Chapter 86 (Part 2), Chapters 87, 88, and 89

This caught Aaron completely off guard. "Lin, are you in such a hurry to leave? You could stay and enjoy Denmark a bit longer."

She spread her hands in a regretful gesture. "The Spring Festival is coming up in a few days. It's one of the most important festivals in our country and a time for family reunions. If I didn't have work, I'd love to take this opportunity to rush home for the New Year and spend it with my parents, brothers, and sisters."

Noticing that Aaron had shifted his posture, Lin Yilan seized the moment and urged, "Aaron, as for my return flight, just book it the same way you did when I came here. Get me a ticket to London, and I'll make my own way back home from London. There are far too few direct flights from Copenhagen to Beijing, so I won't linger in Denmark."

This time, without waiting for Aaron to reply, she glanced down at her wristwatch. "I must be going now. See you tomorrow."

As soon as Lin Yilan stepped out of the office, Aaron dropped his calm expression. He stood up, straightened his clothes, and headed straight for the mayor's office.

Emerging from Aaron's office, Lin Yilan did not rush back to her own workspace, instead taking a leisurely stroll back.

Come to think of it, although the town hall building in Sjt Town possessed a long history and an undeniably quaint architectural charm, it was also somewhat dilapidated, leading those unaware of the truth to mistake the shabbiness for frugality. However, after spending a significant amount of time in the building and visiting various parts of it, she had realized that no small expense went into its interior decoration. The carpet beneath her feet was hardly top-tier, but covering such a vast area was certainly not cheap.

Gazing at the pattern on the carpet, she recalled her recent conversation with Aaron. From the moment Aaron congratulated her on being selected, the surprise she displayed, and her subsequent expressions for quite some time had all been entirely feigned.

As for why the tea offered initially happened to be from Fujian, it was because she had already explored every corner of the town during her time off. The entire Sjt Town had only one Chinese grocery store—the sole place in town selling Chinese tea. The owner reportedly traced his ancestry back to Fujian and had recently reconnected with relatives in his homeland. The owner's absolute favorite was Fujian tea, and most of what he sold in the shop happened to be his personal preference. After all, whatever he couldn't sell, he could simply drink himself. This was what the owner had told her himself during a chat.

Recalling the entire process, she felt she still stood a fair chance.

Though she thought this way, she showed no outward sign of it.

Back in her office, most of her project colleagues had not yet finished for the day, congregating in small groups to chat. The colleague sitting near Lin Yilan immediately hurried over the moment she saw her.

"Well? Lin, what did Aaron call you in for?"

Lin Yilan shook her head with a look of melancholy. "Nothing much, just work matters. I briefed him on the latest updates for a bit."

"Oh, by the way, I might actually be able to go home for the Spring Festival." She beamed so brightly her voice nearly cracked, spun around in a little circle, and settled back into her chair.

The surrounding colleagues immediately gathered around her desk.

"Then are you coming back, Lin?"

Lin Yilan said regretfully, "I won't be coming back. The work is finished. Unless something else comes up, I'm afraid I won't be returning anytime soon."

"Oh god, Lin, we're going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too," Lin Yilan said, hugging a female colleague who looked reluctant to part.

Everyone gathered around to chatter about their impending farewells—there was a touch of sadness, but the conversation mostly revolved around plans for a farewell party.

The colleague sitting near Lin Yilan looked at the latest turn of events, completely speechless. Was Aaron really not planning to keep Lin after all?

Out of the corner of her eye, Lin Yilan caught sight of her conflicted colleague standing not far away. Her eyes flickered, and she quickly looked away.

***

"Mr. Mayor, if we choose to use furniture from the Beijing Furniture Factory, we can indeed save a considerable sum for the project," Aaron said tentatively, watching the mayor's expression.

Earlier, he had suggested finding a new designer, but the mayor had neither agreed nor disagreed, simply remaining silent. Yet Aaron knew very well that offering no stance meant disapproval. It seemed the mayor intended to continue collaborating with Lin Yilan after all. Recalling the recent town council debates over project expenditures, he could certainly understand the mayor's perspective.

The mayor pondered for a moment. "Do you think Miss Lin can guarantee that the products manufactured in her country will be of satisfactory quality?"

"I visited the only Chinese grocery store in our town earlier and saw they sell some Chinese products. Although they're mostly food items, they seem to be of decent quality," Aaron replied. He certainly couldn't offer absolute guarantees, but when it came to echoing his superior's thoughts, he always found a way.

Seeing the mayor frown and pull a cigarette case from his pocket, Aaron had a flash of inspiration and offered a suggestion. "We could sign a contract directly with Lin, handing over the subsequent procurement of products for the Sailor Center to her. As long as she delivers the products to us, we needn't concern ourselves with which country manufactured them."

"Mr. Mayor, what do you think of this proposal? We'll only be responsible for inspection, ensuring the products are defect-free." The more Aaron talked, the more brilliant the idea seemed.

