The Early Spring - Chapter 100

Chapter 100 - Long Journey 

When Luan Nian asked her if she wanted to go on a trip together, she froze for a long time.

"When?"

"Right now," Luan Nian said with certainty, without the slightest hint of jest.

"Aren't you going to the Netherlands?"

"I don't have to go. Going abroad every year doesn't seem all that interesting anyway."

"But I made plans with my friends," Shang Zhitao said as she was. Hearing Luan Nian let out a hum, she thought to herself: But I want to go on a trip with Luan Nian. She quickly arrived at her answer as well. Perhaps she and Luan Nian were fundamentally the same type of person—both lovers of adventure.

"But we haven't prepared anything."

"We'll drive. Just the two of us and a dog, leaving at a moment's notice. There's still plenty of time to prepare along the way."

What kind of immense temptation was this? Shang Zhitao seemed to envision a journey of adventure filled with surprises. That road trip would surely be just like Luan Nian himself.

"Where are we going, then?"

"Where do you want to go the most?"

"I want to go to Tibet the most."

"Then let's go."

"But I haven't taken time off yet."

"Approved." Having said that, Luan Nian opened the back door, let Lu-ke onto the car, and sat down in the driver's seat himself. Seeing Shang Zhitao standing there motionless, he rolled down the car window: "Not coming?"

Shang Zhitao had never imagined that her first shared journey with Luan Nian would begin just like this.

The car sped down the highway. Wearing sunglasses, Luan Nian drove like a tough guy; Lu-ke grinned happily in the back seat, ecstatic over the sudden trip. He was probably thinking to himself: I'm a travel dog now too!

Shang Zhitao felt an indescribable joy, humming along to the music as she watched the scenery rush past outside the window, speeding all the way toward Tibet.

"Neither of us took Rhodiola," Shang Zhitao suddenly remembered.

"I've been to Everest Base Camp."

"What if we get altitude sickness?" she asked again.

"Oxygen canisters."

"You'll take care of me, right?"

"I'll sell you to the Tibetan locals."

"..." Shang Zhitao looked down at herself: "Human trafficking is against the law."

Luan Nian let out a laugh, reaching over to pat her head. Shang Zhitao's hair was soft and fluffy, feeling very comfortable to the touch, so he simply left his hand on her head, stroking it.

"Even though I really like you touching my head, this is dangerous." She returned his hand to the steering wheel, turning her body slightly to rest her head against the back of the seat, watching him. Luan Nian looked very good in sunglasses; the dark lenses hid his perpetually heartless eyes, making his lips appear much softer.

"What are you looking at?"

"I just think you're very gentle today."

"Did I hit you normally or something?"

"..." Shang Zhitao took a moment to react before giggling: "No. What I mean is, I hope you can show a bit more of this gentleness in the future."

"So you like gentle men." Luan Nian glanced at her, driving the car into a service area to refuel. Setting off on a whim meant they had prepared nothing, making refueling a matter of top priority, along with buying two cases of water. Then the two sat in the car; Luan Nian pulled out his phone to check where they would stay for the first night while Shang Zhitao leaned over to look as well, her bangs brushing against Luan Nian's cheek and her head completely blocking the phone screen. Luan Nian waited for a long time, but she showed no intention of moving aside, even asking Luan Nian: "Why aren't you scrolling?"

Luan Nian let out a sigh and set the phone on his lap, pulling back her bangs to kiss her on the forehead: "Because my view is completely blocked by your head."

"Oh." Shang Zhitao felt a bit embarrassed, moving back a little and looking up at him: "Is this okay?"

"Mm."

They had set out late. Luan Nian checked the time and said to Shang Zhitao: "We'll stay in Shijiazhuang today. Once we arrive, we'll go purchase supplies."

"I also need to restock my sunscreen spray and sunblock," Shang Zhitao added. Her skin was sensitive and very afraid of sun exposure, turning red and swollen after being out in the sun: "I need a pair of sunglasses too."

"Alright. While I'm driving later, make a list of what needs to be bought. We'll stay in the commercial district tonight, grab something to eat, and go shopping."

"What about Lu-ke? Does the hotel allow pets?"

"Small pets are allowed." Luan Nian looked back at Lu-ke, who was sitting there grinning foolishly—he was hardly a small pet: "We'll handle the situation with Lu-ke once we get there."

"Oh."

The two set off once more. Luan Nian focused on driving while Shang Zhitao peacefully drafted her shopping list. It felt as though neither of them had been in such a good mood for a long time; an unconscious smile even rested on Luan Nian's face. Dr. Liang called, asking Luan Nian: "Aren't you about to take off?"

"I changed my itinerary at the last minute."

"Why?"

"Because I decided on a whim to go to Tibet."

"You stood up Song Qiuhan and the others?" Dr. Liang was a bit surprised. She knew Luan Nian liked being with them, and those one or two trips a year always lifted his spirits.

