The Early Spring - Chapter 80

Chapter 80 - A High-Stakes Gamble 

In the early spring of this year, Shang Zhitao once again realized how grueling work could be.

She sat in the conference room alongside her colleagues from the Planning Department, engaged in a conference call with Luan Nian, who was far away in the United States.

Grace said to Shang Zhitao, "Flora, there's no need to rush. Although the work in the Planning Department differs from that in the Marketing Department, the underlying essence and core of the work remain the same. You've built a solid foundation over the past few years, so you'll catch up very quickly."

Grace was her new mentor in the Planning Department.

Shang Zhitao liked Grace—she was a deeply rational, professional, and talented person. Ever since hearing her debriefing report when she secured the million-RMB equity incentive, Grace had been elevated to the status of a deity in Shang Zhitao's heart.

At this moment, Grace was heavily pregnant, with faint blemishes appearing on her face, yet she still exuded an intellectual charm.

"Write down anything you don't understand during the meeting, and ask me all at once after it ends," Grace said to her. Although Grace was a genuinely wonderful person, she also held a slight personal motive. During the Planning Department's internal job selection, Grace had given Shang Zhitao a high score because she was worthy of trust. Grace was pregnant, and when she went on maternity leave, the projects in her hands would inevitably have to be handed over. Who to hand them over to was a matter of strategy. The people in the Planning Department were all shrewd opportunists who wanted to stand above others; once her projects were handed out, it would be exceedingly difficult to reclaim them. Furthermore, she was about to face her lactation period, making it very likely that her career at Linmei would hit a dead end.

Therefore, she cast her sights on Shang Zhitao.

Shang Zhitao was reliable. Grace had observed her for a long time—she was upright, kind, and full of empathy. Grace placed her bet on her.

Luan Nian asked on the other end, "Did the new colleagues arrive today?"

Grace replied, "Flora onboarded yesterday and is attending her first Planning Department meeting today. Another internal colleague is still handing over projects and joined remotely today. A colleague hired externally had a death in the family, so their onboarding date was postponed. Additionally, Human Resources contacted me today to inform me that this year's campus recruitment is expected to open two headcount slots for the Planning Department, with the hiring focus placed on overseas universities."

"Good. Let's begin."

The pace of the Planning Department's meetings was far too fast.

Even though Shang Zhitao had tempered herself at Linmei for a few years, she still found it somewhat overwhelming. Core functions such as superior departments, industry associations, client management, consulting, special initiatives, and project management all converged within the Planning Department. In other words, Linmei's Planning Department was the brain of Linmei. The brain issued directives, and each department executed them. If the brain issued a wrong command, every department would suffer.

Shang Zhitao's first assignment in the Planning Department was taking meeting minutes, which only needed to be sent to Grace. After finishing the meeting, she compiled the minutes and sent them over, only to receive Grace's meticulous annotations—circling every critical point, adding explanations for technical terms, and even pulling her to the pantry to explain the background of their current core projects. Nothing was held back.

Grace was truly a fantastic mentor. She spoke concisely and succinctly, maintained an approachable demeanor, yet possessed crystal-clear goals. In the pantry, she wrapped up their conversation like this: "Don't be afraid; it's not hard. Ask plenty of questions. You'll do just fine."

Her speaking style was somewhat similar to Luan Nian's. Shang Zhitao also suddenly understood why Luan Nian appreciated Grace—it was likely because, at her core, Grace was the exact same type of person as him.

"I will, Grace," Shang Zhitao nodded.

Grace stroked her chest: "I'm feeling short of breath. Come on, accompany me downstairs to get some fresh air. While we're at it, I'll explain the company's strategic layout for this year; all of it ties into our core projects."

"Sure thing."

The two walked downstairs. Shang Zhitao had rarely interacted with pregnant female colleagues before—there were a few in the company, but without overlapping work, it was hard to get to know them. As they walked down, she asked Grace, "Does your belly... feel heavy?"

