The Early Spring - Chapter 132

Chapter 132 - A Single Day

"So when did we ever say we were getting married?" Shang Zhitao rolled over to face Luan Nian as she lay beside him.

"Are you saying you don't want to marry me?" Luan Nian pinched her cheek. "Hmm?"

"A gentleman uses words, not hands," Shang Zhitao protested.

"You're right."

And Luan Nian truly used his mouth.

Lately, whenever he was alone, wild fantasies would constantly flood his mind, and Shang Zhitao was always provoking him. While he was in the middle of a meeting, she would send him a photo—hydrated, red lips, a slender neck, and half-revealed cleavage; or when he was out at a business dinner, she would send a photo of her long legs crossed together.

He would put on a refined, composed front, sending her back a simple "?". Shang Zhitao, on the other hand, would play innocent and ask him, "Does this nightgown look good?"

She teased and seduced him continuously, almost as if she had attended some strange training course. Luan Nian even felt like paying to extend her tuition; he absolutely adored this mischievous, cheeky side of Shang Zhitao.

The hardest part to endure was the nighttime. Looking at her photos, he would suddenly lose all self-control. At first, he would get up and go for a run, but running didn't help in the slightest. Whenever that happened, he would curse Shang Zhitao in his heart: You just fucking wait! I'm going to ruin you!

Luan Nian was a man of his word, and he truly set out to ruin Shang Zhitao.

Shang Zhitao lay sprawled on the bed, acting like a spoiled child and refusing to budge. He squeezed his way in, scooped her up, and landed a smack on her rear: "Didn't you enjoy sending photos so much? Hmm?"

Beads of sweat dripped onto her back, and he arched his body to lick them clean. Unsteady, Shang Zhitao tumbled into the bedding. His hand worked its way to her front, his teeth gently nibbling her earlobe, while the tip of his tongue licked the small patch of delicate skin behind her ear. Then, he suddenly turned her face toward him, smothering her sharp cry back down her throat.

Shang Zhitao's defenses crumbled entirely. She suddenly felt like blaming Lumi.

It was Lumi who had taught her to understand romantic spice, even giving Shang Zhitao tutorials on what kind of words to say and when to say them. Shang Zhitao had listened to her, using these tactics to maintain their emotional intimacy, but in the end, the one left exhausted was still herself.

Luan Nian had truly been driven past his limit by her.

When he lost his composure, she couldn't take it. Finally starting to yield, she called out to him in a soft, delicate voice: "Luan Nian... I'll never send you photos again..."

Luan Nian pinched her cheek again: "Keep sending them, don't you dare stop. You have to send them every day, from head to toe, every single inch." His raspy voice vibrated against her ear. When she tried to dodge away, he refused to let her, even saying even more scandalous things: "Sending videos is fine too, whatever video you want."

"I was wrong."

"You weren't wrong." Luan Nian bit down on the spot just below her collarbone. "Keep it up. I like it."

Luan Nian was no saint; his mind was filled with plenty of filthy thoughts regarding Shang Zhitao. He wanted to try every single one of them.

The night was so long, and having not seen each other for another week, with all the preceding buildup, this night was destined not to be wasted.

At a certain moment, Shang Zhitao even felt a flash of shame. She tried to push him away, not wanting him to look, but he pulled her hands apart and buried his head down low. The sound of his swallowing made Shang Zhitao feel uneasy. Having just experienced a wave of intense pleasure, she was as fragile as could be in that moment, opening her mouth to plead with him: "Luan Nian... don't..."

"You don't like it?"

Shang Zhitao wanted to say she didn't like it, but a delicate, bird-like cry escaped her lips instead. It was impossible to tell whether she liked it or not; in short, Luan Nian was simply too tormenting.

Luan Nian was way too tormenting, Shang Zhitao thought as she closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes the next day, she saw Luan Nian replying to messages as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Seeing her open her eyes, he pulled her into his arms: "Were you satisfied with the service last night?"

