Shang Zhitao arrived at the company entrance and saw Luan Nian walking out of the coffee shop. She immediately ran.

She couldn’t give her boss the opportunity to take advantage of her. Her having feelings for him was just a thought, but if he wanted to sleep with her, that would be the real deal.

Although she might gain favor from it, she would lose her dignity. But being favored didn’t seem so bad either?

Shang Zhitao’s not-so-efficient brain was filled with all sorts of chaotic thoughts. As she ran, she couldn’t help but chuckle at her ideas.

She ran quickly, swiped her card, and rushed into the elevator, hastily pressing the close button. When she reached her workstation, she tossed her backpack aside, hunched down, and started working.

Being a small figure in the company, Luan Nian wouldn’t always assign work to her anyway. The new boss of the Planning Department will be in position soon. Once the new boss arrived, Lu Mi and Shang Zhitao would no longer have to deal with Luan Nian. Shang Zhitao eagerly looked forward to that day.

As if Luan Nian were some terrifying beast.

Luan Nian came out of the coffee shop and saw Shang Zhitao running away, not knowing what foolishness she was up to this time. When he reached the company, he saw it was empty. He was in his office, and Shang Zhitao was outside. Shang Zhitao arrived first every day, and Luan Nian was beginning to appreciate her diligence.

Some people are diligent only in short bursts; once they feel secure in their position, they slack off. Others remain diligent throughout their lives; no matter when, they always see things through to the end. Shang Zhitao probably belonged to the second category.

In yesterday’s work report, Alex discussed the marketing department’s work. When talking about personnel, he specifically mentioned Shang Zhitao, saying they planned to discuss ending her rotation with her. In other words, Shang Zhitao had successfully passed her probation.

While Alex was talking about this, Tracy kept looking at Luan Nian. She thought he would oppose it as he had in the past, but he didn’t even raise his head, as if the work Alex was reporting had nothing to do with him.

Tracy was a bit puzzled and asked Luan Nian, “Luke doesn’t have any comments?”

“You’re all-powerful, I wouldn’t dare,” Luan Nian replied sarcastically. Tracy was the HR Director appointed directly by headquarters. No matter who was in charge of Lingmei China, they had to be wary of her. Luan Nian wasn’t cautious around her, but he never forgot to mock her.

“I thought you had no comments because you recognized Shang Zhitao’s abilities, as well as my judgment.”

“I have no comments simply because Shang Zhitao is your person.”

“Shang Zhitao is not my person,” Tracy replied.

Luan Nian just shrugged, indicating this conversation was pointless. He wasn’t interested in who passed probation; his urgent task now was to handle the new performance model for the sales team. Lingmei’s sales team consisted of industry bigshots, and the entire team was full of arrogance, making them difficult to manage. They could complete their tasks but also held clients back, preventing major business breakthroughs. Luan Nian had discussed reforms with Tracy, and she had simply said, “Keep the team turnover rate under 30%. Otherwise, I’ll give you a poor rating in your 360-degree evaluation.”

Luan Nian knew Tracy was serious. She needed team stability, and if there was large-scale personnel movement, she would be held responsible.

“Then I’ll proceed with Shang Zhitao’s formal hiring process as usual,” Tracy added.

“Why don’t you ask me about other people’s formal employment?”

…”No use talking. Can we have one rational conversation about Shang Zhitao? You’re always putting on a stern face. Employees say they’re afraid of you during staff meetings.”

Luan Nian didn’t care about these formalities. Whether Shang Zhitao passed probation or not had no impact on him, and whether people feared him or not didn’t affect his mood. So he didn’t continue the discussion with Tracy.

Shang Zhitao knew nothing about this. She was about to be sent on an assignment, to a mountainous area to assist with a commercial shoot, essentially doing odd jobs. The marketing department always had to send someone at times like this. When people looked at that location, they all clicked their tongues and refused to go. It had already started snowing there, the mountain area was cold and gloomy, and the rats were thirty centimeters long. Not just women, even men were afraid to go. Someone secretly glanced at Shang Zhitao, thinking that since she hadn’t passed probation yet, she should accept this test, and they secretly hoped she would step forward. Shang Zhitao caught this look and did step forward: “How about… I go? I’ve never done this before, though, so I don’t know what to do.”

“You? What do you know? I think a male colleague would be most suitable for this job,” Lu Mi said while cutting her nails and kicking Shang Zhitao under the table. Was this girl sick? Couldn’t she see they were trying to take advantage of her?

“You don’t know anything. This is our biggest client’s project. What if you mess it up?” Lu Mi added, “If it gets messed up, we’ll all suffer the consequences.”

Alex didn’t feel the same way. Shang Zhitao was new, and she needed to follow all kinds of projects. This was a given. So he asked Shang Zhitao, “Are you sure you’re willing to go?”

“If she’s going, then prepare a double travel budget,” Lu Mi sighed. “I’ll go too.” Lu Mi always felt like she was Shang Zhitao’s mentor, and she had that kind of fraternal loyalty towards her. This so-called fraternal loyalty meant: I need to protect my people.

Shang Zhitao looked at Lu Mi gratefully: “Thank you, Lu Mi.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Shang Zhitao had no idea how dangerous this trip would be. She just felt that this was work, and she needed to try everything to understand the essence of the job. She respected her work this way, and her work didn’t let her down either.

