The Early Spring - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - I'm Not in a Rush, I'm Super Urgent

By the time they arrived, the rest of the colleagues had already gathered.

"Come over, everyone, this is our new recruit Shang Zhitao, English name Flora," Zhang Ling stood up to introduce Shang Zhitao. "She'll be learning the ropes under Lumi, so please take good care of her."

Shang Zhitao bowed to everyone. "Please look after me, seniors."

The men and women in the marketing department were seriously good-looking, Shang Zhitao thought to herself: This must be Limelight's hiring standard, I really am so lucky.

She sat next to Lumi and listened intently, memorizing her colleagues' names as they went around the table introducing themselves. The marketing department's staff were frequent flyers year-round, making it rare for everyone to get together. Furthermore, people in marketing tended to be outgoing, so the atmosphere was exceptionally lively.

When it was her turn, Shang Zhitao thought for a moment and said, "I'll work really hard." She strained her brain for half a minute but couldn't think of anything flashy to say; she was simply that kind of down-to-earth person. Accustomed as they usually were to people who could spin a pretty phrase, the colleagues were caught off guard by such a newcomer and found her rather refreshing.

Zhang Ling didn't put on airs either, joining the colleagues in telling corny jokes and even telling Shang Zhitao, "Once you enter the advertising deep blue sea, you'd better be prepared."

"When I was hailing a cab after work the other day, the driver asked me: 'You work in advertising, don't you?' How did you know? 'Well, there are three kinds of people who hail cabs late at night: sex workers, clients, and advertising folks!'" said a girl named Qin Xiaoxiao.

Everyone burst into laughter, and Zhang Ling said to Shang Zhitao, "If you have a boyfriend, cherish him. If you don't, finding one will be tough. Look around this table—there's not a single proper person here."

Shang Zhitao quickly chimed in, "I think everyone looks quite proper." Her words radiated the rustic innocence of someone freshly stepping out into society.

By the end of the meal, Shang Zhitao had silently memorized all her colleagues' names. Like a frightened little fledgling that had accidentally dropped to the ground and couldn't fly yet, she felt entirely alien and panicked by everything around her.

A strange city, unfamiliar faces, and she was fighting this battle all on her own—there was a certain tragic grandeur to her solitary courage.

Lumi, who usually appeared loud and carefree, noticed Shang Zhitao's cautious trepidation. On the way back to the company, she told her, "Let me tell you, don't be too humble. The company is crawling with bastards who love picking soft persimmons. The more modest you are, the more they'll bully you, and before you know it, every dirty and exhausting task will get dumped on your desk. You won't be able to handle it."

"Got it. Then..."

Lumi cut her off. "No matter who assigns you a task, make them clear it through me first. I'm your mentor, and what you do is up to me."

"Understood, thank you, Lumi."

"What's there to thank?"

Moving with whirlwind speed, Lumi sent a compressed archive file to Shang Zhitao the moment they returned to the office. "Alright, come on, take a look at this. These are the projects the two of us will be managing in the second half of the year. First, you need to understand every single project thoroughly; otherwise, we won't be able to manage the budget effectively." Lumi paused, pulled out a spreadsheet, and handed it to her. "Here, while you're talking to these big shots to understand the projects, go ahead and knock out your big shot interviews at the same time."

The big shot interview was an assignment required of all newly onboarded employees. It involved interviewing several company executives or senior staff to understand the corporate culture, department structure, and to fully integrate into the company.

"Are these all planning department projects?" Shang Zhitao flipped through the files, noticing that the initiating department for all of them was listed as the planning department.

"Of course! The planning department is a tough nut to crack, so they dumped it on me just because I have a thick skin."

"Then should I go find Luke?"

"Go give it a try. You'll have to deal with him sooner or later anyway."

At the thought of Luan Nian's face, a slight shudder ran through Shang Zhitao. Lumi tapped her on the head. "What are you scared of? Is he going to eat you? Go find him right now; when he's talking about work, he's very serious and probably won't give you a hard time."

"Oh."

Hugging the files, Shang Zhitao walked over to Luan Nian's office. She stood at the doorway, took a long, deep breath, and then gently knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Shang Zhitao pushed the door open and stood at the entrance bathed in the afternoon sunlight, looking like an unopened flower bud. Luan Nian looked up at her. "Something the matter?"