"Why can't I stand them up? Last time, Song Qiuhan stood me up to go to Nepal by himself."

"..." Dr. Liang felt there was no point in arguing with Luan Nian, as he made his own decisions regarding his personal affairs. She asked him again: "Are you going by yourself?"

Luan Nian glanced at the somewhat uncomfortable Shang Zhitao: "No."

"With Flora?" Dr. Liang had an intuition that Luan Nian was going with a girl, and that girl was the very Flora who had taken care of him when he was sick before. This Flora might also be the "Shang Zhitao" that Luan Siyuan had posted about in the family group chat. To be even more coincidental, this Shang Zhitao might be the exact same Shang Zhitao Dr. Liang had chatted with on the matchmaking website. If such a "four-in-one" coincidence truly existed, Dr. Liang would consider it a match made in heaven.

"...You sure have a great memory."

She let out a chuckle: "Hello, Flora." Fantastic, two-in-one now.

Shang Zhitao had not expected Dr. Liang to greet her. She immediately sat up straight, feeling a bit nervous: "Hello, Dr. Liang."

Dr. Liang burst into laughter: "There really is someone with you; I thought Luan Nian was spouting nonsense again."

...Luan Nian and Shang Zhitao exchanged a glance. He raised an eyebrow and curled his lip: "Why would I lie to you? I'm driving. I'll call you back tonight when we reach the city where we're resting."

"Don't. Why would you young people call me when you're out traveling? Don't call—just send a message to let me know you're safe." After saying this, Dr. Liang called out to Shang Zhitao again: "Flora."

"I'm here, Dr. Liang."

"Luan Nian has a bad temper and an eccentric personality. Thank you for tolerating him. But you don't need to wrong yourself—if he does something wrong, just tell him." Dr. Liang knew her own son well; with Luan Nian having been with her for so long, the girl must have suffered plenty of grievances. She had wanted to tell her that she could fight with him and go against him, but not to leave him easily. My son has never been with any woman for this long. Yet Dr. Liang didn't say that much, not wanting to make herself seem overly involved. These were their own matters.

Without knowing why, upon hearing these few words from Dr. Liang, Shang Zhitao's eyes turned slightly red, and her heart felt heavy with emotion, as if she had suddenly been understood by someone. Why was Luan Nian's mother so gentle? Why did such a gentle mother have such a hardened son like Luan Nian?

Shang Zhitao let out a muffled "Mm."

"I have a great temper and my personality isn't eccentric at all. Goodbye." Luan Nian hung up the phone, staring at the traffic ahead, pursing his lips without saying a word.

It was a long time before Shang Zhitao spoke: "This is the first time between us that we've abandoned our respective social circles and independent spaces to travel together. I'm very happy you proposed it, and I hope this trip will be extremely enjoyable. If we end up having an unpleasant argument, please don't leave me alone in Tibet."

Luan Nian laughed: "How did you get so good at speaking? Did you attend a speech training class?"

"..."

Total mood killer.

On the other end, Dr. Liang hung up the phone and said to Luan Nian's father: "Our son really seems to be in love, and he really likes that girl."

"Traveling together means he likes her? Didn't he hang out with Zang Yao for ten years?" Luan's father felt Dr. Liang was being overly sensitive.

Dr. Liang glared at him: "That's why people say you businessmen only know how to make money. First, our son stood up Song Qiuhan and the rest to go on a trip with this girl. Second, it's just the two of them. Did he ever go on a trip alone with Zang Yao? Third, he openly admitted that the girl is his girlfriend. Has he ever said that before?"

Luan's father let out a scoff: "Whether I understand or not is my business, but I do know you've already started picturing holding a granddaughter in your mind."

"Why a granddaughter?"

"Don't both you and your son prefer girls?" Luan's father gave a cold chuckle and walked away. Dr. Liang sat there lost in thought for a long time; she maintained that her judgment was correct. After all, Luan Nian had never acknowledged any relationship like this before.

Luan Nian acknowledged Shang Zhitao.

They had always been independent entities, traveling separately on holidays, spending very little time communicating or being together. It was rare for them to travel together. This broke their accustomed pattern of interaction.

This was a challenge for Luan Nian as well. But his invitation to her had been sincere. While waiting outside the residential community for her to bring the steamed buns, he had canceled his tickets for the Netherlands trip—the airfare and hotels—paying quite a bit in processing fees. When he called Song Qiuhan and the others, they asked him: "Why?"

"Because I want to travel alone with a woman." Chen Kuannian and Tan Mian mocked him, but Song Qiuhan remained silent. After a few seconds, Song Qiuhan finally said: "You never mentioned you had a woman."

"It's a long story. I'll tell you next time we meet."

"Looking forward to it. Have a great trip—we'll send you videos from the Netherlands," Song Qiuhan said.

