Assistant Architect by Xi He Qing Ling

Chapter 9: Plants

Su Yuan’s parents were university teachers and thus, making her ordinary family part of the working class and not nuevo rich. As a very self-reliant student, while abroad, she found work during her free time. Now that she had returned to China to work in Haicheng, she wasn’t relying on her family to support her.

The New East District wasn’t so far from the place the group decided to meet however, it was distant enough one would need transportation to travel. Since taxi cabs were expensive at night, the better economical choice was to catch the last subway.

In order to see his friends, Zhang Siyi wanted to offer the expense of taking a taxi home, but he couldn’t. Without capital, he was nothing more than a new employee with a measly income of 4500 Yuan.

When Su Yuan left, Ren Mengyu couldn’t wait around either. Since he lived together with Fu Xinhui and Jiang Hai, there was no need to go there. Zhang Siyi hung up the phone, feeling empty.

Frustrated, he let the driver turn around and go home. A little later, he checked the history of his chat-group messages from the beginning. He witnessed his friends having fun from the start until the end. He felt anxious and then when his friends scattered, a deep sense of loss welled up in inside of him.

Zhang Siyi: “I’m so sorry.”

Zhang Siyi: “I didn’t think I was going to work overtime on the first day …”

Zhang Siyi: “Next time I’ll treat you!”

There were two minutes of silence in the group. Zhang Siyi looked like a prisoner waiting for judgment. He pitifully sent a few crying expressions in the group.

Finally, Fu Xinhui replied first: “Kneel down and beg. I’ll forgive your crimes.”

And then the group responded ——

Jiang Hai: “Kneel!”

Ren Mengyu: “Kneel!”

Su Yuan: “Kneel!”

Zhang Siyi broke into laughter and quickly sent a sticker. [begging for forgiveness]

Su Yuan: “It didn’t work out this time because of your job. Maybe next time.”

Jiang Hai suddenly said with a deep emotion: “I am afraid that everyone will be busier in the future and gather less.”

Jiang Hai’s declaration made Zhang Siyi realize the reality of his life now. As a new chapter of life has begun, he grieved at the loss of time where they were just students hanging out together.

When Fu Xinhui casually asked if he had dinner, Zhang Siyi replied: “I’m famished.”

Ren Mengyu: “Today Fu Xinhui treated, but don’t forget Zhang Siyi, that you owe us two meals!”

Zhang Siyi was thankful for Fu Xinhui’s generosity. He quickly promised to make it up to them the next time they got together. Afterwards, he took the initiative to tell them about the morning’s interview.

After listening, Su Yuan said: “The average company generally asks about your relevant skills, coursework in college, and any real work experience. They don’t normally ask ‘why you studied architecture’. Applying for a job isn’t supposed to be like a college entrance exam.”

Zhang Siyi felt the same: “I was also confused about it at the time. I didn’t know how to reply so I told him that it was due to the influence of a high school alumni. I didn’t expect that the person who interviewed me was the very same Alumnus! I didn’t recognize him!”

Ren Mengyu: “This is too good!”

Fu Xinhui: “It must be the back door!”

Zhang Siyi: “Get out of the way! He specially told me when we ate at noon that he didn’t want me to think he hired me because we went to the same high school!”

Fu Xinhui: [Turning Blind]

Su Yuan: “But since he is your High School senior, then surely, the work in the future will be easier.”

“No!” Zhang Si Yi hysterically replied in the chat group about how shameless Gu Yu was. He included the events that transpired the previous day that triggered his deduction in wages.

Ren Mengyu: “What? You broke up?”

Zhang Siyi: “The breakup is not the point!”

Ren Mengyu: “Wow. Comparing an ex-girlfriend to a boss that deducted 500 from your wages, even though you are connected by the same high school…. I suddenly want to light a candle for your former girlfriend.”

Jiang Hai: “But 500 bucks is nothing for you. It’s just one meal at a restaurant in the UK.”

Zhang Siyi: “I thought he was joking at the time.”

Su Yuan: “I see. The money isn’t the point. The problem is, despite the connection between you two, you aren’t happy about the fact that he still treated you so unfairly.”

