Luan Nian asked her if she wanted to travel together, and she was stunned for a long while.
"When?"
"Now." Luan Nian said it firmly, without a trace of teasing.
"Aren't you going to the Netherlands?"
"I don't have to go. Going abroad every year doesn't seem to mean much anymore."
"But I already made plans with friends." Shang Zhitao said this, and hearing Luan Nian's soft "mm" in response, she thought to herself, but I want to travel with Luan Nian. She arrived at her answer just as quickly. Maybe she and Luan Nian were fundamentally the same kind of person, both drawn to adventure.
"But we haven't prepared anything."
"We'll drive ourselves. Two people, one dog. We'll just go. There's still plenty of time to prepare."
What kind of overwhelming temptation was this? Shang Zhitao could already picture a journey full of surprises ahead of her. That trip was bound to be just like Luan Nian himself.
"But where would we go?"
"Where do you want to go most?"
"I most want to go to Tibet."
"Then let's go."
"But I haven't asked for time off yet."
"I've approved it." After saying this, Luan Nian pulled some strings, let Luke into the car, and got into the driver's seat himself. Seeing Shang Zhitao still standing there, he rolled down the window. "Not coming?"
Shang Zhitao never imagined that her first trip with Luan Nian would begin like this.
The car sped down the highway. Luan Nian drove with sunglasses on, looking like a tough guy. Luke sat in the back seat grinning, excited about the sudden trip. He was probably thinking, I'm a traveling dog now too!
Shang Zhitao felt an indescribable happiness. She hummed along to the music, watching the scenery rush past the window, speeding all the way toward Tibet.
"We forgot to take rhodiola," Shang Zhitao suddenly remembered.
"I've been to Everest Base Camp."
"What if we get altitude sickness?" she asked again.
"Oxygen tanks."
"Will you take care of me?"
"I'll sell you to the Tibetans."
"..." Shang Zhitao looked down at herself. "Human trafficking is illegal."
Luan Nian laughed and reached over to pat her head. Her hair was soft and full, pleasant to touch, so he just left his hand there, stroking it.
"I love it when you touch my hair, but this is dangerous." She guided his hand back to the steering wheel, then turned slightly to lean her head against the seat and look at him. Luan Nian looked good in sunglasses. They hid his eyes, which always seemed a little cold, and made his mouth look much gentler.
"What are you looking at?"
"Just thinking you're very gentle today."
"So I'm usually mean to you?"
"..." Shang Zhitao thought it over for a moment, then laughed. "No. I mean I hope you'll be more like this in the future."
"So you like gentle men." Luan Nian glanced at her and pulled into a service station to refuel. Since they'd decided to leave on a whim with nothing prepared, filling the tank was the first order of business. They also bought two boxes of water. Then they sat in the car while Luan Nian checked his phone for where to stay the first night. Shang Zhitao leaned over to look too, her bangs brushing his cheek, her head blocking the screen. Luan Nian waited a while, but she showed no sign of moving. She even asked him, "Why aren't you doing anything?"
Luan Nian sighed, set the phone on his lap, lifted her bangs, and kissed her forehead. "You've got my screen completely blocked."
"Oh." Shang Zhitao felt a little embarrassed and shifted back slightly, looking up at him. "Better?"
"Mm."
They'd set out late, so Luan Nian checked the time and said, "We'll stay in Shijiazhuang tonight. Once we get there, we'll go buy supplies."
"I still need to restock my sunscreen spray and lotion," Shang Zhitao added. Her skin was sensitive and she was afraid of the sun; if she got burned, it would turn red and swollen. "I also need a pair of sunglasses."
"Fine. While I'm driving, make a list of what we need. Tonight we'll stay in the commercial district, grab something to eat, and then go shopping."
"What about Luke? Will the hotel allow him?"
"Small pets are allowed." Luan Nian glanced back at Luke, who was grinning foolishly, though he was hardly a small pet. "We'll sort out the Luke situation once we get there."
"Okay."
They set off again, Luan Nian focused on driving while Shang Zhitao contentedly made her shopping list. It seemed like it had been a long time since either of them had felt this good; there was even an unconscious smile on Luan Nian's face. Dr. Liang called. She asked him, "Aren't you about to take off?"
"I changed my plans at the last minute."
"Why?"
"Because I suddenly wanted to go to Tibet."
"You stood up Song Qiuhan and the others?" Dr. Liang sounded a little surprised. She knew Luan Nian liked spending time with them, and the one or two trips they took together each year always lifted his mood.
"Can't I stand them up? Last time Song Qiuhan stood me up and went to Nepal by himself."