"Hello, we met earlier today. I'm Shang Zhitao, the new recruit in the marketing department. Lumi just sent me some project documents from our department, and there are a few questions I need to consult you about." Shang Zhitao had rehearsed her lines before entering, delivered them in one continuous breath, and then stood there waiting for Luan Nian's response.

Luan Nian looked at her carefully, finally discovering a distinct trait in this girl: she looked remarkably humble. Limelight practically had no one else who was this humble.

"Is it urgent?"

"Not particularly urgent."

Shang Zhitao made a mistake. In the corporate world, whatever was on your own desk was always the most urgent thing. The people in Luan Nian's department strove to grab first place no matter where they went.

Is it urgent?

Extremely urgent. If delayed, subsequent progress would be stalled, severely impacting the company, and it needed to be resolved right now.

Luan Nian nodded and pointed toward the large sofa in his office. "Since it's not urgent, can you wait for me a moment?"

"Okay."

Shang Zhitao sat upright on the sofa, waiting for Luan Nian. Figuring three to five minutes would be more than enough, she settled in to wait. Three minutes passed, five minutes passed, fifteen minutes passed, and Luan Nian showed no intention of lifting his eyes from his computer. Several times, Shang Zhitao wanted to open her mouth, but the words caught in her throat and she swallowed them back down.

She felt that doing otherwise would be impolite.

Since Shang Zhitao wasn't in a rush, Luan Nian naturally wasn't in a rush either. He calmly finished handling his current work while also waiting for Shang Zhitao to speak up. He wasn't trying to make things difficult for her; he simply wanted to see just how non-urgent her matter truly was and how she judged the importance of the work on her own plate.

Well, if Shang Zhitao wasn't in a rush, neither was she. Her assignment for the afternoon was to figure out these projects anyway, so she simply opened her laptop and began reading through the materials earnestly. She went through the documents once, glanced down at her watch, and realized forty minutes had passed. This was stretching a bit beyond her expectations. She raised her eyes to look at him, but he showed no signs of wrapping up.

She wanted to interrupt him, but couldn't bring herself to speak.

Finally, when he looked up again, his gaze collided with Shang Zhitao's expression of words trembling on the tip of her tongue. Pretending not to notice, he lowered his head back down.

Seeing his posture, Shang Zhitao assumed the work on his hands must be exceptionally important, so she quietly resumed waiting for a long while.

Luan Nian finished his task, picked up his phone to reply to a message, and glanced at her again. She was watching him with eyes full of sincerity. The moment he looked her way, she spoke up quickly: "Are you done with your work?"

Shang Zhitao had no idea how long she had waited for the right timing to say those words, but she finally hadn't missed her chance.

Luan Nian stood up, walked over, and sat down opposite her. "What is it?"

It was the first time Shang Zhitao had ever been this close to Luan Nian. He was intensely serious, and his movements were extremely brisk. The few steps from his desk to the sofa revealed a sharp, decisive agility. Shang Zhitao looked into his eyes—they were eyes unlike those of a twenty-year-old youth, radiating absolute confidence and sharpness, as though the entire world rested in the palm of his hand.

When he asked what the matter was, he seemed to have completely forgotten what Shang Zhitao had said right when she walked in. She froze for a moment, then repeated the purpose of her visit.

Luan Nian suddenly chuckled. When he smiled, his eyes narrowed slightly, resembling a clever fox. "Is it urgent now?"

"What?"

"Didn't you say your matter wasn't urgent?" Luan Nian reminded her.

Shang Zhitao's face flushed slightly. She had no idea how she should answer whether it was urgent or not. If she said it was urgent, Luan Nian would ask why she had claimed it wasn't urgent in the first place. If she said it wasn't urgent, Luan Nian would likely stand up, walk back to his desk, and resume working.

She suddenly realized—though it was entirely possible she was overthinking things—that Luan Nian might actually be teaching her a lesson.

Clearing her throat, she said earnestly, "Luke, I understand. Next time I have something, I'll state it directly. Whether it's urgent or not, I'll state that directly too. Thank you for teaching me."

Luan Nian raised an eyebrow, his expression clearly conveying: Me? Teaching you? Are you out of your mind?

Yet Shang Zhitao nodded. "Yes, thank you. I've learned my lesson."