The Early Spring - Chapter 79

Chapter 79 - Time 

Shang Zhitao had no idea that when Luan Nian talked about "reaching out to people," this was what he meant—at least not until she went to his house. He was like an addict.

Exhausted to the point of not wanting to move, Shang Zhitao collapsed on the bed and complained, "Isn't this an exchange of power for sex?"

Luan Nian swept his eyes over her: "Where is the—sex—part?"

"Hmph!"

Unconvinced, Shang Zhitao turned her back to him. Though she had a soft disposition, she was a girl from Bingcheng, carrying with her a bit of that local Bingcheng flair. She was tall with sleek, graceful lines; in truth, she was quite attractive. Yet, she was still a tiny distance away from the kind of striking beauty that would make Luan Nian's eyes light up.

Then again, Luan Nian must be blind, Shang Zhitao thought to herself.

Still, her mind remained fixated on the internal job application. She sat up, hugged her knees, and looked at Luan Nian with a smile: "So will you give me a green light for this application?" Shang Zhitao asked him.

"No."

"...Then why did you tell me to reach out to people?"

Luan Nian shrugged: "I won't give you a green light, but from a fairness perspective, you'll succeed. I will let you pass."

"Why?"

"Because you really have achieved a lot and possess an excellent work ethic. As for your mind—it's also better to use than before."

Shang Zhitao burst into giggles, her finger hooking onto Luan Nian's: "You praised me."

"Didn't you ask me to praise you once in a while?"

Time was truly a marvelous thing. Shang Zhitao felt that time changed them, shaped them, and even molded the relationship between them. Even if that relationship was not fit to be spoken of to outsiders under a questionable label, in Shang Zhitao's heart, it was a comfortable one. Although Luan Nian remained a sharp-tongued person, the soft side he occasionally revealed fascinated Shang Zhitao.

Shang Zhitao had no grand ambitions; she felt the present moment was already wonderful.

Luan Nian really ended up arranging a meeting for Sun Yu with an investor.

On the day they were to meet, Sun Yu asked Shang Zhitao if she wanted to come along. She shook her head, then said to Sun Yu, "Can you pretend you don't know about the relationship between him and me?"

"Why?"

"Because nobody knows except you."

Sun Yu stared at Shang Zhitao for a long moment and let out a sigh: "You mean, you want me to be a bit more polite to him, right? You're afraid I'll say something inappropriate that might anger him, leading to mutual destruction."

Shang Zhitao nodded: "Yes. I'm afraid you won't get the investment, and I'm also afraid he'll get angry." Her sensible nature made Sun Yu's heart ache for her.

"Don't worry, I won't say a word."

"Then I wish you success." Shang Zhitao gave her a hug, then said to Luke, "Quick, bark twice for Sister Sun Yu! May Sister's financial luck bark bright today!"

Luke: Woof! Woof!

The meeting was set at Luan Nian's bar. Sun Yu drove her newly purchased second-hand Geely up the mountain. Pushing open the bar door, she saw a man standing behind the counter mixing a drink, a cool, indifferent face—that must be Luan Nian. Shang Zhitao had mentioned him countless times.

She walked up to the bar counter and greeted him: "Hello, Luan Nian. I'm Sun Yu."

"Take a seat." Luan Nian gestured with his chin toward a high stool: "What would you like to drink?"

"Alcohol."

Luan Nian raised his eyes to glance at Sun Yu. He had seen her once from afar—on the day Shang Zhitao reported Dony, she had come to pick her up. At all other times, she was simply the Guizhou beauty who Shang Zhitao rattled on about—an independent, clear-headed, smart, and loyal stunning beauty of the world.

Did Shang Zhitao even know what "stunning beauty" meant? Luan Nian felt that Shang Zhitao's aesthetic taste was questionable. Once, while in the car, she had suddenly pointed at a girl in a down jacket by the roadside and said: Wow, so pretty. Luan Nian had looked over, failing to find the point worthy of a "wow."

Sun Yu was slightly better than that "wow"—at least fair-skinned and neat.

He pushed the mixed drink over to Sun Yu: "Take your time. The other party still has about half an hour."

"Then they're certainly not late; I just arrived too early." Sun Yu didn't mention that Shang Zhitao had told her the mountain road was far and winding, urging her to leave early. She refrained from bringing up Shang Zhitao altogether.

"Shang Zhitao exaggerated about this mountain road, didn't she?" Luan Nian took a sip of water, placing a clean hand on the bar counter and tapping it lightly. One couldn't quite describe the vibe, but it simply made people feel he was definitely not easy to get along with.

