Luаn Niаn fеlt hе nо longer undеrstооd wоmеn very well—реrhaps it wаs becаusе hе hаd intеrаcted with tоo few of them in recеnt уeаrs. When Shаng Zhi Тао madе thаt саll, shе soundеd so sincerе, but nоw he wоndered if that sinсerity hаd been аn illusiоn.
Fuсk.
Shаng Zhi Тао was reаllу infuriating, sо muсh sо that hе cоuldn’t slеep.
Тhе neхt day at wоrk, his exprеssiоn wаs still grim. When hе ran into Shang Zhi Тао in the еlеvаtоr lоbbу, she grееted him аs usual, but Luаn Nian prеtendеd nоt tо heаr. Тhеу entered thе elevator togеther without spеaking. Shang Zhi Тaо wаsn’t resisting аnything, but a hidden thorn was buried in her heart, occasionally itching and aching, and she chose to ignore it.
Luan Nian was wearing a light men’s cologne, and Shang Zhi Tao guessed he was meeting a client today. He adhered strictly to etiquette and hated appearing improper in front of others. As they stepped out of the elevator, the cleaning lady had just mopped the floor at the entrance. Shang Zhi Tao slipped, her body tilting backward, but Luan Nian’s palm pressed against her back, steadying her. “Trying to throw yourself into my arms?”
“The floor is slippery.”
“Why didn’t I slip, then?”
“...”
Shang Zhi Tao was left speechless by his retort, swallowing her frustration in silence. On the surface, there was no conflict between them, but inwardly, they both felt like fighting cocks, neither willing to back down, convinced that a showdown was inevitable sooner or later.
When Shang Zhi Tao reached her workstation, she saw that Lumi had arrived unusually early and was leaning back in her chair, asleep, looking utterly exhausted. Shang Zhi Tao sat down quietly, turned on her computer, and began working. It wasn’t until other colleagues started arriving that Lumi finally opened her eyes.
Shang Zhi Tao asked her, “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t even ask. Last night, my dad was taken away by an ambulance.”
“What happened?”
“A stroke.” Lumi said it calmly, but her annoyance was evident. “I need to take some time off.”
“Is your dad okay?”
“He’s stable now. I just don’t know if that bastard Will will approve my leave.” Lumi frowned, clearly in a bad mood. Will was the new head of the marketing department, with the Chinese name Tu Ming. He was a marketing expert hired at a high price by Luan Nian—young, accomplished, and from a wealthy family. But he and Lumi didn’t get along. He disapproved of Lumi’s casual attitude and had criticized her several times in meetings.
“Why wouldn’t he approve it?”
“Yesterday, he just said I always clock in and out right on time and don’t take my work seriously.” Lumi stood up. “I’ll go talk to him now.”
Shang Zhi Tao watched as Lumi walked into the office next to Luan Nian’s.
Lumi didn’t like Tu Ming. She thought he was overly fussy. She was content to coast along without slacking off on her work—what business was it of his? Who the hell cares what time I leave? And then there was Tu Ming himself, sitting there like a middle-aged man, dull and stodgy. In Lumi’s mind, a man in his thirties should be like Luan Nian—with a certain wildness. Tu Ming had none of that; he just seemed like a scheming little man.
“Will, I’d like to take a few days of annual leave,” Lumi said, standing in front of his desk. Her tall, slender figure contrasted amusingly with Tu Ming’s stodgy demeanor.
“May I ask the reason? After all, you still have a few stops left on this year’s tour that you need to oversee.”
“My dad is in the hospital.”
“Oh. Then go ahead and take the leave. Just hand over your work. I hope your father recovers soon.”
“Thanks.”
Lumi thought to herself that at least he had some decency, then turned and left his office. After packing her things and preparing to leave, Shang Zhi Tao walked her downstairs and asked, “Which hospital is your dad in?”"I'm not telling you." Lumi glanced at her with her backpack on. "No need to visit my dad. He prefers bird-watching to seeing people."
"Are you okay, Lumi?"
"I'm fine."
"What about Zhang Qing?"
"We broke up this morning."
"Why?"
"I went home from the hospital early this morning to change clothes and saw that idiot kissing a girl near my place! They'd just come out of a nightclub, drunk as hell. Fuck him, I beat Zhang Qing up."
Shang Zhi Tao hadn't expected Lumi to encounter something like this. Now she finally understood why Lumi had looked so exhausted earlier, as if her soul had left her body.
