The Early Spring - Chapter 78

Chapter 78 - Standing Up For Her 

"I want you to be my boss."

"Why?"

"Because I like working with you. I feel like I can learn so, so much when I work alongside you, and you give me so much motivation to keep growing. Most importantly, I get to see you often. All of these feelings are wonderful." Typing out these words, Shang Zhitao felt her face grow slightly flushed. She was just short of saying: I want to be with you every single day, together forever.

"What did Tracy talk to you about?"

"...Nothing at all. She doesn't even know about our relationship."

"What relationship?" Luan Nian asked her: "The kind of relationship where you keep me in the dark until the bitter end when trouble hits?" Luan Nian was truly petty and bore grudges, a fact Shang Zhitao now knew all too well.

"..."

Shang Zhitao ignored him and began seriously researching the details of the internal job application. She wanted to transfer positions because she wished to challenge herself with more specialized work. Lumi had snagged a copy of Grace's job application files from back in the day and tossed it to her so she could copy her homework. Shang Zhitao looked it over and realized there was indeed quite a lot she could draw from. Thus, following the template step-by-step, she drafted an initial rough version.

Luan Nian was nowhere near as carefree. His phone rang incessantly, so he simply tossed it aside and paid it no mind. However, Dr. Liang's call still had to be answered. Dr. Liang seemed to be in a particularly fine mood, saying to Luan Nian, "Are you hiding something from your mother?"

"Like what?"

"Like... are you in a relationship?"

Luan Nian thought for a moment, then asked her, "Do you really wish for me to be in a relationship that badly? So eager for me to get married and have kids? In such a hurry to see a granddaughter?"

"Why not a grandson?"

"I like girls." Luan Nian teased her on purpose.

"A girl is even better, of course. So are you dating someone?"

"I am." Answering the question about dating in such a way—half-true and half-false—left Dr. Liang in deep thought. Yet she felt there was at least a glimmer of truth to it; otherwise, why would her son be acting so unusual today? Thus she pressed further, "What does the girl do? How does she look? Does she have a good personality?"

Hearing Dr. Liang ask this, Luan Nian actually gave it serious thought: "A regular employee, very easy on the eyes, and has a great personality."

"What kind of assessment is 'easy on the eyes'?" Dr. Liang didn't quite grasp what "easy on the eyes" meant—was she good-looking or not?

"'Easy on the eyes' means she's comfortable for me to look at."

Dr. Liang suddenly felt a wave of relief, though she couldn't quite say why. She had assumed that with Luan Nian's foul temper and eccentric personality, he would probably end up growing old alone. Perhaps women might date him for his looks and family background, but over time, they certainly wouldn't be able to tolerate him. What's more, he didn't seem like the type to be in love: "That's quite good. I thought you were going to spend the rest of your life alone."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

Dr. Liang burst out laughing: "How long have you been together? Is there a chance for us to meet?"

"Mm, wait until you two come back. So stop introducing girls to me; I don't have the energy to deal with them."

"Alright, alright, alright." When Professor Gong had casually mentioned to Luan Nian's father earlier that morning that Luan Nian seemed to be dating someone, Dr. Liang had been in a wonderful mood. She was exceedingly open-minded; as long as her son liked her, it didn't matter who he was dating. Love was an inherently happy thing anyway—what could possibly be bad about her own son experiencing happiness? She had even considered that even if Luan Nian told her he liked men, she would be able to accept it.

"Let me leave it at that for now. Can you send me a picture of the girl so I can take a look?"

"Mm." "Alright then, I'll wait for your photo. Goodbye."

Dr. Liang wanted to see a photo, but where was Luan Nian supposed to get one? He casually found a random image on the internet and sent it over to her. Dr. Liang actually examined it meticulously using a magnifying glass. Catching sight of the website logo stamped on the photo, she slammed her phone onto the table in annoyance: "This child!"

Luan Nian's father raised his eyes from his newspaper, mocking her, "Worrying about matters that are none of your business."

"I was just curious."

"Always curious, and always brushed off by him."

"Can you stop nagging me? Why are you so annoying?" Dr. Liang lost her temper, turned around, and walked away.

Having dealt with Dr. Liang, Luan Nian saw Luke standing nearby with his tongue hanging out, staring at him as if having seen right through certain thoughts of his. He pinched the dog's face: "What are you looking at?"

Luke looked entirely innocent: Was I looking at you? I wasn't, was I?

Luan Nian felt there was no getting through to this silly dog, so he brought him back home.

On the day the board members arrived, Luan Nian vanished.

Tracy called his mobile phone—it was powered off.

She called his home landline—the line was busy.

