The Early Spring - Chapter 9

Chapter 9 - Not For Sale

Shang Zhitao slept soundly through the night. Opening her eyes the next morning, she heard people talking in the living room.

"Want to grab lunch together? It'll be a good way to get to know each other." It was Sun Yu; she loved making friends.

"Sure. I don't know how to cook, so I'll be in charge of buying the groceries." That was Yuanzhu's voice, which Shang Zhitao recognized. She hopped out of bed, found her underwear, slipped into an oversized T-shirt, and opened the door. Smiling, she asked them, "Are you guys having a gathering?"

"Yeah. Today is the first time Room 601 is all together, so we're making a meal to get acquainted," Sun Yu said. Since her boyfriend's company was holding a team-building trip in the northern suburbs of Beijing this weekend, she still had no need to go see him.

"I'd love to join too, if that's okay?" Shang Zhitao sought everyone's opinion, as she also enjoyed lively company. Being a newcomer to this city, she always wanted to make a few friends.

Another guy she hadn't met yet smiled and said, "Of course." He was wearing a corporate culture shirt whose logo Shang Zhitao recognized instantly. A slight wave of shock washed over her—Beijing truly was a city of hidden dragons and crouching tigers; everyone walking down the street looked ordinary, yet not a single one was a mere extra.

"Then let me do the introductions!" Sun Yu happily played the role of an intermediary: "Shang Zhitao, Sun Yuanzhu, Zhang Lei."

The young people all chuckled. "Then we're off to buy the groceries." Zhang Lei and Sun Yuanzhu volunteered to go grocery shopping, while Sun Yu stood by the window watching them walk away. Turning back to Shang Zhitao, she asked, "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"No."

"Then you should get along well with these two guys. Their jobs are fantastic. Truly the new up-and-coming tech elites."

Sun Yu spoke with stark realism; struggling alone in this city wasn't as good as working as a pair, and if the other person had a decent income, life would become relatively easier. Shang Zhitao's face flushed. "I'm not in a rush. I just graduated and want to focus on my work."

"Work and romance don't get in each other's way at all!"

Shang Zhitao hurriedly waved her hands. "No, no, living under the same roof would be way too awkward."

Sun Yu let out a gurgling laugh. As a fiery and charming young woman from Maotai Town, she loved playing matchmaker for others more than anything else. Shang Zhitao truly didn't have those kinds of thoughts on her mind. Her head was entirely occupied with work, making her walk on eggshells with extreme caution. "You know what? On my very first day of work, one of the bosses told me to resign." Shang Zhitao let out a sigh. "I'm a bit nervous; he didn't look like he was joking."

"Did you offend him?"

"No..."

"Did he take a fancy to you?"

"...He probably isn't lacking in girlfriends..."

"Then why would he want to fire you on day one?"

Right, why indeed? Shang Zhitao had racked her brain for days and still couldn't figure it out. Was it really because she was the most mediocre among the batch of campus recruits? Perhaps.

Feeling puzzled, she went to wash up and do her laundry. By the time she finished getting sorted, the guys had returned, carrying four full bags of groceries. Shang Zhitao hurriedly asked, "How much did it cost? Should we split the bill?"

"No need, no need." Sun Yuanzhu shook his head with a smile. "Let's not be the kind of roommates who bicker over a few cents of electricity bills. We're all far away from home looking out for each other; there's no need to sweat these little amounts."

Zhang Lei shook his head as well. "That would be way too forced. You guys can treat next time."

"Sounds good." Sun Yu tied an apron around her waist and headed to the kitchen. "I'll show you what I can do."

"I... can only boil noodles..." Shang Zhitao felt a bit embarrassed; her meager culinary skills were definitely nothing to show off.

"You can prep the ingredients!" Sun Yu smiled as she handed her some garlic, then turned back to clean the fish and chop the ribs with practiced, nimble movements. The guys crowded around the kitchen doorway, watching Sun Yu's hands fly with expert speed, and couldn't help praising her: "There aren't many girls left who know how to cook."

Shang Zhitao gave Sun Yu a thumbs-up. "You're amazing." Her face was flushed pink from the kitchen warmth, and her expression radiated the pure, unblemished clarity of a young girl, resembling a very well-behaved model student.

Zhang Lei glanced at Sun Yuanzhu and let out a cough.

"Can everyone handle spicy food?" Sun Yu asked the group.

"We can." The few of them nodded.

Hearing this, Sun Yu ran back to her room, emerged with a jar of chopped salted chilies, and pushed Shang Zhitao outward. "Go on out, the fumes are choking." She then closed the kitchen door. The rich aroma quickly seeped out, causing Shang Zhitao's nose to twitch as she suddenly felt the loneliness of the past week wash away and heal.

