Chapter 32

Yu Shun smiled and continued, "Either you stop participating in the final profit sharing and take a percentage like other designers. Of course, we've been together for so many years, I can offer you the highest tier. Or the firm can be taken over by me, and I will give you some compensation."

Shi Xing raised his eyes and said calmly, "What if I disagree with both of them?"

Yu Shun hadn't expected to be rejected, but it was understandable. After all, the market was down, and nobody wanted to go out into the world. The feeling of starting from scratch was something you only needed to experience once. However, since the conflict between the two was clear, there was no point in hiding it.

Yu Shun directly revealed his true purpose: "I will arrange for other designers to handle the orders I bring later, so I won't bother you anymore. Let the outside world see whether it's better to follow you to the firm and wait for good projects, or to follow me and at least have some benefits. I think it won't be long before everyone makes the right choice."

Thinking of the time they had worked together before, Shi Xing still didn't want them to fall out like this, so he softened his tone and said, "Actually, there's no need to go this far. If you're willing, we can still be like before."

Yu Shun didn't take Shi Xing's words seriously. Who would want to stay the way they were before if they could get better returns?

Seeing Yu Shun's expression, Shi Xing understood that the two had different philosophies, and that whatever he said now would be futile. Yu Shun's thoughts were clear: he felt that his contributions to the firm, based on the previous profit-sharing ratio, were no longer sufficient for him.

However, Shi Xing was unwilling to blindly yield. Only by keeping the firm's standards in his own hands could he control the final design outcome. If he only focused on getting orders and marketing, the final product would be unpredictable. Shi Xing knew the market was highly competitive, but he firmly believed in the value of design, and that blindly catering to the market would only make a designer's future increasingly difficult.

After the conflict was exposed, Yu Shun unilaterally stopped talking to Shi Xing, and the conflict between the two had become known to everyone in the firm.

Li Chong even went so far as to declare that anyone willing to follow him would get orders. He had been following Yu Shun since he arrived, and everyone knew that his intentions were Yu Shun's. For a time, several designers did follow him and indeed secured orders.

Li Chong even brazenly created a new group, ostensibly for designers who needed freelance work to join and help each other. But everyone knew it was a clear sign of taking sides; joining meant agreeing to follow Yu Shun.

Wang Mian was naturally unwilling to follow Yu Shun. Although he had often complained about the difficulty of getting orders, he had indeed learned a lot during his time with Shi Xing. Faced with the reality that the design firm was now subtly divided into two factions, and that it seemed impossible to survive without joining one, Wang Mian disregarded this and firmly stood on Shi Xing's side.

Regardless, Wang Mian believes that putting your heart into doing a good job in design is the most important thing.

Having worked with Shixing for so long, I can genuinely feel their dedication and care in each and every project. Even with simple lines, they manage to create a unique and personal style.

Moreover, Shi Xing is also very knowledgeable about design implementation and construction. As a full-service designer, one needs a lot of knowledge, including drawing skills and construction expertise. At least I feel much more at ease working on designs with Shi Xing.

Liu Si nodded. She was recruited by Shi Xing. Although Shi Xing was usually stern and didn't show any special care for others, no matter what, someone who had stayed by his girlfriend's side for so many years must have good character.

Wang Mian and Liu Si exchanged a smile. Without Shi Xing even needing to speak, the two of them volunteered to stay; everyone's judgment was clear. Even if Li Chong's voice was loud and abusive within the firm, there were undoubtedly many others who shared their unwavering support for Shi Xing.

Without further ado, Wang Mian, unable to tolerate Li Chong's swaggering attitude, also posted a new group link in the group chat, under the same guise of: sharing design knowledge.

However, after Wang Mian saw the link being sent, he was puzzled: Why were there only him and Liu Si?

He had thought that this time, the two sides would be evenly matched, but unexpectedly, only he and Liu Si stood up, while there was no one behind them.

After waiting for several days, very few people joined the group. Wang Mian couldn't help but whisper to Liu Si, "What should we do? We don't have many people here. Did they all go over there?"

Liu Si was somewhat incredulous and said worriedly, "It can't be, right? They took everyone else away. What are we going to do?"

Wang Mian gritted his teeth: "Whatever, we'll do it even if it can't be done. Anyway, we're both determined, and neither of us will leave."

Liu Si nodded: "Right! Who cares? We must stay firm at this time."

Yoda looked at Shi Xing, who was accompanying him to inspect the project site, and said, "Actually, you don't need to come with me. I can manage on my own. Besides, is it really okay for you to come out with me every day like this?"

Shi Xing said, "It's alright, I'm free recently. I'm a little worried about you being alone."