His stance on washing his hands of the whole affair was crystal clear: let whoever wants to deal with it deal with it. The board members sat in Linmei's conference room, each displaying a face darker than the next. The atmospheric pressure inside the company was exceedingly low; no one dared to breathe heavily. Lumi whispered to Shang Zhitao, "If they knew it would come to this, why act that way in the first place? Don't they know what kind of temper my stubborn donkey has? Daring to provoke him like this—serves them right. If the stubborn donkey holds out for two more days, the stock price will hit rock bottom, and by then, no one will get to play the game anymore."

"Where did the man go?" the board members asked Tracy.

Tracy shrugged: "To be honest, I don't know."

"Send someone to find him."

"There's no one at home, his phone is off, and he can't be found." Tracy's tone wasn't particularly pleasant either, her fingers tapping against the tabletop without saying another word. She had a temper too; these bastards knew better than anyone how this whole mess had come about. Now that they were panicking, where was this concern earlier?

Shang Zhitao knew where Luan Nian was; he had to be at the bar.

Using the excuse of grabbing a coffee, she headed downstairs, found a deserted spot, and dialed the bar's number. Sure enough, someone picked up.

"Hello, is Luan Nian there?"

"Defected to the enemy?" Luan Nian's teasing voice echoed from the other end of the line.

Shang Zhitao's face instantly flushed crimson, and she hurriedly explained, "No, I was just curious if you were at the bar. They've all arrived and are sitting in the conference room. The atmosphere at the company is terrible." Shang Zhitao hadn't realized that her action of tipping him off made her look precisely like a little informant.

"I know."

"Huh?"

"I have my own informant." Luan Nian seemed to be in a good mood as he said to Shang Zhitao, "There's an event at the bar today, so Luke and I will sleep up on the mountain. Tonight you can either head back to my place or go back to yours—either is fine."

"Oh. Then I want to hear Luke bark once."

"Did I kidnap him?" Expressing his dissatisfaction with Shang Zhitao's lack of trust, Luan Nian said to Luke beside him, "Your master is calling you; bark for her."

Shang Zhitao heard Luan Nian say this, and then actually heard Luke let out a woof, making her burst into giggles: "Then goodbye for now."

"Mm." Before hanging up, Luan Nian added, "No need to worry, I'm breaking their spirit!"

These old eagles naturally needed their spirits broken; otherwise, who knew what kind of trouble they would stir up next time? Breaking them thoroughly once—until the pain hit them where it hurt—would make them think twice when attempting sneaky tricks in the future.

"Is the timing right? Don't push it too far, or the board might directly find someone to replace you."

"That would be fantastic. I'll just start another company and steal business from Linmei." Luan Nian was someone who truly heeded neither soft nor tough approaches; once you provoked him, if you didn't let him vent his anger completely, the matter would certainly never blow over.

Tracy naturally knew this as well. After pondering for a moment, she asked him, "You have someone on the board, right? If you do, judge the timing yourself—I won't call you anymore."

In the past, Luan Nian and Tracy were merely school alumni and colleagues. Ever since they joined forces to deal with a scum, they felt the other party was truly someone worthy of trust.

"Alright, goodbye."

Luan Nian was busy inside the bar; today was another university event.

Gong Yue was quite an interesting person. When Luan Nian deleted her contact, she didn't panic, actually reserving the venue solely through the bar manager without ever taking the initiative to contact him again. Thinking about it, she was someone with a proud backbone.

Luan Nian was enjoying the autumn scenery outside the bar with Luke when Gong Yue stepped out of a car, greeted Luan Nian from a distance, and walked inside. Her students, on the other hand, stole glances at Luan Nian, genuinely believing he was Teacher Gong's boyfriend.

Luan Nian nodded to them and led Luke up the mountain. The autumn scenery on the mountain was lovely; he found a boulder, sat down, and simply zoned out. He didn't even notice when someone had come to stand beside him, until Luke let out a bark. Only then did Luan Nian turn around to see Gong Yue.

"Aren't you hosting the event?"

"The event has started, so there's no need for me to keep watching over it. Just came out for a walk." Seeing Luan Nian's brow furrow, Gong Yue took a step in the opposite direction to keep a certain distance from him before saying, "I know why you deleted my contact, but I actually didn't mean anything by it. Having only met once, what intentions could I possibly have? Tan Mian knows that although I teach at a university, I actually have a bit of a free-spirited, uninhibited air about me. Don't be fooled by my appearance—I'm no delicate little girl; I just like making friends."

Before Luan Nian could speak, Luke grew displeased, sitting there and barking at Gong Yue, roughly meaning: Keep it down, don't talk. Or perhaps saying: Stay away from Luke.

Seeing Luke bark, Gong Yue was taken aback for a moment, looking at Luke, then at Luan Nian. Luan Nian, on the other hand, patted Luke's head and said to Gong Yue, "Luke doesn't let me talk to the opposite sex."

"So the cold-faced Young Master Luan, whom rumors craze over in the industry, is actually kept in check by a dog?"

