The Early Spring

Vоlumе Threе - Тhrее Тhousand Milеs аnd the Mоon of Тhаt Тimе

Сhаpter 91: Unеxpected

Lumi plасed hеr laрtор оn the dеsk, sеnsing а сhilling glаre, thеn picked it uр аnd set it dоwn gently agаin.

Shang Zhi Tаo loоkеd uр аt hеr, thеn glаnced tоwаrd Will's meеting rооm, letting оut a соuple оf lоw chuсkles.

"What's so funnу?" Lumi protestеd in а hushеd tonе, plopрing dоwn intо her сhаir likе а frоst-bittеn eggрlаnt.

Shang Zhi Тaо sent her а messаgе: "Whаt's up? Didn't mу dеаr Lumi sаy that therе are millions of men in thе world, and evеn if they wеre аll drаgons, thеy'd have to curl up before you? How come you don't even dare to set your laptop down loudly now?"

"Fuck," Lumi replied. "That guy is just too damn creepy. But since he saved me once, I'll put up with it."

Will had saved Lumi once.

Downstairs at the company, Zhang Qing had come to harass Lumi, and Will happened to run into them. He beat up Zhang Qing and his friend with his bare hands. Lumi later recalled how a man who usually seemed like a conservative old-timer tossed his laptop aside and tangled with Zhang Qing—a muscular guy with floral tattoos and braids—taking on two at once without much trouble.

In Lumi's words: "It was really terrifying. Probably because stubborn mules attract people like him." Even so, she never dared to provoke Will much after that.

Shang Zhi Tao glanced at her, then looked away. She was reviewing the upcoming project assignment: a posting to a northwestern city to collaborate with government departments on an industrial base. It was Lingmei's S+ level project for the coming year.

Lumi wheeled her chair over and saw what Shang Zhi Tao was looking at. She asked, "Thinking of going?"

Shang Zhi Tao nodded. "I want to get promoted to expert next year. Grace told me my project count, service quality, and overall scores are all fine, but there's just one thing—I've never led an S+ project. This opportunity is pretty rare."

"Northwest, though!" Lumi pinched her cheek. "Are you crazy? Fourteen months, not fourteen days. Do you know what you'll look like when you come back? That tender face of yours will be gone, replaced by two red apples hanging on your cheeks."

Shang Zhi Tao giggled. "I know. But I really want to go."

She pulled her wish list out of the drawer and pointed it out to Lumi. "Look, I'm only one 'expert' away from achieving this wish!"

Lumi examined the wish list, which looked like it had been around for some years, with frayed edges. It read: "Wishes to Achieve Before 30."

"Alright," Lumi pushed the list back to her. "Maybe I'll sign up for this project too. It's not like I have anything better to do. But our marketing department said in the meeting that we only need to go for half a month each month. Not like you guys, who have to be stationed there long-term."

"Aren't you afraid of having two red apples on your face?" Shang Zhi Tao teased her.

Lumi clicked her tongue. "I'm afraid of getting scolded by that bastard Will." She slid her chair back to her workstation. "So damn annoying!"

Shang Zhi Tao seriously weighed the possibility of applying for the project. After thinking it over for a long time, she decided to ask Grace for her opinion. Grace was heading out with her breast pump when she saw Shang Zhi Tao approaching and said, "Come, keep me company while I pump."

The mother-and-child area was empty. It seemed like women working at Lingmei weren't particularly interested in having children. Grace started pumping, the machine emitting a low hum. Shang Zhi Tao said to her, "Grace, I want to apply for that base project. Do you think I'm up for it?""The current situation is that no one is willing to go, no matter how much money is offered. Even though it's an S+ project, if something goes wrong, it becomes a major issue. Risk and opportunity coexist."

"What about you?"

"If it were me, in my mid-twenties, single, with no attachments, I would go." Grace stated her thoughts directly: "There's risk, but there's also opportunity. Take risks while you're young. Otherwise, what? Wait until you're old?"

Shang Zhi Tao nodded.

She used to dislike taking risks, moving step by step with caution and restraint. But as Grace said, if you don't take risks when you're young, are you going to wait until old age? Adults should have the ability to take responsibility for their own choices.

Now, Shang Zhi Tao felt she possessed that ability.

Returning to her desk, she sat for a moment longer, then sent a message to Luan Nian's secretary: "Hello, I'd like to inquire about Luke's schedule today. I'd like to book about fifteen minutes to discuss something with him."

Since the start of the year, Luan Nian had been extremely busy, spending very little time in Beijing. On the rare occasions he was in the office, his schedule was packed with meetings and appointments, so his secretary had started managing appointments. Shang Zhi Tao could message him directly, but she didn't want to do that. She didn't want to overstep boundaries again.

"One moment." Five minutes later, the secretary replied: "Luke has half an hour at noon. I'm ordering lunch for him now, and I'll order for Flora too. You can chat while you eat." The secretary was tactful—it wouldn't do for Luan Nian to eat while she watched, so ordering two meals would ease the awkwardness.

"Okay, thank you."

At noon, Shang Zhi Tao saw Will come out of his office, and sure enough, the secretary said to her: "Come on, Flora."

Shang Zhi Tao stood up and headed to Luan Nian's office.

It was early April, and she wore an apricot-colored silk blouse, its hem casually tucked into vintage jeans, looking fresh and gentle. Luan Nian looked up at her and smiled: "Have a seat."

"Thank you."

It seemed like a long time since they had been alone together. As Shang Zhi Tao sat down, she caught sight of Luan Nian's handsome nose when he lowered his head, and her heart still fluttered. But not as intensely as before. Time really could fade some things.

