A happy ending for Shang Zhitao (Sun Qian) and Luan Nian (Jing Boran) on Netflix’s Chinese workplace romance The Early Spring was incredibly hard-won. At the start of the 24-episode series based on a web novel by Gu Niang Bie Ku, recent college graduate Zhitao is hired by Beijing advertising agency Lime—against bigwig Nian’s wishes. The initial power imbalance between ordinary office worker Zhitao and her boss Nian is significant, and there is a company policy against romantic entanglements between co-workers.
Still, they quickly fall into bed together. Over the next six years, the two are on-again, off-again as a prideful, emotionally repressed Nian struggles to say nice things to Zhitao and Zhitao struggles to balance her love for Nian with her commitment to her career. For Zhitao, Beijing isn’t just a place—it is a symbol of her career ambitions, and the kind of life she aspires to.
While The Early Spring’s central focus is romance, the C-drama also delves into other aspects of Zhitao’s character and journey. A major throughline of the show is Zhitao’s efforts to make Beijing a home, and to succeed not just at a company or in a bustling metropolis, but in one of the most prestigious companies in one of China’s most global cities. So, when Zhitao chooses to leave Beijing in Episode 21, “A Grand Retreat,” she isn’t just retreating from Nian, she is retreating from the lifestyle that Beijing demands for success.
It’s not just one event that informs Zhitao’s decision to leave Beijing. When she tells Nian that she wants to get married and he tells her he doesn’t really think about it, Zhitao begins to reconsider their relationship. Then, one of Zhitao’s best friends dies by suicide.
Finally, she gets passed over for a promotion in favor of a less experienced, nepo-baby co-worker. When she seeks comfort from Nian, he offers none. It’s the final straw for Zhitao, who begins to feel like all the time and energy she has committed to their relationship might not have been worth it.
Heading into the final installments of the drama, Zhitao has finally called it quits on her toxic dynamic with Nian, moving home to Harbin and starting her own advertising agency in the snowy, northeastern city where she grew up. A few years pass before a bereft Nian attempts to reconcile. Zhitao’s company has partnered with Lime for a local project, and Nian uses it as an excuse to see Zhitao again.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