"Saying it like that isn't quite right." Luan Nian felt displeased: "This isn't an ordinary dog; this is my friend." After speaking, he added another sentence: "My dog son."

"The autumn scenery is quite nice; take it in a bit longer." Luan Nian gave Luke an order: "Let's go!" And off he walked. As Luan Nian walked, he looked down at Luke: Just you? Worthy of being my friend? My dog son? You don't even have a brain, knowing nothing but barking aimlessly all day. It's truly bizarre—when I talk to men, you don't bark, but when I talk to women, you throw a fit. What are you throwing a fit for? Am I not allowed to talk to women anymore?

Walking all the way back to the bar, he saw the students hosting a book club event. A book was placed in front of each person, and the host was organizing everyone to engage in exchanges. In those years, this trend had suddenly caught on, as though if one didn't participate in a book club, reading a book was deemed utterly wasted. Luan Nian let out a scoff, took Luke back to the lounge, and took a nap.

When he opened his eyes, the event had long concluded, and a heavy fog had settled over the mountain. Luan Nian sat by the window watching the outside world resemble Silent Hill, right until several cars slowly drove up and parked in front of the bar. The corners of Luan Nian's mouth twitched slightly. The eagles couldn't take it anymore; they had flown over themselves. They were probably terrified of the stock price hitting two more limit-downs.

He sat there without moving, watching his old friends walk inside. Everyone was a person of status; after entering, they didn't utter any inappropriate words, first asking the server for drinks before sitting down across from Luan Nian. Regarding the fact that Luan Nian didn't rise to greet them, they weren't surprised at all, having long grown accustomed to it.

Among the three board members who came, two were Americans and one was Chinese. The Americans preferred to get straight to the point, while the Chinese preferred to discuss personal bonds first. Thus, their openings split into two paths—one was the American, asking Luan Nian, "When are you returning to work?"

The other was the Chinese board member, asking him, "Running this bar must require a considerable investment of money, right?"

Luan Nian was amused by them, first saying to the Chinese member, "I still have a bit of family background left; I can afford the money." Then to the American, "Not going back."

The American smiled: "From now on, the entire China branch will answer to you." Truly capable of bending and stretching.

Luan Nian didn't take the bait, opting instead to say, "Today's drinks are on me. Flying all the way from the US must have been quite exhausting for everyone. Drink up, and get a good night's sleep when you head back."

"State your conditions," the American said.

"Process my resignation paperwork as quickly as possible."

This guy Luan Nian truly didn't know what was good for him. But if he knew what was good for him, he wouldn't be Luan Nian. Everyone now thoroughly understood Luan Nian's temper; the negotiation hit a dead end, and they looked at each other, sipping the drinks Luan Nian treated them to.

It was only after finishing a glass of alcohol that Luan Nian finally spoke up: "Dony's actions caused immense harm to that employee. If the company doesn't even show the intention to apologize, how can we put the employees' minds at ease?"

"What is your suggestion?"

"I suggest two points: First, immediate stock option vesting to represent the company's sincerity; second, force that scum to record a video apology."

No one expected that Luan Nian's opening demands would be these. Exchanging glances with one another, they realized this wasn't actually difficult. Thus, one of the American board members spoke up, "Stock equivalent to one hundred thousand RMB?"

Luan Nian nodded: "Giving that to the other reporting employees is fine, but the primary whistleblower was grabbed by the neck and faced a life-threatening danger. If she goes to the media and reveals the details, the stock price can hit another five limit-downs."

"Then what is your suggestion?"

"My suggestion: the primary whistleblower receives stock equivalent to two hundred thousand RMB, and the other four employees get one hundred thousand." After finishing, he added a line, "Special rewards, not to be publicly disclosed." If disclosed, he feared someone would say again: Look at that, this matter isn't so simple; maybe there's some inside story. Luan Nian didn't want the girls to be dragged into the eye of a public opinion storm again.

"Fine."

The group reached a consensus, and then the American asked once more, "When will you return to work?"

"Tomorrow I'll handle the matter of the employee apology first. Once that's handled, I'll return to work." He paused for two seconds, worried the American shareholders wouldn't fully grasp his point, and added another line, "My meaning is, I need to see the equity grant agreement signed by the employee, as well as that scum's apology video."

This was Luan Nian's stance.

He stood up, seeing the guests out.

He had long calculated the ledger carefully: the stock would drop for one more day, allowing the girls to acquire the stock at its lowest point, and within less than half a year after exercising the options, it would climb back to its peak. He hoped they could get a good night's sleep.

Luan Nian hadn't realized before that he too could occasionally possess such a good heart. He had always believed himself to be a cold-blooded person.

The next day, when Shang Zhitao sat in Tracy's office, seeing Tracy pull out a thick stack of documents, she was a bit dazed: "Is the company firing me?"

