Chapter 47

Yoda stood in front of the newly opened blind box store, looking at the enthusiastic crowd with a bit of a bewilderment. Liu Si said excitedly from the side, "Wow, the new store is opening today and there are limited editions! Sister Yoda, you're so clever, you even knew about this in advance."

The room was filled with young faces, with only a few middle-aged people occasionally, but it was obvious they were there to buy things for their children. Yoda looked at the dolls of various colors, expressions, and poses, and couldn't quite understand the tastes of today's young people.

“I went to Moko’s house this morning. I noticed that the best spots in her room are all used to display this doll. She’s thinking of making a display case for her dolls in her new home.” It just so happens that a new store in this mall is opening, so Yoda thought she’d come and see how doll stores are decorated.

"She's never said a word, so why did she suddenly ask you to go to her house?" Liu Si asked as she picked out the dolls. Although she didn't have a hobby of collecting all the dolls, she still couldn't resist buying the ones she liked.

As Yoda observed the store's layout, she said, "I told her before that if I could understand her lifestyle, I could make the details of designing her new home more comfortable." Moko didn't answer at the time, and Yoda thought the other woman was unwilling, but she didn't force her, after all, everyone has a different personality.

I want to create designs that I'm satisfied with, but I also need to respect other people's lives.

But for some reason, last night Moko suddenly agreed to Yoda's suggestion and even went so far as to invite Yoda to her current residence.

Yoda had been running around non-stop yesterday, and this morning he just wanted to stay quietly in the office, but when he opened his eyes and saw Moko's message, he realized that this decision was not easy to make.

I immediately decided to go in the morning.

After measuring Mo Ke's height and stride, and based on her habitual movements, the heights of the sink, cabinets, and wall cabinets were optimized.

Knowing that Moke also works as a game streamer, Yoda decided to convert the secondary bedroom, which was originally used as a guest room and study, into a dedicated game room. The walls needed soundproofing, and a water dispenser needed to be installed. This way, he could have water at any time during the stream without affecting the broadcast.

Yoda noticed that the store was divided into different sections for displaying dolls, and upon closer inspection, he realized that the dolls also had different styles. "Why is that?"

Liu Si looked up and saw Yoda observing the scene setup in the store. She knew a little about it: "Those are dolls with different themes."

Thinking back, Moko's dolls also seemed to be divided into several different pieces, but the space was too small to display them very clearly.

Lighting, miniature scene settings, acrylic display stands—the store's layout is the best way to showcase the visual effects of these dolls. Yoda remembered these details, and the long wall from the entrance to the living room, only twenty centimeters wide, was perfect for setting up display cases.

Yoda looked at the dolls displayed in the middle of the store, illuminated by overhead lights. She initially thought they were just store decorations, but seeing people taking pictures of them, she turned to Liu Si and asked, "What are those?"

Liu Si, holding the doll she had chosen, prepared to queue to pay. Standing next to Yoda, she looked over and said, "That's the store's prized possession. They usually put out hidden or rare items. Many people come here specifically for that."

Yoda seemed to understand, but that didn't stop her from turning this phenomenon into a design requirement: to add a large, separate display case to hold the more important dolls.

Having remembered most of it, the two finally left the store. Liu Si got the doll, while Yoda was sweating profusely from being squeezed out.

"Okay, let's take another look at computer desks. As a game streamer, the traditional desk and chair I originally designed are not practical, so it's better to choose a computer desk and ergonomic chair."

Liu Si asked curiously, "She doesn't talk at all, how can she be a game streamer? What's her name? I'll go check it out."

Yoda didn't actually ask. When she entered Moko's room, she could sense that the other person wasn't very relaxed. After Yoda saw the table full of her various live streaming equipment, she became even more nervous for a moment.

She only breathed a sigh of relief when she found out that Yoda knew she wasn't working and was just playing games and doing live streams at home, but didn't ask any more questions and was only focused on revising the design plan.

Yoda naturally didn't miss the other person's emotional changes. To be honest, the experience he had gained from paying close attention to Shi Xing's emotions when he first woke up was now proving useful.

With Liu Si's help, the preliminary preparations were almost complete. The two then prepared to return.

As I walked into the lobby, a grand opening ceremony was taking place in the mall. As the curtains fell, a cultural wall in the center of the lobby was fully revealed. The noisy surroundings did not detract from its overall dignified and elegant beauty.

Yoda immediately recognized it as Shixing's design, but Shixing had taken on a commercial project in another city these past few days and was out inspecting the site. So Yoda didn't even know that the shopping mall project was already completed.

Yoda walked closer, chose the best angle to take a panoramic photo, and sent it to Shi Xing. "Congratulations, another masterpiece from Shi Xing."

Liu Si followed Yoda and saw Li Chong standing on the stage looking all high and mighty. She smirked and said, "Hmph, it's just designing a shopping mall. What's so great about that?"

