The Early Spring - Chapter 101

Chapter 101 - Two Colors

It was not until the third day of their journey that Shang Zhitao finally broke free from that surreal feeling, truly realizing that they were on a trip together.

Luan Nian fully embodied the spirit of a road trip. His traveling style mirrored his personality—rich with an adventurous spark and more than a touch of caprice. He pulled over wherever he pleased, completely unbothered by whether they would make it to that day’s intended destination. He even kept asking Shang Zhitao:

"Should we stop?"

"Take this exit?"

"Wanna go explore over there?"

Wild. Time after time, Shang Zhitao felt that the word "wild" suited Luan Nian best. He was so wild, like a beast—utterly unrestrained, dangerous, yet mesmerizing. Over time, it became addictive. The way he dressed on the road was completely different from his work attire; various pieces of outdoor gear, motorcycle jackets, and hiking boots made their appearances in turn, making for a genuinely pleasing sight.

Shang Zhitao tugged at the smoke-gray cashmere scarf around his neck and asked, "So, are you and your friends going on a trip, or entering a beauty pageant?"

Luan Nian brushed her hand away. "Just an aesthetic preference." After a brief pause, he added, "Though it is indeed rather charming."

"Then do you guys ever have romantic encounters when you travel together?"

Luan Nian stopped the car and gave no answer to her question about romantic encounters, leaving her to ponder it on her own.

They were parked in a rest area beside the Linxia highway, a strategic stronghold along the Ancient Silk Road, commanding a sweeping view of majestic landscapes. Luke was utterly thrilled. He seemed to view himself as a true adventure dog, wearing the harness that had just become trendy that year. When he ran, his coat was snow-white and splendidly impressive. Every time they pulled over and opened the door, he would dash down to inspect the surroundings. Luan Nian followed behind him and blew a whistle; no matter how far Luke ran, he would return the moment he heard it. Although Luan Nian spoiled Luke with meat, he had trained him exceptionally well. Shang Zhitao watched from the side, a little stunned.

She could not quite figure out how the dog she had raised herself had ended up being trained so well by Luan Nian.

Luan Nian’s phone rang. He picked it up against the strong wind howling around them and heard Song Ying’s voice: "Luke, the first draft of the creative proposal for the Northwest project is ready. Could you help me review it first before I show it to Sister Flora?"

"Flora what?"

"Sister Flora."

Luan Nian glanced at Shang Zhitao, suddenly realizing that after years of entanglement between them, Shang Zhitao was no longer twenty-two. Yet she seemed hardly changed at all—just like back then, standing straight and proper, treating others with sincerity, her eyes as clear as ever.

"Yilia, in our company, when addressing people by their English names, we don't attach honorific suffixes. It sounds very strange."

Song Ying was a bit surprised, but she still complied, "Alright, Luke, got it."

"Good. As for that proposal, you can send it directly to Flora. Although Flora didn't start out in creative, as a project manager, she has her own professional judgment. You can learn a lot from her."

"Understood, Luke. I won't disturb you any longer then. Bye~"

"Goodbye."

Shang Zhitao recalled Song Ying telling her that she had a crush on Luan Nian, but she remained silent. Luan Nian put away his phone and teased Shang Zhitao, "So you've become Sister Flora now?" He pinched her cheek. "Let me see, where do you look like a 'sister'?"

Shang Zhitao let him pinch her, her mouth crooked from his grip as she murmured slurred words, "Isn't it said that men always like young girls? What do you think of twenty-two-year-old Song Ying?"

Luan Nian actually gave it serious thought. His impression of twenty-two-year-old Song Ying was quite vague; he could not even recall her exact features, remembering only that she possessed talent, which he appreciated. Yet the purity and panic in twenty-two-year-old Shang Zhitao's eyes remained crystal clear in his memory, along with how her face would constantly flush red under his gaze.

"Why aren't you answering me?" Shang Zhitao asked him.

"Answer what? Are we starting comparisons now?" Luan Nian countered.

