The Early Spring - Chapter 115

Chapter 115 - Collision 

While Luan Nian was being interviewed, Shang Zhitao waited right outside.

Lingmei paid well, so she had to cater to them impeccably. Once she wrapped up this job, she would get ready for the New Year, and she hoped to take a trip and enjoy herself. She didn't dare make the slightest misstep, carrying out her duties with utmost dedication.

A reporter from the provincial TV station and newspaper asked her, "How much longer before we can go in for our interview?" She peered through the transparent glass wall. Inside, Luan Nian leaned slightly forward while chatting with someone—a sign that he was getting impatient.

She turned to them and said, "The group inside will wrap up in less than five minutes."

"You didn't go in to ask?" The reporter from the provincial station had built a great relationship with her and voiced a doubt upon seeing that Shang Zhitao hadn't stepped inside to check as she used to.

"I took a look; it's almost done."

She had arranged countless interviews for Luan Nian in the past, so she knew his posture better than anyone. Sure enough, three or four minutes later, Luan Nian patted the other person on the shoulder and walked them out alongside Will and the others.

Shang Zhitao said to the reporters, "This way, please."

Luan Nian's eyes swept over Shang Zhitao as he turned back inside. Standing in front of the glass wall, he could see Shang Zhitao outside. She was constantly on the phone, likely coordinating the upcoming schedule. Lumi walked over and stood in front of her; Shang Zhitao hung up and flashed Lumi a smile, handing over a cup of coffee she had bought in advance.

Luan Nian pulled back his gaze to focus on the interview. When it was over, he felt a bit tired, so Fu Dong led him to a lounge to rest.

Watching Fu Dong bustle back and forth so attentively, Luan Nian asked him, "How long have you been with this company?"

"Mr. Luan, I've been here for over three years."

"Aren't you afraid the company will go under?"

"...That won't happen. If the company my boss runs goes under, then no other company is going to survive either."

Your boss isn't a deity, Luan Nian thought. As he started to stand up, Fu Dong hurriedly said, "Please sit, please sit! Are you looking for some coffee? Sister Lumi mentioned you like an Americano. I've already got it ready." He ran out, brought back the coffee, and set it down in front of Luan Nian, explaining, "Sister Lumi said you love iced Americanos best, Mr. Luan, but winter in Harbin is just too cold. Drinking iced coffee now would be brutal. Hot is better."

Luan Nian knitted his brows and asked him, "Who trained your company's host etiquette?"

"Our boss trained us. She said that short of sleeping with clients, anything else goes."

"So sleeping with clients is the line?" Luan Nian asked.

"Heh heh." Fu Dong had a loose mouth and was just offhandedly babbling. Shang Zhitao had never trained them in such things; she simply taught them to read the room.

Fu Dong let out a chuckle: "Please rest for a bit, Mr. Luan. I won't disturb you." He vanished like the wind.

"I want an iced Americano," Luan Nian suddenly called out.

"This..." Fu Dong looked put on the spot. There was no iced Americano anywhere near the venue, unless he went outside to dig up some ice for him. Still, he didn't dare say that out loud: "Please hold on a moment, Mr. Luan. We'll go check."

He went out to find Shang Zhitao and said, "Mr. Luan wants an iced Americano."

Beside them, Lumi's eyes widened: "An iced Americano at his age? Isn't that bad for the prostate?"

Shang Zhitao burst out laughing: "He really is high-maintenance. There's no iced Americano anywhere near here."

"Then what should we do? He had a dead serious look on his face when he made the request. I didn't dare tell him no, out of fear he wouldn't settle our bill." After being around Shang Zhitao for so long, Fu Dong's head was filled with nothing but money. How could a business survive without collecting payments?

"You go!" Lumi gave Shang Zhitao a push and said to her, "We're doing it for his own good."

"I'm not going." Shang Zhitao took a bite of a refreshment pastry. "He can settle the bill or not. If he doesn't, I'll sue you guys."

She turned and walked away.

She didn't want to play his game. She had been with Luan Nian for six years, and after leaving him, she had gradually come to figure many things out—which of his actions were bluffs, and which were playing hard to get. That was just how he was, always liking to control others. He was only satisfied when people bowed their heads to him.

