The Early Spring - Chapter 126
Chapter 126 - Old Places
At the end of this year, Shang Zhitao went to participate in the agency conference, bringing her partners along with her. Luan Nian drove all the way to Harbin, picking up both her and Luke to return to Beijing together.
The last time Luke had taken a car on this long highway journey was the year they left Beijing. The friend who drove the dog back then said that although Luke had traveled back and forth a few times before without any issues, it had gotten carsick that time, throwing up several times.
Today, Luke was very well-behaved. It sat in the back seat watching the snowy scenery outside change bit by bit, the snow growing sparser the further south they drove into the pass.
In the passenger seat, Shang Zhitao had her laptop open, dealing with work. It was both the end of a quarter and the end of the year, so the whole team was striving to hit their performance targets. The young team members in her company were divided into Shift A and Shift B, ensuring someone was online twenty-four hours a day.
Sometimes, seeing everyone worked to the bone broke her heart a little, so she began taking steps to recruit more people from the market.
She said to Zhang Lei, "I don't know what the other agencies in your company are like, but I hope my employees can be a bit happier. I want female employees to have time after work to watch a movie or go on a date, and male employees to be able to meet up with friends for drinks or gaming."
"So you aren't a typical capitalist," Zhang Lei summarized.
Shang Zhitao didn't want to be a capitalist; she hoped there would be a little less hostility and hostility around her.
Right now, there were two main things she was doing on her laptop: first, reviewing the resumes sent over by her staff, and second, drafting next year's strategic plan.
As a newly introduced agency, Shang Zhitao's company saw its daily ad spend surge from 20,000 to 300,000, with an estimated increase to 400,000 next year. Calculated this way, next year's total transaction volume would reach 140 million. She held a 7% net profit margin. Doing the math clearly, Shang Zhitao knew that by March of next year, she could fully pay off her mortgage loan. By May, she could take out a loan to buy a car.
This fight for a turnaround was exhausting, but fortunately, she had read the market correctly, carving out a lifeline for both herself and her employees.
While working on her business plan, she asked Luan Nian, "I know this question might be sensitive... but I'm purely curious, what exactly is your annual income?"
"Which part are you asking about?"
"?" You have multiple parts?"
"For salary income, there's base pay, stock dividends, and fixed bonuses. Didn't you work at Lumi? Why are you asking me how many parts there are?"
"So you have other sources of income?"
"Otherwise? I've always told you never to put all your eggs in one basket."
Shang Zhitao thought it over and felt that what he said made sense. So she asked again, "Then what about the other income..."
"Real estate investments, stock investments, the bar, and other things."
...
Shang Zhitao thought to herself that in this era, some people truly ran far ahead of the rest. While you were going all-in out of desperation, others had already placed their eggs into different baskets.
A moment later, Luan Nian said seriously, "Annual income is around 20 million or so. The salary doesn't account for a high percentage." He had actually calculated it seriously just now.
"Alright. By 2022, my annual income should be on par with yours."
"So you're saying I won't make any more progress, huh?" Luan Nian glanced at her and asked, "What do you plan to do once you have more money?"
"Donate it," Shang Zhitao said earnestly. "I spoke with Lin Chuner; I'll match donations according to 15% of my income. The older I get, the more I want to do charitable work."
"How old are you even?" Luan Nian teased her. "But I support you. I was pulled into their organization by Song Qiuhan too. Who knows, maybe we'll run into each other there one day."
"Hehe."
They chatted all the way like this until they reached Beijing, entering the residential compound late at night.
Luan Nian stopped the car at the security booth to pick up a package. Rolling down his window, a man in a suit standing next to the security guard suddenly blurted out, "Miss Shang, Luke!"
"You still remember me." Shang Zhitao smiled at him. "Have you gotten another promotion now?"
"Yes. I contracted the security operations for this compound's property management."
"Wow!" Shang Zhitao was genuinely happy for him. "You're amazing, congratulations!"
"Don't mention it. My office is right next to the pet shop. Miss Shang, feel free to come over and sit for a bit whenever you're free."
"Okay! I definitely will!"
Both Shang Zhitao and the security guard felt a wave of emotion. Ten years had passed since the first time she came to Luan Nian's compound to fetch files and he had helped her hail a cab. Earth-shaking changes had taken place in society, and earth-shaking changes had happened to them as well.
Luan Nian put the package away, got back into the car, and nodded to the guard: "I'll head over tomorrow."
