The Shen family head was a thousand percent certain that after Li Qianfan stopped Su Nanyin from committing suicide, he would never return to her.
But—
Su Nanyin suddenly smiled.
With a leisurely tone, she asked, "What if I told you that the little beast you're referring to is currently in my bedroom, keeping me company?"
Heh heh.
The Shen family head chuckled and said, "Daoist Du said that if Su Nanyin doesn't wear the wooden cangue, kneel, and be whipped with her back turned to him, you two can never truly be together!"
What?
Su Nanyin froze.
"Su Nanyin is not easily obtained by just anyone."
The Shen family head continued, "Wearing the wooden cangue and kneeling signifies your guilt. Turning your back to the little beast means you have no face to be seen. Being whipped, of course, means being conquered by his brute force. Daoist Du said this in a very euphemistic way. Believe it or not, I believe him."
A flood of humiliation immediately surged in Su Nanyin's heart.
Wear the wooden cangue?
Su Nanyin would rather die ten thousand times than wear that thing!
She said coldly, "I'll consider it carefully."
"Fine. I'll give you a maximum of 72 hours. After that, no more extensions. Su Nanyin, remember. Life is only lived once! Everyone has the right to do anything to survive!"
After uttering these words, the Shen family head, confident of victory, decisively ended the call.
Su Nanyin put down her phone and looked at the paper she had heavily marked with an "X", looking at the name.
After remaining motionless for a full five minutes, she finally held the name to her heart.
Gasping, she asked, "Why are you so foolish? As long as you and Mao Mao Chong bite, everything will be fine. Even if I'm struck by divine retribution, so what?"
Help.
Help me.
A soft knock on the door interrupted Su Nanyin's tears.
She hurriedly raised her hand, wiped away her tears forcefully, locked the paper in her drawer, and then asked faintly, "Who?"
Li Qianfan's voice drifted from outside the study, "Auntie Nanyin, it's Li Qianfan."
Auntie Nanyin again!
Su Nanyin instinctively frowned and asked, "What is it?"
Li Qianfan asked from outside, "Yes, there's something. Can I... talk to you alone right now?"
Su Nanyin was silent for a moment, then nodded, "Come in."
The door opened.
Li Qianfan walked in.
After entering, he closed the door casually and surveyed the study.
Su Nanyin, who had been sitting with her legs curled for too long, felt her legs go numb.
She simply rested her feet on a corner of the desk, completely unconcerned that her delicate feet were in Li Qianfan's line of sight.
She asked calmly, "You brat, what do you want to talk to me about?"
Li Qianfan sat opposite the desk and glanced at her legs.
Getting straight to the point, he asked, "Do you really want to know why I've been calling you Auntie Nanyin all these days?"
Su Nanyin dangled her feet, replying lazily, "Yes. I really want to know."
"Then have you ever heard of—"
Li Qianfan hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Four Phoenixes Circling the Beam?"
As he asked this question, his gaze was fixed on Su Nanyin's eyes, closely observing her every expression.
If Su Nanyin didn't know, her instinctive reaction would be bewilderment.
If she already knew—
Su Nanyin's eyebrows arched, and she blurted out, "Who told you about Four Phoenixes Circling the Beam!?"
Sigh.
Luo Huayin really didn't lie to me.
This woman wants to control me.
Li Qianfan sighed inwardly and did not answer immediately. Instead, he took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.
He leaned back in his chair, resting his feet on the corner of the desk.
His feet were on the east side of the desk, and Su Nanyin's feet were on the west side.
Seeing that he had also adopted such a casual posture, Su Nanyin was displeased and frowned, "Who told you about Four Phoenixes Circling the Beam?"
"It was someone from the War Demon Hall."
Li Qianfan told the truth, "After I was captured by people from the War Demon Hall in Blackwater Forest and taken to the Arctic Circle, she thought I was helpless and told me everything about Four Phoenixes Circling the Beam."
Since he had decided to have an honest conversation with Su Nanyin, Li Qianfan stopped beating around the bush.
He spent a full hour recounting everything Luo Huayin had told him (including the matter of making Su Nanyin wear the cangue and kneel to be whipped as a slave; and the possibility of Su Nanyin becoming a "paired bird"蛊虫 like Zhuang Wujian to prevent him from aging), all truthfully.
Even.
Li Qianfan also revealed Zhuang Wujian's plan to "marry him back" to the War Demon Hall to use his inherent male original 209 to compensate for her own deficiencies.
During his narration.
Su Nanyin remained silent, her expression shifting between worry and uncertainty.
Her feet, resting on the desk corner, occasionally twitched.
She didn't know if it was influenced by Li Qianfan, but she had smoked four cigarettes in just one hour.
Smoke filled the study.
