Shаng Zhi Таo attеndеd thе аgеncy cоnfеrencе at the еnd оf thе уеаr, bringing her teаm along. Luan Nian drove tо Iсe Сity аnd рiсkеd her аnd Lukе uр tо rеturn to Вeijing togethеr.
Тhe lаst time Luke toоk a long-distаnce triр оn this highwау wаs thе уear hе lеft Bеijing. Тhе friend whо brought him bасk said he hаd mаde thе round trip sevеral times befоrе withоut issue, but thаt time he got саrsiсk and vоmitеd sеvеrаl timеs.
Tоdаy, Lukе was vеry well-bеhavеd. Не sat in thе bасk sеat watching thе snowy scenerу gradually сhange аs theу drоve furthеr south, the snow thinning out the closer they got to the pass.
Shang Zhi Tao sat in the passenger seat with her laptop open, handling work. It was the end of the quarter and the end of the year, and the entire team was pushing hard to meet their targets. The company staff had been divided into A and B shifts, ensuring someone was online 24/7.
Sometimes, seeing everyone exhausted and worn out made her heart ache a little, so she began recruiting in the market.
She said to Zhang Lei, "I don’t know how other agents at your company operate, but I want my employees to be a little happier. Female employees should have time after work to watch a movie or go on a date; male employees should be able to meet friends for drinks or gaming."
"So you’re not a typical capitalist," Zhang Lei summarized.
Shang Zhi Tao didn’t want to be a capitalist; she hoped to reduce the hostility around her.
At the moment, she was doing two things on her laptop: first, reviewing resumes submitted by her employees, and second, drafting next year’s plan.
As a newly introduced agent, Shang Zhi Tao’s company had grown its daily consumption from 20,000 to 300,000, with an estimated increase to 400,000 next year. Based on this, the annual business turnover for next year would be 140 million. She had a 7% net profit margin. Shang Zhi Tao calculated clearly that by March next year, she could pay off her mortgage loan. By May, she could take out a loan to buy a car.
This turnaround had been exhausting, but fortunately, she had read the market correctly, securing a lifeline for herself and her employees.
While working on her business plan, she asked Luan Nian, "I know this is a sensitive question... but purely out of curiosity, what’s your annual income?"
"Which part are you asking about?"
"? How many parts do you have?"
"For salary income, there’s the base pay, stock dividends, and fixed bonuses. Haven’t you worked at Lingmei? Why are you asking how many parts I have?"
"So there’s other income?"
"Of course. I’ve always said not to put all your eggs in one basket."
Shang Zhi Tao thought about it and felt he made sense. Then she asked, "So what other income..."
"Real estate investments, stock investments, the bar, and others."
...
Shang Zhi Tao thought, in this era, there really are some people who are ahead of the curve. While you’re going all-in when you have no way out, some have already spread their eggs across different baskets.
A while later, Luan Nian said seriously, "Annual income is around 20 million. Salary doesn’t make up a large portion." He had actually calculated it carefully just now.
"Alright. By 2022, my annual income should be on par with yours."
"So I won’t make any more progress, is that it?" Luan Nian glanced at her and asked, "What do you plan to do with more money?"
"Donate it," Shang Zhi Tao said seriously. "I’ve talked with Lin Chun’er. I’ll match 15% of my income for donations. The older I get, the more I want to do charity work."
"How old are you?" Luan Nian laughed at her. "But I support you. Song Qiu Han also pulled me into their organization. Maybe one day we’ll run into each other."
"Hehe."They chatted all the way to Beijing, and by the time they entered the residential complex, it was already late at night.
Luan Nian stopped his car at the security booth to pick up a package, rolling down the window. The man in a suit standing next to the security guard suddenly said, "Miss Shang, Luke!"
"You still remember me." Shang Zhi Tao smiled at him. "Have you been promoted again?"
"Yes. I’ve taken over the security work for this residential complex."
"Wow!" Shang Zhi Tao was genuinely happy for him. "That’s amazing, congratulations."
"You’re welcome. My office is right next to the pet shop. Miss Shang, feel free to drop by anytime."
"Sure! I definitely will!"
Both Shang Zhi Tao and the security guard felt a sense of nostalgia. Ten years had passed since the first time she came to Luan Nian’s complex to pick up documents, when he had helped stop a car for her. Society had undergone earth-shaking changes, and so had they.
