Chapter 39: Ignored

Is it true that when a woman falls in love with a man, she becomes endlessly lost in fantasies? At least, that was the case for Shang Zhitao. In her imagination, Luan Nian liked her—at least a little. Even if there was no evidence of this affection, she preferred to believe it.

She didn’t finish work too late on Friday, but she lingered at her desk, unwilling to leave. Perhaps, like before, if she stayed late enough, Luan Nian might pass by and, out of kindness, offer her a ride. She rehearsed countless times in her mind what she would say—or perhaps stay silent—once she got into his car. They had enough unspoken understanding; surely, he would take her home.

But Luan Nian left. He walked straight out of his office without even glancing at her. Shang Zhitao felt as if a cat’s claws were scratching at her heart, causing a faint pain and itchiness. It wasn’t unbearable, but the sensation was far from pleasant.

She sat there for a while longer before finally grabbing her bag and heading out, catching the last bus of the night. As her bus passed through an intersection, it stopped beside Luan Nian’s car. She saw him laughing and talking on the phone, though she didn’t know who he was speaking to. Shang Zhitao put on her headphones and turned her head away. She thought about how painful it was to fall in love with a man she couldn’t control. At that moment, she lacked foresight; all she could see was the present, and in the present, she was suffering immensely from his aloofness.

This difficult night stripped her of her ability to think independently. The night bus weaved through the city, leaving her feeling adrift. This sense of rootlessness overwhelmed twenty-two-year-old Shang Zhitao, sparking a rebellious streak within her.

She had mentioned that she wanted to treat her roommates to dinner. When she got home, everyone happened to be there, so she took out a small notebook to take orders. “What does everyone want to eat?”

“Beef! Beef!” Sun Yu said.

“Pork belly!” Zhang Lei chimed in.

“Chicken wings!” Zhang Lei added again.

“Live shrimp!” Sun Yu quickly followed up.

Everyone shouted out dish names, all meat-heavy choices. Sun Yuanzhu, sitting quietly on the side, felt sorry for Shang Zhitao’s wallet. He symbolically suggested onions and lettuce leaves, then offered, “I’ll come with you tomorrow.”

“Huh?”

“I’m worried you won’t be able to carry everything.”

Sun Yu smirked mischievously. “Let’s all go together—it’ll be fun.”

Shang Zhitao had always been someone whose worries faded quickly. No matter what happened, she moved on fast. The night before, she had been upset over her mixed feelings for Luan Nian, but by morning, she acted as if nothing was wrong. The four of them laughed and chatted as they headed to the farmers’ market. A few times, Sun Yuanzhu tried to pay, but Shang Zhitao swatted his hand away. “No! I’ll get mad.”

“Then I’ll treat you next time,” Sun Yuanzhu said sincerely. He thought girls like Shang Zhitao weren’t easy—they came to this city with so little, treading carefully as if walking on thin ice.

“Okay.” Shang Zhitao smiled at him. “Next time, I’ll treat you and Long Zhentian to roast duck. Every time after class, Long Zhentian treats me to meals. My tuition doesn’t even cover his food expenses.”

“He just likes making friends—you don’t need to feel indebted to him. He’s ruthless when he takes advantage of others.”

“That’s quite the love for making friends.” Shang Zhitao giggled.

“How’s your learning going?” Sun Yuanzhu walked beside her, taking most of the bags and leaving only a small one for her to carry symbolically. Shang Zhitao gave him a grateful look. “Long Zhentian says I’ve made great progress. At this rate, I’ll be ready in a year.”

“You’re amazing.” Sun Yuanzhu praised her, as if he had never met an outstanding girl before. He was surrounded by people who excelled academically, graduates from top domestic and international institutions who dreamed of reaching for the stars.

Shang Zhitao felt a bit ashamed.

As they walked, Sun Yuanzhu stayed on the outside, letting Shang Zhitao walk on the inside. When they crossed an intersection, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to avoid her being hit by a car.

Zhang Lei noticed from behind and asked Sun Yu, “Does Shang Zhitao have a boyfriend?”

Sun Yu considered saying yes but then thought better of it. That boss of hers was probably a jerk who didn’t recognize her after their encounter. Sun Yuanzhu was much better than those kinds of men. So she shook her head. “No.”

“That’s good. They’d make a great pair. They look so compatible.”

“They really do.” Sun Yu nodded.

Young people easily found joy in each other’s company. The four of them washed vegetables, chatted, and laughed together. Zhang Lei and Sun Yu were lively characters, unable to sit still. As a result, Shang Zhitao didn’t notice her phone ringing for a long time. It wasn’t until Sun Yuanzhu went to grab drinks and saw her phone flashing that he called out, “Your phone’s ringing.”

“Can you answer it for me?” Shang Zhitao was washing vegetables and couldn’t free her hands.

“Sure.”

Sun Yuanzhu picked up the phone and softly said, “Hello?” Even a simple “hello” sounded gentle coming from him.

Luan Nian paused, pulled the phone away to check, confirmed he hadn’t dialed the wrong number, and replied, “I’m looking for Shang Zhitao.”

“Okay. Please hold on a moment.” Sun Yuanzhu spoke softly. Just then, Zhang Lei told a joke, and everyone burst into laughter. Sun Yuanzhu walked over to Shang Zhitao. “It seems like it’s important. Do you want to take it?”

