The Early Spring - Chapter 36

Chapter 36 - Surprisingly Good-Looking

Shang Zhitao stood by the door waiting for a moment. Luan Nian walked out with a bath towel tied around his waist, water droplets trickling down his hair—a 100% full score in sex appeal. Yet she had no time to admire it; she pointed a finger toward Luan Nian’s bedroom. "Luke... your bedroom also has a bathroom. You can shower in there." What was he doing, competing with her? She was going to be late for work. Shang Zhitao never arrived late, and she was genuinely worried about being tardy. She was still fretting over how she was going to make her escape later.

Ignoring her, Luan Nian walked into the walk-in closet to change his clothes. Creative professionals had extremely high standards for their attire. Luan Nian's clothes were impeccably tailored, minimalist, and high-end. Unlike other creative types who dressed flashily or uniquely, his garments appeared more subdued. Yet, once those subdued clothes were on him, they exuded an entirely different distinction.

After changing, he saw that Shang Zhitao had finished washing up and looked refreshed. She wore no makeup; today she hadn't even applied lotion because she hadn't brought any, and Luan Nian didn't keep women's skincare products at home, leaving her face completely bare and fresh. Fortunately, her skin was good—fair, tender, and naturally glowing—so she looked great even without anything on. The only thing troubling her was the hickey on her collarbone.

Shang Zhitao stared at it in the mirror, recalling how Luan Nian’s teeth had pressed against that spot while the tip of his tongue lightly swept across it. She used to think Luan Nian was an icy, rigid person who possessed no gentleness or patience during intimacy, even suspecting he might as well be a machine utterly devoid of technique. She had been dead wrong; his techniques, much like his creative work, were top-tier.

Looking somewhat distressed, Shang Zhitao pulled the drawstring on her sweater tight to conceal her neck, though it ended up looking rather bizarre.

"Do you have a band-aid at home?" She followed Luan Nian downstairs and asked along the way. If she could just slap a band-aid over the mark, that would be ideal.

"Trying to cover it up only makes it more obvious?"

"..."

"So terrified of letting others know you have a sex life?"

"No... it's just hard to explain if people ask," Shang Zhitao fumbled for an excuse.

Luan Nian paused and glanced back at her. "What's so hard to explain? Just tell them your fuckbuddy is me." It was impossible to tell if he was joking or serious.

Shang Zhitao was momentarily left speechless and simply shut her mouth. Upon reaching the ground floor, however, Luan Nian veered into the kitchen, pulled out two dining plates, and handed one to Shang Zhitao. "Eat before you leave."

Luan Nian actually knew how to make breakfast, too. Shang Zhitao felt a bit ashamed of herself. Ever since starting her career, she had always been flustered and rushed. Back when she used to run into Luan Nian at the company in the mornings, she had thought to herself: This big guy is so enviable; he's always so leisurely every day—someone must have taken care of everything for him, right?

Only today did she realize that no one else was taking care of anything. He woke up early to work out, showered, and prepared breakfast—did he not do every single thing himself? Was he refusing to even hire a housekeeper just to save money to buy bags for women?

She took a bite of her sandwich—delicious. It was just as good as her usual bread slices and milk. No, the milk was actually better than what she usually had; Luan Nian had sprinkled osmanthus flowers into his hot milk, and it tasted amazing.

"Luke makes really delicious breakfasts." Shang Zhitao gave him a thumbs-up. "This milk is too good. It would be even better if I could have another cup."

Luan Nian didn't respond to her flattery. He took her glass, poured her another serving of milk, and then topped it with dried osmanthus blossoms. Shang Zhitao finally understood why that girl on the phone had cried, threw a tantrum over refusing to break up, and caused such a scene at their company: with a boyfriend who was this good at taking care of people, so skilled in bed, and generous with buying designer bags, who could walk away cleanly and decisively? Doing so would probably cost you half your life.

Fortunately, they were merely bed partners; she didn't harbor that many expectations and wouldn't have to lose half her life over it.

