The Early Spring Episode 15 — English Subtitles

The Early Spring Episode 15 begins with Shang Zhitao celebrating with Sun Yu, Sun Yuanzhu and Lei Ge after the crisis with the shady real-estate agency. Sun Yu announces that she has also quit her job after finally standing up to her unreasonable boss and has decided to start her own business. The four friends raise their glasses and promise that no matter where life takes them, they will always remember the bond they built while struggling together in Beijing. After the celebration, Luan Nian drives Shang Zhitao and her rescued Samoyed back to his apartment. He is visibly unhappy about having a dog in his home and suggests keeping Luke in the garage or on the balcony. Shang Zhitao immediately refuses and tells him that if Luke cannot stay inside, she will sleep wherever the dog sleeps. Luan Nian reluctantly gives in and allows the dog to stay. The arrangement becomes even more amusing when Luke immediately takes a liking to Luan Nian. The dog repeatedly follows him around the apartment despite Luan Nian's attempts to maintain a strict distance. When Luan Nian discovers that Shang Zhitao has named the Samoyed Luke, he is furious because Luke is also his own English name. Shang Zhitao playfully suggests renaming the dog Alex instead, which only makes Luan Nian more jealous. Eventually, he reluctantly accepts that the dog will keep the name Luke. Later that evening, Luan Nian and Shang Zhitao finally have some privacy on the sofa. Just as they begin sharing an intimate moment, Luke jumps between them and interrupts their romance. Luan Nian becomes frustrated and sends both Shang Zhitao and the dog toward the guest room. Shang Zhitao laughs at his jealousy and reminds him that Luke is only a puppy. Before going to sleep, Shang Zhitao tells Luan Nian that she has an early French lesson the following morning. Luan Nian immediately becomes suspicious of her foreign-language teacher and asks several questions about him. Shang Zhitao teases him for being jealous again, while Luan Nian insists that he is simply interested in knowing who is teaching his girlfriend. The next morning, Shang Zhitao attends her French lesson with Long Zhentian. During class, she receives an excited phone call from Sun Yu. Lei Ge has managed to borrow enough money to buy the apartment back from his ex-wife. The roommates therefore no longer need to move out and can continue living together in Unit 301. Shang Zhitao is overjoyed and immediately returns to the apartment. Sun Yu, Sun Yuanzhu and Lei Ge are already unpacking and rearranging their belongings. They begin discussing new furniture and plans for renovating the home. Shang Zhitao suggests that Luke should eventually return to live with them, and everyone enthusiastically agrees. For Shang Zhitao, the apartment represents something more than a place to live: it has become the closest thing she has to a real home in Beijing. Back at Luan Nian's apartment, Shang Zhitao arrives while he is speaking with his mother, Dr. Liang. Shang Zhitao quietly hears Dr. Liang ask whether he is with his girlfriend. She assumes that the woman she hears in the background may be the girlfriend and asks Luan Nian why he has never brought her home to meet the family. Luan Nian responds that it is not yet the right time to introduce his girlfriend to his parents. Shang Zhitao overhears the conversation and feels a small pang of disappointment. She begins wondering whether Luan Nian is truly serious about their relationship if he is still unwilling to introduce her to his family. After ending the call, Luan Nian notices Shang Zhitao packing her belongings. He learns that the rent at the shared apartment is relatively expensive and immediately offers to rent his apartment to her for only five hundred yuan a month. Shang Zhitao gently refuses because she loves living with Sun Yu, Sun Yuanzhu and Lei Ge and wants to remain with her friends. Luan Nian becomes quietly jealous of the bond Shang Zhitao shares with her roommates. He jokes that she seems more attached to them than to him. Shang Zhitao laughs and explains that they are her family in Beijing. Luan Nian realizes that he cannot compete with the sense of belonging she has built with them. Later, Luan Nian joins Shang Zhitao while she takes Luke for a walk. He invites her to visit his newly renovated private bar in the mountains. Shang Zhitao agrees and becomes curious about the place because Luan Nian has mentioned it several times before. The following day, Luan Nian takes Shang Zhitao to the mountain bar. She is immediately impressed by the beautiful design and peaceful atmosphere. Luan Nian proudly explains that he designed the space to be a private retreat rather than an ordinary public bar. He tells her that she will be the first guest he serves when the venue officially opens. Soon afterward, Luan Nian's closest friends arrive, including Tan Mian and Song Qiuhan. Luan Nian formally introduces Shang Zhitao as his girlfriend. His friends are stunned because it is the first time they have ever seen Luan Nian openly introduce a woman as his girlfriend. Tan Mian immediately congratulates them, while Song Qiuhan jokes that Luan Nian has finally found someone capable of making him behave differently. Shang Zhitao feels extremely happy and special. The fact that Luan Nian is willing to introduce her to the people closest to him helps erase much of the insecurity created by his earlier refusal to introduce her to his parents. When the group discusses the future of the mountain bar, some of Luan Nian's friends question whether a private venue so far from the city can really succeed. Luan Nian calmly reveals that the property is not intended to depend on random customers. He has already secured corporate clients and private memberships from wealthy groups including Fumei Group, Ruixing Group and Yuanjing. He presents a Share Purchase Agreement showing that the business is already backed by a strong client base. His friends are impressed by the planning and financial strategy behind the project. They raise their glasses and toast to the future success of the private club. As the Spring Festival approaches, Shang Zhitao returns to Harbin with Luke to celebrate with her parents. She spends time with her family and enjoys the peaceful atmosphere of home. Luan Nian remains in Beijing and celebrates the holiday with Tan Mian, Song Qiuhan and their other close friends. During the gathering, Song Qiuhan reveals that Zang Yao became extremely drunk the previous night. She has finally accepted that Luan Nian does not love her romantically and has decided to let go. His friends discuss whether Luan Nian is genuinely serious about Shang Zhitao. Luan Nian gives a clear answer: he truly