However surprising, he still maintained an expressionless face, lowered his head to type on the computer, pretending it had nothing to do with him. The company environment was like a deep pool, lonely at the top. He couldn’t appear eager for quick success, nor could he seem effortless. Everything required the right timing and also rewarded hard work.
The last part was truly brilliant. Luan Nian heard the suppliers’ bosses whispering, but everyone generally held a positive attitude toward the LUMI marketing department’s new policy.
Work gave Shang Zhitao a sense of achievement for the first time.
When the meeting ended, as she was organizing the meeting minutes, she also reviewed what she had gained. She hoped that for any work she encountered, she could stand higher and think about problems from a different perspective. With this ability, she could go further. Shang Zhitao, who had been mudding through for twenty-two years, suddenly had a work ideal.
Her meeting minutes weren’t completed until after midnight. She had been looking down for so long that her entire shoulder and neck were sore. Standing up to stretch, she saw that Luan Nian’s office was still lit—he was sitting there working with intense concentration.
Why was he staying so late today?
Shang Zhitao had a strange feeling about Luan Nian. She was very afraid of him, but also felt that he sometimes seemed to be teaching her things.
She wanted to thank Luan Nian again, but felt she would be too much—he didn’t like to be disturbed.
Thinking this, Shang Zhitao packed up and left the company.
Today, she was sustained by a sense of achievement, her mood floating as if about to fly, not feeling tired at all. Everything was perfect except that it was difficult to get a car at night. She stood by the roadside trying to get a taxi, but many people were leaving after overtime and few cars, so she couldn’t get one.
After more than half an hour, she was thinking of walking a bit to try her luck when she saw a car stop in front of her. It was Luan Nian.
Shang Zhitao was too embarrassed to trouble him again and waved at him: “It’s too late, you should go home quickly.”
“It’s on my way.” Luan Nian opened the car door.
Shang Zhitao looked at the time—it was too late, and she didn’t dare be willful, so she got into Luan Nian’s car.
“Is it really on your way?”
“It’s not. Get out.” Luan Nian said this while starting the engine. Working for less than twenty days, Shang Zhitao had already grown accustomed to Luan Nian’s way of speaking. She chuckled and asked him: “Where do you live?”
“Near your place.” Luan Nian wasn’t lying about it being on his way. There was a villa area in Shahe, a fifteen-minute drive from Shang Zhitao’s home.
“Then why do you live so far? It would be so convenient to live near the company.”
“Why do you live so far?”
“I don’t have that much money to rent a place.” Shang Zhitao didn’t feel embarrassed saying this. She had just graduated and hadn’t received her first month’s salary yet. It would be strange if she had money.
Luan Nian didn’t say much more but turned his head to look at Shang Zhitao. She sat properly in the car, her legs tightly together, as if facing a great enemy.
“Are you afraid of me?”
“What?”
“Are you afraid of me?”
“I’m not. If I were afraid of you, I wouldn’t have gotten into your car.”
Shang Zhitao spoke lightly but didn’t dare look at Luan Nian. She turned her head to look out the window. The night was colorful, and she suddenly had a thought: perhaps she should learn to drive? Yes, she should learn to drive. What era was this, to still not know how to drive!
Luan Nian turned on some music, which relieved Shang Zhitao’s tension. She finally turned her head to look forward and even initiated conversation: “Thank you for today.”
“For what?”
“Thank you for your guidance this morning.” Shang Zhitao said: “I know that I don’t have much talent, and am even quite ordinary. So I accept all your criticism and advice. I just want to beg you to give me some time to grow.”
Luan Nian looked at her seriously and, for once, gave an “Mm” sound.
“In the future, if there’s something I don’t understand or can’t do, may I ask you for guidance?”
“Don’t you have a mentor? Don’t you have a boss?”
“It’s different.”
How was it different? Alex and Lumi made Shang Zhitao feel relaxed; they made her feel that even if she was ordinary, she could still be accepted. But Luan Nian was different. Luan Nian gave her the crisis of being eliminated at any time. She had learned a lot from Luan Nian. In less than twenty brief days, Luan Nian had, in his way, helped Shang Zhitao’s thinking take a small step upward.
“Don’t ask me stupid questions. Think carefully before asking.” Luan Nian tacitly agreed to Shang Zhitao’s request and made his only demand.