Nan Yu saw him lower his head, and their gazes locked directly.
In an instant, Nan Yu held her breath. She felt so close to him that it seemed if she moved just one centimeter closer, his lips would touch the tip of her nose.
Time in the meditation room seemed to actually come to a halt and stop flowing.
The air became humid.
Nan Yu couldn't control the slight tremor of her eyelashes. At this moment, her heart was pounding so hard it was about to jump out of her throat.
"Close your eyes."
Nan Yu heard his cold voice right next to her ear. She obediently closed her eyes.
Tan Linyuan's big hand still covered the back of her hand, and her fingers trembled uncontrollably.
It turned out that hiding one's emotions was such a difficult thing.
His kiss landed on her, just as expected.
Even though it was just a fleeting kiss, Nan Yu could sense the difference.
Compared to before she confirmed his feelings, his current kiss showed obvious aggression and possessiveness.
Like a wolf that had worn sheep's skin for a long time, he suddenly tore off the disguise and expressed his stance more openly.
In front of her, he was never an open and upright gentleman.
He had the most despicable soul.
After Tan Linyuan let go of her, no one broke the silence for a while, which made Nan Yu feel a bit uncomfortable.
She pursed her lips and wanted to say something to ease the atmosphere. "That..."
"You seduced me," Tan Linyuan said.
Nan Yu:?
Nan Yu didn't expect him to shift the blame onto her. Her cheeks instantly flushed. "Tan Linyuan! You're so shameless..."
Before she could finish her words, out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly caught sight of the open window.
On the windowsill, there was a fat cat lying there. Its pair of emerald - green eyes were staring directly at her.
Nan Yu was immediately terrified. She wanted to back away, but was afraid that, just like last time, it would come running towards her on its own initiative.
Tan Linyuan noticed her change and followed her gaze to the windowsill.
"Yu Yu, come here," Tan Linyuan called out to the cat. The cat immediately jumped off the windowsill and ran straight towards him.
It nimbly jumped onto the table and then began to lick its fur as if no one else was around.
After finishing licking its fur, it started to size up Nan Yu.
Nan Yu was so scared that she didn't dare to move a muscle as the cat was right in front of her. She was tense all over.
She completely forgot to ask why the cat was named "Yu Yu".
"Afraid of cats?" Tan Linyuan asked casually.
Instead of being stubborn, Nan Yu answered honestly. "I was scratched by a stray cat when I was a kid, so I'm quite scared of them."
"It doesn't scratch people," Tan Linyuan said as he placed his palm on Yu Yu's back. Yu Yu arched its back, showing a very comfortable posture and let Tan Linyuan stroke it.
"You're lying. It scratched Qu Jiaran last time," Nan Yu said, still feeling scared even though Yu Yu looked harmless.
Tan Linyuan said indifferently, "Because it doesn't like Qu Jiaran."
Cats are very proud animals. Their actions are entirely based on their own preferences.
Is it because it doesn't like someone that it shows its claws...?
Nan Yu glanced at Tan Linyuan. Thinking that Tan Linyuan also didn't like Qu Jiaran, she subconsciously said, "Taking after its master?"
"Yeah, taking after its master."
He looked at her with a hint of meaning in his eyes. "Otherwise, why don't you pet it? Maybe it'll like you."
Nan Yu bit her lower lip and averted her gaze.
Asking someone who is afraid of cats to pet one is undoubtedly an extreme challenge.
But perhaps because Tan Linyuan was there, or maybe because she wanted to verify the saying "taking after its master", Nan Yu still decided to give it a try.
She slowly and cautiously reached out her hand, getting closer to Yu Yu little by little.
Yu Yu's nose first touched the tip of her finger, smelling the scent on her. Its whiskers brushed against her finger pads.
Nan Yu was extremely nervous. She stared straight at Yu Yu, not daring to take her eyes off for a moment.
She was just afraid that it would extend its claws the next second and give her a "lesson".
Who would have thought that the next second, Yu Yu would nuzzle its head into her palm.
Its furry little head rubbing against her palm was undoubtedly a sign of friendliness and an invitation.
Nan Yu's heart melted instantly.
She bravely started to rub its head and ears. The cat in her palm gradually began to purr.
Hearing this sound, Nan Yu was so scared that she immediately withdrew her hand. Looking panicked, she said, "Did I hurt it? Is it angry?"
Tan Linyuan witnessed the whole process and couldn't help but burst out laughing. "You misunderstood. It's not warning you. It's showing friendliness."
"Showing friendliness?"
"Yeah, it means it likes you," he said, with the corners of his lips slightly curving up in a faint smile.
Nan Yu was a bit surprised. She looked down at Yu Yu, and Yu Yu also looked back at her with a puzzled look in its eyes.
It seemed to be saying: Why stop petting me?
The soft touch still remained on Nan Yu's hand. She couldn't help but reach out to pet it again. But this time, Yu Yu arrogantly dodged her.
Then it jumped off the table, with its tail held high, and jumped back onto the windowsill.
It didn't leave. Instead, it turned its head and stared at her.
"What does this mean?"
"No more petting," Tan Linyuan glanced at her. "You were just enjoying yourself. It's not happy."
Nan Yu burst out laughing.
"What are you laughing at?"
Nan Yu didn't dare to say that she thought Yu Yu's personality was really similar to its master's.
Tan Linyuan sat up straight again. He folded the copied scriptures and put them in the drawer.
Previously, most of the Buddhist scriptures that Tan Linyuan copied were either burned on the same day or placed in the scripture - storage room.
If he temporarily put them in the drawer, it was probably for the purpose of reciting scriptures and praying for someone.
Nan Yu asked out of curiosity. "Who is this Buddhist scripture for?"
Tan Linyuan tidied up the things on the wooden table and said very calmly, "Wen Ying and Shen Yanche are about to get married. This is a prayer scripture prepared for the two newlyweds."
When he said this, his tone was extremely calm, as if he was talking about a pair of ordinary pilgrims.
In his eyes, it seemed that everyone was just one of the common people.
Nan Yu put away her own scriptures and then softly asked, "Aren't you on bad terms with the Shen family? Why can you still calmly pray for their wedding?"
"Can the scriptures copied with such a state of mind really play the role of prayer and blessing?"
Nan Yu really wanted to know if there really was a person in this world who was free from good and evil.
Tan Linyuan glanced at her. "Why not?"
Things are not always overlapping.
The bad relationship between Tan Linyuan and the Shen family is one thing; the wedding of Shen Yanche and Wen Ying is another.
It can be seen that Tan Linyuan's act of copying scriptures to pray for the wedding does not affect his actions against the Shen family.
Nan Yu couldn't help but marvel at his calmness and open - mindedness.
"But people have hearts of flesh," Nan Yu still insisted on asking. "Can the balance in your heart always be completely unbiased?"
As soon as the words were out, Nan Yu noticed that Tan Linyuan's gaze at her became a bit deeper than before, with a special kind of emotion.
He was silent for a long time and didn't give her an answer. He just stared at her intently for a long time.
Nan Yu felt her ears getting hot.
No answer was actually an answer.