Before stepping out, Shang Zhitao had exhorted Sun Yu not to mention her, yet Luan Nian broke the rule set by Shang Zhitao right off the bat. Sun Yu gave him a faint smile: "She did say the mountain road wasn't easy to drive on."

"For a road hazard of a driver, it is indeed not easy to drive on."

"..."

Sun Yu had heard from Shang Zhitao that Luan Nian had a toxic mouth, so she was well-prepared in her heart, yet hearing this taunt still made her want to punch him.

Luan Nian did it on purpose.

Those trash events Sun Yu organized—Luan Nian grew angry just thinking about them.

Neither of them spoke. Sun Yu thought to herself that a man like Luan Nian only had his good looks going for him. If she were with him, she would definitely slice off his tongue first to make him shut up. Without the ability to speak, he might actually be a bit easier on the eyes.

She had no idea how Taotao managed to endure him.

The two remained in such silence until the person from the investment firm arrived.

It was a young man around thirty years old, wearing glasses and a thick woolen overcoat. After taking off his coat, he revealed a crisp, tailored suit. Seeing Luan Nian, he proactively extended his hand: "Hello, Master Luke."

Luan Nian was amused by this title: "Did Song Qiuhan tell you to say that?"

The investor's name was Xin Ji, and he shook his head at this moment: "No, I've seen your award-winning works and liked them very much."

"That's in the past." Luan Nian showed a rare moment of modesty: "Let me introduce you first. Ms. Sun Yu is a partner in this startup company, in charge of sales and operations. This is Xin Ji, a project manager at a top-tier investment bank. What would you like to drink, Xin Ji?"

"Alcohol." Xin Ji was very easygoing: "I heard Luke's mixed drinks taste great, and since I'm already here..."

"Then I'll display my meager skills. Shall we chat at the bar?"

"Sure."

Sun Yu hadn't spoken the entire time; Luan Nian directly said everything that needed to be said for her, even transforming into a completely different person by suddenly becoming amiable. Thus, she simply kept her mouth shut, wanting to see just how far Luan Nian intended to help her.

Sun Yu never in her wildest dreams expected Luan Nian to exert so much effort. Luan Nian had actually thoroughly figured out their business model and even optimized it for them. From start to finish, she had barely spoken a word—Luan Nian had covered it all for her.

Shang Zhitao had said Luan Nian didn't talk much, like a silent gourd.

Shang Zhitao had also said Luan Nian had a terrible temper, pulling a face after just a few words, turning hostile faster than turning a page.

Shang Zhitao had further said Luan Nian had extremely low emotional intelligence, never reading the room when speaking, saying whatever he wanted regardless of whether others were happy or not.

The Luan Nian described by Shang Zhitao didn't match the Luan Nian Sun Yu was seeing at all. She even suspected that Shang Zhitao held some sort of bias against him.

In the end, Luan Nian patted Xin Ji's shoulder and said, "It's best to make a decision quickly; I've arranged meetings with two other firms after this."

Sun Yu nearly fell to her knees before Luan Nian. We can't arrange meetings with any other better firms! If this project of ours doesn't get funding soon, we're finished!

Xin Ji, however, nodded: "There are no issues on my end; I'll conduct the evaluation as soon as I return."

"When can we expect results?"

"Within a week."

"Too long."

"Within three days."

"Alright."

And just like that, it was over. Sun Yu and Luan Nian saw Xin Ji out the door, watching him get into a car and be driven away by the chauffeur.

Luan Nian reverted back to that half-dead, indifferent state. Talking was far too exhausting, yet for the sake of Shang Zhitao's sister-friend's project, he had been talking non-stop. He had no idea what he was even gaining from it.

Sun Yu said to him, "Thanks a lot for constantly helping me answer all those questions just now." Though the implied subtext was: Even though I didn't actually need it. This old lady started out in sales—the thing I fear least is talking.

"Secure the investment sooner so you have the money sooner to hire extra actors for those bizarre offline events of yours."

Luan Nian inexplicably dropped such a sentence, leaving Sun Yu utterly bewildered and unable to make heads or tails of it.

"Since you've been drinking, how are you driving back?" Luan Nian suddenly asked her this. The dog raised by Shang Zhitao resembled her, and the friend she made resembled her too—asking for alcohol the moment she walked through the door, forgetting she had driven here. He had been too lazy to remind her anyway; what the hell did it have to do with him?

