The Early Spring - Chapter 72

Chapter 72 - Softness 

When Luan Nian refused to look after Luke, it meant no one would be taking care of him. However, Luan Nian's words were always half-true and half-false—saying he couldn't usually meant he could.

So, Shang Zhitao added, "Should I bring Luke over to your place now?"

"No."

"?"

Luan Nian stopped replying to her and answered Dr. Liang's incoming call instead. "What is it?"

"Your father recently attended an event and met a Professor Gong. During their conversation, Professor Gong mentioned that his daughter is currently in China, teaching at a university in Beijing. Could you look out for her a bit?"

"Gong Yue, right?" Luan Nian asked.

"Huh? How did you know?"

"Ran into her today by chance."

"Oh, that's wonderful! When you young people have free time, get together for a meal or hang out to liven things up. Otherwise, with that personality of yours, you're going to smother yourself to death."

"Okay."

Dr. Liang thought she had misheard him. "Did you say okay?"

"Yeah."

It was rare to hear Luan Nian say yes, so Dr. Liang didn't dare say another word, fearing he might change his mind if pushed further. "Alright, let's leave it at that then. Goodbye."

Luan Nian hung up the phone. The bar staff had already off the clock, leaving him alone in the room, so he simply lay back on the sofa chair to gaze at the moon. After the wind swept through, the moon was extraordinarily bright. Luan Nian reflected that once the bar opened, his free time would only diminish.

When Shang Zhitao's call came in, the alcohol was starting to rush to his head a little, but he stayed silent after answering.

Thinking she had dialed the wrong number, Shang Zhitao moved the phone away to glance at the screen—it was indeed him. "I'm at your house, but nobody's home. Why aren't you saying anything? Have you been drinking? Should I cook some noodles for you?"

"No need. I'm not coming back tonight."

"Oh."

Shang Zhitao hung up the phone and saw Luan Nian's Little Red Flag fish swimming around in the tank. Fish were easier to care for than dogs, requiring no daily walks; their owner could easily stay out overnight. She sat in his living room waiting for a while, but Luan Nian truly didn't return. It wasn't until the middle of the night that Shang Zhitao heard Luke barking. She went downstairs fully clothed and saw Luke bounding around Luan Nian, seemingly thrilled to see him after a period apart.

Luan Nian patted Luke, his voice carrying a slight nasal stuffiness. "Why are you here?"

Luke sat on the floor, letting out a soft whimper. Luan Nian crouched down to stroke its head, and Luke took the opportunity to rest its canine head against his knee, every bit as good at currying favor as its owner.

"It's picked up wind outside," Shang Zhitao rushed over to the window to look out. "Why didn't you come up from the underground garage?"

Luan Nian sat down to play with Luke, acting as though he hadn't heard Shang Zhitao speak.

Luan Nian knew he was a difficult person to get along with. By rights, raised in a harmonious and happy family with a life of privilege from a young age, he ought to have possessed a bright and sunny disposition, yet he was quite the opposite. In Dr. Liang's words, by the time Luan Nian was seven or eight, he acted like a little adult, frowning all day long, finding it hard to genuinely like anything and even harder to please. Such a child's temperament resembled neither Dr. Liang nor Mr. Luan, looking more like he had been adopted.

If that were all, it would have been fine, but in his teens, the things Luan Nian took a liking to were quite alarming—weapons, combat sports, and shooting. Back then, Dr. Liang lost sleep every night, constantly worrying that he might accidentally stumble onto an anti-human, anti-social path.

He was precisely such a person, devoid of a sunny temperament and lacking empathetic capacity, with far too few soft spots within his body.

Luan Nian was well aware of all this. Over the years, he had intentionally practiced self-control, yet whenever he was truly upset, he would still grow exceptionally sharp and virtually impossible to appease.

Seeing Shang Zhitao sitting on the sofa watching him, he felt a wave of irritation and said to Luke, "Tell your master to stop looking at me."

He wouldn't even address Shang Zhitao directly.

Shang Zhitao felt that Luan Nian was a bit odd today, though she couldn't pinpoint what was off. He seemed to have been drinking and caught a chill, his face flushed slightly red. Shang Zhitao reached her hand out toward him, but Luan Nian leaned his head back, frowning as he told her, "If you have something to say, say it. Don't touch me."

