Although it sounded harsh, Tan Linyuan was absolutely right.
This was the Shen family's territory. If Nan Yu made a scene here, it would do her no good.
The entire ancestral mansion was filled with Shen family members. She was completely isolated—well, not entirely.
After all, there was still Tan Linyuan, this towering figure.
At this moment, Nan Yu finally understood the ultimate essence of "clutching at straws in a desperate situation." "Uncle Tan, may Buddha show mercy. Please offer your guidance."
Tan Linyuan looked at her, his eyes devoid of any warmth, his tone calm. "Didn't you just say whether you live or die has nothing to do with me?"
He was quite vengeful.
A look of embarrassment flashed across Nan Yu's face. She could only force a smile and say, "I'm asking Buddha, not Uncle Tan."
Tan Linyuan let out a cold laugh. "What's the difference?"
He glanced at her and said indifferently, "Moreover, didn't you say you don't believe in Buddha? Why are you asking now?"
Nan Yu: "..."
She was certain that Tan Linyuan was doing it on purpose.
He clearly knew her situation but was reluctant to help, just watching her flounder.
Nan Yu took a deep breath, gritted her teeth in silence, and swallowed hard as she pondered how to negotiate with Tan Linyuan without owing him a favor.
Every expression on her face fell into Tan Linyuan's eyes and was vividly imprinted in his heart.
At this moment, she no longer had that awkward formality and distance from before, but was truly alive and vibrant.
Tan Linyuan lowered his eyes slightly and reached out to grab her wrist.
Nan Yu was startled and looked up in confusion.
The place he held was the string of Buddhist beads he had given her.
His fingers were cold, sending a slight chill through her skin.
The Buddhist beads rolled on her wrist, and the beads rubbed against her skin, causing a slight stinging pain.
"From this moment on, don't eat anything of unknown origin." He leaned in close, as if whispering in her ear. His calm voice seemed to come from a distant lighthouse on a mountain. "Stay where I can see you at all times."
After saying that, he let go of her hand, his eyes calm. "If you run too far, I won't be able to protect you."
It was like a reminder and a warning.
...
The whole afternoon, Nan Yu's throat was so dry it was smoking, but she didn't take a single sip of water.
The servants of the Shen family brought her fruits, but she shook her head and refused them all.
It wasn't until 6 p.m. that the religious service in the mourning hall ended on time.
The lights in the ancestral mansion were turned on, and everyone began to bustle about preparing for dinner.
The food wasn't much different from lunch. It was still vegetarian food prepared for the monks, but it was served in smaller portions. Each person had two small dishes and a bowl of porridge.
When Nan Yu came back from the bathroom, she saw Shen Yanche holding a plate of food and waving at her.
"Yuyu, I've brought your dinner. Hurry up and eat it while it's hot."
Hearing this, Nan Yu instinctively became vigilant and scanned the food on the table.
Her intuition told her that there must be drugs in it.
Seeing her standing there, Shen Yanche couldn't help but call out to her again. "Yuyu, come here quickly."
Nan Yu forced herself to walk over and said as calmly as possible, "I'm not very hungry. I won't eat."
"How can that be?" Shen Yanche frowned, looking concerned and reproachful. "You're too thin now. You should eat more."
Nan Yu lowered her head and remained silent, thinking that of course he wanted her to eat more.
Seeing that she didn't respond, Shen Yanche thought for a moment and took a step back. "Even if you have no appetite, you should eat something to fill your stomach. The rules here in the ancestral mansion are strict. There's no late - night snack allowed."
"I'm really not hungry." Nan Yu persisted. "Even if I don't eat now, I won't feel hungry at night."
Seeing her determination, Shen Yanche finally didn't force her. He just pushed the bowl of porridge towards her. "Drinking some porridge should be okay, right? We have to get up early tomorrow to send Grandpa off for burial. You'll get hypoglycemia if you don't eat."
Just then, Tan Linyuan walked over. His calm gaze fell on the two of them, as if he had come specifically for them.