...Fuck. Only then did Sun Yu remember she had driven here today. She looked at her car, then at Luan Nian. He hadn't drunk any alcohol, so she wondered if he could give her a ride.

Luan Nian, however, adopted the stance of a benefactor: "Then I'll drop you off. Find someone to drive your car back another day."

"Then thank you very much."

Luan Nian brought Sun Yu to the entrance of her residential community. Feeling a bit bad about it, Sun Yu made a polite gesture: "I really troubled you today; let me treat you to a meal."

"Hasn't your company's cash flow chain broken?"

Sun Yu thought to herself, This man's mouth is truly foul: "The money for a single meal is something I still have."

"Then treat me, then." Luan Nian pulled out his phone and called Shang Zhitao: "Come out."

Sun Yu felt that the relationship between Shang Zhitao and Luan Nian was exceptionally peculiar. The two of them clearly weren't saying anything to each other, yet a strange emotion surged between them, carrying an ambiance that grew ambiguous. It made this Japanese restaurant feel slightly warm and stifling. Luan Nian ordered sake, and Sun Yu kindly reminded him, "You drove."

"I have a driver." Luan Nian smiled without warmth, looking thoroughly asking for a beating.

Sun Yu looked at Shang Zhitao: Is this the man who has you head over heels? Shang Zhitao twitched her lips: Then you haven't seen Lumi; she's practically gone mad. Then her face broke into a radiant smile: Is this man not good? I really like him. I think he's great in every way.

The three of them drank together, and Shang Zhitao's alcohol tolerance had indeed been built up a bit. With three sake flasks placed in front of her, her small face was flushed red from drinking. She even took the initiative to clink glasses with Sun Yu: "This year is about to pass. Although this year has been as terrible as ever, at least near its end, you might get an investment, and I'll be moving to the Planning Department of my dreams. Consider this a little reward for our mundane lives."

The two girls suddenly recalled that every year around this time, they seemed to encounter bad things. Thus, they encouraged each other, saying everything would be better next year, and that they would welcome their very own inaugural year of happiness. Yet the following year was as cruel as always; life was inherently bitter, and bitterness was a necessary medicine of life.

Sun Yu took a sip of sake and suddenly uttered a curse: "I fucking don't know when this damn life will ever get better either."

"Sooner or later."

Luan Nian sat off to the side without saying a word the entire time. He had once thought that perhaps Shang Zhitao lived an unhappy life—like those broken fragments of life she had unintentionally displayed to him: illness, shady real estate agents, workplace sexual harassment... But there were still many places he couldn't see, where she and her friends had toughed it out on their own. As for Shang Zhitao, every time she appeared in his home, she was bathed in sunshine, reminiscent of the line 'Her laughter brightens the winds on all sides,' like the clouds and mist in April—a true brightness of early spring.

The two girls drank lively. Shang Zhitao took off her sweater, revealing the tender flesh and smooth curves around her waist, which were exceedingly eye-catching. Luan Nian calmly wrapped the sweater around her waist. Seeing his action, Sun Yu thought to herself: Someone has fallen into the game without even realizing it.

After finishing their drinks, Luan Nian delivered them downstairs. Sun Yu used the excuse of going upstairs first. Shang Zhitao kicked the lingering snow by the roadside with the tips of her shoes, her speech a little slurred from the alcohol: "If we could have a hug before parting, that would be wonderful."

Luan Nian smiled. He actually didn't know he looked very handsome when he smiled—the kind of handsome where all things flourished in April in the mortal realm. He pulled Shang Zhitao into his embrace, though the words coming out of his mouth were far from gentle: "Drink with others again and I'll kill you." Taking off clothes so casually after drinking—what kind of inner layer was she wearing underneath?

Shang Zhitao giggled in his arms, flirting with him along the way: "Do you want to take me and Luke to your place?"

They were about to endure a long period of separation again, and Shang Zhitao didn't like that.

"I'll call a designated driver."

Sake had a strong delayed effect. Shang Zhitao made a fuss about opening the window in the car, feeling the wind blow against her the whole way, and began throwing up the moment she arrived at Luan Nian's house.

Fuck, Luan Nian cursed in his heart.

While suppressing his urge to throttle her, he cleaned up the mess, thinking to himself that both she and her dog were truly wretched creatures. Her dog pooped in his house, and she vomited in his house; both of them deserved to be executed by a thousand cuts.