Sitting across from him, she accepted the fast food he pushed toward her. The secretary had ordered steak and shrimp meals. She opened hers and took a bite: "It's delicious."

"Does your salary not allow you to eat truly delicious food?" Luan Nian teased her. She always said everything was delicious, which he found irritating.

"Barely enough for a treat each month. So, can you give me a bigger raise this year?" Shang Zhi Tao seized the opportunity to make a request.

"No." Luan Nian glanced at her. It was only April, yet she already had fine beads of sweat on her nose from sitting in the sunlight. How could someone sweat so easily? "So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Luan Nian took a bite of steak, put down his fork, and asked.

Shang Zhi Tao also put hers down and looked at him seriously: "I want to apply for that secondment project."

"Fourteen months, only allowed to return for two days each month. And high risk." Luan Nian reminded her.

"I still want to go."

"Why?"

Shang Zhi Tao thought for a moment: "Because I'm still young, and I want to take risks."

Luan Nian raised an eyebrow and lowered his head to eat. He had been hungover from last night and hadn't eaten in the morning, so he was starving now. Shang Zhi Tao shared half of her shrimp and steak with him, and Luan Nian ate it without hesitation.

After finishing the meal quietly, Shang Zhi Tao asked him: "Will you approve my application?"

"I have no objections.""Okay, thank you."

"What about Luke?" Luan Nian suddenly asked her.

"I'll figure something out when the time comes. If all else fails, I'll take him with me." Luke was indeed a problem, and Shang Zhi Tao began considering the possibility of taking him along.

"You could leave him with me," Luan Nian suggested. "You can bring him over to get familiar with the environment before you leave."

"But you travel for work too."

"Our neighborhood has dog-walking aunties now."

"Oh, okay." Shang Zhi Tao smiled. "But you don't like Luke."

"You know me well." Luan Nian took a sip of water, his brow furrowing.

The secretary knocked on the door: "Luke, it's time."

"Alright."

Shang Zhi Tao stood up and said to Luan Nian, "Thank you, Luke. I'll go back and submit my application through the system now."

"Okay."

As Shang Zhi Tao left, she remembered that he seemed a bit off today. After sitting at her desk for a while, she sent him a message: "Are you feeling unwell?"

"?"

"You've been frowning all day."

"Stomachache."

Luan Nian had been traveling nonstop for work lately, and the intensity was taking a toll. He felt something might be wrong with his body—a slight heaviness and bloating in his abdomen. He asked Dr. Liang what it could be. Dr. Liang hesitated, speaking evasively. Luan Nian grew impatient and told her to speak plainly. Dr. Liang chuckled and asked if he'd had any unprotected sexual encounters. Furious, Luan Nian hung up. In her mind, was he really that indiscriminate? Unprotected sex? He might as well become a monk. He glanced up at Shang Zhi Tao, who was talking to Lumi. They seemed to be discussing some secret topic—Lumi's face was full of unconcealed gossip, and Shang Zhi Tao's mouth was shaped into an "O," as if surprised.

The gossip they were discussing was about Will.

Lumi had accidentally met a former colleague of Will's and learned a piece of gossip: Will had been divorced for two years. This news shocked Lumi, but what surprised her wasn't that Will had married and divorced—it was: "Damn! A vigorous man single for two years? The reason for the divorce is worth speculating about."

Seeing the mischievous look on Lumi's face, Shang Zhi Tao felt a chill down her spine: "How do you plan to speculate?"

Lumi grinned: "Remember my motto?" She winked at Shang Zhi Tao and lowered her voice: "If you can't beat them, join them."

"...How do you join?"

Lumi raised an eyebrow. Shang Zhi Tao suddenly understood and quickly tried to dissuade her: "Don't do anything reckless. With Will's old-fashioned personality, if you mess around, won't he put you in your place?"

"Let him try. We'll see who's better in bed." Lumi drew out her words, feeling unusually cheerful. Shang Zhi Tao sighed, knowing there was no stopping her.

Shang Zhi Tao returned to her desk and began researching the S+ government tourism project. It was a collaboration between Lingmei, a tech company, and the government. The government would provide funding and land, while Lingmei and the tech company would handle project design, aiming to create a nationally top-tier scenic area. The preliminary research, planning, and design would take six months, with another eight months for implementation.

This was interesting.

Shang Zhi Tao had never been involved in a government-level project before, and the company was tense from top to bottom. Luan Nian had visited the location countless times, and it took nearly six months just to establish preliminary cooperation intentions among the three parties. The contract process had only recently been finalized.

Lingmei's creative design was top-notch.The project required a project manager. By the usual standards, Shang Zhi Tao's qualifications did not meet the requirements; the company would typically send an expert like Grace to serve as project manager. But as Grace had said, the project was tough, and no one was willing to go.

Shang Zhi Tao was willing.

This was her opportunity.

She tucked her wish list into a drawer; the next time she would take it out would likely be at the end of the year. If the company truly approved her application, she would depart in July and not officially return until September of the following year.

Time really flies. In the past, clients she collaborated with saw her as a young girl, but now they called her Miss Shang. In a few more years, it would become Madam Shang.

After studying the project materials, Shang Zhi Tao looked up to find it was already past ten o'clock. She packed her things to head home and noticed Luan Nian bent over his desk in his office.

He had never been like this before.

Colleagues in the office had either left, gone on business trips, or were working from home. Apart from her and Luan Nian, there was no one else.

She felt a faint sense of worry and, after a moment's thought, went to knock on his office door. Luan Nian's voice trembled slightly: "Come in."

"Luke." Shang Zhi Tao fell silent as she saw beads of sweat the size of beans on his forehead. "What's wrong with you?"

"It hurts."