The Early Spring - Chapter 102

Chapter 102 - Heart to Heart

Luan Nian suddenly realized what Shang Zhitao had been obsessing over.

In her mind, her age advantage was gradually slipping away. When Luan Nian had been with her before, it was likely because she was young—after all, almost everyone said men preferred younger women. But now, a twenty-two-year-old newcomer had emerged out of nowhere. In the eyes of the world, that newcomer was stunningly beautiful, well-connected, and brimming with talent, not to mention all the workplace rumors floating around about her and Luan Nian.

Shang Zhitao was probably thinking that sooner or later, Luan Nian would end up with some other twenty-two-year-old woman—because that was how most men were.

As for those rumors between himself and Song Ying, Luan Nian had heard a snippet or two, but he had never taken them to heart.

In a rare moment, Luan Nian genuinely understood Shang Zhitao's true feelings. Without even realizing it himself, he was beginning to truly empathize with her.

"Don't you have the answer in your own heart?" he asked her. "You could try using your brain occasionally. After all, this answer isn't that difficult, is it?"

"Not difficult?"

"Then how about this: twenty-six-year-old Shang Zhitao goes straight back home, and twenty-two-year-old Song Ying accompanies me on the trip instead?"

"..."

Seeing Shang Zhitao turn around to walk away, Luan Nian thought to himself that Ms. Shang had quite the temper these days. Sighing, he pulled her into his arms. "Where are you going?"

"Getting in the car. The wind is too strong."

"I thought you were going to swap yourself out," Luan Nian teased her.

"In your dreams!" Shang Zhitao burst out laughing. "You don't know how to speak nicely, but I understood what you meant. You were talking about the present. Right now, you are traveling with twenty-six-year-old Shang Zhitao. You like twenty-six-year-old Shang Zhitao."

"You've grown smarter," Luan Nian praised her. "You're finally using your brain." Luan Nian held her close in his arms. "Let's watch the scenery a bit longer. Luke hasn't had his fill of running around yet."

Hearing this, Luke was overjoyed; he let out a bark and ran off again. Luan Nian wrapped his coat around Shang Zhitao, leaving only her head exposed. Surrounded by breathtaking scenery, the two people and the dog appeared exceptionally minuscule between heaven and earth. In this vast world, full of wonders, people were endlessly plagued by worldly affairs, only to end up as a handful of yellow dirt or a speck of dust in the vast ocean. Being happy in the present was what mattered most.

"Then can you just tell me the answer directly?" Shang Zhitao started acting shameless, a habit she had picked up from Luan Nian. She felt as though she was growing greedier—she needed Luan Nian to express himself clearly, with a direct answer: yes or no, love or not love. She needed a clear, definitive response, because certainty offered a sense of security.

Luan Nian rested his head against her neck, his breath tickling the fine, barely visible fuzz on her ear as he spoke: "I choose you."

Shang Zhitao was ecstatic. She turned her head to dodge him, letting out a burst of giggles. "It tickles." She turned around, cupped Luan Nian's face, and gave him a loud smack of a kiss. "I choose you too. Even though you're in your thirties."

"?" Luan Nian pinched her cheek. "Say that again?"

"It's fine, everyone grows old." Shang Zhitao gave him another kiss and pulled him into the car.

Shang Zhitao began to get a headache. Seeing her frowning, Luan Nian teased her, "Look at you, getting a reaction before we even hit three thousand meters?"

"Don't you have a reaction?"

"I do too, but it's not severe—almost nonexistent." Though he teased her, he was quite concerned, so he detoured to Golmud.

"We'll rest in Golmud for a day. You need time to acclimate." Luan Nian began chattering endlessly. "No strenuous exercise, no running, jumping, or fast walking, and no alcohol. Is the headache bad?"

Shang Zhitao shook her head. "Not too bad."

"Any nausea? Chest tightness?"

"A little bit."

Luan Nian found a hotel in Golmud and checked them in. Once inside the room, he told Shang Zhitao to rest.

"Go lie on the bed." Luan Nian pulled back the blanket, made Shang Zhitao lie down, and handed her an ibuprofen pill.

"Then we won't make it to Lhasa by the day after tomorrow," Shang Zhitao said, feeling a bit downcast.

"What's your hurry? Is Lhasa going to run away?" Luan Nian scolded her. "Your health comes first. If twenty days aren't enough, we'll take twenty-five. Otherwise, what did you save your annual leave for?"

"Would you abandon me in Tibet?" When Shang Zhitao felt unwell, her mind tended to wander into wild thoughts. In her imagination, Luan Nian had left her behind in Lhasa and driven off alone. Luan Nian seemed entirely capable of doing something so cold-hearted—after all, he was Luan Nian.

"Are you out of your mind?" Luan Nian flicked her forehead, then got into bed and pulled her into his arms. "Sleep for a bit. After we wake up, we'll walk around Golmud. This city isn't bad either."

"Mm." Shang Zhitao clutched the fabric at his chest, murmuring slurred words just as she was falling asleep: "I love you very much, you know?"