Zhang Siyi: “Yes! You understand!”

Zhang Siyi subconsciously blamed Gu Yu’s fastidiousness for making him miss his appointed time tonight to meet with his friends. If Gu Yu were more laid-back, he would have let him leave early. Besides, how can someone make them do overtime on the first day of work!

Fu Xinhui joked: “You know… did he deliberately recruit you in order to get back at you for spilling coffee on him?”

Since it did make some sense, Zhang Siyi was frightened by Fu Xinhui’s speculation that he may be right. During their argument, his name, profession and the fact that he was looking for a job were exposed. If Gu Yu had read his resume in advance, he would have left an impression on his mind.

However, soon Zhang Siyi felt it was impossible. No one would be that vengeful just for a spilled cup of coffee. Gu Yu would have said something at that time, not later. It’s so frustrating. Looking for a job wasn’t a trifling matter!

Everyone chatted while traveling back to their homes. Since Zhang Siyi’s company was closer to their residence, he was a step earlier than Fu Xinhui.

He was so tired he didn’t even feel hungry anymore. He didn’t eat supper, but he felt he needed to eat something to replenish his strength. He was just about to order take-out when Fu Xinhui and Jiang Hai came back. Fu Xinhui had brought him a package of fried rice.

Zhang Siyi rushed over to them and asked: “How do you know that I have not eaten yet??”

Fu Xinhui: “Didn’t you just say it in the group?”

Zhang Siyi was moved to tears. His brother was so good too him. Why does he even need a girlfriend?

Thinking of Fu Xinhui kindness for paying for tonight’s meal, Zhang Siyi again thanked him.

Fu Xinhui replied: “It’s not a big deal. I just wanted to congratulate you on your new job and celebrate a little. Although you didn’t end up eating with us. Ha-ha-ha-ha.”

Zhang Siyi sat in satisfaction with the fried rice: “This is the same.”

Still in thought, Fu Xinhui smiled at him.

After eating for a while, Zhang Siyi began to feel sleepy. He had not slept enough last night and had been nervous all day. Normally, he seldom got into bed before midnight. He also planned to send a message to his parents about the good news, but once his head hit the pillow, his two eyelids became heavy, and quickly went to sleep.

After sleeping through the night and waking at dawn, Zhang Siyi was refreshed. Yesterday’s depression was left behind.

“I love work!” Zhang Siyi shouted in the mirror after getting out of the shower. Then he ran out to the crowded subway and headed to the office.

Watching him head out the door full of so much enthusiasm, Jiang Hai thought: “Simple-minded people are really happy.”

Ten minutes before working hours official started, he arrived at the company. Zhang Siyi first went to the personnel department to submit his own degree certificate. He was approached by the new front-desk receptionist: “Wait a minute! Are you the new person from yesterday? Please come over.”

Zhang Siyi wondered: “What, you mean me?”

The girl at the front desk explained: “Our company every quarter awards a “love-my-job” bonus for the amount of 1000 yuan.

Zhang Siyi was interested: “Aha? Is there such a thing?”

The young girl at the front desk smiled and said: “Yes, let me explain the details of this award. As long as certain conditions are met, all employees will be awarded.”

Zhang Siyi: “What are the conditions?

“It’s very simple,” the front desk girl pointed at the landscape glass frame at the company’s main entrance that was next to the elevator. “Pick a plant and take care of it. The conditions for awarding bonuses are twofold: one, your attendance records, and secondly, the health of your plant. It has to be growing well and thriving.”

Zhang Siyi was stunned. He didn’t think the plants on the shelves were taken care of by the employees. He thought that the maintenance staff took care of them.

However, Zhang Siyi had never raised any plants, so he had questions: “By what standards are the plants judged?”

The young girl smiled and answered: “If it doesn’t die, you can earn the money.”

Oh? It’s that easy? Zhang Siyi felt relieved and went to the structure to find a plant to raise.

Most of the shelves were filled with herbeceous plants such as green radish, and copper grass. There were a wide variety. Although Zhang Siyi didn’t raise plants, he was familiar with one fact. With the amount of water that was needed to thrive, the seemingly small and sturdy bear boy and moon rabbit, weren’t as easy to take care of as they seem. The most maintenance free plant was a cactus. Even if it wasn’t watered for half a year, it wouldn’t die.

