The man was dressed in a dark gray shirt, and his black trousers blended seamlessly with the night.
He stood there, his expression calm and composed.
The small western-style building was located in a quiet area with few residents nearby. Occasionally, the chirping of insects could be heard.
Although it was not yet midsummer, there was already a hint of heat in the late-night air.
Nanyu unconsciously tightened her fingers and looked at Tan Linyuan. "I had a fever just now and didn't recognize you."
Tan Linyuan replied, "I know."
Watching her faint in front of him, his heart skipped a beat.
He thought that some old illness had resurfaced during the months he had been away from her.
Thankfully, after a check-up, it was just a fever. He helped Aunt Li carry her to the bed.
It would have been enough to leave Nanyu in Aunt Li's care, but even in her unconscious state, she clung tightly to the corner of his clothes. So he had to feed her the medicine himself.
He didn't let go until she was sound asleep.
Aunt Li told Tan Linyuan to go back first, saying that she could take care of Nanyu.
But he didn't leave.
He was about to start the car when he noticed a staggering figure in the rearview mirror. So he turned off the engine.
The two stood in silence, looking at each other.
After a long while, the silence helped Nanyu calm down. She realized that chasing after him had been an impulsive decision. "It's getting late. You should go back first."
Tan Linyuan raised his eyebrows slightly. "Are you driving me away again?"
Nanyu bit her lips gently.
She whispered, "Why did you..."
Tan Linyuan quickly answered, "Don't you know why I'm here?"
Nanyu opened her mouth but didn't say a word.
The answer was obvious.
Tan Linyuan stared directly into her eyes, as if peeling an onion layer by layer to uncover her innermost feelings.
He was trying to confirm if there was still a place for him in her heart.
This was even more important than knowing that their child was still alive.
Tan Linyuan took a step towards her, and she instinctively took a step back.
Tan Linyuan's expression changed slightly. "Are you afraid of me?"
"Not... afraid." Nanyu whispered.
"If you're not afraid, why did you step back?"
Nanyu was silent for a moment. Then she silently took a step towards him, as if to retract her previous retreat.
Tan Linyuan couldn't help but smile.
"Didn't you say that you were afraid of being jinxed by me and wanted to live a few more years?"
Such harsh words sounded so casual coming from his mouth.
Nanyu felt even more heartbroken. She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I said those things in a moment of desperation. If I hurt you..."
"You did hurt me."
Nanyu suddenly looked up.
Tan Linyuan's voice was extremely calm. "I don't care what others say about me, but I do care about what you say."
"Sorry."
Tan Linyuan asked softly, "Can an apology solve the problem?"
No, it couldn't.
A simple apology could not make up for the psychological trauma caused by those harsh words.
Nanyu's hands tightened little by little. She said with difficulty, "I know. So if you need me to do anything, I'll make it up to you."
Make it up.
Tan Linyuan paused for a moment. The words sounded familiar.
He had said the same thing to Nanyu not long ago.
Now he finally understood how it felt.
"No need." Tan Linyuan lowered his eyes slightly. "We're even."
The two of them had hurt each other in their own ways.
Wasn't this a kind of fairness?
Nanyu opened her mouth slightly. "The child..."
"I've seen him. He's very cute." Tan Linyuan said calmly, "If you find it troublesome, I'll never interfere in your and your son's lives. You can rest assured."
"That's not what I meant." Nanyu wrapped her coat tightly around herself. "I mean, if you want to see the child next time, you can come upstairs directly."
Tan Linyuan was taken aback.
He thought she would continue to drive him away.
"You're the child's biological father. You have the right to visit him..."
This should be a way to make up for him.
Tan Linyuan glanced at her. "Is this your way of making it up to me?"
Nanyu: "..."
He knew exactly what she was thinking.
Tan Linyuan pressed on. "So, you're saying that in order to make it up to me, you're allowing me to visit my son, which is something I'm already entitled to?"
Nanyu: ...
Her head was spinning. She felt like she was being led in circles. "Then what do you want?"
Tan Linyuan bit his lower lip. "If possible, I want the chance to be forgiven by you."
Nanyu's breathing quickened.
Wasn't it supposed to be him forgiving her? How did the roles reverse in just a few words?
"I never blamed you in the first place..." Only after she said it did Nanyu realize that she had spoken her true feelings.
"If you never blamed me, why did you drive me away?" Tan Linyuan looked at her. "You even said that we would have nothing to do with each other in the future and told me not to show up in front of you again."
"Can't I say things out of anger?" Her voice was muffled.
"Of course you can." Tan Linyuan nodded and walked over to put his arm around her shoulders. "Then you have to allow me to make mistakes and give me a chance to be forgiven by you and our son."
Nanyu's breathing was uneven.
She was sure that she still had a fever, or else why would her body be so hot and her heart beating so fast?
Leaning in his arms, she felt that her floating heart had finally found a harbor.
After a long silence, when she spoke again, her voice was a bit hoarse. "Tan Linyuan, I don't know how to get along with you now."
"You were the one who made me experience what it's like to love someone wholeheartedly. You were also the only one who tolerated me, took care of me, and protected me when I was in danger... But I can't get over the fact that you once abandoned me so decisively. It makes me feel like everything is determined by your will. This feeling of insecurity scares me. I'm afraid that even if we make up now, you'll suddenly leave without saying a word one day in the future..."
Tan Linyuan tightened his arms around her.
His voice was low, filled with regret and guilt. "It's my fault."
Nanyu felt a dull pain in her chest. "So, can you promise that you'll never leave again?"
There was a long silence.
Her heart sank little by little in the silence.
Finally, Tan Linyuan's voice rang out above her head. "Nanyu, I don't have a home anymore."
"If I'm not with you, I don't know where to go."
"If I don't have you, I have nowhere to go."
He was a lonely traveler in the world.
She was the only place where he could find peace.
"How could I possibly leave? I'm just afraid that one day you'll get tired of me - or worse, drive me out of the house again like you did that day."
His voice was calm, but there was an inexplicable hint of grievance in it.
"If I drive you away, won't you come back?" Nanyu sniffled. "You promised me that if you ever made me unhappy in the future, I could lock you out anytime."
He was taken aback for a moment, then remembered the future they had once envisioned together. "No matter how many times you drive me away in the future, I won't leave. I'll wait for you to calm down and open the door for me. Okay?"
"Okay." Nanyu whispered.
After that, neither of them said a word.
Nanyu leaned on Tan Linyuan's shoulder, listening to the steady beating of his heart. She felt a long-lost sense of security.
Only then did she realize that the calm and peaceful appearance she had shown before was just a fragile disguise.
Only when she was with him could her heart truly settle down.
Suddenly, Nanyu had an idea. "You weren't really angry because of those words, were you?"
Tan Linyuan let out a low laugh. "How did you figure it out again?"
Nanyu was annoyed.
The old fox was using the strategy of feigning weakness!
The man lowered his head and kissed her forehead. "I was a little angry at the time, but I couldn't bear to be really angry with you."
"Why couldn't you bear to?" Nanyu insisted on getting an answer. She broke free from his embrace and looked directly into his eyes.
Tan Linyuan had no choice but to whisper in her ear, "Look at your temper. It comes and goes so quickly. I'm too busy trying to cheer you up..."
The hot breath on her earlobe made Nanyu shiver.
She was his destination.
He was her harbor.