Chapter 24

With the completion of the architectural design for Lai Chengrong’s parents' residence, Lin Yilan returned to her previous daily rhythm. She was in her dormitory organizing the blueprints she had produced during this period, taking the opportunity to file away her backup drafts as well.

"Xiaolan, are you finally finished?" Hang Xiuling asked, holding her textbook and flipping through it listlessly.

Lin Yilan nodded, sliding the file folder into the small cabinet under her desk. "Yes."

Hang Xiuling tossed her textbook onto the table and dragged her chair over to Lin Yilan’s side. "Are you going to dinner with us tonight? We talked about having a group meal in the dorm, but you’ve been such a busy bee, always occupied. Now that you finally have time, are you coming?"

Lin Yilan took out a collection of works she had borrowed from the library. "I’m free. Why don't you check if the others have time?"

Hang Xiuling gave an "okay" gesture, dragged her chair back to her own desk, and got up to ask the others in the dormitory.

Lin Yilan looked at the collection in her hands. She had read the works of this master many times in her previous life, but they always felt fresh, so as soon as she entered the architecture department in this life, she had checked this book out from the library. She took a pencil and her sketchbook from the drawer, practicing by copying the drawings while flipping through the pages.

After drawing for a while, she suddenly thought of the house for Lai Chengrong’s parents. A new idea for the interior design of that rural home struck her. Setting the book aside, she buried her head in her sketchbook and began to draw. This time, she not only made the interior design and decoration more detailed, but she also drafted detailed drawings for the modification and design of small hardware components. Although she was unsure if these could be realized and knew the calculations needed to be re-verified, she was still quite satisfied.

"Sister Zhaodi, we're all going out for a group dinner tonight, are you coming?"

Hearing this, Lin Yilan looked at Xiong Zhaodi, who had returned at some point, and Hang Xiuling standing next to her. For reasons unknown, Xiong Zhaodi’s expression looked a bit strained.

Xiong Zhaodi seemed to be lost in thought for a moment before she stiffly curled the corners of her lips. "Where are you all going to eat?"

"Maybe barbecue? Or the Moscow Restaurant? Hey, Xiaolan, isn't your family here in Beijing? Could you recommend a good place?" Hang Xiuling turned to look at Lin Yilan.

Lin Yilan glanced at Xiong Zhaodi, then at the others in the dorm; the atmosphere felt strange. "I don't really know what's good in Beijing. I’ve only eaten at the Dongfeng Restaurant once. But... it would be too expensive for us students to eat at the Moscow Restaurant, wouldn't it? Why don't we just find a small, well-regarded shop around the school to improve our meal?"

As she spoke, she thought about the relatively modest family backgrounds of those in the dorm, especially Sister Zhaodi. Based on her observations, Sister Zhaodi carefully saved her meal tickets every month, then found ways to trade them for cash with male classmates to send home.

Hang Xiuling pouted, looking unhappy. "It doesn't cost that much to eat at the Moscow Restaurant once."

Seeing Lin Yilan’s firm expression, she pulled a long face, sat back at her desk in a huff, and said, "Then I'm not going." She began to toss her things around aggressively. "So annoying, really." "Whose things are these, why are they on my desk?" "What class is next?"

"…Mechanical Engineering Principles."

"Why is it this class again? Ahhh—"

Lin Yilan shrugged and buried her head back into her design. Even without Xiong Zhaodi, she wouldn't go to the Moscow Restaurant with Hang Xiuling. Was she burning money? Thinking about how hard she had worked over the past few days to earn a few hundred yuan, finally feeling like a little "rich woman," she couldn't bear to spend over ten yuan on a single meal. It made her labor feel cheaper. Besides, if she were to treat herself to a grand meal, she wouldn't want to go with Hang Xiuling; they weren't exactly close.

Just as Lin Yilan was resting her chin on her hand, twirling her pencil and staring blankly at her design, a small note appeared in front of her. She looked up in the direction it came from; it was from Xiong Zhaodi.

[Thank you for just now, Xiaolan.]

Lin Yilan folded the note, set it aside, and looked up with a smile, silently mouthing, "You're welcome."

In the evening, as the sun began to set, Lin Yilan got up to head to the canteen for dinner. Not long after she left the dorm, she heard Xiong Zhaodi’s voice from behind.

"Xiaolan! Xiaolan! Wait for me."

Lin Yilan turned around to confirm, then stood there waiting for Xiong Zhaodi.

"Xiaolan, it’s a good thing you haven't been in the dorm much lately." Seeing her reminded Xiong Zhaodi of what had happened in the room earlier. "I only thought Hang Xiuling came from a good background; I didn't expect her temper to be so bad."