Yoda didn't refuse again. Since Zhou Liu left, no new people had come. However, Yoda wasn't really willing to work with new people anymore. After observing how the others worked together, Yoda realized that he and Zhou Liu really did work well together. When they were measuring the room at the beginning, he wasn't the only one who made mistakes with the measurements.

A new intern team was taking measurements at a room. The measurements are usually rounded to the nearest whole number. However, one intern preferred to round the measurements to the nearest whole number before recording them, while the other preferred to record the measurements first, then add them up and round them to the nearest whole number.

It wouldn't have been a problem initially, but the two of them didn't communicate with each other. It wasn't until the very last moment when they were making the cabinets that they realized the dimensions were wrong, and the glaring gaps were far too large.

When asked why they didn't notice it at the time, they said that the two of them noticed the data anomaly, but thought it wasn't much different and could be easily balanced out, so they didn't think it was a big deal. In the end, they had no choice but to make another baffle to compensate.

So Yoda felt that she was doing quite well on her own. Moreover, she could now start working on some projects under the guidance of Designer Wang, and all she had to do was follow the projects. Naturally, the others wouldn't involve her in their projects anymore, so she didn't need to go out for work as much.

However, it is more convenient when Shixing is with her. During the day, Yoda can slowly and carefully communicate with clients about design details at the company. When on-site surveys are needed, Shixing is always available, and it is faster to do it together.

Yoda had already discussed the overall style of the house with the client during the day, except for some cabinet designs in the bathroom that needed adjustment. Originally, the homeowner wanted to leave the space empty to store miscellaneous items, but after thinking about it, they decided to prioritize making them into cabinets to increase the storage space in the house.

Although measurements had already been taken once before, Yoda figured since the work was already underway, and the goal was to maximize storage space, vertical cabinets should also be installed. Therefore, the exact height of the areas where the cabinets will be built needs to be measured now. This will provide the necessary data when customizing the cabinets.

"After you finish this, you should rest today." Shi Xing held Yoda's hand, and the two of them were very relaxed.

"Okay." Yoda walked inside. Because the community had just opened for sale, even though some people who had renovated early had already moved in, it was currently non-renovation time, so all construction had stopped, and the whole community was still very quiet.

Yoda took the key and went into the house. The moonlight outside was bright, and although the water and electricity hadn't been installed yet, it was still quite visible in the moonlight. The house layout was pretty good; every room had a window, the kitchen and bathroom were bright, and all the bedrooms were sunny and well-ventilated.

Having finally bought their dream house, the homeowner wants to renovate it nicely to make it more convenient to live in.

Since they were both very experienced, Shi Xing and Yoda worked together seamlessly under the moonlight and measured the data without saying a word.

Just as Yoda was about to leave, he heard a rustling sound coming from upstairs. Looking up and listening carefully, he realized it sounded like construction materials that hadn't been properly stored, the sound of plastic bags rubbing against the ground.

Shi Xing noticed Yoda's pause and looked at her, somewhat confused. Yoda thought she must have misheard. Shaking her head, the two prepared to leave by the moonlight.

Returning along the path, as they reached the bottom of the stairs in the duplex, Shi Xing vaguely saw a shadowy figure upstairs, silently crouching on the stairs, watching the two of them. His instinct for danger kicked in instantly; before Yoda could react, Shi Xing had already pulled him behind him.

"Who's coming out from there!"

Yoda was still in a daze when he peeked out from behind Shi Xing. He was wondering if he had seen wrong, but to his surprise, someone actually stood up unsteadily from the stairs.

A gruff voice shouted, "What are you doing here?"

Yoda was stunned. How could there be someone here? And a complete stranger at that. Yoda had spoken with the homeowner many times and knew that the homeowner and his family usually did business in other places and wouldn't move in until the house was renovated. He was certain that this person was neither the homeowner nor a family member.

Yoda felt a little nervous. Although there was moonlight, the stairs were in the middle of the house, right in a place where the moonlight couldn't reach. The silence outside made the unseen other party seem even more dangerous. In any case, it was strange that anyone was appearing in a place where no one should be.

Shi Xing gently brushed Yoda's hand across the back of his hand. Yoda instantly understood his meaning and took the initiative to ask, "I'm the interior designer. Who are you? What are you doing here? I know the owner of this house. You must have come to the wrong place." While Yoda's attention was drawn to him and his face was turned towards Yoda, Shi Xing quietly took the lid of a paint bucket from the side and held it in his hand.

Shi Xing looked up at the figure above. Although there was no light, he could still vaguely see that the other person was holding something that looked like a stick.