Shang Zhitao's face flushed bright red: "Aside from being a bit tiring..."

"You're tired?" Luan Nian let out a chuckle with a huff. "I provided self-service the whole time; I barely needed your cooperation."

"..."

A person like Luan Nian talked dirty in the exact same manner—it sounded like he was running someone down, yet the description was right on point, concise, accurate, and highlighting the main points. In her embarrassment and anger, Shang Zhitao bit his shoulder, a thick curtain of her long hair falling across his chest.

Luan Nian wrapped his fingers around the ends of her hair before letting go. Shang Zhitao applied more force, and feeling the pain at last, he pinched her chin: "Are you born in the year of the dog?"

"Who told you to invalidate my hard work," Shang Zhitao said, refusing to back down.

"How did you work hard?"

"...I made noise..."

"That's true enough." Luan Nian touched his lips to her cheek, then slowly moved to the corner of her mouth, kissing her delicately. Shang Zhitao loved this good-morning kiss. Luan Nian showed signs of showing off his skills, kissing her until her head felt dizzy and light, unaware of when she had ended up sitting on top of him.

After messing around for another round, they were finally willing to get out of bed. As Luan Nian got dressed, he asked Shang Zhitao, "Want to watch a movie?"

"Okay!" Shang Zhitao leaped out of bed as well, dressing herself swiftly. She had fair skin; slipping on a Morandi-toned trench coat made her look crisp, valiant, and gentle all at once.

Sometimes one had to admit that when two people stayed together for a long time, their personal aura would gradually blend together. The other person's temperament would seep deep into your bones; even if you stood a meter apart, passersby could tell at a single glance: This pair is a couple.

Shang Zhitao was satisfied with everything, except for Luan Nian's damn attitude. It was just watching a movie, yet he dressed so handsomely, sunglasses shading his eyes, which only emphasized the sharp lines of his nose bridge and thin lips. Simply standing there waiting to enter the theater carried a sense of showing off. Young girls kept sneaking glances at him, but he ignored them completely, lowering his head to ask Shang Zhitao: "Not eating popcorn? Not drinking Coke? Didn't you say those are your movie companions?"

"..." Shang Zhitao had complained once that Luan Nian never accompanied her to watch movies. She had said, Do you know how happy it is to watch a movie while holding Coke and popcorn? You don't understand at all, you old man with zero sense of romance!

Luan Nian had remembered it, going to the counter to buy popcorn and Coke before following Shang Zhitao inside the hall.

Shang Zhitao suddenly remembered Dr. Liang and Luan Nian's father back at the hotel, saying to Luan Nian, "Let's go find Dr. Liang after the movie."

"Dr. Liang doesn't need you to worry about her."

"?"

"They went on an outing to the countryside with Old Shang and Da Zhai."

"? They didn't tell me?" Shang Zhitao was a bit surprised. "My parents didn't tell me either?"

"Where do you rank?" Luan Nian mocked himself. "I only found out when I called them just now, too."

The two looked at each other and laughed.

Sitting in the pitch-black movie theater, Shang Zhitao rested her head against Luan Nian's shoulder, asking him, "Why did you suddenly suggest coming to see a movie? Are you planning to propose to me in the theater? Like, when the movie finishes and the credits roll, it says 'Shang Zhitao, marry me,' and then the whole audience stands up and cheers, and our friends stand up from around us to send their blessings?"

Proposing in movie theaters had been popular in recent years, with such videos often popping up online. Shang Zhitao felt a bit nervous: "Is that it? Are you preparing to propose to me today?"

"Definitely not," Luan Nian told her. "I really haven't planned to propose to you." He then added two more words: "Today."

However, Shang Zhitao didn't believe him. She felt that there was definitely going to be a proposal today; otherwise, he wouldn't have suggested going to the movies. She watched the movie absentmindedly, frequently turning her head to check if there were familiar faces behind them.

