Chapter 50
At 10:30 the next morning, Tan Ning handed the contract to Manager Liu, who briefly reviewed it and then took him to meet Fang Jin.
Fang Jin was busy, so they waited outside her office for a few minutes.
Once she finally had a moment, Manager Liu led Tan Ning in, “President Fang, Tan Ning has finished drafting the contract. Please take a look.”
Manager Liu found Tan Ning a bit odd, but Fang Jin’s insistence that he draft the contract was even stranger. She decided to keep out of it, thinking she could help make any revisions if Fang Jin was unhappy with the draft.
Tan Ning stood with his hands behind his back, nervously fidgeting like a student awaiting a grade.
After flipping through the contract, Fang Jin told Manager Liu, “Use the template. I need it by noon.”
Manager Liu froze, glancing back at Tan Ning.
He didn’t show any change in expression, but his eyes dimmed a bit. Fang Jin’s office phone rang, so Manager Liu ushered him out of the office.
Yesterday, Fang Jin had shown some interest in Tan Ning, but today she had changed completely.
“President Fang may be decisive and strict,” Manager Liu remarked, puzzled, “but I don’t quite understand her actions this time. Do you two know each other?”
Tan Ning shook his head.
He had anticipated that Fang Jin might criticize him or pick apart his work, and he’d mentally prepared himself for it. Yet, in the end, she simply discarded his work entirely.
The distributor was a long-time partner of Mu’an, so the contract only needed minor modifications from last year’s version. Fang Jin knew this; Manager Liu knew this; only Tan Ning was in the dark.
Fang Jin didn’t actually care what kind of contract Tan Ning would draft. She only wanted to give him a lesson.
Manager Liu thought for a moment. “You’re quite young; it’s unlikely you’d know each other. Maybe she’s preoccupied with the divorce and asset division. Such a huge family business must be giving her a headache. Don’t get discouraged, Tan Ning. Go back to your workstation, and help Tang Tang with some tasks if you have free time.”
“Alright.”
Lin Song’an texted Tan Ning: [Ning Ning, how did it go?]
Tan Ning didn’t reply.
He wasn’t discouraged or angry, just feeling stifled.
He had never known how to handle situations like this. Back in his dorm, when Zheng Yu and Xu Qingyang isolated and irritated him, he’d simply kept his distance, avoiding conflict. If He Qingrui hadn’t stepped up for him, and if Lin Song’an hadn’t helped deal with Zheng Yu, he wouldn’t have realized that he could break free from such a toxic living environment.
Many times, he felt he should say something to defend himself when others misunderstood or criticized him, yet his throat seemed blocked by something rough, and he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
In the past, he had always avoided these troubles, but since meeting Lin Song’an, he had grown braver.
It was as if rusty screws and parts had been lubricated, allowing him to loosen up and begin to operate smoothly.
He started viewing the world with a different mindset.
He helped Tang Tang with a few files and then began working on his case report.
At one point, Fang Jin passed by again but didn’t look at him, walking straight out of the office.
Returning to her own office, Fang Jin received a call from Lin Song’an.
“Mom.”
She sounded annoyed, “If this is about Tan Ning, I’m hanging up.”
“He hasn’t done anything wrong.”
Fang Jin sneered, “I never invited him here.”
“Why are you taking it out on him? Is it his fault that he’s a beta?”
“Yes, none of you are at fault. It’s all my fault—for marrying your father, for pushing you to marry Yan Zhiyu. It’s all my doing, and I deserve it.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“If you don’t have anything important to say, I’m going to a meeting.”
She hung up. On her way downstairs, she saw Tan Ning carrying a large stack of file boxes to the archive room.
When he noticed her, he paused and greeted her politely, “Good day, President Fang.”
He entered the archive room, and Fang Jin watched from a distance as he organized the mess left by the audit team.
Tan Ning worked calmly and with focus, never rushing but remaining highly efficient. His demeanor was serene.
He reminded her of Lin Yexun’s first love.
Fang Jin had met that person once. Quiet and seemingly unflappable, his expression always mild, she often stood by Lin Yexun’s side with a gentle smile. Word had it that the beta was now a professor, and with her reserved personality, Tan Ning seemed similarly suited to academic work.
A lawyer? A partner?
Fang Jin didn’t think so.
After her meeting, she returned to find Tan Ning working on his case report at his desk, occasionally flipping through a book, seemingly oblivious to the noise around him.
This boy only seemed lively in Lin Song’an’s presence.
Fang Jin turned and left.
