The Early Spring - Chapter 50

Chapter 50 - Be Prepared, Win Beautifully

"Hello, President Jiang, my name is Shang Zhitao." Shang Zhitao hadn't expected Jiang Lan to ask for her name out of the blue, though fortunately, it was just a simple introduction.

"The event was handled very well." Jiang Lan praised her, then added, "I'm staying right next door. You can let me know once Luke wakes up; we still have some industry association matters to finish discussing."

"Understood. I'll leave a message for Luke so he can reach out to you as soon as he's awake." Shang Zhitao was gradually learning how to read people's expressions and master the nuances of tact. Jiang Lan's instruction to "let me know" was actually a polite way of saying "make Luke come find me."

After seeing Jiang Lan off, Shang Zhitao returned to Luan Nian's bedside and found that he was still putting on an act. Even though everyone had left, he kept his eyes tightly shut. When Shang Zhitao gently called out to him twice, he refused to open them, only murmuring a single word: "Hot."

Shang Zhitao let out an "oh," picked up the towel, and began wiping his face. This time she did it with genuine care; even if he had been faking being drunk, he had still consumed a fair amount, and he must have been feeling quite miserable by now.

Luan Nian took hold of Shang Zhitao's hand. They never touched each other's hands outside of intimacy, yet today he had done it twice—first hooking her finger, and now gripping her hand. The palm of someone who had been drinking was searingly hot, pressing against the back of Shang Zhitao's slightly cool hand as his thumb gently stroked it. His voice was unusually tender: "Are you coming straight to my place after getting off the plane on Friday?"

Shang Zhitao set the towel aside, brought her lips close to his, brushed them against his briefly, and quickly pulled back. "Okay."

"Shang Zhitao."

"Hmm?"

"My head hurts."

Luan Nian had never once complained about feeling unwell before. Shang Zhitao had always assumed he possessed an invincible physique, an inexhaustible well of energy, a brain that was constantly whirring, and an overwhelming, boundless vitality.

"Shall I go get some painkillers?"

"In my computer bag."

Shang Zhitao retrieved the painkillers from Luan Nian's computer bag. A few pills were already missing, which clearly indicated this wasn't the first time he'd had a headache. She poured a glass of water and handed it to him, unable to help asking, "Do you get headaches often?"

"Occasionally. Neuralgia, my mother is the same way."

"Oh." Shang Zhitao crouched down beside the bed, placing her fingers on his temples. "Does it hurt right here?"

"Mhm. Thanks."

"You're welcome. You took care of me last time I had pneumonia."

"Paying a debt of gratitude?"

...

​

The security guard at Luan Nian's residential complex who recognized Shang Zhitao had been promoted to deputy head of security. He had traded in his old guard uniform for a sharper, more tailored one, making him look all the more brisk and capable standing at the entrance. Seeing Shang Zhitao dragging her suitcase, he proactively brought a small cart over. "Let me help you with that."

"Thanks so much."

The head of security loaded the suitcase onto the cart. "Let's go, Ms. Shang." He finally no longer viewed Shang Zhitao as someone engaged in a shady profession.

Luan Nian had returned on an early morning flight and was in the middle of a conference call when he heard the door open. He looked up toward the entryway to see Shang Zhitao looking travel-worn and weary. She must have been through a lot; the event had just wrapped up, and she had spent the entire morning settling accounts with the event planning company and following up on various closing tasks—she had probably been up since six.

Shang Zhitao tucked Luan Nian's house keys into her bag, slipped into her designated pair of slippers from the shoe rack, and walked over to Luan Nian. She took a sip of the iced club soda sitting by his hand, pointed upward toward the second floor, and mouthed silently to him: "I'm going to take a shower."

Muting his call, Luan Nian grabbed her wrist. "Take a shower and get some sleep first."

"Okay."

Shang Zhitao headed to the guest room, took a quick shower, and changed into her loungewear, but she wasn't tired. Instead, she pulled out her laptop to work on her promotion review report. Having never written one before, she had no idea how to go about it. She pulled up examples written by other colleagues, but since their job contents differed, she could really only copy a rough outline. The PowerPoint remained open on the screen, and she couldn't for the life of her understand why a promotion review had to be done in PowerPoint.

Writing and deleting, struggling for a long time, she had managed fewer than fifty words. After finishing his conference call, Luan Nian walked upstairs, saw the guest room door open, and stood in the doorway watching her. "Not tired?"

Shang Zhitao shook her head. "My review report isn't done yet."

Luan Nian sat down on the edge of the bed, pulled her laptop over, and looked at the less than fifty words on the screen. "So in the past hour or so, you've averaged less than one word per minute?"

"I don't know what to write..." Shang Zhitao felt a bit ashamed.

Luan Nian glanced at her. She really was remarkably capable of accepting herself even when she was acting like a complete blockhead.

"What have you actually done over the past period?"

"I..."