But she knew—
Why Li Qianfan had been distant from her since returning from Blackwater Forest!
Li Qianfan finally finished speaking, feeling a bit thirsty.
After all, he had been thoroughly "dealt with" by that porcelain doll in the basement before he started his monologue.
He turned and reached out, picking up Su Nanyin's thermos.
It contained jasmine tea.
She had brewed it in the evening, and the temperature was just right.
Li Qianfan drank all the water in one gulp, feeling his throat immediately much more comfortable.
He didn't rush to ask for Su Nanyin's "feedback."
He just wanted to see what this woman would say after listening (she should at least explain something to him).
"What Luo Huayin said is all true."
Su Nanyin finally spoke, "I have to rely on you to ensure I can survive and become younger and more beautiful."
Li Qianfan smiled and said nothing.
Su Nanyin then asked, "You clearly know I'm using you. Then why did you stop me from committing suicide? And why did you openly declare to people under the Great Wall that you wanted to possess me, then leave, only to come to my house tonight? Do you know that by coming to my house, you've basically cut off your hope of inheriting Long Xu?"
These questions.
Actually, they had already been asked when Li Qianfan first arrived at the Su family and Su Nanyin, in front of Mao Mao Chong, asked him, "Do you really want to possess me?"
Her asking again now was to know what Li Qianfan was thinking before he came.
Li Qianfan replied, "I decided to come to the Su family tonight because no matter what I thought, I couldn't find any fault with you. I couldn't let you bear infamy and be pointed at by everyone as a slut, becoming depressed and dying, all for my own future."
He paused.
Li Qianfan repeated, "No matter what I thought, I couldn't find any fault with you! I can't just abandon you."
"Boy, you're still a man."
Su Nanyin put down her feet, picked up her phone, turned on the call recording, placed it in front of Li Qianfan, and then stood up to walk towards the door, raising her hand to lightly stroke his head, "Listen carefully. After you finish listening, you might know what to do."
Without waiting for Li Qianfan to react, Su Nanyin quickly walked out of the study.
She stood at the doorway, raised her hands high, and stretched languidly with a captivating charm.
Her Mao Mao Chong was playing cards at the table.
They had originally agreed to continue drinking.
But because the two who went to get the wine lingered in the basement for nearly an hour; and Su Nanyin had been on the phone in the study for so long,
Mao Mao Chong had lost interest in drinking and decided to play Dou Dizhu while watching TV and eating snacks.
With stakes, of course.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be interesting.
Su Nanyin sat beside Su Maomao and suggested, "Let's play Zha Jin Hua."
The game Zha Jin Hua is very popular all over the country.
It's normal to play a round during holidays when the family gathers.
Two people can play, four people can play, eight people can play.
Su Nanyin's suggestion had barely fallen when Du Yaoyao pouted, "Go away, we're not playing that with you. You always win."
Zha Jin Hua is a game that most tests "acting" and scheming.
Mao Mao Chong was very wary of Su Nanyin's scheming and acting abilities.
In the past, whenever they played Zha Jin Hua, Su Nanyin would win all the pocket money from the three sisters.
Yaoyao's unceremonious disdain was unanimously approved by Mao Mao, and they both showed her their backs.
"A bunch of ungrateful wretches."
Rejected from joining, Su Nanyin was quite dejected.
She could only wiggle and wiggle her way back to the bedroom.
After taking a hot bath, she deliberately changed into a purple silk robe, took a mobile phone out of the cabinet, and turned it on.
This phone belonged to "Ru Hua" and had only one friend, "Nen Cao."
Su Nanyin hadn't used this phone in a long time.
Tonight, she felt she had to use this phone to probe Nen Cao's true thoughts.
In the study.
Li Qianfan finally finished listening to the recording of Su Nanyin's call with the Shen family head.
He then realized—
Before tonight, Su Nanyin had no idea what Four Phoenixes Circling the Beam was!
But Four Phoenixes Circling the Beam actually existed.
Whether it was Luo Huayin, the Shen family head, or Su Nanyin, none of the three had lied.
At most, Su Nanyin, the protagonist, had been kept completely in the dark.
On the other hand, Zhuang Wujian and her mother, far away in the War Demon Hall, knew why she could be with Li Qianfan.
The Shen family head, who only learned about Four Phoenixes Circling the Beam today, was the clearest about why Shen Yue had chosen the person associated with Four Phoenixes Circling the Beam!
"So, I've wronged her after all."
"Of course, because Four Phoenixes Circling the Beam truly exists, my instinctive distancing from her was also a normal or even correct reaction."
"So, what should I do in the future?"
As Li Qianfan reached for another cigarette, his phone let out a crisp ding.
Ru Hua, whom he hadn't contacted in a long time, had sent a message!