The Early Spring - Chapter 114

Chapter 114 - Nothing Else

Shang Zhitao felt that the Heavens had been exceedingly generous to Luan Nian; even time itself seemed powerless against him.

He appeared unchanged. He was still the same cold, distant figure, and the deep, profound look in his eyes remained subtly intimidating.

She walked up to the table, removed her down jacket, and revealed a plain black sweater underneath—almost as if she had coordinated a matching couple's outfit with Luan Nian in advance.

Luan Nian remembered her describing their relationship as dirty, ugly, and disgusting. He remembered her selling off every single gift he had ever given her at a discount, and he remembered her sudden departure without so much as a goodbye. His expression was far from pleasant.

Shang Zhitao sat down and scalded her cup with boiling water to sanitize it.

Will spoke up at the opportune moment: "Zhitao is a former Lingmei employee, and she has a great relationship with our Lumi."

"Mr. Luan might not remember me—I worked at Lingmei for six years," Shang Zhitao chimed in, cleanly burying every detail of their past.

"I indeed have no impression," Luan Nian said, his eyes sweeping over her without offering another word.

Lumi couldn't hold back a pfft of laughter. Everyone at the table looked at her, unsure of what she was laughing at. Lumi was laughing at Luan Nian putting on airs. She cleared her throat lightly and said to Shang Zhitao, "Since your company is now an approved supplier for Lingmei, you'll inevitably have to deal with Mr. Luan down the road. Hey, we use English names at Lingmei—you still remember Mr. Luan's English name, right? Luke."

"I remember."

"Then propose a toast to Luke!"

Shang Zhitao poured herself a glass of baijiu and raised it respectfully with both hands. "Thank you, Lumi and Luke, for looking out for our small company. We hope for your continued guidance in the future. I'll bottom this glass; please drink at your leisure, bosses."

She downed the drink in one go, noticing Song Qiuhan sitting across from her, holding his phone with a subtle smile, seemingly in high spirits.

Song Qiuhan was currently live-blogging in a group chat with his close friends: Luan Nian just bumped into the owner of that dead number. So Luan Nian likes this type of girl. He even sent a photo of Shang Zhitao along with it. Over the past few years, everyone had wondered why a man like Luan Nian had no women around him, living every day like an old monk. They also remembered the year he stood everyone up to go to Tibet with a woman, promising to introduce her when he got back, only for her to vanish without a trace afterward.

"She really has a subtle sensuality," Chen Kuannian and Tan Mian remarked in the chat.

"I don't quite agree with that," Song Qiuhan defended her. "I'm sitting right across from her. She sits up straight, speaks gently and politely, and clearly comes from a good upbringing. Luan Nian has good taste." Song Qiuhan set the record straight: "'Sensual' isn't enough to describe her—after all, she has a very pure, clear aura."

Luan Nian had no idea what Song Qiuhan and the others were talking about. Watching Shang Zhitao drink that glass of liquor without a moment's hesitation, his chest tightened, aching sharply. Society really ground people down and changed them. He still vividly remembered telling her back then: If you can't drink, don't drink a single drop. Don't set that precedent.

She had replied: Okay.

"Shang Zhitao, are tomorrow's meetings all set up?" Lumi asked her.

"Everything is arranged. I've also invited some local media outlets as a complimentary service from our end. The itinerary for the day after tomorrow is ready as well, and we'll go over it again tomorrow evening," Shang Zhitao replied.

"That works. Let's stop talking about work and chat about something else!" Lumi began reminiscing about old times with Shang Zhitao, bringing up the time when Shang Zhitao went on her first photoshoot and the car broke down out in the middle of nowhere.

"Do you remember calling me with your voice trembling back then? You were scared out of your mind," Lumi said, laughing.

The second half of that story was Luan Nian calling her afterward to praise her bravery.

"I remember! I was way too timid back then!" Shang Zhitao and Lumi drank merrily together. Taking a bite of a dish that had gone cold, she called out loudly, "Boss lady! Reheat this dish!"

Big Zhai came over upon hearing her call, grabbed the plate, and gave her a slap on the back of the head. "You brat! Drink less!"

Shang Zhitao pulled her neck in, acting spoiled: "Mom! There are so many leaders and friends here!"

