#125. Intermingling

In the darkness, Luan Nian’s lips brushed against Shang Zhitao’s cheek, finally landing on her lips.

He even played along and said, “If you don’t want to, I can stop at any time.”

“I don’t…”

Luan Nian sealed her lips with his. Shang Zhitao really knew how to take things seriously—he had no intention of stopping.

His hands and lips roamed across Shang Zhitao’s body in turns. In the darkness, he explored thoroughly, trying to feel the changes in her over the years. Yet this woman hadn’t changed much. No, wait—her waist had become even slimmer.

Luan Nian was quite pleased. But he overestimated himself. He thought he could take his time, but in the end, he was the one who got impatient.

His movements suddenly grew a bit out of control. Shang Zhitao held her breath, then let it out in a long sigh. Luan Nian’s lips trailed up to bite her lower lip. “You like younger guys? Can’t date someone three years older?”

He pinched her cheek and barked, “Say something!”

Shang Zhitao let out a muffled groan. Luan Nian was going to be the death of her—and somehow that ignited her competitive streak.

“Younger guys are full of energy, mm~”

Luan Nian bit down on her neck as punishment, like a real-life vampire.

That night of entanglement tore apart any lingering hesitation between them—fierce and thorough.

Luan Nian had never changed. He liked to take control, conquer Shang Zhitao in his own way. Sometimes, he would slow down suddenly, teasing her with the tip of his tongue in her ear, biting her earlobe, whispering low and unhurried: “Say ‘younger guy’ one more time, and I’ll kill you.”

But Shang Zhitao wouldn’t back down. She still wanted to provoke him. “Younger guy…”

Luan Nian bit her lips again. Their tongues tangled with intoxicating sounds, and he went wild, his strength nearly overwhelming.

That night felt like an intense, vivid dream. Every pore on Shang Zhitao’s body was infused with Luan Nian’s scent.

When things finally calmed down, she chuckled and kicked him. “Go sleep in the guest room! I’m not used to this.”

Luan Nian locked her with his legs. “I’m not sleeping in the guest room. Why should I?”

“You’re being unreasonable. This is my house.”

Luan Nian didn’t care whose house it was. He’d sleep wherever he wanted. He wrapped Shang Zhitao in his arms, and the two of them slept soundly.

It must’ve been nearly noon when Shang Zhitao heard the sound of the digital lock, followed by Old Shang’s voice: “She’s probably fine. Just didn’t pick up the phone. Must’ve been sleeping too deeply. I’m coming in, hang on.”

Shit!

Shang Zhitao suddenly cursed and kicked Luan Nian off the bed. He jolted awake, sitting on the floor as she scrambled to find her clothes. While dressing, she called out, “Dad, is that you? Just a second. I worked late yesterday and overslept—I didn’t hear the phone.”

She pulled on her clothes, cracked open the door, slipped out through the gap, and quickly shut it again.

“Was Mom worried? I’m fine. You should head back to work.”

Old Shang let out a sigh of relief. “Good. I figured you were just exhausted. Your mom didn’t believe it though. She said no matter how tired you are, you always wake up by now.”

Shang Zhitao forced a smile.

Then the door behind her opened, and Luan Nian walked out, smiling at Old Shang. “Hello, Uncle.”

Old Shang froze, looking at Luan Nian, then back at Shang Zhitao. “You two…”

“Uncle, I’ll take responsibility for Shang Zhitao,” Luan Nian said.

So much for her dating preference of “no more than three years older”—he had her now. Luan Nian played the rascal well, even raising his eyebrows at Shang Zhitao when Old Shang turned away to call Da Zhai.

That’s when Shang Zhitao suddenly realized—she’d fallen into Luan Nian’s trap. He’d been the sly fox all along.

By the time Da Zhai arrived, both Luan Nian and Shang Zhitao were fully dressed, sitting upright at the table like students caught misbehaving.

Shang Zhitao was genuinely nervous. Luan Nian, on the other hand, was just pretending.

Old Shang really had great timing today. Luan Nian almost felt grateful to the old man—for braving the freezing weather just to check on his daughter who hadn’t picked up the phone.

Da Zhai looked at them both.

He didn’t actually dislike Luan Nian. The guy had a good-looking face, and despite his sharp temper, he carried himself with proper manners.

“What’s going on with you two?” Da Zhai asked.

“Well…” Shang Zhitao began, but Da Zhai cut her off. “You be quiet. Let him talk.”

Luan Nian cleared his throat and spoke calmly. “Uncle, Auntie, you probably know a bit about me and Shang Zhitao. We dated for six years before and broke up due to a misunderstanding. Now that we’ve reconnected, we realized we still have feelings for each other.”

He carefully chose the core points to say—just like reporting to superiors at work. Say the nice parts. Leaders like that.

“But you’re not even married yet and already living together. What kind of behavior is that!” Old Shang tapped Shang Zhitao’s forehead. “How can you be so careless!”

“We can get married. I’m ready anytime,” Luan Nian said.

“What?” Shang Zhitao looked at him in disbelief. The man who used to always talk about being a free spirit, refusing to be tied down—now he was ready to get married?

She muttered to him, “My parents aren’t going to beat you up.”

“What are you saying? Uncle and Auntie seem kind and warm-hearted. Why would I be afraid of them hitting me? I’m serious. I know a woman’s reputation matters, and I’m willing to take responsibility for Shang Zhitao.”