Shen Yanche was briefly stunned, then immediately smiled politely. "Uncle Tan, you haven't had dinner yet. Join us?"
"Sure." Tan Linyuan nodded slightly and sat directly across from them.
Undoubtedly, the moment she saw Tan Linyuan, Nan Yu's tense mood calmed down a lot.
She always had an inexplicable intuition that as long as he was around, everything would turn out okay.
Tan Linyuan's sudden appearance made Shen Yanche obviously a bit flustered. He forced a smile. "Uncle Tan, you've worked hard. Eat more tonight."
Tan Linyuan responded calmly. "Where's Uncle Shen?"
"He's upstairs. He's old and doesn't like to move around. He's getting ready to rest." Shen Yanche replied.
As the two of them chatted, Nan Yu remained silent all the time, her eyes fixed on the porridge in front of her.
Based on her judgment of Shen Yanche, if nothing unexpected happened, the drugs should be in the porridge.
Sure enough, after Shen Yanche finished chatting with Tan Linyuan, he started to "care" about Nan Yu again. "Yuyu, hurry up and drink the porridge. It'll hurt your stomach if it gets cold."
He naturally reached out his hand and even gently touched the side of the bowl. "Drink it while it's hot."
Now, Nan Yu was 100% sure that there was something wrong with this bowl of porridge.
She picked up the spoon, stirred it in the bowl a few times, took a few deep breaths, and her expression became solemn.
Under Shen Yanche's watchful eyes, any small move she made would be seen clearly.
If she didn't drink it, Shen Yanche would surely notice something was amiss; but if she drank it, she didn't even dare to imagine the consequences.
Should she pretend to accidentally knock it over?
Just as she was struggling in her mind, the man across from her cleared his throat.
"Yanche, go and get Uncle Tan a bowl of porridge." Tan Linyuan said calmly. "I didn't see where it was just now. Please go for me."
Shen Yanche was staring at Nan Yu. Suddenly being sent away, a flash of impatience crossed his eyes, but he quickly replied, "Okay, Uncle Tan. Wait a moment. I'll go right away."
After saying that, he turned around and walked quickly towards the kitchen.
Nan Yu felt as if she had been granted amnesty. She watched Shen Yanche walk away, then quickly took her bowl of porridge and switched places with Shen Yanche.
After doing all this, she let out a sigh of relief.
The man across from her gave a soft laugh. It was hard to tell whether it was mockery or admiration for her actions.
Nan Yu bit her lips and then whispered softly so that only the two of them could hear, "Thank you, Uncle Tan."
Tan Linyuan gave her a deep look but said nothing.
"Uncle Tan, here's your porridge." Shen Yanche came back quickly, even a bit anxiously. Some of the porridge spilled when he put it on the table.
Tan Linyuan didn't even look at the bowl of porridge. He just wiped the corner of his mouth with a tissue and said calmly, "I'm full. You two continue."
After saying that, he got up and left.
"...Strange." Shen Yanche looked at Tan Linyuan's departing back and muttered under his breath, "He doesn't drink but still makes me go."
Hearing Shen Yanche's complaint, Nan Yu remained silent.
Tan Linyuan came here specifically to help her out of trouble.
He seemed to have anticipated that Shen Yanche would make a move during dinner, so he gave her a hand.
Nan Yu couldn't help but feel grateful in her heart.
"Never mind. Yuyu, hurry up and drink the porridge." Shen Yanche turned his head and started to "force" her to eat again whole - heartedly.
This time, Nan Yu had no more burdens in her heart. She picked up the spoon, scooped up some porridge, and put it into her mouth.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed that when she put the porridge into her mouth, Shen Yanche's expression clearly showed a sense of relief, and there was even a bit of anticipation.
She became even more certain that there was indeed something wrong with the porridge.
Even so, to be on the safe side, she didn't touch any of the other dishes except for the bowl of porridge she had swapped with Shen Yanche.