The Early Spring - Chapter 57

Chapter 57 - The Beginning 

"Alex is simply making a routine career move, but his bonds with Lemei and all of you will never break. Whenever we have free time, we can still grab a drink together." Luan Nian was unusually amiable today. "So, before the meeting starts, let's first offer our best wishes to Alex. I personally am also extremely grateful for the support Alex and the entire Marketing Department provided after my appointment. Alex truly has built a formidable team. Thank you, Alex."

"It's only right." Alex was as agreeable as ever, bringing his hands together in a slight bow. "This really is just a routine job change. I've stayed at Lemei for too many years, and I want to change my environment. Who knows, I might even make a comeback raid down the road."

"You're welcome to try."

Luan Nian said he was welcome, but everyone knew that Luan Nian would never allow him to make a comeback raid; all bosses detested betrayal.

"Shall we officially begin today's meeting then?" Luke deferred to Alex's opinion, showing not a shred less of the appropriate respect.

"Luke calls the shots. I'm just sitting in, and if there are any issues that need my resolution, I'll handle them."

"Alright, let's get started then."

Luan Nian called this meeting for nothing more than to grasp the full picture of the Marketing Department's current operations and understand what everyone was working on. An executive's departure was bound to cause team turbulence, so he needed to prepare backup plans and determine what kind of talent Tracy should scout for in the market. With this objective in mind, Luan Nian didn't pick faults during today's meeting; he simply listened attentively, occasionally asking work-related questions that were never harsh.

The team's tense nerves gradually relaxed, and the atmosphere warmed up. When it was Lumi's turn to report, the atmosphere was already quite casual. Being the easygoing person she was, Lumi dropped a casual remark during her presentation: "That client is a real bastard!" Everyone burst out laughing.

Shang Zhitao laughed along with them. Lumi was just that kind of person; she wouldn't change jobs just for the money, nor did she harbor grand ambitions—having a bit of work to do was good enough for her. She wouldn't deliberately plot against anyone, but if you crossed her, she wouldn't care about consequences. Lumi had taught Shang Zhitao a great deal.

Luan Nian laughed as well. He asked Lumi, "How about we route all communications with these clients through you from now on?" Luan Nian was a good judge of character; Lumi was casual and slipshod, but she possessed inner resolve because she had confidence to spare. This was also why, years later, even after the Marketing Department went through several new bosses and Lemei upgraded its organizational structure—with many employees whose skills had stagnated being let go—Lumi could still remain a foot soldier in the Marketing Department. Much later on, everyone at Lemei knew there was a towering Buddha in the Marketing Department; while everyone else in the company struggled to survive, this Buddha always landed on her feet.

Knowing when to let go was also a form of wisdom.

"No thanks," Lumi quickly waved her hands. "I still want to live a few more years!"

Roars of laughter erupted from the room. Luan Nian's gaze swept across Shang Zhitao; she was smiling too, though who knew what was running through her mind.

When it was Shang Zhitao's turn to report on her work, she summarized the new budget management project she had been working on recently—it was the most thoroughly prepared report from the Marketing Department.

Everyone listened closely. Luan Nian asked her, "With the new budget management workflow in place, have you calculated the efficiency gain percentage for the team?"

"We've already tested it on two projects. Efficiency increased by 20 percent."

"It would be even better if it could reach 25 percent." Luan Nian looked at Shang Zhitao. He was tossing an opportunity her way, though he didn't expect Shang Zhitao to catch it, nor did he expect her to grasp its significance. Despite her steadfastness and diligence, she was also young, impulsive, and easily swayed by others. Budgeting was the core operation of the Marketing Department, and the person managing it needed to be strictly self-disciplined. Shang Zhitao was upright and meticulous, making her a suitable fit. He tossed an opportunity her way, right after the massive fight they had the night before.

There was always a missing spark of destiny between Luan Nian and Shang Zhitao. This decision had been made beforehand, yet it was voiced at such a moment. It made it look like he was handing out charity.