Too bad Shang Zhitao wouldn't bow her head anymore.

Luan Nian sat in the lounge for a long time, but neither the iced Americano nor Shang Zhitao ever arrived. She had simply left him hanging.

Luan Nian roughly understood Shang Zhitao's message: I'm here to earn money, but I won't cater to your whims. After years of carving out her own path through trials and errors, she had forged her own pride and backbone.

By the time the dinner banquet started, Jiang Lan arrived late. As she passed by Shang Zhitao, who was supervising the serving of the dishes, her steps slowed down before she backtracked. Pointing a finger at her and tapping her own forehead, she tried hard to recall Shang Zhitao's name.

"Long time no see, Director Jiang. I'm Flora Shang."

"Oh, oh, oh!" Jiang Lan let out three consecutive ohs. "You came back to Lingmei?"

"No. I opened an event agency in Harbin." Shang Zhitao pulled a business card from her pocket and offered it with both hands. Jiang Lan took it, read it carefully, placed it in her bag, and murmured, "Very good." After giving Shang Zhitao a deep look, she walked away.

Jiang Lan sat down beside Luan Nian and asked him, "Guess who I just ran into?" Saying that, she slid Shang Zhitao's business card over to him, looking at him with great interest before leaning in to whisper in his ear, "I think I know why you suddenly showed up again."

Without waiting for Luan Nian's reaction, she turned to speak to Song Qiuhan: "Mr. Song, I invited you to dinner last time, but you wouldn't give me the honor. Let's have a few good drinks today."

"Sure."

The guests invited were all Lingmei's top clients. Shang Zhitao watched as the banquet kicked off, gave Fu Dong a few final instructions, and left the venue. She had a blind date that evening.

The date was set at a Sichuan restaurant, and when she arrived, she saw the young man was already seated.

The matchmaker had claimed he was sharp-looking, and they hadn't lied—he had bold eyebrows and large eyes, looking quite pleasant.

The young man was talkative; Shang Zhitao didn't even need to speak, as he was capable of keeping the conversation lively all on his own, which was rather entertaining.

When they touched on work, he expressed great curiosity about Shang Zhitao's job: "So you're constantly running around between different hotels?"

"Venues," Shang Zhitao corrected him.

"Same thing. Then doesn't that mean you're familiar with a lot of hotels? Can you get special discounted rooms?"

"...I can. I can even get them without spending money."

"That's awesome."

Shang Zhitao had grown numb to blind dating. After chatting with him a bit longer, she used the excuse of having to work overtime and left, having barely touched her food.

Lumi called her: "How was the blind date?"

"Just like usual—just going through the motions."

"Exceedingly good?" Lumi acted as if she were deaf. "By 'exceedingly good,' do you mean it worked out?" As she spoke, she glanced at Luan Nian through the rearview mirror. The big boss was expressionless, not moving an inch. Lumi felt she was being a bit redundant. Maybe she really was. Yet she refused to give up, always wanting to try a little harder.

Early the next morning, she called Shang Zhitao: "Have you set off yet?"

"Not yet. Fu Dong and the others went ahead."

"That's fantastic. Are you driving there?"

"Yes."

"I forgot Luke when I put together the list. Could you give him a ride over?"

"I'll find another car."

Shang Zhitao hung up and went to look for a vehicle. During this season in Harbin, finding a long-distance car was extremely difficult; after making over ten calls, she had no luck. Lumi pressed her again: "Hurry up, the stubborn donkey asked about it. If he finds out I didn't make arrangements, my year-end bonus is toast."

"Oh."

Shang Zhitao drove to Luan Nian's hotel and called him: "I'm here to pick you up for the destination."

"Is there no one else in your company?"

"Would you prefer to attend remotely?" Shang Zhitao didn't have much patience left for Luan Nian. If he wouldn't speak properly, she would be even sharper. She particularly loathed people who couldn't communicate properly nowadays.

She heard Luan Nian's breathing over the phone and knew he was angry again. She remained silent, waiting for him to lash out. After a long while, she heard Luan Nian say, "Wait for me at the hotel entrance."

