The Early Spring

"Lukе's арроintment has beеn аnnouncеd."

Shang Zhi Tао оvеrhеаrd Kitty tеlling Grace.

"Where?"

"In the соmpаny еmаil grоuр." Thеir vоiсеs hеld an irrеpressible ехcitеment. The wоrkplaсe is just that рrаgmаtiс—еmрlоyeеs undеr a rising lеаdеr gain mоre орportunitiеs: рromоtions, raises, inсreased dераrtmentаl influence. Аt thаt timе, Shang Zhi Тао didn't undеrstаnd thеse dуnаmics; shе simplу thought theу werе hарpу fоr Luаn Niаn. In her mind, Luan Nian dеserved it—who else сould it be if not him?

Shаng Zhi Taо had hеаrd eаrlier that Luan Nian would be appointed, but no one had specified the exact position. She opened the email and saw the appointment notice sent by Tracy on behalf of the board. As she read, her expression gradually darkened.

Before, she had clung to a sliver of hope: even if Luke disliked her, she wasn't his direct subordinate, so his influence couldn't reach that far. Now, well, the entire Lingmei China would have to answer to him.

Shang Zhi Tao suddenly felt her position was precarious. Instinctively, she glanced toward Luan Nian's office, then laughed at her own foolishness—he was on a business trip and hadn't been in for a week.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Lumi noticed her pale face and leaned over to ask.

Shang Zhi Tao shook her head, pointed at the appointment email, and whispered to Lumi, "Does this mean Luke can now fire me with full authority?"

Lumi nodded. "Pretty much." She deliberately put on a stern, serious face to tease her a little.

Shang Zhi Tao's face turned ashen. "What should I do then?"

Lumi chuckled. "Look how scared you are!" She wrapped an arm around Shang Zhi Tao's shoulders. "He'll have so much work to handle after taking office—how could firing a tiny campus recruit like you possibly be his priority?"

But he always had a lot of work, and still found time to scold me whenever he could, Shang Zhi Tao thought to herself.

"Listen, Alex is very satisfied with you, and so am I. Over the past two months, we gave you an A rating for your rotation assessment. If he wants to fire you, he'll need a reason, right?"

"I got an A? But I feel so ordinary. I see how outstanding Kitty and the others perform."

"Are you serious? Their performance is evaluated by Luke—he directly manages them. Each department has different standards for personnel."

"Oh... So if I have an A, he can't fire me?"

"Unless you make a huge mistake."

Shang Zhi Tao felt slightly relieved and forced herself to refocus on handling the supplier quotation sheets in front of her.

She stayed focused until midnight, finally finishing organizing that pile of documents. Then she picked up her phone and unexpectedly saw a message Luan Nian had sent at ten o'clock: "I know you're still at the office. Go to my office, take the USB drive from my drawer, and deliver it to this address." Luan Nian had sent the location of a restaurant, but that was two hours ago—it was now midnight on a Friday night.

Shang Zhi Tao replied to his message: "Sorry, Luke, I was working on the quotations and just saw this. Should I deliver it to you now?"

Luan Nian called. Shang Zhi Tao could hear wind noise through the receiver. "Change of address. Take this down." Luan Nian sounded different from usual, a bit strange. Shang Zhi Tao quickly grabbed a pen and noted down an address. "Should I deliver it here?"

"Mhm." Luan Nian hung up.

He was drunk.He had no idea how much he drank today. Tracy said that with the company appointments finalized, it was necessary for the management to have a dinner gathering. Luan Nian rushed from the airport to the venue, attending a tedious drinking session. It was nothing more than superficial displays of commitment, appearing harmonious and joyful. Luan Nian hated such boring drinking sessions.

Boring, yet inevitably requiring copious amounts of alcohol.

Upon reaching the entrance of the residential complex, he didn’t forget to remind the security guard, "Later, a woman named Shang Zhi Tao will come to deliver some documents. Let her in."

