The Early Spring - Chapter 82

Chapter 82 - Moving Stars

Luan Nian received Shang Zhitao's message late at night. She sent a screenshot of the account deletion page from Sun Yu's website, along with a few simple words: I deleted it.

That was all.

Shang Zhitao was accustomed to constantly lowering her head in her relationship with Luan Nian; she would never repeat something he disliked. Even though his distaste lacked any rightful standing to begin with.

Luan Nian stared at his phone for a long while before finally replying to her: Very good. Marriage fraud is incredibly tacky—even acting as a shill is completely beneath contempt.

Okay. Shang Zhitao had guessed he would say something like that—as biting as ever. Giving a brief hum, she turned off her phone. Even though she had drunk a bit of alcohol, she still couldn't fall asleep. When she got up in the middle of the night to drink some water, she saw Sun Yuanzhu sitting on the sofa, bathed in the half-bright moonlight that wrapped him in a cold layer of chill. She had never seen Sun Yuanzhu like this before.

With her hand trembling slightly as she held her glass, she walked over to his side and asked, "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Can't sleep." Sun Yuanzhu offered her a faint smile—an elusive expression, like someone seeking comfort, or perhaps crying out for help.

"Then... can I sit with you for a bit?"

"Sure."

They sat side by side on the sofa, leaving a distance of about a person and a half between them. At first, neither of them spoke. When the moon hid behind a cloud and the living room suddenly grew dark, Shang Zhitao felt a flutter of fear. She said, "Sun Yuanzhu, do you know? I'm not in a real romantic relationship at all. I'm just in an abnormal connection."

"I always thought I didn't care about the outcome, or maybe I clung to the hope that if I just held on, the clouds would clear and the moon would shine through. But in reality, I don't have that kind of strength. I know I wasn't just suffering silently, because I did experience happiness too. Yet every time I have to lower my head amidst conflict, I start to waver."

"Am I terrible?"

"You're not," Sun Yuanzhu interrupted her. "You're still young, and being young gives you the chance to make mistakes and learn. I also believe you have the courage to break out of your shell. You might not have it right now, but you will sooner or later. Unlike me..." Sun Yuanzhu stopped speaking and leaned his body back against the cushion, looking as though a piece of his soul had wandered off. Shang Zhitao felt an immense loneliness emanating from him, as if he had countless stories to tell—yet he uttered not another word.

Shang Zhitao remained sitting by his side, until eventually, they both fell asleep leaning back against the sofa. When she opened her eyes the next morning, Sun Yuanzhu was already gone. She got up to look for him, only to find a sticky note left on the table. Sun Yuanzhu had written: I've gone to buy deep-fried dough sticks and tofu pudding. We both need the massive joy that carbs bring.

Shang Zhitao clutched the note and let out a gentle smile, thinking to herself that Sun Yuanzhu truly understood her.

She put on her clothes and went downstairs to walk the dog. Luke disliked the garden in her residential compound. People always said that dogs never judged a place by its wealth, but that didn't apply to Luke. Luke loved Luan Nian's grand house and the vast lawn in his neighborhood; every time he went there, he paraded around like a king, inspecting his territory with his head held high and refusing to go home. Here at Shang Zhitao's place, he would wander around for a single lap and then turn toward home on his own initiative.

When Shang Zhitao went back upstairs, she remembered that her phone was still turned off. Powering it on, she saw a work message from Grace: she needed to go for a prenatal checkup on Monday and hoped Shang Zhitao could attend a meeting in her place. There was also a strange photo sent by Lumi while drunk. Luan Nian hadn't spoken to her at all.

What meeting is it?

Luke said we're visiting Jiang Lan on Monday, but I had to schedule an emergency checkup and can't make it. Could you go in my place?

Sure thing.

When it was time to leave on Monday, Shang Zhitao got into Luan Nian's car.

As he started the engine, she asked him, "How did your date with Teacher Gong go?"

"Pretty good." Luan Nian found Shang Zhitao almost amusing—she couldn't tell at all that his words earlier had been spoken in anger. Yet if you were to say she lacked emotional intelligence, she was actually quite sharp at reading people's expressions.

"Then..."

