Chapter 22

Looking at the disconnected phone, Yoda shook his head. His feeling about Shi Xing was correct, but it was something only the two of them could perceive. Because they were so familiar with each other, they could keenly sense changes in the other. Because they cherished each other so much, they couldn't ignore it, even though Shi Xing seemed like a normal person.

Yoda made up her mind that she must make Shi Xing better, and return him to the way he was in her memories, before he was hurt.

However, Yoda restrained himself from being impatient and knew he had to take it slow. The damage from seven years of waiting also needed time to heal.

Having made up his mind, Yoda was still wondering whether he should take some time today to go back to the site he had visited yesterday to look for the key, or go to the hot pot restaurant again. But looking at his work schedule for today, he realized there were still quite a few places he needed to go.

Even though I can still go home when my parents return, losing the key makes my house unsafe, and I'll have to change the locks.

While I was still asleep, smart door locks have developed remarkably. I remember when renovations were done, most doors were still security doors, some even with windows for ventilation. The more complex the lock, the safer it was. Nowadays, most security doors are equipped with fingerprint locks, and some even have facial recognition or iris recognition. It's more convenient, and you no longer have to worry about losing your keys.

Zhou Liu approached, interrupting Yoda's thoughts: "You left your keys on your desk last night, so I kept them for you. How did you get home without your keys last night?"

Yoda opened the drawer and sure enough, his key was inside. "Thank you. Last night I wanted to ask you and Zhou Ying if they had seen my key, but I couldn't get through to either of you. I checked the time and figured you were probably on your way home, so I just left it at that. I'll stay with a friend."

Yoda didn't notice Zhou Liu's momentary unease. Suddenly, it occurred to him that he hadn't seen Zhou Liu when he arrived early this morning. Had Zhou Liu come back last night? Zhou Liu didn't seem like the type to voluntarily come back to work overtime.

"You actually came back to the office last night. What were you doing there?"

Just then, two colleagues walked by. Zhou Liu didn't say anything, but winked at Yoda. Yoda astutely remained silent, and only looked at Zhou Liu after the two had left: "What's wrong? Did that person have a grudge against you?"

Zhou Liu shook his head: "No, I went back to the office last night because someone asked me to produce design drawings."

Yoda didn't understand. They were both still interns, and the company's orders were assigned to designers according to internal rules. It wasn't their turn yet.

Zhou Liu smugly pulled out his phone and showed it to Yoda. "Huh? You're actually taking on extra work outside!"

Zhou Liu posted many well-designed renderings online, attracting numerous inquiries, including several from local customers. Based on the principle of proximity, these potential clients have a high probability of making a purchase.

Some people even sent photos of their homes to Zhou Liu, asking him to create renderings and take a look at the design.

Each week, Zhou Liu replied with several design drafts in different styles, and many people were even ready to have him design for them.

Yoda was amazed: "You're so amazing! As soon as someone tells you what to do, you can create the picture. We're so busy and exhausted during the day. You must never sleep at night to be able to draw so many!"

The company where the two were interning already had a very mature order-taking and design model, and the workload was usually very high. Even for an intern like Yoda, the workload was quite heavy. They were surprised that Zhou Liu still had time to do these things despite being so tired. They themselves were so exhausted every day that all they wanted to do was lie down and rest.

Zhou Liu chuckled, but before he could speak, Yoda noticed something was amiss. "Hey, the dimensions of this picture aren't quite right." Yoda took a closer look and saw that, according to the window dimensions, a bookcase and desk were designed in a space that was clearly less than a meter wide, and there was even a passageway behind the chair. With this design, only a paper doll could use it properly.

Although each one looks beautiful, with rich colors and well-drawn, many of the proportions are wrong, and the designs are not very reasonable in order to make them look good.

There's a platform around the bed, decorated with various ornaments. Won't you get bumped when you get into bed?

It's supposed to be a duplex, but the second floor, which is packed with space, doesn't have a staircase to go up. Is that really reasonable?

Zhou Liu calmly replied, "This was created using AI, so the proportions are definitely not that accurate."

Yoda: "AI has developed to this extent? Why not use professional design software?"

Zhou Liu: "Do you know how complicated professional drawing software is? I have to communicate with so many people every day. If I used drawing software, how could I keep up? I use AI to create renderings to attract customers. Once the customers are booked, I can proceed with the normal design process. This is a marketing-driven society. If you don't learn marketing, you won't have customers. Without customers, you won't have design opportunities."