"I know."

Once he coaxed Shang Zhitao to sleep, Luan Nian checked his phone and saw Chen Kuannian dropping a bunch of videos in their group chat—they were drinking coffee on a boat in Giethoorn. The three men were dressed impeccably, looking like models out for a photoshoot. Chen Kuannian even provoked him: "Tsk tsk, without our fashion icon Mr. Luan, this trip lacks a bit of flavor. Luckily, the ladies here are as wonderful as ever."

Luan Nian gave a cold scoff and dumped his own travel photos into the chat.

Chen Kuannian stoked the flames again: "You didn't go alone, did you? You don't even have a single joint photo?"

"You're not worthy," Luan Nian replied.

The group chat erupted into noise. Luan Nian chuckled, then turned to see Shang Zhitao sweating slightly. He shifted the blanket down a bit and pulled her arm out. Tapping her nose with his fingertip, he scolded her softly, "You should count your blessings that you came to Tibet with me. If it were anyone else, you would've lost your little life right here."

"Not sending a safety update?" Dr. Liang sent a message as well.

"Safe and sound."

"That's it? Where are the photos? I want to see Flora's."

"Don't have any," Luan Nian said. But then he remembered the drone footage, so he got up to fiddle with the videos. Seeing the clip where the drone ascended and Shang Zhitao waved, he suddenly felt that Shang Zhitao was truly charming to look at. Even though her face wasn't clear due to the distance, the image of her standing beside him with Luke running around somehow came together like a painting. Exporting a simple edit, he sent it to Dr. Liang: "No faces, just make do with it."

Dr. Liang stared at it for a long while before asking him, "Why does she look so much like the Shang Zhitao from that matchmaking website?"

"You still remember what people from that website look like?"

"Your mother has a photographic memory, thank you very much."

"It's her, thank you."

Dr. Liang suddenly felt a wave of emotion. She showed the video to Luan Nian's father. "Look, this girl looks truly lovely."

"Have you met her in person?" Luan Nian's father disliked women being overly emotional, evaluating whether someone was good or bad before even meeting them.

Dr. Liang grew anxious. "Are you sick or something?" Luan Nian took right after his father—that mouth of his truly didn't know how to speak nicely. Dr. Liang had bickered with him for a lifetime; in the end, neither would yield to the other, yet neither could live without the other.

Luan Nian's father hummed softly. "I'm just advising you not to be overly enthusiastic or harbor high hopes. Your son has been prone to messing things up since he was a kid."

"..." Dr. Liang followed right behind Luan Nian's father. "Well, isn't that just like you? If he really messes up, you can just wait to watch your son die alone!"

Unaware that his parents were talking about him, Luan Nian returned to the bed and held Shang Zhitao, sleeping for a while longer. By the time they both opened their eyes, it was already past six in the evening. Shang Zhitao felt somewhat better.

"Since you're feeling better, let's go out for a walk."

"Alright." She sat up abruptly, only to be pressed down firmly by Luan Nian. "Are you trying to kill yourself?"

"Didn't I tell you to move slowly?"

"Didn't I tell you not to get excited?"

"What's your hurry?"

Luan Nian scolded Shang Zhitao sentence after sentence. After listening for a while, Shang Zhitao finally couldn't help saying, "Luan Nian, why are you so nagging...?"

Luan Nian shot her a murderous glare, and Shang Zhitao instantly shut her mouth.

She slowly wiggled her way down, acting like an obedient person.

Neither of them felt like eating heavy meat, so they found a place serving yak bone soup, paired with flatbreads, pickled vegetables, and a few thin slices of boiled yak meat. The broth was rich and flavorful; after a single sip, sweat beaded on the tip of Shang Zhitao's nose. "Delicious."

"If you like it, we can come back tomorrow."

"Aren't we leaving tomorrow?"

"I'm afraid you'll die on the road. We'll acclimate for one more day, no rush. Tomorrow I'll take you around the local area. There's plenty of scenery nearby too."

"Sounds good. Luan Nian, you know what? I think I should tell you something."

"What?"

"I like traveling with you."

Shang Zhitao felt she should learn from Lumi and Sun Yu: if there was love, it should be expressed. One shouldn't fear rejection, ridicule, or feeling cheesy. If people refused to speak words of affection while young, were they supposed to wait until their hair turned gray to give flowers to the one they loved? Even though that was romantic in its own right, what memories would be left of that wasted lifetime?

"Anything else? Any other sweet words?" Luan Nian asked her.

"I like you. I like every path you choose, and I like going on adventures with you. I like all the beautiful scenery along the way, because I'm seeing it all with you." Shang Zhitao's face flushed slightly red. "Could you say a few sweet words too? I want to hear them."

Luan Nian took a sip of soup without even raising his head, dropping a two-word response: "Ditto."

What kind of romantic phrase was "ditto"? Yet why did Shang Zhitao love it so much? She took a sip of soup as well, mimicking Luan Nian's dull tone: "So sweet."

