Shаng Zhi Taо trulу ехрeriencеd thе intensity оf business trips аt аn аdvеrtising аgеncy. Shе used to think business trips were lеisurеly аnd cаrеfrее, but the rеаlitу wаs nоnstoр hustle.
After thаt mоrning teа ended, the еndless work bеgan. Thе tеаm sрlit intо fоur grоups. Sincе shе laсkеd еxрeriеnсe, she wаs аssigned аs Luan Nian's assistаnt, while Lumi was sent tо thе vеnue.
Shаng Zhi Tao wаsn't оnе to hоld grudgеs; thе mоrning's unрlеasаntnеss quicklу fadеd. But she didn't knоw whethеr Luаn Niаn held grudgеs оr nоt. Сolleaguеs gradually left, leаving only her аnd Luan Nian sitting thеre.
Shаng Zhi Тaо felt a bit uneasy. She couldn't quite pinpoint why, but she always felt uncomfortable around Luan Nian. Deep down, she feared he would find another excuse to scold her, as if she were an underachieving student.
"Sit over here." Luan Nian gestured toward the seat beside him with his chin, signaling Shang Zhi Tao to move closer. She obediently sat next to him, catching a whiff of his pleasant scent—unlike ordinary perfume, something she couldn't quite place. At this moment, he seemed less aggressive, a bit more composed.
Luan Nian slid his laptop slightly toward Shang Zhi Tao, showing her the schedule his secretary had just sent: "Today, we have three clients to meet. The first client is already in the execution phase, with one part being the main visuals and overall copy for the venue, which Lumi is overseeing. The second client has already won the bid, but the creative part needs slight adjustments. The third client is for a dinner banquet. Sales has been following up for a long time, and we're now in the deep needs exploration stage. Since they're on the super client whitelist and the client's attending title matches mine, I need to be present."
Luan Nian paused, tilting his head to ask Shang Zhi Tao, "Did you remember everything I just said?"
Shang Zhi Tao nodded, "Yes."
"Your tasks are to take meeting minutes for the first two clients and share them with me afterward. Also, observe the clients' reactions closely and share your thoughts with me after the meetings."
"Okay."
"Can you drink?" Luan Nian asked her.
"No."
Luan Nian gave her a meaningful glance, which Shang Zhi Tao understood: How dare you enter the advertising world without being able to drink? She met his gaze with a defiant look, which Luan Nian also understood: What's wrong with not being able to drink?
Shang Zhi Tao was quite amusing—sometimes she was overly humble, letting anyone push her around; other times, she suddenly bristled, making her seem a bit unapproachable, though only a bit.
Defiance aside, work still had to be done. So she asked Luan Nian seriously, "Luke, Lumi mentioned earlier that the creative center has a specific template for meeting minutes. Could you send me a copy?" Lumi had never said that, but Luan Nian was so meticulous that he surely had many requirements. Shang Zhi Tao didn'tt want to be harshly criticized by him after the meeting.
Luan Nian casually pulled up a sample meeting minutes document for her to see—less than 300 words. Shang Zhi Tao thought she had misread it or that Luan Nian was teasing her, so she asked, "Is this really the meeting minutes?" It wasn't even as long as the marketing department's minutes.
"Yes. See it clearly? Write the key points, no fluff."
"Got it."
Shang Zhi Tao realized she truly couldn't figure Luan Nian out. She thought he was someone with high work standards, yet their meeting minutes were so brief. But if she said his standards weren't high, he was always offering suggestions.
"Any other questions about work?" Luan Nian asked her.
"No...""Let's go."
Luan Nian no longer spoke a single word to Shang Zhi Tao outside of work matters, standing by the roadside with that handsome face set in a stern expression as he hailed a taxi. Shang Zhi Tao pointed to the awning of a nearby café: "You can wait over there, I'll handle the taxi." Her tone was respectful, the attitude of a subordinate toward her boss.