After carefully looking it over, Zhang Siyi found two pots of cactus on the shelf, one big and one small, and they were placed in two glass lattices next to each other.

He pointed to the big cactus: “How about this one?”

Front desk girl: “That plant is director Gu’s.”

Zhang Siyi: “…” What’s the catch? Does Gu Yu have the same thoughts as his own? (=_=)

Zhang Siyi reluctantly pointed to the small pot on the side: “What about the smaller one?”

The receptionist calmly stated: “That is also the directors.”

Zhang Siyi： “……”

At 8:58, Gu Yu stepped out of the elevator and saw Zhang Siyi looking frazzled while talking with the receptionist standing next to him: “Why can he occupy two spots with cactus? Isn’t everyone only able to adopt one plant?”

As the young girl at the front desk was trying to explain the situation to him, Gu Yu went over and asked Zhang Siyi: “Do you like the cactus?”

Zhang Siyi did not expect Gu Yu to suddenly appear. He was momentarily caught off-guard and as a result, turned his head very stiffly. Actually, he simply wanted to be lazy, but of course he couldn’t say that, so he nodded vigorously instead: “Yes!”

Gu Yu looked at the young girl at the front desk and said: “Let him take care of the small cactus.”

The blushing young girl looks surprised: “Oh, okay.”

Zhang Siyi: “…”

After registering the plant, Zhang Siyi returned to his seat and asked his colleagues. He also handed out some Lindor chocolates that he had bought as gifts from the UK after graduation. His co-workers thanked him.

Zhu Hongzhen asked him what time he went back last night. Zhang Siyi wrinkled his face: “More than nine o’clock.”

“Overtime. Working hard on the first day. The boss is really ‘loving’ you’.” Zhu Hongzhen laughed.

Zhang Siyi was speechless. He recalled the phone call that Gu Yu received last night and whispered: “Does Boss have a girlfriend?”

Zhu Hongzhen said: “I don’t know, let’s ask Bi Lele.”

“I haven’t heard anything about that. The Boss doesn’t like others to gossip about his private life.” Bi Lele shrugged while eating chocolate. “But I don’t think so since he always involved with work. A project today, a project tomorrow; all year around he works overtime and rarely goes home before nine. Where would there be the time to fall in love?”

Zhu Hongzhen nodded: “I also think that if I was in a relationship like that, I wouldn’t be able to handle it. Hey, it’s the life of a perpetual bachelor.”

Bi Lele sighed: “If you want to fall in love, it’s best to find a peer since they also understand the demands of the industry.”

Zhu Hongzhen glanced to Zhang Siyi: “Why do you ask?”

Zhang Siyi chuckled: “Just curious.”

He also spoke about his plant adoption choice, Bi Lele was shocked: “The boss gave you that cactus ball!?”

Zhang Siyi didn’t understand her tone and tentatively asked: “Ah? What’s wrong? Is there anything strange about it?”

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next chapter >>

Assistant Architect by Xi He Qing Ling

Chapter 8: Overtime

In fact, Gu Yu came back after about forty minutes. It was already more than half an hour passed the official work day.

A small group of colleagues who didn’t need to work overtime already left. There were still quite a large group of people in the office working overtime. However, many spontaneously had begun to pack up, including Zhu Hongzhen and Bi Lele. In the end, there were only a few people who had projects on hand that needed extra attention. For example, the participating members of the D-City office project team.

Of course, Zhang Siyi did not need to work overtime, provided that he had finished his drafting assignment. The mobile phone in his pocket kept vibrating. His friends were going together to the appointed place and shared the real-time location information in the WeChat discussion group. As the protagonist of the party, Zhang Siyi wanted to go, but he didn’t dare leave.

Since he agreed to overtime work in the morning interview, he wasn’t going to leave on the first day of work. He didn’t want to die!

Before, when Gu Yu didn’t return, Zhang Siyi thought that maybe he had been played, and maybe, the other party had already left.

