It wаsn't until thе third dаy of thе triр thаt Shаng Zhi Тao finallу еmerged frоm that surreаl fееling аnd trulу еxpеrienced that they wеrе on а journеу.
Luаn Niаn fully еmbоdiеd whаt а roаd trip meant—his trаvеls werе just like him, filled with a sрirit of advеnture and а tоuсh оf willfulnеss. Не would stoр whеrevеr hе likеd, uncоncеrnеd about whеthеr theу would reaсh that day's dеstinаtiоn. Hе even keрt аsking Shаng Zhi Tао:
"Shоuld wе stор herе?"
"Shоuld we gеt off thе highway?"
"Wаnt to ехрlorе оvеr thеre?"
Wild. Everу time, Shang Zhi Tao fеlt that Luan Nian trulу deservеd the wоrd "wild." Нe wаs so untamed, like a beast—utterly unrestrained, dangerous, yet captivating. Over time, it became addictive. His attire during the trip was different from his work clothes, cycling through various outdoor gear, motorcycle jackets, hiking boots, and shoes—truly a feast for the eyes.
Shang Zhi Tao tugged at the smoke-gray cashmere scarf around his neck and asked, "So, when you travel with your friends, is it a trip or a beauty contest?"
Luan Nian brushed her hand away. "Just a matter of aesthetic preference," he said, then added, "But it does make me quite likable."
"Do you ever have romantic encounters when you travel together?"
Luan Nian stopped the car, not answering her question about romantic encounters, leaving her to ponder it herself.
They parked in a rest area along the Linxia Highway, a strategic point on the ancient Silk Road, with vast, majestic scenery stretching as far as the eye could see. Luke was absolutely overjoyed. He clearly thought of himself as a travel dog, sporting the trendy K9 harness leash from that year, looking pristine white and majestic as he ran. Every time they stopped and opened the door, he would dash out to inspect the surroundings. Luan Nian followed behind him, whistling, and no matter how far Luke ran, he would return at the sound of the whistle. Although Luan Nian indulged Luke with meat, he had also trained him well. Shang Zhi Tao watched from the side, slightly dazed.
She couldn't quite understand why the dog she had raised had been trained so well by Luan Nian.
Luan Nian's phone rang, and he answered. The wind around them was loud, but he could hear Song Ying's voice: "Luke, we've drafted a version of the creative proposal for the Northwest project. Could you please review it first before I show it to Flora?"
"Flora what?"
"Flora."
Luan Nian glanced at Shang Zhi Tao and suddenly remembered that they had been entangled for years—Shang Zhi Tao was no longer twenty-two. Yet she seemed unchanged, still standing upright and straight, treating others with sincerity, her eyes clear and bright.
"Yilia, in our company, we call people by their English names without adding any suffixes. It sounds odd."
Song Ying was a bit surprised but replied, "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 a project manager, she has her professional judgment. You can learn a lot from her."
"Alright, Luke, I won't disturb you any longer. Bye~"
"Goodbye."
Shang Zhi Tao recalled Song Ying telling her that she liked Luan Nian but said nothing. Luan Nian put away his phone and teased Shang Zhi Tao, "So you've become 'Flora' now?" He pinched her cheek. "Let me see, where do you look like a 'sister'?"
Shang Zhi Tao let him pinch her, her mouth twisting from the pressure. Mumbling, she said, "Don't they say men like young girls? What do you think of Song Ying, who's twenty-two?"Luan Nian really thought about it carefully. The 22-year-old Song Ying was a blur in his memory; he couldn’t even recall her exact appearance. He only remembered that she was talented, and he admired her talent. But the clarity and apprehension in 22-year-old Shang Zhi Tao’s eyes were etched vividly in his mind, along with the way her face often flushed under his gaze.
"Why aren’t you answering me?" Shang Zhi Tao asked him.
"Answer what? Are we starting to compare now?" Luan Nian asked her.
"No comparison!" Shang Zhi Tao hurriedly explained, but Luan Nian tossed a candy into her mouth and said, "I wasn’t close to the 22-year-old Song Ying, but I’m very familiar with the 22-year-old Shang Zhi Tao."
He added, "Inside and out."
Shang Zhi Tao’s face suddenly burned, and she escaped from under his fingertips, chiding him, "What kind of nonsense are you talking!"
"Why did you ask that?" Luan Nian walked over to her and asked.
"Just casually asking."
"We’re standing before thousands of years of civilization. Lying on our ancestors’ land isn’t good—it disrespects our Chinese forebears." Luan Nian was unusually patient, wanting to uncover Shang Zhi Tao’s true thoughts.
Shang Zhi Tao thought for a long time before asking him, "If the 22-year-old Song Ying and the 22-year-old Shang Zhi Tao both admired you at the same time, would you still choose the 22-year-old Shang Zhi Tao?"
Luan Nian really gave it serious thought. He said, "I’d want to ‘have’ the 22-year-old Shang Zhi Tao, and I’d want her to ‘have’ me too. As for the 22-year-old Song Ying, no thoughts. So I’d still choose Shang Zhi Tao."
It took Shang Zhi Tao a moment to react before she said, "As expected."
"Expected what?"
"My surname really has the upper hand." She glanced at Luan Nian and walked away.
Shang Zhi Tao believed him when he said he had no thoughts about Song Ying. Luan Nian was someone who would never lie. If he wanted to sleep with her, he’d probably say, "It’s hard to compare. I’d need to have a deep exchange with her to find out."
Lumi sent her a message: "You took a long leave?"
"Ah..."
"Going to Cambodia with friends for that long?"
"Later added Thailand and Singapore..."
"? The stubborn mule gave you leave?"