After their meal, Luan Nian took her and Luke to wander around the unfamiliar city, drawing many sideways glances. Shang Zhitao stopped by a horse-drawn cart selling fruit to pick some out. After she paid, the elderly vendor pulled out another piece of fruit of a different variety from his pouch, handed it to her, and made a gesture. Neither of them understood, but a young passerby translated for them: "He's complimenting your beauty, and saying you two look so well-matched."

Shang Zhitao had never heard anyone praise them as well-matched before.

They used to pretend to be strangers in familiar cities, where others always assumed someone else stood by their side. This was the very first time, in an unfamiliar city, that he held her hand and someone complimented them as a perfect match.

Luan Nian noticed that Shang Zhitao looked somewhat moved, so he said to her, "The old man has good eyes. It's not like I'm a good match with just anyone." He sounded quite proud, and indeed he was. In his two previous relationships, his girlfriends were breathtaking beauties, yet onlookers wouldn't necessarily say they were well-matched—most would simply say they were just messing around. When he was with other women, people thought it was just a fling; but when he was with Shang Zhitao, no matter how one looked at it, it didn't seem like a fling at all. Instead, it looked like this man and woman were taking things seriously, striving together toward the very best life.

Because of those words "well-matched," Luan Nian was in a fantastic mood, buying a large quantity of fruit to distribute to anyone who wanted to buy. He looked as though he was ready to buy out the elderly vendor's entire cart. Luke sat there obediently, watching his wealthy dad perform, putting his doggy snobbery on full display.

After staying two nights in Golmud, Shang Zhitao had basically recovered, and the two resumed their journey. Shang Zhitao had assumed that with Luan Nian being so wild, he would be aggressive while traveling. But he wasn't. He simply loved adventure without being overly fixated on targets, remaining exceedingly relaxed. Whenever Shang Zhitao felt unwell, he would stop—there was no rush anyway.

They began to find their rhythm, pulling over every hour and a half to handle work individually for half an hour. Shang Zhitao's creative draft for the Northwest project had been approved, and the third-party company had begun 3D modeling, which eased her pressure considerably. However, she still needed to participate in the modeling process, terrified that an incorrect parameter might affect the actual execution. Luan Nian had a tougher workload; many matters awaited his decisions, so his time spent handling work mostly involved phone calls. Outside of those times, he didn't check his phone often. Occasionally, he would toss his phone to Shang Zhitao, letting her read messages aloud to him before he dictated his replies for her to send.

On the day before entering Lhasa, Luan Nian was driving the final leg of the road. Shang Zhitao was still helping him handle work when she saw a message from Yilia: "Luke, while chatting with my dad last night, he casually mentioned that his group will be reallocating their advertising budget next year. Do we need to participate in the bidding?"

Shang Zhitao read it out to him, and Luan Nian replied, "Yes."

A few seconds later, he added another line: "Through official channels."

Shang Zhitao helped him reply, then glanced at him. She now somewhat understood that when it came to major matters, bosses were always airtight in their conduct. Online messages would never say: Sure, are there any shortcuts? or Can you help smooth things over?

"When I say 'through official channels,' I mean through official channels," Luan Nian said to Shang Zhitao while driving. "I disdain using other means. It's meaningless."

"Then you always have dinner with Jiang Lan..."

"Jiang Lan counts as a friend," Luan Nian told Shang Zhitao. "Dining is dining, but it never crosses the line."

Yilia's message came through again: "Sure! How about we invite my dad out for dinner another day to get a deeper understanding of the background?"

"Okay," Luan Nian said.

Shang Zhitao sent the message and handed the phone back to Luan Nian. "You can focus and check it yourself later."

"Why?"

"I feel uncomfortable. It feels like I'm prying into your privacy."

"You watch my house through the camera every day, and I still have privacy?" Luan Nian bickered with her. Shang Zhitao turned to look at Luke: "The culprit is sitting right there."

Luan Nian glanced at the silly dog Luke through the rearview mirror. After only a few days out, the snow-white dog had turned pale gray, totally oblivious as it grinned foolishly. "Because Luke misses you when you're in the Northwest, so I let you watch."

"I know, Luke misses me, and Luke misses me too," Shang Zhitao said triumphantly.

This time, Luan Nian didn't tease her, but instead offered a low, deep response:

"Yes."

Shang Zhitao glanced at him, then looked out at the scenery beyond the window, the corners of her mouth curving upward. After a moment, unable to hold it in any longer, she burst out laughing to herself.

Luan Nian looked at her suspiciously. She looked at Luan Nian, her eyes exceptionally bright—perhaps because they were so close to the sun. Placing her hand flat over her chest, she said with utmost sincerity and seriousness, "Just now, I truly felt that your heart isn't hard at all."

It wasn't hard; in fact, it was very soft.

He was a tender person too—his tenderness simply didn't manifest in conventional ways.

It was hard for others to see, but Shang Zhitao saw it.

And that was truly precious.