Chapter 53: Chapters 68 and 69 Combined

Look, pay attention. This girl's name is Xiaolan, and right now she is sitting in the family residential area of the design institute, eavesdropping on other people's conversations.

Wearing a straw hat, Lin Yilan had thoughts reminiscent of the marketing account spiels she used to hear flashing through her mind to describe her current situation.

This was her fourth consecutive day coming to the residential area of the design institute. Over these four days, she had not only visited the residential area but had also spent some time inside the design institute itself, for no other reason than to find a suitable engineer.

As for how she managed to enter both the design institute and its residential quarters, that was another tear-jerking story in its own right.

While her mind was still wandering, she spotted a "heavyweight" figure appearing not far away. She immediately adjusted the straw hat on her head and concentrated.

An elderly woman wearing a blue patched shirt walked over with a basket hooked over her arm.

"Well, well, are you all gossiping here?"

"We've been at it for a while. Did you hear what happened in the design institute yesterday?"

The woman in the blue shirt arched her brows smugly. "Ha! To put it a bit arrogantly, is there anything in this compound that I don't know about? It's just that so-and-so relied on his... uncle again to steal someone else's credit."

"Don't tell me it's that kid Wang Liming again?!"

The woman in the blue shirt gave her old friend a concurring look. "Who else could it be besides him? These people just keep picking on that honest fellow."

"If you ask me, this Wang Liming deserves it too. Who told him to be so spineless? He doesn't look like a man at all, so he deserves to be bullied."

"Hey! How can you talk like that? Just because someone has a good temper, does that mean he deserves to be bullied? I completely disagree with that."

"Exactly. Besides, don't you all know that he has the highest competence in the engineering department of the design institute? It's just that every time promotions came around, he was passed over."

The woman in the blue shirt said mysteriously, "That was before for Wang Liming; he's different now."

"How so?"

"What happened? What happened?" The gossiping woman's tone turned excited.

"It seems someone in his family got sick and he urgently needed money, so he got into a shouting match with that good-for-nothing right there in the design institute. When an honest man loses his temper, he's not to be underestimated either," the woman in the blue shirt said with an exaggerated expression and a click of her tongue.

Listening to them discuss Wang Liming, Lin Yilan couldn't help rubbing her chin.

"No way? You mean that good-for-nothing swallowed the guy's credit and his bonus too?"

Feeling the curious gazes cast upon her by the others, the woman in the blue shirt acted reserved for a moment before pouting and nodding. With a tone of exasperation, she said, "That's right. I heard this argument even alerted the top leaders of the design institute. Now both of them are suspended from work, waiting at home for the disciplinary outcome."

"Sigh... Who knows how things are at Engineer Wang's house now? If he comes around asking to borrow money from everyone, do you plan to lend it?"

"Well... it depends on the situation."

"Hahaha, yeah, depends on the situation. By the way, have you heard that the director's daughter is back?"

Seeing them change the subject, Lin Yilan left all the melon seeds from her schoolbag behind, preserved her anonymity, and quietly retreated.

As expected, it was gossip worth listening to. Reviewing the intelligence she had gathered over the past four days, she pondered her next steps.

Should she go look for Wang Liming tomorrow?

She mentally drew a circle around Wang Liming's name.

"Brother Cheng!"

"What is it?"

Hearing a familiar voice abruptly, she hadn't yet reacted, but upon catching sight of Ji Xuecheng's back, Lin Yilan immediately hid behind a tree and pulled down the brim of her hat.

"Brother Cheng, you asked me to find someone who wants to build a house. I found them, but the person isn't interested in our proposal. Unless..." Han Zhifang said with a depressed expression.

Ji Xuecheng's brows relaxed and then knitted together again. "Unless what?"

Han Zhifang looked up at Ji Xuecheng, and seeing his solemn expression, he hesitated and said, "Unless... unless he said that unless we pay for the construction of his house, he won't use our design plan."

"What?" Ji Xuecheng exclaimed loudly.

Han Zhifang nervously gestured with his fingers, "Brother Cheng, keep it down, keep it down."

Ji Xuecheng lowered his voice soothingly, "Fine, fine, fine, I'll keep it down."

"Is this guy out of his mind? We're already doing the design for him for free, and he still wants us to pay for building his house?! Why doesn't he just go rob a bank?

Wait, you didn't agree to him, did you?" His expression turned somewhat serious.

Han Zhifang shook his head vigorously, "Of course not, how could I possibly agree to such an outrageous thing?"

Ji Xuecheng let out a sigh of relief. "That's good, that's good."

After a brief silence, Han Zhifang asked cautiously, "Then should we keep looking for people who want to build houses?"

Ji Xuecheng glanced at Han Zhifang, who was a shade darker from the sun, and remained silent for a long while before saying, "Forget it, don't look anymore. Just leave it at that for now. You should hurry back."