Shang Zhitao had pulled an all-nighter yesterday and was currently wearing wire-rimmed glasses, dark circles hanging under her eyes. Loose strands of hair fell lazily against the side of her neck. She didn't get out of the car to open the door for Luan Nian; it was freezing cold outside, and snow was falling. If they didn't leave now, the highway might get closed, and there was no telling what time they would reach their destination.

Shang Zhitao had just picked up her new car last week. As her company's business expanded, she sometimes needed to keep up appearances when meeting clients. She couldn't afford anything excessively expensive, so she put down a down payment on this car, which cost less than seven hundred thousand yuan. Luan Nian got into the car, fastened his seatbelt, and offered a faint comment: "Bought with the money from selling your designer bags?"

Shang Zhitao glanced at him and flashed him a subtle smile: "Bought with the money from selling my body."

Both of them knew what the other meant. Shang Zhitao felt nothing, but Luan Nian felt as though a sledgehammer had struck his chest.

It hit brutally hard.

With no one else present, there was no need to pretend to be polite. Shang Zhitao didn't speak and simply started the car.

Luan Nian wanted to sleep for a bit in the car, but Shang Zhitao was playing loud, noisy music—songs with lyrics like If it doesn't shine in the east, it shines in the west, and Oh my, I say, that's fate for you! The blaring suona sounds gave Luan Nian a throbbing headache. He stared at Shang Zhitao with a deep frown and finally spoke after they had been on the road for an hour: "Is this your taste in music?"

"What belongs to the nation belongs to the world," Shang Zhitao replied loudly, her focus remaining on driving.

She had worked a late shift last night, and if she didn't listen to music like this, she would fall asleep at the wheel. Even with it playing, she felt a little groggy, her foot on the accelerator drifting slightly. She heard Luan Nian ask, "How are you driving?"

Shang Zhitao pulled over into the emergency lane. The snow outside was getting heavier, and traffic was guaranteed to back up. She said to Luan Nian, "Can you drive for a bit for me? I worked too late yesterday, and I can't keep going."

"Get out."

The two stepped out, crossing paths in the wind and snow to swap seats. The moment Shang Zhitao sat in the passenger seat, she could barely keep her eyes open, leaning against the seat and drifting off to sleep. Luan Nian was finally able to turn off the noisy music and focus on driving in peace.

Three hours passed, but their progress was slow. Traffic gradually came to a standstill. Someone tried to cut into their lane, but Luan Nian refused to give way. The other car nudged half its front bumper in, and Luan Nian lightly tapped the gas pedal, scraping against it. The force was well-controlled—both cars ended up scratched, but neither was deformed. Shang Zhitao opened her eyes in horror, saw the collided vehicles, wrapped her down jacket tightly around herself, and stepped out.

Luan Nian stepped out as well. The other driver was a burly man who demanded of Luan Nian, "How are you driving?"

"Cutting in gives you the right of way?" Luan Nian was exceptionally aggressive. If someone didn't speak politely, all the better—he had never spoken nicely to anyone anyway. He said to Shang Zhitao, "Get back in the car!"

Shang Zhitao was freezing. She glared at him, swallowed her rage, and got back into the car. She had just picked up her new car last week, and right now she felt like wringing Luan Nian's neck.

Outside, Luan Nian said something to the man, his eyes narrowing menacingly. He pulled out his phone to take photos and made a move to call the police, causing the man to stop him, clearly having a guilty conscience. The two added each other on WeChat on the spot, the other party transferred money, and they settled it privately. Shang Zhitao roughly guessed that Luan Nian had caught the man doing something shady; otherwise, he wouldn't have given in so readily.

The moment Luan Nian opened the door and got back into the car, he heard Shang Zhitao say furiously, "How are you driving! What would have been wrong with letting him cut in!"

"I just picked up this car last week!"

"Pay me compensation! Why did he transfer the money to you when it was my car that got hit?"

She was furious, sentences firing out of her mouth like a machine gun. Luan Nian listened to her ranting for a long time, and while she paused to take a sip of water, he asked her:

"It's not like you've never crashed my car, right?"

Shang Zhitao fell silent out of a guilty conscience, leaning against the seat back without making a sound. Luan Nian glanced at her: "How should I send you the money?"

