The Early Spring - Chapter 54

Chapter 54 - Blooming 

Lumi was as good as her word and actually bought Shang Zhitao a bikini. It was a bright red, two-piece number, as vibrant and flashy as could possibly be.

Shang Zhitao kept her hands crossed over her chest as she followed behind Lumi. The blazing sunlight beat down on her skin, making it practically piping hot, though not nearly as hot as her face. It was far too daring, but since so many girls on the beach were wearing bikinis, her attempts to cover her chest suddenly seemed somewhat redundant.

Lumi turned around and scolded her, "Take your hands down right now! You're not allowed to cover up!"

"No, no," Shang Zhitao waved her hands, then hurriedly placed them back over her chest. "I feel awkward."

"As if anyone else doesn't have them!" Lumi pointed into the distance. "See that? That girl's figure is far worse than yours, and isn't she having a great time? It's your own body—you can do whatever you want with it."

"Oh."

Shang Zhitao finally lowered her hands, and Lumi gave her back a pat. "Chest out!"

The fine figure that was usually concealed by everyday clothing was now radiant in the sunlight. What made it truly breathtaking were her curves; her full, pretty breasts possessed a somewhat magnificent breadth, yet tapering softly inward at the waistline and flaring out again at the hips.

Instantly, her gorgeous figure was revealed—a vibrant, fresh-faced beauty. Walking along the beach with Lumi, there was no telling how many gazes she attracted.

"Such a gorgeous girl—what kind of man deserves someone like this!" Lumi teased her, pointing at a foreign friend in the distance. "See that? Based on Sister's years of experience, that one should be very strong."

"Strong in what way?" Shang Zhitao genuinely didn't catch the meaning.

"An inch longer, an inch stronger." Lumi let out a knowing chuckle and pulled Shang Zhitao toward a parasol. "Let's find a spot to lie down and sunbathe. That foreign handsome guy will be over in a minute; he's been glancing at you quite a few times."

"Alright. Just make sure you head back to the room later than usual." Shang Zhitao played along; anyway, when the two of them spoke in private, they held back no words and honored no taboos, never taking anything seriously.

There was a person lying beneath the parasol with a newspaper covering his face, seemingly asleep. Out of the three parasols, he had deliberately chosen the middle one, separating the other two—rather annoying. Lumi stepped forward intending to swap spots with him, but the man pulled the newspaper off his face, looked at Lumi, and then looked at Shang Zhitao: "Unleashing your true self?" It was Luan Nian.

Shang Zhitao suddenly blushed a little, not daring to look at Luan Nian, partly blaming herself for wearing so little—it was a very strange sensation. Yet Luan Nian didn't look at her much. Instead, he smiled at Lumi: "Some people say that everyone's shortcomings are balanced by their own strengths; your statement just now was a bit narrow-minded." With that, he lay back down on the lounger, treating the two of them like air.

He had been very busy the past few days and hadn't slept well. He had been planning to soak up some seaside sun these past few days to get his vitamin D and relax for a bit, but no sooner had he lain down for a few moments than he heard Lumi and Shang Zhitao talking about picking up a foreign hunk. In his heart, he thought them utterly ridiculous—two country bumpkins thinking they could reach the stars. When he lifted the newspaper to peek, he saw their outfits, frowned slightly, and lay back down, covering his face with the newspaper to ignore them.

He appreciated women who dared to display their charm, but women did not include Shang Zhitao. Displeased in his heart, Luan Nian didn't say a single word.

There was another empty chair a bit further away, but that would put them too far apart, and Luan Nian had made it abundantly clear he didn't want to switch spots. So, taking one chair each, they sat down on either side of Luan Nian.

Lumi suddenly felt quite shy at this moment, using her bath towel to cover her vital areas. Shang Zhitao, however, felt that rare rebellious streak of hers acting up again, stubbornly refusing to cover herself. She simply lay right there, secretly hoping to see whether that foreign hunk would actually come over.

