Chapter 19

Opening the door of the roast duck restaurant, Lai Chengrong walked over to a young boy standing nearby.

“Dad, are you really going to have a first-year inland university girl be responsible for designing Grandpa’s house?”

“Why don’t Grandpa and Grandma want to move to Harbor City? This place is really terrible, so backward. Dad, I’m just saying, even the fishing villages in Harbor City are better than here.”

Lai Chengrong tucked his bag under his arm and put his hands in his pockets. “Jialin, we have to respect your grandparents. It’s very normal for elderly people not to want to leave their hometown.”

“As for Grandpa’s house, no matter which side it’s on, I’ve met with many designers. From my perspective, none of them considered things as thoughtfully as this inland university girl. She’s the only designer who proposed not building a luxurious mansion, and she’s the first to prioritize your grandparents’ safety.”

“Of course, if after her inspection the day after tomorrow she can’t give me a satisfactory design plan, I still won’t hire her.”

He stopped walking and took out a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket, handing it to his youngest son.

“Dad, what’s this?” Lai Jialin took the paper and immediately unfolded it. He saw a sketch of a bungalow surrounded by gardens. “Dad, is this the house you want to build for Grandpa and Grandma?”

After waiting for a bicycle to pass by, Lai Chengrong said, “No, this is a sketch that Miss Lin drew for me while we were eating just now. What do you think?”

Lai Jialin had no choice but to look at the drawing again. He couldn’t see anything unusual. Maybe on the back?

Glancing at his father’s expression, he flipped the paper over and looked again, even holding it up to the sun. No matter how he looked, he couldn’t find anything special.

“Dad, I honestly don’t see anything different.”

Lai Chengrong’s expression remained unchanged as he pointed to Lin Yilan’s sketch. “Then what do you think of her design?”

Reluctantly, Lai Jialin looked at Lin Yilan’s design again, but truly couldn’t see anything remarkable. He honestly shook his head. “Dad, I don’t see anything unique. Her drawing skills aren’t top-notch, and the design feels very ordinary.”

“Then what exactly am I missing?”

Lai Chengrong stopped and took the sketch from Lai Jialin’s hand. “Do you know under what circumstances Miss Lin drew this design for me?”

Looking at his son’s face, Lai Chengrong explained the situation. “I didn’t specify any particular design I wanted, nor did I say what style it should be. I didn’t even mention how big your Grandpa’s land is. I essentially said nothing about the house’s specifics.”

“This sketch was drawn in less than an hour during our meeting and conversation.”

“Jialin, when you first saw this design, didn’t you think it was just ordinary? Not ugly, not beautiful, just a bit outdated, right?”

Seeing Lai Jialin nod, Lai Chengrong continued, “If you had done a little homework on design, you’d know it’s very difficult for a sketch to appear merely ordinary to you.”

“A young lady under twenty from inland, whose exposure to the outside world is probably less than your ten-year-old cousin’s, yet she can produce a design that we find ordinary, or even beyond our expectations. What does that mean?”

As Lai Jialin was about to speak, Lai Chengrong patted his shoulder, signaling him to be quiet.

“It means she is very sincere and has a good attitude. That’s what you want to say, right?”

“But in my view, she’s not only got a good attitude; this design also shows her skill level isn’t low. The most surprising thing, do you know what it is?”

Lai Jialin knew his father was taking this opportunity to teach him, so he stayed silent and continued listening.

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“She was able to accurately understand what someone like me likes, then combined that with your Grandpa’s actual situation to create a design that’s as close to reality as possible, yet impossible to execute.”

“Miss Lin is truly interesting—”

After speaking, Lai Chengrong couldn’t help but sigh again when thinking about Lin Yilan. “Her future achievements will definitely be impressive.”

Lai Jialin stared at the design for a long time but saw nothing special.

Even after returning to the hotel, Lai Jialin still couldn’t discern what his father had mentioned.

Helpless, he knocked on his father’s door. “Dad, it’s me, Jialin.”

Lai Chengrong opened the door, saw the sketch in his son’s hand and the eager look on his face, and immediately felt a headache coming on. “Come in.”

With his father’s permission, Lai Jialin eagerly entered and listened carefully as his father explained the details of the design.

They sat by the desk in the room. Lai Jialin poured tea from a boiling kettle for Lai Chengrong.

