Tan Linyuan raised his eyes and could only see her misty eyes.
The next second, he bent down, his fingers caressing her face as he tilted her chin up.
After just one second of eye contact, he kissed her.
His lips were as cold as the mountain wind. There was a faint bitterness between his lips and teeth, and a barely perceptible smell of tobacco she had never noticed in his mouth before.
It was very subtle, but she still detected it.
When they separated, they gasped for breath.
Nan Yu's voice was hoarse. "… You've been smoking."
"It's not addictive." Tan Linyuan lowered his head, looking at her lips. He thought that if she could always be by his side, he wouldn't have to touch that throat - choking stuff.
Her presence was far more effective in relieving his restlessness and depression than tobacco.
When they returned to Jing'an Temple, Nan Yu felt an indescribable feeling.
The last time she came here, she was forced by Tan Linyuan to do the cleaning.
Now, as she stepped in again, the courtyard was clean, clearly having been carefully swept and tidied.
Nan Yu could tell that someone had lived here.
Had Tan Linyuan been living here all this time?
Thinking this, she followed him into the meditation room.
After they sat down, Tan Linyuan poured her a cup of hot tea and then said calmly, "I originally planned to stay here for one more day and then go back."
"But you didn't expect me to come and find you," Nan Yu finished his sentence for him.
Tan Linyuan nodded.
After learning all the truths, his heart couldn't calm down.
All the direct evidence of Tan Jinxian's crimes had been collected, and the series of financial scandals related to the Tan family were still being carefully investigated.
Counting all his crimes together, he would probably never see the light of day again.
This news spread like wildfire in Jiangcheng. Gossip seemed to have legs. The fact that Tan Linyuan was unpopular in the Tan family and was even driven to Changuang Temple back then was dug out one by one.
Everyone finally understood why Tan Linyuan was so cold - hearted, decisive, and uncompromising.
He was "heartless" in a non - derogatory sense when it came to the Tan family.
Since he had never received any kindness from them, it was only natural that he had no feelings for them.
Tan Linyuan's feelings towards the Tan family were actually very complicated.
People's hearts were made of flesh. Of course, he had once been attached to this family.
Just like when a mother got angry and pushed her child away in a fit of pique, the child would still cry and hug her, begging her not to abandon him.
Tan Linyuan had been like that too.
But not all crying children got fed.
He had cried all his tears dry.
So when all this finally came to an end, his first reaction was relief.
Finally, he had found the root cause of everything, and finally, he had obtained all the results.
After the police confirmed that they no longer needed his testimony, the first place he wanted to go was Jing'an Temple.
This place could be considered his own.
He cleaned it up by himself and stayed here for one night.
After his emotions had calmed down a bit, he stayed for another day.
Then he received Nan Yu's call.
She said, "Where are you?"
She said, "This time, I'll come to see you."
She said, "You need me."
He had originally planned to get his emotions in order before returning to Jingbei to reunite with her and their son.
But the moment he saw Nan Yu, he realized how stupid he had been.
The person who could calm him down had actually been by his side all along.
Nan Yu didn't know what he was thinking. She just said cheerfully, "Jiangcheng really has a humid climate. In Jingbei, the sun always dries people's throats."
She smiled and said, "It's okay to stay here for a few days. I can experience what it's like to live in the mountains."
Nan Yu could guess that Tan Linyuan stayed here because it made him feel at ease.
So she was willing to stay here with him. "Don't worry about Xiaobanli. Aunt Li is taking care of him. We'll just treat this as a vacation."
Seeing that Tan Linyuan didn't say a word, Nan Yu started talking to herself. "I didn't feel much last time, but this time, I have some childhood memories. These buildings look familiar. I remember seeing them before…"
"Nan Yu."
"… Hmm?"
"Thank you."
Thank her for always being so determined, for flying into the fire like a moth, and for always standing by his side.
"But I want to tell you that you got one thing wrong."
He looked into her eyes, reached out and put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to his heart.
"You are my sun."
She was the one who had pulled him out of the abyss, who had rescued him from a suffocating life, and who had appeared in front of him with light and heat.
She was the scorching, brilliant sun.
…
The temple was extremely quiet. Every tiny sound was amplified.
Tan Linyuan got up and took out a box from the drawer in the room.
"Open it and take a look."
Nan Yu was stunned. "What is it?"
Tan Linyuan lowered his eyes and didn't say a word, letting her uncover the answer herself.
Seeing his serious expression, Nan Yu couldn't help but feel nervous. She took the box and opened it.
Inside was a restored stone seal.
Although the restoration was perfect, if you looked closely, you could still see the crack in the middle.
It was pieced together from two halves.
She paused for a moment, then looked completely shocked. "… You found it?"
Tan Linyuan nodded. "Tan Jinxian is in prison, and all those related to him in the Tan family are under investigation. Tan Jinxian's daughter, Tan Wanru, gave this to me and said she hoped I could put in a good word for her."
Tan Wanru didn't know the origin of this half - seal. She said that when the Tan family went bankrupt and they were moving, it fell out of the cabinet. She didn't have time to ask Tan Jinxian about it at that time, and the matter was soon forgotten.
By chance, she found out that Tan Linyuan was looking for a similar seal, so she took the initiative to hand it over, hoping that even if he didn't care about family ties, he would at least consider the seal.
Nan Yu felt a bit guilty. "You don't have to do this for me. Just handle everything as it should be."
The seal was important, but she didn't want him to be wronged.
"Tan Wanru is not really involved in the case," Tan Linyuan said calmly. "Moreover, she gave this to me just hoping that I would spare her jewelry brand and give their family of three a way to survive."
Tan Wanru was actually worrying needlessly.
She thought that the cold - blooded Tan Linyuan would immediately go on a killing spree and eliminate everyone related to Tan Jinxian to vent his anger and take revenge.
In fact, Tan Linyuan had no such intention and didn't plan to do so.
Let the dust return to dust and the earth to earth. Let the cause and effect end here.
No longer hate anyone, no longer resent anyone.
Let the cycle end here.
As for the seal being found, pieced together, and returned to Nan Yu, it was purely a coincidence.
After hearing this, Nan Yu felt a deep sense of regret. "No one in the entire Tan family understands you."
Once, they had worshiped him like a god; now, they avoided him like a demon.
It was never the matter itself that determined good or evil.
It was the human heart.