"Good hit!" Lumi nodded in approval of Big Zhai, then said to Luan Nian, "Flora opened this shop, and that boss lady just now is Flora's mom. This is a super popular restaurant in Harbin—don't let the small storefront fool you, it's quite famous. Flora is top-notch." Lumi flashed a thumbs-up.

Luan Nian remained impassive, neither picking up his chopsticks nor drinking his alcohol. Yet when Big Zhai brought out the reheated dish and smiled at him, he forced a faint smile in return.

Lumi raised her eyebrows imperceptibly, thinking to herself: Go on, keep acting stubborn! Don't you dare try to charm her mother with a smile!

Luan Nian listened to Shang Zhitao talking with Lumi about the hardships of running her business over the past few years. The moment she mentioned, "One time I drank too much and had to get an IV drip," Luan Nian drained his glass, stood up, and put on his coat. He asked Song Qiuhan beside him, "Are you coming to the second half?"

"What second half?" Song Qiuhan undercut him—he hadn't seen enough of the show yet. These two were sitting at the exact same table, not casting a single glance at each other. Even when necessary, it was only a fleeting glance, as if the other were a terrifying monster or a bitter enemy.

Both of them clearly had something to hide.

"A strip club. You not coming?"

"I'm coming." Song Qiuhan stood up, smiling at the other three. "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

As Luan Nian and Song Qiuhan walked out the door, Shang Zhitao glanced over, thinking to herself that the diner's doorway was simply built too low after all. She then turned back to continue chatting and drinking with Lumi.

Outside, Song Qiuhan caught up with Luan Nian and asked, "Where are we going to see a strip club?"

Luan Nian gave him a look and remained silent.

"No strip club?" Song Qiuhan asked again.

"Did you report to Lin Chun'er?"

"She wouldn't care. She'd probably enjoy watching it even more than me." Song Qiuhan teased Luan Nian on purpose: "I suppose this is what you call mutual trust between people in love?"

"Let's go back to the hotel. I have a headache."

Luan Nian turned to glance back at Shang Zhitao's little diner. She had decorated it with a cozy, lived-in charm; red lanterns hung outside the door, set against the white snow. Outside the gridded floor-to-ceiling windows was a freezing winter, while inside was a warm, bustling world. She had truly put effort into it.

Back when she lived at his place, she would use every trick in the book to coax him into cooking. She used to say she wanted to be catered to hand and foot. She was serious about everything she did, except for cooking—on the rare occasions she tried to boil noodles, she would turn the kitchen into a battlefield. Yet a person like her had opened a small diner, with her mother supervising in person, so she no longer needed a man who could cook. The most delicious food was right by her side, right under her nose.

"When she said she drank too much at a work event and had to get an IV drip, you immediately stood up to leave. Were you heartbroken?" Song Qiuhan asked him.

Luan Nian pressed his lips together without speaking. He was not only heartbroken, but also furious. How many times had he told her: if you can't drink, don't drink. You can do business just as well without alcohol. She fucking refused to listen.

"Does it have anything to do with me?" Luan Nian asked him.

Song Qiuhan thought Luan Nian was an utter fool. Standing up and leaving out of heartache only looked to others like he disliked the topic, or that he was looking down on someone. Having been friends for so many years, Song Qiuhan understood Luan Nian, but not everyone could. In other people's eyes, he was just a sharp-tongued, cold-hearted jerk.

Song Qiuhan felt Luan Nian didn't understand—and in truth, Song Qiuhan hadn't understood back then either. It was only after reuniting with Lin Chun'er that he gradually realized love needed to be expressed directly. These things all required learning.

"Is Shang Zhitao married?" Song Qiuhan asked suddenly. Since falling in love, he had changed a bit—likely corrupted by Lin Chun'er—and constantly enjoyed twisting the knife in people's hearts.

Luan Nian glared at him: "None of your fucking business."

After a moment, he added another line: "None of my fucking business either."

Song Qiuhan let out a chuckle, and the two returned to their respective rooms.

Luan Nian went to the gym to lift weights and do cardio, returning to his room late at night. There were several missed calls on his phone, all from Harbin numbers. Picking one to call back, a male voice answered: "Hello, is this Mr. Luan?"

"Yes."

"Hello, Mr. Luan. I'm Fu Dong from the event execution company. I'd like to schedule a time with you to meet and discuss tomorrow's departure. What time would be convenient for you?"