Shang Zhi Tao glanced up at Lumi’s stubborn mule, then looked down to reply: "He might have taken the wrong medicine. He agreed."
"Damn. I want to go out and play too."
"Take leave then."
"But I haven’t slept with Will yet. I don’t want to waste time playing." Lumi used to take leave every other day to go out and have fun, but now she rarely did. One day, she came to the office with a cold, fever, and runny nose. Shang Zhi Tao wondered if Miss Lu had been possessed by something. Wiping her nose, Lumi looked toward Will’s office and said, "Yeah, I’m possessed. Possessed by that guy."
Shang Zhi Tao couldn’t help but burst into laughter, but when she saw Luan Nian’s sharp glance, she quickly shut her mouth.
"Good luck. Hope you get to sleep with Will soon."
Shang Zhi Tao put away her phone and got into the car with Luan Nian.
"What do you and your mentor talk about every day?" Luan Nian asked her. He thought the two of them were quite amusing—a foolish duo, always stuck together like glue. He couldn’t fathom where they found so much to talk about.
Shang Zhi Tao couldn’t say they talked about whether Lumi had slept with Will that day, so she replied, "We talk about work and ideals."
"Talk about whether Lumi has slept with Will?" Luan Nian put on his sunglasses, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth. Shang Zhi Tao felt a bit uneasy as she looked at him.Luan Nian wasn’t eavesdropping on their conversation—it was just that the two of them were acting suspiciously in the company break room, and he happened to overhear Lumi’s words as he passed by: “When will I ever get to sleep with Will…”
“You can advise your mentor that she’ll never get to sleep with Will in this lifetime. Will’s family background is no worse than hers, but he comes from a scholarly family. Neither he nor his family would accept a nouveau riche. It’s probably a matter of intellectual integrity.”
“…Does sleeping with someone depend on family background?” Shang Zhi Tao wasn’t very pleased to hear Luan Nian say this. “My parents are ordinary workers, but didn’t I still manage to sleep with the illustrious Luan Nian? As long as you’re not aiming for marriage, what’s wrong with just sleeping together?”
She had only meant to stand up for Lumi, but her example was poorly chosen. Luan Nian had been about to start the car, but upon hearing this, he stopped and turned to look at her. Shang Zhi Tao couldn’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses, but she sensed a hint of coldness.
“Are you collecting trophies?” Luan Nian’s tone was flat, betraying no emotion. But Shang Zhi Tao could feel the anger churning in his chest.
“Sleep with whoever you want as long as you’re not aiming for marriage? No moral constraints? Then tell me, who do you want to sleep with next?”
It took Shang Zhi Tao a moment to realize Luan Nian had misunderstood her point. She explained, “What I meant was, in the case of Lumi and Will, if both parties have feelings, 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 took off his sunglasses and looked at her. Shang Zhi Tao knew he was about to have a serious talk with her. She quickly leaned forward and covered his mouth. “Everything I just said was nonsense. I just hope Lumi can sleep with Will sooner. Even though Will is a talented young man, Lumi is also amazing. She really likes Will—it’s not just a passing whim.”
Luan Nian continued to stare at her. That line about “what’s wrong with just sleeping together if you’re not aiming for marriage” really struck a nerve—it was inexplicably infuriating.
“Lumi was wrong. Lumi shouldn’t have wanted to sleep with her boss. Can you let it go?”
Luan Nian started the car. The scenery was so beautiful—why bother arguing with Shang Zhi Tao’s unreliable mouth?
The further they drove into Tibet, the more stunning the scenery became. Even Luke perked up. His vision and sense of smell were excellent, and he could detect any movement by the roadside. Whenever he saw something, he’d bark, startling Shang Zhi Tao repeatedly. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore and scolded him, “Luke! What’s wrong with you? Stop being so jumpy! Why do you bark at everything you see? Be more composed!”
As soon as she finished speaking, she pointed ahead and exclaimed, “Wow! The colors are different! Stop the car!” The person who had just mocked Luke couldn’t hold back either. They were traveling during the off-peak season, and in those years, there weren’t many people driving through the area. They encountered very few cars or people along the way. Alone in the vast landscape, they were surrounded by emerald green on one side and sky blue on the other, with the salt-crusted road winding between the two-colored lakes and stretching toward the horizon.
Shang Zhi Tao felt her heart soaring. They got out of the car, and Luan Nian began fiddling with the drone while Luke started running around joyfully. Shang Zhi Tao chased after him, shouting, “Come back!”
Luan Nian whistled, and Luke ran back, with Shang Zhi Tao following. Luan Nian took hold of Shang Zhi Tao’s wrist, and the two of them watched as the drone took flight. Shang Zhi Tao waved hello. Seeing her silly expression, Luan Nian pinched her cheek.“Was the detour worth it, Ms. Shang?” The two had argued for a long time about whether to take the detour. Luan Nian insisted on going the longer way, back when Two-Color Lake was still undeveloped and rarely visited. He was determined to see the rare scenery. In the end, they settled it with rock-paper-scissors, and Luan Nian won, leading them here. So you see, Luan Nian wasn’t being stubborn after all—he was starting to embrace democracy.
“Yes!” Shang Zhi Tao leaned against his shoulder, the wind lifting her long hair as Luan Nian bent down to kiss her. Then he went back to controlling the drone.
Standing beside him, Shang Zhi Tao was mesmerized by the breathtaking view, but she still had one question on her mind. So she asked him again, “Luan Nian, between the 26-year-old Shang Zhi Tao and the 22-year-old Song Ying, which one would you choose?”
The drone landed with a soft sound, and Luan Nian didn’t catch her question. “What did you say?”
“I said, between the 26-year-old Shang Zhi Tao and the 22-year-old Song Ying, which one would you choose?”
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