Nan Yu wasn't surprised because this wasn't the first time she'd heard such remarks.
She just couldn't figure it out. "Why don't they want to accept Tan Linyuan?"
Qu Jiaran chuckled. "I know why."
Nan Yu waited for her to continue.
"Because—Tan Linyuan isn't a biological child of the Tan family. Isn't it quite a bombshell?"
Nan Yu: "..."
Nan Yu knew that Qu Jiaran couldn't stay serious for more than three seconds.
"You don't believe me?" Seeing Nan Yu's speechless expression, Qu Jiaran quickly continued to prove her point. "It's true! Everyone says he's the... of Master Wenjing."
"Didn't you say you could eat more when you're with me?" Nan Yu interrupted and put some food into her bowl. "If so, then eat more."
"Eat more and talk less." Nan Yu said with a smile, suppressing whatever Qu Jiaran was about to say.
Meanwhile, Tan Linyuan came out of the Tan family's residence with a gloomy face.
He got into the car and slammed the door shut forcefully. After taking a deep breath, he punched the steering wheel in annoyance.
The ring on his ring finger dug into his skin painfully.
But the pain in his hand was far less intense than the pain caused by what Tan Jinxian had said to him just now.
Tan Linyuan drove back. By then, Nan Yu and Qu Jiaran had already finished their conversation.
When he got home, Nan Yu had just come out of the bathroom.
It was inconvenient for her to take a bath now, so she just simply brushed her teeth and washed her face. If she wanted to take a good hot bath, she had to have Tan Linyuan's help.
As soon as she came out, she saw Tan Linyuan standing there, cold as frost, without even taking off his overcoat.
"You're back so early today." Nan Yu yawned without noticing anything amiss.
Tan Linyuan glanced at her but said nothing. There was just a hint of coldness between his eyebrows.
Seeing that he didn't say a word, Nan Yu was taken aback for a moment. She walked over and hugged him with open arms. "Are you too tired from work?"
There was a cold and solemn aura around him. He just stood there motionless, letting her hug him without returning the hug.
Nan Yu finally sensed something was wrong. She slowly let go of her hands and looked up at the man's face.
"Do you have something to tell me?"
Tan Linyuan lowered his eyes. "Sit down and talk."
Nan Yu felt a little flustered, but she still managed to keep calm on the surface and sat down on the sofa with him.
"I wasn't with you during the last check - up. Did Liang Yi take good care of you?"
The check - up had been two weeks ago. His sudden mention of it made Nan Yu's heart skip a beat.
"Sure. Liang Yi may seem unreliable, but he's actually quite capable. He even got the check - up report for me." She said with a smile. "He said he'd be my boyfriend for a day—don't be jealous."
Tan Linyuan had no time to be jealous now.
His eyes were calm, like a deep pool, looking at her faintly.
"What were you doing when he went to get the check - up results?"
Nan Yu was stunned.
"I..." Her heart was pounding violently. Her words got stuck in her throat. Looking at his obviously gloomy face, she couldn't utter a single word.
He knew everything.
It was meaningless for her to lie now because Tan Linyuan was asking her with the answer already in mind.
The more she said, the more mistakes she might make, so she chose to remain silent.
Seeing her silent, Tan Linyuan twitched his lips. "Yuyu, I thought you'd be on my side."
"I am on your side." Nan Yu bit her lip. "I don't want you to have a conflict with your family. They're your relatives, and you want their recognition. I..."
She couldn't go on.
She saw the calmness in Tan Linyuan's cold eyes. He looked at her steadily. "Do you want to know the result?"
"Uncle said he was glad to confirm that the baby is mine. The child of the Tan family should return to the clan. He demands that we hold the wedding as soon as possible and has already informed all the relatives and friends in the circle."
Although Tan Linyuan hadn't deliberately hidden his relationship with Nan Yu, it was another matter to make it public on a grand scale.
Tan Linyuan's status was special. Once the news of his marriage spread, it would surely be a grand event.
Nan Yu was stunned.
As her due date was getting closer, she had neither the energy nor the mood to prepare for a wedding.
The risk was too great.
"... Is there no room for negotiation?"
Tan Linyuan remained silent.
If he insisted on not holding the wedding, it was of course possible.
But that would mean that he and Nan Yu would become an unacknowledged couple in the eyes of the public.
Why not make the pregnancy public when she was already pregnant?
Why not hold a wedding when they were already married?
Was it because she was someone to be ashamed of, or did the Tan family simply not recognize this woman?
By then, Nan Yu would have to bear a great deal of ridicule and humiliation.
Pregnant before marriage, no wedding, no parents...
By then, there would be plenty of people fabricating rumors, and it would be impossible to guard against them.
Even if they held the wedding after the baby was born, others would only think that she was relying on the baby to gain a place in the family.
No one would believe that she was a fully - accepted woman. Some might even suspect that she had seduced a man of few desires for money and status.
Once people's prejudices were formed, they were like mountains that were hard to change.
Tan Linyuan was reluctant and would never allow Nan Yu to suffer such prejudices.
"No." Tan Linyuan said slowly. "Moreover, we have to speed up. Otherwise, the closer it gets to your due date, the more dangerous it will be."
This arrangement was so sudden that Nan Yu didn't react for a long time.
Tan Linyuan had been angry all the way back. But now, seeing Nan Yu in her loose home clothes, standing there in a daze, he felt a little soft - hearted.
Considering her starting point, Nan Yu's actions weren't actually wrong.
She was kind - hearted. In the end, she just hoped that he could be as happy as an ordinary person.
But the more he knew this, the more guilty he felt.
The last bit of anger in his heart faded away, leaving only heartache and sadness.
He took a helpless deep breath and hugged her in his arms.
"Did the amniocentesis hurt?"
Nan Yu trembled in his arms.
He was still angry, but he was already concerned about whether it had hurt during the check - up.
Her voice came out muffled from his arms. "... Not very much."
"Yeah, that means it hurt a lot." Tan Linyuan saw through her. "No wonder your face was so pale for a few days after you came back."
Now that he thought about it, it all made sense.
Nan Yu was silent for a while. Nestled in his arms, she whispered, "I'm sorry. I just wanted you to be happy."
"Yeah, I know." Tan Linyuan lowered his head and kissed her forehead.
Nan Yu whispered in his arms, "You didn't even want to hug me when you first came back."
"I'm wrong. I'll pay attention next time."
It was clearly her who had made a mistake, but in the end, it was him who had to apologize.
Before going to bed at night, Tan Linyuan said that he would attend a family dinner in a few days. All the direct and collateral relatives of the Tan family would be there. It was a relatively formal gathering.
"Niuniu and Niuniu's mom will also be there. If you feel uncomfortable, you can talk to them." Tan Linyuan added. "If there's anyone or anything troublesome at that time, just tell me. I'll handle it."
Nan Yu knew that she couldn't avoid this, so she might as well accept it openly.
"It's going to happen sooner or later anyway." Nan Yu said with a smile in a relaxed tone. "It's been a long time since I saw Niuniu."
Tan Linyuan hugged her and said helplessly, "You know the Tan family..."
Nan Yu said generously, "Don't worry. I won't let them bully me."