In thе dаrknеss, Luаn Niаn's liрs brushеd past Shаng Zhi Тао's сheek befоrе finally lаnding on her liрs.
Не еvеn mаnaged tо utter a line with perfeсt timing: "If уou'rе unwilling, I cаn stор аt anу timе."
"I dоn't—"
Luаn Niаn seаled her lips with his оwn. Shаng Zhi Tаo reallу would takе him seriouslу—hе hаd nо intеntiоn оf stopрing.
Luаn Nian's hаnds аnd liрs altеrnatеd аcross Shаng Zhi Тaо's body, eхploring her thоrоughlу in the dаrk, feeling the сhаngеs she hаd undеrgоnе оvеr the уеars. Yеt this womаn hadn't chаnged muсh—оh, wаit, her wаist hаd grоwn а little slimmer.
Luan Niаn was satisfied. But he hаd also ovеrestimatеd himself. Не thought hе could take it slow, but in the end, it was he who grew impatient.
His movements suddenly became a little beyond his own control. Shang Zhi Tao held her breath, then exhaled slowly. Luan Nian's lips pressed against hers, biting her lower lip: "You like younger men? Can't date someone three years older?"
He pinched her face and growled at her: "Speak!"
Shang Zhi Tao let out a muffled groan. Luan Nian was going to be the death of her, suddenly igniting a competitive spirit within her.
"Younger men are youthful, mmm~"
Luan Nian punished her, biting her neck like a full-fledged vampire.
The tussle of this night stripped away every trace of hesitation in their hearts, leaving them utterly transparent.
Luan Nian had never changed. He liked to take charge, carving out his territory in Shang Zhi Tao's world according to his own whims. Sometimes he would suddenly pause, taking his time, his tongue probing her ear, his teeth nibbling at it, whispering leisurely: "If you mention younger men again, I'll end you."
Shang Zhi Tao refused to admit defeat. She still wanted to provoke him: "Younger men..."
Luan Nian bit her lips, their tongues tangling with a stirring sound. Luan Nian grew fierce, his strength so overwhelming it nearly took Shang Zhi Tao's life.
This night felt like a vivid, unrestrained dream. Every pore of Shang Zhi Tao's body carried Luan Nian's scent.
Finally calming down, she giggled softly, then kicked him: "Go to the guest room! I'm not used to this."
Luan Nian locked his legs around hers: "I don't sleep in the guest room. Why should I?"
"You're being unreasonable. This is my home."
Luan Nian didn't care whose home it was. He would sleep wherever he pleased. Holding Shang Zhi Tao in his arms, the two drifted into a long, deep sleep.
It must have been close to noon when Shang Zhi Tao heard the sound of the keypad lock opening, followed by Old Shang's voice: "She's definitely fine. She just didn't answer the phone. Probably slept too deeply. I'm coming in, wait a moment."
Shit!
Shang Zhi Tao suddenly cursed, kicking Luan Nian off the bed. Startled awake, Luan Nian sat on the floor, watching her scramble to find her clothes. As she searched, she called out: "Dad, is that you? Wait a moment. I worked overtime yesterday and was exhausted. I overslept and didn't hear the phone."
She put on her clothes, cracked the door open, squeezed through the gap, and closed it behind her.
"Was Mom worried? I'm fine. You should go back and get busy."
Old Shang breathed a sigh of relief: "As long as you're fine. I told her you were just too tired, but she didn't believe me. She said no matter how tired you were before, you should have been up by now."
Shang Zhi Tao forced a smile.
The door behind her opened, and Luan Nian stepped out, smiling at Old Shang: "Hello, Uncle."
Old Shang froze, looking from Luan Nian to Shang Zhi Tao: "You two..."
"Uncle, I will take responsibility for Shang Zhi Tao."Forget about the condition of being only three years older, I've already claimed her. Luan Nian played the rogue masterfully, winking at Shang Zhi Tao while Old Shang was on the phone with Da Zhai.