"There's no comparison!" Shang Zhitao was a bit eager to clarify, but Luan Nian popped a piece of candy into her mouth, saying, "I'm not familiar with twenty-two-year-old Song Ying, but I am extremely familiar with twenty-two-year-old Shang Zhitao."

He added another line: "Inside and out."

Shang Zhitao’s face instantly flared hot. She slipped away from beneath his fingertips and scolded him playfully, "What kind of nonsense are you babbling!"

"Why did you ask that?" Luan Nian walked up to her side and asked.

"Just asking casually."

"Surrounded by thousands of years of civilization, lying on our ancestors' land isn't a good idea—it's disrespectful to our Chinese forefathers," Luan Nian said, displaying a rare patience as he sought to probe Shang Zhitao’s true thoughts.

Shang Zhitao pondered for a long while before asking, "If twenty-two-year-old Song Ying and twenty-two-year-old Shang Zhitao adored you at the same time, would you still choose twenty-two-year-old Shang Zhitao?"

Luan Nian actually gave it serious thought and said, "I wanted to sleep with twenty-two-year-old Shang Zhitao, and I wanted to be slept with by her too. As for twenty-two-year-old Song Ying, I had no thoughts whatsoever. So I'd still choose Shang Zhitao."

It took Shang Zhitao a moment to process before saying, "Figures."

"Figures what?"

"It turns out my surname holds the winning edge." She gave Luan Nian a look and walked away.

When Luan Nian said he had no thoughts toward Song Ying, Shang Zhitao believed him. A man like Luan Nian never lied; if he truly wanted to sleep with her, he would probably say, "It’s hard to compare. I could try having a deeper connection with her once to see."

Lumi sent her a message: "Did you take a long leave?"

"Ah..."

"Going to Cambodia with a friend takes that long?"

"We added Thailand and Singapore later..."

"? The stubborn donkey gave you leave?"

Shang Zhitao looked up at Lumi's stubborn donkey, then lowered her head to reply: "He might have taken the wrong medication today. He agreed."

"Fuck. I wanna go play too."

"Then ask for leave."

"But I haven't slept with Will yet, so I don't wanna waste time playing around." In the past, Lumi used to take leave every few days to travel, but recently she rarely did. One day, when she showed up at the company with a cold, fever, and a runny nose, Shang Zhitao wondered if Miss Lu had been possessed by some evil spirit. While wiping her nose, Lumi had stared toward Will's office: "Yeah, I'm possessed. Possessed by that guy."

Shang Zhitao could not help laughing out loud. Seeing Luan Nian's sharp glance sweep over, she promptly snapped her mouth shut.

"Keep at it! Hope you get to sleep with Will soon."

Shang Zhitao tucked away her phone and got into the car with Luan Nian.

"What do you and your mentor chat about every day?" Luan Nian asked her. He found the two of them quite comical—a foolish duo, joined at the hip every single day. He had no idea where they found so much to talk about.

Shang Zhitao could hardly say they were discussing whether Lumi had slept with Will today, so she could only say, "We talk about work and ideals."

"Talking about whether Lumi slept with Will?" Luan Nian put on his sunglasses, the corners of his lips curving into a subtle smile. Shang Zhitao looked at him, feeling a wave of panic.

Luan Nian hadn't peeked at their messages; rather, when those two were acting secretive in the company breakroom, he happened to walk past right as Lumi said, "When will I finally get to sleep with Will..."

"You can advise your mentor that she won't get to sleep with Will in this lifetime. Will’s family background isn't inferior to hers, but he comes from a family of scholars. Neither he nor his family can accept nouveau riche. I suppose it's the proud integrity of intellectuals."

"...Sleeping with someone depends on family background?" Shang Zhitao wasn't particularly happy to hear Luan Nian say this. "My parents are just ordinary workers, yet didn't I still sleep with the illustriously born Luan Nian? As long as you aren't aiming for marriage, what's wrong with having a casual fling?"

