Chapter 47: Goodbye to This Year

This year was coming to an end.

Shang Zhitao sat at her workstation, writing her year-end summary, and also took out her to-do list from the drawer. “Learned to drive,” could be crossed off. “Improved English a little bit,” could get a checkmark for now. “Made more than three friends,” after thinking about it, she had also achieved that.

Looking back seriously at all the events of the year, there was a little bit of heartache, but mostly happiness. As for what the heartache was about, she couldn’t quite say.

She put the to-do list back in the drawer and began to tidy up her desk. She was going home early tomorrow morning, and that feeling was truly wonderful. She had received a year-end bonus of over 40,000 yuan. Back when she made a mistake, Luan Nian had said he would deduct her bonus, but it turned out he was just scaring her. Thinking about the tens of thousands of yuan lying in her card, she suddenly felt like she was someone with savings too. She had already started planning how to spend this money. She would get new reading glasses for Old Shang and Da Zhai, and buy them two new sets of clothes.

After the New Year, she would prepare gifts for her roommates, Lumi, and Yao Bei, and also get herself a gift. In her drawer was a small box, a New Year’s gift she had bought for Luan Nian in advance, but she hadn’t given it to him yet.

Luan Nian had given her two bags. Shang Zhitao didn’t know the exact price, as she hadn’t opened them to look. She felt she should reciprocate with something, but Luan Nian lacked nothing. She always felt it would seem strange to give him a gift, even potentially disrupting the hard-won balance between them.

She thought for a long time and finally decided to give Luan Nian a box of fish food. She had bought it based on what she saw under his fish tank, going to several pet shops after her English class on the weekend to find it. She pointed at a fish and asked the shop owner, “What kind of fish is this? What does it usually eat?”

The shop owner said, “Red dragon.”

“How much?”

“Four thousand. Better quality ones are even more expensive.”

“Oh, oh.” So Little Red Flag was actually a red dragon fish. Every time Shang Zhitao saw it, it seemed to know her very well, swimming in the fish tank following the direction of her fingertips. Little Red Flag was much more personable than Luan Nian.

“I’ll buy its food, the most expensive kind.”

“Four hundred and thirty yuan a box.”

...Shang Zhitao gritted her teeth and bought it. Looking at the small gift box beside her now, she couldn’t muster the courage to give it to Luan Nian no matter what. Watching her colleagues leave one by one, and Luan Nian also standing up to pack his computer, if she didn’t give it today, there would be no chance tomorrow. His flight to America was in the early morning, and her train back to Ice City was early tomorrow morning. Luan Nian would be gone for a long time this time, visiting family, attending meetings at headquarters, and a creative competition. He wouldn’t be back until early March.

Luan Nian left the office. Shang Zhitao slung her bag over her shoulder, picked up the gift box, and followed him into the elevator. Luan Nian saw the small box in her hand and her anxious expression in the elevator mirror. He simply asked her directly, “Is that for me?”

Shang Zhitao’s face flushed slightly, and she nodded.

Luan Nian held out his hand. Seeing Shang Zhitao standing still, he frowned. “Not giving it?”

Shang Zhitao placed the small box in his palm and said to him before the elevator doors opened, “Have a safe trip.”

“You too.”

Luan Nian looked at the gift box for a long time after getting into his car, finally reaching out to open it. The moment he opened it, the unease in his heart disappeared, and he laughed out loud looking at the box of fish food.

Shang Zhitao was really something.

He drove the car out of the underground garage, deliberately circling to the front of the company. Shang Zhitao was indeed still waiting for a taxi. He stopped the car in front of her. “Get in.”

Shang Zhitao was a little surprised. Today wasn’t Friday, and tomorrow they were both going far away.

“Not getting in?” Luan Nian urged her when he saw her hesitating.

Shang Zhitao opened the car door and saw the gift she had given him on the passenger seat. Luan Nian picked it up, and after she got in the car, he placed the fish food on her lap. There was also a set of keys. Shang Zhitao was stunned, looking at the keys and then at Luan Nian.