While walking to the restroom, he checked his messages and sent a message to his group of friends to say that he was going to work for a while and will be late. Zhang Siyi sent the message comforting his friends, but in reality, he sent it to comfort himself because he had no idea how long it would take. He just wanted to rush out to dinner.

Until Gu Yu appeared again, Zhang Siyi’s uneasiness dissipated. He accelerated the speed of drawing. When Gu Yu passed him, he stopped to look at his screen with special care.

Zhang Siyi was very nervous. He didn’t know if he was drawing it correctly or not, but at least he stayed. Isn’t that worthy of recognition?

Gu Yu saw him draw for half a minute without comment, and finally he only said: “If you are hungry, you can go downstairs and buy something to eat. Draw a 1:50 ratio and print it out then, come to the office to find me.”

Zhang Siyi: “…” Hey, he doesn’t want to eat, he wants to finish the draft and leave!

It took another half an hour, and Zhang Siyi finally got the picture done before 7:00.

He printed the picture according to his words, and went to Gu Yu with joy, thinking that it’s not too late to grab a taxi to meet up with his friends. However, he soon discovered that he was too naive.

At that time, Gu Yu was sitting in front of the computer and browsing ArchDaily. He had just set down a cup of steaming tea in his hand and saw Zhang Siyi coming in. He quietly said, “sit” and took out the scale and pencil from the pen holder. Like a teacher who was checking over an assignment, Gu Yu meticulously looked at the drawings

“Did Lu Qiao not send you the information? Did you see how many people use this building?” Gu Yu asked.

Zhang Siyi stupidly opened his mouth: “Ah”, he only wanted to hurry and draw, so he didn’t think about how many people are in this building to better understand how to plan the toilets.

Gu Yu used a pencil to lightly draw the drawings and explained: “According to the guidelines of the Architectural Design Code, the number of men’s toilets is less than 100, and one is set for 25 people. If there are more than 100 people, one additional for each additional 50 people. The number of urinals is the same as that of the toilet; the female toilet…”

Listening to Gu Yu slowly explain these terms like it was normal, he was blindsided. He didn’t know! ah!

“The details of the project clearly stated that the total flow of the building was 2000, and the average on each floor was about 120 people. Therefore, the total number of positions on each floor will not exceed six. Let’s see what you drew. There are 8 male restrooms and 10 female restrooms, which add up to 18,” Gu Yu looked up at him and said with a serious expression. “You laid out the floor plan with so many. I think the designer must be suffering from frequent urination and other digestion problems.”

Zhang Siyi: “……”

“And,” Gu Yu paused, placed the scale in hand on the illustration, and raised his eyebrows. “The interior compartment door of the bathroom is 500 in width? Are all the seats for kindergarten children?”

Zhang Siyi: “……”

Gu Yu glanced at the stairs he drew and asked: “When you went to school, did you learn how much higher the normal stairs were?”

Zhang Siyi asked with apprehension: “150?”

“The height of the step-in staircase in homes is between 180-200, and in public places, it is between 130-160,” Gu Yu precisely said the specific range. While using a pencil to circle the stairs on the map, he said: “3.2 meters… You have drawn 28 steps. How high is each step?”

He also did not wait for Zhang Siyi to answer. Instead, he directly took 3 books from the bookshelf and stacked them up to show him. Pointing to the height of the stack he said: “So shallow, you want people to constantly fall while trying to climb stairs?”

Zhang Siyi wanted to refute because he used the automatic stair plugin in the software.

“So, you didn’t even read the outline document that Lu Qiao sent to you?” Gu Yu sharply said.

Zhang Siyi was speechless for a moment—yes, Gu Yu was right. He was confused and eager to finish the draft, so he rushed through it and made many mistakes.

In a monotonous, as a matter of fact way, Gu Yu continued to point out several problems as though he was comparing prices of meat and vegetables on his grocery list, but for Zhang Siyi, the lethality of these words as he got straight to the point was comparable to a ninja’s flying knife that hit its target and was met with blood!

Moreover, Gu Yu wasn’t expressive like Zhang Siyi’s ex-girlfriend. When she was down, she expressed her feelings strongly, which made him feel uncomfortable sometimes. Gu Yu’s criticism was so logical and justified that it was simply irrefutable.