"Should I go beat Zhang Qing up too?" Shang Zhi Tao said seriously.
Lumi burst out laughing. "Get lost! You? Go crush an ant downstairs and show me!"
Seeing Lumi laugh, Shang Zhi Tao felt a little relieved. "Is your mom okay?"
"My mom's staying at the hospital. I'm going to relieve her and find a caregiver."
"Okay. Which hospital is your dad at?"
"Jishuitan."
"Alright."
After seeing Lumi off, Shang Zhi Tao felt a bit heavy-hearted. Lumi must be suffering terribly. Men really are bastards—cheating is as common as eating. Shang Zhi Tao also learned from Lumi and cursed in her heart.
She was preparing documents for a workshop with a top client—problem identification, strategy analysis—various materials filled the screen.
Grace walked over and asked, "Are you running into any difficulties?"
Shang Zhi Tao nodded. "A few issues." She opened her notes. "First, this client's overall strategy this year focuses on young users and market penetration into lower-tier cities. But in our online and offline advertising proposals, there's no coverage for third-tier and below cities. That makes penetration impossible. Second, during execution, the client's offline-to-online ad spending ratio is 7:3, which doesn't align with the strategy we proposed at the beginning of the year. Third, the client now wants full-platform data, but we haven't recovered the TV ad data yet. So..."
Grace listened carefully and gave Shang Zhi Tao a thumbs-up after she finished. "Flora, impressive! The three issues you identified are exactly the client's three core problems and the primary ones we need to solve in this workshop."
"Really? Are there any other issues?" Shang Zhi Tao asked.
"No." Grace smiled. "Solving these three would already be quite an achievement. The core of the first issue is that the client refuses to allocate budgets for third-tier and below cities, believing those demographics lack purchasing power. This is actually related to the product itself and its price point. I think the client hasn't grasped this logic. The second issue is that the client's mindset hasn't shifted—they don't see the business opportunities online advertising brings, so we need to present case studies from competitors. As for the third issue..." Grace thought for a moment and lowered her voice. "Let Luke handle it. He's familiar with the TV station side, and his word carries more weight than ours."
"Okay." Shang Zhi Tao nodded. "Then I'll draft the proposal first and send it to you for review, Grace."
"Good, I'll help you refine it, and then you can go over it with Luke. Don't let him find any issues."Shang Zhitao nodded and continued to work diligently on her proposal. By noon, she headed straight to Jishuitan Hospital. She found a shop near the hospital to buy flowers and fruit, then called Lumi: "I'm at the hospital. Which ward and bed is your dad in?"
"Why go through all this trouble? Aren't you tired?" Lumi scolded her before hanging up and coming out to meet her. She saw Shang Zhitao standing at the entrance of the inpatient building, sweating profusely from the heat.
Lumi, usually thick-skinned, felt a touch of emotion: "It's so hot, and you still went through all this trouble!"
"I wanted to see him anyway." Shang Zhitao followed her upstairs. Lumi's father was in a double room, but the other bed was empty. Shang Zhitao placed the flowers on the windowsill and the fruit by the bedside. Then, she took out some money she had prepared in advance from her wallet and handed it to Lumi: "I know you don't need the money, but it's a custom where I'm from. Your dad is sick, and this is my way of showing I care. Please don't refuse."
Lumi glanced at the money—it was quite a thick stack. Shang Zhitao was being incredibly generous. She wasn't usually extravagant, but offering two thousand yuan now showed how much she valued Lumi.
Lumi didn't stand on ceremony and accepted the money. Shang Zhitao asked her, "Have you eaten yet?"
"Not yet."
"Then let me treat you to a meal, okay? I haven't eaten lunch either, and I'm a bit hungry."
"Let's go. Though I don't have much appetite."
Shang Zhitao and Lumi took the elevator down. As the doors opened and closed, Lumi suddenly burst into tears: "What the hell is all this?"
Shang Zhitao quickly patted her shoulder. In a hospital, it wasn't uncommon to see people breaking down. Others just glanced over briefly, not finding it strange. Shang Zhitao pulled Lumi's head onto her shoulder, shielding her from view. Lumi had already been incredibly strong—her father falling ill and her boyfriend cheating on her, both on the same day. The inner turmoil she was going through was something no one else could truly understand.