Yoda looked at Liu Si: "Huh? What's wrong?"

Liu Si nodded her chin toward the stage: "That's the person, Sister Yoda. He's the one who instigated the homeowner to back out of your previous project."

Yoda looked over and realized that he had indeed seen him at the firm before, but he didn't remember him well.

"I never thought someone like him could be a designer. This shopping mall has such poor taste to hire him as a designer."

Yoda laughed: "What are you talking about? This is a trendy design."

Liu Si gave Yoda a strange look and pointed out the plaque standing in front of the cultural wall. The names of the design company and the designer were clearly visible and even in bold, which was indeed not fashionable.

Yoda was stunned.

What happened? Everything in front of me is the same as the one designed by Shixing Design, so how did it become someone else's name?

When Shi Xing returned, Yoda walked over with the photos he had taken at the mall: "Look, your design has been stolen."

Yoda initially thought Shixing was unaware and didn't want to affect his mood while he was working outside, so she waited until he returned to tell him. However, judging from Shixing's expression, he didn't seem angry at all.

"You knew all along?"

Shi Xing nodded; he had just returned and noticed.

Shi Xing opened the cabinet containing the design drafts, but all the design drafts, including some detailed information, were gone. Yoda knew Shi Xing's design habits; like himself, he would clearly mark even the smallest details such as plumbing and electrical work. In fact, because commercial construction is more complex, Shi Xing's design drafts were even more detailed.

As long as there's a design draft, creating a design that perfectly matches the original is no problem at all. Making it so detailed was originally intended to facilitate construction, but now it's actually helping the thieves.

Yoda was so angry that he fell backward: "Damn it, disgusting, so shameless!" Gone was his usual calm and collected demeanor. He paced back and forth in front of Shi Xing, making a loud thud as he walked a few steps.

"No, I'm going to sue him." Yoda turned around and was about to rush out.

Shi Xing reacted quickly, grabbing the furious Yoda and saying, "Forget it, we have no evidence."

"How could that be? You took the paper copy, but you also have the original on your computer. The dates on it clearly prove that you are the designer."

Shi Xing put his arm around Yoda, led her to the table, and pointed to the blank computer folder: "It has been deleted, there is no way to prove it."

He spread his hands, his face innocent and without the slightest anger.

Yoda huffed, "A mole! There's a traitor in the firm! Not only did he steal your designs, but he also managed to delete the original drafts while you were out."

Shi Xing nodded.

Yoda said with a pained expression, "They actually deleted all the files on your desktop, how awful!"

Seeing Yoda's anxious state, Shi Xing found it amusing and coughed to cover it up. "It's nothing, I only have that one on my computer, all the others are stored elsewhere."

Yoda then realized that although it was Shixing's design that had been stolen, he acted as if nothing had happened: "You knew it would be stolen? Why didn't you take precautions? Those are all your hard work. Do you even know who did it?"

Under Yoda's gaze, Shi Xing dared not disregard it any longer and pointed seriously to the outer office. Yoda jumped up, rushed over, and pushed open the door. "Where is he?"

The office, which used to be occupied, is now empty except for the desks and chairs; the people have long since left.

Seeing Yoda rushing back like a whirlwind, Shi Xing quickly grabbed her and gently wiped Yoda's forehead. "Slow down, you're running so fast, your forehead is all sweaty, you'll catch a cold."

Yoda finally realized something was wrong. She brushed away Shi Xing's gentle hand that was wiping her: "What's wrong with you? Your design was stolen, and you're acting like nothing happened."

Shi Xing lowered his hand: "Didn't you just let it go before?"

Yoda clapped his hands and spread them out: "Mine was home renovation, which took less time. Yours is different; your project involves a lot of work, so we can't just let it go like this."

Shi Xing handed Yoda a glass of water: "You're discriminating too, distinguishing between residential and commercial work. But, didn't you say that even if it's stolen, the experience and knowledge are still there?"

Yoda was speechless, and Shi Xing used her own words to shut her up. After struggling to utter a complete sentence for a long time, Yoda looked at the glass of water she had unconsciously finished drinking from, and angrily shoved it into Shi Xing's arms. "Hmph!"

Shi Xing himself didn't take it seriously, and no one else in the firm knew that his design had been stolen. As for the person who quietly left, no one thought much of it; after all, people coming and going is normal in this industry.

Yoda was annoyed by Shi Xing's attitude and realized he couldn't reason with him, so he simply focused his attention on the projects he was working on.

Yoda hadn't been idle during the Cold War either; he had originally planned to ask Shi Xing's permission before looking at the old chat logs. But now, he thought, "Hmph, he doesn't even care about his own things, why should I be careful?"

Yoda felt a surge of anger, but his courage grew immediately. Without further hesitation, he clicked on the button.

The last message: I'm sorry, Yoda.