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In the early spring of this year, Shang Zhitao once again felt the difficulties of work.
She sat in the conference room, alongside colleagues from the Planning Department, having a conference call with Luan Nian, who was far away in the United States.
Grace said to Shang Zhitao, “Flora, don’t rush. Although the work in the Planning Department is different from the Marketing Department, the essence and core of the work haven’t really changed. You’ve built a good foundation over these past few years; you’ll catch up quickly.”
Grace was her new mentor in the Planning Department.
Shang Zhitao liked Grace; she was a very rational, professional, and talented person. Ever since hearing the presentation Grace gave when she received the million-dollar stock options, Grace had become like a goddess in Shang Zhitao’s mind.
At this moment, Grace was six months pregnant, with faint spots appearing on her face, yet she still possessed an intellectual beauty.
“Note down anything you don’t understand during the meeting, and ask me all at once after it ends,” Grace told her. Although Grace was very nice, she had a slight ulterior motive. During the internal job competition for the Planning Department, Grace had given Shang Zhitao high scores because she was trustworthy. Grace was pregnant, and when she gave birth, she would definitely have to hand over the projects she was managing. Who she handed them over to was a tricky matter. Everyone in the Planning Department was shrewd and ambitious; if she handed her projects over, it would be very difficult to get them back. Furthermore, she would face the nursing period, which could very possibly mark the end of her career at Lingmei.
So she turned her attention to Shang Zhitao.
Shang Zhitao was reliable. Grace had observed her for a long time: she was upright, kind, and compassionate. Grace placed her bet on her.
From the other end of the call, Luan Nian asked, “Has the new colleague started today?”
Grace replied, “Flora started yesterday; today is her first Planning Department meeting. Another internal colleague is still handing over projects and connected remotely today. The socially recruited colleague had a death in the family and has postponed their start date. Also, HR contacted me today; this year’s campus recruitment is expected to open two HCs (headcounts) for the Planning Department, with a focus on recruiting from overseas universities.”
“Okay. Let’s begin.”
The pace of the Planning Department meetings was incredibly fast.
Although Shang Zhitao had been honing her skills at Lingmei for several years, she still found it a bit strenuous. Higher-level departments, industry associations, client management, consulting, special cases, project management – all these core tasks converged within the Planning Department. In other words, Lingmei’s Planning Department was Lingmei’s brain. The brain issued commands, and various departments executed them. If the brain gave the wrong command, all departments would suffer.
Shang Zhitao’s first task in the Planning Department was taking meeting minutes, which only needed to be sent to Grace. After the meeting, she organized the minutes and sent them to Grace. She unexpectedly received Grace’s detailed annotations, which circled every important point, provided explanations for professional terms, and Grace even pulled her into the pantry to explain the background of the current core projects, holding nothing back.
Grace was truly an excellent mentor. Her speech was concise, her attitude friendly, yet her objectives were clear. In the pantry, she concluded like this: “Don’t be afraid; it’s not difficult. Ask more questions. You’ll be fine.”
Her speaking style was somewhat reminiscent of Luan Nian’s. Shang Zhitao suddenly understood why Luan Nian appreciated Grace – probably because, fundamentally, Grace was the same type of person as him.
“I will, Grace,” Shang Zhitao nodded.
Grace patted her chest. “Can’t catch my breath. Come on, accompany me downstairs for some air. I’ll tell you about the company’s strategic layout for this year along the way; it’s all related to our core projects.”
“Okay.”
The two walked downstairs. Shang Zhitao had rarely interacted with pregnant female colleagues before. There were only a few in the company, but their work didn’t overlap, making it hard to understand their experiences. While going downstairs, she asked Grace, “Is the belly... tiring?”
Grace smiled. “It’s manageable, actually. I wasn’t planning on having kids these two years; it was an accident. The doctor didn’t recommend termination, after all, I’m 33.”
“Then what does the boss think? Isn’t it said that bosses dislike female employees getting pregnant?”
“You mean Luke?”
Shang Zhitao nodded.
“Luke said, ‘While you’re young, have them early. Work is just work; anyway, you got the stocks, what are you afraid of.’” Grace laughed out loud. “Actually, Luke is a very nice person. I was afraid of him at first, but slowly discovered he just has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. I don’t think he has a typical capitalist mentality.”
“Oh oh oh.” Shang Zhitao ‘oh-ed’ a few times. Executive Luan was coming back.
He had been gone too long this time; Shang Zhitao hadn’t seen him for over two months. She was flustered and busy until midnight. When she got home, she saw a box on the bed containing a very, very beautiful nightgown. Sun Yu’s message arrived just in time: “A gift for you. Wear it for your boss to see—kills two birds with one stone.”
Shang Zhitao slipped the nightgown on. The front featured a semi-transparent deep V with crochet details, while the back was largely exposed. How was this a nightdress? It was clearly just a piece of barely-covering cloth. But it was truly beautiful. Shang Zhitao put it on, let her hair down, and took a selfie, clicking her tongue in appreciation afterward.