The two walked out of the hospital, Lumi's tears still not fully dried. Shang Zhitao knew she was hurting and stood there with her, unsure of what to say. In her mind, Lumi had always been an indomitable warrior, fighting against everything. Today, however, she was as fragile as a child, her breakdown coming without warning.
After crying her fill, Lumi wiped her tears and asked Shang Zhitao, "Do I look ugly after crying?"
"Like pear blossoms bathed in rain—still beautiful."
Lumi chuckled: "Since when did you become so smooth-talking?"
"I learned it from you."
After seeing Lumi, Shang Zhitao felt a little more at ease. She hurriedly ate a bowl of noodles with her before rushing back to the office. Once there, she buried herself in her desk, managing to send the proposal to Grace before six. Grace reviewed it quickly, pointed out a few areas for revision, and asked Shang Zhitao to make the changes and send it directly to Luan Nian.
By the time Shang Zhitao finished revising the proposal, it was already past eight in the evening, and Luan Nian was still in the office. She sent him the proposal and said, "Luke, this is the proposal for the Qingcheng Workshop we're going to present. Please take a look."
Luan Nian opened it. Shang Zhitao's PowerPoint was well-designed, meeting a high standard. After reviewing it, he said to her, "Come here for a moment."
"Okay."
Shang Zhitao entered his office. Luan Nian pointed to the chair opposite his desk: "Sit."Shang Zhitao sat upright, slightly bowing her head as she waited for Luan Nian to look up from his computer. It had been a while since they had been alone together, and Shang Zhitao still felt uneasy. After carefully annotating her proposal, Luan Nian took the laptop, stood up, and moved to sit on the sofa. "Come over here."
Shang Zhitao walked over and sat beside him. The leather sofa made a soft, sticky sound as she settled in, sending a shiver down her spine.
Out of the corner of his eye, Luan Nian noticed the goosebumps on her pale legs. He stood up, fetched his sleeping blanket, and tossed it to her. Shang Zhitao caught it and draped it over her lap.
"The workshop process usually starts with the client's presentation—their ideas and requirements. Then we present our solutions. Finally, there’s an open discussion. I’ve arranged for the marketing department to host a dinner in Shenzhen." Luan Nian kept his eyes on the laptop, but the scent of gardenia from Shang Zhitao’s skin disrupted his thoughts, causing his brow to furrow slightly.
"Start from the first page and explain it to me."
"Me?"
"Should I do it instead?"
"..."
Shang Zhitao had just finished the PowerPoint and remembered the general content of each slide, but she couldn’t make out the detailed numbers clearly. She leaned forward slightly, closing the distance between them a little. The tips of her hair brushed against Luan Nian’s shoulder, stirring a faint, cool breeze. He shifted to the left, creating a gap between them.
Sensing his distance, Shang Zhitao paused for a moment before speaking. "On the first page, I created a summary slide covering strategy, workflow, materials, and data overview. I highlighted the key points and identified three core issues with the client’s approach."
Midway through her explanation, Shang Zhitao heard Luan Nian drinking water. The image of his Adam’s apple moving suddenly flashed in her mind, causing her to forget what she was about to say next.
She stared at the PowerPoint, struggling to recall her words.
Luan Nian reached out and closed the laptop. Shang Zhitao looked at him in surprise.
"Is this how you plan to pause during the workshop?" Luan Nian asked.
Shang Zhitao remained silent. She didn’t offer an explanation—there was nothing to explain. Her mind had wandered.
"Re-prepare the presentation part. Come back in when you’re ready."
"Okay."
Shang Zhitao let out a long sigh of relief. The strange thoughts that had filled her mind moments ago made it difficult for her to face herself. She removed the sleeping blanket, folded it neatly, and placed it aside. It still carried her warmth. Picking up her laptop, she walked out.
She sat outside for a while. All her colleagues had already left, and she didn’t want to go back into Luan Nian’s office. Instead, she said to him, "Luke, I still have some things to take care of. Can I practice with you tomorrow?"
"Sure."
Luan Nian replied with a single word, then stood up to pack his things. A violent urge to tear Shang Zhitao apart and devour her surged within him, and he feared he might lose control.
Luan Nian knew his own ridiculous pride and was well aware that he had never been a good person. He lacked empathy, despised complications, and was, through and through, an utterly selfish and refined egoist.
That was why he had to cut things off cleanly.
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