"If you're going to describe it as just doing odd jobs and miscellaneous chores, then you might as well give up on this promotion right now." Luan Nian cut her off. Luan Nian was always like this—relentlessly strict.

"I probably need to organize my thoughts." Shang Zhitao felt a bit defensive; whenever work came up in front of Luan Nian, she always felt stripped of her usual confidence.

"Then organize them properly." Luan Nian handed the laptop back to her and said, "Doing a review isn't about listing every single task you performed in excruciating detail; it's about sorting through them, categorizing these complex tasks, and then presenting how you managed to execute and accomplish them well—even distilling them into experiences that others can learn from. Am I making myself clear?"

"Clear."

"Then write it now. Start with the first part of your work: budget management."

Luan Nian knew full well what tasks Shang Zhitao had handled, but he wasn't going to write it for her. She had to learn to think independently.

"Alright. Thank you, Luke." Whenever official business was involved, she called him Luke; Shang Zhitao switched back and forth between personas with effortless ease.

Luan Nian returned to his own room, but a moment later came back in with his laptop. He was attending an evaluation meeting; the company selected one industry expert every year, granting them million-level equity incentives and an adjusted annual salary package. He jerked his chin toward the side, signaling Shang Zhitao to make some room for him on the bed. Shang Zhitao shuffled over, and Luan Nian sat leaning against the headboard on the outer side, his legs stretched out flat on the bed.

Muting his microphone, he said to Shang Zhitao, "Don't know how to write a review report? Listen to this."

"I'm allowed to listen?"

Luan Nian glanced at her. "Talk too much." Luan Nian didn't see anything that shouldn't be heard; in fact, he felt that the promotion system itself had flaws, and he had even discussed it with Tracy before. He hoped that high-level expert appointments could be more open and transparent, allowing auditors, or even turning into public presentations. But Tracy disagreed, her reasoning being that such reviews involved too many variables—often, it was no longer about the review itself, but a contest of background, resources, and connections. Achieving absolute fairness was impossible.

The person currently giving their review was Grace. Grace was a core employee in the Creative Center whose role also bridged the Planning Department. Shang Zhitao had collaborated with Grace on projects before and knew just how formidable she was.

This was also Shang Zhitao's first time witnessing a review of this caliber.

Was this even a review? This was a war!

As Grace presented her content, she could be interrupted by the bosses at any moment, whereupon they would toss out a razor-sharp question. Luan Nian asked a question that made Shang Zhitao think that if she were Grace, she would definitely be cursing him out in her heart.

Luan Nian had asked: "What does the success of this project have to do with you? The client was secured by the sales team."

Good grief.

Luan Nian was truly something else; in an environment like this, he even put his own people on the spot. Shang Zhitao suddenly felt that being Luan Nian's subordinate wasn't all sunshine and roses.

Grace paused in silence for a few seconds before answering: "I rationally believe that my contribution to this project was the icing on the cake. Without me, this project would still have been delivered, but it wouldn't have been this exceptional."

Huh? Shang Zhitao thought to herself: Is this what Lumi called workplace confidence?

Shang Zhitao hitched a ride on Luan Nian's coattails and covertly audited such a promotion competition. Everyone participating in this bidding round was among the company's top-tier talent. Back in 2011, millions in equity and massive salary hikes were equivalent to securing an entry ticket to this city, guaranteeing at least the ownership of a home.

Their work was genuinely outstanding—handling S-tier projects, mobilizing internal and external company resources, setting industry standards, and sweeping international awards. Every single one of them was an expert in their respective field.

The impact that day had on Shang Zhitao's inner world was profound beyond words; the rewards of work varied wildly depending on the individual. The astronomical rewards reaped by truly exceptional people were simply unimaginable.

"So my review is going to be like this too?" she asked Luan Nian after it ended.

"No. Yours is an internal departmental review; the situation depends on your department's style."

Shang Zhitao stared at the single page of review notes she had written, feeling it looked utterly atrocious. Luan Nian walked out carrying his laptop, leaving Shang Zhitao to her own independent thinking. Sometimes intimacy wasn't all that important—like right now; compared to making love, Luan Nian much preferred that Shang Zhitao finish writing her wretched review report.

Shang Zhitao pulled an all-nighter and didn't wake up until noon on Saturday. Luan Nian was working out. Normally when she woke up on Saturdays, she would leave right away; during those first couple of months, Luan Nian was often still asleep when she left, as he only ever slept in on weekends. For reasons unknown, at some point Luan Nian had started waking up somewhat earlier on weekends.

He would occasionally ask Shang Zhitao, "In a rush?"

Too embarrassed to admit she was studying, and unwilling to expose her private life to Luan Nian, Shang Zhitao would reply, "I have lunch plans with my roommates."

"You eat together every week?"

"Yeah. Don't you?"

But today she felt a slight hesitation. They hadn't done anything the night before—literally nothing—which meant the very purpose of her coming here ceased to exist. Luan Nian put down his exercise equipment to wipe away his sweat, spotted Shang Zhitao standing in the doorway, and said indifferently, "If you're not in a rush to leave, stick around for a bit. I'll help you run through a mock presentation of your review."