Luan Nian looked straight ahead and said casually, “Since you’re giving this gift, you might as well do some after-sales service. While I’m away, please take the trouble to take care of my fish for me.”

“...You have so many valuables at home...”

“Can’t take them all with me.”

“Oh.”

“Thank you for the gift.”

“You’re welcome. You gave me gifts too.”

Luan Nian noticed her restraint and suddenly smiled. “Shang Zhitao, do you know when you’re the bravest?”

“Hmm?”

“In bed.” Luan Nian paused. “Especially uninhibited, especially brave.”

Luan Nian had also wondered if there were two people living inside Shang Zhitao, one responsible for her wildness and the other for her humility. Otherwise, why did her expressions change so quickly?

“First of all, during this last meeting of the year, I hope you change how you address me.” Luan Nian found that form of address very ridiculous, mimicking Shang Zhitao’s tone, “You... don’t kiss there...”

Luan Nian rarely said so much. Shang Zhitao found that when he talked a lot, he was actually quite amusing. His imitation of her tone was uncanny. But he just had to pick the most embarrassing sentence to say. She couldn’t help but laugh, but her face also turned red.

“Weird?” Luan Nian asked her.

Shang Zhitao nodded. “Weird. Then how should I address you...” Seeing Luan Nian’s glance, she stopped talking.

“Just call me Luan Nian.”

“Oh. What’s next?”

“Next...” Luan Nian parked the car in the garage. “You’re being so reserved, it’s like we’ve never slept together.”

“I didn’t mean to. It’s just that we’re not that familiar yet...”

Luan Nian nodded. “So it’s because we haven’t slept together enough...”

He picked up Shang Zhitao, threw her onto the bed, and started unbuttoning his own shirt. He stopped talking again, only his deep gaze remained beside Shang Zhitao, carrying a dangerous air. Shang Zhitao felt a trace of nervousness, unconsciously biting her lip, only to be restrained by Luan Nian again. He said in a low voice, “Don’t bite your lip, bite me.”

Shang Zhitao was most obedient and bit his neck. She thought Luan Nian would dodge like before, but this time he didn’t. Luan Nian used to say, “It’s inconvenient when meeting female clients.” He was telling the truth. If Jiang Lan saw a hickey on his neck, she would definitely come over and want to have a similar intimate encounter with him, which Luan Nian didn’t want to deal with.

Shang Zhitao’s teeth exerted a little force, and her tongue brushed across the blood vessel on his neck. Luan Nian’s heavy breathing fell into her ear, more effective than anything else.

“I still want to bite a few more times,” Shang Zhitao murmured in his ear. “Dare you?”

“Bring it on.”

Shang Zhitao really bit him, leaving marks on his neck, chest, and shoulders. She felt a bit like a puppy marking its territory. This place I’ve peed on is mine, please, Luan Nian’s New York bed partner, take note and avoid.

Luan Nian, however, was silently doing something big. When she was almost frantic, he sucked on a small piece of skin on her neck, returning her boldness to her.

Then he asked her, “Are we familiar now?”

“A little more.”

They fooled around until dawn. Luan Nian had to catch his flight, and Liu Wu was waiting for him at the door. Shang Zhitao hid in the house, not wanting Liu Wu to see her. Luan Nian saw through her little thoughts and didn’t make things difficult for her. He left.

Shang Zhitao held the keys to Luan Nian’s house, feeling their weight, afraid of losing them, so she kept them in her small, close-fitting bag.

When she returned to Ice City and saw the boundless white snow, the lanterns covered in snow in the streets and alleys, her heart finally felt at home. She loved the snow in Ice City, as well as the old, dilapidated buildings, the popsicles sold on the ground by the roadside, and the rows of Spring Festival couplets and paintings hanging up. It was almost Chinese New Year!

Old Shang and Da Zhai grinned when they saw her. Da Zhai kneaded her face into a dough ball, murmuring, “My daughter has lost weight...”

“Mom!” Shang Zhitao protested, pouting. “Where have I lost weight! I’m such a strong person!”

“Then what about the dark circles under your eyes? Is work too tiring?” Yi Nai asked.