For some reason, even though she hadn't really thought about marrying Luan Nian before, she suddenly felt a sense of anticipation on this day. She didn't have high demands for a so-called "proposal." As she watched the movie, she thought to herself: Even if Luan Nian just says 'Let's get married' while we're out walking the dog or having a meal together, I'll agree. Proposing while walking the dog carried a sense of ceremony too—after all, their canine son was right there.

Luan Nian could tell she was distracted, but he was dead set on staying tight-lipped. Life was so long, what was the rush? He wouldn't use those cliché tricks to propose to her. He had his own plans; just as he had said before, a flash of inspiration happened in an instant, but realizing a good creative idea required polishing. Luan Nian's perfectionism was acting up again. Before that moment arrived, he had to play the fool and maximize the dramatic effect.

"If you don't want to watch the movie, why don't we do something else?" Luan Nian placed his hand on her leg, his fingertips creeping gently upward. Shang Zhitao grabbed his hand at once, thoroughly spooked. Luan Nian let out a laugh, pecked her cheek, and pulled his hand back. A short while later, he leaned over again to ask, "Are you sure you don't want to try doing it in the theater?" Seeing Shang Zhitao's eyes widen, he held her hand: "Watch the movie, or else we do something else."

Shang Zhitao was genuinely frightened by him, sitting there without daring to move a muscle, terrified that Luan Nian might actually do something to her. The feeling of watching a movie with Luan Nian was magical; even though he was just sitting there, his presence was overwhelming. Shang Zhitao kept wanting to look at him, and he would look right back at her in broad daylight, taking advantage of her once again.

Stepping out of the movie theater, Luan Nian asked her, "Going to the library?"

"Huh?" Shang Zhitao was a bit bewildered. In the past, whenever Luan Nian came over, he preferred nesting in her apartment; at most, the two of them would go to the supermarket to buy groceries, and he rarely proposed going out on a date.

"Don't you like going out on dates?"

"Yeah."

"So are you coming to the library with me?" Luan Nian raised his wrist to check his watch: "We'll go have afternoon tea first, then go to the library." He didn't consult Shang Zhitao at all, being completely overbearing as usual.

"So what's our itinerary for today?" Shang Zhitao was suddenly very excited. She didn't need to make the decisions; the fact that Luan Nian was spending an entire day dating her was something to look forward to in itself. She was somewhat curious about how this dog of a man was planning out this day.

"Next up is afternoon tea, then the library. After coming out, we'll go eat dinner together, then head to a bar to listen to songs, and finally walk home." Luan Nian was exceedingly serious: "You can voice your objections, but I won't change it."

Shang Zhitao burst out laughing: "I don't object, I don't object! Let's go on our date!"

Luan Nian took her to a café to drink coffee and eat pastries, after which they went to the library to read. Shang Zhitao picked up a book about livestream e-commerce, while Luan Nian picked up a magazine.

He glanced at Shang Zhitao's book and asked her, "Contemplating getting into livestream e-commerce?" He knew Shang Zhitao well; no matter what she did, she had to learn about it first. If she couldn't figure it out, she wouldn't enter the market.

"Is it a bit late to enter the market?"

"Not late. You can consult Lin Chun'er; her company has been doing agricultural assistance projects all along."

"What I want to do is indeed related to agricultural products—I want to help farmers sell rice, soybeans, Chinese cabbage, garlic, and scallions." Shang Zhitao whispered to Luan Nian, "Do you have any advice?"

"The core of livestream e-commerce lies in logistics and quality assurance; you need to think through these two links carefully. This is a completely different field from doing advertising agency work."

"Mm! I just have the thought, I haven't decided yet."

"Alright then. Female entrepreneur of Harbin, I wish you success." Luan Nian patted her head and flipped through his magazine peacefully.