"Sounds good."
Shang Zhitao found that statement a bit strange, so she asked him, "What do you mean?"
"That's what I meant earlier today when I talked about the 'other' item in my income structure."
"You invested in his security project?"
"Mhm."
It was also a twist of fate. One day, Luan Nian had gone to the security booth to handle something and overheard him on the phone: "I'm only borrowing 300,000, it'll definitely be profitable. It's a contract with property management."
So he had said to him, "I'll invest instead. Just give me 10% annually besides the principal." In truth, it wasn't much money—only dividing up fifty to sixty thousand a year—but Luan Nian felt this guard was a good person, and since he had an eye for people, he made this small investment.
After listening to Luan Nian finish, Shang Zhitao thought he truly remained as strange as ever. He clearly wore a cold, unfeeling face, yet he was also generous and fond of doing good deeds.
Upon returning to Luan Nian's home, the happiest one was undoubtedly Luke.
It dashed back and forth between upstairs and downstairs, as though returning to its own territory. In its excitement, it raised a leg.
Shang Zhitao's voice even changed out of panic: "Luke!" It was just like the first time the dog had come here, bound and determined to pee inside to mark its territory.
"Luke, what is wrong with you! You can't just leave a mark every time you come to a new place, don't you know that?" Shang Zhitao began scolding it: "Can't you hold your pee at all!" She even tugged its ears—she didn't use much strength, but her momentum was intimidating.
"Are you out of your mind?" Luan Nian pulled her hand away. "It's a dog. If it could control everything, wouldn't it be a human? Even humans can't control everything! Humans still pee outside when they've had too much to drink!"
"Be gentler with Luke. How old is it now? What are you shouting at it every day for?"
...
Shang Zhitao was given a harsh earful by Luan Nian, and when she looked back at Luke, it was grinning wildly with pure happiness.
Luan Nian said to it, "Come on, let's go water the flowers in the compound."
Shang Zhitao refused to move for the life of her. After sitting in a car all day and staring at a laptop all day, she was exhausted to death. She leaned back against the sofa to reply to work messages.
Luan Nian took the dog out for a very long walk.
Having left this place and now suddenly returning, Luke began showing off its bravado once more. At its core, it was a snobbish dog that loved wealth and despised poverty; it simply loved Luan Nian's place, where the compound was huge, with plenty of lawns, trees, and lots of beautifully dressed female dogs. Most importantly, Luke felt safest walking here alongside Luan Nian.
It was so happy that it refused to go home. Luan Nian indulged it, taking it on his leash for a wide loop outside the compound.
Passing by the pet shop, Luke tilted its head and stood there. After a long moment, it jumped onto Luan Nian and barked in that direction. The general message was: "The bath place! I'm not going!"
"Tomorrow you're going whether you want to or not. Just look at how black you've turned." As Luan Nian walked while holding it, he pinched its ears to soothe it.
Shang Zhitao had fallen asleep on the sofa, not even realizing her phone had dropped onto the carpet. When Luan Nian stepped inside, she happened to turn over, curling her entire body into the sofa. She remained in this posture, not having even gone upstairs to take a look.
She always felt this wasn't her own home.
Luan Nian pinched her cheek: "Go sleep upstairs."
Shang Zhitao gave a groggy response and stood up, resting her head against his chest. Luan Nian bent down to pick her up, carrying her along with Luke upstairs.
His bedroom remained the same as before, devoid of much warmth, pristine and clean. However, his bedding was still as comfortable as ever.
What Shang Zhitao liked most was Luan Nian's standard for selecting bedding, so after decorating her own house, she had also purchased comfortable bedding based on his preferences back then. In any case, sleeping in a comfortable bed made it easy to wash away a day's fatigue.
Luan Nian placed her on the bed, helping her take off her shoes, socks, and sweater. Shang Zhitao rolled over and continued sleeping. Turning over once more, she tumbled straight into Luan Nian's arms.
She was still restless in her sleep. Luan Nian had to lock his legs tightly around her to prevent her from kicking him off the bed. Back then, it had been hard for him to control himself from kicking back.
In the end, familiarity was still needed. For people who were used to sleeping alone, even though they had deliberately slept together these past few times, many habits were hard to break. They had to balance and counter each other even in their dreams; a night's sleep felt like a brawl, leaving them somewhat exhausted when opening their eyes the next day.
