The Early Spring Episode 10 — English Subtitles

The Early Spring Episode 10 begins after Shang Zhitao's birthday celebration. Still affected by her feelings for Luan Nian, she returns to her friends and tries to act as though nothing unusual has happened. Sun Yu, already tipsy, happily announces that she has also received a promotion and declares that she intends to remain in Beijing until she can afford a three-bedroom apartment. Shang Zhitao becomes emotional at the thought of her friends eventually leaving the city and makes everyone promise that they will stay in Beijing together until they achieve their dreams. Before long, the exhausted group falls asleep on the sofa. The following morning, Shang Zhitao arrives at Lingmei looking unusually energetic and carefully dressed. Lumi immediately notices the change and teases her about suddenly looking so cheerful. Shang Zhitao explains that she is only dressing up because she is helping Sun Yu with a matchmaking event later that evening. Lumi jokes that she should keep an eye out for handsome men, especially anyone who looks like Eddie Peng, and asks Shang Zhitao to report back if she finds one. When Lumi later enters Luan Nian's office, she casually mentions that Shang Zhitao will be attending a matchmaking event. Luan Nian's expression immediately changes. Although he tries to hide his jealousy behind workplace criticism, he demands that the Yueteng proposal be completed that very day. He argues that employees who finish their work during normal hours should not need to stay late simply because they waste time during the day. At the end of the workday, Shang Zhitao prepares to leave for the matchmaking event. Luan Nian stops her and tells her that there is still work to complete. She explains that she has already sent the proposal to Lumi, but Luan Nian insists that she has another task. He then takes her outside and reveals that he is actually taking her to practice driving because the upcoming Yueteng Auto test-drive event will require her to be able to drive confidently. Shang Zhitao quietly messages Sun Yuanzhu to cancel her evening plans. Luan Nian notices her using her phone but does not expose her. Instead, he secretly smiles because he understands that she is giving up the matchmaking event to spend time with him. During the driving practice, Shang Zhitao becomes nervous behind the wheel and accidentally hits a guardrail. Luan Nian immediately takes over and criticizes her driving technique. He then asks who she had been so eager to meet that evening. Shang Zhitao blushes and asks whether he is jealous. She explains that Sun Yu works for a matchmaking company and that she was only supposed to help her friend fill the required number of participants. Luan Nian is visibly relieved but refuses to admit that jealousy was the reason he interfered. Before Shang Zhitao can finish explaining herself, Luan Nian leans toward her and kisses her. The kiss quickly becomes more intense, and Shang Zhitao responds by wrapping her arms around him. Outside, heavy rain begins falling over the car, creating an intimate moment that finally breaks through the emotional distance they have maintained for so long. The following morning, Shang Zhitao wakes up in Luan Nian's bedroom. She remembers the warnings she has received from Sun Yu about Luan Nian's complicated personality and the advice from Lumi that young people should enjoy life rather than constantly worrying about consequences. Instead of running away again, Shang Zhitao decides that she wants to give their relationship a real chance. When she gets up, she discovers that she is wearing Luan Nian's pajamas. Luan Nian follows her toward the bathroom, creating an awkward but playful atmosphere. Shang Zhitao tells him that she needs to return home immediately because she does not want anyone at the office or among her roommates to discover their relationship. Luan Nian offers to have his driver take her home, but Shang Zhitao refuses. She does not want anyone to see her getting out of his car and mistakenly believe that she is receiving special treatment from her boss. She also does not want rumors about their relationship to damage her reputation or career. Instead, she decides to stay at his apartment for the night and leave early the next morning. The next morning, Luan Nian prepares breakfast for Shang Zhitao. She is surprised by how good his cooking is and openly praises him. Luan Nian enjoys seeing her reaction and quietly takes satisfaction in making her happy. He then drives her toward the office through the rain. Shang Zhitao asks him to stop near a subway station so that nobody at Lingmei will see them arriving together. Luan Nian refuses and drives directly into the underground parking garage. He tells her that it is still early and almost nobody is around. Shang Zhitao gets out first but accidentally drops her employee badge. Luan Nian picks it up and follows her into the elevator. Lumi notices a mark on Shang Zhitao's neck and immediately becomes suspicious. She jokes about Shang Zhitao suddenly having a romantic life, comparing her situation with other employees who openly talk about their relationships. Shang Zhitao quickly covers the mark and claims that Sun Yu gave her a ride home. Lumi accepts the explanation but remains suspicious. Shang Zhitao soon realizes that she has accidentally left her laptop bag in Luan Nian's car. Because she is terrified that someone might see them together, she messages him and arranges to meet in a dark stairwell in the parking garage. When Luan Nian arrives, he jokes that even people involved in smuggling are probably not as cautious as she is. He returns her laptop bag and places her employee badge around her neck. Before leaving, he kisses her again. The hidden stairwell becomes the place where they finally discuss what their relationship will actually mean. Luan Nian proposes that they become a secret couple. Shang Zhitao agrees, but only under strict conditions. Their relationship must remain completely confidential from friends, family and coworkers. They must remain exclusive to each other, and neither of them is allowed to date or sleep with anyone else while they are together. They also agree that Friday nights will belong to them, while during working hours they will maintain a strict boss-and-subordinate relationship. Both agree that their professional responsibilities must never be affected by their private relationship. Shang Zhitao makes it clear that she does not want special treatment, while Luan Nian promises that he will continue evaluating her work objectively. They finally establish the rules of their secret romance and return separately to the office. Their hidden relationship quickly develops its own language. During work hours, Luan