After the weekly meeting ended, Alex asked her to stay behind.

“Flora, guess what I’m going to tell you next?” Alex was never serious. He even winked at Shang Zhitao with a childish desire for her to guess.

“Um…” Shang Zhitao thought carefully. She hadn’t made any mistakes in her recent work, so she shook her head: “Alex, I don’t know.”

“Then take a look at this.” Alex took out several sheets of paper from a drawer and placed them in front of her.

Shang Zhitao picked them up and saw the large words “Labor Contract” in both Chinese and English. Her eyes widened, and she looked at Alex in disbelief: “I…”

“Your first rotation stop was the marketing department. I’ve communicated with Lu Mi, and we both want you to stay in marketing. Are you willing?”

“I am willing.” Shang Zhitao nodded like a pecking chicken. She couldn’t hide her feelings, just felt happy. So happy that her eyes felt warm.

“Then go back and sign this formal contract, and submit it to Human Resources.” Alex gave Shang Zhitao a thumbs up: “Keep it up, Flora. You know, Beijing is a cruel but fair city. As long as you work hard, there will be results. Everyone has seen your diligence and sense of responsibility over the past two months. You earned this contract yourself.”

Shang Zhitao felt like she was dreaming.

She remembered her first day when Luan Nian advised her to change jobs. She had been so anxious and nervous then. But today, she officially stayed here, and Alex said she had earned it through her efforts.

It was so touching. She even felt a bit like crying.

Even after work, Shang Zhitao still felt it wasn’t real. She was filled with mixed emotions and felt like she needed to talk to someone.

She asked Yao Bei: “Senior, are you in Beijing?”

“I’m at the Aerospace Base. What’s up, Taotao?”

“I’ve been formally hired.”

“Really!!!” Yao Bei added three exclamation marks and then called her: “My junior is so accomplished, right? Listen, think about what you want to eat! When I get back, we must celebrate properly!”

Shang Zhitao covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud: “I want to eat Japanese food. There’s a place near our company that I want to try.”

“We’ll go when I’m back!”

Ordinary Shang Zhitao experienced a different kind of happiness.

Shang Zhitao had shared her joy with others, but her happiness hadn’t dissipated. She wanted to reward herself, feeling that today she truly deserved a reward. How about going for Japanese food? Invite Sun Yu and the others? But it was too late now; by the time they reached the Japanese restaurant, it would be closing. Go by herself! Yes! And invite her roommates for a meal on the weekend!

Shang Zhitao was a bit happy. She stood up at her workstation, still smiling, stretched her body, and sat back down. Then she immediately packed up her things, not wanting to wait even a minute. She carried her bag and walked out, running into Luan Nian, who was about to leave work. Shang Zhitao couldn’t dodge in time and had to smile at Luan Nian: “Luke, getting off work?”

“Mm.” Nothing more.

Shang Zhitao didn’t say anything either. She entered the elevator and stood in the corner, but heard Luan Nian ask her: “Not going to eat something nice today?”

“Huh?”

“Weren’t you formally hired?”

“Oh… yes.” Shang Zhitao couldn’t lie; her expression clearly showed: I’m going to eat something delicious right now. Seeing Luan Nian looking at her in the elevator mirror, she reluctantly said: “Do you want to join?…”

“Sure.”

?

“You don’t have to feel obligated if you have plans tonight,” Shang Zhitao added. Was there still room to back out of this?

“No obligation, no plans.”

…

“Oh.”

Stingy as hell. Luan Nian laughed at her internally. He was just that kind of person; he had just casually teased her, but the more reluctant she was, the more he wanted to go. When she was unhappy, he felt satisfied. Simply put, Luan Nian was the kind of person who benefited at others’ expense. In Tan Mian’s words, he wasn’t a good person at heart.

“What are we eating?” Luan Nian asked her.

Shang Zhitao racked her brain trying to think of something to eat that would make him not want to go. Spicy hotpot? Bridge rice noodles? Cold skin noodles?

“There’s a good Japanese restaurant near the company. It’ll cost you.” Luan Nian said nonchalantly: “Get the 398 yuan set, otherwise there’s no foie gras.”

“Oh. But it’s near the company. What if colleagues see us? Won’t it be hard to explain? It might harm your reputation.”

“You’re overthinking.” Luan Nian smiled at her: “Please.”

Shang Zhitao’s second meal with Luan Nian was at that Japanese restaurant.

It was already past nine when they arrived. The restaurant was nearly empty. They found a quiet private room that overlooked the courtyard garden. The night lighting was on in the garden, revealing a small bridge over flowing water, exceptionally peaceful. Luan Nian indeed ordered the 398 yuan set without hesitation, and Shang Zhitao ordered the same. Since she was celebrating, she might as well go all out, even if this meal would cost her a tenth of her salary. She thought it was worth it.

Luan Nian ordered sake, poured himself a small cup, then asked Shang Zhitao: “Have you gotten your driver’s license yet?”

“I’m taking the second test next weekend, but I might have to postpone it because I was assigned today to follow the Victory shooting.”

“Going to the mountains?”

“Yes… They say it will be half a month.”

Shang Zhitao also poured herself a small cup of sake and took a sip. It was alright, not too strong. She smiled broadly, unable to hide the joy in her heart.