As the hot water steeped the roasted tea leaves, the fresh fragrance spread through the room.

Smelling the aroma, Lai Chengrong pointed out the European countryside style in Lin Yilan’s sketch, then explained why the design couldn’t be realized.

Lai Chengrong swirled the cup in his hand and took a small sip of the perfectly tempered tea.

“Miss Lin’s appearance has made me even more certain of one thing, Jialin, do you know what it is?”

“It’s strange, isn’t it? She came to design a house for your Grandpa, but she strengthened my resolve to invest and do business inland.”

Lai Jialin exclaimed in surprise, “Dad, have you reconsidered? You do know that inland only just allowed private business last year. I see very few people daring to do business on the streets, and even large companies are controlled by the state.”

“Dad, I’m not afraid of wasting family money. I’m just worried about you… getting into trouble.”

Lai Chengrong appreciated his youngest son’s concern. He gently blew on the tea and said, “Jialin, I’m not investing right now. Whether it’s work or business, you have to be patient and not rush.”

“The reason I built a fortune so quickly in Harbor City is because I was patient, waiting for the best moment and seizing the right opportunity.”

“Because I know once the opportunity is missed, it’s gone forever.” He smiled warmly at his son, raising his teacup.

“So what about Miss Lin? What’s the big deal?” Lai Jialin pouted, unconvinced.

Lai Chengrong put down his cup. “Because of Miss Lin, I caught a glimpse of the capability of inland university students. If all inland students are like her, inland isn’t so bad.”

“So, Jialin, why don’t we visit the best universities inland tomorrow? It’ll be a good chance for you, as a university student, to experience the difference between students from both sides of the strait. You can help Dad see how inland students really are. How about that?”

After thinking for a moment, Lai Jialin nodded.

—

Unaware of the impact she had, Lin Yilan continued with her studies after meeting Lai Chengrong.

“Alright, class is dismissed.”

Upon hearing the professor announce the end of class, Lin Yilan closed her textbook, packed her bag, and prepared to head to the library.

“Xiaolan, Xiaolan!” Hearing her name, Xiong Zhaodi called out loudly.

Lin Yilan stopped and waited for Xiong to gather her things.

Once Xiong finished packing and caught up to her, Lin Yilan spoke up, “What’s the matter, Comrade Class Monitor, in such a hurry?”

Xiong bumped her playfully. “How come I never realized you have quite a sense of humor?”

“By the way, I have something to ask you, Xiaolan. Do you have time later?”

Lin Yilan glanced at the sleeve she was tugging and nodded. “I do. I don’t have anything special today.”

Xiong led her to a quiet spot and stopped. Lin Yilan guessed her roommate was a little embarrassed about something and probably needed her help.

She looked at Xiong, who was nervously twisting her clothing, and smiled. “Comrade Xiong Zhaodi, we’re roommates and classmates. You should know what kind of person I am. So don’t worry, what you tell me today will be a secret. I won’t let anyone else know.”

She made a zipping motion over her mouth.

“Xiaolan, please don’t say that. I know exactly what kind of person you are.” Xiong bit her lip and took a deep breath. “Actually, I’ve wanted to ask for your help before, but you always seemed busy, so I didn’t want to bother you.”

“But today I finally have time.”

Lin Yilan looked at Xiong blinking earnestly.

“Well—” Xiong took a big breath. “I want to ask if you could recommend some books to improve basic drawing skills?”

Thinking it might be something else, Lin Yilan nodded and pointed toward the library. “Do you want me to take you there now, or should I just write down the titles for you?”

Xiong scratched the back of her head. “Just write them down for me.”

“Actually, I want to ask how to improve my design skills.” She straightened up and looked at Lin Yilan. “Xiaolan, to be honest, after some time in class, I’ve realized I’m probably the worst designer in our class.”

“Before coming here, I knew university wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t expect it to be this hard. Not only do I have to study hard, I have to learn to draw. I’ve never studied drawing in my more than twenty years.”

“The professor recommended a collection of an architect’s works, and I borrowed it, but after reading it, I didn’t feel anything at all.”

“But I see classmates like Ji can talk about it so fluently. Xiaolan, do you think I’ll really be designing after five years and graduation?”

Seeing the troubled expression on Xiong’s face, Lin Yilan deeply understood. She patted her shoulder. “Zhaodi, do you trust me?”