"..." Dr. Liang decided there was no point arguing with Luan Nian. He made his own decisions about his own life. She asked instead, "Are you going alone?"
Luan Nian glanced at Shang Zhitao, who looked a little uneasy. "No."
"With Flora?" Dr. Liang's instinct told her Luan Nian was traveling with a girl, and that girl was the same Flora who had taken care of him when he was sick before. Perhaps this Flora was also the "Shang Zhitao" that Luan Siyuan had mentioned in the family group chat, and, more coincidentally still, perhaps this Shang Zhitao was the same Shang Zhitao Dr. Liang had been chatting with on the matchmaking website. If a fourfold coincidence like that really existed, Dr. Liang would consider it a match made by heaven.
"...Your memory is really something."
She let out a soft laugh. "Hello, Flora." Good, two confirmed as one.
Shang Zhitao hadn't expected Dr. Liang to greet her directly. She immediately sat up straight, a little nervous. "Hello, Dr. Liang."
Dr. Liang burst out laughing. "So there really is someone. I thought Luan Nian was just talking nonsense again."
...Luan Nian and Shang Zhitao exchanged a glance. He raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips. "Why would I lie to you? I'm driving right now. I'll call you back tonight once we've stopped for the night."
"Don't. Why would you kids call me while you're out having fun? Don't call, just send a message to let me know you're safe." After saying that, Dr. Liang called out again. "Flora."
"Yes, Dr. Liang."
"Luan Nian has a bad temper and a strange personality. Thank you for putting up with him. But don't force yourself to endure anything. If he does something wrong, tell him so." Dr. Liang knew exactly what her own son was like. Given how long the girl had already been with him, there was no telling how much she'd had to put up with. She wanted to say more, that Shang Zhitao could fight with him, stand her ground against him, but shouldn't leave him easily. My son has never stayed with any woman this long. But Dr. Liang didn't say all that. She didn't want to seem too involved. This was their own business.
For some reason, hearing these few words from Dr. Liang, Shang Zhitao's eyes turned a little red, something in her chest ached, as if she had suddenly been understood. Why was Luan Nian's mother so gentle? And why did such a gentle mother have a son as hard as Luan Nian?
Shang Zhitao made a small, muffled sound of acknowledgment.
"My temper is perfectly fine, and my personality isn't strange at all. Goodbye." Luan Nian hung up, staring at the traffic ahead, lips pressed together, saying nothing.
After a long while, Shang Zhitao finally spoke. "This is the first time we've given up our own social circles and our own space to travel together. I'm really happy you suggested it. I hope this trip goes well, really well. And if things go badly, please don't leave me behind alone in Tibet."
Luan Nian laughed. "Since when do you talk like that? Did you take a public speaking class?"
"..."
Mood killer.
On her end, Dr. Liang hung up and said to Father Luan, "Our son really seems to be in love, and he really seems to like this girl."
"He likes her just because they're traveling together? Didn't he spend ten years hanging around with Zang Yao?" Father Luan thought Dr. Liang was being oversensitive.
Dr. Liang glared at him. "This is why you businesspeople only know how to make money. First, our son stood up Song Qiuhan and the others to travel with this girl. Second, the two of them are going alone together. Did he ever go out alone with Zang Yao? Third, he actually admitted the girl is his girlfriend. Has he ever said that before?"
Father Luan clicked his tongue. "I know what I know. And I already know you've started planning for a granddaughter in your head."
"Why a granddaughter?"
"Don't you and your son both prefer girls?" Father Luan said with a cold laugh, and walked off. Dr. Liang sat there thinking it over for a long while. She stood by her own judgment, since Luan Nian had never approved of any relationship quite like this before.
Luan Nian approved of Shang Zhitao.
The two of them had always been independent, traveling alone during holidays, spending very little time in each other's company. It was rare for them to travel together at all. This trip broke the pattern they were used to.
It was a challenge for Luan Nian too. But when he'd invited her, he'd meant it sincerely. While waiting for her outside the complex to bring him steamed buns, he had already canceled his trip to the Netherlands, the plane tickets, the hotel, paying a fair amount in cancellation fees. When he called Song Qiuhan and the others, they'd asked him, "Why?"
"Because I want to travel alone with a woman." Chen Kuannian and Tan Mian laughed at him, but Song Qiuhan said nothing. A few seconds later, Song Qiuhan finally spoke. "You never told us you had a woman."
"It's a long story. I'll tell you next time we meet."
"Looking forward to it. Have a good trip. We'll send you videos from the Netherlands," Song Qiuhan said.