In her heart, she even burned an imaginary stick of incense, praying for the handsome guy to hurry up and arrive—as if his arrival would allow her to hold her head high in triumph.

Yet the foreign hunk surprisingly didn't show up, leaving Shang Zhitao somewhat deflated. She messaged Lumi: "I'm going to buy coconuts. Do you want one?"

"Yes! Get one for your sister too."

Shang Zhitao stood up and walked away. Now she wasn't scared anymore; Lumi was right—her body was her own, and she would bare it whenever she pleased. She was pleasing herself, not anyone else, including Luan Nian.

Sometimes coming to a realization was just that simple. She stood in front of the coconut stall watching the vendor hack open a coconut when she heard someone greet her in broken Chinese. Turning around, she saw the foreign guy.

He said, "Hello, I saw you just now."

Shang Zhitao suddenly burst out laughing: "I know."

She couldn't put on a look of surprise; when she knew, she knew. The foreign boy, on the other hand, grew a bit shy, placing a hand on the back of his head and smiling as he said, "Would it be alright if I bought a coconut for you and your friend?"

"Sure, thank you."

The two of them walked back holding their coconuts. The boy asked her when she was leaving and inquired about her itinerary for the next few days, and Shang Zhitao answered them one by one. As they parted ways, the boy told her, "You are truly beautiful. If there's a chance, we could have dinner together."

She said, "Alright, thank you."

So direct compliments from the opposite sex felt this delightful—Shang Zhitao finally experienced it. Walking back, she saw Lumi looking at her in astonishment and flashed Lumi a flirtatious wink. She placed the coconut in Lumi's hands, and Lumi pointed toward Luan Nian, implying: You didn't buy one for him?

Shang Zhitao shrugged: Why should she?

Why should she buy one for him? Because he was stubbornly hogging the middle lounger without moving an inch?

Lumi pointed at her phone, and when Shang Zhitao opened it, she saw Lumi's warning: Don't provoke the plague god. While you were out buying coconuts, he took a phone call and threw a massive temper tantrum.

Oh.

Shang Zhitao took a few sips of her coconut, lay back down on the lounger, plugged her earplugs into her ears, covered herself with her bath towel, and closed her eyes to listen to music. During that period, she needed to listen to music frantically—any music would do—because there was actually a small gap in her heart that nothing could fill.

Simply because Luan Nian had said over the phone, "Then I'll bring flowers to see you," and then actually gave a bouquet to Zang Yao. Just that one tiny little matter.

The Phuket sunshine was truly wonderful. The blazing heat beat down on her body, and the warm, humid sea breeze blew against her face—truly a prime time for a nap. When Shang Zhitao opened her eyes, the sun was already setting. She picked up her phone and saw a message from Lumi: "I'm going to go check out the evening dinner menu first; Alex handed this job to me. Once you wake up, come to the west side of the hotel. We'll have dinner on the beach over there."

"Got it, I'm awake."

Shang Zhitao replied to the message and sat up, taking in the Phuket sunset.

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the beach a brilliant red, and the sparkling seawater shimmered there like stars dropped by the heavens. She couldn't think of any poetry to describe the scene before her, and could only inwardly sigh: It's too beautiful.

She watched in a bit of a daze.

Hearing movement from the neighboring lounger, she turned her head and saw that Luan Nian had woken up. Shang Zhitao greeted him: "Did Luke wake up? Lumi says dinner is in half an hour."

Luan Nian's gaze lingered on the top of Shang Zhitao's bikini, then pointed toward some foreign girls playing beach volleyball in the distance: "See that? Bikinis are meant for them." Those girls possessed extraordinarily athletic builds, entirely different from the beauty of Eastern women.

If it were in the past, Shang Zhitao would have felt ashamed, but today she was different. She understood that regardless of how one dressed, it was solely to please oneself, having not a single cent's worth of relation to anyone else. Her pretty, gentle eyes carried a smile as she stated every word clearly: "I know they look good, but I like wearing it this way. It has nothing to do with anyone else."

