The Early Spring - Extra Chapter 11

Side Story 11 - Nian Tao

Having a new baby at home threw Luke into a state of utter anxiety. Ever since Shang Zhitao discovered she was pregnant, Luke had suddenly stopped leaping up to welcome her. It had become exceedingly gentle. Shang Zhitao would ask it: "Why aren't you jumping anymore?"

Luke would let out a drawn-out, whiny howl: I can't jump! I'll hurt Mama!

On little Nian Tao's very first day home, the moment the infant bassinet was set down, Luke rushed right over, sniffing it inside and out. It was a bit bewildered, wondering why such a tiny thing had arrived in the house. In its mind, little Nian Tao was also a puppy, just one that looked different from itself. It even came to view Nian Tao as its very own child.

Because Nian Tao was so tiny and Luke shed hair so easily, everyone temporarily barred Luke from entering Shang Zhitao's bedroom for the time being. Luke was very obedient, perching right at the doorway to guard its baby. Every time Nian Tao opened her eyes, moved her little hands, or let out an soft coo, Luke would instantly stand up in an anxious fuss and turn in circles on the floor. At first, no one understood what Luke was doing, but later they realized: oh, Luke's little precious had woken up!

Fearing Luke might feel left out, Luan Nian would slip into the kitchen at night after little Nian Tao fell asleep and Shang Zhitao was resting to make treats for it. Luke would sit right there waiting for him, panting with its tongue out, just like old times.

As Luan Nian prepared the tasty food for it, he would occasionally turn around to look at it: "You're an old dog now."

"Are your teeth still holding up?"

Luke would let out a soft bark: Holding up!

Luan Nian would pat its head: "You really love putting on a brave face."

Luke would then leap up, resting its paws against Luan Nian's hands to play with him for a little bit. Hearing movement from the bedroom, it would trot back to the doorway, poking its head inside to see what was happening. Its gaze was fiercely defensive, as if saying: You guys aren't going to hurt my baby, are you?

During her month of postpartum recovery, Shang Zhitao played host to a whole crowd of friends.

Sun Yu arrived on the very day she was discharged from the hospital. Having taken five days of annual leave, she refused to leave no matter how much Shang Zhitao tried to shoo her away.

Not only did she refuse to leave, but she also competed with Luan Nian to take care of Shang Zhitao.

Luan Nian was naturally unwilling, and the two clashed right in the kitchen: "You can't even take care of yourself," Luan Nian mocked her.

"I was the one taking care of Tao Tao when she was in Beijing. You weren't of much use back then," Sun Yu refused to back down.

"...Is your company going bankrupt? Lingering here without leaving."

"No, business is so great that it runs perfectly fine without me."

Neither could win the argument, so Sun Yu simply said: "Little Nian Tao seems to be awake. Go cook the food."

Luan Nian said nothing, turning around to leave the kitchen to her while he went to check on Nian Tao himself.

Little Nian Tao wasn't actually awake.

It seemed she was having a sweet dream; the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, bearing a striking resemblance to the way Luan Nian looked when he smiled. Shang Zhitao cast a glance at him and curled her lip.

Luan Nian's smugness couldn't be hidden at all. Initially, out of consideration for Shang Zhitao's feelings, he would still say: Her ears look like yours. Later on, he simply stopped hiding it altogether. If anyone said the child didn't resemble him in some way, he would even demand that they take another look.

"Look again? I don't think you're right."

Once, Doctor Liang saw him acting like this and winked at Shang Zhitao, whispering to her: "She looks identical to her dad. As if it's such a great thing for the child to look like him! I hope little Nian Tao's temper doesn't resemble his—stubborn, foul, terrible at speaking, and getting into fights by three or four years old. Nian Tao's temper and character must take after yours."

"Can you even tell a baby's temper right now?"

"Before Luan Nian even reached a month old, I already knew he had a bad temper." She recounted the incident where Luan Nian almost cried himself breathless because his feeding was too slow. Shang Zhitao thought about it carefully, realizing that little Nian Tao had never been like that. Little Nian Tao was very well-behaved; she ate, slept, and when she woke up, she just kept her eyes open. If you talked to her, she would listen quietly.

Sometimes she would cry a few times when she was hungry or wet her diaper, but the moment someone came over, she would immediately stop crying.

Every time Sun Yu saw how well-behaved Nian Tao was, she would say to Luan Nian: "What virtue or talent do you have to deserve a daughter like this?"

"Envious? Have one yourself," Luan Nian retorted snidely, scooping Nian Tao up to play with her.

Little Nian Tao wasn't shy with strangers at all. On the day her numerous uncles and aunts arrived, they packed the house to the brim. Everyone visited little Nian Tao as if touring some rare, priceless treasure, looking at her while remarking: "Her expressions really look like her mother's." They deliberately avoided mentioning her resemblance to Luan Nian.

