Some time later, a thunderstorm had started outside.
The rain was so heavy that it drowned out the sounds in the room. As a result, they no longer bothered to hold back and instead indulged themselves even more.
There were several moments when Nan Yu felt as if the heavy rain had poured into the room and was about to drown her.
...
It was not until the second half of the night that it finally ended. Nan Yu took a shower and came out. Although she was exhausted all over, she felt no sign of sleepiness at all.
She leaned on Tan Linyuan's shoulder and saw that he was still busy with work. She couldn't help exclaiming, "Don't you need to sleep?"
Tan Linyuan turned his head and rubbed the space between his eyebrows. "I'm used to it."
He never needed much sleep anyway.
Seeing the computer screen still on, Nan Yu felt a bit annoyed and abruptly closed the laptop.
"I'm hungry."
"Still hungry?" Tan Linyuan wasn't angry at being interrupted. He just glanced at her and said, "If you keep this up, you won't be able to get out of bed tomorrow."
Nan Yu blushed and was about to hit him. "I mean I'm hungry in my stomach!"
After a whole night of activity, the dinner had long been digested.
But she was too embarrassed to ask Aunt Li to make supper for her at this time, as it would be dawn in three hours.
"What would you like to eat?" Tan Linyuan asked her.
On a whim, she started making a wish in the air. "I'd like chestnut pastries."
There was nowhere to find chestnut pastries at this late hour.
But since he asked, she naturally told him the thing she wanted to eat the most at the moment. "The kind you made with your own hands."
Tan Linyuan looked at her. "What's my reward?"
Nan Yu was indignant. "You haven't even given me the pastries yet, but you're already asking for a reward. What a materialistic man."
Tan Linyuan smiled and told her to wait on the bed. Then he got up and left the room.
After that, under Nan Yu's expectant gaze, he took out a pastry box from behind his back.
Inside were neatly arranged chestnut pastries.
Nan Yu was both surprised and amused. "Where did you get them?"
Tan Linyuan glanced at her. "You just need to eat. Why do you need to worry about these things?"
Nan Yu picked up a pastry and took a bite. The taste was just the same as she remembered.
"When did you make them?" Nan Yu still couldn't help but dig deeper.
Tan Linyuan pursed his lips and had no choice but to tell her the truth. "I made them the other day. I didn't have the time to let you try them."
Nan Yu didn't believe him.
Tan Linyuan was used to playing little tricks. He probably waited for this moment to surprise her.
She ate while holding her hand under her mouth to prevent the crumbs from falling on the bed. After she finished eating, she rinsed her mouth and then obediently got back into the covers.
"Tan Linyuan."
"Hmm."
"Autumn is coming soon." Nan Yu said.
Tan Linyuan lowered his head and looked into her twinkling eyes. "So?"
"I think since Master Tan is so good at cooking, maybe I'll also like the wine you brew very much."
Tan Linyuan sighed helplessly and chuckled. "I should have bought a rural courtyard instead of a western-style mansion."
Nan Yu thought it was not a bad idea. "Living a life of farming at dawn and resting at sunset would also be very interesting, wouldn't it?"
...
After this conversation, Nan Yu didn't take it to heart. She just regarded it as a casual chat between a couple at night.
It wasn't until autumn that he held her hand and drove her to a rural area more than ten kilometers away.
She didn't know what Tan Linyuan was up to.
He said, "Didn't you say you wanted a rural courtyard?"
Nan Yu covered her mouth. "Are you Aladdin's Lamp?"
"Not entirely." Tan Linyuan hugged her and placed his palm on her back. "A lamp can only grant three wishes, but I'm different."
Nan Yu blinked and thought that she shouldn't make wishes casually in front of Tan Linyuan anymore, because he would really make them come true.
--
Among those who strongly opposed the reunion of Tan Linyuan and Nan Yu, Qu Jiaran was probably the most vehement.
She thought Nan Yu had forgiven Tan Linyuan too easily. After all, he had been so heartless before.