Grace smiled: "It's actually alright. Truth be told, I hadn't planned on having a child in these two years, but it happened unexpectedly. The doctor advised against an abortion—after all, I'm thirty-three."

"Then what does the boss think? Isn't it said that bosses don't like female employees getting pregnant?"

"Are you talking about Luke?"

Shang Zhitao nodded.

"Luke said: 'Take advantage of being young and have it early. Work is just work anyway—you've already secured your stock, so what are you afraid of?'" Grace burst out laughing: "Actually, Luke is a really good person. I was terrified of him at first, but gradually I realized he just has a bad mouth; his heart is actually very soft. I don't think he has the mindset of a ruthless capitalist."

"Oh, oh, oh." Shang Zhitao uttered a few soft acknowledgments. Executive Luan was coming back.

He had been gone for far too long this time—Shang Zhitao hadn't seen him in over two months. Flustered, she busied herself until the middle of the night. Upon returning home, she saw a packaging box resting on her bed, containing a remarkably beautiful piece of sleepwear. Sun Yu's message arrived right on time: A gift for you. Wear it for your boss to see—killing two birds with one stone.

Shang Zhitao slipped the nightgown over her body. The front featured a semi-transparent, deep V-neck lace pattern, while the back was largely exposed. How was this a nightgown? It was clearly just a piece of cloth that barely covered her body. Yet it was truly stunning. Shang Zhitao wore it, let down her hair, and took a selfie, letting out a couple of soft, self-conscious tuts afterward.

That night, Luan Nian asked her: Have you finished writing the materials?

Shang Zhitao thought for a moment and sent the photo of herself in the sleepwear over to him.

Luan Nian tapped open the dialogue box and saw the picture. Fuck.

A blush crept all the way up to his neck, and he rapidly pressed the screen off, terrified that someone else might see it. After a long pause, he replied to her: Just this one?

Shang Zhitao sent two more photos. Under the dim lighting, she sat before a full-length mirror, her smooth, long legs tucked up in front of her, the shoulder strap of her nightgown slipping down, the lace pattern rumpled, and her red lips slightly parted. Not only that, she even sent a recklessly provocative sentence: So, for the past half hour, what have you been doing?

Luan Nian's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He replied to her: Reviewing materials. Never expect a proud man to flirt explicitly; he couldn't bring himself to drop his posture.

Oh, oh, oh, then please take a good look. I've sent the materials to your email, Luke.

Shang Zhitao had learned to be bad.

Lumi was the one who taught her. At noon, while accompanying Lumi to get her nails done, Lumi had raised her hand and said to Shang Zhitao, "Look at how plain and unseasoned you are. Even if you find a boyfriend, it won't last long. Be a bit more sultry."

"How do I become sultry?" Shang Zhitao asked in genuine earnest.

Lumi whispered a few sentences into her ear, making her face turn red: "Oh. I've acquired the skill." Now that she had acquired it, wasn't she putting it to use?

Shang Zhitao imagined Luan Nian losing control, giggling to herself in bed. It was two days later in the dusk when she suddenly received a message from Luan Nian:

Come over. Bring that nightgown with you.

? Aren't you coming back next week?

Moved it up.

Having not seen each other for a long time, the two didn't even bother with pleasantries. Shang Zhitao heard the sound of fabric tearing as a violent Luan Nian ripped her nightgown apart. What had Lumi said? Don't ask whether he likes it or not—just look at his reaction. Shang Zhitao felt she understood men a little bit now. Look at Luan Nian: usually such a stern person, yet when ripping her nightgown, he was anything but a gentleman.

The next morning, she got up after setting an alarm and saw that Luan Nian was already awake and getting dressed.

"Are you going out?" Shang Zhitao asked him.

"Mm, meeting a friend. What are you doing today?" Luan Nian asked casually, waiting to see what ridiculous answer she would throw at him.