That evening, Luan Nian asked her, “Have you finished writing the document?”
Shang Zhitao thought for a moment and sent him the nightgown photo.
Luan Nian clicked open the chatbox, saw the photo. Fuck.
His face flushed red all the way to his neck. He quickly turned off his phone screen, afraid someone else might see. After a while, he replied, “Just this one?”
Shang Zhitao sent two more. The lighting was dim; she sat before a dressing mirror, her clean long legs crossed in front of her, a nightgown strap slid down, the crochet pattern crumpled, her red lips slightly parted. Not only that, she also sent a recklessly provocative message: “So, what were you doing for the past half hour?”
Luan Nian’s Adam’s apple moved. He replied, “Reading documents.” Never expect a proud man to engage in overt flirting; he couldn’t lower himself to that.
“Oh oh oh, then read carefully. I’ve sent the document to your email, Luke.”
Shang Zhitao had learned some mischievous tricks.
Lumi had taught her. While accompanying Lumi to get her nails done at noon, Lumi held up her hand and said to Shang Zhitao, “Look at you, so plain and simple. Even if you find a boyfriend, it won’t last long. Be more alluring.”
“How do I be alluring?” Shang Zhitao sincerely asked for advice.
Lumi whispered a few words in her ear. She blushed. “Oh. Learned.” Learned, and wasn’t she putting it to use right now?
Shang Zhitao imagined Luan Nian losing control, giggling alone on her bed. It was two days later, in the evening, that she suddenly received a message from Luan Nian:
“Come over. Bring that nightgown.”
“? Weren’t you coming back next week?”
“Came back early.”
The two hadn’t seen each other for a long time; there wasn’t even a hint of exchanging pleasantries. Shang Zhitao heard the sound of fabric tearing; the fierce Luan Nian had ripped her nightgown. What did Lumi say? Don’t ask if he likes it; just watch his reaction. Shang Zhitao felt she was beginning to understand men a little bit. Look at Luan Nian—usually such a serious person, but definitely not behaving decently when ripping her nightgown.
The next morning, she woke up to her alarm and saw that Luan Nian was already up and getting dressed.
“Are you going out?” Shang Zhitao asked him.
“Yeah, meeting a friend. What are you doing today?” Luan Nian asked casually, waiting to see what ridiculous answer she’d concoct.
“I’m going to the library today!” Shang Zhitao smiled at him, casually threw on some clothes, and left. She had to go home and change. Sun Yu had said that today’s event was full of high-end members, many of whom were very, very rich, and she hoped Shang Zhitao would make an effort to persuade them to upgrade their service package.
Shang Zhitao quickly returned home, changed into a black dress that ended a palm’s width above the knee, put on black leather boots, applied light makeup and red lipstick, donned her coat, and went out. The event was held at a bar—fewer people during the day, cheaper to book the venue, and conveniently located. After arriving, Shang Zhitao signed in, took off her coat, and hung it up. Turning around, she saw a man casting a glance her way.
Sun Yu hadn’t lied; today was indeed a high-quality offline gathering.
She exchanged a look with Sun Yu, found a less conspicuous spot to sit down. The moment she looked up, she saw someone walk in. Shang Zhitao couldn’t hide in time; he was already sitting opposite her, watching her with a smile. It was not a friendly smile. Why was Luan Nian here?
Shang Zhitao thought, It’s over. She took out her phone to message Luan Nian: “I’m helping Sun Yu.”
“I rarely come!” she added, protesting too much and revealing her guilt.
“And I only attend these events as a formality; I never mess around!”
“Why are you here?”
But Luan Nian didn’t even look at his phone. Shang Zhitao looked at him, pointed at her phone, but Luan Nian acted as if he didn’t see. This was the event Dr. Liang had signed him up for, registration fee 888 yuan. He had said he wouldn’t come, but Dr. Liang insisted, “Go, go! If you see the girl from the photo, take a picture for me. I want to see what she looks like in person.”
Luan Nian was this close to sending Shang Zhitao’s nightgown photo to Dr. Liang.
In the morning, he had coldly watched Shang Zhitao lie, and decided not to waste that 888 yuan. As it turned out, Shang Zhitao really made his 888 yuan worthwhile—she even put on makeup, and fucking wore a miniskirt. Really something. He had known her for several years, and she was always plain as a nun in front of him, yet here she was acting as a shill at a high-end gathering.
During the profile distribution segment, Luan Nian looked at Shang Zhitao’s profile, which was slightly different from the one on the website: Graduated from Penn, works at a foreign company, annual salary 400,000 yuan, height 171cm, weight 108 jin (54kg), enjoys diving, skiing, and golf. Fluent in three languages. He suddenly chuckled.
Hearing this chuckle, Shang Zhitao vaguely sensed that today was doomed. She messaged Sun Yu: “Why is Luan Nian here?”
“How would I know? I checked; he signed in under another member’s name. He probably registered an account using someone else’s identity.”
Fuck.
Shang Zhitao didn’t know any of this and could only smile appeasingly at Luan Nian, vaguely worried that he would ruin Sun Yu’s event today.