... "You seem to be sick."

"None of your damn business."

Luan Nian walked upstairs, Shang Zhitao followed behind him, and Luke trailed after Shang Zhitao. Reaching the master bedroom, Luan Nian blocked the doorway, opening his mouth to sneer at Shang Zhitao, "Sorry, I can't cater to you today. Figure it out yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you come to my place to satisfy your physical needs? Well, that's off the table today."

"Oh. Okay then."

Shang Zhitao was also a bit annoyed. She led Luke back to the guest room, turned off the light, and lay down on the bed. It felt like she had never had a genuine fight with Luan Nian; she was a young woman with a temper of her own who would scrap with people if pushed too far. Yet she had never truly blown up in front of Luan Nian. Why? She had reflected on it and concluded that she simply lacked the courage. She didn't have the backing to throw a tantrum before him, so she had to talk herself down. Still, her ears remained perked up, listening intently for any movement from Luan Nian.

Luan Nian was taking a shower; Luan Nian went downstairs. Why hasn't Luan Nian come to find me yet? Forget it, Luan Nian would never bow his head. Despondent, Shang Zhitao sat up, stayed like that for a moment, let out a sigh, and finally got out of bed.

She saw Luan Nian pulling out the first-aid kit, rummaging through it for medicine. Shang Zhitao stepped forward to feel his forehead, but Luan Nian turned his head again to evade her. She suddenly wasn't angry anymore—why hold a grudge against a sick person? She was just that good at comforting herself.

Quick on her feet and sharp-eyed, she fished out the fever medicine from the bottom of the box. "Are you looking for this?"

Luan Nian reached out to take it, but Shang Zhitao hid the medicine behind her back. When he leaned in to snatch it, his cheek brushed against hers, and Shang Zhitao swiftly stood on tiptoe to peck his chin—once, twice, like a chick pecking at grain. She was coaxing Luan Nian, her eyes bright, timid, and tender, her lips warm, soft, and obedient.

Luan Nian lowered his head to look at her humble posture, feeling as though something had pricked his heart.

"No sleeping together tonight," Luan Nian was finally willing to speak properly to Shang Zhitao. His breath was scalding hot; he was truly sick.

"Mm, no sleeping together."

Shang Zhitao ran to pour water for him, watched him take the medicine, and then held his hand. "So, did you have a social engagement today?"

"Mm. Hosted guests at the bar today."

"Didn't you say the very first drink you mixed was going to be for me?"

Hearing this, Luan Nian let out a snort, ignored her once more, and turned to head upstairs. Shang Zhitao followed right behind him. "You didn't keep your word! You promised me the first drink, and I haven't even tasted what it's like!"

I actually wanted to serve you that first drink, but weren't you out strolling the streets with your male roommate? The two of you, walking a dog, looking just like a little married couple. Luan Nian admitted to himself that he was angry over this very thing—he'd rather feed that drink to a dog than give it to her! But he couldn't bring himself to say those words. What the hell is there to say anyway? It's not like you're the only one who can have tangled opposite-sex friendships. As long as I want to, as long as I'm willing, I can have them anytime.

Yet Shang Zhitao kept fussing, complaining further when she saw Luan Nian staying silent: "Hmph, going back on your word."

Luan Nian yanked her into his arms, trapping her there. The tip of his tongue pried open her lips and teeth, tangling with hers. After a long moment, he asked her fiercely, "The first drink—have you tasted it now?"

With her face flushed, Shang Zhitao licked her lips with the tip of her tongue and shook her head. "I didn't taste it thoroughly enough." Standing on tiptoe again, she bit down gently on his lip. It reminded her of Dunhuang, when his palm rested against her calf—even through the fabric, it had sent her heart into a panic. She had been longing for it for days.

So, could a kiss truly soothe anger?

His mouth carried the taste of the cocktail, slightly head-spinning. Shang Zhitao fell into his chest, her arms wrapping around his waist, her head pressed against his chest as she called his name softly, "Luan Nian."

"Speak."

