The Early Spring - Chapter 61

Chapter 61 - Symbiosis 

Shang Zhitao had never seen Luan Nian fly into such a rage, and she curled up in the passenger seat, not daring to utter a word. Yet Luan Nian’s endless nagging made her feel both guilty and humiliated, so she stiffened her neck and talked back to him, "Wasn't it you who told us to keep our distance?"

"Keeping our distance means that we are friends in bed, colleagues at the company, and complete strangers outside of it."

"Didn't I do a great job of that? When I ran into trouble, I didn't bother you. Why are you blaming me now..."

Shang Zhitao spoke these few sentences with very little confidence, her voice coming out as a dull drone, but every single word was infuriating. Luan Nian was already at the height of his anger, and hearing her say this made him suddenly feel that wasting any more concern on an idiot like Shang Zhitao was completely redundant.

"Now you've got quite a tongue on you. How come when you were asked to pay the electricity bill you couldn't explain yourself clearly and ended up getting beaten by others?"

"You're just a bully at home!"

With just two sentences, Luan Nian drained all of Shang Zhitao's energy, causing her to press her lips together and automatically shut down. Both of them were furious, and neither bothered to dwell on how the phrase "bully at home" had actually slipped out of her mouth. One felt the other was utterly worthless, while the other felt the other had a horribly vicious tongue.

Luan Nian vented all his anger onto his driving, slamming hard on the accelerator, which sent Shang Zhitao's heart leaping up and down. Seeing that Luan Nian was driving faster and faster, she finally timidly grabbed his sleeve, and when he shot a fierce glare her way, she managed a weak smile.

"Don't you fucking smile at me!"

Luan Nian didn't realize at all that he had cursed a lot today. If giving Shang Zhitao a beating could make his anger subside, he would have pulled over right then and beaten her to death.

Shang Zhitao let out an "oh," pulled her hand back, and looked out the car window.

The moment Luan Nian turned his head, he could see the swollen left side of her face, and his anger flared up all over again. How could Shang Zhitao be so spineless and brainless?

Sitting there looking like a wronged punching bag!

"Does it still hurt?"

Luan Nian glanced at her left face again. He had no idea how much force that person had used, but even after three days, the bruising on her face hadn't faded, nor had the swelling gone down.

"It doesn't hurt." Shang Zhitao didn't dare say it hurt. He was already in such a rage; if she admitted it hurt, he would probably execute a U-turn and set the agency on fire. But she was also very surprised that Luan Nian was this angry over the matter. She had assumed that in Luan Nian's mind, their relationship hadn't reached this level yet.

Perhaps—Shang Zhitao searched for an excuse—perhaps, just like in the movies, once I sleep with someone she becomes my woman. I can ignore my woman or not love her, but nobody else is allowed to bully her!

Was that it? Shang Zhitao secretly peeked at Luan Nian's expression, and his expression truly looked terrible. She bit her lip and stayed silent all the way to Luan Nian's home.

He opened the door, tossed his overcoat aside, walked over to the sofa, sat down, and patted the cushion. "Come here." His original intention was to lecture her again and take the opportunity to explain the dangers of society, telling her not to act on impulse next time she ran into trouble, and to use that poorly functioning brain of hers first. If she couldn't resolve it, didn't she still have him?

Shang Zhitao obediently walked over, sat down a little closer to Luan Nian than usual, and plopped right onto his lap. This disrupted Luan Nian's rhythm. He leaned his upper body back against the sofa and gruffly scolded her, "Get lost!"

Shang Zhitao had no intention of getting lost. She had slept with Luan Nian for over a year and knew what kind of temper this man had. No matter how angry he was, as long as you acted soft, it would work. If one day he refused to be swayed by either softness or hardness, it meant he was going to destroy you.

"I won't get lost." Shang Zhitao cupped his face to look at him and discovered that his left ear was cut—something she hadn't noticed at all in the car. "What happened to your ear?"

"I don't know."

"Did you get into a fight?"

"None of your damn business."

Luan Nian moved to shove Shang Zhitao off, but she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "I won't. My face hurts, and my mouth hurts too. Don't chase me away."

"Give me your phone."

"What?"

"Give it to me."

Luan Nian snatched Shang Zhitao's phone, saw it had a lock screen password, and tossed it back to her. "Enter the password."