"If it can reach 25 percent, it will play a massive role in the company's overall business management." Luan Nian added another question: "Can you pull it off?"

Shang Zhitao looked at Luan Nian. She rarely looked him straight in the eye during work hours or in front of a crowd. She knew she was mediocre, fragile, and looked utterly vulnerable among these elites, but she yearned for Luan Nian to communicate with her as an equal. She had worked hard for so long not to be labeled cheap and obedient by him.

"I probably can. But I won't do it." She rejected the opportunity Luan Nian offered her; she didn't want it.

When romance and work become intertwined, the proper order of things gets thrown into disarray. She could have stayed much calmer when making her decision, but back then she was young and didn't understand those things.

Luan Nian shrugged, the corners of his eyes curving upward before he let out a chuckle. "It's clear that Flora has put a lot of thought and contemplation into her work. I've heard Alex and Tracy mention your hard work more than once. Hearing this report today, I feel their evaluation of you was far too conservative. You're not only hardworking, you're also very smart. Keep it up."

Shang Zhitao smiled back at him, defining Luan Nian's praise as mere polite corporate pleasantries. She didn't believe a word of it.

Once the meeting concluded, Luan Nian returned to his office where Tracy was waiting for him. She asked, "Did that matter we discussed a few days ago get settled?"

"What matter?"

"Having Flora assist Lumi in managing the budget."

"Flora turned it down, and Lumi is a hopeless case who can't be propped up." Luan Nian rarely trusted anyone, and he mocked himself inwardly: Just look at the two dishes you thought looked promising.

Tracy nearly spat out a mouthful of water. "Flora turned it down?"

"Mhm." That matter was over; Luan Nian didn't want to dwell on it anymore. He opened his email to look at the profiles Tracy had sent him—they were all heavy hitters in the marketing world with impressive resumes.

"Well? Have your eyes on any of them?" Tracy asked him. "Or are you going to scout someone yourself?"

"No need. The people I have my eyes on won't come, and I can't be bothered to look for the ones I don't. We'll just go through the normal hiring process and review more resumes." Luan Nian thought for a moment. "There's no rush. The Marketing Department is bound to see personnel changes anyway; waiting until the dust settles before bringing in a new face isn't a bad idea."

"Fine."

"Do you need to review Human Resources' operational oversight? Our competitors poached our executive, and you didn't catch wind of a single sign of it?" Luan Nian held Tracy accountable.

"I've already begun self-reflection within the team. This was our problem, and I admit it. It won't happen again." As a corporate heavyweight, Tracy was always open and direct; if something was someone's fault, she owned it and never shirked responsibility. With this executive defection, they still had plenty of issues to handle—not just regarding staffing, but also PR direction, brand positioning, and a host of internal legacy problems.

"Talk with Alex and keep the public narrative under control." Luan Nian was no saint; Alex had also engaged in rule-breaking operations, and Luan Nian had the evidence. When he met face-to-face with him on the Phuket beach, he had made it crystal clear: Alex had achieved a class leap at Lemei, owned three properties and two luxury cars in Beijing, and the company had treated him quite well. Parting on good terms was the best option; he shouldn't let the lure of financial interests turn things into an ugly mess.

If things were pushed to extremes, Luan Nian wouldn't hesitate to send Alex away in handcuffs.

"And I know you were the one who leaked the company employee email list to Zhang Xin," Luan Nian had told Alex that day. "But I didn't pursue accountability because I respect you, and I thank you."

The corporate world was far more complicated than one could imagine.

For the first time in her life, Shang Zhitao found herself at the epicenter of a corporate storm, filled with endless doubts. She didn't stay late after work; instead, she shouldered her bag and headed out, wanting to go for a walk.

Her mind kept circling back to the same questions: Did Luan Nian reach where he was today by riding coattails? What was the real reason Alex wanted to take her with him? He could have chosen someone much better equipped to handle things independently. She walked from dusk until nine o'clock at night, finally reaching the entrance of her residential complex.