Song Qiuhan understood Luan Nian's decision. He too wanted to take the girl he loved on a trip, just like Luan Nian. But he probably wouldn't take her to Tibet; he would take her to Hulunbuir. He might never have such an opportunity in this lifetime.

Luan Nian had always been like this, making decisions decisively. He had invited Shang Zhitao and prepared himself to be rejected by her, but he hadn't left himself a way out. What if Shang Zhitao rejected him? Then he would just take Lu-ke and leave on his own.

Shang Zhitao hadn't rejected him. When he saw Shang Zhitao get into the car and fasten her seatbelt, he suddenly felt that his previous firm assertions to Shang Zhitao about independent space and an independent persona had been understood far too narrowly. What she meant by independent space and an independent persona should be giving each other room after establishing a genuine intimate relationship—not refusing to let the other person enter one's life from the very beginning.

They had taken far too many detours to understand this point. It was Luan Nian who had led them in the wrong direction from the start.

He felt that making course corrections now should still be in time.

The two purchased supplies in Shijiazhuang. By nighttime, after washing up, they lay on the bed and truly began planning their journey.

Shang Zhitao rested her head on Luan Nian's arm, watching him mark locations on his phone. The two discussed for a long time whether to go via Qinghai or Sichuan, ultimately deciding to pass through Taiyuan, Ningxia, and Qinghai. Calculating at 600 kilometers per day, with the final stretch at 350 kilometers per day, it would take them six days to reach Lhasa.

Along this route were the Yellow River, Qinghai Lake, Tuotuo River, and Namtso—National Highway 109 offered endless scenery. It was merely arduous.

"Are you afraid of hardship?" Luan Nian asked her.

"I'm not." I've experienced something far more arduous, which was being in love with you, Shang Zhitao thought to herself.

"Besides, we can take turns driving. I can drive too." She sat up and patted her chest: "You've been in my car in the Northwest before; I drive very well. I can take over on the easy stretches."

Luan Nian pulled her back down: "Alright, I got it. Talk while lying down, no need to get so excited."

Shang Zhitao laughed again.

"So we'll still take six days to drive to Tibet." Luan Nian recalculated. If Shang Zhitao took over driving tomorrow, they could see more scenery: "Once we enter the Tibetan region, we can slow down the speed."

"Sounds good," Shang Zhitao suggested. "Then next, shall we figure out what to eat every day?"

"Sure, what do you want to eat?"

Shang Zhitao pointed at those few cities: "Eat the local specialty snacks! Beef and mutton, yak meat... things like that."

"And then?"

"And then I want to take photos! Wear Tibetan clothes! Take photos!" She sat up again, pressing her hands together: "Take photos like this. I want to take them with you too."

"Out of the question." Luan Nian pulled her back down again. He deeply loathed taking cheesy tourist photos while traveling, feeling it was bizarre. The scenery was all in his heart; if he wanted to go, he could visit again in the future, so why take tourist photos?

"Oh," Shang Zhitao let out an "oh," secretly stealing a glance at Luan Nian while calculating the odds of forcing him into it once they reached Lhasa.

"Don't even think about it. No way."

"Then I'll just take photos with Lu-ke. I think Lu-ke and I would make a dream combo."

"Be my guest." Luan Nian remained unmoved.

"Hmph!" Shang Zhitao let out a hmph and turned her back to him. Luan Nian turned off the lights and wrapped his arms around her from behind, saying to her: "Have a nice trip, Shang Zhitao."

Shang Zhitao's heart softened. She turned around, touching his face in the darkness, her fingertips tracing the peak of his brow, gently caressing it. When she spoke to him, her voice was soft and gentle, like sharing a secret: "Luan Nian."

"Hmm?"

"I'm really happy you invited me to travel together. This entire day has felt like a dream. So at the end of this day, I want to wish us—the two of us... no, including Lu-ke, the three of us—a pleasant journey."

Moving a bit further forward were his lips. Shang Zhitao parted her lips slightly to enclose his, beginning with light pecks, but after a while, both of their breathings grew heavy, making soft, raspy sounds in the dark.

Luan Nian pushed her away: "Forgot to buy condoms."

Shang Zhitao placed a round, thin object into his hand, saying to him: "It was the very first item on my shopping list."

Luan Nian was nearly amused to death by Shang Zhitao, biting fiercely into her slender neck. He abruptly pulled her on top of him, giving a powerful thrust. Shang Zhitao couldn't sit still, yet he held her down firmly. In the dark, his voice sounded a bit raspy: "Didn't you like being on top?"

So, sometimes, passion could be contagious.

Shang Zhitao took off her clothes, goosebumps rising on her skin. Sticky, sultry sounds drifted into Luan Nian's ears through the darkness. He closed his eyes, and after a long time, uttered two words: "Sounds nice."

Mm~