She had merely intended to stick up for Lumi, but her example was poorly chosen. Luan Nian had been about to start the car, but upon hearing this line, he stopped and turned his head toward her. Shang Zhitao could not clearly see the gaze behind his sunglasses, but she sensed a sudden chill in the air.

"Are you collecting badges?" Luan Nian's tone was flat, revealing no obvious anomaly. Yet Shang Zhitao could sense the anger surging within his chest.

"As long as you aren't aiming for marriage, you can sleep with whoever you want? No moral restraint whatsoever? Then tell me, who's the next person you want to sleep with?"

It took Shang Zhitao a long moment to realize that Luan Nian had completely missed her point. She explained to him, "What I meant was, regarding Lumi and Will, if both sides feel a spark, it wouldn't be surprising if something happened."

"What did you mean by 'as long as you aren't aiming for marriage'?"

"...I was just talking nonsense."

Luan Nian took off his sunglasses and stared at her. Shang Zhitao knew he was about to hash this out thoroughly with her. She hurriedly leaned forward and covered his mouth. "Everything I said just now was complete drivel. I just hope Lumi can sleep with Will soon. Even though Will is a talented young man, Lumi is wonderful too. She really likes Will—it's not just a passing whim."

Luan Nian continued to stare at her. That line—as long as you aren't aiming for marriage, what's wrong with having a casual fling—really struck a raw nerve, provoking an inexplicable spark of anger.

"Lumi was wrong. Lumi shouldn't be thinking about sleeping with her boss. Can you please not hold it against us?"

Luan Nian started the engine. With the scenery so breathtaking, why bother holding a grudge against Shang Zhitao's unreliable mouth?

The further they drove toward the Tibetan region, the more magnificent the scenery became. Even Luke perked up; possessing sharp sight and a keen sense of smell, he noticed every bit of movement by the roadside and let out a bark at whatever caught his eye, causing Shang Zhitao to startle repeatedly. Finally, she could not help scolding him, "Luke! What is wrong with you? Stop jumping at every little thing! Why bark at everything you see? Show some composure!"

Hardly had the words left her mouth when she pointed straight ahead: "Wow! The colors are different! Hurry, pull over!" The very person who had just mocked Luke could no longer keep her composure either. Traveling off-peak, there were not many people taking road trips in those years, so they encountered very few cars and people along the way. Standing alone amidst the vast landscape, one side shone emerald green while the other reflected sky blue; the salt-crusted highway cut between the two-colored lake, extending all the way to the horizon.

Shang Zhitao felt her heart soaring. They got out of the car; Luan Nian began setting up the drone while Luke started running wild. Shang Zhitao chased after him: "Come back!"

Luan Nian blew his whistle, bringing Luke running back, with Shang Zhitao following right behind. Luan Nian grasped Shang Zhitao's wrist, and together they watched the drone ascend. Shang Zhitao reached out to wave at it. Seeing her silly expression, Luan Nian pinched her cheek.

"Was taking the detour the right decision, Ms. Shang?" The two of them had argued for a long time over whether to make the detour. Luan Nian had insisted on taking the scenic detour back when the two-colored lake had not yet been developed and visitors were few and far between. Determined to witness the rare scenery, Luan Nian eventually won the game of rock-paper-scissors to detour here. So you see, Luan Nian was no longer purely stubborn; he had begun to value democracy.

"Yes!" Shang Zhitao leaned against his shoulder as the wind whipped her long hair around. Luan Nian leaned down to kiss her, then went back to controlling the drone.

Shang Zhitao stood beside him. The scenery was utterly intoxicating, yet she still wanted to seek an answer to one more question, so she asked him again, "Luan Nian, between twenty-six-year-old Shang Zhitao and twenty-two-year-old Song Ying, which one would you choose?"

The drone made noise as it landed, and Luan Nian did not catch her question clearly: "What did you say?"

"I said, between twenty-six-year-old Shang Zhitao and twenty-two-year-old Song Ying, which one would you choose?"