Song Qiuhan understood Luan Nian's decision. He wished he could do the same, take the woman he loved traveling. But he probably wouldn't take her to Tibet; he'd take her to Hulunbuir. He might never get that chance in this lifetime.
Luan Nian had always been like this, decisive once he made up his mind. He'd invited Shang Zhitao fully prepared to be turned down, but he hadn't left himself any way out. What would he do if she refused? He'd simply take Luke and go by himself.
But Shang Zhitao hadn't refused him. When he saw her get into the car and fasten her seatbelt, he suddenly felt that everything he'd once said with such certainty about independent space and independent personhood had been too narrow an understanding. What she meant by independent space and independent personhood should have meant giving each other room after they'd truly built intimacy, not refusing to let the other person into your life from the very start.
It had taken them far too long, too many wrong turns, to understand this. It was Luan Nian who had led them in the wrong direction from the very beginning.
He thought there was still time to correct course now.
The two of them bought supplies in Shijiazhuang. That night, once they'd washed up and lay down in bed, they finally began planning the trip in earnest.
Shang Zhitao rested her head on Luan Nian's arm, watching him mark locations on his phone. They debated for a long while over whether to go through Qinghai or through Sichuan, finally deciding on a route through Taiyuan, Ningxia, and Qinghai. Calculating six hundred kilometers a day, and three hundred fifty kilometers a day for the final stretch, it would take six days to reach Lhasa.
Along the way lay the Yellow River, Qinghai Lake, the Tuotuo River, Namtso, endless scenery along National Highway 109. Only the road would be hard going.
"Afraid it'll be tough?" Luan Nian asked her.
"Not afraid." I've already been through something tougher than this, falling in love with you, Shang Zhitao thought to herself.
"But I can take a turn driving too. I know how to drive." She sat up and patted her chest. "You've ridden with me driving before, back in the northwest. I drive well. On the easy stretches, we can switch off."
Luan Nian pulled her back down. "Fine, I get it. Lie down and say it, no need to get so worked up."
Shang Zhitao laughed again.
"So we'll still plan on six days to reach Tibet." Luan Nian recalculated. If Shang Zhitao took over driving tomorrow, they could see more scenery. "Once we're in the Tibetan region, we can slow down."
"Sounds good." Shang Zhitao proposed, "Should we figure out what to eat each day?"
"Sure. What do you want to eat?"
Shang Zhitao pointed at the cities on the map. "Local specialties. Beef and mutton, yak meat, that kind of thing."
"And?"
"And I want to take photos! Wearing Tibetan clothes! Taking pictures!" She sat up again, pressing her palms together. "Pictures like that. And I want to take some with you too."
"Not happening." Luan Nian pulled her back down again. He hated taking tourist photos while traveling; it felt strange to him. The scenery was already in his heart, and if he wanted to see it again, he'd go back. What was the point of tourist photos?
"Oh." Shang Zhitao made a small sound, sneaking a glance at him, privately calculating the odds of talking him into it once they reached Lhasa.
"Don't even think about it. Not a chance."
"Then I'll just take pictures with Luke. I think Luke and I would make a dream team."
"Suit yourself." Luan Nian remained unmoved.
"Hmph!" Shang Zhitao huffed and turned away. Luan Nian turned off the light and pulled her close from behind. "Have a good trip, Shang Zhitao."
Something in her softened. She turned back toward him, reaching out in the dark to touch his face, her fingertips finding his brow and tracing gently along it. She spoke to him, her voice soft and gentle, almost a whisper. "Luan Nian."
"Mm?"
"I'm really happy you asked me to come with you. This whole day has felt like a dream. So as this day ends, I want to wish us, the two of us, no, and Luke too, the three of us, a good trip."
A little further and her lips would reach his. Shang Zhitao parted her lips slightly and caught his mouth with hers, a light touch at first, and then, a moment later, both their breaths grew heavier, soft sounds breaking the darkness.
Luan Nian pulled back. "We forgot to buy condoms."
Shang Zhitao pressed a small, round, thin object into his hand. "It was the first thing on my shopping list."
Luan Nian nearly laughed himself to death over her, then bit fiercely at her long neck. He pulled her on top of him in one motion and pressed up against her; she couldn't stay steady, but he held her firmly in place. In the dark, his voice came out a little rough. "Don't you like being on top?"
So it seemed sometimes heat was contagious.
Shang Zhitao took off her clothes, her skin rising in gooseflesh, and a soft, honeyed sound drifted through the dark to Luan Nian's ears. He closed his eyes, and after a long while, said just one word.
"Nice."
Mm.