loves her and has never felt about anyone else the way he feels about her. Although they spend the holiday apart, Shang Zhitao and Luan Nian exchange warm New Year messages. They wish each other happiness and promise to see each other again after the holiday. Their relationship now feels more secure because Shang Zhitao knows that Luan Nian is willing to acknowledge her publicly to his closest friends. A month later, Shang Zhitao travels to Suzhou to oversee preparations for a major corporate event for Lime. She takes responsibility for the event's schedule, suppliers and execution and demonstrates how much she has grown professionally. Luan Nian unexpectedly arrives at the venue and watches her work closely. Shang Zhitao introduces Luan Nian to the event-management coordinator before reviewing the day's schedule with him. Their relationship remains professional in front of the staff, but once they are alone, Luan Nian becomes affectionate and pulls her close. He asks whether she missed him during the time they were apart. During a break from an intensive video conference in his hotel room, Luan Nian spends time with Shang Zhitao. She later prepares to return to her room so she can work on her promotion report. Luan Nian offers her practical career advice and provides access to useful industry resources. He openly praises her achievements, strong work ethic and intelligence, making it clear that he wants her to continue advancing at Lime on her own merits. After returning to the Beijing office, Shang Zhitao notices an unusual atmosphere among the employees. Lumi tells her that the board has appointed a new general manager named Dony. His credentials are comparable to Luan Nian's, and his sudden arrival has raised questions because Luan Nian was already expected to move into a more powerful position within the company. Liang Xin formally introduces Dony as the new head of the New Media Marketing Center. Dony immediately begins advocating for a major change in Lime's marketing strategy. He wants the company to move aggressively toward interactive digital marketing and new-media campaigns. Instead of opposing him immediately, Luan Nian listens carefully. He agrees to test Dony's strategy through an A/B experiment before making a final decision. He tells the team that ideas should be evaluated through measurable results rather than personal preferences. After the meeting, Dony approaches Shang Zhitao privately. He tells her that he has noticed her abilities and invites her to assist him on several newly relaunched projects. Shang Zhitao agrees to help because she wants to learn more about new-media marketing and believes that working across different projects will help her professional development. Tan Mian later pulls Shang Zhitao aside and warns her that Dony's arrival is not as innocent as it appears. He reveals that Dony and Luan Nian have a difficult history dating back to their time at Whispering Peaks Creative Studio. Years earlier, Luan Nian and Dony had worked together on a major creative pitch. Luan Nian spent months developing the idea and preparing the presentation. Dony secretly took the concept and sold it to a competitor, effectively stealing Luan Nian's work. The betrayal destroyed their friendship and eventually contributed to the collapse of their professional partnership. Luan Nian considered taking legal action at the time, but Dony defended his decision by arguing that he was simply trying to survive financially. The incident left Luan Nian deeply distrustful of him and explains why his normally controlled expression changes whenever Dony enters the room. Tan Mian warns Shang Zhitao not to tell Luan Nian that he has revealed this history to her. He asks her to remain neutral and observe Dony's behavior carefully. Shang Zhitao agrees but becomes increasingly worried that Dony may be planning to undermine Luan Nian from inside the company. Later, Shang Zhitao visits Luan Nian at his mountain bar. She asks him to make her a cocktail. Luan Nian prepares a drink for her, and she names it "One Heart." The name reflects her feelings about their relationship and her determination not to allow corporate politics to come between them. Shang Zhitao tells Luan Nian that regardless of what happens at Lime, she will not betray him or secretly choose another side. She promises that she will judge people according to their actions and remain honest with him. Luan Nian tells her that he completely trusts her and does not want her to feel forced to choose between her career and their relationship. Soon afterward, Shang Zhitao prepares for another business trip, this time to the Northwest with Sun Yuanzhu for field work. Because she cannot take Luke with her, she asks Luan Nian to look after the dog while she is away. Luan Nian agrees but imposes one condition: if Luke makes a mess, he reserves the right to discipline the dog. Shang Zhitao laughs and tells him to take good care of her puppy. Luan Nian also gives her a serious reminder not to drink excessively at social gatherings with clients or colleagues. Shang Zhitao promises to be careful, and they seal the agreement with a playful pinky swear. After Shang Zhitao leaves for the Northwest, Luan Nian returns home carrying groceries. He opens the apartment door and immediately discovers that the entire place has been destroyed. Cushions are scattered across the floor, belongings have been moved and the apartment is a complete mess. Luke is sitting triumphantly on the coffee table in the middle of the destruction. Luan Nian stares at the dog in disbelief, realizing that he has underestimated just how difficult taking care of Shang Zhitao's pet would be. Meanwhile, back at Lime, the arrival of Dony continues creating an uneasy atmosphere. Employees begin speculating about the changes in management and wondering whether Luan Nian's authority is being deliberately weakened. Luan Nian tells Lumi not to become distracted by workplace gossip. He reminds her that her work remains valuable and that she should focus on doing her job well rather than worrying about internal politics. Episode 15 becomes an important transition chapter for both the romance and the workplace story. Shang Zhitao gains confidence that Luan Nian genuinely takes their relationship seriously after he introduces her as his girlfriend to his closest friends. At the same time, the arrival of Dony creates a new threat to Luan Nian's position at Lime. Shang Zhitao learns about their painful history and chooses to support Luan Nian without allowing their relationship to dictate her professional decisions. The episode ends with Shang Zhitao away on business and Luan Nian left alone to deal with the mischievous Luke, while Dony's influence at Lime begins to grow.