At the bottom of his heart, Zhang Siyi was slightly annoyed. Why did Gu Yu clearly see so many problems? When he looked at his work half an hour ago, he must have noticed some issues, but he never mentioned it. Was he purposely making Zhang Siyi suffer?

On the table, Gu Yu’s cell phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the screen. This time, he didn’t leave the room and picked up the call in front of Zhang Siyi.

Finally, Zhang Siyi had a moment to relax and thought for a bit on how to make amends to his friends. Silently, he listened to Gu Yu talk on the phone.

“…… Sorry, I’m still at work.” Gu Yu whispered, his tone was no different from the one he had just criticized Zhang Siyi with, but unlike previously, he could hear a hint of tenderness.”

Zhang Siyi secretly speculated, who was the call from? The Director’s girlfriend?

“You can eat dinner yourself. I’ve already eaten.” said Gu Yu.

Zhang Siyi pondered what he heard …. When did you go to eat? The short break before??

“…. at the fast food place downstairs in the company….” Gu Yu lowered his head, and his long eyelashes covered his dark eyes and continued with the phone conversation. “Yes… next time I’ll eat better… I know……”

As Gu Yu listened to the person on the phone, he continued to look at Zhang Siyi’s drawing  and wrote the list of the questions he had just mentioned to Zhang Siyi in the blank spaces of the illustration.

“No, there is nothing urgent,” Gu Yu glanced at Zhang Siyi and said,” There is a new employee today and I’m helping him with some beginning work.”

Zhang Siyi suddenly felt good. Gu Yu had to put his girlfriend (if it was) on hold in order to stay with him at the office for overtime work. On the other hand, Zhang Siyi still wanted to meet up with friends and have fun.

“Okay, I’ll contact you later.”

Gu Yu hung up the phone and looked at Zhang Siyi. He quickly put his phone away and pointed at the draft to continue with his criticism: “The smallest size of a toilet door, and the ergonomic scale of things are issues you should already know as a designer. Basic common sense that must be met. I understand you don’t know the rules of the country yet, but you must at least have the awareness of the specification before design.”

At this point, Zhang Siyi had been ashamed and wanted to dig a hole to bury himself in. At this rate, he wondered how he was ever able to graduate from University.

Looking at Zhang Siyi despondent figure, Gu Yu was cautious of saying too much. Sighing, he pushed the already annotated drawings back to him, and said: “Go and change these problems.”

……. Aah ….. I still have to finish drawing before I get to leave ?

Zhang Siyi took the drawings and returned to his seat. He saw Lu Qiao message: “Are you still alive? I am ready to get off work.”

Zhang Siyi: “I am drawing the first draft.”

Lu Qiao: “The floor plan was simple. Are you still drawing that?”

Zhang Siyi: “…”

Zhang Siyi: “It’s very difficult for me!”

Lu Qiao: “Well initially, drafting and rendering the plans for the first few times was complicated, but it will get easier. Afterwards, you will know how to do it much faster, but also, the Boss will get stricter.

Lu Qiao: “Oh by the way, there are free biscuits in the dining area. If you’re hungry, you can get some to eat. Not much more and you can go home soon. You can do it!”

Zhang Siyi was moved: “Thank you!”

At first, he wasn’t hungry at all at. Since he really wanted to celebrate with friends, he didn’t plan to stay for long but now, he felt famished.

After Lu Qiao left, there were only a few people left in the office. Zhang Siyi took out his mobile phone and did not dare read the new messages in WeChat. He was afraid that his friends would be disappointed, and even more afraid of being discovered by Gu Yu, he only quickly sent a letter to Fu Xinhui. SMS: “I am still working overtime, you should eat first, don’t wait for me!”

After sending the text message, he simply shut down his phone and concentrated on his work.

The stillness of the office didn’t help the matter. Now that he was the only one remaining, he felt lonely. On the first day of work, between his boss’s criticism, the introduction of his colleagues, and his friends waiting to go out for dinner, Zhang Siyi’s felt strung out.