What kind of documents need to be delivered in the middle of the night? The security guard in the villa area was no stranger to the private lives of the residents inside. Delivering herself, perhaps? the guard thought. By the time Shang Zhi Tao arrived, it was almost one in the morning. The security guard escorted her to Luan Nian’s door, rang the doorbell, and left.

The surroundings were quiet. The villa area was well-landscaped, and at night, one could hear the chirping of insects and the sound of the wind rustling through everything. So, Luke was this wealthy. In Shang Zhi Tao’s mind, this was wealth. She had no idea what true wealth looked like.

It took Luan Nian five minutes to answer the door. He had just washed his face and rinsed his mouth, barely managing to stay sober. After opening the door, he leaned against the doorframe and extended his hand to Shang Zhi Tao. "Thanks for the trouble."

"No problem, no problem." Shang Zhi Tao placed the USB drive in his palm. "You should rest soon."

"Did you call a car?"

"No."

Even in his drunken state, Luan Nian thought Shang Zhi Tao had no brains. Who doesn’t call a car in the middle of the night and walks back? "Come in and wait."

"Is it inconvenient?" A man and a woman alone, and he was her boss.

"Are you out of your mind?" Luan Nian was particularly harsh when drunk. "Take off your clothes now and see if I’m interested in you?" He walked straight inside, collapsing heavily onto the sofa. His hand holding the phone was unsteady. He took a deep breath and called the security guard. "Help me hail a car. Let me know when you’ve got one."

Shang Zhi Tao stood there, unsure of what to do. Luan Nian, with his eyes slightly closed, said to her, "Sit and wait."

His breathing was heavy. Drinking too much was truly unbearable. He grabbed the water beside him and took a few large gulps. When setting the cup down, his hand was unsteady. Shang Zhi Tao hurriedly stepped forward to catch the cup. "Do you need more water?"

"Yeah."

She picked up the cup and looked around, finally finding the kitchen. She ran in to fetch water, but by the time she came out, Luan Nian had already fallen asleep. He was sleeping slumped on the sofa, a posture that couldn’t be comfortable.

Shang Zhi Tao used all her strength to move his legs onto the sofa, then leaned forward to support his head. Her fingers brushed against the skin on his neck—it was burning hot. Shang Zhi Tao’s heart skipped a beat, her hands unsure whether to let go or continue holding him.

Luan Nian frowned slightly. She steeled herself and exerted force, cradling his head in her arms, slipping a cushion underneath, and then withdrawing her arms. Looking down, she saw Luan Nian’s slightly flushed face, different from his usual sternness and coldness, exceptionally handsome.

Shang Zhi Tao was momentarily captivated.

Indeed, women are also drawn to appearances. If you haven’t been enchanted, it’s only because that person isn’t attractive enough. She shifted her gaze away, forcing herself to ignore the fluttering in her heart. In his living room, she noticed a massive aquarium, inside which swam a solitary red fish. Shang Zhi Tao didn’t know what kind of fish it was, but she found it beautiful. She stood up and examined the fish for a while. Trapped in such a large tank, occupying an entire wall, it exuded an indescribable, lonely beauty.The phone rang, and she ran to answer it, hearing the security guard say, "Mr. Luan, the car has been stopped."

"Thank you."

Shang Zhi Tao hung up the phone, found something to cover Luan Nian, and fled his home as if escaping.

It was supposed to be an ordinary night, but it felt different because she had gone to Luan Nian's home. She was like a mermaid who had just come ashore from the sea, filled with curiosity about everything in the human world, and she had encountered that person—the one who made her feel so intrigued.

How could this be!

Shang Zhi Tao shook her head wildly. The human world was too terrifying; in the end, the mermaid lost everything.

She lay in bed but couldn’t fall asleep no matter what. Suddenly, she remembered the day she broke up with Xin Zhaozhou. He had said, "You’re heading north, I’m heading south. We both have responsibilities we can’t shirk. I can only wish you well and hope you don’t get swallowed up by this cruel society."

