Download The Early Spring Episode 4

The Early Spring Episode 4 begins while Shang Zhitao and Luan Nian are still recovering from the dangerous mountain accident. During the night in the hospital, Luan Nian notices that Shang Zhitao is sleeping restlessly and occasionally twitching in her sleep. He remembers how frightened she had been during the landslide and quietly supports her arm so that it does not become numb. Her earlier words about wanting to eat her father's braised fish if she survived also trigger memories of Luan Nian's own childhood, when he was hospitalized and his father was too occupied with business calls to stay by his bedside. The next day, Luan Nian takes Shang Zhitao out for dinner after reminding her not to rush back to work before her injuries have properly healed. He tells her that the workplace is not a place where being overly polite or harmless will protect her. In his view, she needs to develop confidence and presence rather than allowing more experienced people to take advantage of her. Shang Zhitao offers to treat him to dinner to repay him for saving her life, but Luan Nian reminds her that she also saved his life during the landslide. Instead of settling the debt, he jokingly decides that she can remain in his debt and repay him slowly in the future. While driving, Luan Nian notices that a suspicious vehicle appears to be following them. He deliberately changes direction several times and successfully loses the vehicle before taking Shang Zhitao to a secluded courtyard restaurant. There he introduces her to Tan Mian, a former advertising professional who has left the industry and now runs the restaurant. Tan Mian welcomes them and prepares a special meal for them, including the braised fish Shang Zhitao had mentioned wanting during the mountain accident. Rather than simply ordering the dish, Luan Nian takes Shang Zhitao to the restaurant's pond and tells her that if she wants to eat the fish, she should learn to catch it herself. Shang Zhitao struggles with the task, while Luan Nian eventually catches a fish with ease. The playful experience gives Shang Zhitao a different impression of him. She realizes that his lessons about work are not simply criticism and that he genuinely wants her to understand the importance of effort, timing and persistence. During dinner, Tan Mian watches the way Luan Nian takes care of Shang Zhitao and becomes amused by the contrast between Luan Nian's usual personality and his behavior toward her. He even jokes that Luan Nian seems more attentive to this female colleague than many men are toward their girlfriends. When Tan Mian asks Shang Zhitao what Luan Nian's greatest talent is, she immediately praises his extraordinary creativity and describes him as a genius in advertising. Tan Mian responds that creative slogans mean little if the products cannot actually be sold. He jokes that Luan Nian's real talent may be finding flaws in everything, comparing his habit of criticizing advertising work to the way he carefully removes every bone from a fish before serving it. Shang Zhitao cannot help laughing at the teasing, while Luan Nian remains characteristically unimpressed. Suddenly, the restaurant loses power and the courtyard falls into darkness. While Tan Mian goes outside to inspect the electrical problem, Luan Nian's former girlfriend Zhang Xin unexpectedly arrives. She is drunk, emotional and determined to see Luan Nian. Tan Mian attempts to convince her that Luan Nian is not there, but she refuses to believe him and continues searching for him. Realizing that their dinner cannot continue normally, Luan Nian tells Shang Zhitao that they should leave. However, Zhang Xin manages to corner them in the darkness. She has misunderstood the situation and assumes that Shang Zhitao is Luan Nian's new girlfriend. Carrying a knife, she demands that Luan Nian reconcile with her and angrily reminds him that she once went against her parents and abandoned her life in the United States because of their relationship. Luan Nian firmly rejects her. He explains that their relationship ended a year earlier and that the breakup was mutual. He tells Zhang Xin that her repeated calls and attempts to follow him must stop. When she becomes increasingly unstable and threatens to hurt herself, Luan Nian tries to disarm her and protect her from herself. During the struggle, his hand is cut by the knife, but he refuses to let go of her until she is safely restrained. Shang Zhitao waits anxiously outside the emergency room while Luan Nian receives treatment for his injured hand. Tan Mian reassures her that Luan Nian was not cheating on Zhang Xin and explains that their relationship had been brief and ended a long time ago. Shang Zhitao quickly clarifies that she and Luan Nian are only colleagues and that there is no romantic relationship between them. Tan Mian is surprised because Shang Zhitao is the first female colleague Luan Nian has ever brought to his restaurant. Tan Mian also reveals more about Luan Nian's past. He and Luan Nian previously worked together at another advertising agency, but that company eventually collapsed after an insider betrayed them. The experience left a deep mark on Luan Nian, and he strongly dislikes anyone bringing up that painful period of his career. When Luan Nian finally leaves the hospital with his hand