Embedded Files
Psst! We're moving!
By the third day of their journey, Shang Zhitao finally emerged from that surreal haze and truly began to feel like they were on a trip.
Luan Nian fully embodied what it meant to embark on a road trip. His way of traveling was just like him—full of adventurous spirit, with a touch of impulsiveness. Whenever he liked a place, he would stop the car without caring whether they’d reach their planned destination for the day. He even kept asking Shang Zhitao:
“Should we stop?”
“Should we get off the highway?”
“Want to explore over there?”
Wild. Every time this happened, Shang Zhitao felt that the word “wild” perfectly described Luan Nian. He was so untamed, like a wild beast—reckless, dangerous, and captivating. Over time, it became addictive. His outfits during the trip were different from his work attire; outdoor gear, motorcycle jackets, hiking boots, and stylish shoes took turns making appearances, truly pleasing to the eye.
Shang Zhitao tugged at the smoke-gray cashmere scarf around his neck and teased him: “So, are you and your friends here for a trip or a beauty pageant?”
Luan Nian brushed her hand away: “It’s just a matter of personal aesthetic preference.” Then, after a pause, he added, “Though I admit, it does make people like us more.”
“So, do you have romantic encounters when you travel with them?”
Luan Nian stopped the car but didn’t answer her question about romantic encounters, leaving her to ponder it herself.
They pulled over at a rest area along the Linxia highway, an ancient Silk Road stronghold surrounded by breathtaking, rugged scenery. Luke was absolutely thrilled. It seemed to think of itself as a true adventure dog, proudly wearing the K9 harness that had just become trendy that year, running around with its snow-white fur, looking majestic. Every time they stopped and opened the car door, it would dash out to “inspect” the area. Luan Nian followed behind, whistling. No matter how far Luke ran, it always came back at the sound of the whistle. Though Luan Nian indulged Luke with meat, he had also trained it exceptionally well. Shang Zhitao watched, slightly dazed.
She couldn’t quite understand why the dog she raised listened so obediently to Luan Nian.
Luan Nian’s phone rang. He answered it, and amidst the loud wind, he heard Song Ying’s voice: “Luke, there’s a draft version of the creative proposal for the Northwest project. Could you please take a look at it before I send it to Flora?”
“Flora what?”
“Flora Jie (Sister Flora).”
Luan Nian glanced at Shang Zhitao, suddenly reminded that they had been entangled for years, and Shang Zhitao was no longer 22. Yet, she hadn’t changed much—still standing upright and straight, sincere in her dealings with others, her eyes clear and pure.
“Yilia, in our company, we don’t add suffixes to English names. It sounds strange.”
Song Ying was a bit surprised but still responded, “Okay, Luke, I understand.”
“Good. As for that proposal, you can send it directly to Flora. Although Flora isn’t from a creative background, as the project manager, she has her professional judgment. You can consult her more.”
“Alright, Luke, I won’t disturb you anymore. Bye~”
“Goodbye.”
Shang Zhitao recalled Song Ying telling her that she liked Luan Nian, but she remained silent. Luan Nian put away his phone and teased Shang Zhitao: “So now you’re ‘Flora Jie’?” Then he pinched her cheek, saying, “Let me see where you look like a sister.”
Shang Zhitao let him pinch her face, her mouth twisting awkwardly as she mumbled, “Isn’t it said that men prefer young girls? What do you think of 22-year-old Song Ying?”
Luan Nian actually gave it some serious thought. His impression of 22-year-old Song Ying was vague—he couldn’t even recall her specific appearance, only feeling that she was talented and he admired her abilities. But he remembered vividly the purity and anxiety in 22-year-old Shang Zhitao’s eyes, and how her face often turned red under his gaze.
“Why aren’t you answering me?” Shang Zhitao asked.
“What should I answer? Are we starting comparisons now?” Luan Nian countered.
“No comparisons!” Shang Zhitao hurriedly explained. But Luan Nian tossed a candy into her mouth and said, “I’m not familiar with 22-year-old Song Ying, but I know 22-year-old Shang Zhitao very well.”
Then he added, “Inside and out.”
Shang Zhitao’s face instantly flushed red, and she wriggled away from his fingertips, scolding him: “What nonsense are you talking!”
“Why did you ask that?” Luan Nian walked over to her and questioned gently.
“Just asking randomly.”
“We’re standing on thousands of years of civilization. It’s not good to lie on our ancestors’ land—it’s disrespectful to the Chinese heritage.” Luan Nian rarely showed such patience, but he wanted to uncover Shang Zhitao’s true thoughts.
Shang Zhitao thought for a long time before asking him, “If 22-year-old Song Ying and 22-year-old Shang Zhitao both admired you at the same time, would you still choose 22-year-old Shang Zhitao?”
Luan Nian actually gave it serious thought. He said, “I want to ‘be with’ 22-year-old Shang Zhitao, and I also want her to ‘be with me.’ As for 22-year-old Song Ying, I have no thoughts. So I’d still choose Shang Zhitao.”
After processing his response for a while, Shang Zhitao simply said, “Figures.”
“Figures what?”
“My surname really is superior after all.” She glanced at Luan Nian and walked away.
When Luan Nian said he had no feelings for Song Ying, Shang Zhitao believed him. Luan Nian was someone who would never lie. If he wanted to sleep with someone, he’d probably say something like, “It’s hard to compare. Maybe I need to have an in-depth ‘conversation’ with her to figure it out.”
Lumi sent her a message: “Did you take a long leave?”
“Ah...”
“Does going to Cambodia with friends really take that long?”
“Later we added Thailand and Singapore...”
“? Did Stubborn Donkey give you the leave?”
Shang Zhitao glanced at Lumi’s “Stubborn Donkey,” then lowered her head to reply, “He might’ve taken the wrong pills and agreed.”