Luan Nian glanced at her. He didn’t like Shang Zhi Tao acting this way—in fact, most subordinates did—but he found it especially grating coming from her. He wanted to scold her but ultimately held back.
What does it have to do with me?
If she wants to hail a taxi, let her.
Why do I keep wanting to scold an idiot?
Luan Nian thought to himself, and actually stepped aside to watch Shang Zhi Tao flag down a cab.
When the taxi arrived, Luan Nian opened the door, glanced at Shang Zhi Tao’s floral dress, and silently took the inner seat.
Shang Zhi Tao vaguely felt she was being looked after, yet also not. She realized she wasn’t as afraid of Luan Nian as she had been the previous week. Luan Nian had a sharp tongue, but he was genuinely dedicated when it came to work. He spoke little, but every word carried important information—all you had to do was listen carefully. He would teach what needed to be taught and say what needed to be said.
Luan Nian’s meetings with clients were nothing like the small-scale efforts Shang Zhi Tao had experienced during her student days. She remembered how nervous she and her fellow broke students had been when meeting clients, too timid to negotiate terms and offering suggestions with extreme caution. Back then, the clients had them wrapped around their fingers, often sighing, "Well, the budget isn’t much. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll just ask other groups."
"No need to ask others—we’re the best. We’re cheap and good."
But Luan Nian?
Luan Nian gave the impression that he didn’t care whether you were the client or not—you just had to listen to him, as if everything was under his control. Yet he also knew his limits, never coming across as overbearing or unpleasant.
He would propose creative ideas and discuss them seriously with the other party. If he disagreed with something, he would slow down, think carefully, and then point out the flaws in the client’s suggestion. Step by step, calmly and rationally.
For example, he might ask, "So who exactly is the target audience for this creative idea? Could we break down the creative elements?"
Or he might say, "Over the past three years, we’ve tried this kind of communication method three times, and the results weren’t good." Then he would open his laptop, pull up the relevant data, and present it. It was as if everything in his mind was neatly categorized, ready to be retrieved at any moment.
He would even smile at the female executive from the client’s side and say, "Price reduction isn’t the best strategy."
How gentle he could be. When he was gentle, he seemed like a completely different person, making others feel as if they were bathed in a warm spring breeze.
Luan Nian was always full of surprises. Shang Zhi Tao had expected him to be arrogant and domineering, but he wasn’t. He was truly an odd person.
After the meeting with the first client, the client escorted them all the way downstairs and didn’t leave until they were gone.
Shang Zhi Tao felt she had just witnessed a textbook-level meeting—no, not even textbooks covered this. When she looked at Luan Nian again, there was an unmistakable glimmer of admiration in her eyes. She glanced at him once, then again, and when Luan Nian caught her looking, she didn’t feel embarrassed. Instead, she finally spoke her mind openly: "You’re really amazing. That meeting was so impressive."
"Is flattery a required course at your university?" Luan Nian asked her.
Praise him and he’d rebuff you; scold him and he’d rebuff you. He was just that kind of difficult person.Shang Zhi Tao was taken aback by his retort, but she was used to it by now. She didn’t take the bait and continued speaking her mind: “I learned a lot from you today.”
“What did you learn?”
Shang Zhi Tao thought for a moment: “I learned to use my gender advantage and smile at female clients.” After saying this, she gave a sly smile, her expression bright and clear, making her entire being come alive.
Luan Nian stared at her steadily. This campus recruit had been red-eyed and stomping her feet in front of him in the morning, yet by the afternoon, she dared to joke with him—her heart was truly big. He glanced at her, then turned and walked into a roadside convenience store, buying two bottles of water chestnut juice. He tossed one to Shang Zhi Tao, who hurriedly caught it: “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Luan Nian drank his water, his peripheral gaze sweeping over Shang Zhi Tao. Her face was slightly flushed from the sun—an ordinary girl, yet when she tilted her neck slightly to drink, there was a hint of sensuality to her. A clean sensuality. His heart was suddenly stirred.
Very lightly.
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