The Early Spring Episode 18 — English Subtitles

The Early Spring Episode 18 begins with Shang Zhitao calling Luan Nian to thank him and promising to treat him to dinner the following day. When he asks about her plans, she explains that she has agreed to help Sun Yu with an offline matchmaking event for her new dating-app startup. Curious about what she is doing, Luan Nian brings Luke to the event and is surprised to see Zhitao dressed up while helping at the reception. His jealousy immediately takes over, and he sarcastically accuses her of secretly participating in a dating scheme. He shows her an exaggerated online profile created under her name, Tao Zhi Yao Yao, which appears to have communicated with dozens of men. Zhitao explains that she never personally logged into the account and that the profiles and conversations were operated by the startup, but Luan Nian refuses to accept the explanation and threatens to withdraw his recommendation to an investor for Sun Yu's business. Feeling helpless, Zhitao deletes the account, although Luan Nian still regards the action as an attempt to cover up the situation. After the event, Shang Zhitao and Sun Yu return home to find that Sun Yuanzhu has already prepared dinner and even bought treats for Luke. Sun Yu prepares millet porridge for Yuanzhu because she wants to take care of his stomach, while she also apologizes to Zhitao for allowing the matchmaking platform to create another misunderstanding between her and Luan Nian. Zhitao comforts her friend and explains that when someone has already decided not to trust you, no amount of explanation may be enough. The incident also forces Zhitao to think seriously about the nature of her own relationship with Luan Nian. She admits that when there is no genuine equality between two people, it can become difficult to distinguish between being someone's girlfriend and simply being their subordinate. One month later, Shang Zhitao travels with Luan Nian to Shenzhen for an important business trip. Before leaving, Yao Bei informs Xin Zhaozhou, Zhitao's former boyfriend, that she is coming to Shenzhen. Xin Zhaozhou sends Zhitao a message asking to meet, and she sees no reason to avoid him because she considers their relationship part of the past. However, when Zhitao and Luan Nian arrive at their hotel, Xin Zhaozhou is already waiting in the lobby. Zhitao introduces him to Luan Nian and formally describes Luan Nian as her boss. Luan Nian is visibly unhappy with the introduction but says little and allows the two former lovers to spend some time together. Xin Zhaozhou takes Shang Zhitao for a walk along the beach. They talk about how their lives changed after separating. He explains that he eventually established his own trading company and bought a two-bedroom home near the sea, where he regularly brings his parents to stay. He admits that he sometimes regrets leaving Beijing and wonders whether he should have stayed beside Zhitao when she was struggling to build her career there. Zhitao does not blame him anymore. Instead, she sincerely congratulates him for creating the life he wanted and tells him that she is also happy with where her own life has taken her. Before they part, Xin Zhaozhou buys Zhitao her favorite red-bean ice cream and invites her to attend an alumni gathering the following evening. Zhitao politely declines because she has a business banquet scheduled. She also tells him that she is glad they finally had the opportunity to meet again and that she should not have blamed him for not accompanying her to Beijing years earlier. Both have moved forward and found their own paths. Xin Zhaozhou understands that her words mean she has closed the door on their former relationship. He asks for one final hug, and Zhitao agrees. Unfortunately, Luan Nian watches the embrace from the hotel window above and becomes increasingly jealous and frustrated. That evening, Shang Zhitao goes to Luan Nian's room to rehearse the presentation they must deliver to the important Jinyuan Tea client the following day. Instead of helping her, Luan Nian deliberately turns up the music and acts as though the rehearsal is unimportant. His jealousy over Xin Zhaozhou has clearly affected his mood. When his sister Luan Siyuan calls to say that she has arrived downstairs, Luan Nian deliberately tells Zhitao that he is going to have dinner with an ex-girlfriend. He even makes a sarcastic remark that if Zhitao performs badly during the presentation, he will transfer her to the Shenzhen branch so she can have another chance to reconnect with her ex-boyfriend. Zhitao becomes irritated and tells him that if he has nothing decent to say, he should simply remain silent. When Zhitao returns to her own hotel room, she discovers that her key card has stopped working. She goes downstairs to the front desk to have it replaced and unexpectedly sees Luan Nian embracing Luan Siyuan in the lobby. The sight makes her uncomfortable because she believes his earlier claim about meeting an ex-girlfriend may have been true. Luan Siyuan begins to