bandaged, he says that Zhang Xin's family has been contacted and will take responsibility for looking after her. On their way home, Shang Zhitao reflects on what happened and comments that love should not make people suffer so much. She explains that her own previous relationship ended peacefully, with both sides wishing each other well. Luan Nian sarcastically praises her for being unusually mature about love, and the conversation reveals that Shang Zhitao has not yet completely closed the door on romance despite her earlier breakup. Later, Friday arrives and Shang Zhitao spends her evening studying English because she wants to communicate better with colleagues who have overseas experience. Sun Yu encourages her to stop working and come out for a game night with friends. Sun Yuanzhu also returns the repaired key from Luan Nian's antique typewriter, which he had managed to fix after Shang Zhitao accidentally damaged it. Shang Zhitao joins Sun Yu, Sun Yuanzhu and their friends for a game of Legends of the Three Kingdoms. Among the group is Long Zhentian, a Canadian who speaks fluent Chinese. Sun Yu sees an opportunity for Shang Zhitao to improve her English and arranges for the two of them to exchange contact information so they can become language partners. During the game, the group also jokes about an old incident involving Sun Yuanzhu's former boss stealing his computer code, recalling how the normally calm man once became so angry that he overturned a table. The evening is interrupted when Sun Yu receives an urgent call about a problem at an event organized by her company. She immediately leaves, and Sun Yuanzhu offers to drive her to the venue. Shang Zhitao remains with Long Zhentian and decides to use the opportunity to practice speaking English outside a classroom. Long Zhentian takes her to a lively bar nearby. At the bar, Shang Zhitao struggles with the pronunciation of her drink order. Because of the misunderstanding, she accidentally orders a huge number of martinis instead of the small number she intended. The mistake leaves the two of them with far more drinks than they can reasonably finish, so they decide to share them while continuing their language exchange. Long Zhentian teaches Shang Zhitao English expressions while she teaches him Chinese phrases and idioms. Meanwhile, Luan Nian is at the same bar with Tan Mian and several friends. His friends encourage him to go on stage and sing. He initially refuses, but then he notices Shang Zhitao sitting across the room drinking and laughing with Long Zhentian. His expression immediately changes. Seemingly driven by jealousy, Luan Nian suddenly agrees to perform and walks onto the stage. Luan Nian's performance completely surprises his friends. Shang Zhitao looks toward the stage and is stunned to see him singing. His voice and stage presence captivate her so completely that for a moment she feels as if the entire bar has disappeared and only the two of them remain. She stares at him, fascinated by this completely different side of the man she normally knows as a cold and demanding boss. When Long Zhentian returns from the restroom, Shang Zhitao looks around and discovers that Luan Nian has already left the stage. She asks Long Zhentian whether he saw the man singing, but because he had been away, he did not see anything. He assumes that Shang Zhitao is simply becoming drunk and imagining things. By now, Shang Zhitao is heavily intoxicated. Long Zhentian kindly offers to take her home. Luan Nian sees the situation and immediately walks over, pulls Shang Zhitao away from him and declares that she is his girlfriend. The statement shocks both Shang Zhitao and Long Zhentian. After Luan Nian realizes that Long Zhentian is simply her English teacher and has no bad intentions, he takes responsibility for getting Shang Zhitao home himself. Outside the bar, Shang Zhitao is barely able to walk straight but insists that she is not drunk. She looks at Luan Nian with unusual affection and begins teasing him about his normally harsh personality. She even touches his face and tells him that his cold attitude is only a disguise. Luan Nian tries to remain composed while dealing with her drunken behavior. When Shang Zhitao becomes too unsteady to walk, Luan Nian carries her on his back. She talks continuously about her father and insists that eating well is important. Luan Nian complains about her weight but continues carrying her safely through the night. Eventually they take a taxi to her residential complex, but Shang Zhitao is too drunk to remember her exact apartment. She leads Luan Nian to the wrong door and is confused when a stranger answers. Still intoxicated, she looks at the injuries on her hand and reminds Luan Nian that she was hurt while saving his life. She jokingly tells him that according to ancient rules, someone who owes their life to another person should repay the debt by marrying them. Luan Nian is left speechless by her drunken declaration. Realizing that Shang Zhitao cannot safely be left alone in her current condition, Luan Nian carries her away and takes her back to his own home. Episode 4 ends with their relationship entering a much more intimate and complicated stage, as Luan Nian's jealousy becomes increasingly obvious while Shang Zhitao, unaware of his feelings, remains completely intoxicated and vulnerable.