TES - 20

“Luke’s appointment has been finalized.”

Shang Zhitao overheard Kitty telling Grace.

“Where?”

“In the company email group.” Their voices brimmed with barely concealed excitement. The workplace was inherently pragmatic—employees under a powerful leader would gain more opportunities, promotions, raises, and increased departmental influence. At the time, Shang Zhitao didn’t fully grasp this; she thought they were just happy for Luan Nian. In her mind, he deserved it—who else could it be?

Shang Zhitao had heard rumors about Luan Nian’s upcoming promotion, but no one specified the exact position. She opened her email and saw Tracy’s official announcement on behalf of the board. As she read, her expression darkened.

Before, she had clung to a sliver of hope: even if Luke disliked her, she wasn’t directly under him, so his reach wouldn’t extend far enough to affect her. Now, with the entire Lingmei China under his control, that hope was dashed.

Shang Zhitao suddenly felt her position was precarious. Instinctively, she glanced at Luan Nian’s office, then laughed at herself for being foolish—he was away on a business trip and hadn’t been in the office for a week.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” Lu Mi noticed her pale face and leaned over to ask.

Shang Zhitao shook her head, pointing to the email, and whispered to Lu Mi, “Does this mean Luke can now legitimately fire me?”

Lu Mi nodded. “Of course.” She pretended to look serious, teasing Shang Zhitao.

Shang Zhitao’s face turned ashen. “Then what should I do?”

Lu Mi burst out laughing. “Look how scared you are!” She draped an arm around Shang Zhitao’s shoulders. “He’ll have so much work to handle after taking office. How will he have time to fire a tiny intern like you?”

He already has a lot of work normally, yet he still finds time to scold me, Shang Zhitao thought.

“Listen to me,” Lu Mi said. “Alex is very satisfied with you, and so am I. Over the past two months, your rotation evaluations scored an A. Even if he wants to fire you, he needs a reason, right?”

“My evaluation is an A?” Shang Zhitao asked incredulously. “But I feel so ordinary. I see people like Kitty performing exceptionally well.”

“Are you alright?” Lu Mi asked. “Whether they perform well or not depends on Luke’s assessment since he directly manages them. Each department has different hiring standards.”

“Oh… So if I’m an A, does that mean he can’t fire me?”

“Unless you make a huge mistake.”

Shang Zhitao felt a little relieved and forced herself to refocus on the supplier quotations in front of her.

That focus lasted until late at night. Finally finishing the pile of documents, she picked up her phone and saw a message from Luan Nian sent at ten o’clock: “I know you’re still in the office. Go to my office, find a USB drive in my drawer, and bring it to this address.” Luan Nian included the location of a restaurant, but it was already two hours ago—it was now midnight on Friday.

Shang Zhitao replied: “Sorry, Luke. I was handling the quotations and just saw your message. Should I deliver it to you now?”

Luan Nian called her. She heard the sound of wind through the receiver: “Change the address. Write it down.” His voice sounded different from usual, a bit strange. Shang Zhitao quickly grabbed a pen and jotted down the new address. “Should I deliver it here?”

“Mm.” Luan Nian hung up.

He was drunk.

Today, he had consumed countless drinks. Tracy had insisted on celebrating the company’s new appointment with a gathering of the management team. Luan Nian had rushed from the airport to attend what turned out to be a boring drinking session—a superficial display of camaraderie, seemingly harmonious. Luan Nian detested such meaningless gatherings.

Boring though it was, it required copious amounts of alcohol.

As he arrived at his villa complex, he didn’t forget to instruct the security guard: “A girl named Shang Zhitao will come by later to deliver some documents. Let her in.”

What kind of documents needed delivering in the middle of the night? The guards in the villa district were used to the eccentricities of the wealthy residents. Perhaps it was something personal? The guard shrugged inwardly. By the time Shang Zhitao arrived, it was nearly one o’clock. The guard escorted her to Luan Nian’s door, rang the bell, and left.

The surroundings were quiet. The villa district was lush with greenery, and at night, one could hear the chirping of insects and the rustling of wind through the foliage. So this is what wealth looks like, Shang Zhitao thought. Little did she know how truly affluent some people were.

It took Luan Nian five minutes to open the door. He had just washed his face and rinsed his mouth, struggling to stay lucid. Leaning against the doorframe, he extended his hand to Shang Zhitao: “Thank you for coming.”

“No problem.” Shang Zhitao placed the USB drive in his palm. “You should rest now.”

“Did you call a car?”

“No.”

Even drunk, Luan Nian found her lack of foresight frustrating. Did she plan to walk home in the middle of the night? “Come in and wait for me.”

“Wouldn’t that be inconvenient?” Alone together, he was still her boss.

“Are you stupid?” Drunk, Luan Nian was particularly sharp-tongued. “Do you think I’d be interested in you if you stripped right now?” He walked straight in, collapsing heavily onto the sofa. His hand trembled as he dialed the security guard: “Help me hail a cab. Let me know when you’ve found one.”

Shang Zhitao stood there awkwardly. Luan Nian, half-closing his eyes, told her, “Sit and wait.”

His breathing was labored. Drinking heavily was miserable. He grabbed a glass of water nearby and gulped it down. As he set the glass down, his hand faltered. Shang Zhitao hurried forward to steady it: “Would you like more water?”

“Mm.”

She took the glass and looked around, finally spotting the kitchen. After fetching water, she returned to find Luan Nian asleep, slumped uncomfortably on the sofa.