Riding in Luan Nian's car to the office, Shang Zhitao wondered where Luan Nian would drop her off. Yet Luan Nian drove all the way into the underground parking garage without stopping. Since it was the time he usually arrived for work, the garage was still mostly deserted. While Luan Nian was reversing into his parking space, Shang Zhitao scanned the surroundings meticulously to make sure no one was around. As soon as he parked, she popped the car door open and bolted out, running like the wind. She hadn't even closed the door properly, terrified of being seen.

Watching her scurry away like a fugitive, Luan Nian thought she was an absolute fool. Anyone else would have been dying to let the entire world know in exchange for special treatment.

She went to buy her coffee as usual and headed upstairs, walking into the office area to find Shang Zhitao already seated at her computer, hard at work. Luan Nian walked into his office and began his own workday as well. Sometime during the day, when they crossed paths in the office area, Shang Zhitao followed behind her colleagues just like before, acting as if nothing had happened.

The company released the investigation results regarding the email incident that day. It was sent out directly by Tracy, who wrote in the email: Following a detailed investigation, Luan Nian was not involved in multiple concurrent relationships inside or outside the company. Upon technical comparison by the IT department, the photos attached in the email have been verified as composite images, and the male depicted in the photos is not Luan Nian. Luan Nian did indeed have a six-month romantic relationship with the woman in question, but the two parted ways amicably; details involving personal privacy will not be elaborated upon in this public notice. Concurrently, an investigation into the company's employee data leak was also conducted. Based on data extraction and analysis by the IT department, no unauthorized operations were performed within the company's intranet. The above investigation results will be posted for a seven-day public notice period. If you have any other clues, please contact us proactively.

Aside from proving Luan Nian’s innocence, almost nothing else was said. That was simply corporate culture: keep things from blowing up as much as possible, unless one party was truly determined to destroy the other. Tracy had consulted Luan Nian on whether the data leak findings should be made public, and Luan Nian had simply replied: "Considering it's a first offense, we can keep observing. But we still need to have a talk—let's keep it to just the three of us." As for who the person leaking employee information actually was, it was never mentioned from start to finish.

Gazing at the email, Shang Zhitao recalled asking him last night: "Do other female colleagues come over to your place?"

And Luan Nian had replied: "What? Want to go make sisterhood pacts?"

She considered herself to have a rather shallow understanding of Luan Nian, yet today she found herself actually believing him just a little bit on this matter. Luan Nian might have a vicious tongue, but he himself wasn't as cold-blooded as his words suggested. At that thought, Shang Zhitao suddenly felt a twinge of panic: Could my brain be getting bossed around by my lower half? Are the things I saw and heard all fake?

She fell so deep into thought that Lumi called her name several times without her hearing a thing.

Lumi pushed herself forward on her wheeled chair with a long kick of her leg, waving a hand right in front of Shang Zhitao's eyes. "Earth to Shang Zhitao! What are you zoning out for? Lost your soul?"

Snapping back to reality, Shang Zhitao hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Did you read the company announcement?"

"Yeah, I read it..."

"I told you that guy was framed, and sure enough." Lumi chuckled, noticing the mark peeking out from beneath Shang Zhitao's bizarrely pulled-up collar, and let out a couple of clicking sounds with her tongue. "Sister, do you realize you're shouting 'there are no three hundred silver taels buried here'? Just wear it proudly out in the open: Hey folks, I had a sex life last night! What's so shameful about that? Look at Linda in Sales—she flaunts her hookups every single day."

Shang Zhitao's face flushed crimson. "Stop messing around."

She tugged her collar up even higher, then turned to Lumi. "That research project mentioned in the morning meeting—can I apply to be the project manager? It's a small project, and I noticed nobody else wants to take it on. Since I've never done it before, I figured I'd use the chance to learn."

"Of course you should! If you want to take it, go talk to Alex. We'll solve any problems together." Lumi patted her shoulder. "Go get 'em!"