Shang Zhi Tao suddenly realized she had fallen into Luan Nian's trap—he had been the fox all along, cunning to the core.
By the time Da Zhai arrived, both Luan Nian and Shang Zhi Tao were dressed and sitting properly at the table, like students caught misbehaving by their teacher. Shang Zhi Tao was genuinely afraid, while Luan Nian was just pretending.
Old Shang’s timing today was perfect; Luan Nian even felt a bit grateful to the old man for braving the freezing snow to find his daughter who hadn’t answered her phone.
Da Zhai looked at Shang Zhi Tao, then at Luan Nian.
Da Zhai didn’t actually dislike Luan Nian. He had a handsome face, and though he seemed ill-tempered, his manners were quite refined.
“What’s going on with you two?” Da Zhai asked.
“It’s just…” Shang Zhi Tao started to speak, but Da Zhai cut her off: “You be quiet. You talk.” He pointed at Luan Nian.
Luan Nian cleared his throat and spoke calmly, “Uncle, Auntie, I suppose you already know a bit about Zhi Tao and me. We dated for six years before, but broke up due to a misunderstanding. Now that we’ve reunited, we both feel there’s still something between us.” Luan Nian focused on the key points—wasn’t this just like a work report? Highlight the good parts, the bosses like that.
“But you’re not even married yet, and you’re living together? What kind of behavior is that!” Old Shang poked Shang Zhi Tao’s forehead. “How could you be so foolish!”
“We can get married. I’m ready anytime,” Luan Nian said.
“?” Shang Zhi Tao stared at him. The man who once preached liberalism and refused to take responsibility for relationships was now saying he could get married anytime? She whispered to him, “My parents aren’t going to hit you.”
“What kind of nonsense are you talking? Uncle and Auntie look kind and gentle—why would I be afraid of them hitting me? I’m serious. I know a woman’s reputation is important, and I’m willing to take responsibility for Zhi Tao.”
Luan Nian looked utterly sincere.
And he was sincere. Over the years, his friends had all settled down one by one, leaving him alone and adrift. He couldn’t lose this one.
But the truth was, he had thought about it over the years: if Shang Zhi Tao hadn’t left back then, what would their outcome have been? They probably would have gotten married. Maybe they’d even have a child by now.
Through their long time together, Luan Nian had gradually come to feel that spending his life with Shang Zhi Tao wouldn’t be a painful thing. Instead, it would mark the end of his dull, monotonous past and the beginning of a lively, warm life.
Shang Zhi Tao still didn’t speak.
She thought it was all too fast.
She hadn’t even had time to process everything that had happened today—it had all unfolded so quickly. Finally, she spoke up: “Dad, Mom, how about this… Let me talk to him alone…”
“You two talk. We’ll leave. The shop is still busy.”
As the two elders headed for the door, Da Zhai suddenly turned and asked Luan Nian, “How old are you?”
Before Luan Nian could answer, Shang Zhi Tao blurted out, “He’s almost forty.”
He thought, age wasn’t an issue. He could just give an age the elders would accept—after all, he didn’t need to show his ID. But Shang Zhi Tao really went for it. Da Zhai’s look toward Luan Nian changed, probably thinking: if he’s this old and still unmarried, there must be something wrong with him, right?“Actually, if Taotao hadn’t broken up with me, we’d probably be married by now.” Luan Nian remained composed, speaking slowly and calmly, his demeanor open and unguarded.
After Da Zhai and Old Shang left, the two of them went out to walk the dog.
It was freezing outside. After walking in silence for ten minutes, Shang Zhi Tao asked him:
“Ready to get married anytime?”
“If I hadn’t broken up with you back then, we’d have kids by now?”
“Yes.” Luan Nian replied: “Every word I’ve said is true. When I told you to wait for me to come back and talk, this is what I wanted to discuss. I wanted to start over with you, to date with marriage as the goal. But you left.”
Luan Nian looked at Shang Zhi Tao. The frigid weather of Ice City had turned their ears bright red, and the tip of Shang Zhi Tao’s nose was also slightly red.