Shang Zhitao felt a little ashamed. Work hadn’t been tiring these last few days of the year; it was serving the boss yesterday that had been too tiring. Da Zhai chased her back to her room to sleep. “You sleep for an hour first, I’ll call you when the food is ready.”

Shang Zhitao could really fall asleep. She buried her head and made up for lost sleep. During that time, she heard the door open and close lightly twice. The third time it happened, she poked her head out from under the covers and saw Old Shang and Da Zhai secretly looking at her at the door.

The elderly missed their child but couldn’t bear to disturb her sleep, so they could only sneak in to look at her again and again. Shang Zhitao’s nose tingled, and she almost couldn’t hold back her tears. She thought about getting out of bed to be close to them, but suddenly remembered Luan Nian’s naughtiness. She had to cover her neck, otherwise the two elders would definitely ask. So she wrapped herself tightly in the quilt and said to them coquettishly, “I still want to sleep a little longer~ I stayed up all night yesterday, so tired.” She didn’t say why she had stayed up all night.

Old Shang felt sorry for his daughter and nodded. “Then you sleep a little longer, we’ll eat later.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Old Shang closed the door. Shang Zhitao changed into a high-necked sweater. Fortunately, this was Ice City, and a high-necked sweater didn’t look out of place. Then she went out to eat with Old Shang. Shang Zhitao volunteered to have a little drink with Old Shang. Old Shang poured her a tiny bit of white wine at the bottom of her glass. “With your small capacity, drink a little less.” Shang Zhitao chuckled and clinked glasses with Old Shang. Once she was back home, she relaxed and instantly forgot everything about Beijing.

After dinner, she started calling her classmates. She had a few good friends from high school. Some had gone to the city bureau after graduation, some worked in the government, and there were also one or two who ran small businesses. Ice City was all about stability, and having a secure job was better than anything else. Everyone agreed to go sing karaoke on the second day of the Chinese New Year. They chatted until late at night, and when they opened their eyes again, it was New Year’s Day.

During the Chinese Lunar New Year, Luan Nian had just arrived home. Doctor Liang was bickering with Luan Mingrui. “You’re being too narrow-minded.”

Doctor Liang was a medical expert specializing in oncology, aloof and self-disciplined; Luan Mingrui was a businessman, with large sums of money passing through his hands every day. These two completely unrelated people had ended up together, bickering their whole lives.

Seeing Luan Nian enter, they both fell silent. Doctor Liang went to hug Luan Nian and saw the hickey on his neck, tsking. “So intense?”

Luan Nian’s face turned a little red for some reason. He didn’t mind carrying a hickey across the ocean, but he never expected to be teased by his mother. He thought Shang Zhitao’s bite was really vicious, much more so than his.

“Dog bite,” he said casually and went upstairs to change his clothes. Looking at the marks on his body in the dressing mirror, recalling Shang Zhitao’s slightly crazy look, he suddenly laughed.

When he came downstairs, Doctor Liang’s eyes were still on his neck. She joked, “That’s a good mark.”

Luan Mingrui finally stood up and looked at Luan Nian, saying with a smile, “Young people.”

“So the three of us haven’t seen each other for so long, and there’s nothing else to talk about?” Luan Nian resisted their constant staring at his neck and simply found a band-aid to put on it, trying to cover it up but making it even more obvious.

“Putting it on is good. Everyone will be here later, and they’ll definitely ask about it,” Luan Mingrui teased him.

“Who’s coming today?”

“Today, your Uncle Song’s family, Uncle Chen’s family.”

“Qiu Han and Kuan Nian are coming too?”

“Otherwise, should we leave them at home to starve?”

Chinese Americans liked to get together for the New Year, making it lively. Luan Nian liked those two young men. They were a few years younger than him, but both were promising young adults. They had even agreed to travel together starting next year.

This year was lively and bustling. Luan Nian ate with relatives and friends and received an email. In the email, Shang Zhitao solemnly wished him a Happy New Year. She said: Happy New Year, may everything be well in the new year.

Luan Nian replied to her: Happy New Year, be gentler next time you bite.