The Early Spring - Chapter 48

Chapter 48 - Dressed Up Like a Human

Shang Zhitao dragged her suitcase out of the airport.

Suzhou in June was gripped by the endless, drizzly rain of the plum rain season, yet a layer of sticky sweat still clung to her body. She got into a taxi and called Alex: "Boss, I've arrived. I'm heading to the hotel now to check in, and then I'll go straight to the venue."

"Good job, Flora. Luke and the planning department are on your flight's heels; the main team will arrive tomorrow morning."

"The cars to pick up the bosses are already arranged, so don't worry. I'll check out the other conditions on-site and report back to you." Shang Zhitao, still prone to sweating, pulled out a tissue to dab away the fine beads of perspiration on her forehead.

"How does it feel, your first time on an independent business trip?" Alex asked abruptly.

Shang Zhitao thought about it seriously. "Honestly, pretty nervous."

"Nothing to be nervous about. Come to me immediately if you run into any trouble."

"Got it. Thank you, boss."

Shang Zhitao hung up and opened her laptop in the taxi. Suzhou had its own unique charm during this season, but she had no heart to appreciate it. The company's East China regional exhibition was the day after tomorrow. Instead of choosing Shanghai, where they went every year, they had chosen Suzhou. She reviewed the entire event plan from start to finish, then called the exhibition company: "Hello, how is the site looking?"

"Construction started this afternoon, and we're currently taking inventory of the materials."

"Great, I'll drop my luggage off at the hotel first and then come find you."

The driver glanced at her through the rearview mirror and finally couldn't help speaking up: "Such a young girl, and you're already out here working?"

"I'm 23!"

"You look all of seventeen or eighteen."

Shang Zhitao blushed slightly at the driver's words and covertly peeked at her vague reflection in the car window, thinking to herself that she needed to put on makeup; otherwise, people would always assume she was just a kid. She needed to look more mature.

This time, L'Embellir had chosen a site by Taihu Lake. Because they were launching a traditional Chinese aesthetics initiative this year—focusing on the localization packaging of international brands and the crafting of traditional culture for domestic brands—it was a very fresh topic at the time. Luan Nian had said that since they were going to do it, the four major regions should pick locations that fit the theme: East China would be Suzhou, North China would be Xi'an, South China would be Fuzhou, and Central China would be Luoyang. While the other regions had massive scales, only the East China region was inviting S-tier clients; its scale was small, but its budget was high. After pondering for a long time, Alex decided to hand East China over to Shang Zhitao.

The scale was small, but it was the first stop, and all the attendees were S-tier clients, which made Shang Zhitao a bit nervous. She had secretly asked Alex why he was giving such important work to her.

Alex had replied, "If not to you, to whom?"

Shang Zhitao couldn't quite fathom the meaning behind those words, but Lumi grasped it instantly and asked her, "Aren't you up for a promotion review soon? What are you going to use to get promoted if you don't have projects under your belt? Diligence and hard work? L'Embellir is exceptionally pragmatic. If management gives you an opportunity, take it and weigh your options. Buy Alex dinner later."

Shang Zhitao cherished this opportunity immensely.

After checking into her hotel, she took a taxi to the venue, checking the details of all the reception vehicles and guests along the way. When she rendezvoused with the event planning company at the lobby, she saw Luan Nian checking in. Luan Nian was the only one from L'Embellir staying at the conference hotel because he had interviews and one-on-one sessions with several S-tier clients after the conference ended, so a room was booked here for him directly.

Putting away his identification documents, Luan Nian turned around and saw Shang Zhitao, as well as the fine sweat on her forehead, and thought to himself: Why do you sweat so much?

"Hello, Luke." Shang Zhitao greeted him and then introduced the event company's personnel: "This is General Manager Wang from the event company, and this is our boss, Luke."