Shang Zhitao unlocked the phone and handed it back, watching as he flipped through the contacts and found his own number. "Isn't my number right here?"

...

"Have you lost your memory or what? Did you forget you had my number?"

"You acted all experienced in bed, but the moment you put your clothes on you pretend not to know anyone?"

"You..."

Shang Zhitao blocked his mouth. Luan Nian was talking far too much today; he didn't even speak this much during company meetings. Being scolded the entire time, Shang Zhitao nonetheless felt a profound sweetness in her heart. Why were Luan Nian's lips so nice to look at? Her mind began to wander, and her teeth lightly nipped at his thin lips while one of her hands slid in from the hem of his shirt, pressing a cool palm against his scorching skin.

Luan Nian half-squinted down at her. The bruising on her face fueled his anger straight to the top of his head, his eyes widening as if he wanted to devour her whole—so she let herself be devoured. Luan Nian wasn't falling for her tricks and moved to dump her off the sofa, but Shang Zhitao clung to him like a koala, quietly accomplishing great things.

"Stop messing around." Luan Nian's plea of "stop messing around" nearly cost Shang Zhitao her life, driving her to try even harder, while Luan Nian pulled at her. "I have no interest in your ugly face."

No matter how she coaxed him, it didn't work—he was simply too hard to coax.

Shang Zhitao grew a bit discouraged, sagging like a deflated ball, her eyes pooling with water. "Humph!" With a dainty huff, she bounced back onto the sofa and threw a silent temper tantrum of her own. That single huff completely dismantled the high walls built by Luan Nian's foul temper. He tumbled into the sofa along with her, accidentally bumping the corner of Shang Zhitao's mouth in the process. She let out a cry of pain, but Luan Nian only offered a cold remark, "Serves you right."

"Now you know it hurts. What were you doing earlier?"

His words were exceptionally harsh, but his movements were extremely gentle, pressing his lips against her wounds and the bruises, before suddenly freezing right at the climax. "What's my phone number?"

Shang Zhitao was left suspended midway, anxious to the point of tears, but Luan Nian kept asking her, "What's my phone number?"

Shang Zhitao shook her head. "I don't remember."

Luan Nian forced her to recite his number. By the third time she had it memorized, he finally hauled her up from the bottom of the pit and sent her soaring above the clouds.

The clouds drifted, drawing close to the light, stirring up endless waves of joy within her heart. It also seemed to grant her a shred of audacity. Refusing to let Luan Nian pull away, she made up her mind to reward her warrior.

Feeling a dull ache in his arm, Luan Nian sat up. Shang Zhitao swept her gaze over him and only then noticed that his left arm was swollen quite high. Looking closer, there were also scrapes on the back of his hand. Shang Zhitao thought she must truly be blind for only noticing it now, especially after acting so wild with him just moments ago.

"Shouldn't you go to the hospital?"

"No need. It's not broken."

"What if it is?"

Luan Nian glared at her without a word, then got up to grab some rubbing alcohol for her, enjoying Shang Zhitao's remedial massage service. Shang Zhitao massaged his arm, and as she kneaded, a wave of fondness washed over her. She pressed her lips against his skin, time and time again, to express her gratitude.

"Luan Nian."

"Hmm?"

"Can I crash at your place for a few days? I'm homeless." Shang Zhitao finally cast aside her pride and begged him. She had originally thought that even if she ended up sleeping on the streets, she wouldn't let Luan Nian find out about it, but today things had inexplicably blown up this big, so she might as well just ask to stay with him for a few days.

"How many days?" Luan Nian looked down at her with a sidelong glance, acting as though he was extremely reluctant.

Shang Zhitao held up three fingers, thought about it, and then raised two more. "Five days?"

Luan Nian remained leaning against the sofa looking half-dead, neither saying yes nor no. Shang Zhitao slowly inched her way over to him, pulled down the collar of her shirt to reveal a fair, rounded shoulder, and batted her eyelashes at him. "I won't be staying for free, you know. My service is top-notch."

"Get lost."

Luan Nian glared at her and asked, "What's my phone number?"

"If I memorize it I get to stay, and if I don't memorize it I'll get lost right now."

