The Early Spring

Shаng Zhi Таo walkеd tо thе соmpany еntrаnce аnd saw Luan Niаn соming оut оf thе coffеe shop, so she immediаtеly tоok оff running.

I аbsоlutеly саnnоt givе mу boss thе chancе tо seхually harаss me. Mе having thoughts аbоut him is just thаt—thоughts. Вut if hе wаnts to sleер with me, thаt’s tаking things tо a whоle nеw lеvel.

Evеn thоugh I might get рromoted bеcause оf it, I’d lоsе my dignitу. But getting prоmоtеd doеs sоund рrеttу gоod, dоеsn’t it?

Shang Zhi Тaо’s not-so-shаrp mind wаs fillеd with аll sorts оf mеssу thоughts. As she ran, shе couldn’t help but laugh аt herself.

She rаn fast, swipеd her саrd, rushed intо the elevator, and quickly pressed the close button. Once she reached her desk, she tossed her backpack aside and immediately hunkered down to work.

As a small fry, Luan Nian didn’t often assign tasks to her. The new head of the planning department was about to arrive, and once the new boss was in place, Lumi and Shang Zhi Tao would no longer have to deal with Luan Nian at all. Shang Zhi Tao was eagerly looking forward to that day.

It was as if Luan Nian were some kind of monster.

Luan Nian came out of the coffee shop and saw Shang Zhi Tao sprinting away, wondering what foolishness she was up to this time. When he arrived at the company and saw no one around, he went into his office while Shang Zhi Tao stayed outside. Shang Zhi Tao was always the first to arrive every day, and Luan Nian was starting to appreciate her diligence.

Some people are diligent only for a short while—once they feel secure in their position, they slack off. Others are diligent for life, always seeing things through to the end no matter what. Shang Zhi Tao seemed to belong to the second category.

During yesterday’s work report, Alex introduced the marketing department’s work and, when discussing personnel, specifically mentioned Shang Zhi Tao. He said they were preparing to talk to her about ending her probationary rotation. In other words, Shang Zhi Tao had successfully passed her probation.

While Alex was speaking, Tracy kept watching Luan Nian. She expected him to object as he had before, but he didn’t even lift his head, as if Alex’s report had nothing to do with her.

Tracy was a bit puzzled. She asked Luan Nian, “Luke, aren’t you going to share your thoughts?”

“You’re the one calling all the shots here. I wouldn’t dare,” Luan Nian replied sarcastically. Tracy was the human resources director directly appointed by headquarters, and no matter who was in charge of Lumei China, they had to be wary of her. Luan Nian wasn’t afraid of her, but he never missed a chance to mock her.

“I thought you weren’t saying anything because you recognized Shang Zhi Tao’s abilities and my judgment.”

“I’m not saying anything simply because Shang Zhi Tao is your person.”

“Shang Zhi Tao is not my person,” Tracy replied.

But Luan Nian just shrugged, indicating that the conversation was pointless. He wasn’t interested in who passed their probation. His urgent task now was dealing with the new performance model for the sales team. Lumei’s sales team consisted of industry heavyweights, and from top to bottom, they were full of arrogance and difficult to manage. They could meet their targets, but they also kept clients under their control, preventing any major breakthroughs in business. Luan Nian had discussed reforms with Tracy, but Tracy simply said, “Keep the team turnover rate under 30%. Otherwise, I’ll definitely give you a poor rating on your 360-degree evaluation.”

Luan Nian knew Tracy was serious. She needed team stability, and if there were large-scale personnel changes, she would be held responsible.

“Then I’ll proceed with Shang Zhi Tao’s probation process as usual,” Tracy added.

“Why don’t you ask me about other people’s probation?”..."It's impossible to discuss. Can we have one rational conversation about Shang Zhi Tao's situation? You always have such a stern face—during employee feedback sessions, everyone says they're afraid of you."

Luan Nian didn't care about these formalities. Whether Shang Zhi Tao passed her probation or not had no impact on him, and whether others feared him didn't affect his mood, so he stopped discussing it with Tracy.

Shang Zhi Tao was unaware of all this. She was about to be sent on an assignment—to a mountainous region to assist with the filming of an advertisement, essentially doing odd jobs. The marketing department always had to send someone at times like this. Everyone took one look at the location and clicked their tongues, refusing to go. That place was already starting to snow, the mountains cold and gloomy, with rats as long as thirty centimeters. Forget the women, even the men didn't dare go. Some people glanced furtively at Shang Zhi Tao, thinking that since she hadn't passed her probation yet, she should accept this test, and secretly hoping she would step up. Shang Zhi Tao caught those glances and actually did step forward: "Maybe... I could go? It's just that I've never done this before, so I'm not sure what to do."

"You go? What do you know? I think a male colleague would be most suitable for this job." Lumi, trimming her nails under the table, kicked Shang Zhi Tao. Was this girl crazy? Couldn't she see others were taking advantage of her?

"You don't understand anything. This is our biggest client's project—what if you mess it up?" Lumi added, "If it goes wrong, we'll all be in deep trouble."

But Alex didn't see it that way. Shang Zhi Tao was a newcomer; she had to be involved in every project, that was certain. So he asked her, "Are you sure you're willing to go?"

"If she goes, then make it a double travel budget." Lumi sighed. "I'll go too." Lumi always felt she was Shang Zhi Tao's mentor, and she had a bit of that chivalrous spirit toward her. The so-called chivalrous spirit meant she had to look out for her own people.

Shang Zhi Tao gave Lumi a grateful look. "Thank you, Lumi."

"Don't mention it."