“Can you help me?” Shang Zhitao turned her face away. “My hands are wet.”

“Sure.” Sun Yuanzhu held the phone to Shang Zhitao’s ear, and her voice carried a hint of laughter. “Who is it?”

“It’s me.” Luan Nian replied, not giving her time to react. “Today, the supplier responded to all project progress. Check the brief you submitted.”

“Okay.”

Luan Nian hung up first. Shang Zhitao dried her hands and took the phone, seeing a message from Luan Nian: “If you can’t even submit a basic brief correctly, what use are you?”

Panicking, Shang Zhitao rushed back to her room, opened her computer, and saw the email she had sent. She had made a mistake—the data channels and models were wrong. The supplier had already started collecting data.

She had never made such a big mistake before and suddenly didn’t know what to do.

Still seething with anger, Luan Nian sent her another message: “This counts as a Level One incident. I’ve already informed Tracy and Alex. For the next year, you’re ineligible for promotion or a raise, and your quarterly bonus will be halved. Come up with a solution now.”

Sitting in front of her computer, Shang Zhitao suddenly burst into tears.

She was devastated. That day, she had been distracted by thoughts of Luan Nian, leading to this critical error. She felt deeply wronged and began to regret ever starting anything with him. If they hadn’t done anything, she would still be the diligent and hardworking Shang Zhitao, and wouldn’t have messed up her work like this.

Sun Yu knocked and entered, seeing her crying, and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Shang Zhitao wiped away her tears. “I need to make a call.” Problems needed solving; she couldn’t let herself stagnate. Her first call was to Alex, explaining her mistake. Alex expressed understanding and comforted her: “To err is human. Don’t take Luke’s words to heart—he was just venting. He won’t actually withhold your raise.”

“It’s not about the raise.” What hurt Shang Zhitao was his cold, professional tone. His harsh words showed no leniency despite their intimate nights together. If anything, they were worse.

“Then it’s settled. Don’t worry—I’ve already spoken to the supplier. They won’t charge separately this time, and we’ll withhold payment from future projects. Just send them the corrected brief.”

“Thank you, Alex.”

“No problem. Just don’t make the same mistake again.” Alex didn’t necessarily tolerate subordinates’ mistakes, but Shang Zhitao was a first-time offender, and the error wasn’t severe. Luke had exaggerated. Alex couldn’t understand why Luan Nian was so angry—perhaps, as some in the company said, Luan Nian simply couldn’t stand Shang Zhitao.

Shang Zhitao quickly adjusted and sent the corrected brief to the supplier.

Then she stared at her phone for a long time, wondering whether to reply to Luan Nian. In the end, she put the phone down and didn’t respond.

Shang Zhitao didn’t want to reply.

If she couldn’t get promoted, so be it. If she couldn’t get a raise, so be it. If her bonus was cut, so be it. After all, she didn’t have much to lose in her career anyway.

She never had much to begin with.

She couldn’t tell if she was arguing with her boss or her sexual partner—she just didn’t want to speak to Luan Nian. She left her phone in her room and went out to eat. She didn’t want to ruin her entire weekend.

Good food and good friends could fix any unhappiness.

Shang Zhitao ate with them, and Sun Yu talked about her matchmaking project, sharing funny stories about men and women meeting online. She mentioned a male user who used a bald profile picture and sent every girl the same first message: “Hi, I own two apartments in Mudanyuan. Can we grab a meal?” She recounted this with a mischievous tone and then asked Shang Zhitao, “Would you reply to him?”

“Well… my mom told me to find someone tall and not bald.” Shang Zhitao answered earnestly, making everyone laugh again.

“Should I create a female account and chat with him?” Zhang Lei joked. “I’m just curious about what his apartments look like…”

The group erupted in laughter. Then Sun Yu sighed. “Our platform just doesn’t have enough quality users. Can you guys register and improve our user base?”

“Sure.” Shang Zhitao agreed and immediately grabbed her laptop. The four of them huddled together, registering profiles on the website. When it came to uploading photos, things got tricky. Shang Zhitao asked Sun Yu, “Do we need real photos?”

“Yes.”

“Does your system not handle virtual users?” Zhang Lei suddenly asked Sun Yu, familiar with various commercial strategies.

“We’ve created some… but…”

“Show them to Yuanzhu and me later.”

“Deal!” Sun Yu was thrilled. “My career depends on you three. And you can trust me with your marriage prospects too!”

“Let me see your female members first.” Zhang Lei’s business instincts kicked in as he studied the project’s business model and asked Sun Yu, “Are you expanding offline?”

“Of course. But it’s too late this year—we’ll only host one event around Christmas. Starting next year, we’ll expand.”

“That sounds good. Let me know when you go offline—I want to meet some singles.”

“Me too! I’ll help you fake it. Do you think I’d make a good actor?” Shang Zhitao raised her hand.

“You’d be perfect! You’re exactly the kind of girl successful men like—early twenties, good job, pretty face!” Sun Yu teased her. “I’ll promote you three heavily!”

“Isn’t that just being a marriage fraud?” Sun Yuanzhu suddenly interjected.

“Not really… after all, you’re all single…”

The meal lasted a long time, filled with laughter. Shang Zhitao pushed Luan Nian and his criticism completely out of her mind.