Shang Zhitao checked the time; the agency conference was in the afternoon, so after Luan Nian got out of bed, she caught another hour or so of sleep, finally feeling unwearied when she opened her eyes again. Luan Nian had left her a note: "Breakfast is downstairs. I'm taking Luke for a bath."
It was as if taking Luke for a bath was such an important and memorable occasion.
After eating something, Shang Zhitao lay back on the bed. Spotting a book resting on Luan Nian's nightstand, she picked it up to flip through. Tucked inside the book was a damaged slip of paper, and a quick glance made Shang Zhitao freeze on the spot.
Shang Zhitao's—that is, my—bucket list before turning thirty:
Take parents on a vacation
Master English
Learn to drive
Master French
Go to Tibet
Travel abroad
Read 200 books
Buy a car
Buy a small apartment in Beijing
Be together with the person I love
Did every girl have a wish list like this? Written down on paper or kept in her heart.
On Shang Zhitao's final day at Lumi, she had tidied up her desk before leaving. She took away all her reference books and office supplies, leaving this wish list pressed beneath the bottom of the drawer. She had looked at it for a long, long time before ultimately leaving it behind there. She had fulfilled many of those wishes, but only the last three remained unchecked; later on, whenever she thought back to it, she felt a pang of regret.
It was on a day after Luan Nian returned from the United States that year. He stayed at the company until the early hours of the morning, when the office was completely empty. Sitting there, he stared out the window toward the direction of Shang Zhitao's workstation for a long time, before finally walking over and taking a seat in her former chair, looking up at his own office. Over six years, she had sat here countless times gazing at him.
Her desk was spotless, wiped down daily by the cleaning staff, and in a few days a newcomer would be sitting here. Luan Nian sat for a long time, opening her drawer before getting up, where he saw her wish list.
Shang Zhitao had beautiful handwriting, writing the prettiest characters among all the people he knew. While others learned piano, singing, or dancing, she learned calligraphy, sitting quietly and writing character by character. Her wish list had checkmarks next to most items, yet before thirty, she neither had a small apartment nor was she able to be together with the person she loved.
Luan Nian seemed to see the scene of her twenty-two-year-old self sitting here on a quiet, lonely late night writing her wishes, each one surely contemplated over and over in her heart before being written down so earnestly.
That day, he was deeply saddened.
Luan Nian took that slip of paper and tucked it inside his bedside book. This wish list had accompanied him as he read through many books.
Shang Zhitao had never thought Luan Nian was this kind of person. He had clear-cut boundaries and never dragged his feet; he always let people come and go freely without ever asking them to stay. Even on the day she broke up with him, his way of trying to retain her was merely saying to her: think it over carefully, once you leave, don't come back.
Yet he had collected her wish list, placing it right inside his bedside book.
Shang Zhitao quietly slipped it back and returned the book to its original spot, preparing to head out to attend the agency conference.
"Take my car," Luan Nian called to tell her. "I'm not going out today."
"No need. I made plans to get drinks with Sun Yu tonight, so I won't drive."
Shang Zhitao arranged to meet Sun Yu at the venue. Because Sun Yu was a key account client, she was invited to be a forum guest speaker by Zhang Lei himself. In truth, it could hardly be called an invitation; he had sent an online invitation card and told her: "You have to come."
During the forum, Sun Yu shared the positive impact online advertising had on her company, while Shang Zhitao sat below listening quietly. After the meeting, there was an agency dinner party; she sat in for a while, getting to know several agency bosses and hearing about some fresh strategies.
Sometime past eight o'clock, she and Sun Yu slipped out from the drinking party, heading straight for the barbecue shop they used to love most.
The barbecue shop was still open, though business was nowhere near what it used to be. The two picked a window seat and ordered a bottle of Erguotou each.
The rim of the glass cup had a small chip, and the two bumped their glasses together with a laugh: "Only with flaws can there be completeness."
Perhaps because they were sitting in an old haunt after several years, they drank a lot of alcohol that day and talked about many, many past events, neither of them deliberately avoiding that name.
Both had drunk a bit too much. Stepping out of the barbecue shop, walking straight, turning left, and then turning right, they ended up back at that entrance.
After Sun Yu finished throwing up, she tilted her head back and stared at that window for a long, long time, saying to Shang Zhitao, "How about I buy it?"
"Don't." Shang Zhitao hugged her tightly. "Let what's in the past remain in the past."
"He's up in the clouds, and he's also in my heart.”