Is it really that easy for people to become friends in a city like this?

Sitting together, the young folks felt a slight initial shyness.

"Want to drink a little?" Sun Yu asked. With a high alcohol tolerance as a girl raised in Maotai Town, her elders had dipped wine onto her lips during her one-month birthday celebration; her drinking capacity was literally soaked in the jiang-aroma of Maotai Town.

The guys nodded in agreement, though Shang Zhitao looked a bit apologetic. "I don't drink alcohol."

"A Northeast girl who can't drink?" Zhang Lei asked her.

"Well, not every Inner Mongolian knows how to ride a horse..." Shang Zhitao defended herself.

"Then we won't drink, hehe." Zhang Lei scratched the back of his head. "Confined as we are by scholarly manners, we don't pressure girls into drinking unless they want to themselves." He then stood up to grab some cola, while Sun Yuanzhu double-checked with Shang Zhitao: "Can you drink cold drinks?"

"Yes."

They were all drifters in a foreign land, coming from the south, north, west, and east. Sitting together like this, the distance between them suddenly vanished, and they were all collectively dubbed "outsiders."

And so they chatted about everything under the sun, going from noon all the way to dusk without feeling the slightest bit tired of it. The topics they shared were interesting, filled with amusing anecdotes from their respective jobs. Since Shang Zhitao was a workplace newcomer with no funny stories to tell, she simply listened quietly.

It turned out that work came in many different varieties.

Sun Yuanzhu worked in big data. He talked about the application logic of big data and the problems it could solve, sharing how he and his colleagues once threw a computer across a meeting room over a data-scraping logic dispute, which made Sun Yu giggle continuously.

As for Zhang Lei, he worked in product commercialization, dealing with different people every day. Business trips, market research, drinking sessions, and data modeling had imbued him with an aura of suave swagger. In the years that followed, Shang Zhitao would meet many commercialization moguls, and she noticed most of them were just like Zhang Lei. And Zhang Lei eventually became one of those moguls.

Sun Yu came from a sales background. She used to work as a salesperson at a top-tier visual display company, but ultimately resigned out of sheer principle when her clients were forcibly reassigned to other colleagues by management.

What a fascinating bunch of people they were!

While washing the dishes, Shang Zhitao's phone rang. She hurried over, picked it up, and heard Lumi's voice: "Hey, babe! That invoice from yesterday looks like its processing workflow is almost done. Remember to remind Luke to approve the disbursement email!"

"Got it."

Shang Zhitao hung up the phone, remembering how he had invited someone to dinner and a concert over the phone yesterday. Glancing at the time and deliberating for a long while, she ultimately decided to send him a message.

Hello Luke, regarding yesterday's project payment, finance has already started the workflow. There is just one final email that requires your approval and confirmation. Sorry to disturb you.

It took a long time for Luan Nian to reply with a single word: "OK," with nothing more said. Fortunately, the matter was resolved. Shang Zhitao opened her computer to check her emails, waiting for the final workflow to clear, but Luan Nian still hadn't approved it by nine o'clock in the evening.

"Why hasn't it been approved yet?" Lumi asked her.

"I sent a message, and he replied 'OK.' Maybe he's busy?" Shang Zhitao wasn't entirely sure.

"Go ask again." Lumi urged Shang Zhitao to press forward, then comforted her: "Don't be afraid, you're the best."

"Oh."

Shang Zhitao sent Luan Nian another message: "Hello Luke, are you available to handle the approval?"

Not available. Luan Nian didn't reply to her, tossing his phone back into his pocket. The concert was reaching its finale, and Jiang Lan beside him was still watching with rapt attention. From the bottom of his heart, Luan Nian loathed boring weekend nights like this, but this major key client was a tough nut to crack, and the board of directors had sent him in. Luan Nian knew how to play it—chatting and joking with her while maintaining a measured, ambiguous distance. The client wasn't stupid either, holding out without a single word of concession all the way into the concert hall. Luan Nian wasn't in a rush, just stringing her along; closing the deal wouldn't put extra money in his pocket anyway, so what was he rushing for?

Yet that Shang Zhitao was truly persistent, with another message popping in: "Could you please approve this as soon as possible? Finance is waiting."

"Let them wait."

"...Okay."

"Is something the matter?" The woman beside him leaned close to Luan Nian's ear and whispered softly, the sexy fragrance of her perfume drifting over with the movement.

"Nothing."

"Thank you for accompanying me to the concert." Jiang Lan's fingertips brushed across the back of Luan Nian's hand—a light, teasing touch. Luan Nian had seen plenty of romantic flings in his time, but he had zero interest in Jiang Lan. He grasped her wrist, slowly moving her hand down toward her own knee.

He wasn't a gigolo.

He was not for sale.