Shang Zhitao stood up and walked toward her room. She didn't care what Luan Nian thought of her; anyway, Luan Nian had seen so many gorgeous women that no matter what she looked like, she could never earn a single word of praise from him.

As she walked toward her room, she heard rapid footsteps approaching from behind. Turning around to look, she was pushed into a nearby room by the pursuer—with a speed so swift she had no time to dodge. Planting her hands between them, all her hostility vanished, and her voice even trembled: "Someone might see us."

"Don't ever dress like this again."

"I'm happy to, I like it."

Luan Nian reached his hand underneath her bikini, gripping her fiercely before biting down onto her shoulder with the savagery of a wild beast. He bit down with real force, and that sharp sting sparked a trace of fear in Shang Zhitao, finally causing her to compromise: "I won't wear it anymore."

Over half of the anger in Luan Nian's heart dissipated, yet his hand refused to withdraw. In the dim light, he looked into Shang Zhitao's eyes, which seemed filled with an inexpressible grievance. This softened Luan Nian's heart, and he said something he never would have dreamed of uttering even if beaten to death: "I don't like other men looking at you like that."

"Because you look devilishly gorgeous today."

Shang Zhitao bit her lip in silence, knowing that the moment she opened her mouth, she might burst into tears. Luan Nian said she looked gorgeous—how rare was that, so rare it made her heart ache. She pressed her hands over his hand, which had yet to withdraw, her brows furrowing slightly as her breathing grew disordered. Her trembling lips sought out his, pushing the tip of her tongue forward and letting him capture it fiercely, drawing it straight into his mouth.

The ringing of a telephone made them scramble apart in a panic. Luan Nian walked over to the bedside to answer the call while still keeping his eyes on Shang Zhitao. He had calmed down, realizing that he had just lost his senses, bringing her into his room under such circumstances; if anything went wrong, what kind of trouble would it bring them? He could still handle it calmly enough, but what about her? She would probably break down completely.

After hanging up the phone, he walked over to the doorway, opened it, and saw the hallway was completely empty.

Even just parting ways like this carried a trace of lingering desolation.

Shang Zhitao returned to her room to change into a slip dress, but remembering the bite mark Luan Nian had left on her shoulder, she added a light cover-up over the dress.

The beach BBQ was exceptionally lively. With the company sparing no expense, lobsters, crabs, and cocktails were all in full supply. Everyone stood about waiting for Luan Nian to make a toast, but he only said: "Thank you all for your hard work; special bonus packages will be distributed starting next month. Wishing everyone a wonderful time."

Everyone applauded and cheered, opened drinks, clinked glasses, took a simple sip, and then went off to the food stations to grab their meals, eating seafood by the candlelight on the tables while the sea breeze blew—truly cozy and delightful.

Lumi shared a piece of cake with Shang Zhitao, wiped away a smudge of cream from the corner of her mouth with her fingertips, and suddenly asked her: "Did Luke give you a hard time after I left?"

"Huh?"

"Over at the loungers, he didn't snap at you or anything, did he?"

"No."

"That's good then." Lumi let out a sigh of relief. "You have no idea, when you went to buy coconuts, he threw a massive temper tantrum, shouting into the phone that whoever could work should work, and whoever couldn't could scram."

Even when Luan Nian was furious in the past, he had never spoken like that; he was merely strict.

"What was it about?" Shang Zhitao asked.

"I have no idea." Lumi shrugged.

Shang Zhitao turned back to look for Luan Nian. As for him, he was sitting across from Alex at a table near the shore, the two of them deep in discussion about something with extremely serious expressions.

A colleague was darting through the crowd with a camera, demanding greetings from everyone and claiming they were going to cut it into a travel promotional video—a staple project for the Marketing Department's team building.

The other colleagues all nodded symbolically at the machine, but only Shang Zhitao gave a serious, earnest greeting: "Hello, I am Shang Zhitao." She was utterly adorable.