The next day, while carrying a research progress report to the R&D department, Fang Jin passed by the legal department and saw Tan Ning standing beside Manager Liu, looking downcast as Manager Liu jabbed a finger at a document, scolding him, “If you have an idea, speak up. What’s with that sulky face?”
“I did bring it up. I wrote a note beside it.”
“Oh, look who’s the boss now,” Manager Liu sneered, “leaving me notes like a manager.”
Tan Ning stayed silent.
“Tan Ning, you’re here for just two months. It’s great that you’re enthusiastic, but don’t get too attached to that book knowledge of yours. Real work is different,” Manager Liu went on. “And with that attitude of yours—leaving notes on documents I post in the group, who do you think you are?”
Tan Ning kept his head down.
He didn’t understand why Manager Liu was reprimanding him.
“Why are you criticizing me?”
Manager Liu struggled to explain, “You—”
Fang Jin stepped in, “I don’t understand either; why are you criticizing him?”
Manager Liu was startled and stood up. “President Fang.”
Everyone fell silent.
Fang Jin glanced at Tan Ning, her expression impatient. “If you have something to say, then say it. Do you expect everyone to be mind readers?”
Tan Ning’s face flushed. After a long pause, he replied, “Manager Liu posted a licensing agreement in the group. I noticed the confidentiality period didn’t align with legal standards, so I left a note, but then she called me over and said a lot of things I didn’t understand.”
Manager Liu was speechless. “What do you mean by that?”
Fang Jin shot her a look, and Manager Liu fell silent.
This time, it was clear Fang Jin was siding with Tan Ning.
Looking slightly embarrassed, Manager Liu kept quiet.
When Fang Jin left, Tan Ning quietly followed her. As she entered the elevator, he stepped in as well.
“And you want to be a lawyer with this attitude?” Fang Jin chuckled.
Tan Ning looked down.
“You’re exactly as I imagined; there’s no need to waste time trying to change my impression,” she said, flipping through her report. “Just find an internship at a court or law firm. Working in legal at a research company like mine won’t teach you much. You should go back to school.”
“Auntie.”
Fang Jin paused mid-page turn.
“Thank you for today.”
Without a word, she resumed reading.
Yet Tan Ning felt a small spark of joy. He recalled an incident last year outside his grandfather’s house when a neighbor looked at him disapprovingly for his long hair. Yue Ying’s response had been to ask, embarrassed yet resigned, “Why insist on growing it so long?”
He liked anyone willing to stand up for him.
For him, this feeling was hard to describe. Every time He Qingrui stepped forward and told people, “What are you looking at?” on his behalf, he couldn’t help but feel happy, even if he remained outwardly aloof.
In reality, he was very happy.
Truly happy.
He bit his lip, put his hands behind his back, and said, “President Fang, I’ll get back to work.”
Fang Jin watched him head downstairs through the emergency exit, caught off guard by his lack of response to her suggestion.
In the evening, it started pouring.
As Fang Jin drove out of the garage, she spotted Tan Ning standing alone by the steps outside the office building. Two of his colleagues from the legal department walked past, laughing and chatting under their umbrellas without noticing him.
He reached out, testing the rain, then pulled back and continued standing there.
Dressed simply, almost plainly, he wore black and white, and his bag was a dull gray. She’d heard he’d spent his own money to buy Lin Song’an an expensive watch and had even bought wine and supplements for the family during their last dinner, all from his tutoring earnings.
A bit foolish, not really clear what he was aiming for.
Sometimes she found him hard to like, other times almost endearingly clueless.
But as a beta, he really wasn’t the best choice for Lin Song’an.
They were both too young to understand the significance of pheromones in a relationship. Monthly rut cycles could gradually wear down any romance. Lin Yexun had once yielded to compatibility, entering into a socially suitable marriage. He spent half his life in that cage, only allowing his heart to stray once pheromones ceased to affect him.
How long could Lin Song’an last?
With a sigh, Fang Jin prepared to drive over to the steps, pick him up, and take him back to Tianhe Villa.
But before she could stop, she saw a familiar figure striding over.
Lin Song’an walked up the steps with an umbrella. He said something to Tan Ning, who pouted and looked away.
Lin Song’an’s profile softened with a smile. He took a step closer, motioning as if offering to carry him, but Tan Ning didn’t respond.
After a few more words, Tan Ning finally laughed.
For the first time, Fang Jin saw a look of absolute reliance on Tan Ning’s face, his eyes shining with happiness.
He clung tightly to Lin Song’an’s arm, and together they walked into the rain, leaning against each other.