Back when her head was full of lust, she had given a perfunctory recitation and promptly forgotten it. Now that he suddenly popped the question, Shang Zhitao's mind went completely blank. In a panic, she fished out her phone, stared at Luan Nian's number, and recited it through one more time.

Too lazy to deal with her anymore, Luan Nian turned and headed upstairs. Shang Zhitao trailed right behind him, pushing her luck a little further. "Do you think this would work? Could I borrow your ride tomorrow to help me move my things over? I have nowhere to put them, and once I find a place I'll take them away."

"Just try touching my car!" Shang Zhitao still felt a lingering dread from the time she crashed his car. "I'll drive you."

"Then tomorrow after work?"

"Okay."

When they reached upstairs, Shang Zhitao consciously headed toward the guest bedroom. She still had to go to work tomorrow; there was no way they could keep acting wild tonight. But Luan Nian grabbed her by the collar, forced her back into the master bedroom with him, stripped off his clothes, and lay flat on the bed. "Give me a massage."

...

As for the massage, it was supposed to be done properly, but Luan Nian's back practically had the words "stunning beauty" written across it, leaving Shang Zhitao completely distracted. Her hands and feet began wandering again, peeling away Luan Nian's cold exterior layer by layer to offer her burning self to him.

Luan Nian's arm hurt, and Shang Zhitao's mouth hurt, but her brain was working brilliantly right now. She giggled and whispered to him, "Don't move! I'll take charge!"

Luan Nian simply let her be, letting her run wild and abandon all restraint. His brooding gaze lingered on her as if he intended to swallow her whole and chew her up.

Shang Zhitao realized she simply couldn't be alone with Luan Nian. The moment she was alone with him, no other thoughts could fit inside her head, and she just wanted to fool around with him like this. When the passion peaked, she bent down to seek his lips, her voice trembling as she asked, "Do you like it?"

"I like it." Luan Nian didn't stubbornly bite his tongue this time; liking something was just liking it, and liking someone wasn't shameful.

Shang Zhitao's brows knitted slightly, and as her final tender cry dissolved into Luan Nian's mouth, he shifted from passive to active, carrying her through yet another storm of fierce winds and heavy rain.

Shang Zhitao felt thoroughly cleansed from head to toe. The terrible mood brought on by the housing trouble over the past few days had completely evaporated, and she just wanted to peacefully linger by Luan Nian's side for a little while. Unwilling to retreat to the guest room, she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She figured Luan Nian would chase her out, but he made no move, falling asleep even faster than she did.

When she went to work the next day, she overheard Lumi on a phone call: "What? Sealed off? How did it get sealed off? The old lady hasn't even gone over to beat them up yet!"

"Someone reported them for fire code violations? They got into a fight yesterday? People got locked up in the police station?" Lumi let out a cackle of laughter. "These bastards walk the night too often and finally ran into a ghost? Hahahaha!"

Listening from the side, Shang Zhitao finally figured out what Luan Nian had been up to the previous afternoon, as well as why he had injuries on him, and her eyes welled up with a slight redness. She looked up at the "ghost" the shady real estate agency had run into, her heart brimming with gratitude.

"So you were running around bustling on my account the whole afternoon yesterday?" she texted him.

"I was running around bustling to ensure the survival of our company's employees," Luan Nian replied with a frown.

Shang Zhitao covered her mouth and chuckled secretly to herself.

When evening came and she went back to pack her things, bringing Luan Nian along down to the building entrance, Shang Zhitao suddenly stopped him. "I can just go up by myself."

A question mark painted itself across Luan Nian's face.

"You don't know my roommates, and they don't know you either. I'm afraid you'll feel awkward."

"I'll be right back down! I won't make you wait too long."

With that, Shang Zhitao turned and bolted. She didn't want Luan Nian to go up to her place, though she couldn't quite explain why. She always felt that apartment was a little sanctuary belonging exclusively to her and her roommates.

Sun Yuanzhu helped her carry her things down, placing them right at the entrance of the stairwell, and said to her in a soft voice, "I'll step up the search for a place these next few days, so don't stress too much. We'll be able to find a suitable apartment."

Shang Zhitao nodded. "I know! I'm not stressed! We'll look together this weekend."

Sun Yuanzhu smiled—that smile was truly gentle—and then glanced around. "Where's your friend?"

Luan Nian stood motionless within the shadows.