As they walked side by side toward the first canteen, she vented to Lin Yilan about everything Hang Xiuling had been doing in the dorm lately. "I'm genuinely scared of her now. You'd think that after finally getting the chance to go to university, she would cherish it. And I heard from people in the dorm that her grades are actually quite good; she seems to have some talent in mechanical design, and a professor in their major really likes her."

At this, Xiong Zhaodi sighed with a dejected expression. "Why was I ever transferred into this major? If any high school graduates ask me how to choose a major in the future, I will definitely not advise them to study this one. This major is truly impossible to learn if you don't have some skill in drawing."

Lin Yilan looked at the bitter-faced Xiong Zhaodi, not knowing what to say. Since the start of the term, the fact that Xiong Zhaodi and a few others struggled with their professional skills had already spread throughout the class. After all, using a ruler to draw in an architectural design program was indeed a difficult thing to justify.

However, based on Lin Yilan's understanding of the era, the field had not yet fully opened up. People who could draw were few and far between, and many had gone to the fine arts department. There were plenty of people in the class who couldn't draw well; they just didn't let everyone know about it like Xiong Zhaodi and the others did, likely putting up a front, with actual abilities likely on par with theirs.

But she couldn't console Xiong Zhaodi with that, so she simply patted her on the shoulder. "Take it slowly. It hasn't been long since the semester started. Maybe the professors will notice the situation and make adjustments to the curriculum?"

Xiong Zhaodi hadn't expected to be consoled when she brought it up. "I know, patience is a virtue. I still have five years, after all."

Lin Yilan smiled faintly, looking at the sunset on the horizon. "Indeed, one shouldn't be in a rush."

Xiong Zhaodi glanced at Lin Yilan, feeling as though her words held a deeper meaning.

***

Elsewhere, Lai Chengrong was discussing Lin Yilan’s design draft with his youngest son, Lai Jialin.

"Jialin, have you looked at the designs other architects made for your grandfather’s house?"

Lai Jialin nodded. "Of course I have." After Miss Lin provided them with the measurements for his grandfather's house, he followed his father’s instructions and sought out designers from Hong Kong and the mainland to use those measurements for their designs. As of now, excluding Miss Lin's design, they had received five drafts in total.

Having seen so many, father and son had to admit that Miss Lin's design was the most thoughtful and the most likely to be successfully realized. The two designers from Hong Kong were either too perfunctory or completely impractical, producing the kind of rural villa most popular in England. As for the three designers from the mainland, he didn't know if he had hired the wrong people, but the houses they designed were far too ordinary—no different from the other houses they saw on the streets in the interior. He still remembered one designer who, upon learning it was for a house for his grandfather in the countryside, laughed at them for making a mountain out of a molehill, finding it exaggerated to hire a professional for a mud house.

"Dad, I think Miss Lin's design is the most appropriate. Besides, we’ll be heading home soon, and Mom said there are many things waiting for us to handle at the company. She’s also willing to be in charge of supervising the construction, which will save us a lot of trouble." Lai Jialin shared his thoughts with Lai Chengrong.

Lai Chengrong tapped on Lin Yilan’s design draft on the table. He took a lighter and a silver cigarette case from his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. Seeing his father’s expression gradually obscured by the smoke he exhaled, Lai Jialin knew his father was not in a good mood. He didn't understand why his father was so conflicted over such a small amount of money. Thinking this, he asked aloud.

"Dad, do you have any reservations about Miss Lin? She’s just a young girl under twenty. Besides, with the time we’ve wasted on this, we could have already earned far more money at the company."

Lai Chengrong shook the ash from his cigarette into the ashtray. "You brat, you don't know how hard it is to make a living until you're the one running the household. The reason your father has this much money is because he saved it bit by bit. You’ve grown up in Hong Kong; don't you know that the wealthier people are, the stingier they get?"

"My reason for being conflicted is simple: I don't like Designer Lin’s overly assured attitude. When we met at the coffee shop and she gave me the design, I felt she was absolutely certain that we would eventually use her draft. A young girl who grew up in the rural interior, trying to manipulate us?"

Lai Jialin rolled his eyes internally. When would his father’s paranoia ever fade? "Maybe she just has a lot of confidence in her design," he remarked.

Lai Chengrong held his cigarette, looking at his carefree son, and thought of something. He took a deep drag and then stubbed the cigarette out in the ashtray. "Jialin, I don't feel at ease leaving your grandfather's house in the hands of a young girl. Since you don't have much to do for the second half of the year, you’ll be in charge of the accounts, and Designer Lin will supervise the construction."