Listening to these words, Nan Yu found it utterly ridiculous.
"Didn't you just say that from now on, we'd have to live with the disgust for each other?" Nan Yu said in a cold tone. "What kind of act are you putting on now?"
No matter what it was, she didn't want to play along with her anymore.
"I just want the three of us to be happy together," Qu Jiaran said eagerly. "Yu Yu, don't you see? Without me, you and Lin Yuan would never be together."
"I never said I wanted to be with..."
"The Tan family will surely arrange a marriage of alliance for Lin Yuan. If it's not me, it'll be another woman," Qu Jiaran interrupted Nan Yu, seemingly analyzing rationally. "But only I can cover for the two of you."
"On the surface, Lin Yuan and I are husband and wife, but in reality, you two are the real couple. Isn't that great?"
Nan Yu felt that there must be something wrong with her head.
Otherwise, why couldn't she understand a single word Qu Jiaran was saying?
"Qu Jiaran, do you know what you're talking about?"
"Of course I do." Qu Jiaran smiled indifferently. "I really don't mind. As long as the three of us can live a good life, that's all that matters. Even if you have a child with Lin Yuan in the future, I can treat it as my own..."
"Enough!"
Nan Yu felt the topic was getting weirder and weirder. Her voice was extremely stern. "Qu Jiaran, you're really crazy. What makes you think I'll accept such a relationship?"
Qu Jiaran looked innocent. "Because you like Lin Yuan, don't you?"
Her tone made it hard for Nan Yu not to recall that Qu Jiaran had used this kind of tactic countless times before to probe her and confirm her feelings for Tan Lin Yuan.
However, in the past, she had to carefully hide those secrets. Now that the truth was out in the open between the two of them, there was no need for any more cover - up.
Nan Yu said, "I don't like him. You're mistaken."
She closed her eyes and said in a calm tone, "I was just physically compatible with him. Because of this shady relationship, I had to keep it hidden all the time. Now that you know everything, I don't need to lie anymore."
Qu Jiaran was taken aback and seemed surprised. "Yu Yu... you don't like him?"
Nan Yu's gaze was unwavering, and her words were clear. "Never liked him."
After she said that, there was finally a sense of relief in her tight and damp chest.
Only now did she realize that her so - called "love" was like a moth flying into a fire, a futile attempt to do something she knew was impossible.
If she had just had a relationship with an ordinary person back then, maybe it would have been over long ago, and they would have gone their separate ways without disturbing each other. Or perhaps they would have gotten married and had children.
But it just had to be Tan Lin Yuan.
He was such a passionate yet cold - hearted man, and his identity and background were so complicated.
She wasn't even sure when she started to like him.
Because of that hazy and uncertain love, she was willing to be his casual lover, to be entangled with him and be with him day and night.
But now she realized that what she thought was bravery was just a clown's act.
She couldn't continue to be intimate with him at night and address him as an elder during the day. She couldn't watch him marry someone else with her own eyes and still have to offer her blessings.
There would always be a distance between them that was both intimate and distant.
She couldn't do it.
She had to turn back from the edge of the cliff and strangle this inappropriate love in the cradle, leaving not a trace of it.
Because she was really afraid that one day, she would lose her mind and accept the kind of life Qu Jiaran described, and be his casual lover forever.
He was the sun that shone on all things.
And she was the dust that couldn't see the light.
...
Outside the ward, Tan Lin Yuan's eyes were dark and his breath was extremely cold.
He had heard every word of the conversation inside clearly, including her words "never liked him".
He knew this was the most appropriate answer, so why did his heart ache so much that it trembled?
If she had really fallen in love with him, wouldn't it have been even more troublesome?
His eyes dimmed, and he reached out to hold the doorknob.
It took him a long time before he finally pressed it down forcefully. His knuckles and the back of his hand turned pale due to the excessive force.
The ward door opened.
His appearance undoubtedly broke the tense atmosphere between the two people in the room.
"Lin Yuan, you're here," Qu Jiaran was about to say something to Nan Yu, but when she saw him, the corners of her lips curled up. "You came just in time. Please persuade Yu Yu for me. She said she's going to break off our friendship."
Tan Lin Yuan's voice was extremely cold. "You asked for it."
Qu Jiaran felt embarrassed for a moment. "Lin Yuan, why are you...?"
She looked at the two people in the room. Her lips gradually tightened into a straight line, and her smile began to stiffen.
"I'll go back first," Nan Yu lowered her head and didn't look at Tan Lin Yuan. "Goodbye."
"No!" Qu Jiaran immediately became nervous. "Yu Yu! I won't allow you to leave. You haven't agreed to me yet. You're not allowed to break off our friendship in the future..."
Nan Yu didn't stop walking.
Qu Jiaran was so anxious that she was sweating all over. "Lin Yuan! Please stop Yu Yu for me. I haven't finished speaking yet. She can't leave..."
"Let her go," Tan Lin Yuan said in a cold voice. "Whether she stays or leaves is her own choice. No one else can interfere."
Nan Yu turned around and smiled slightly.
Just as she thought.
At that moment, she had also wondered if this was Tan Lin Yuan's idea, and this sentence confirmed her suspicion.
The couple was ganging up on her. It was really unfair.
With Tan Lin Yuan's words, Nan Yu left even more resolutely.
Qu Jiaran lay in bed and watched Nan Yu leave with her own eyes. She couldn't help feeling sad and said in a wronged voice, "Lin Yuan, Yu Yu doesn't want me anymore."
"I've said it before. You asked for it," Tan Lin Yuan stood on one side. His voice was cold and clear. "You should have thought of this day when you schemed against her."
Qu Jiaran pouted and was a bit dissatisfied. "Wasn't I doing it for you? Lin Yuan, don't be ungrateful..."
"No need," Tan Lin Yuan didn't even lift his eyelids.
"What's wrong with me?" Qu Jiaran tilted her chin and pursed her lips. "I just want the three of us to be okay. I can't just let the two of you be together while leaving me alone. I might as well be dead."
"You really deserve to die if you don't know how to be grateful," Tan Lin Yuan said indifferently. His tone didn't sound like a curse but rather like a monk preaching scriptures. "If she hadn't saved you, I'd be holding a Buddhist service for you now."
"You're so mean," Qu Jiaran frowned and said unhappily. "If I died, wouldn't you be a bit sad?"
"No," Tan Lin Yuan stated the fact coldly.
"You're saying such cruel words just because you know I like you," Qu Jiaran snorted. She didn't take it to heart but then curled her lips again. "But thinking that Yu Yu never liked you makes me feel much better."
After she said that, seeing Tan Lin Yuan's face turn even colder, she couldn't help laughing. She felt extremely happy in her heart. "Didn't you hear just now? It doesn't matter if you didn't. I'll repeat it for you: Yu Yu said that she never liked you."
She laughed as she spoke, clapping her hands. She laughed wildly. "You're finished. Everyone has abandoned you. Now even Yu Yu doesn't want you!"
"Qu Jiaran, stop going too far," Tan Lin Yuan's facial features tightened. His voice was as cold as a long - lasting night, making people shiver. "You're not qualified to lecture me about her and me."