For dinner, they chose a Russian restaurant near the bar. When Shang Zhitao was alone, she rarely ate Russian food, and she never ate Western food during gatherings with her Harbin friends. The Russian cuisine in Harbin was actually very authentic. When Shang Zhitao was little, Old Shang would occasionally bring her to eat here whenever he got his paycheck. It became rare as she grew up; counting on her fingers, she hadn't stepped inside a Russian restaurant in Harbin for over ten years. The European-style decor of the Russian restaurant was grand and formal; Luan Nian had reserved a table in advance, otherwise they would have had to wait in line for a long time.

The day's performances began just as they sat down, with beautiful Russian girls and boys playing violins and singing songs in a lively, bustling atmosphere.

Shang Zhitao liked drinking borscht, sipping it small mouth by small mouth; the flavor was truly rich. As she drank, she offered a suggestion: "It'd be so nice if I could drink borscht at home."

"I'm not your hired chef. If you want to drink it, make it yourself."

"Oh." The music suddenly quieted down, followed immediately by many people around them standing up and starting to sing love songs. Someone began recording with cameras and mobile phones. Luan Nian took a glance at Shang Zhitao's expression and cursed in his heart: Fuck, what a coincidence today.

"Shang Zhitao," he called her.

"Mm?"

"It's not me proposing to you; manage your expression."

Sure enough, it wasn't him. As those people sang, a young man stood up from a nearby table and reached out to pull his girlfriend up. He gave a very long speech, roughly saying how hard the journey along the way had been, hoping they would be together forever. The young man dropped to one knee and pulled out a ring, and the girl's tears fell like rain. It was so moving that Shang Zhitao even felt empathetic.

Luan Nian watched Shang Zhitao crying and laughing over someone else's proposal, looking like a total fool.

When the other person's proposal ceremony ended, Shang Zhitao turned toward the dining table and said to Luan Nian, "That was way too moving."

Luan Nian raised an eyebrow: "You were full of anticipation just now, thinking I was going to propose to you? Do you really want to marry me that badly?" Luan Nian asked her after taking a bite of steak.

Shang Zhitao learned from him and raised her eyebrow as well: "Mr. Luan is being overly confident."

After finishing their meal, the two went to sit in the bar next door.

It was very quiet inside the bar, with everyone leaning back in sofa chairs listening to the singer sing. Luan Nian found a spot near the window, ordered two glasses of alcohol, and leaned back on the sofa. Shang Zhitao nestled in his arms, listening to the music quietly like this.

She sometimes felt exhausted.

Running her own company was completely different from working an office job. She pondered business strategies every single day, because it concerned the livelihoods of over fifty people in the company. If she were to introduce agency work from other manufacturers, she would have to hire double the amount of staff again.

Her brain was occupied with all sorts of matters; it was exceedingly rare to have such a perfect day where she barely had to think about work. She didn't even have to think about what to do, as Luan Nian had planned everything out.

Luan Nian walked up to the small stage, spoke a couple of words to the singer, and the singer handed him the guitar. Luan Nian sat down holding the guitar and spoke into the microphone: "Shang Zhitao, want to sing a song?" Luan Nian asked her.

Everyone present looked toward Shang Zhitao. The girl was completely graceful and composed, her face bright and clear, looking remarkably like spring in Harbin.

"Me?"

"Us." Luan Nian invited her to sing together. He didn't particularly like keeping a high profile in such settings, but at this moment the spring night was so beautiful and the bar's atmosphere was just right, so he suddenly had such a thought.

"Then I want to sing 'Way Back Into Love.' Can you do it?" Shang Zhitao's tone carried a hint of provocation.

"I can't?"

Luan Nian plucked the strings a couple of times: "Come on, Ms. Shang." He looked at Shang Zhitao. The bar was dim, but the light in his eyes was dazzlingly bright, showing his love for the girl before him clear as day. Everyone was looking at them, and someone pulled out a phone.

Having known each other for so many years, this was the first time they were singing a duet together.

