The Early Spring Episode 6 — English Subtitles

The Early Spring Episode 6 begins with Shang Zhitao returning the expensive designer handbag Luan Nian gave her. She wants to make it clear that their private encounter will not affect their professional relationship. Luan Nian, however, changes the subject and asks her for a piece of bread. He then gives the handbag back to her, leaving Shang Zhitao confused and uncomfortable. Afterward, she discusses the situation with Sun Yu and notices that Luan Nian's car is filled with other gift boxes. She begins wondering whether he keeps expensive gifts ready to give people whenever he needs them to keep quiet. Feeling embarrassed that she allowed herself to develop feelings for Luan Nian, Shang Zhitao decides that the best solution is to establish a clear distance between them. She tells Sun Yu that she wants to become more mature and concentrate on her career. To avoid awkwardness at work, she approaches Liang Xin and formally requests a transfer to another team. Liang Xin agrees to the request and transfers Shang Zhitao to Team 2 under Zhang Ling. Before accepting her, Zhang Ling asks Luan Nian about Shang Zhitao's abilities. Luan Nian initially refuses to discuss her, but when Zhang Ling considers rejecting the transfer, Luan Nian gives an unusually thoughtful assessment. He admits that Shang Zhitao may not possess exceptional natural talent, but describes her as patient, hardworking, resilient and quietly ambitious. His rare praise convinces Zhang Ling to accept her into Team 2. On Shang Zhitao's first day in the new team, Luan Nian confronts her about the transfer. He asks whether she deliberately accepted the handbag and moved teams because she was trying to gain an advantage or secure a promotion. Shang Zhitao calmly tells him that she accepted the bag and will keep the promise she made about their private encounter. She also makes it clear that her professional performance will determine whether she succeeds and that she does not intend to depend on him. Lumi tries to persuade Shang Zhitao to remain in Luan Nian's team. She reminds her that despite his sharp tongue, Luan Nian has repeatedly protected her, including taking responsibility for difficult client situations and risking his life to rescue her during the mountain accident. Shang Zhitao appreciates what he has done but remains determined to create professional distance. Lumi then approaches Luan Nian herself and asks him to bring Shang Zhitao back. Luan Nian refuses and instead orders Lumi to submit her work report on time. In Team 2, Annie assigns Shang Zhitao to take meeting minutes using the team's official format. She quickly notices that Shang Zhitao is particularly good with Excel formulas and asks her to create a detailed financial spreadsheet and chart. During a break, Li Tianran approaches Shang Zhitao and assumes that she must have suffered under Luan Nian's management. When he asks whether she was the employee involved in the earlier dispute between Luan Nian and the company, Shang Zhitao openly confirms that she was. Tianran becomes even more curious about why she would voluntarily transfer away from Luan Nian's team. Shang Zhitao works late to finish the meeting minutes, but Annie tells her that Zhang Ling expects the records to be distributed immediately after meetings in the future. She also warns Shang Zhitao to maintain strict confidentiality and avoid unnecessary contact with members of other teams because sensitive business information must not leak. At home, Shang Zhitao becomes frustrated with her English ability and the amount of unfamiliar advertising terminology she is expected to understand. Sun Yuanzhu notices how hard she is trying and gives her an English-Chinese reference book to help with her studies. Her roommates encourage her to take a break and join them for a day off, but Shang Zhitao insists that she has to work and cannot afford to fall behind during her new probation period. Meanwhile, Team 2 has taken over the Qipai client from Luan Nian's team by offering a lower price. However, the client is unhappy with Team 2's revised proposal. They want to pay Team 2's lower price while still using the original execution concept and creative solution developed by Luan Nian's team. Zhang Ling and Annie realize that they need the original source files to satisfy the client. Because Shang Zhitao previously worked directly with Luan Nian, Zhang Ling assigns her to ask him for the source files. Shang Zhitao reluctantly goes to Luan Nian's office and explains the situation. Luan Nian refuses to hand over the files. He tells her that if the transfer is causing her problems and she wants to leave Team 2, he is willing to take her back into his own team. His words make it clear that he still wants her nearby, even though he refuses to say so directly. After Shang Zhitao leaves, she hears Lumi and Li Tianran arguing about the source files. Lumi angrily criticizes Team 2 for taking another team's client and then demanding access to the original work. She warns Tianran that if he keeps coming to her for the files, he will regret it. Shang Zhitao realizes that the conflict is much more serious than she