The Early Spring - Chapter 75

Chapter 75 - Pain 

That was a perfectly ordinary day for Linmei. Everyone was busy at their respective posts, occasionally exchanging a few words in low voices, but spending most of their time quietly typing away at their computers.

Luan Nian was conducting a management meeting. At the table, Dony was currently bringing up the idea of revising another version of the new strategy, yet no one spoke up. Luan Nian didn't speak either; he merely raised his head and cast a faint, indifferent glance at Dony, his eyes completely devoid of emotion.

Tracy also looked up to glance at Dony before lowering her head to send Luan Nian a message: I put on makeup specifically for today.

It should be a grand occasion, Luan Nian replied to her.

The meeting was tedious and drawn-out, yet contrary to his usual habit, Luan Nian didn't put a stop to it. He even leaned back against his chair, watching the various departments bicker with one another.

A little while later, Luan Nian noticed a change in the expression of Tracy, a woman who had seen her fair share of stormy seas. She interrupted Dony: "Apologies, Dony. Please stop for a moment. Luke, could you please step outside with me?"

Luan Nian followed Tracy out of the conference room and immediately noticed something off among the workstations. People were whispering in hushed tones, only to suddenly fall silent the moment they saw them walk out.

Luan Nian took Tracy's laptop and looked at the email displayed on the screen. The subject line read: I am Flora Shang. I am filing a real-name report against Dony, head of the Planning Department, for long-term sexual harassment against me.

The blood rushed straight to Luan Nian's head, and something inside his chest seemed to collapse, aching with excruciating pain. His eyes darted toward Shang Zhitao's workstation—she was sitting there bolt upright, enduring the strange looks and pointing fingers around her. She looked so composed and calm, her lips slightly pursed, resembling a warrior about to step into a duel. Luan Nian would never forget that day, nor could he ever forget Shang Zhitao standing in that posture—it was a display of bravery and resoluteness he had never seen in her before.

"Read it all the way through, Luke." Tracy didn't even realize her voice was already trembling. She couldn't help thinking that if she had endured such an ordeal, she would have spent countless nights haunted by nightmares, unable to sleep peacefully.

The first time I formally met Dony was in his office. After I explained the budget management process to him, he suddenly asked if I had a boyfriend. When I asked if this was related to work, he said it wasn't, but mentioned that he was single. My intuition told me something was wrong. That first time came far too suddenly, and I had no evidence.

I bought a voice recorder and turned it on every time I was alone with Dony.

The second time Dony harassed me was in the company breakroom. At the time, our colleagues were all working while I was getting coffee. He walked up beside me, looked me up and down, and said to me: "Flora, you look very beautiful today. Would you like to get dinner together?" I replied, "I'm sorry, I already have plans tonight." This time, despite feeling that something wasn't right, I still assumed it was just normal workplace communication.

The third time was on the pathway near the hotel while passing through Dunhuang on the 108 route. He invited me out for dinner the next day, and I refused. That night, he suddenly sent me a half-naked photo and said to me: "I've always believed that men should practice self-discipline. Flora, would you like to work out with me?" I turned him down and pointed out that his photo was inappropriate in scale, suggesting he should refrain from sending such things in the future.

From then on, I frequently received messages from him in the middle of the night. Sometimes it was an invitation to eat together, sometimes it was photos, and on one occasion, he sent a photo of his genitalia and asked if I wanted to try it out. I broke down that time and blocked him. But inside, I was terrified; I didn't know how to handle the situation, and I began having nightmares.

Yet he didn't let me off the hook. He sent me a message on the company communication software: "Flora, you are extremely unprofessional. If there is work to be done, I won't be able to reach you. If it's because of that photo, I am deeply sorry—I was drunk, and I will mind my boundaries."

Dony harassed me time and time again, escalating with every attempt. It continued until that day in Chengdu, when I went to the restroom and he dragged me into an empty private room.

I didn't want to stay in Chengdu; I was consumed by sheer terror. From Chengdu to Beijing, across a flight distance of 1,520 kilometers, I was trembling the entire time.

I have also gotten in touch with women who were previously harassed by Dony, and their testimonies are attached at the bottom of this email. I sincerely request that the company initiate formal investigative procedures.