She got up and went outside for some air. Coming back, she saw Luan Nian talking to a bar waiter. His gaze swept over her coolly, still ignoring her. Shang Zhitao walked up to him and said, “Can we talk?” with a hint of coquettishness.
“Sorry, the event rules don’t allow private contact.” Luan Nian forced a smile at Shang Zhitao, turned, and walked back inside.
Shang Zhitao quickly ran a few steps, pulled him into a nearby private room, and said, “It’s fine here, let’s talk.”
“I don’t know you.”
...
“Are you angry?” Shang Zhitao asked him. “I didn’t mean to lie this morning, okay? It’s just that there wasn’t much to say about this...”
“Only this morning?”
Luan Nian was referring to every Saturday morning when he left her place. Her bizarre excuses. What angered him most was how seriously she took this event—even wearing makeup.
“Before... there were a few times too.”
“Have I told you before? If you meet someone else, tell them frankly. Don’t treat the other person like an idiot.”
“You did. But I didn’t meet anyone, did I?” Shang Zhitao started to get a little angry. Why couldn’t Luan Nian understand that she was just helping Sun Yu out? And earning some extra cash on the side.
“...” This remark really hit Luan Nian’s nerve. The moment Dr. Liang registered the account, Shang Zhitao had pounced on it, initiating chats, practically ready to give Dr. Liang her home address. During the holiday break, Dr. Liang showed him chat records with various girls every day, especially hers. Dr. Liang practically read them with dramatic flair! What did Dr. Liang say? Her exact words were: “This girl is so sincere; you can tell she’s really eager to find someone. Put some effort in for me.”
Back then, Luan Nian hadn’t been that angry; he had even mocked Dr. Liang for not understanding “system-managed accounts” and “virtual accounts.”
Until he was at the venue, saw the made-up Shang Zhitao. Great, it turned out he was the one who didn’t understand.
“Move.”
“No. I’ll move when you promise not to cause trouble.”
Luan Nian narrowed his eyes into slits, speaking only after a long pause: “Fine, I won’t cause trouble.”
Luan Nian never kept his word.
When it was his turn to speak, he suddenly said, “Female guest number 8 looks a lot like an employee at my company. But that employee isn’t fluent in three languages, nor did she graduate from Penn. Right?”
Fuck.
You just couldn’t trust Luan Nian’s mouth. Shang Zhitao thought quickly: “I have a common face; it’s just a coincidence.”
“Hmm, the female employee at my company is also named Shang Zhitao.”
The event participants started murmuring. Sun Yu began to sweat profusely on the side; it’s over. She had experienced Luan Nian’s sharp tongue and his vengeful nature firsthand. She quickly pulled up Luan Nian’s account information, thinking, if worse comes to worst, I’ll sacrifice you today. You don’t match the account photo; I’ll just say you came to disrupt the event. No one here has seen your company’s Shang Zhitao, but there’s proof of your fake photo; this can be part of the contingency plan for future events.
Unexpectedly, Luan Nian didn’t give her the chance. He said, “I think I’ll withdraw from today’s event first. Seeing female guest number 8 keeps reminding me of my subordinate. I can’t get into character.”
“Okay. It really is quite a coincidence,” the host immediately interjected. “We will arrange a refund for you. We welcome you to join our next event.”
Luan Nian glanced at Shang Zhitao and left.
He had wanted to kill her just moments ago but still held back slightly. Sun Yu’s startup wasn’t easy, and it had just seen a turnaround.
He went out of the bar to find his car. Shang Zhitao ran out and got into the car just as he opened the door.
Luan Nian looked at her. “Not looking for a partner anymore? They’re all diamond bachelors inside.”
Shang Zhitao gave a sheepish laugh and fastened her seatbelt.
“Get out.”
“No.”
Luan Nian glanced at her. “Is it fun being a marriage scammer? Was it fun chatting with my mom for two or three months?”
“Huh?”
“Didn’t expect that, right? The marriage scammer met the old scammer.”
Shang Zhitao had no idea which account belonged to Luan Nian’s mother. Her account was managed; Sun Yu would send her chat logs before each event for a quick review. She vaguely remembered the name of the account Luan Nian had signed in with; they had chatted quite deeply.
“You wouldn’t doubt me if I said my account is a system-managed account, right?” Shang Zhitao finished speaking and suddenly realized, “Then how did Dr. Liang know about Sun Yu’s website while she’s abroad? Why would she register an account for you?”
The story behind this was quite fascinating, but Luan Nian wasn’t prepared to tell Shang Zhitao.
“Get out of the car. I’m going on a date.”
“A date with whom?”
“Shang Zhitao, this is where I’m better than you. You ask me, I tell you. Teacher Gong Yue. Now get out.”
“If you meet someone else, tell them frankly.”
“How frank I am. I’ll tell you before we sleep together.”
“Fine. Okay. Thanks.” Shang Zhitao delivered an irritating trifecta and got out of the car.
Luan Nian’s car kicked up a bit of dust and sped away.
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