"Can I sleep in the same bed with you? Without doing anything."

"Mm."

And so they truly didn't do anything. Shang Zhitao burrowed into his embrace, pulled his arm out to pillow her head on it, and pressed her palm against his chest. Seeing that he had no objections, she pushed her luck further by wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, murmuring into his chest, "Actually, just lying quietly like this for a little while without doing a thing feels really nice to me too."

"What's so nice about it?" Luan Nian asked her.

"Just..." Shang Zhitao didn't know how to put it into words. "Just... really nice." Doing this gave Shang Zhitao the sweet illusion that perhaps there were other possibilities between them beyond just sex.

Luan Nian's body was a bit hot. He couldn't tell if it was from the fever or the alcohol, but his mind wasn't clear enough, and he felt a lingering discomfort.

"Go to the guest room."

"No." Shang Zhitao leaned against Luan Nian's chest. It was rare for him to be sick and this obedient, making her feel a strange touch of affection. She really was shameless to actually like it when Luan Nian was sick. Her arms tightly encircled Luan Nian as she chattered away to him.

"Let's not go hiking in Dunhuang ever again, okay? It's too exhausting. My legs still don't feel like mine today."

"When the event ended, President Jiang suddenly said to me, 'Flora, I remember you.' How could she remember me? I've clearly only appeared before her a few times..."

"Lumi is so hilarious, and she's so brave too. I feel like after spending so much time with Lumi, I've become much tougher myself..."

"Luke..."

Luan Nian covered Shang Zhitao's mouth with his hand. "Why do you have so much to say today?"

"I have to talk through everything for the next half month, because we won't see each other for half a month..."

"Is your phone just a decoration?"

"You don't like replying to my messages anyway, nor do you like calling me." His replies were always just a few words, and his phone calls lasted barely a minute, with longer ones being exceedingly rare.

Shang Zhitao voiced her gentle complaints like a little nagging wife. As she turned over, she bumped the inner side of her knee, and the agonizing pain from lactic acid buildup almost killed her, forcing out a soft groan.

In the darkness, Luan Nian turned her toward him, lifted her leg onto his body, and pressed his palm against her calf, gently massaging it.

"It hurts." Shang Zhitao couldn't tell if it truly hurt that much or if she was just being sensitive, but tears almost spilled from her eyes.

"That's why I said you need to exercise."

Enduring the pain, Shang Zhitao leaned a bit closer to him, putting them in a rather ambiguous posture. Luan Nian shifted his body back slightly, leaving a small gap, and said to her, "Don't provoke me."

Shang Zhitao truly didn't dare provoke him any further, staying quietly nestled in his arms. Her phone rang; picking it up to look, she saw a message from Dony asking her: What are you doing?

Shang Zhitao stole a glance at Luan Nian and set her phone down. Seeing the name Dony flash across the screen, Luan Nian asked her, "Has Dony really never harassed you?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Because in Lingmei, you look like the easiest one to handle and bully."

"Is that why you chose me too?"

Shang Zhitao used the word "chose," as if Luan Nian should have had countless options available, yet he had picked the one that was easiest to deal with out of them all.

"Mm. You got that right." Luan Nian released her leg, turned away, and presented her with a stubborn, cold back. Shang Zhitao didn't mind it either, resting her face against his back as she said to him, "I secretly looked at your schedule. You're not going on any business trips. So please help me take care of Luke, okay~ It'd be even better if you could find time to give Luke a bath. He's like a little mud ball. And lately, he seems to love playing with the frisbee—throwing it out, fetching it back, having the time of his life."

Luan Nian recalled the sight of her and Sun Yuanzhu walking down the street with Luke. Thinking back on that scene now felt quite absurd.

The medicine was taking effect, making him feel a bit dizzy. His phone screen lit up, and he saw a message from Gong Yue asking him: Can we host an event at your place next week?

Welcome. You can contact the bar manager directly. Luan Nian replied, conveniently forwarding her the bar manager's phone number before deleting her contact.

Luan Nian was actually very lazy. He was too lazy to deal with social niceties, and too lazy to alter the status quo.

He assumed he didn't want to change the status quo simply out of laziness.

At least, that was what he believed at the time.