"Please go rest first. We've booked a private dining room here for tonight, and we'd like to treat you and Flora to a light meal." The exhibition company that had won the bid for Shang Zhitao's project was a newly onboarded supplier this year—a modest-sized company, but meticulous in its execution. The boss had personally stepped up to oversee operations, and his attitude was sincere.

"Thank you, but we have an internal company meeting later, so I'll have to decline the kind offer." Luan Nian smiled at General Manager Wang, then asked Shang Zhitao, "How's the progress?"

"The material inventory is done, load-in and construction will begin shortly, we can do a dry run after three o'clock tomorrow afternoon, and the client reception is all set," Shang Zhitao reported the key information concisely. She understood Luan Nian well by now and knew what he cared about.

"When does Alex arrive?" Luan Nian asked again.

"Tomorrow with the main team."

Seeing Luan Nian discussing work with Shang Zhitao, the supplier said, "Flora, I'll wait for you over there. Once the two of you finish going over work, come find us at the venue." A supplier's politeness was cultivated through the day-in, day-out process of catering to clients, and Shang Zhitao had now become "You" to them as well.

"It's fine, you go ahead and get busy. Once you're done, Flora can go over the overall schedule with me again, and we'll pull Alex in online."

"Got it."

What was there to go over regarding the overall schedule? They had already gone over it eight hundred times. A bit puzzled, Shang Zhitao turned and headed into the venue. The moment she stepped through the venue doors, however, she received a message from Luan Nian: "11188, my room number."

Shang Zhitao's face flushed instantly, and she replied, "I'm not coming."

"?"

"What if someone sees us? It's not good."

"What are you thinking? Meeting." Luan Nian let out a cold hum; whatever petty thoughts were packed inside Shang Zhitao's head were clear to him at a glance.

"Oh."

Shang Zhitao felt she was being toyed with by Luan Nian yet again. They hadn't seen each other in over a month, and she had assumed Luan Nian was talking about something unspeakable. Any adult man or woman would have wild thoughts upon receiving a room number like that.

She stayed inside the venue for nearly three hours, hashing out every single detail with the exhibition company before heading to Luan Nian's room with her laptop. Standing at his doorway, she suddenly recalled the time at his hotel door in Guangzhou when her mind had been filled with all sorts of chaotic thoughts, and her face flushed red all over again. It was truly bizarre; logically speaking, they should have been quite familiar with each other—at least in bed—yet standing outside his door today, she still blushed.

Blushing, and nervous. The little drum inside her heart was beating fiercely, and she took a deep, long breath before reaching out to press the doorbell. Luan Nian answered the call while on the phone, turned sideways to let her inside when he saw it was Shang Zhitao, and said, "Alex, Flora is here with me now. We'll both log on for the other meeting in a moment."

Shang Zhitao thought Luan Nian was truly open and aboveboard, and her heart was filled with admiration for him. She lifted her gaze to look at him, only to see him raise an eyebrow at her, looking somewhat wicked. Shang Zhitao's face flared red as she took a seat in the chair opposite his hotel desk. Noticing the fine sweat on her forehead, Luan Nian opened the mini-fridge, pulled out a small can of cola, popped the pull tab with one hand, and placed it in front of her. His fingertips then pinched her earlobe. Luan Nian was quite fond of Shang Zhitao's earlobes—soft and plump, they were always the first thing to turn red when she grew shy.

Shang Zhitao didn't dare move a muscle, terrified of disrupting his conference call.

Luan Nian was a bit distracted. Over the past month or so, he had been far too busy, only dropping by the company for half a day here and there. On several sleepless nights in the dark, he had found himself longing for Shang Zhitao's lovely body.

Shang Zhitao didn't dare to breathe, until she finally couldn't help swatting his hand away, glaring at him with wide eyes to tell him to behave.

In high spirits, Luan Nian pinched her cheek with one hand, shaping her lips into an "O" before finally sitting back down across from her. The meeting was somewhat protracted; Luan Nian tossed the menu to Shang Zhitao and asked her to help order dinner. When she stepped back inside after calling the hotel front desk to order a meal for two, she saw that Luan Nian had already hung up the phone and was standing by the window, watching her.