Luan Nian was naturally dissatisfied, saying to Chen Kuannian: "Take another look, or maybe change your glasses?"

"Looking again... her eyes also look like her mother's."

Everyone burst into laughter together.

Lin Chun'er and Xiao Mei sat by Shang Zhitao's bed chatting with her. Feeling that the men were in the way, they chased them out and shut the door.

Luan Nian shrugged and led them out to sit on the balcony.

The sunset outside was lovely.

The men stood before the window in quiet contemplation for a moment. Tan Mian pulled out his phone to look at the calendar, then said: "We haven't gone out to play together in two years. By the time we go again, I'm afraid we'll be in our seventies or eighties."

"That can't be," Song Qiuhan said. "When little Nian Tao grows a bit older, we'll take our whole families out to play. That's a whole different kind of fun."

"And then I'm all by myself?"

Tan Mian glared at Song Qiuhan.

Everyone laughed.

When they were in their twenties, playing together meant a vast world, pure freedom, and no attachments. In their early thirties, life trajectories stretched outward in all directions, each busy with their own lives and only gathering occasionally. Nearing forty and standing at the age of maturity, getting together became exceedingly difficult.

Life was simply full of unpredictable changes.

Fortunately, these friends hadn't drifted apart. Whenever life shifted, they would show up the moment they were needed.

"Want a drink tonight?" Song Qiuhan suggested.

"Sure." Luan Nian hadn't had a drink in a long time, but today he felt it would be hard to justify not having a bit while gathered with his friends.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Let's eat at home. It's lively. Whatever works—hot pot? It's convenient."

"Sounds good."

Luan Nian had stashed away a dozen bottles of aged sauce-aroma liquor. When Shang Zhitao had asked him why he hoarded so much, he said it was to serve as a dowry for little Nian Tao in the future. Feeling happy today, he brought out a few bottles from little Nian Tao's dowry.

"What else is collected in your home?" Chen Kuannian asked curiously, starting up again with his plan to flip and sell off items from other people's homes.

"Does Xuan paper count?"

"?"

"Shang Zhitao bought twenty reams of Xuan paper many years ago."

"She had that kind of foresight?"

"Mm-hmm."

Hearing the bustle outside, Lin Chun'er came out to put a stop to them: "Little Nian Tao is sleeping! Nobody is allowed to make noise!" Seeing Song Qiuhan setting out the liquor, she asked: "Drinking today?"

"Yeah. You in?" Song Qiuhan asked her.

"In!"

She was also someone who loved a lively gathering.

Shang Zhitao couldn't drink, but she also loved a lively atmosphere. When it was time to eat, she grimaced with a grin as she climbed out of bed.

The group sat together, exceptionally happy.

Shang Zhitao had a chubby, rounded face, and with her bright smile, she looked extraordinarily adorable. Worried she might sit uncomfortably, Luan Nian stuffed a soft cushion under her bottom, and when clinking glasses, he poured warm water for her.

The elders instructed Luan Nian not to let Shang Zhitao eat raw, cold, or hard foods, so he kept an eye on her while she ate.

Everyone looked at Luan Nian, feeling as though he had become a completely different person.

None of them had ever imagined in this lifetime that they would have the chance to see Luan Nian turn into such a man—except for his sharp mouth, which remained unchanged.

Gatherings were rare and precious, so everyone was overjoyed.

None of them drank heavily, but they drank for a long time, carrying on until late at night before calling it a evening.

As the clamor dispersed, the house was once again left with just three people and a dog.

After tidying everything up, Luan Nian returned to bed. Seeing Shang Zhitao still awake with her eyes open, he asked her: "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Not sleepy."

"Then come here." Luan Nian pulled her into his arms, running his fingers through her hair. During her pregnancy, Shang Zhitao's hair had grown even thicker; running a hand through it now yielded a thick bundle. It possessed great elasticity, bouncing slightly when released, looking very lovely. Luan Nian simply played with her hair.

"Feeling better today?" Luan Nian was asking about her episiotomy wound. The first time he saw Shang Zhitao get out of bed to walk, he had felt as pained as could be.

"A bit better." Shang Zhitao held his hand: "Are you going back for meetings in a few days?"

"I'll go and return on the same day."

"Don't. Just go ahead and go, but don't do a same-day round trip. It's too exhausting."

"It's not exhausting. I can't rest easy leaving the three of you behind. The company doesn't mind where I am anyway—work is work wherever I go. Tracy talked with me; as long as I guarantee one or two working days in person each week, it's fine."

"Nagging like an old woman," Shang Zhitao mocked him, imitating his tone.

Luan Nian pretended not to hear.