"Let's set my dating life aside for a moment. First, explain to me why you brought on a new supplier for the Suzhou stop during the roadshow event two years ago."

"Huh?" Shang Zhitao had no idea why he was asking this, so she could only answer truthfully: "The original suppliers at the time refused to advance the funds, and their pitches weren't impressive either. Later, Alex said that since that was the case, we should go with a new one that had a better attitude."

"Did you have any separate contact with Manager Wang afterward?"

"By separate, you mean...?"

"In private."

"No. He came to visit us twice, but Lumi was there both times."

"Did you accept any gifts from him?"

"No."

"Mm."

"So... why are you asking about this?"

"Because someone reported you for taking bribes."

Luan Nian cast a glance at Shang Zhitao. She was looking out the window, her mind who-knows-where. If it had been in the past, she probably would have blurted out, "How could anyone slander me like that!"

Today, however, she didn't react at all.

"Not going to say anything?" Luan Nian asked her.

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that you're innocent?"

"If you believe I'm innocent, you'll believe it even if I don't say a word. If you don't, what difference does it make even if I do speak up?" Shang Zhitao felt that Luan Nian didn't trust her. Far more than the slander from others, hearing Luan Nian ask these questions made her feel deeply hurt.

It was just like when Luan Nian said marriage fraud was tacky and acting as a shill was beneath contempt—he wouldn't bother thinking about why she had done it in the first place, blindly grouping her into the category of being low-class and beneath contempt. He was accustomed to looking down on her, defining her, because she was someone who wasn't worthy of his respect at all.

It had clearly been the exact same way in the past, and back then, she had been able to resolve these emotions. But now she couldn't—suddenly, she just couldn't anymore.

"Right now, someone is merely raising doubts. If a formal report is filed, the company will investigate."

"They are welcome to investigate."

After uttering that single sentence, Shang Zhitao pressed her lips tightly together and remained silent all the way to the conference room at Jiang Lan's company. There, she saw Kitty sitting inside, right beside Jiang Lan. Sure enough, exceptional people never had to worry about finding work, even if they lacked moral character.

Jiang Lan stood up to welcome them. "Luke, long time no see."

"We just saw each other last week."

Jiang Lan burst out laughing. "A single day apart feels like three autumns, you know." She then looked at Shang Zhitao. "Is this Flora?"

"Hello, President Jiang. I'm Flora."

"Kitty, you've all met before."

"Yes."

"Then let's get started."

Jiang Lan sat back down in her chair, watching Shang Zhitao open her laptop to prepare for screen sharing. She had an impression of this girl—during the event in Suzhou, she had stayed in Luan Nian's room to take care of him. She had a clean, harmless face, accompanied by a rare touch of solemnity. Quite interesting.

Glancing over at Luan Nian, he sat there looking calm and completely composed.

Shang Zhitao presented the strategic partnership plan for the year on Grace's behalf. Grace's initial materials had been thoroughly prepared, and Shang Zhitao had participated in the process as well, so presenting it took little effort. Along the way, Jiang Lan raised a few questions, all of which she answered one by one. The pitch wrapped up extraordinarily smoothly.

"Shall we grab lunch?" Jiang Lan checked the time.

"Sure, my treat," Luan Nian replied.

"Anything works." Jiang Lan was very familiar with Luan Nian, so the two of them walked up ahead while Kitty and Shang Zhitao trailed behind. Kitty sized Shang Zhitao up and suddenly asked, "Did you send that anonymous email?"

"You overestimate me. I don't have the time or energy for that."

"Then it must have been that sleazebag of a mentor you have."

"I think a real sleazebag is someone who sneaks into a man's room in the middle of the night and then slanders the person who stood up to resist." It was rare for Shang Zhitao to be this unyielding. "Kitty, I know you don't like me. We were hired into LinkMe in the same campus recruitment batch, and you feel I lowered the quality of our cohort. I can understand that, and I am indeed ordinary. But a person needs to take a long-term view. I don't mind if you look five years down the road—I won't necessarily be doing any worse than you."

Saying this to Kitty was, in truth, Shang Zhitao giving herself a quiet reminder as well.