Han Zhifang's heart finally let out a massive sigh of relief. He hadn't had a moment of rest all summer vacation, and he could finally take a break.

"Then I'm heading home first, Brother Cheng."

Ji Xuecheng gave a hum of acknowledgment.

Seeing Han Zhifang's retreating figure from behind the tree, Lin Yilan quickly shifted her position slightly.

A few minutes later, she peeked back and found that Ji Xuecheng was still standing in the exact same spot, showing no signs of leaving.

Why isn't he leaving yet? Does this kid have roots growing out of the soles of his feet?

She couldn't help muttering inwardly.

"Where on earth did she find a rural person willing to pay for a house design?"

"Is she lying? Did she do the design for someone for free too? Is she tricking us?" Ji Xuecheng kicked a stone on the ground and began to grumble under his breath.

Leaning against the tree, Lin Yilan supported her forehead and sighed. Why was this guy still thinking about competing with her even during the vacation?

Fortunately, after waiting another five minutes, Ji Xuecheng finally mustered the inclination to leave, and Lin Yilan seized the opportunity to slip away from the residential compound as well.

"Good thing today is the last time I have to visit the design institute's residential area. If I had run into Ji Xuecheng again by such a freak coincidence, it would have been a real hassle."

On her way home, she thought about what had just happened and muttered to herself.

She truly hadn't expected Ji Xuecheng's desire to compete with her to be so intense—he wanted to rival her in everything and match her in every single thing.

Fine then, game on.

She had never been afraid of anyone who wanted to compare themselves to her and compete with her. That was true in the past, and it was even more true now.

-

Early the next morning, Lin Yilan got out of bed and began rummaging through her wardrobe.

She specially took out the best clothes in her closet and selected the set that looked the most mature.

As the saying goes, clothes make the man.

Her plan for today was first to find a way to inquire about Wang Liming's home address, then assess Wang Liming's professional competence, and if he proved suitable, formally extend an invitation to him.

Along the way, she kept repeating her pre-designed dialogue in her mind.

Soon, she arrived at the entrance of the design institute.

Seeing the guard booth beside the main gate of the institute, she dismounted from her bicycle.

"Hello, elder brothers, I'm here to find someone." She greeted the two security guards sitting down.

The older guard glanced at her lazily, while the younger guard pointed at the ledger in front of him and said, "Comrade, register your information here first."

"Who are you looking for?"

Lin Yilan slowed her movements. "I'm here to see Engineer Wang about something."

The younger guard was slightly startled. "You mean Engineer Wang Liming from the engineering department?"

She nodded, looking at the guard with expectant eyes.

"He... is resting today. If you want to find him, you should go to his house," the younger guard said vaguely.

Lin Yilan faked a look of disappointment, then said anxiously, "Brother, could you tell me where Engineer Wang lives?"

Under the weight of her pleading gaze, the younger guard hesitated and nodded. "Alright, he lives in the residential area next door—"

"Wait a minute, comrade, what relation are you to Engineer Wang?" The older guard raised a hand to stop the younger one from speaking and looked at Lin Yilan with sharp eyes.

Lin Yilan took her student ID out of her bag. "Hello, I am Lin Yilan from the 1979 Architectural Design major at the University of Technology. I'm here today to consult Engineer Wang on some construction-related matters."

"If visiting his home is inconvenient, may I ask if Engineer Wang is coming to work tomorrow?" She sighed, tugged at her cuff, and muttered to herself, "Professor Wu didn't say the design institute was closed today. I specifically asked him before I came."

"What should I do? If this delays the construction, will Professor Wu yell at me?" She pretended to be a green and tender novice in the architectural industry, sighing as she pulled at her cuff and spun around in place.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed both security guards looking at her student ID, but the younger guard occasionally cast sympathetic glances her way, his lips twitching as if he wanted to say something.

There should still be a chance to ask; getting the information from the security guards was the most effortless route.

It's just—Professor Wu, I am so, so sorry—

Gazing up at the sky, Lin Yilan offered a frantic mental apology to Professor Wu.

"Comrade Lin, your student ID." The older guard handed the ID back to Lin Yilan. "Is the Professor Wu you mentioned Professor Wu Congshan?"

Clenching her fists, Lin Yilan looked at the older guard with a pleasantly surprised expression. "Older brother, you know my teacher?"

The older guard muttered something under his breath as he looked Lin Yilan up and down.

"You call him teacher, so you're his student?"

Lin Yilan nodded, looking at him with a touch of admiration. "Yes, you even know that? You're so well-informed—as expected of someone from the security department of our design institute, truly amazing."

A somewhat embarrassed look crossed the older guard's face. He had indeed overheard people at the design institute chatting a while ago, mentioning that Professor Wu had taken on a female freshman student.

It turned out she really was his student.

Since she was Professor Wu's student, he certainly couldn't mess up Professor Wu's affairs.

The older guard tore a sheet of paper from some notebook, scribbled something on it with a pen, and handed it to her.