Luan Nian put away the package and got back into the car, nodding to the security guard. "I’ll come by tomorrow."
"Alright."
Shang Zhi Tao found this sentence a bit odd and asked him, "What does that mean?"
"It’s about the ‘other’ category in my income composition that I mentioned today."
"You invested in his security project?"
"Mhm."
It was also a matter of chance. One day, Luan Nian went to the security booth to take care of some business and overheard him on the phone: "I just need to borrow 300,000 yuan. I’m sure I can make money. It’s a contract with the property management."
So he said to him, "I’ll invest instead. Besides returning the principal, give me 10% annually." It wasn’t much money—only about fifty or sixty thousand yuan a year—but Luan Nian thought this security guard was a very good person. He had a sharp eye for people, so he made this small investment.
After hearing Luan Nian’s explanation, Shang Zhi Tao felt that he was as strange as ever. Despite having a face that seemed indifferent, he was also charitable and kind-hearted.
Back at Luan Nian’s home, the happiest one was Luke.
He ran up and down the stairs as if he had returned to his own territory. In his excitement, he lifted his leg.
Shang Zhi Tao’s voice turned anxious: "Luke!" It was just like the first time he came here, when he insisted on marking his territory indoors no matter what.
"Luke, what’s wrong with you! You can’t mark your territory every time you go to a new place, you know?" Shang Zhi Tao began to scold him. "Can’t you hold it in?" She even tugged at his ears, not using much force, but her tone was intimidating.
"Are you crazy?" Luan Nian moved her hand away. "He’s a dog. If he could control everything, wouldn’t he be human? Even humans can’t control everything! People still pee outside when they’re drunk!"
"Be gentler with Luke. How old is he? Why are you yelling at him every day?"
...
Shang Zhi Tao was scolded by Luan Nian from head to toe. When she looked at Luke again, he was grinning happily.
Luan Nian said to him, "Let’s go water the flowers in the complex."
Shang Zhi Tao absolutely refused to move. After sitting in the car all day and staring at the computer, she was exhausted. She leaned back on the sofa, replying to work messages.
Luan Nian took Luke for a very long walk.
Luke had left this place and suddenly returned, now strutting around proudly again. In the end, he was a dog who disdained the poor and admired the rich. He loved Luan Nian’s place—the complex was large, with plenty of lawns, trees, and many well-dressed female dogs. Most importantly, Luke felt safest walking here with Luan Nian.
He was so happy that he didn’t want to go home. Luan Nian indulged him, taking him for a long walk outside the complex.Passing by the pet shop, Luke tilted his head and stood there for a moment before leaping onto Luan Nian, barking in that direction. The gist was: "The bath place! I don’t want to go!"
"Whether you like it or not, you’re going tomorrow. Look how dirty you’ve gotten?" Luan Nian carried him while walking, pinching his ears to soothe him.
Shang Zhi Tao had fallen asleep on the sofa, her phone dropped on the carpet without her noticing. Just as Luan Nian entered, she turned over, curling up into the sofa. She stayed in that position, not even bothering to go upstairs.
It never quite felt like her own home.
Luan Nian pinched her cheek. "Go sleep upstairs."
Shang Zhi Tao mumbled a response, stood up, and rested her head against his chest. Luan Nian bent down to pick her up, carrying both her and Luke upstairs.
His bedroom remained unchanged—cold and spotless, yet his bedding was still comfortable.
Shang Zhi Tao loved Luan Nian’s standards for choosing bedding the most, so after decorating her own home, she bought comfortable bedding based on his preferences from back then. No matter what, she had to sleep on a comfortable bed, as the day’s fatigue could easily be washed away.
Luan Nian laid her on the bed, helped her remove her shoes, socks, and sweater. Shang Zhi Tao turned over and continued sleeping. When she turned again, she rolled into Luan Nian’s arms.
She still slept restlessly, so Luan Nian had to lock his legs around her to avoid being kicked off the bed. At times, it was hard for him to resist kicking back.
After all, they still needed time to adjust. Those accustomed to sleeping alone found it difficult to change their habits, even after deliberately sharing a bed these past few times. They subconsciously balanced each other in their sleep, making a night’s rest feel like a fight, leaving them exhausted upon waking the next day.