Shang Zhitao looked at Luan Nian. He was still arrogant, yet he was different from back then—because he loved her, his gaze when looking at her was exceptionally gentle. Shang Zhitao's heart fluttered wildly. Handing her phone to the singer, she asked, "Could you please help record a video?"

Their first duet was well worth commemorating.

Luan Nian played the intro, sometimes looking at the strings, sometimes looking at Shang Zhitao.

Their vocal timbres complemented each other well, and the melody was pleasant to the ear. Exchanging a single glance was like spring swallows carrying mud, wanting to build a nest in each other's eyes.

When the song ended, both stood up to bow slightly to the audience before returning to the window. Shang Zhitao opened the video to watch: whenever their eyes met, sparks would fly. She loved it way too much. She sent it to Sun Yu, Lumi, and He Yun, as well as to the small group chat with Chun'er and Xiaomei. Luan Nian, on the other hand, casually tossed it into his group chat.

The brothers' group chat erupted. Chen Kuannian said with a venomous tongue: "Hurry, come gather around to watch middle-aged people falling in love! Disgustingly sweet!"

"The only thing standing between this and reaching a happy ending is that romantic plan keeping Luan Nian awake night and day," Tan Mian said.

"So which step has it reached?" Song Qiuhan asked.

"Under intense preparation," Luan Nian said.

He had never imagined that the work he poured the most heart into in his entire life wouldn't be used in his career, but rather used on this occasion. He had drawn upon almost everything he had learned in his life, yet still felt it wasn't good enough. Without even realizing it himself, he poured his entire heart and soul into this relationship, leaving no retreat for himself.

A man nearly forty years old, pouring his heart and soul out for love. How many people wouldn't believe it if word got out, and how much ridicule would it draw? Who gives a damn! I'm willing to do it.

Seeing this video, Sun Yu said to her: "You guys can consider getting married. Our company offers marriage counseling services now. Hahaha."

Lumi, on the other hand, said: "Holy shit! My stubborn donkey isn't stubborn today! But why did he become even sexier?"

Shang Zhitao reminded her to mind her wording and said to her: "I've used everything you taught me. The consequences are more than I can handle."

"Tsk tsk. A man in his prime, 'wealthy' and vigorous. Well, I have other tricks up my sleeve—still want to learn?"

"Learning a bit is fine too. Live and learn, after all," Shang Zhitao joked.

Lin Chun'er watched them sing and felt they were an incredible match.

Shang Zhitao's sunshine, brightness, and gentleness enveloped Luan Nian, allowing his sharp edges to be wrapped up—not ground down, for the sharp edges were still there, but covered up so perfectly.

She said: "People in love don't need to speak out loud; love resides in their eyes, at the corners of their mouths, and even in the tips of their hair."

"The poet has begun," Xiaomei teased her.

Shang Zhitao loved this day immensely.

She knew it was truly difficult nowadays to have a whole day completely free of worries just to go on a simple date with Luan Nian. After tomorrow, Luan Nian would fly back to Beijing, and they would have to fight their own battles again. Shang Zhitao didn't feel regretful about it; she liked the state they were in.

However, she knew that even though they could only be together two days a week, she had begun to rely on Luan Nian. In the past, Luan Nian was her work mentor, and when she ran into problems she would look to him for answers; back then, even though she loved him, she didn't truly rely on him. But now, she relied on him.

She would tell him when she ran into trouble, reach out to him when seeking help, and contact him whenever she had free time. They worked hard individually when apart, and prioritized each other most when together.

Between them, they had gradually found a true sense of balance.

That night, Luan Nian stood before the wall of books in Shang Zhitao's living room and said to her: "I completely understand the feelings between you and him back then now. I also understand what these books mean to you. I will cherish these books together with you, and cherish the genuine feelings that belonged to you both, as well as the youthful years between you."

Shang Zhitao nodded, throwing herself into his arms: "Luan Nian, I loved today so much."

This day was truly wonderful.