From Chengdu to Beijing, across a flight distance of 1,520 kilometers, I was trembling the entire time.

That night, Luan Nian had heard Luke romping around downstairs and closed his laptop intending to go down and check, only to see Shang Zhitao walk into his room, shed her clothes, and burrow into his arms. She had been trembling non-stop, as if deeply traumatized by something.

He had asked her what was wrong.

She said it was nothing.

Luan Nian snapped Tracy's laptop shut, walked back to his own office, and locked the door behind him. It felt as though a massive fire were raging inside his chest, scorching his heart with a sizzling, agonizing pain.

It was very quiet outside. A short while later, Lumi caught Kitty saying at her workstation: "Must've failed to reach a deal, right?..."

It was a single sentence, overflowing with malice, and a colleague nodded in agreement: "Dony has always been very polite to me."

Lumi glanced at Shang Zhitao, who sat there without uttering a word. The malice of the world swept over her like a howling gale; she had known right from the start that people would say it was impossible, that it couldn't be true, or ask why he would target her. Failed to reach a deal? Only ever a tiny minority would believe that the girl had simply been bullied for no reason at all.

Lumi stood up, walked down the aisle, and turned into Kitty's workstation. Suddenly, she reached out, grabbed Kitty's hair, and yanked it back with immense force: "I'll fucking kill you today! Don't think nobody knows about your dirty secrets! Do you think I won't spill every single one of them out to everyone?!"

Kitty thrashed around in struggle, but even as Lumi leaned her head back, the hand gripping her hair refused to let go.

Lumi gave Kitty a brutal beating, and not a single person stepped forward to stop it. Linmei was shrouded in a strange, suffocating atmosphere today; Shang Zhitao's whistleblower email had shattered Linmei's superficial prosperity, laying its inner decay and rot bare for all to see.

Suddenly, a girl spoke up: "I... I've received messages from Dony too. I thought he liked me." Her voice was tiny and timid, but she had finally spoken out.

Luan Nian heard the commotion outside, yet he didn't move; he was listening to the audio recordings attached to Shang Zhitao's email.

When Shang Zhitao first started working, she spoke in a whisper, and her face would flush red at a single glance. She had a soft heart, always going out of her way to help others and interacting with people through her almost clumsy social ways. For such a girl to be dragged into a pitch-black private room and told: "You want to transfer to the planning department, but your resume isn't quite enough?"

When her body slammed against the wall, a burst of static cut through the recording, and that static sliced straight through Luan Nian's heart.

A sharp, searing pain.

He pulled off his headphones, completely unaware that the corners of his eyes were wet. Standing up, he walked out of his office and stepped into Dony's room. He suddenly snatched the teacup off the desk and smashed it over Dony's head. Screams erupted outside, and Dony stood up to fight back. But Luan Nian gave him no chance—he yanked Dony up by his tie, winding it around his neck and pulling tight, whispering right into his ear:

"You like binding, don't you?"

"You like suffocation, don't you?"

"You like drugging people, don't you?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you like it?"

Luan Nian had no intention of letting go; he wanted to kill him. In his teenage years, he had loved guns and combat, always wanting to wipe out those disgusting people, yet none of them were half as sickening as the man before him.

Finally, two people rushed in and pulled Luan Nian away. Tracy stepped in front of him and said, "The police are here."

He released his grip on the tie, red welts left across his palm, while his eyes burned even redder, resembling a beast ready to murder and burn everything down. He stepped out of the office and saw everyone staring at him, but he didn't say a word, merely casting a single glance at Shang Zhitao through the silent crowd.

His heart was aching to the point of dying.

Truly.

Such a wonderful girl had been plagued by a maggot for so long, tormented by nightmares, yet forcing a smile every single day. He had shoved her against the wall and grabbed her by the neck, the impact creating static on the voice recorder.

Just how terrified must she have been back then, trembling across every single one of those 1,520 kilometers from Chengdu to Beijing?

Luan Nian hated himself for moving too slowly, while also blaming Shang Zhitao for taking matters into her own hands.

Clutching his neck, Dony stumbled out of the office and glared at Luan Nian: "Did you set this trap?"

"I actually wanted to kill you."