"Besides, without these renderings to attract clients, how would they even know about us? This isn't a society where whatever a designer says goes. Information exchange is so convenient now; many clients have already decided what kind of design they want just by looking at online renderings. Clients can even use design software to simulate their home's style and effect beforehand. Designers aren't that important anymore; the most important thing is closing deals. If you can close deals, you can survive; if you can't, you can't even eat. What's the point of talking about design then?"

Yoda's assessment of Zhou Liu's actions is difficult to make. While he was asleep, society developed too rapidly, so much so that Yoda was already extremely busy just learning new things and keeping up with everyone else's pace.

Looking at a few more pictures, you can still see that the designs are all quite similar: "Design is not just about showcasing the designer's style; it's about serving the customer. If it's all used like this, wouldn't that be too casual?"

Zhou Liu: "I can't reason with you locals. You're thinking about better designs, but when I open my eyes, I have to pay for rent and transportation. How can I live without money?"

Yoda recalled his conversation with Zhou Ying yesterday and realized that it was already quite an achievement for the two of them to get into university, so money was indeed very important.

Yoda knew his living costs were much lower than theirs, and he shouldn't advise others to be kind if he hadn't experienced their suffering. Besides, this wasn't a matter of right or wrong, so he chose to remain silent.

However, Yoda always remembered that the design he learned at the beginning was about serving people, and that good design should make people feel happy. So even if his internship was tedious, Yoda tried his best to do it well, even if it was just a small detail. As long as he did it well, it would enhance the happiness of design.

Although Yoda thought this way, he didn't object seeing Zhou Liu's radiant expression. At least, some of the renderings he made were quite interesting. The color schemes were warm and inviting, immediately catching the eye. Moreover, compared to traditional drawing methods, this was faster and allowed people to understand the design style they wanted.

"But what will you do after you take the order?" Yoda was certain that with their current time, energy, and skill level, the two of them couldn't complete an independent design. Zhou Liu would definitely have to delegate the work to others after taking the order.

Zhou Liu said mysteriously, "I have a way, don't worry. Do you want to come along?"

Seeing Zhou Liu's confident demeanor, Yoda didn't think much of it. But she decided against it; she was already exhausted after finishing her work every day, and all she wanted was to focus on her internship and gradually transition into a designer.

Having experienced unexpected events in life, one will cherish the routines of life even more.

When Yoda met with Shixing, he talked about Zhou Liu's tactics. He couldn't help but sigh that he still had so much to learn; after being asleep for so long, he was really falling behind the times.

Yoda, watching Shi Xing working diligently, asked curiously, "Have you ever used AI to generate images?"

Shi Xing shook his head. Although he knew about it, he had never used it. However, he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. The development of the times always brings new things, and while some people try them, others resist them. Just like life, some people choose to go faster, some choose to go slower, and some choose to stay in the same place.

Shi Xing was constantly revising design drafts, which was his understanding of the design process. Yoda envisioned, "Will it be possible that in the future we won't need to draw everything ourselves? We could just input the instructions and generate a complete design solution according to our requirements?"

Shi Xing nodded. "Maybe that day will come. For now, it's best to just focus on doing your own thing."

Liu Si diligently knitted a doll using yarn, following an online tutorial, but she was a little conflicted because she didn't quite like the color schemes in the tutorials. She was somewhat conflicted.

"Young lady, you have a designer named Wang around these days, the kind who works for free, right?" Just as I was thinking this, an auntie approached.

Liu Si pondered the designer surnamed Wang for a moment; that must be Wang Mian. But free? There doesn't seem to be such an event.

Although he knew some design firms would use free offers to attract clients, only to deduct the design costs from the construction project later, Shi Xing's philosophy was against attracting clients with low prices. He believed that besides fierce competition, this also negatively impacted the career development of designers, so he never allowed low-price advertising. Mr. Yu was initially somewhat unhappy, but ultimately couldn't persuade Shi Xing and had to agree.

However, Liu Si was certain that the firm had never made any such announcement, so she hesitated. If she said no directly, what if it was a promise made privately by some designer?

Wang Mian walked over, beaming: "Ah, sister, you're here. It's me, the designer you were chatting with online."

"You got it for free?" Liu Si hadn't had a chance to ask Wang Mian before she could watch the two of them happily walk inside.

Okay.