"I'm going to the library today!" Shang Zhitao smiled at him, threw on some casual clothes, and left. She had to go home to change. Sun Yu had mentioned that today's event consisted entirely of high-end members, many of whom were extremely wealthy. She hoped Shang Zhitao would put in some effort to get them to upgrade their purchased services by another tier.

Shang Zhitao hurried back home, changed into a black dress that fell a palm's length below her knees, put on a pair of black leather boots, applied light makeup, painted her lips red, threw on her coat, and headed out the door. The event was hosted at a bar—with few patrons during the day, reserving the venue was cheap, and transportation was convenient. After arriving, Shang Zhitao signed in, took off her coat to hang it up, and turned around to see a man casting a glance her way.

Sun Yu hadn't lied; today was indeed a high-quality offline gathering.

She exchanged a glance with Sun Yu, found an inconspicuous spot to sit down, and the moment she raised her head, she saw someone walk inside. Before Shang Zhitao could hide, he had already sat down across from her, looking at her with a smile. That was by no means a friendly smile. How did Luan Nian get here?

Shang Zhitao thought to herself that she was completely ruined. She pulled out her phone and sent a message to Luan Nian: I'm helping Sun Yu.

I rarely come here, you know! A blatant attempt to cover things up.

And participating in this kind of event is just going through the motions for me; I never fool around!

How did you get here?

Yet Luan Nian didn't even look at his phone. Shang Zhitao stared at him and pointed at her phone, but Luan Nian acted as though he hadn't seen it. This was the event Dr. Liang had registered him for—the registration fee was 888 RMB. When he said he wouldn't go, Dr. Liang insisted: Go on, go on! If you see the girl from that photo, take a picture for me so I can see what she looks like in person.

Luan Nian had come close to sending the photo of Shang Zhitao in her nightgown to Dr. Liang.

Watching Shang Zhitao lie with a cold gaze this morning, he had decided not to waste that 888 RMB. In the end, Shang Zhitao truly made sure his 888 RMB didn't go to waste—she had actually put on makeup and was fucking wearing a short dress. Impressive. Having known you for several years, you dress as plain as a nun in front of me, yet you come to a high-end gathering to act as a planted shill.

When it came to the step of distributing profile materials, Luan Nian looked at Shang Zhitao's profile, which had a few discrepancies from the website: Graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, working at a foreign enterprise, annual salary of 400,000 RMB, height 171 cm, weight 54 kg, enjoys diving, skiing, and golf. Fluent in three languages. He suddenly let out a scoffing laugh.

Hearing this laugh, Shang Zhitao had a faint foreboding that today was going to be a disaster. She sent a message to Sun Yu: How did Luan Nian get here?

How should I know? I checked—he signed in under another member's name. He must be using an account registered under someone else's identity.

Holy shit.

How could Shang Zhitao have known any of this? She could only smile at Luan Nian coaxingly, secretly worried that Luan Nian would ruin Sun Yu's event today.

She stood up and walked outside to get some fresh air. When she returned, she saw Luan Nian talking to the bar server. His gaze casually swept past her, still completely ignoring her. Shang Zhitao walked up to him and said, "Can we talk?" There was a slight hint of acting coquettish in her tone.

"Apologies, private contact is not allowed during the event." Luan Nian squeezed out a smile at Shang Zhitao, turned around, and walked inside.

Shang Zhitao ran a few quick steps and pulled him into a side private room, saying to him, "It's fine here, let's talk."

"I don't even know you."

...

"Are you angry?" Shang Zhitao asked him. "I didn't mean to lie this morning. It's just that there was nothing really worth mentioning about this..."

"Was it only this morning?"

Luan Nian was referring to every single Saturday morning when he left her place. Out of all her weird and wonderful excuses, what made him angriest was that she was actually so earnest as to put on makeup.

"In the past... there were a few times as well."

"Have I told you before? If you meet someone else, tell them openly—don't treat the other person like a fool."

"You told me. But didn't I fail to meet anyone?" Shang Zhitao felt a bit angry. Why couldn't Luan Nian understand that she was merely coming to help Sun Yu out? And earning a bit of extra cash along the way.