He was now a master at playing deaf and mute; otherwise, he was terribly afraid he wouldn't be able to hold back from uttering a few irritating words that would make Shang Zhitao cry. The elders had repeatedly warned that crying during postpartum recovery could easily lead to chronic health issues. How could Luan Nian possibly believe in such things? The only reason he didn't talk back was simply that his heart ached for the suffering Shang Zhitao had endured this time, making him unable to bear bothering her.

After a short while, Luan Nian said to her: "I want to buy a larger house in Harbin."

"Hmm? How large?"

"Say, over three hundred square meters, with a garden?"

"?" Shang Zhitao sat up straight: "Is our family that rich?"

Luan Nian raised an eyebrow without speaking. In truth, he had withdrawn several sums of money from the stock market and left them sitting there, unsure of what to do with them. It was during today's gathering with his friends that a sudden whim struck him to buy a large house in Harbin, wanting to build a princess room for little Nian Tao.

"A child shouldn't be spoiled like that," Shang Zhitao disagreed. "She'll end up spoiled with terrible habits. Is this house small?"

"If I don't spoil my own daughter, who am I supposed to spoil?"

"You shouldn't spoil anyone."

Luan Nian wanted to be harsh with her, but swallowed the words back down when they reached his lips. After a moment, he said: "Don't listen to those fallacies."

"What fallacies?"

"The fallacy that you shouldn't let a child know their family is well-off."

"..."

"If the family situation is good, it's good; if it's bad, it's bad. Hiding and concealing it from a child when they're young—isn't that just teaching them to lie?"

"Besides, you keep claiming that Luke is a dog you raised. Don't you know the dog you raised? Your dog snobs the poor and favors the rich!"

"So, I'm buying the house."

Luan Nian pinched Shang Zhitao's cheek: "You have no ground to stop me."

Luan Nian threw out sentence after sentence, leaving Shang Zhitao unable to react in time. The next day, she slept for a long time, and when she opened her eyes, she realized Luan Nian wasn't there. She asked Da Zhai: "Where's your darling son-in-law?"

"He went out."

"Where to?"

"I don't know."

It wasn't until the afternoon that Luan Nian returned, holding a deposit receipt: "I put down a deposit on the house. You don't have the right to choose whether to buy or not anymore; you only have the right to choose whether to buy this place or swap it for that place. Otherwise, the deposit goes down the drain."

Shang Zhitao threw a punch at his chest in anger, only for her wrist to be caught by him: "Stop fussing." His lips pressed against her forehead: "I want you all to live a bit more comfortably. Besides, the new house is closer to the airport, which will save me a lot of travel time coming back and forth."

"You can't spoil her like this in the future, I'm serious."

Luan Nian let out a hum and didn't take the bait, his mind entirely set. He thought to himself: My daughter, my say. In this house, you can only manage yourself.

By the time little Nian Tao reached her full month, she was already a exceedingly, extraordinarily pretty baby girl.

Shang Zhitao had bought a lot of fun little clothes, disinfected them, and spent the full-month day carefully dressing and arranging little Nian Tao. Luan Nian held a camera, personally taking the full-month photos for little Nian Tao. He had never imagined that his superb photography skills would ultimately be used to shoot full-month photos.

Nian Tao was deeply overcome with sleepiness that day; no matter how you arranged her, she just kept her eyes closed and slept. She possessed a grand air of let the outside world shake and tremble, I hold my own calm composure. After the two tossed and turned her about for two hours without the child waking up, both were a bit tired. Slumping helplessly onto the living room sofa, they looked at each other and laughed.

Shang Zhitao squinted her eyes like a cat. Having not stepped out the door for over a month, her skin had grown even fairer and cleaner, taking on a translucent feel as the sunlight hit her face. With her smile yet to fade, she appeared all the more charming.

Luan Nian felt a powerful stir of emotion. Leaning forward above her, he lowered his head to gaze down at her, his hands braced on either side of the sofa. A flowing light danced in Shang Zhitao's eyes as she tilted her chin slightly to touch the corner of his lips—once, and then again.

Luan Nian's body sank down slightly, chasing after her lips and pressing her against the sofa.

How long had it been since they kissed like this? He couldn't remember. She had teased him during her pregnancy, and once she teased him so much that he slammed the door and left in a huff, after which she never dared to do it again.

Luan Nian kissed her fiercely and wildly, just as he used to.

Breathing slightly hard, Shang Zhitao offered her tongue to him, letting him have his way. Luan Nian felt as though he were going mad, pulling away just before his rationality vanished completely. Panting against the other side of the sofa, the palm of his hand wiped across his lips, his deep-set eyes falling upon Shang Zhitao's chest, his expression carrying a trace of wild intensity.

"Luan Nian."

"Hmm?"

"In a few days, will you help me with my postpartum recovery?"

"Let's see what the doctor says after your postpartum checkup."

"Alright."

Shang Zhitao's toes moved slowly against his leg, and Luan Nian grabbed her ankle: "Don't get reckless."

"Oh."