originally understood. Shang Zhitao later approaches Lumi with a small cake and apologizes because she did not realize that there was such a serious dispute between the two teams. Lumi explains that the original files are not in her possession and that only Luan Nian has access to them. Instead of simply helping Shang Zhitao, Lumi tells her to think more carefully about the situation and stop assuming that every problem can be solved by asking someone else. At the same time, the company's senior management speaks with Luan Nian about the Qipai situation. They want him to think about the company's overall interests rather than allowing an internal team dispute to destroy an important client relationship. Luan Nian agrees that as long as the business belongs to Lingmei, he will not deliberately allow it to fail. Management also promises to take him to the company's upcoming awards ceremony and introduce him to several new clients that could be as valuable as Qipai. Shang Zhitao returns home worried about her position in Team 2. If she cannot obtain the source files, she fears that she may be unable to complete the assignment and could even be forced to leave the new team. Sun Yu encourages her to think of another solution rather than giving up. Eventually, Shang Zhitao decides that the only person who can solve the problem is Luan Nian himself. Late at night, she goes to his apartment and waits outside for him. When Luan Nian finally arrives, he is extremely drunk. He struggles to open his door and asks Shang Zhitao to enter the access code for him. She helps him inside and tries to get him settled on the sofa. Luan Nian suddenly pulls Shang Zhitao toward him and refuses to let go. She is startled by his drunken behavior but realizes that he is in no condition to take care of himself. When he becomes sick and vomits on his clothes, Shang Zhitao cleans up the mess, changes his clothes and washes both his clothing and the clothes she is wearing. Instead of leaving immediately, she stays through the night to make sure he is safe. The following morning, Luan Nian wakes and finds Shang Zhitao asleep on his sofa. He says nothing about the source files and heads straight into the bathroom to shower. Shang Zhitao waits for him to mention the files, but when he does not, she assumes that her attempt has failed. With her own clothes still wet from washing them, she puts on Luan Nian's suit jacket for warmth and quietly leaves his apartment. As Shang Zhitao approaches the bus stop, Luan Nian suddenly calls her. He tells her that someone has broken into his home and that an expensive diamond has been stolen. Alarmed, Shang Zhitao immediately turns around and returns to the apartment. She explains that she only borrowed his jacket because her clothes were still wet and offers to return it if he does not want her wearing it. Luan Nian then reveals that the supposed theft was only a joke. He has no intention of punishing her for borrowing the jacket. Instead, he finally gives her what she came for: the original Qipai source files. He tells her to copy the files and then assigns her an additional task — she must create the final version of the presentation and have it ready before the deadline. Shang Zhitao is thrilled to finally have a way to complete the assignment. While she works, Luan Nian quietly prepares breakfast for her and uses a dryer to dry her clothes. His actions reveal a much gentler side that he rarely shows in the office. Shang Zhitao begins to realize that even though he constantly speaks harshly, his actions often tell a very different story. After finishing the work, Shang Zhitao and Luan Nian take a ride together toward the office. During the journey, Luan Nian reviews her presentation and gives her several practical suggestions about the visual style, positioning and luxury tone of the campaign. He also advises her to get a driver's license because it will make her professional life easier. As they approach the company, Shang Zhitao becomes worried that her coworkers will misunderstand their relationship if they arrive together. She asks Luan Nian to let her get out of the vehicle before they reach the office. Luan Nian mocks her for being overly concerned about gossip but ultimately agrees and lets her leave first. Shang Zhitao delivers the source files and completed materials to Zhang Ling. Zhang Ling is surprised that she managed to obtain the files after Luan Nian had refused to provide them earlier. Seeing Shang Zhitao's successful cooperation with Luan Nian, he begins to realize that she has a much stronger professional connection with Luan Nian than he originally believed. Episode 6 marks an important shift in Shang Zhitao and Luan Nian's relationship. Shang Zhitao tries to create distance by transferring teams, but their professional lives continue to pull them together. Luan Nian's decision to secretly help her, prepare breakfast, dry her clothes and guide her presentation reveals that his concern for her goes far beyond simple workplace responsibility. At the same time, Shang Zhitao begins proving that she can handle difficult situations and succeed on her own, even while her feelings for Luan Nian remain unresolved.