With great effort, Shang Zhitao lifted his legs onto the sofa. Approaching carefully, she supported his head, her fingers brushing against the skin of his neck—it was scorching hot. Her heart skipped a beat, unsure whether to pull away or continue.

Luan Nian furrowed his brow. Summoning courage, she gently cradled his head in her arms, sliding a cushion beneath it before withdrawing her hands. Lowering her gaze, she saw his slightly flushed face—different from his usual sternness and coldness, undeniably handsome.

Shang Zhitao was momentarily captivated.

Indeed, women were attracted to beauty. If you weren’t enchanted, it simply meant the person wasn’t attractive enough. Shaking off her daze, she forced herself to ignore the flutter in her chest and scanned the room. In the living room stood a massive aquarium, housing only a single red fish. Shang Zhitao didn’t know its name, but she found it beautiful. Standing closer, she observed the fish trapped in its vast tank, occupying an entire wall—a lonely beauty that evoked indescribable melancholy.

The phone rang. She rushed to answer it. “Mr. Luan, the car is ready,” the security guard informed her.

“Thank you.”

After hanging up, Shang Zhitao hastily grabbed something to cover Luan Nian and fled his home as if escaping.

An ordinary night had been transformed by her visit to Luan Nian’s home. She felt like a mermaid freshly emerged from the sea, full of curiosity about the human world, encountering someone who intrigued her.

This couldn’t possibly be good!

Shang Zhitao shook her head frantically. The mortal world was terrifying—mermaids lost everything in the end.

Lying in bed, she couldn’t fall asleep. Suddenly, she remembered the day she broke up with Xin Zhaozhou. He had said, “You’re heading north, I’m going south. We both have responsibilities we can’t shirk. I wish you well, but don’t let this cruel society swallow you whole.”

That night, she slept poorly—an unusual occurrence for someone who rarely dwelled on worries. Yet, inexplicably, she was troubled.

The next morning, her phone woke her. Still half-asleep, she answered groggily: “Hello?”

“What time did you get home last night?” It was Luan Nian. After waking, he had spent a long time recalling asking Shang Zhitao to deliver something late at night. He felt guilty—it was unreasonable to burden her with such a task.

Startled awake by his voice, Shang Zhitao bolted upright: “I got home before two. Did something happen? Was something stolen from your house?” Her first thought was that something valuable had gone missing.

“Yes. The safe was broken into.”

Damn.

Shang Zhitao’s temples throbbed painfully. She tried to recall whether she had closed the door properly when she left. Surely, she had… right? She couldn’t remember.

“Did you lose anything important?”

“The diamonds are gone.”

“But… I didn’t take them! I don’t even know where your safe is…” Shang Zhitao stammered, trying to regain composure. “Don’t you have cameras installed? Why don’t you check the footage?”

Realizing Shang Zhitao wasn’t catching on to his joke, and fearing she might burst into tears if he continued, Luan Nian relented: “I’m kidding.”

…

Shang Zhitao cursed him internally again. What was wrong with him? She wanted to lash out but remembered that, as of yesterday, Luan Nian was now the boss of all of Lingmei China. She was under his roof and had no choice but to bow her head. Swallowing her anger, she fell silent.

“Thank you for your hard work last night,” Luan Nian finally spoke kindly. “The documents were important—I need to send them to the relevant project team soon.”

Important? You could’ve driven to the office yourself to retrieve them. Internally, Shang Zhitao grumbled, but outwardly, she responded: “It’s nothing. I’m happy to contribute in small ways to the company.”

Through the receiver, Luan Nian chuckled. This laughter startled Shang Zhitao. What was so funny?

Luan Nian was amused by her clumsy flattery and underlying humility: “You’re afraid I’ll fire you, aren’t you?”

“Who wouldn’t be?” Shang Zhitao replied, a hint of grievance in her voice. “I asked Kitty and the others—you never told them to quit.”

“You’ve reminded me. I think they’re not doing too well either. Maybe the two of you should resign together tomorrow?”

“Huh?”

“What’s ‘huh’?” Luan Nian rarely engaged her this much. “Tell me, what are you afraid of? Afraid you won’t find a better job if you leave Lingmei?”

“I only got into Lingmei by chance.”

“You realize that?” Luan Nian seized the opportunity. “What’s your relationship with Tracy?”

“Tracy? She’s just Tracy…”

Fresh into his new role, untangling the complex web of interpersonal relationships within the company was part of Luan Nian’s responsibilities. Tracy had staunchly supported Shang Zhitao, piquing his curiosity about their connection. However, extracting useful information from Shang Zhitao proved difficult, so he gave up.

Remembering there were some trivial files he hadn’t organized on the USB drive, he instructed her: “Do you have any personal plans today?”

“No.”

“Then work overtime. Later, report your overtime to Tracy for reimbursement.”

Shang Zhitao had never heard of getting paid for overtime. Naively, she asked: “We get paid for overtime?”

“What else?”

“I’ll do it!” Energized, she exclaimed, “I’ll start immediately! Tell me what to do, and I’ll get right to it!” Who would argue with money?

Luan Nian was momentarily stunned by her sudden enthusiasm. Was she really that poor?

“I’ll give you an address. Meet me there. You must process the documents in front of me.”

The documents were not critical, but they were confidential.

“Alright, alright. I’ll head out now. Where should I go?” Shang Zhitao jumped off the bed and then asked, “Is our overtime pay calculated by the hour?”