"..." These words truly poked right at Luan Nian's sore spot. The moment Dr. Liang registered the account, she had pounced right on it to initiate a chat, nearly giving away her home address to Dr. Liang. During the holiday, Dr. Liang held chat records with various girls to show him every day, especially hers—Dr. Liang was just short of reading them aloud with deep emotion! What did Dr. Liang say? Her exact words were: This girl is so sincere; it's clear at a glance she's exceptionally anxious to find a partner. Work harder for me!

At that time, Luan Nian hadn't been very angry, even mocking Dr. Liang for not understanding "system-managed accounts" and "virtual accounts."

Until he saw the made-up Shang Zhitao at the event venue—truly wonderful, it turned out he was the one who didn't understand.

"Move aside."

"No. I'll move aside once you promise me you won't cause trouble."

Luan Nian narrowed his eyes into slits, and only after a long pause did he speak: "Fine, I won't cause trouble."

Luan Nian never kept his word.

When it was his turn to speak, he suddenly said, "Female Guest Number 8 looks remarkably like an employee at my company. However, that employee isn't fluent in three languages, nor did she graduate from the University of Pennsylvania. Right?"

Fuck.

One truly can never trust Luan Nian's mouth, Shang Zhitao thought: "I have a common face; it's just a coincidence."

"Mm, the female employee at my company is also named Shang Zhitao."

The event participants present began to chatter and discuss. Sun Yu started breaking out in a sweat off to the side—we're finished. She had experienced Luan Nian's sharp mouth firsthand, along with his vengeful mindset. She hurriedly pulled up Luan Nian's account, thinking to herself: If worst comes to worst, I'll sacrifice you today. Since you don't match the account photo, I'll just say you came here to crash the place. No one has seen your company's Shang Zhitao, but there's solid proof regarding your fake photo—this can count as one of our contingency plans for future events.

Who could have guessed that Luan Nian wouldn't give her the chance? He said, "I'll withdraw from today's event first. Whenever I see Female Guest Number 8, it reminds me of my subordinate. I can't get into character."

"Alright. It truly is such a coincidence," the host immediately chimed in. "We will arrange a refund for you, and you're welcome to join our next event."

Luan Nian cast a glance at Shang Zhitao and walked out.

Though he had wanted to throttle her to death just now, he had still left a bit of leeway. Starting a business wasn't easy for Sun Yu, and things had only just taken a turn for the better.

Stepping out of the bar to look for his car, Shang Zhitao came running out and slid into the vehicle right as he opened the car door.

Luan Nian looked at her: "Not looking for a partner anymore? Everyone inside is an eligible bachelor."

Shang Zhitao let out a giggle and buckled her seatbelt.

"Get out."

"No."

Luan Nian cast a glance at her: "Is playing a marriage scammer fun? Was it fun chatting with my mom for two or three months?"

"Huh?"

"Didn't expect that, did you? A marriage scammer bumping into an old scammer."

Shang Zhitao had no idea which account belonged to Luan Nian's mother. Her account was managed by the system, and before every event, Sun Yu would send her the chat logs for a quick review. She did have an impression of the account name Luan Nian had signed under; they had actually chatted quite deeply.

"If I say my account was a system-managed account, you won't question it, right?" After Shang Zhitao spoke, she suddenly reacted: "Then how did Dr. Liang abroad know about Sun Yu's website? Why did she register an account for you?"

The story behind this was quite marvelous, but Luan Nian had no intention of telling Shang Zhitao.

"Get out of the car; I'm going on a date."

"A date with whom?"

"Shang Zhitao, I'm better than you in this regard. If you ask me, I'll tell you. Teacher Gong Yue. Get out of the car."

"Tell the other person openly if you meet someone else."

"Look how open I am—I'll tell you before I sleep with her."

"Fine. Great. Thanks." Shang Zhitao delivered a triple combo of infuriating responses and stepped out of the car.

Luan Nian's car kicked up a cloud of dust and sped away.