The mayor placed the cigarette case on the desk and tapped the edge with his finger. After a moment, he let out a sigh. "I just don't know if the Finance Department will agree..."

Aaron, however, felt the Finance Department wouldn't have that many objections. "Mr. Mayor, if we have Lin take charge of the project's interior design, we can cut costs by at least 5,000 Kroner. The Finance Department won't oppose that. And if they do object, we can simply pin the blame for project expenses squarely on them during the council meeting."

The mayor flipped open the cigarette case, stood up with a smile, pulled out a cigarette, and handed it to Aaron. "Splendid. I think this proposal works. Go and discuss it with Lin, and try to drive the price down a bit more."

Aaron accepted the cigarette with both hands. "Rest assured, Mr. Mayor, I won't let you down."

The mayor stepped forward and patted Aaron on the shoulder. "If this project goes well, things will be much easier for us in the coming years. When the time comes, the town port expansion project can be handed over to you as well."

"Your biggest shortcoming previously was never having managed any construction projects, but now, with this Sailor Center, things are different. The project workload might be a bit small, but everything has to start somewhere."

Hearing this, Aaron's heart surged with excitement, and he broke into a broad grin.

The two men exchanged an understanding nod and smiled at one another.

Lin Yilan had just finished packing up all her belongings, intending to say goodbye to the colleagues still chatting in the office before heading home. To her surprise, the moment she stood up, she saw Aaron walking into the office with unconcealed delight.

The moment he looked up and spotted Lin Yilan with her backpack on, he beckoned to her immediately.

"Lin, come to my office for a moment. There have been some changes regarding what we discussed earlier."

With no other choice, Lin Yilan bid farewell to her colleagues once more and followed Aaron to his office. Entering and exiting the boss's office twice within two hours was genuinely annoying.

This time, Aaron treated her with even greater courtesy; he even pulled out her chair for her and poured her a cup of tea.

Holding the teacup, Lin Yilan desperately wanted to explain to him that not all Chinese people loved drinking tea, and even among those who did, not everyone loved it to the point of drinking it every single day, all day long.

Never mind. She didn't want to waste her breath on Aaron.

Aaron was so elated he couldn't even sit down. Instead, he pulled a document folder directly from his drawer and placed it before Lin Yilan.

"Lin, congratulations. What was slipping away from your grasp has returned to your hands once more."

Lin Yilan was too exhausted to muster the energy to put on another performance for Aaron, but she forced her eyes wide, rallied her spirits, and feigned delight.

For the next while, she cooperated with Aaron and went through the motions of another performance. Yet as he revealed more details, her genuine mood did indeed brighten considerably.

Later on, when she heard that Aaron and the mayor wanted to commission her with a formal contract—instructing her simply to provide products of acceptable quality, regardless of which country manufactured them—the smile on her face widened by another fraction.

That meant she would hold even greater initiative in her own hands.

Biting back her triumphant expression, Lin Yilan looked at Aaron with a gaze full of lingering gratitude.

"Aaron, I never expected you to be so willing to help me. I will do my utmost to complete the interior design work and get construction started on the Sailor Center as soon as possible."

Aaron nodded with immense satisfaction; he adored this kind of "reciprocity" from Lin Yilan.

"I think so too. However, I'm afraid you won't be able to go home for the Spring Festival. I hope you aren't too heartbroken."

He tapped a fist against his palm and made a decision. "How about this—whatever date the Spring Festival falls on in Denmark, you won't have to come to work that day. Just take a day off, how about that?"

She didn't care much for such a trivial holiday. Still, a paid day off wasn't bad—she wouldn't turn down free leisure. But if they offered a seven-or-eight-day break, she would rather spend the time working for the company from her hotel.

"Alright, thank you then. The Spring Festival in our country falls on February 5th." Lin Yilan casually gave Aaron a brief introduction to the origin of the Chinese New Year.

Aaron looked somewhat surprised, never imagining that the Spring Festival fell on a different date every year. How fascinating.

"By the way, we can sign the employment contract for the project's interior design right now. The commission agreement hasn't been drafted yet, but once it's ready, I'll bring it to your office tomorrow."

"However, Lin, the commission agreement leaves you plenty of room for maneuver. Why don't you lower the design fee a bit?" Aaron shifted topics so abruptly that Lin Yilan was caught completely unprepared.

Why were they starting to bargain now of all times?

She forced a dry laugh and scratched her head. "Aaron, I hope you can understand. My current price is already very low; you wouldn't find a design fee this cheap anywhere domestically."

Fifteen hundred Kroner—leaving aside major cities, such a price was considered cheap even in a place like Sjt Town. Although interior design was far simpler than architectural design, factoring in meticulous details was by no means effortless.

Aaron looked at her with a beaming smile, his expression mirroring the Big Bad Wolf eyeing Little Red Riding Hood.