As he worked at his computer fixing the drawing, he began to reflect on his past years in College. He clearly remembered being busy all the time, but why doesn’t it seem like he learned anything? Would his situation be different today if all the hours that he had been spent playing around with friends were instead used for studying?

The more he thought about it, the more he felt uncomfortable. It was a different kind of discomfort then the emptiness that an ex-girlfriend leaves behind. Rather, it was a heart-wrenching story of his own making.

He continued to rework the plans and continued to draw until nine o’clock in the evening. After showing Gu Yu the drawings, he nodded and Zhang Siyi was able to go home.

When he walked out of the office building, it was already dark out and there weren’t many people around which was a sharp contrast to the vigorous flow of people in the morning hours.

Zhang Siyi took a deep breath and his dying brain cells were renewed when they felt the fresh air of freedom. He reopened his phone and saw a red dot on the screen – missed calls, unread text messages, and hundreds of WeChat messages…

Zhang Siyi braced himself and gave Fu Xinhui a call. When he first connected, he heard a roar: “Zhang Siyi! Where the fuck are you?”

He pulled the phone away from his ear briefly as Fu Xinhui spoke, then replied: “Oh, well, I just got off work.” Zhang Siyi shrank his shoulders and cautiously said: “I’ll meet you now?”

Fu Xinhui: “There is no point now. We’re almost done! Do you know how many phone calls I just made? How dare you turn off your phone!”

Zhang Siyi wanted to cry without tears: “No, really it was just work, I’m sorry.” He faintly heard the voice of Su Yuan and Ren Mengyu from the phone, and both seemed to be a bit upset.

“Don’t go. Let me at least see you quickly. After all, I was the one doing the inviting. “Zhang Siyi looked for a taxi, eager to get to the restaurant quickly and appease his friends.

Fu Xinhui mercilessly said: “Don’t bother. Su Yuan already left because she wanted to take the last train to her new apartment on the East side.”

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next chapter >>

Assistant Architect by Xi He Qing Ling

Chapter 7: Task

Repeating a mantra, Zhang Siyi thought to himself patience and perseverance. He tried to convince himself that 500 wasn’t really all that much. It wasn’t even enough to buy himself a pair of jeans. He didn’t want to be so stingy, but he couldn’t help but feel wronged by the deductions in his salary. In this early stage, he had to keep in mind that it was about learning and getting experience and not about the number. Zhang Siyi continued to convince himself: 4,500 wasn’t an issue… the salary is not the focus…not the key…

Zhu Hongzhen saw Zhang Siyi and wanted to ask him where he went and what he had for lunch, but hesitated for a moment then called out: “Are you called Zhang Wei? I forgot.”

Zhu Hongzhen: “Your name isn’t very easy to remember. Do you have a nickname?”

Zhang Siyi: “English name? They called me Dannis while I was in the UK.”

Zhu Hongzhen read it over and said: “That’s worse than your Chinese name.”

Sitting across from them, Bi Lele said: “Since your name is the homophone yisi, how about Aunt Four?”

Zhu Hongzhen: “Poof!”

Zhang Siyi broke down and asked: “Why should I be called an Aunt? I’m a man.”

Bi Lele turned a blind-eye: “We have a man nicknamed Joe sister.”

Zhu Hongzhen: “There’s a woman in Child Labor’s group nicknamed Cool Brother. Ah, don’t worry about these details. I think the nickname, Aunt Four, suits you just fine.”

Zhang Siyi: “……”

“And as you can see in this department, you happen to be the fourth to come. Therefore, it is appropriate to call you the Fourth Aunt.”

Yuan Zhicheng, who was diagonally opposite, looked up and said quietly: “Aunt Four is good.”

Zhang Siyi couldn’t stop it. Several people on the side chanted “Aunt Four, Aunt Four”. He was a little annoyed. He didn’t want the nickname Aunt Four. It was the first day of work and, just like that, his name was changed. Once they set up his computer station, the chance to protest was mercilessly stripped from him.

The office computer has an internal LAN. In order to prevent the outflow of resources, communication and file transfer between colleagues needed to be through internal communication software. The format was somewhat similar to QQ, and all employees’ address books were visible, making it clear at a glance where the information flowed.