Kitty, however, merely sneered. "Is that how you comfort yourself? What if five years from now you're still like this—are you going to push your vision out to ten years, or a whole lifetime? Shang Zhitao, the prime years of a person's life are just a brief window. If you don't have what it takes, you just don't."

"There's no point in us discussing this."

"I suppose taking bribes is much more interesting, isn't it? Does taking bribes help you succeed?"

"I suggest you back up your words with evidence."

"Of course." Kitty leaned close to her ear and said provocatively, "Shang Zhitao, are you ready to take what's coming?"

Luan Nian turned his head back toward them. "Catching up on old times?"

"Yes, it's been a while!" Kitty smiled brightly.

Shang Zhitao couldn't bring herself to play her two-faced game. She took a step to the side, stepping out of her reach.

"Let's go." Luan Nian looked at Shang Zhitao. They were going to eat at a place about five kilometers away, which required driving, so they split into two cars.

"Was it Kitty who reported me?" Shang Zhitao asked Luan Nian.

"Mm."

"So you believe others?" Shang Zhitao asked again.

"What do you mean? My stance is neutral."

Sleeping together for several years had earned her a declaration of "neutral stance." Shang Zhitao looked out the car window, not saying another word. Throughout the entire meal, she hardly spoke at all. Yet she kept workplace etiquette firmly in mind—smiling when appropriate, showing enthusiasm when required, and looking after others when expected. Beyond that, she offered no unnecessary conversation.

"Flora doesn't talk much?" Jiang Lan asked her.

"That's not it, President Jiang. It's just that I find everyone's conversation so interesting, so I wanted to listen more."

"Otherwise known as quietly enjoying yourself, right?" Jiang Lan winked at her.

Shang Zhitao smiled. "Yes!"

Jiang Lan laughed as well and said to Luan Nian, "Flora is fun. You might want to consider letting her handle this project moving forward."

In the corporate world, every realm had its territory. Jiang Lan's project was Grace's domain, and Shang Zhitao had no intention of touching it. Thus, she politely declined Jiang Lan's suggestion: "I've only just joined the Planning Department, and I'm still learning project management under Grace. Right now, I'm still completely in the dark. President Jiang's project is extremely important, and Grace has been managing it all along—only she understands it best."

Reasonable, tactful, and principled—quite good. Jiang Lan looked at Luan Nian, then at Shang Zhitao, raising an eyebrow.

No one took casual table talk seriously, unless someone with ulterior motives spun it around and passed it along. By the time it reached Grace's ears, it had become the rumor that Shang Zhitao wanted to snatch Jiang Lan's project. Even though Grace trusted Shang Zhitao, a seed of guardiness was planted nonetheless. When teaching her after that, she noticeably slowed her pace.

Shang Zhitao noticed it.

She was no longer a total rookie in the workplace; after years of reading subtle expressions and enduring countless grievances, she knew the intricate twists and turns of corporate dynamics. She realized that a rift had been driven between her and Grace. So, when Grace went downstairs to get some fresh air, Shang Zhitao took the initiative to accompany her.

Downstairs, Shang Zhitao spoke to her with complete candor: "Grace, when I met with the client in your place the other day, I saw Kitty there. During the meal, President Jiang joked about having me take over her project, but my exact words were that I had just arrived in the Planning Department and was still learning under Grace. Only Grace can handle President Jiang's project, and I would only mess it up." Shang Zhitao paused briefly before adding, "Luke can attest to that."

Grace smiled and said to her, "Flora, what are you talking about? I believe you."

"Mm-hmm, I know. I just wanted to prevent any misunderstanding. As you know, Kitty doesn't like me, and seeing her at President Jiang's place that day was a surprise to me as well."

Many things didn't need to be stated too explicitly; spelling everything out would only make things awkward. Grace glossed it over ambiguously and resumed her previous attitude toward Shang Zhitao.

Now in the Planning Department, Shang Zhitao kept her posture remarkably low. She was no longer as anxious or fearful of gain and loss as she had been in the past, yet she still handled colleague relationships and the balance of her work with utmost caution and discretion.

Sometimes, when she saw Luan Nian, she wanted to seek a sliver of solace in his eyes—only to give up in the end. She was unwilling to display her vulnerability before him anymore.