"Really?"

"Mhm."

Shang Zhitao was somewhat surprised that Luan Nian had proactively offered to help her with a mock run-through; traditionally, it was always her asking and him answering, with very few instances of him taking the initiative.

"Then could you take a look at my content first?" Shang Zhitao felt a bit nervous; having audited yesterday's review meeting, she felt whatever she had written looked like absolute dog excrement. She could easily imagine Luan Nian's expression upon reading her draft.

"Send it to me." Luan Nian picked up his bath towel and headed toward the elevator lobby. "Though you'll have to wait for me to take a shower and whip up some food."

"I can cook!" Shang Zhitao raised her hand, volunteering herself. Feeling like she couldn't cook and constantly having to eat meals made by Luan Nian left her unable to hold her head up high, so she had deliberately learned a few dishes from Sun Yu.

"Go ahead then."

"I won't burn your kitchen down this time," Shang Zhitao promised with absolute certainty.

While Luan Nian showered, she headed down to the first-floor kitchen. Seeing how fully stocked Luan Nian's refrigerator was—whereas she only ever dared to boil noodles—she resolved to maintain a serious attitude and carefully whip up a bowl of tomato and egg noodle soup to wash away her past humiliation.

When Luan Nian came downstairs after his shower, he saw Shang Zhitao carefully arranging her food on a plate with her pinky finger raised. Walking over for a look, he saw she had even added colorful garnishes to improve the visual presentation—a clear improvement over last time.

However, it looked much better than it tasted. After a single bite, his brow furrowed. Catching sight of Shang Zhitao staring at him with a face full of anticipation, he said, "Don't cook ever again."

Shang Zhitao took a bite of her own noodles; it tasted as though she had just swallowed a spoonful of salt. Too embarrassed to spit it out, she forced it down her throat. Luan Nian sighed, stood up, rinsed the noodles in plain water, scooped out two spoonfuls of sauce from a jar, and managed to make do with that.

Feeling rather sheepish, Shang Zhitao told Luan Nian, "I'm just not very practiced yet. If I keep practicing diligently from now on, I should be able to make things pretty tasty."

"You boiled noodles like this for yourself back in college? And ate this for four years?"

"Maybe my cooking tools changed..."

"Is it really that hard to admit you have no talent for cooking?"

"Oh."

The two of them bickered their way through the meal before Luan Nian began running Shang Zhitao through her mock presentation.

Shang Zhitao was only going from a Level 2 to a Level 3 review—an internal departmental evaluation that was mostly just a formality. Whether she passed or failed depended entirely on Alex, but since Alex had handed the Suzhou project over to her, his stance was crystal clear: Shang Zhitao was going to pass this time.

Luan Nian knew this perfectly well, yet he didn't say much. Shang Zhitao would sooner or later have to face more brutal competition, and starting to practice from this day onward certainly wouldn't hurt.

He questioned Shang Zhitao: "Why was this particular supplier chosen for the Suzhou project?"

He also asked: "What do you consider your biggest growth and takeaway since joining L'Embellir this past year?"

"What confusion or dissatisfaction do you have with your current job?"

"Do you think the current market strategy is correct? Does it need any adjustments?"

None of these were questions a Level 2 employee needed to ponder, yet Luan Nian asked them in earnest. Lacking any prior review experience, Shang Zhitao was left completely dumbfounded by the barrage of questions. Her brain struggled to keep pace with Luan Nian's line of inquiry, leaving her feeling somewhat disheartened by the end.

"Scared?"

Shang Zhitao nodded. "I'm nervous." She expected Luan Nian to tell her that if she was nervous, she might as well just quit—that was his typical style of speaking. To her shock, he completely reversed his usual demeanor, showing a rare leniency: "If you're nervous, practice more."

If you're nervous, practice more. Did that even sound like something Luan Nian would say? He even added another line: "Be prepared. If you're going to win, win beautifully."

Shang Zhitao shifted her gaze toward him as Luan Nian stood up and asked, "Want to go get some fish?"

"Didn't we already eat at noon?"

"That could only be called stuffing your face." Luan Nian picked up his car keys. "We'll check out how the bar construction is coming along on the way."

"I'm coming too."

They rarely spent weekends together, and Shang Zhitao still wanted to ask Luan Nian a lot more questions about the promotion process, so she hopped into the car under the pretext of getting fish. Luan Nian had mentioned tearing that plot down and rebuilding from scratch, and sure enough, it had been completely leveled and rebuilt.

As they drove up the mountain road, Shang Zhitao rolled down the car window to let the mountain breeze in. Luan Nian's phone rang, and he casually rejected the call. When it rang again, Shang Zhitao lowered her gaze slightly and caught sight of the name "Zang Yao" flashing on the screen.

Feeling as though she had seen something she shouldn't have, she hurriedly averted her eyes.