Luan Nian looked completely sincere.

And he truly was. In the past few years, his friends had all settled down, one by one. He was the only one still drifting. This—this he couldn’t afford to lose.

Because he’d often wondered—if Shang Zhitao hadn’t left back then, what would their ending have been? They probably would’ve gotten married. Maybe even had a kid by now.

Over time, Luan Nian realized that growing old with Shang Zhitao wouldn’t be painful. In fact, it would bring an end to his boring life—and mark the beginning of something warm and lively.

Shang Zhitao still didn’t speak.

It all felt too fast for her.

Everything that happened today didn’t give her any time to think—it just happened. At last, she said, “Dad, Mom, how about this… let me talk to him alone…”

“You two talk, we’ll go. The store is still busy.”

As the two elders headed out, Da Zhai suddenly asked Luan Nian, “How old are you?”

Before Luan Nian could respond, Shang Zhitao answered, “Almost forty.”

He thought, age isn’t the issue. Just say an age the parents can accept—no need to show your ID. But Shang Zhitao was ruthless. Da Zhai’s gaze toward Luan Nian changed immediately. A man that age still unmarried? Must be something wrong with him.

“If she hadn’t broken up with me back then, we’d be married by now,” Luan Nian said calmly and confidently.

After Da Zhai and Old Shang left, the two of them took the dog for a walk.

It was freezing outside. After ten minutes of silence, Shang Zhitao asked:

“Ready to get married at any time?”

“If we hadn’t broken up, we’d have a kid by now?”

“Yes,” Luan Nian answered. “Every word I said is true. When I told you to wait for me to come back and talk, this is what I wanted to talk about. I want to start over with you—with the goal of marriage. But then you left.”

Luan Nian looked at Shang Zhitao. The cold of Ice City turned their ears red, her nose pink.

The northern chill was brutally direct—it cut straight to the bone.

“Lying makes your nose fall off,” Shang Zhitao said.

Luan Nian grabbed her hand and had her pinch his nose. “Did it fall off?”

“No.”

“Then, Shang Zhitao, can we meet again? Start over from the first time we met.”

Back then, you were twenty-two, I was twenty-eight—we were in our prime.

You were pure and brave, I was worldly and guarded, but our eyes met and began a journey unlike any other.

If we can’t go back to that time, then let’s start from today. You’re thirty-two, I’m thirty-eight—we’re still certain, still hopeful about life.

Maybe our love will make it through the cold and reach spring, where our own early spring sunshine awaits.

Shang Zhitao’s nose grew redder, tears froze on her face. She looked a mess—but still said, “Okay.”

She’d never imagined the dream she had at twenty-two would come true at thirty-two.

That might just be the most magical part of life.

Luan Nian held one of her hands, the other holding Luke’s leash. They walked a long time in the snow.

By the time they returned home, they were frozen through.

Luan Nian went to cook. Shang Zhitao hugged him from behind, her icy hands slipping into his shirt, making goosebumps erupt on his skin.

He turned to look at her. She didn’t lift her head, only busied herself with rolling up his shirt—until those well-defined abs came into view.

She leaned down and bit him. Luan Nian’s abdomen tightened instantly. But Shang Zhitao wasn’t done—her kisses trailed upward. She stood on tiptoe to kiss him, while her cold hands continued to explore. Luan Nian closed his eyes, thinking, This woman is going to kill me.

He suddenly lifted her onto the stove, pressing close. “Whoever runs away is the loser.”

“Well, I’m not.”

Shang Zhitao hooked her leg around him. The icy surface beneath her hurt, but strangely, she liked it.

“Not eating anymore?” she asked as Luan Nian lost control.

“No. I’m eating you first.”

Shang Zhitao thought: Who said younger guys are better? Only I know how good an older man really is. You could give me ten younger guys and I wouldn’t trade Luan Nian.

They fooled around until dusk. Luan Nian finally released years of pent-up heat. He asked, “Wanna eat out?”

“Yes!”

Shang Zhitao jumped off the bed. “Let’s go out and eat!”

“You’re not tired?” Luan Nian was shocked at her stamina.

Shang Zhitao said, “Our line of work is harder than yours—way more physically exhausting!”

Then she giggled. “Let’s have a drink. It’s snowing outside.”

“How do you know?”

“I’m a girl from Ice City. I can smell the snow.”

Luan Nian opened the curtains—sure enough, it was snowing.

“How many times does it snow in Ice City each year? Seems like it starts in autumn and doesn’t end till spring—never-ending snow,” Shang Zhitao said as she pulled on a sweater and the down coat Luan Nian gave her. “Do you know which of all the gifts you’ve given me over the years I like the most?”

“Which one?” Luan Nian asked.

“Every one since we reunited.”

Shang Zhitao cupped his face. “Every gift after we reunited—I never thought about selling a single one. I truly love them.”

“None of them were expensive.”

“But they’re better than luxury bags.”

“If you say so, then they are.”

Shang Zhitao thought—it wasn’t that he got better at picking gifts. It’s that he had changed. Though still sharp-edged, he was beginning to consider what she wanted.

She had always wanted a relationship of equals. And now, every day since their reunion felt closer to the kind of love she had always hoped for.

Was this her luck?

She tucked her hand into Luan Nian’s coat pocket and said, “I want to go see Dr. Liang.”