Nan Yu comforted her and said that the life she was living now was exactly what she wanted.
Qu Jiaran looked indignant. "You'll soon forget the pain once the wound heals. Only good friends will remember the suffering you've endured. If you're ever wronged again, I'll surely skin him alive."
Knowing that she was genuinely concerned about her, Nan Yu reached out and hugged Qu Jiaran. "Okay, I know. Thank you."
She and Qu Jiaran had gone from being rivals to becoming the best of friends.
Sometimes, one couldn't help but sigh at the twists and turns of fate.
Seeing her look so happy and her complexion better than before, Qu Jiaran naturally didn't want to spoil the mood.
She just asked, "Haven't you and Tan Linyuan had your wedding yet?"
Nan Yu was slightly taken aback.
It was quite interesting. After all these ups and downs, she had been married several times, but none of them had been a proper wedding with Tan Linyuan.
Even when she stood in for Qu Jiaran as the bride, she had used Qu Jiaran's name, not her own.
The lack of a proper wedding always left a faint sense of regret.
Qu Jiaran suggested that they should hold the wedding soon before winter came to Jingbei.
Otherwise, it would be freezing to wear a wedding dress in winter.
After staying in Jingbei for so long, she had gradually adapted to the climate and temperature here.
She fully agreed with Qu Jiaran's suggestion.
...
The gathering with Qu Jiaran lasted until nine o'clock at night.
When she got home, Tan Linyuan was in the study on the second floor.
Nan Yu changed her clothes and pushed open the door. She saw him sitting at the desk, copying Buddhist scriptures.
He was wearing a loose dark gray home clothes, with his sleeves slightly rolled up. Under the light, he looked extremely gentle.
Her eyes flickered, and she walked over and hugged him from behind.
"Why are you copying scriptures?" She craned her neck to look. It was a scripture she had never memorized.
Tan Linyuan put down his pen and turned around to hug her. He smelled the alcohol on her cuffs.
"Have you been drinking?"
Nan Yu nodded and said that she had dinner with Qu Jiaran. They had a great chat, so she had just a little bit.
She didn't drink much, but her nerves were a bit dull.
"You still haven't told me what you're copying." Nan Yu nestled in his arms and looked up curiously.
There were fine stubbles on his chin. From her angle, she could see the tiny wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and his deep-set eyes.
He embodied the charm of a mature man.
Tan Linyuan said it was a scripture for praying for a happy family and everything going smoothly.
"I've never seen you write this before." Nan Yu had a good memory and remembered everything he had copied before.
Tan Linyuan chuckled softly. "I wasn't married then."
What he meant was that this was a scripture for praying for the family, and one could only copy it after getting married.
Nan Yu couldn't help but laugh.
Tan Linyuan saw her look so smug. "Are you very happy?"
She admitted it without hesitation. "I feel like I've brought a treasure home, put it in my pocket, and engraved my label on it."
"...Strange analogy." But he didn't mind. "Then tell me in detail how you engraved your label on me."
Nan Yu burst out laughing. She reached out and touched his collar. Her finger stopped at the position of his heart on his left chest.
She paused for a moment and pressed there gently. "Right here."
"And where else?"
Seeing that he was interested, Nan Yu continued to move her hand down until she stopped at a certain place. Her breathing gradually became erratic. "...And here."
Tan Linyuan's voice also became hoarse. "How did you engrave it? I'm not quite sure. Could you please do it again on the spot?"
The light in the room was very bright. Nan Yu felt a bit shy and turned around to turn off the light.
She sat back on his lap again. Her long legs crossed and hooked around his back. Her voice was very soft. "Does it feel familiar?"
Before, she had also seduced him like this.
She had made him lose his mind, made his Buddha-nature waver, and made him fall into desire.
At first, the initiative was in Nan Yu's hands, but soon it was taken away by someone.
As he gradually took her in, he even let out a soft laugh.
He said: So this is how our Yu Yu engraves her label on me.