Shang Zhi Tao glanced at the time. The agent conference was in the afternoon, so after Luan Nian got up, she slept for another hour or so. When she opened her eyes again, she finally felt refreshed. Luan Nian had left her a note: "Breakfast is downstairs. I’m taking Luke for a bath."
As if taking Luke for a bath was some grand, memorable event.
Shang Zhi Tao ate something and lay back in bed. Spotting a book on Luan Nian’s nightstand, she picked it up to flip through. Inside was a torn piece of paper, and when Shang Zhi Tao glanced at it, she froze.
Shang Zhi Tao, that is, me, my wish list before turning thirty:
Travel with my parents
Learn English well
Learn to drive
Learn French well
Visit Tibet
Go abroad
Read 200 books
Buy a car
Buy a small apartment in Beijing
Be with the one I love
Does every girl have such a wish list? Written on paper or kept in their hearts.
On her last day at Lamy, Shang Zhi Tao tidied her desk one last time before leaving. She took all her reference books and office supplies with her, but beneath the drawer lay this wish list. She held it for a long, long time, but ultimately left it there. She had fulfilled many of her wishes, but the last three remained unchecked, leaving her with lingering regret whenever she thought of them.
It was on a day after Luan Nian returned from the U.S. that year. He stayed at the office until midnight when it was empty. Sitting there, he gazed through the window toward Shang Zhi Tao’s former workstation for a long time before finally walking over. He sat in the chair she once used, looking up at his own office. Over the past six years, countless times, she had sat there, watching him.Her desk was spotless, cleaned daily by the cleaning lady. In a few days, someone new would sit here. Luan Nian sat for a long time, and before getting up, he opened her drawer and saw her wish list.
Shang Zhi Tao had beautiful handwriting, the most elegant among everyone he knew. While others learned piano, singing, or dancing, she practiced calligraphy—quietly, writing character by character. Every item on her wish list was checked off, yet before turning thirty, she hadn’t managed to own a small home or be with the one she loved.
Luan Nian could almost picture her at twenty-two, sitting here late into a quiet night, writing down her wishes. Each one must have been pondered over and over in her heart before being carefully inscribed.
That day, he felt deeply saddened.
Luan Nian took the note and tucked it into the book by his pillow. This wish list accompanied him through many readings.
Shang Zhi Tao never imagined Luan Nian to be this kind of person. He was clear-cut in his likes and dislikes, decisive in his actions, never lingering over things. He always let people come and go freely, never holding anyone back. Even on the day she broke up with him, his way of trying to keep her was merely saying, "Think it through. Once you leave, don’t come back."
Yet he kept her wish list, right there in the book by his pillow.
Shang Zhi Tao secretly put it back and returned the book to its place. She then prepared to leave for the agent conference.
"Take my car," Luan Nian called her. "I’m not going out today."
"No need. I’m meeting Sun Yu for drinks tonight, so I won’t be driving."
Shang Zhi Tao met Sun Yu at the venue. As a key account client, Sun Yu was invited as a forum speaker—personally invited by Zhang Lei. Though it wasn’t exactly an invitation; he sent an online invitation and told her, "You have to come."
At the forum, Sun Yu shared how online advertising had positively impacted her company. Shang Zhi Tao sat quietly in the audience, listening. After the conference, there was an agent dinner. She stayed for a while, met some agency owners, and learned about some innovative approaches.
Around eight o’clock, she and Sun Yu slipped away from the drinking session and headed straight to their favorite barbecue restaurant from the old days.
The barbecue place was still open, though business wasn’t as good as before. The two chose a table by the window and each ordered a small bottle of erguotou.
The rim of the glass was chipped, but they clinked their glasses with a smile. "Imperfections make things whole."
Perhaps because they were sitting in a familiar place after so many years, they drank a lot that night and reminisced about many, many old stories, neither deliberately avoiding that name.
They both drank a bit too much. Leaving the barbecue place, they walked straight, turned left, then right, and arrived back at that doorway.
After Sun Yu finished throwing up, she stared up at the window for a long, long time before saying to Shang Zhi Tao, "Why don’t I just buy it?"
"Don’t," Shang Zhi Tao held her tightly. "Let the past stay in the past."
"He’s in the clouds, and also in my heart."
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