Nian remains strict and professional, but he frequently watches Shang Zhitao through the glass wall of his office. They exchange subtle looks and private messages while pretending to be ordinary colleagues in front of everyone else. Even their elevator encounters become opportunities for brief secret moments together. One evening, Luan Nian notices Shang Zhitao asleep at her desk after working late. The office is almost empty, so he wakes her and insists on driving her home. During the journey, he holds her hand while driving and asks about Sun Yuanzhu, who has been picking her up and walking her home through the dark alley near her apartment. Shang Zhitao explains that she and Sun Yuanzhu simply take turns walking each other home because the alley is poorly lit and she does not feel safe walking alone. Luan Nian listens carefully but is clearly uncomfortable with how often another man is involved in her daily life. When they reach her apartment, Luan Nian insists on walking Shang Zhitao to the door because he wants to know exactly where she lives. Shang Zhitao becomes extremely nervous and repeatedly tells him to leave before her roommates see him. Luan Nian teases her about being so cautious and then notices that her mascara is slightly smeared. He points it out, reminds her about their Friday date and finally leaves. Inside the apartment, Sun Yu and Sun Yuanzhu suddenly appear. They have just returned and Sun Yuanzhu has brought a birthday cake for Shang Zhitao because he missed her actual birthday celebration. The three roommates prepare to celebrate together when the phone rings. Because Shang Zhitao's hands are wet, Sun Yuanzhu answers the phone. It is Luan Nian. He urgently reports that there is a problem with the Yueteng Auto Show promotional booklet: the brand logo has been printed incorrectly. He tells Shang Zhitao that he is coming to pick her up so they can deal with the problem immediately. Shang Zhitao opens her laptop and checks the files. She quickly realizes that the logo really is wrong. She remembers that she had previously asked the graphic designer to correct the logo before the final file was sent. However, she had fallen asleep while waiting for the updated version, and the designer ultimately sent the wrong file to the printer. Rather than exposing the graphic designer and shifting the blame, Shang Zhitao takes responsibility as the project manager. She knows that she should have personally checked the final version before approving it. Luan Nian realizes that she is accepting responsibility for someone else's mistake, but he does not allow her to avoid the consequences simply because he cares about her. The company classifies the error as a serious incident because the incorrect promotional material has already been printed for an important client event. Luan Nian tells Shang Zhitao that the mistake could normally result in a full year without a promotion or salary increase. Shang Zhitao is devastated but accepts the punishment without arguing. Rather than allowing the mistake to damage the Yueteng relationship, Luan Nian immediately begins working on a solution. He approves the necessary reprinting expenses and personally contacts the printing factory. Shang Zhitao works alongside him throughout the night, coordinating with local printers and arranging for corrected pages to be produced before the auto show begins. The emergency operation succeeds. The corrected pages are delivered in time, and Yueteng Auto suffers no significant loss because of the error. During the subsequent company meeting, Shang Zhitao publicly acknowledges that she failed to complete the final verification and accepts responsibility for the incident. Luan Nian then announces her formal punishment. Instead of the original one-year restriction, he reduces the penalty to six months without promotion or salary increases and cuts her quarterly bonus by half. He explains that although the error was serious, her immediate response prevented the mistake from causing financial damage to the client or the company. Shang Zhitao is visibly hurt by the decision. She does not want Luan Nian to show favoritism toward her simply because they are secretly dating, but at the same time, being punished by him exactly as he would punish any other employee makes her feel emotionally distant from him. She struggles to separate the man she loves from the boss who is now formally disciplining her. Lumi notices Shang Zhitao's sadness and comforts her. She explains that Luan Nian may be strict internally, but he protected Shang Zhitao and the entire team externally. He personally approved the reprinting budget, reassured the client and helped solve the crisis before it became a major disaster. Lumi tells Shang Zhitao that Luan Nian is the type of boss who can be extremely harsh with his own people while fiercely protecting them from outside pressure. After returning home, Shang Zhitao finally breaks down in tears while eating seafood fried rice prepared by her roommate. She confides in Sun Yu that she feels trapped between two conflicting emotions. She does not want Luan Nian to treat her differently from other employees, but being treated strictly by the man she loves still hurts. Shang Zhitao says that she wants to become stronger and more capable so that one day she can speak to Luan Nian as an equal rather than as his subordinate. She does not want their relationship to become a shortcut to success. Sun Yu comforts her and reminds her that making mistakes is part of becoming a better professional. Meanwhile, Luan Nian sits alone at work thinking about Shang Zhitao's expression during the meeting. He becomes increasingly distracted and cannot concentrate on his work. Although he knows that he made the correct professional decision, he is clearly troubled by how deeply the punishment affected her. Unable to resist contacting her, Luan Nian sends Shang Zhitao a message asking where she is. Shang Zhitao sees the message and begins typing a response. She writes several different replies, deletes each one and tries again. She wants to answer him but is still hurt and does not know whether responding would make things better or worse. Episode 10 marks an important stage in their secret relationship. Shang Zhitao and Luan Nian finally establish clear rules for being together while keeping their romance hidden from everyone at work. Their private happiness grows, but the Yueteng logo mistake demonstrates how difficult it will be to separate love from professional responsibility. Luan Nian refuses to give Shang Zhitao special treatment, even when doing so hurts both of them, while Shang Zhitao begins realizing that becoming strong enough to stand beside him as an equal may be more important than simply being loved by him.