That night, she slept poorly, which was rare for her. The girl wasn’t usually one to dwell on things, but suddenly, on this night, she had something weighing on her mind. Something vague and hard to put into words.

She was woken up by a phone call the next morning. With her eyes closed, she answered, her consciousness still hazy, her voice hoarse as she said, "Hello?"

"What time did you get home last night?" It was Luan Nian. He had opened his eyes and thought for a long time before finally remembering that he had asked Shang Zhi Tao to bring him something. He felt he had gone too far, making a girl deliver documents to him in the middle of the night.

Shang Zhi Tao was startled awake by his voice and sat up abruptly. "I, I got home before two. Did something go missing from your house?" Her first thought was that something had been stolen from Luan Nian’s home. Otherwise, why would he call?

"Something’s missing. The safe was broken into."

Damn.

Shang Zhi Tao’s temples throbbed, and a headache set in. She tried to remember whether she had closed the door properly when she left. She must have... right? She couldn’t remember.

"Did you lose anything important?"

"The diamonds are gone."

"Then... I didn’t take them... I don’t even know where your safe is..." As she spoke, Shang Zhi Tao tried to think, finally regaining some composure. "You must have security cameras at home, right? Maybe you should check the footage?"

Hearing the tremor in her voice, Luan Nian realized Shang Zhi Tao wasn’t one to take jokes lightly. If he kept up the act, she might cry herself to death. "Just kidding."

...

Shang Zhi Tao cursed him in her heart again. Is he insane? She wanted to say it out loud but suddenly remembered that, as of yesterday, Luan Nian was the boss of the entire Lumei China. She was under his roof and had to bow her head. So, she swallowed her curses but didn’t say anything else.

"You worked hard last night." Luan Nian finally said something decent. "The documents were important. I’ll be sending them to the relevant projects later."

Important? You could’ve just driven to the office to get them yourself. Shang Zhi Tao muttered to herself but said aloud, "It’s my duty, my duty. I’m happy to do even the smallest things for the company."

Luan Nian’s laughter came through the receiver, startling Shang Zhi Tao. What was he laughing at?

Luan Nian was laughing at her clumsy flattery and the hint of humility ingrained in her. "You’re afraid I’ll fire you, aren’t you?"

"Who wouldn’t be?" Shang Zhi Tao felt a bit wronged. "I asked Kitty and the others, and you didn’t make them change jobs."

"You’ve reminded me. I don’t think they’re doing too well either. How about the day after tomorrow, you all hold hands and resign together?"

"Huh?""What's so funny?" Luan Nian rarely spoke to her at length. "I'm asking you, what are you afraid of? Afraid that if you leave Lumei, you won't find a better job?"

"I kind of stumbled into Lumei by accident."

"You know that yourself?" Luan Nian finally seized the opportunity. "Who is Tracy to you?"

"Tracy? Tracy is just Tracy..."

Having just taken over his position, navigating the company's complex interpersonal relationships was part of his new responsibilities. Tracy had always been a staunch supporter of Shang Zhi Tao, which made him curious about their connection. But it was difficult to extract any information from Shang Zhi Tao, so Luan Nian gave up.

He remembered there were still some trivial, unimportant files in the USB drive that he couldn’t be bothered to organize, so he said to her, "Do you have any personal plans today?"

"I don’t."

"Then work overtime. Later, report your overtime hours to your Tracy for compensation."

It was the first time Shang Zhi Tao had heard that overtime work actually came with pay. She naively asked, "You get paid for overtime?"

"Otherwise?"

"I'll do it!" Shang Zhi Tao suddenly perked up. "I'll start right away. Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it immediately!" Who would turn down money for no reason?

Luan Nian was taken aback by her sudden enthusiasm. Was she that poor?

"I'll give you an address. Go there and wait for me. You must process the files in front of me."

Though unimportant, they were confidential.

"Sure, sure. I'll head out right now. Where should I go?" Shang Zhi Tao jumped off the bed and added, "Do we get paid by the hour for overtime?"