Tracy was amused by her foolish look: "Take a look for yourself."

Shang Zhitao actually looked at it—an Equity Grant Agreement? What was this?

Tracy saw her confusion and explained to her, "You know that the company awards stock to a small portion of employees every year, right?"

Shang Zhitao nodded; she knew. But that was reserved for expert-level employees only.

"This is a special stock award granted to you by the company, rewarding you for your fearless bravery in fighting alone to secure a safe working environment for your female colleagues."

"Huh?" Shang Zhitao's first reaction was that she couldn't accept it; if she did, others would say she did it for money.

Tracy, however, pushed the pen in front of her: "The stock award is a confidential grant, so you don't need to worry about anyone knowing. Only you and I know about this. Oh right, and Luke. This was one of the conditions for his return to his post."

Luan Nian?

Luan Nian had never mentioned a single word about this to her. Shang Zhitao looked at the grant agreement—a substantial sum of money, a full two hundred thousand RMB. That was in the year 2012, and two hundred thousand RMB was a massive grant for many ordinary working people.

"Accept it," Tracy said. "Consider it as securing benefits for all your colleagues too. If you don't accept it, Luke won't return to his post, the stock will continue to fall, and everyone's year-end bonuses for this year will go down the drain."

The hand with which Shang Zhitao held the pen trembled slightly again. Tracy pressed her hand down, teasing her, "Trembling over just this? In a few years, when you win a million-RMB equity grant through the internal job application, won't you just pass out?"

Shang Zhitao was amused by her, neatly signing her name.

She also signed a non-disclosure agreement, and then asked Tracy, "Is this all done now?"

Tracy nodded: "Someone will contact you to open a stock account. The exercise period for this stock is three days—yes, not three years, but three days. After three days, it will all be yours. Lastly, take care to protect your assets."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," Tracy said. "Brilliantly done, Flora."

When Shang Zhitao stepped out of Tracy's office, she saw all the televisions across the company unified on a single screen. Dony appeared in the frame, saying, "I apologize to the women who have suffered my harassment. I am sorry."

He even stood up and bowed deeply.

The company was dead quiet. People looked at one another, and suddenly someone took the lead in clapping. This was probably the closest thing to the perfect company in everyone's hearts.

Tracy turned off the speakerphone and said to Luan Nian, "Did you hear that?"

"I heard it."

"Vented your anger now?"

"It's alright."

"Returning to work?"

"Next Monday."

Luan Nian hung up the phone, feeling in a rather good mood as he whistled at Luke. Luke's ears immediately perked up: Eating meat? Going out to play? Such simple thoughts.

Luan Nian patted his dog head: "Look at that brain of yours—exactly the same as your master's."

Right after he spoke, that brainless master of his called over, her voice slightly muffled: "Tracy said..."

"Moved to tears?"

"...No... yes, I wanted to say thank you."

"You're welcome."

Luan Nian didn't like Shang Zhitao thanking him; this wasn't something worth thanking for in the first place—merely a small favor on his part. Though this "small favor" was achieved through an extremely high-risk gamble, Luan Nian felt it was worth it.

He was never short of money in the first place; a lousy job—if he quit, he quit.

If he won, however, it was quite nice.

Either way, he was combative by nature.

"Is Luke behaving today?"

Luan Nian looked at Luke, who was currently wolfing down meat, and said, "It's alright."

"Then how about I treat you to dinner tonight?"

"I don't like eating food from outside."

"I'll cook!"

Luan Nian remained silent. The food Shang Zhitao cooked was truly unpalatable: "Let's just eat out."

"I've learned a few specialty dishes..." Shang Zhitao said.

"You said the exact same thing last time," Luan Nian reminded her.

The two failed to reach an agreement and hung up.

After a while, Luan Nian sent a message over: How are the job application materials coming along?

Still preparing. I always feel it's not good enough.

Luan Nian thought to himself: You sure are foolish enough. It's already this late, and you're still obsessing over documents? The evaluation panel is entirely made up of internal colleagues in the company—when it's time to leverage interpersonal connections, you're nitpicking over documents? Thus he criticized her directly: Who are the leaders in the Planning Department? What are their respective styles? How is your relationship with them? The core element of an internal job application is interpersonal relations. If you don't reach out to people now, when are you going to do it? After you fail?

Shang Zhitao thought it over carefully and felt that what Luan Nian said was completely right. The bosses in the Planning Department each had their own styles and preferences, as well as different areas of expertise. No matter how well the documents were prepared, if they asked a question you couldn't answer during the interview, you would still be done for. This was probably a kind of workplace culture too.

Shang Zhitao open-mindedly accepted Luan Nian's criticism, so she asked him: Then who should I reach out to? Who holds the decision-making power in this matter? Do you have any suggestions?

After a long time, Luan Nian replied to her:

Me.