Curious about it, Zhang Siyi looked at it for a while and noticed, as was told, the three groups that the architectural design departments were subdivided into. Namely, the Gu Yu group (a), the Child Labor Group (b) and the Choi Group (c). His name was in Group A.

“Piggy, who is this Choi?” The first two Zhang Siyi knew, but the last one he hadn’t heard of.

Zhu Hongzhen: “Oh, you mean Mr. Choi in Group C?” He’s a professor at the J University School of Architecture on the other side of town. His specialty is in ancient Chinese architecture and Boundless department C is essentially his personal studio.

Zhang Siyi knew, indeed there were well-known professors in China who had their own personal studios and many of them would choose to cooperate with larger Design Institutes and design companies.

Zhang Siyi carefully looked at the names listed in his company email. When he saw the words “Gu Yu”, he was reminded of the 500 deduction in his salary and felt depressed. Unconsciously, he double clicked his name to open a dialog box. Before Zhang Siyi had the chance to type anything to Gu Yu, a sentence popped up in the box: “Come to my office.”

Zhang Siyi practically jumped out of his seat. He froze for several seconds and double checked the time stamp to confirm it was a coincidence and not something he neglected to see. He didn’t dare delay and replied with “ok”. With apprehension, he stood up and went to Gu Yu’s office.

He lightly knocked on the frosted glass door, and after hearing ‘please enter’ from within, Zhang Siyi pushed the door open and walked inside.

Even though the room was less than ten square feet there was a large design table in the middle with an iMac, laptop, printer, and stack of materials neatly stacked in the corner of the table. Next to it was a pen holder filled with all kinds of markers, color lead, architectural pens and a measurement scale.

Director Gu sat facing him while behind him was a full bookshelf. The shelves were not only full of professional books, but there were large and small models in the empty spaces as well.

Before he came in, he was thinking that maybe, he would voice his complaints about his salary deductions so he felt a little anxious. The stress of university and job hunting previously made him doubt himself, however, all the negative feeling dissipated when facing the director in his work space. Zhang Siyi didn’t know how to describe his reaction. His inner anxiety transformed into excitement. When looking at everything in the office related to architecture, his past heartfelt yearning had awakened and become like an instinct, rekindling his obsession with architecture that wouldn’t be forgotten.

Gu Yu pointed to the chair opposite his desk and let him sit down.

Zhang Siyi took a deep breath. At first glance, there was a block of calligraphy works on the blank wall to the left. After seeing the words “Zhuge Liang” on the book, he involuntarily calmed down.

“How is it going? Have you gotten more familiar with the environment yet?” Gu Yu asked.

“Almost.” Well, don’t think about salary anymore. The most urgent task is to get through the trial period! Zhang Siyi made up his mind.

Gu Yu handed a piece of printing paper to him: “This is an office building in D-city. Take a look. There are three people in the group who are doing this project. The styling and external details have been decided on. Pointing to another plan illustration, this is the functional partition and outline of the building.”

Zhang Siyi took a glance at the plan, dumbfounded…… it’s huge!

“What kind of drawing software do you usually use? Is the computer set up? Is the software installed for you?” Gu Yu asked.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense with the rhythm of Gu Yu’s dialogue. Zhang Siyi quickly said: “I mainly used ArchiCAD, but I know some AutoCAD too.”

Gu Yu nodded: “ArchiCAD plug-in causes problems sometimes when transferring files. Lu Qiao was having issues when he was working on portions of the plan. You will have to learn the other software we use in the office.”

Zhang Siyi: “Oh…”

Zhang Siyi wasn’t familiar with the other software, so he was unsure how long it would take to render a picture.

Gu Yu: “Draw a draft of this section here. Show it to me before the work day is over.”

Zhang Siyi: “…”

Holding the reference materials, he returned to his seat. Zhang Siyi has been living in such a relaxed state that he hadn’t wrapped his mind around his work yet. Not only did he need to learn new software in the afternoon, but also, he has to a make a rendering of such a big building. Oh My God! Just shoot me now!

“Did Boss give you a task?” Zhu Hongzhen asked with a smirk.