Luan Nian's expression was terrifying. When he was truly enraged, his murderous intent wasn't blatantly obvious; instead, it hovered as a thin, chilling layer deep within his eyes. He gave you a faint glance, not even bothering to offer a second.

Standing in the middle of the aisle, Tracy exchanged a glance with Luan Nian, then looked out at everyone. Her tone was deeply sincere, accompanied by a tinge of sorrow: "At Linmei China, the ratio of male to female employees is forty-five percent to fifty-five percent. Female employees are the main force driving Linmei's rapid development in the domestic market. I did not foresee what happened today, and Flora's email, in particular, breaks my heart." For the first time, she shed tears in front of the crowd: "As a woman myself, I feel truly grieved by what Flora has endured. I really do."

Shang Zhitao was still sitting there without moving, while Lumi sat beside her, holding her icy-cold hand.

Tracy wiped away her tears and composed herself: "Dony was hired directly by Linmei Headquarters, and his background check did not go through Linmei China, which was an employment misstep on the group's part as well. Early this morning, we received a call from the public security bureau asking us to cooperate with their investigation into a sexual assault case, which led to the scene you all just witnessed."

"I have also learned from the police that Dony is suspected in more than just this single case; six women have jointly filed reports. However, because I don't know many details at present, I can only speak up to this point."

"As the head of Human Resources for Linmei China, I am initiating an internal company investigation into Dony today, and I welcome any female colleagues to come and talk to me. At the same time, I earnestly request everyone to respect every single woman who steps forward. If you were not caught in it yourself, it is simply because you were a little bit luckier."

"Thank you."

Tracy bowed to everyone, then walked over to Shang Zhitao and patted her shoulder. What a wonderful girl—when Tracy interviewed her back then, she had fallen in love with her from the very first sentence she spoke.

"Flora, I listened to the audio recordings you provided. There is one sentence I feel I must tell you in person: Dony said your resume was unqualified for the Planning Department, but I disagree. During your two-plus years at Linmei, you received two A+ performance reviews and led both the vendor management project and the Marketing Department efficiency improvement project with stellar results and exceptional capability, evident to all. Moving forward, the Planning Department will open internal transfer requisitions, and you are more than welcome to apply."

Shang Zhitao nodded, but she felt terribly exhausted. Though she hadn't spoken or worked today, her body felt completely drained. She said to Tracy, "May I take a leave of absence today?"

"Of course."

Shang Zhitao packed her belongings and went downstairs, not wanting to stay in the company for another moment. As she passed by Luan Nian, she had to suppress a desperate urge to throw herself into his arms and wail aloud—a wave of unprecedented grievance and vulnerability washing over her. The gazes of the crowd stripped her completely bare; she knew she would be doubted and had prepared herself for it, yet the moment she heard that line—"must've failed to reach a deal"—her defenses collapsed completely.

Lumi escorted her downstairs, where Sun Yu and Sun Yuanzhu were already waiting for her. Standing by the window, Luan Nian saw Shang Zhitao walk up to them; Sun Yuanzhu took her backpack and patted her on the head. Then, they left together.

Luan Nian had asked Shang Zhitao countless times: "Has Dony ever harassed you?"

She had said: "No."

She had never once thought of telling him about Dony. Whenever she faced hardship, she never felt he could offer her help. She preferred to endure the fear, anxiety, and dread alone, suffering through one dark night after another, rather than ever thinking of seeking help from him.

Standing by the window watching them walk into the distance, he suddenly realized that Shang Zhitao was never the person he thought she was. She had never truly relied on him; clear-headed and independent, she had always kept him outside her circle of trust. Just as he had told her at the very beginning:

We are just bed partners; neither of us needs to be responsible for the other.

If either party encounters a new relationship, we can end this at any time.

We part ways amicably.

Shang Zhitao had adhered to every single word.

Luan Nian sat back down at his desk, suddenly finding all of this utterly dull and meaningless. He opened his laptop and drafted a resignation letter:

I am not prepared to take the fall for the company's flawed hiring strategy. Dony's appointment did not go through me, and even his background check materials were fraught with issues.

I do not know whose interests Dony actually represents, but this hiring disaster on the company's part fully demonstrates a complete lack of trust in me.

I resign from all positions at Linmei effective today.

That is all.

Luan Nian snapped his laptop shut and walked out of the office building.