The complex she lived in was so densely populated that many people called it a "dormitory town." Night had fallen, and the people who lived in the bedroom community were returning one by one, bringing noise and hustle to the area. She thought about every single day she had experienced over the past year—days that were a bittersweet mix of hardship and reward. Though tough, looking back, every day held its own gains.

Sun Yu hopped off the public bus and jumped in surprise when she saw Shang Zhitao sitting there. "Eh? Why are you sitting out here?"

"I don't want to go inside."

"Why?"

"Because it's lively out here."

People who came to live in Beijing all by themselves had to learn one primary lesson: enduring loneliness. Shang Zhitao was a rather thick-skinned and slow-witted person, and she was relatively lucky to have encountered good roommates and great colleagues, so her loneliness hadn't been very pronounced. But today, she felt a twinge of loneliness. After all, there was a space in one's heart that roommates and friends simply couldn't fill.

Sun Yu sat down beside her, grabbed her hand, and sucked in a breath. "Hhss—why are your hands so cold?"

"I walked back from the office."

"Nearly twenty kilometers?"

"Yeah."

Sun Yu didn't speak anymore, simply keeping her company as they sat watching the bright streetlamps and the hurried pedestrians passing by. Shang Zhitao thought back to her very first day in Beijing—it was raining that day, and she had been organizing her belongings in that tiny, cramped room. Back then, she was so simple; all she wanted was growth, achieving personal growth through lifelong learning.

Both of their stomachs let out loud growls, shattering the strange atmosphere Shang Zhitao had conjured up and leaving them looking at each other in shared amusement.

"Forget it, you're not cut out for melancholy. You're better suited to coming with me to grab some food." Sun Yu teased.

"I really am starving." Shang Zhitao patted her stomach and stood up. Once hunger struck, all sentimental moods vanished, leaving behind only the urge to fill her stomach. Hand in hand, the two of them walked toward the spicy hot pot shop at the back of the complex. Sun Yu sneaked a few sideways glances at Shang Zhitao until Shang Zhitao caught her in the act and asked, "What is it?"

"Had a falling out with your boss?" Sun Yu was sharp. Shang Zhitao was such a cheerful girl that she had rarely been deeply upset by anyone, and the few emotional breakdowns she did suffer were invariably because of Luan Nian.

Shang Zhitao recounted what she had been going through to Sun Yu. From Sun Yu's perspective, this was far from a minor issue; running a startup of her own meant watching people cycle through her team like a revolving door every day. Finding people who truly believed in their project was exceptionally rare.

"Do you want my advice?" Sun Yu asked Shang Zhitao. "Your company is so great, nothing like our precarious startup. My advice might not be worth much."

"I want to hear it."

"My advice is... ask yourself why you came here in the first place, and then ask yourself whether you're truly capable enough to afford leaving." Sun Yu draped an arm around Shang Zhitao's shoulder. "The process of thinking it through is painful, but the decision itself is made in a split second."

"The process of reflection helps you understand yourself better. There's nothing shameful about being lost; nobody is born strong." Sun Yu offered a self-deprecating chuckle. "Look at me, I was crying my eyes out just today!"

"Why?"

"A premium member wasn't satisfied with a blind-date match recommended by our system. He claimed there was a logical flaw in the algorithm, threw a fit at customer service, and then threatened to blow up our company. In the end, I had to step in and got chewed out terribly." Sun Yu giggled. "Everyone's a precious baby raised in the palms of their parents' hands, only to be cursed down to their eighteenth generation by these bastards."

Shang Zhitao suddenly realized that compared to what Sun Yu had endured, the troubles she had faced were barely worth mentioning, yet she had been whining to Sun Yu for so long. Sun Yu was clearly the one who needed comforting the most.

She really wasn't strong enough, nor was she resolute enough.

She gave Sun Yu a very earnest hug. "You've worked way too hard today. Let me treat you to grilled fish?"