“Well…” The task was huge. Zhang Siyi didn’t dare to delay. He quickly opened the address book and looked for Lu Qiao. “Little pig, who is Lu Qiao?”

“It’s him,” Zhu Hongzhen pointed to the thin and small figure not far away. “The one in blue clothes, do you see him?”

As Zhang Siyi was asking about Lu Qiao, a message box appeared on his screen: “Is this Aunt Four?”

Zhang Siyi： “……”

Zhang Siyi: “How do you know my nickname already?”

Lu Qiao: “You are the newcomer, right? Someone in the department inquired and Bi Lele has already publicized it.”

Zhang Siyi: “…”

Lu Qiao: “There are three big rotten girls in the group. Handsome boys won’t escape their claws.”

Zhang Siyi: “[Cry]”

Lu Qiao: “Brother, let’s accept it. I understand your pain ~~ “

…. But why did he read the smell of schadenfreude instead?

After a few pleasantries, Lu Qiao quickly brought the topic back to the task on hand: “The boss asked me to send you information of D-City office building. Did you receive it?”

Zhang Siyi received a large package of project materials and confirmed their delivery. He asked: “By the way, what about the software? Is it true I have to use this?”

Lu Qiao: “Hey, you didn’t know? This software was developed domestically based on AutoCAD platform. Most of the domestic construction projects use this.”

Zhang Siyi: “OK. Is it hard to learn?”

Lu Qiao: “It’s easy to learn! Super simple! As long as you know some AutoCAD, you can learn it in ten minutes!”

Zhang Siyi was relieved and thanked him. With the help of Zhu Hongzhen , he started up the Windows OS and located the icon for the legendary super-simple software, than launched it. Little did he know, “super-simple” was not super simple at all! He struggled for two hours and repeatedly harassed Lu Qiao several times before figuring it out.

When he introduced the electronic map into the design, at five o’clock, it was already close to the days out.  …….. super simple my ass!

The cell phone in his trouser pocket buzzed. Zhang Siyi reached for it and saw that Fu Xinhui sent him a message.

Thinking that the draft of the toilet and staircase will be finished soon, Zhang Siyi quickly replied with “good”.

But not long after, Zhang Siyi realized that he overestimated himself.

During his undergraduate studies, he was exposed to small buildings of several hundred square meters. The largest one was the student activity center that was designed when he graduated. The total area was no more than 3,000. Now that Gu Yu gave him a ten-story office building, he was so overwhelmed that he didn’t know where to start.

Seeing that it was almost time to get off work, his had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He hadn’t made much progress on the assigned task.

“Little pig, I was handed a drafting assignment and needed to hand it in before I go, but what if it’s not finished by the end of the work hours?”

As it was the obvious, Zhu Hongzhen said: “Overtime.”

Zhang Siyi: “…”

Just then, a familiar voice suddenly sounded from behind: “How is the drawing going?”

Zhang Siyi stunned, turned around to see Gu Yu, who was quietly standing there. Gu Yu looked at Zhang Siyi’s computer screen, only to see a few toilets arranged in a mess with a few irregular stairs. He asked: “What is this?”

Zhang Siyi’s cold sweat ran down, and he said: “I, I’m getting used to the software.”

Gu Yu stood in silence in thought. A little while later he spoke and said, “Continue”, then left.

Zhang Siyi saw Gu Yu’s back disappear through the doors at the entrance of the firm, and dared to ask, “Did he just leave for the day?”

Zhu Hongzhen: “Ah? No way. Didn’t he tell you to show him the picture?”

Zhang Siyi: “I just watched him go out. He’s not leaving work?”

He also thought he was fortunate if Gu Yu left work already. He wanted to slip away for a while to have dinner with his friends. He could finish the work at home and bring the completed task back.

But Zhu Hongzhen gave him a fatal blow: “Maybe he went to the restroom. The boss will definitely be back.”

Zhang Siyi: “Why?”

Zhu Hongzhen looked happy: “He is the only boss I have ever seen to accompany his subordinates to work overtime. If you have tasks in your hands, he will stay with you until you finish.”

Zhang Siyi: “………” Help!

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