address Luan Nian as her younger brother, but he quickly leads her outside before she can explain their relationship to Zhitao. Even while leaving with his sister, Luan Nian cannot stop watching Zhitao. The following day, Shang Zhitao and Luan Nian present their marketing strategy to the Jinyuan Tea clients. Despite the emotional tension between them, Zhitao performs exceptionally well. Her presentation is confident, articulate and persuasive, and the clients praise her performance. Watching her command the room, Luan Nian remembers Liang Xin's original decision to hire Zhitao. Liang Xin had believed that although Zhitao was inexperienced at first, she would eventually grow into someone capable of shining on her own. Seeing her now, Luan Nian realizes just how far she has come. After the successful presentation, the team attends a celebratory banquet. Shang Zhitao handles the repeated rounds of toasts with far more confidence than she once possessed. Luan Nian quietly watches her and feels proud of the transformation he has witnessed over the years. However, Zhitao eventually drinks too much. Luan Nian takes responsibility for getting her safely back to her hotel room and notices that Xin Zhaozhou has repeatedly tried to call her. Xin Zhaozhou eventually arrives at the hotel after becoming worried when he cannot reach Zhitao. Seeing that she is drunk, he offers to stay and take care of her. Luan Nian refuses to leave the room, claiming that as her superior he has a responsibility to ensure the safety of his employee. The real reason is obvious: he does not trust himself to leave Zhitao alone with her former boyfriend. The two men therefore remain in the room throughout the night, sitting separately while Zhitao sleeps and drunkenly mutters complaints about Luan Nian being a jerk. The next morning, Zhitao wakes up and is shocked to discover both Luan Nian and Xin Zhaozhou asleep in her room. Embarrassed by the situation, she quietly puts on her shoes and slips out before either man wakes up. She meets Yao Bei for breakfast, where Yao Bei shares the happy news that she has recently married a local architect. Yao Bei tells Zhitao that she now feels secure and happy in her marriage and encourages Zhitao to think seriously about her own future. She points out that Zhitao and Luan Nian have already been together for years and that, regardless of who she ultimately chooses, she should not allow her relationship to remain permanently undefined. When Shang Zhitao returns to the hotel corridor, she encounters Luan Nian and the woman she had seen him embracing the previous night. Luan Siyuan immediately realizes the misunderstanding and explains that she is actually Luan Nian's older sister, not his ex-girlfriend. Zhitao is relieved but also annoyed that Luan Nian deliberately allowed her to misunderstand the situation. After the explanation, she asks Luan Nian to take a walk with her so they can finally discuss the future of their relationship honestly. At the riverside, Shang Zhitao opens her heart and tells Luan Nian that she wants to get married and have children before she turns thirty. She does not want their relationship to remain hidden or undefined forever. She asks him to openly acknowledge their relationship and seriously consider building a family together. Her request is not simply a romantic impulse; it reflects her growing desire for stability and equality after years of uncertainty. Luan Nian, however, refuses her proposal. He tells Zhitao that he does not believe he has the ability to love her in the way she deserves and argues that he cannot offer her the stable family life she wants. Instead of accepting her feelings, he points to what he sees as complications surrounding her life, including the matchmaking situation, her close relationship with Sun Yuanzhu and the appearance of her former boyfriend Xin Zhaozhou. He uses these circumstances to argue that she is not yet ready for the kind of committed future she is asking for. Zhitao is deeply hurt by his response. She explains that she has only ever had one ex-boyfriend and that she is not the kind of woman Luan Nian's words make her sound like. She realizes that no matter how much they love each other, there are fundamental differences between them that continue to prevent them from truly understanding one another. She also begins to recognize that some of the emotional patterns she has carried from her family background have become difficult habits that she must eventually learn to break. Rather than arguing further, Shang Zhitao leaves with a bittersweet smile. Luan Nian remains by the river, unable to give her the future she has asked for. Their relationship reaches another painful crossroads: Zhitao is ready to define their love and move toward marriage and family, while Luan Nian retreats behind his fears and believes that separating may be the only way to prevent hurting her further. Episode 18 ends with the emotional distance between them becoming clearer than ever, setting up the major relationship decisions that follow.