Her legs suddenly felt a bit weak, a tingling sensation creeping upward from her knees. The room was somewhat dim; she couldn't make out Luan Nian's expression clearly, but she could see the straight, verdant bamboo scenery standing tall outside the window behind him.

She pressed her lips tightly together, and that same nervous, flustered feeling she had first experienced at his home enveloped her once more.

"Flora," Luan Nian called out.

"Hm?"

"Meeting time."

It was an actual meeting. Yet the ambiguity that had just passed between the two of them refused to disperse. Sitting opposite Luan Nian, Shang Zhitao thought she was being utterly foolish—why had she fallen so deeply under the spell of his seduction?

She sat across from him to audit the meeting, not daring to look at him. His gaze felt as though it wanted to devour her. During the meeting, when it was Alex's turn to report on the progress of the event for the day after tomorrow, Luan Nian sat across from her, watching her speak attentively.

Shang Zhitao had undergone a metamorphosis. She was no longer like before, giving reports in just a few perfunctory words; she understood precisely what management focused on, keeping every point sharp, critical, and concise—except for her blushing face.

The doorbell to their room rang; dinner had arrived. Alex proactively called for a pause: "It's past seven, everyone's getting a bit hungry. Shall we take forty minutes to eat first?"

"Okay."

Shang Zhitao stood up to tidy the desk. Luan Nian watched her; mature adults had no need for pretense, and they each knew full well what they wanted to do most at that moment. The bed was soft, and in her urgency, Shang Zhitao called out his name: "Luan Nian!"

Luan Nian rarely heard her call him by his first name directly. He paused, looked at her, and brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. "What is it, Flora."

"The event company might look for me..."

"Mhm..." Luan Nian's lips pressed against the back of her ear, and he asked her, "Did you miss me?"

"What?"

"This past month and more, did you miss me?"

Shang Zhitao stayed silent, pulling his hand over to prove it to him, yet her eyes remained as innocent and clear as a child's. Luan Nian covered her eyes with his hand, and the two of them sank deeply into the bed.

Shang Zhitao didn't dare make a sound. When she couldn't hold it in, she bit down on Luan Nian's finger. Feeling a prick of pain, Luan Nian pinched her cheek. "Are you part dog?"

His lips pressed down, sealing her voice away in a kiss.

It felt just like a fight.

Ultimately, they still logged on ten minutes late.

"Apologies, I just took a personal call. Let's begin now." Luan Nian glanced at Shang Zhitao. She was currently pulling up the zipper of her dress, the zipper inching upward to gradually cover her lovely back. Luan Nian removed her hand to help her, but his movements paused as his lips descended, pressing silently against her spine.

Shang Zhitao sprang away, glaring at him. He merely shrugged, opened his mouth to pose a question to the online conference, and looked completely proper and upright—dressed up like a human.

Shang Zhitao was starving. She ate quietly while listening to them hold the meeting; Luan Nian didn't have that luxury, as he remained earnestly engaged in the discussion. Shang Zhitao would occasionally feed him a bite, which he would swallow whole. Seeing Shang Zhitao eating with such relish, he shot her one glare after another.

The meeting dragged on until eleven o'clock. Shang Zhitao casually sent out the meeting minutes and began packing up her laptop.

"I'm heading out."

"Not staying here?"

"No." Shang Zhitao shouldered her large backpack. "I still need to go take a look at the venue; construction is going through the night today."

"Mhm." Luan Nian opened the door for her and asked offhandedly, "Did you apply for a promotion?"

"Yes. I asked Alex, and since my rank is low, this promotion only requires internal departmental evaluation. Alex told me not to worry and to go ahead and submit it," Shang Zhitao told Luan Nian truthfully. "But I haven't had time to prepare my promotion materials yet."

"When is your presentation?"

"Next Monday."

"Are you ready to fail?" Luan Nian scared her.