“Damn. I want to go out and play too.”
“Why don’t you ask for leave?”
“But I haven’t slept with Will yet, so I don’t want to waste time playing around.” Lumi used to take leave every other day to go out and have fun, but now she rarely asked for leave. One day, she came to the office with a cold, fever, and a runny nose, and Shang Zhitao wondered if Miss Lu had been possessed by something. While wiping her nose, Lumi stared at Will’s office and muttered, “Yeah, I’m possessed. Possessed by that guy.”
Shang Zhitao couldn’t help but burst into laughter, but when she saw Luan Nian glance over, she quickly clamped her mouth shut.
“Good luck. I hope you can sleep with Will soon.”
Shang Zhitao put away her phone and got into the car with Luan Nian.
“What do you talk about with your mentor every day?” Luan Nian asked her. He found the two of them amusing—like a pair of dimwits joined at the hip, always together. Where did they find so much to talk about?
Shang Zhitao couldn’t exactly say they talked about whether Lumi had slept with Will that day, so she just said, “We talk about work and dreams.”
“Do you talk about whether Lumi has slept with Will?” Luan Nian smirked slightly as he put on his sunglasses. Shang Zhitao felt a bit uneasy under his gaze.
Luan Nian hadn’t been sneaking peeks at their chats. Rather, he happened to overhear Lumi muttering in the company pantry one day, “When will I finally sleep with Will…?”
“You can advise your mentor that she’ll never sleep with Will in this lifetime,” Luan Nian said matter-of-factly. “Will’s family background isn’t any less impressive than hers, but he comes from a scholarly family. Neither he nor his family would ever accept nouveau riche. It’s probably the integrity of intellectuals.”
“...Are people judged by their family background when it comes to sleeping with someone?” Shang Zhitao didn’t feel particularly happy hearing Luan Nian say this. “My parents are ordinary workers, and I still ended up sleeping with you, Luan Nian, who comes from a prominent family. As long as you’re not aiming for marriage, what’s wrong with sleeping with someone?”
She had initially meant to stand up for Lumi, but her example backfired. Luan Nian, who had already started the car, stopped abruptly upon hearing this and turned to look at her. Shang Zhitao couldn’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses, but she sensed a hint of coldness.
“Are you collecting merit badges?” Luan Nian’s tone was calm, betraying no emotion, but Shang Zhitao could sense the anger brewing in his chest.
“As long as you’re not aiming for marriage, you can sleep with whoever you want? No moral constraints? Then tell me, who’s next on your list?”
It took Shang Zhitao a moment to realize that Luan Nian had misunderstood her point. She tried to explain, “What I mean is, in Lumi and Will’s case, if there’s mutual attraction, it wouldn’t be strange for something to happen.”
“What do you mean by ‘as long as you’re not aiming for marriage’?
“...I was just talking nonsense.”
Luan Nian removed his sunglasses and looked at her. Shang Zhitao knew he was about to get into it with her. Quickly, she leaned forward to cover his mouth: “I was just talking nonsense earlier. I just hope Lumi can sleep with Will soon. Although Will is talented and accomplished, Lumi is amazing too. She genuinely likes him; it’s not just a passing fancy.”
Luan Nian still stared at her. The phrase “as long as you’re not aiming for marriage, what’s wrong with sleeping with someone?” had struck a nerve—it was just infuriating for some reason.
“Lumi was wrong. Lumi shouldn’t want to sleep with her boss. Can you not hold it against us?”
Luan Nian started the car again. The scenery was so beautiful—why bother arguing with Shang Zhitao’s unreliable mouth?
The further they drove toward Tibet, the more stunning the scenery became. Even Luke seemed invigorated. With its excellent vision and sense of smell, it noticed every little movement by the roadside and barked at everything it saw, startling Shang Zhitao repeatedly. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore and scolded him: “Luke! What’s wrong with you? Can’t you stop being so jumpy? Bark only when you see something! Be more composed!”
No sooner had she finished speaking than she pointed ahead excitedly: “Wow! The colors are different! Stop the car!” The person who had just mocked Luke couldn’t hold back either. They were traveling during an off-peak season, and there weren’t many cars or people on the road. Alone amidst the breathtaking landscape, one side shimmered emerald green, the other sky blue, with the salt-crusted highway cutting between the two-colored lakes and stretching all the way to the horizon.
Shang Zhitao felt her heart soar. They got out of the car, and Luan Nian began fiddling with the drone while Luke started running around wildly. Shang Zhitao chased after him: “Come back!”
Luan Nian whistled, and Luke ran back. Shang Zhitao followed, and Luan Nian grabbed her wrist. Together, they watched the drone take off, and Shang Zhitao waved at it. Luan Nian pinched her cheek, amused by her silly antics.
“Was taking this detour the right decision, Ms. Shang?” The two of them had debated for a long time about whether to take this detour. Luan Nian had insisted on it, even though the two-colored lakes hadn’t been developed yet and few people visited. He was determined to see rare sights, and in the end, they played rock-paper-scissors. Luan Nian won, and they took this detour. So you see, Luan Nian wasn’t being completely autocratic—he was starting to embrace democracy.
“Yes!” Shang Zhitao leaned against his shoulder, the wind lifting her long hair. Luan Nian bent down to kiss her, then went back to controlling the drone.
Shang Zhitao stood beside him, enchanted by the scenery, but she still had one more question she wanted answered. She asked him, “Luan Nian, between 26-year-old Shang Zhitao and 22-year-old Song Ying, who would you choose?”
The drone made a sound as it landed, and Luan Nian didn’t catch her question: “What did you say?”
“I said, between 26-year-old Shang Zhitao and 22-year-old Song Ying, who would you choose?”
Google Sites
Report abuse