Shang Zhi Tao had no idea how perilous this trip would be. She simply thought of it as work—she needed to try everything to understand the essence of the job. She respected her work in this way, and the work, in turn, did not let her down.

After the weekly meeting ended, Alex kept her behind alone.

"Flora, guess what I'm about to tell you next?" Alex was never serious; he even winked at Shang Zhi Tao, a bit childishly urging her to guess.

"Um..." Shang Zhi Tao really thought it over carefully. She hadn't made any mistakes in her work recently, so she shook her head. "Alex, I don't know."

"Then take a look at this." Alex pulled a few sheets of paper from his drawer and placed them in front of her.

Shang Zhi Tao picked them up and saw the large words "Labor Contract"—a bilingual Chinese-English labor contract. Her eyes widened as she looked at Alex in disbelief. "I..."

"Your first rotation is in the marketing department. I've discussed it with Lumi, and we both want you to stay in marketing. Are you willing?"

"I am." Shang Zhi Tao nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. She still didn't know how to hide her feelings; she just felt happy. So happy that her eyes grew warm."Then go back and sign this formal contract, then submit it to Human Resources." Alex gave Shang Zhi Tao a thumbs up: "Keep it up, Flora. You know, Beijing is a cruel yet fair city. As long as you work hard, you'll see results. Your diligence and sense of responsibility over the past two months have been noticed by everyone—you earned this contract yourself."

Shang Zhi Tao felt as if she were dreaming.

She remembered how on her first day, Luan Nian had advised her to change jobs, and how terrified and anxious she had been back then. But today, she was officially staying here, and Alex said she had secured her place through her own efforts.

It was so moving. She even felt a little like crying.

Even after work, Shang Zhi Tao still felt it wasn't quite real. Overwhelmed with emotions, she felt the urge to talk to someone.

She asked Yao Bei, "Senior, are you in Beijing?"

"I'm at the aerospace base. What's up, Tao Tao?"

"I got hired."

"Really!!!" Yao Bei typed three exclamation marks in a row, then called her immediately: "My junior is just that impressive, right? I'm telling you, think about what you want to eat! When I get back, we absolutely must celebrate properly!"

Shang Zhi Tao covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud: "I want Japanese food. There's a place near our company I've been wanting to try."

"Then wait for me to come back!"

Shang Zhi Tao, the ordinary person, experienced a different kind of happiness.

Shang Zhi Tao had shared her joy with others, but her own happiness hadn't faded yet. She wanted to reward herself—she felt today's version of herself truly deserved it. How about going for Japanese food? Inviting Sun Yu and the others? But it was too late now; by the time they arrived, the Japanese restaurant would be closing. Go by herself! Yes! Treat her good roommates to a meal over the weekend!

Feeling a bit giddy, Shang Zhi Tao stood up at her workstation, a smile still on her face, stretched, and sat back down. Then she immediately started packing up, unable to wait another minute. As she walked out with her bag, she ran into Luan Nian, who was also getting off work. Shang Zhi Tao had no time to avoid him and could only smile at Luan Nian: "Luke, heading off work?"

"Mhm." No further words.

Shang Zhi Tao didn't speak either. She entered the elevator and stood in the corner, but then she heard Luan Nian ask her: "Not treating yourself to something good today?"

"Huh?"

"Didn't you get officially hired?"

"Oh... yes." Shang Zhi Tao couldn't lie; her expression clearly said: I'm going to eat something delicious right now. Seeing Luan Nian watching her in the elevator mirror, she reluctantly added, "Would you like to join?..."

"Sure." ?

"You don't have to force yourself if you have plans tonight." Shang Zhi Tao added, hoping there was still room to back out.

"Not forcing myself, no plans."

...

"Oh."

You're so stingy. Luan Nian laughed at her in his mind. He was just like that—originally teasing her casually, but the more reluctant she was, the more he wanted to go. If she was unhappy, he felt satisfied. To put it simply, Luan Nian was the kind of person who benefited at others' expense. As Tan Mian put it: deep down, he wasn't a good person at all.

"What are we eating?" Luan Nian asked her.

Shang Zhi Tao racked her brains, trying to think of something he wouldn't want to eat. Spicy hot pot? Cross-bridge rice noodles? Cold skin noodles?

"There's a Japanese restaurant near the company that's pretty good. It'll be on you." Luan Nian said half-heartedly: "The 398-yuan tier, otherwise there's no foie gras."

"Oh. But since it's near the company, what if colleagues see us? Wouldn't that be hard to explain? It might damage your reputation.""You're overthinking it." Luan Nian smiled at her. "After you."

The second meal Shang Zhi Tao shared with Luan Nian was at that Japanese restaurant.

By the time they arrived, it was already past nine. The restaurant was quiet, with few customers. They found a private room with a view of the courtyard, which was lit up for the night. A small bridge spanned a gentle stream, creating an exceptionally serene atmosphere. True to his word, Luan Nian ordered the 398-yuan set without hesitation, and Shang Zhi Tao did the same. Since she was celebrating, she decided to go all out—even if this meal would cost her a tenth of her salary, she felt it was worth it.

Luan Nian ordered sake, poured himself a small cup, and asked Shang Zhi Tao, "Have you gotten your driver's license yet?"

"I'm taking the second test next weekend, but I might have to postpone it because I was assigned to follow the Zhi Sheng shoot today."

"Into the mountains?"

"Yeah... They said it'll take about two weeks."

Shang Zhi Tao also poured herself a small cup of sake, took a sip, and found it tolerable—not too strong. She grinned, unable to hide the joy bubbling inside her.