"Ten o'clock."

"Alright. Then we'll pick you up at ten. Have a good night."

"Thanks."

The person under Shang Zhitao was polite and spoke with complete clarity. When she led project teams in the Northwest back then, it was the same way—the whole team resembled her: modest, polite, and capable. Back then, Luan Nian had felt she possessed a natural gift for leading a team, and he had even considered assigning a small department to her once the timing was right.

Hanging up the phone, Luan Nian went to return another missed call. The phone rang a few times before a somewhat hazy voice answered: "Hello." She sounded as though she were standing out in the snow, and that voice instantly pierced straight into Luan Nian's heart. Their last phone call had been over three years ago.

Luan Nian pulled the phone away, looked at the number, and tossed out a single word: "Speak."

"Mr. Luan."

"Lingmei doesn't have the habit of calling people 'Mr.'" Luan Nian said.

"Luke." Shang Zhitao cursed him in her head: Foul mouth!

"You're not from Lingmei anymore either," Luan Nian added.

Shang Zhitao sobered up halfway, thinking to herself: If you guys hadn't paid yet, I wouldn't be catering to you at all.

"Then what should I call you?" Shang Zhitao asked him.

"My name is Luan Nian."

"But I don't think we're close enough for me to call you by your full name!"

This was the first time Shang Zhitao had argued back against Luan Nian, and she suddenly realized that talking back was incredibly satisfying. No wonder he picked arguments with people every single day!

"State your business."

"My employee Fu Dong couldn't reach you earlier. He wanted to schedule a pickup time with you for tomorrow."

"Already scheduled."

"Alright then. I won't disturb you any further." Before hanging up, Shang Zhitao heard Luan Nian say: "Call me when you're sober next time."

She ignored him and hung up directly.

Luke sat beside her, watching her, and let out a bark. Shang Zhitao tightened her hat and said to Luke, "Aren't you going to go pee?"

To Shang Zhitao, drinking was divided into two types. One was drinking with people she liked, such as Lumi, Sun Yu, and He Yun; the other was business networking. Running an event agency was extremely grueling; every day was a frantic rush, and when necessary, she had to move things herself. Once, when a display booth wasn't set up properly, she climbed up a high scaffold herself, only realizing her legs were trembling after she got back down, warning herself never to do that again. She only hired young men because girls couldn't endure that kind of hardship, and she couldn't bear to let girls suffer through it either. On top of the physical strain, the most exhausting part was networking.

Shang Zhitao hated networking; she would rather curl up in bed doing nothing at all. But returning to Harbin to start a company meant building her network and resources entirely from scratch. The dinner table became the best venue for that.

She was happy drinking today because her beloved Lumi was there. After Luan Nian left, they chatted endlessly about old times, while Will sat to the side with a frown, practically on the verge of snatching Lumi's glass away.

While Will went to the restroom, Lumi whispered to her in secret, "The old sweetheart hates it when I drink. I don't care about him."

"But you clearly fear him."

"Nonsense! Who has your Auntie Lumi ever been afraid of!"

Shang Zhitao was happy for Lumi; she and Will were clearly in love. Even when Luan Nian was present, Will hadn't put up any distance.

Luke finished peeing, ran back, and looked up at her again.

"What are you staring at!"

Luke let out a bark: Whose phone call was that just now!

"You don't know him."

Woof! Nonsense!

Shang Zhitao squabbled with Luke all the way inside, changed her clothes, and lay in bed. The moment she lay down, the alcohol took full effect, and she drifted off into a heavy sleep. Luke jumped onto the bed and barked at her, exceptionally restless.

Shang Zhitao sat up in frustration, glaring at it: "Luke! Stop barking!"

Luke jumped off the bed and lay down there, looking pitiful.

Shang Zhitao said to it: "Let me tell you, I won't let you see him ever again. Don't think throwing a fuss with me will make me compromise! You finally managed to let it go—don't pick it back up. A dog shouldn't turn back!"

When Luke first returned to Harbin, it had been like a sick dog, sitting by the window every day looking outside. Sometimes Shang Zhitao would call it several times before it reacted.

Old Shang had asked, "Could Luke be sick?"

Shang Zhitao never answered.

She knew dogs were just like humans—at first, leaving someone was an adjustment, but slowly, things would get better.

Wasn't it better now?