After cleaning up, he served Shang Zhitao by helping her brush her teeth, rinse her mouth, and take a shower, fussing around until the middle of the night before things finally settled down. Luan Nian pinched Shang Zhitao's face and said fiercely, "Making a mess after drinking a bit of cat urine—let's see if you dare drink again in the future!"

In her sleep, Shang Zhitao impatiently pried his hand open, burrowed back into his arms, and mumbled his name over and over again: "Luan Nian, Luan Nian, Luan Nian..."

This name was probably a curse, tightly trapping Shang Zhitao within the domain of his influence. She couldn't get out, nor did she want to leave. She liked this siege of a city he had built—aside from the freedom of love, everything else was there.

It was another year like this. Shang Zhitao took Luke back to Bingcheng, while Luan Nian went to the United States.

Dr. Liang was petty as well, remembering the matter of Luan Nian lying to her about having a girlfriend. She followed behind his heels and said, "I took a look—that matchmaking website isn't bad either. There are genuinely many great girls on there. Mama looked over them and felt their conditions were all quite good, so I casually registered an account for you too."

Luan Nian stopped his hands from packing his luggage and saw Dr. Liang pull out her phone to show him: "Look, how did Mama fill out these details?"

Luan Nian took the phone and saw the bio reading: Winner of top international advertising awards, child prodigy, executive at a renowned foreign enterprise, annual salary in the tens of millions. Oh right, excellent family background. Partner criteria: No restrictions. Dr. Liang had even attentively selected photos, somehow acquiring several pictures of handsome guys that looked fake as hell.

Dr. Liang felt a bit triumphant: "Fearing it might affect your company's stock price, I changed both your name and photos. Mind you, there really are many girls interested in you, even sending private messages."

Seeing Luan Nian's face filled with question marks, Dr. Liang thought to herself: To fight against your mother, you're still a bit too green. Then she smiled and said, "Guess what? The world is too small. Among the private messages, there was actually a girl who happens to be the owner of that random photo you found, and she sent a message too."

Hearing this sentence, Luan Nian's brow furrowed, his mood turning thoroughly displeased. He opened the private messages and saw a message sent from Shang Zhitao's account: Hello, I also work in Beijing. Want to get to know each other?

...

The surroundings were very quiet; Luan Nian wanted to throttle Shang Zhitao to death. Detecting Luan Nian's anger, Dr. Liang retrieved her phone, her words still provoking him: "This girl is quite cute. I said, why not meet up then? That girl replied: Meeting alone is a bit awkward, how about registering together for the website's offline event?"

After finishing this sentence, Dr. Liang held back the urge to burst into laughter and walked out, her stomach hurting from holding it in. For the first time, she discovered that handling her own son was so much fun.

Luan Nian never expected that on New Year's Day, he would actually be angered by Shang Zhitao to the point of a stomachache. He took stomach medicine and chatted with Song Qiuhan, Chen Kuannian, and the others. He said to Song Qiuhan, "That trash matchmaking project—I thought about it, and it's not particularly reliable. There are too many marriage scammers in it. It's better to halt your investment and at least re-evaluate the risks."

Song Qiuhan naturally had no idea why he said this and answered him very seriously, "I've evaluated the risks with my domestic colleagues as well. Real-name verification can avoid some of it, so it's not a big problem. This project is quite good—creating a spring season for single people."

...Spring season, my ass! That idiot Shang Zhitao is almost becoming the spokesperson for that website!

Far away in Bingcheng, Shang Zhitao let out a sneeze, having no idea who was cursing her. Old Shang and Da Zhai were busy in the kitchen, while Luke sat at the kitchen doorway waiting for them to throw out a piece of meat every now and then.

Shang Zhitao protested: "Don't feed him so much meat! It's not good!"

Luke barked at Shang Zhitao: Woof! I have an entire drawer of meat at the bar! I eat it every day!

Shang Zhitao couldn't understand and thought Luke was talking back to her, picking up a slipper to chase him: "You're still being fierce with me when I won't let you eat—I'll hit you!"

Old Shang grew displeased, snatching the slipper from her hand: "Just try hitting Luke once! I'll drive you out of the house!"

"...? I'm your actual daughter!"

"Don't speak of useless things; Luke is more important than you."

Hmph!

Outside, firecrackers popped and crackled. As usual, Shang Zhitao sent an email to Luan Nian: Happy New Year! May everything be great in the new year.

Luan Nian replied to her: Happy New Year. Stop being a marriage scammer!