Shang Zhitao smiled sheepishly. "Lumi, why do you never take the initiative to pick up projects? Your skills are so strong, and you can handle anything."

"That's not enough to make up for the exhaustion it causes me!" Lumi shrugged. "I'm not short on cash; isn't being an ordinary employee pretty great?"

"True, true, true." Shang Zhitao gave Lumi a thumbs-up. "So badass."

Lumi patted her head and burst out laughing. "Thank the country, thank my great-grandparents, and thank my mom and dad."

Lumi lived life with total equanimity. She had zero ambition for career climbing and was simply content as long as she had something to do. She was essentially a high-functioning slacker, yet whenever tasks were handed to her, she executed them so flawlessly that nobody could find a single fault. Lumi's existence taught Shang Zhitao that colleagues came in all sorts of varieties—not everyone was consumed by the desire to climb upward.

"If I do take on this project, will you still teach me if there are things I don't understand?" Shang Zhitao felt she couldn't live without Lumi; without her, she probably wouldn't have survived at Lemei until today.

"What kind of nonsense is that? If I don't help you, who am I going to help? That annoying pest Kitty?" Lumi despised Kitty the most. Kitty always put on airs, wearing three different faces—one for bosses, one for peers, and another for external vendors. This corporate chameleon was thriving, and even Luke had let her independently handle the creative work for a project. Wasn't that absolute madness?

"You should learn a thing or two from Kitty when you have the time—look at how she treats management; all she gets handed are good projects. And those translate to real, hard cash." Lumi offered some hard-earned wisdom. "It's just that some people fall for her act."

As the two of them chatted, they watched Kitty walk toward Luan Nian's office. Kitty dressed quite daringly; late autumn as it was, she had opted for a tight, hip-hugging bodycon minidress paired with black over-the-knee boots, leaving a strip of fair, tender leg bare. As she glided past, a fragrant trail of perfume lingered in her wake.

She carried a folder of printed reference materials and placed it on Luan Nian's desk. Instead of sitting across from him, she stood right by his side, leaning one hand against the desk in a posture that displayed her enviable figure to full effect.

"Tsk tsk," Lumi clicked her tongue. "See that? Take notes. Your figure is way better than hers."

Shang Zhitao's mind flashed back to the car with Luan Nian, and the obscure, burning gaze in his eyes when his hand had rested upon her. Her cheeks warmed slightly. "Don't. It feels awkward."

"Be confident, little Peach. You've gotta have more confidence." Lumi slid back to her own desk and dove into her work.

Shang Zhitao glanced once more toward Luan Nian's office. He was frowning, as if deep in thought.

Luan Nian was frowning simply because he disliked Kitty's perfume. While he agreed that women ought to wear perfume, there was a time and place for everything, and her fragrance today was entirely too overpowering. Luan Nian gestured toward the seat opposite him. "Kitty, sit over there and wait for me a second."

"Okay." Kitty sat down gracefully across from Luan Nian, crossing one leg over the other, and stared fixedly at him.

Luan Nian paid her gaze zero attention.

He was reviewing the version of the creative draft Kitty had submitted. Kitty was exceptionally talented; this graphic design draft she had turned in featured bold color choices and tremendous visual impact, though its alignment with the brand identity was somewhat weak.

"Discuss it with the client and see," Luan Nian said, choosing not to point out her flaw directly. Letting her deal with the client firsthand would help her grow much faster.

"Sure. Face-to-face communication? The client is in Shanghai."

"Let's do face-to-face."

"Will you come with me? I feel like I won't have any confidence without you there." Kitty was playing the weak card while simultaneously pledging her loyalty. Luan Nian smiled at her. "I'll have Grace go with you."

"Alright."

Kitty departed, leaving her heavy perfume lingering in Luan Nian's office. Luan Nian stood up to push the window open, and when he sat back down, he caught sight of a few Marketing Department members chatting in the hallway. Shang Zhitao was wearing a ponytail, looking clean, simple, and standing straight—altogether out of place with the ambient atmosphere around her.

Surprisingly good-looking.