"Forget it, I don't want it. Or you can transfer it to my bank account." Shang Zhitao pulled out her phone, typed her bank card number into a text message, and sent it to him.

She turned her face toward the window, pretending not to understand Luan Nian's underlying intention. She was no longer a twenty-two-year-old girl who would add his contact info, accept his money, and fall into his net step by step. Back then, he had planned every move strategically while she knew nothing; though it had looked like she was always taking the initiative, she was actually just stepping into his traps. Old fox.

Neither of them spoke. When Luan Nian rested at a service station, he dialed a reporting hotline: "Yes, a car with fake license plates." He then provided detailed information about the direction and location of the vehicle, logged onto the platform, and uploaded the photos. Shang Zhitao wasn't surprised by his behavior at all—he was a man who held grudges and sought revenge for the smallest slights. She gave him a sidelong glance and quietly drank her warm water. Once her water was finished, Fu Dong's call came through: "Boss, we've arrived. The hotel is playing hardball with us, saying they want to raise the price?"

"They want a last-minute price hike after we've worked together so many times?"

"Yes. They claim it's peak season now."

"Bullshit."

"Should we ask Brother-in-Law to say a word to them?" Fu Dong suggested.

Hearing the words "Brother-in-Law," Luan Nian's hand paused in the middle of replying to a message.

Shang Zhitao dialed Xing Yi's number: "The hotel is bullying us. Are you going to step in?"

Xing Yi's laughter came through the car's navigation speaker: "There's no need to get angry over such a minor thing. I'll make a phone call."

"Okay. What if they go back on their word again?"

"They won't dare. I'm here, don't worry."

"Oh." Shang Zhitao let out a brief response.

"Where are you guys now?" Xing Yi asked her again.

"Still fifty kilometers away."

"Drive safely. Let me know when you arrive."

"Okay. Bye-bye."

Shang Zhitao hung up the phone, and an unusual silence descended upon the car.

Luan Nian had considered that with Shang Zhitao's personality, she could probably make friends wherever she went—both male and female. Men would inevitably like her, and she might date once or twice. He had thought about all of it. Yet he still felt an undeniable discomfort.

Neither of them spoke again all the way to their destination.

Upon arriving, Luan Nian got out of the car, grabbed his room key card, and checked in silently.

Lumi was currently going over the next day's meeting schedule with Fu Dong. Seeing Luan Nian's expression, she asked Shang Zhitao, "What happened? Did you provoke Luke?"

Shang Zhitao shrugged: "I don't know. I didn't provoke him."

Before friends and family set Shang Zhitao up on blind dates, they would ask her, "What kind of man do you like?"

After careful consideration, Shang Zhitao had told almost every well-meaning person: "I want to find someone with a good temper, who knows how to speak nicely, and who will pamper me."

"What about other things? No requirements for height, appearance, or income?"

"Nothing else."

Her friends and family took Shang Zhitao's requirements firmly to heart, and every boyfriend they introduced to her was skilled at sweet-talking. Regardless of what kind of person they were, their words were always spot-on.

Big Zhai couldn't understand it and had asked her once, "Your requirement isn't very concrete. Some men have a tongue of silver, but their actions are dirty. Why do you have such a strange requirement like 'knowing how to speak nicely'?"

"Mom, you don't understand. Sometimes words are like knives. When they stab into your heart, it hurts terribly."

"Oh. Then I wouldn't understand—your dad has always spoken nicely to me."

Lumi held the agenda in front of Shang Zhitao and said, "My friend, am I seeing this right? You're the trilingual host?"

"What about it? Hiring one on the market is too expensive, so I'll do it myself. It saves us some money."

Throughout her years of running the company, Shang Zhitao saved wherever she could and did the work herself whenever possible. Advancing capital for the company required massive sums of money, but she would sometimes accept small events worth just ten or twenty thousand yuan as well. She calculated every expense with total clarity.

Now in her thirties, it seemed she had gained a bit of clarity about life. She was still good to everyone, and everyone said, "Boss Shang is proper and dignified."

Fu Dong, who was used to Shang Zhitao's good temper, secretly murmured to a colleague:

"I don't know why, but the boss is really fierce toward Mr. Luan."

"The boss is never fierce to anyone."

"I'm not lying to you."