "Both."
From now on, she would draw a clear line between herself and the two of them, and there would never be the slightest bit of connection.
Her tone was very calm, as if she had rehearsed these words in her mind hundreds of times. She slowly said, "No matter how disgusting you find it, it was my blood that saved you. This is an unchangeable fact."
"But from now on, I won't appear in front of either of you. It'll be a relief for you not to see me."
As Nan Yu said these words, there was no trace of emotion on her face. "Let's call it square and sever all ties from now on."
After saying that, she didn't look at Qu Jiaran again, so she naturally didn't see the sudden paleness on her face.
She turned around and was about to leave.
"Nan Yu! You're not allowed to go!"
A heart - rending cry came from behind. "You're so cruel!"
Nan Yu paused and closed her eyes.
Cruel?
Countless times she had felt guilty towards Qu Jiaran, suffering the torture of morality and her conscience. In fact, Qu Jiaran had known everything all along.
Yet she had been like a joke, being ridiculed without even realizing it.
The truly cruel one should be Qu Jiaran.
Nan Yu even wanted to give her an award to praise her forbearance and perseverance.
She couldn't understand Qu Jiaran's psychology at all. How could she still get along with her like good sisters when she clearly knew that her boyfriend had an improper relationship with her?
Did she have a cuckold fetish?
In fact, Nan Yu also understood that Qu Jiaran's submissiveness was nothing more than an attempt to get closer to Tan Linyuan by using her.
But Qu Jiaran was wrong. In fact, she wasn't that important to Tan Linyuan at all.
In the end, she was just a pastime.
Now that everything was out in the open, there was no more so - called true affection, only a mess and a lot of unpleasantness.
Nan Yu's mind was in a complete mess.
But at this moment, she just wanted to leave. Without looking back, she placed her hand on the doorknob.
"Yuyu..."
Qu Jiaran suddenly started to cry, her voice choked with sobs. "Yuyu, I was wrong. Don't abandon me..."
"I don't want to sever all ties with you! I don't want to never have anything to do with you again! You're my only friend..."
Nan Yu turned a blind eye.
She was almost tired of hearing Qu Jiaran's seemingly heartfelt words. Her ears were getting calloused.
At first, Nan Yu did have the idea of using Qu Jiaran's identity. But in the end, it turned out that she had been the one being used.
Well, this false friendship should come to an end.
But before she could press the doorknob, a sudden, rapid gasping sound came from behind. "Yuyu... I'm in pain. My chest hurts..."
Hearing these intermittent cries for help, cold sweat instantly broke out on Nan Yu's back. She turned around and rushed to Qu Jiaran's bedside.
Seeing her wrinkled face and her hand tightly clutching the collar of the hospital gown, Nan Yu panicked. Forgetting all other grudges, she said, "I'll call the doctor for you."
After saying that, she reached out to press the emergency call button on the bedside.
Before her hand could be raised, it was firmly grasped by Qu Jiaran.
Nan Yu turned her head in surprise.
"Hehe, Yuyu, you still care about me in your heart."
Qu Jiaran grinned, her eyes shining as she looked at her. "You were just saying cruel words. You couldn't bear to sever all ties with me."
Nan Yu: "..."
Nan Yu tightened her lips immediately.
She had been deceived again.
She was so annoyed that she wanted to curse. Staring at Qu Jiaran's hand, she said coldly, "I just don't want you to die. Otherwise, others might think I murdered you."
Qu Jiaran said, "I don't care. You still care about me anyway."
Nan Yu gave up trying to explain to her. "Let go."
Qu Jiaran was stubborn. "I won't let go."
Nan Yu's face grew darker and darker. Finally, she couldn't help scolding, "Qu Jiaran, are you crazy?"
"Right." Qu Jiaran answered matter - of - factly. "I do have mental illness. I also have depression, heart disease, and schizophrenia."
Nan Yu was speechless, feeling as if she had punched a cotton ball.
Qu Jiaran didn't care at all. She still held onto Nan Yu's arm tightly and shook it, pleading, "Yuyu, I was too harsh just now. Please forgive me, okay?"
Nan Yu thought she was being unreasonable.
The two of them had already spoken so bluntly and harshly. Why did Qu Jiaran still want to pretend that nothing had happened and continue as before?
"I'll apologize to you. I'll kneel down and kowtow to you... Can you still be my friend? " Qu Jiaran's voice was muffled. "Or what do you want me to do? I'll do whatever you say."
Nan Yu remained expressionless. She lowered her head and pried Qu Jiaran's fingers off one by one.
"Miss Qu, you're not short of friends, let alone a dirty friend like me."
She deliberately enunciated each word clearly. "Wake up. I've slept with your husband."
After thinking for a while, she added, "More than once."
Qu Jiaran's eyes were misty. She blinked and said, "I know. I don't mind."
She wiped her eyes and showed that innocent smile again. "If Yuyu likes, you can continue in the future."
"I can avoid the situation whenever you two need it." Her tone was serious, making it hard to tell whether she was being sarcastic or really meant it.
Nan Yu couldn't figure Qu Jiaran out at all.
She was silent for a while and then said indifferently, "If you think maintaining a friendship with me can keep Tan Linyuan, you may have miscalculated."
Nan Yu took a deep breath and said with a sense of relief, "I've made it clear to Tan Linyuan. I'll have nothing to do with him in the future."
As she said this, she inexplicably felt a bitter taste in her heart.
It was as if all the previous words didn't count. Only when she said them to Qu Jiaran at this moment did she truly feel that she was really going to cut off all contact with Tan Linyuan.
From now on, he would be his own person, and she would go her own way.
There would be no more entanglement.
Qu Jiaran shook her head and explained very seriously, "Yuyu, you've really misunderstood me this time."
"I admit that at first, when I got close to you and became friends with you, I really hoped that you could help me chase Linyuan."
"But when I think about a future without you, my heart feels like it's being cut by a knife. I can't live at all."
There was a sob in her voice again, and her words were sincere. "Yuyu, I really can't live without Linyuan, and I can't live without you either!"