The cold of the northern lands was straightforward and piercing—the icy wind struck your body and seeped right through you.
“If you lie, your nose will freeze off,” Shang Zhi Tao said.
Luan Nian grabbed her hand and pressed it to his nose: “Has it fallen off?”
“No.”
“So, Shang Zhi Tao, can we start over? From the very first time we met.”
Back then, you were twenty-two, and I was twenty-eight—both of us in the prime of our youth.
You were innocent and brave, I was worldly and hardened, but when our eyes met, it began an extraordinary journey through life.
If we can’t go back to that time, then let’s start today. You’re thirty-two, I’m thirty-eight, and we’re both still steadfast, still holding onto our hopes for life.
Perhaps our love will traverse the cold and reach spring, welcoming our own early spring sunshine.
The tip of Shang Zhi Tao’s nose grew even redder, tears freezing on her cheeks. She was a mess, but she still managed to say: “Okay.”
She had never imagined that the dream she had at twenty-two would come true at thirty-two.
This was probably the most wondrous part of life.
Luan Nian held her hand with one hand and Luke’s leash with the other. They walked for a long time in the icy snow, and by the time they entered the house, they were thoroughly chilled.
Luan Nian went to cook, and Shang Zhi Tao hugged him from behind, slipping her icy hands under his clothes, making him break out in goosebumps.
He turned to look at her, but she didn’t meet his gaze, instead busying herself with rolling up his shirt until those well-defined abs came into view.
She lowered her head and bit him, causing Luan Nian’s stomach to tense sharply. But Shang Zhi Tao was relentless, slowly moving upward, rising on her tiptoes to kiss him, her cold hands exploring him again. Luan Nian closed his eyes, thinking to himself that this woman was absolutely lethal now.
He suddenly lifted her onto the kitchen counter, pressing against her: “Whoever runs is a coward.”
“Well, it won’t be me.”
Shang Zhi Tao hooked her leg around him. The cold surface of the counter was painful, yet it also brought her a strange sort of delight.
“Aren’t we going to eat?” she asked him as Luan Nian lost control.
“No, I’ll eat you first.”
Shang Zhi Tao thought to herself, who said younger men were better? Only she knew how good an older man could be. She wouldn’t trade Luan Nian for ten younger men.
They fooled around like this until evening, when Luan Nian finally released the pent-up fire he’d held for years. He asked her: “Want to go out to eat?”
“Yes.”
Shang Zhi Tao jumped off the bed: “Let’s go out to eat!”
“Aren’t you tired?” Luan Nian was surprised by her stamina.
But Shang Zhi Tao said: “The activities we do are way more demanding than what you do. They take a lot more energy!”
She chuckled softly: “Let’s go out for a little drink, okay? It’s snowing outside.”
“How do you know it’s snowing?”
“I’m an Ice City girl. I can smell the snow.”Luan Nian opened the curtains—sure enough, it was snowing.
"How many snowfalls does Ice City get in a year? It seems like it snows from autumn through spring, an endless flurry of snow." Shang Zhi Tao pulled on her sweater, then put on the down jacket Luan Nian had given her. "Do you know, out of all the gifts you've given me over the years, which one I like the most?"
"Which one?" Luan Nian asked her.
"Every single one since we reunited."
Shang Zhi Tao cupped his face in her hands. "Every single one since we reunited—I never once thought of selling them. I genuinely love them."
"None of them are as expensive as a bag."
"But they're all better than a bag."
"If you say so, then it's so."
Shang Zhi Tao thought to herself that it wasn’t really that he had become better at giving gifts—it was that he himself had changed. Though still sharp, he had started to consider what she truly wanted.
Shang Zhi Tao had always wanted to love him as equals, and every day since their reunion felt like it was bringing her closer to the kind of love she desired.
Was this her good fortune?
She slipped her hand into Luan Nian’s pocket and said to him, "I want to go see Dr. Liang."
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