Retreat to the data room
After a few more days of forcing herself through the beam yard, Lan Tongtong felt she was reaching her limit. The exhaustion of battling the inertia of the construction process, the loneliness of not being understood and even secretly resisted, and the deep-seated shame for her past compromises weighed on her like mountains, suffocating her. She began to suffer from insomnia and a loss of appetite, and going to work became a torment.
She realized that if she continued to stay on the front line of the beam yard, she might not only fail to achieve her original intention of "returning to strictness", but might completely lose herself in the constant consumption and pulling, and might even make bigger mistakes due to her unbalanced mentality.
After several sleepless nights of painful struggle, she finally made a difficult decision: to leave the beam yard.
She approached Chief Engineer Zhang Xiao and requested a transfer from the beam yard. She didn't elaborate on the specific difficulties, simply stating that she felt she lacked experience and couldn't handle the pressure of on-site management, and she hoped to return to the project department to learn more.
Zhang Xiao looked at the visibly haggard young woman before him, seemingly understanding her predicament and struggle. He was silent for a moment, not pressing for details. He simply sighed and nodded, "Yes, the pressure on site is indeed great. If you want to return to the project department for some rest, that's fine. The documentation room has been busy lately, and Old Chen can't handle it all by himself. You can go there and help sort out the internal documentation. It's also very important work."
Information room.
Hearing those three words, Lan Tongtong felt like a needle pricked her heart. It was one of the most core yet "marginal" departments within the project department. It was core because all project records, acceptance documents, and change documents were gathered there; it was marginal because it was often considered a "quiet" place for those unable to handle on-site work or awaiting retirement.
Retreating from the bustling and challenging front-line construction site to the quiet and even somewhat dull data room is undoubtedly a clear "step back", a strategic retreat for her in the current predicament, or in other words, a huge failure.
"Thank you, Mr. Zhang." Lan Tongtong thanked him in a low voice, with a loss and bitterness that was hard to conceal in her voice.
"Go ahead and adjust your mindset. You can learn a lot from data work." Zhang Xiao comforted, but to Lan Tongtong, these words sounded more like a helpless consolation.
The next day, Lan Tongtong packed up her personal belongings at the beam yard. Amidst her colleagues' gazes of confusion, sympathy, or perhaps a hint of gloating, she silently returned to the project building and walked into the document room filled with drawings and documents.
Old Chen, a gentle and quiet engineer nearing retirement, welcomed Lan Tongtong and assigned her a table by the window. He then brought her a large stack of completed materials for her to familiarize herself with.
Sitting in the quiet data room, listening to the faint roar of the construction site outside the window, Lan Tongtong felt a complex mix of emotions. Temporarily free from the direct pressure and interpersonal entanglements of the beam yard, she had a moment to breathe. But looking at the densely packed text and charts before her, she felt not relief, but a strong sense of loss and self-doubt.
Her former ambitions, her ideal of achieving something on the construction site, seemed to be shattered during this retreat. She doubted whether she was truly suited to this industry, and whether she had the courage and ability to persevere in such a complex environment.
Working in the reference room, Lan Tongtong had indeed envisioned, far removed from the hustle and bustle and direct pressure of the construction site. Her main daily tasks were organizing, filing, and copying drawings, change notices, acceptance records, and upcoming completion documents. While the work was tedious and required immense patience and meticulousness, the environment was relatively simple, eliminating the need for complex negotiations with the construction team.
Because the document room needed to frequently connect with the Director's Office—submitting drawings for review, submitting materials for inspection, retrieving approval documents, etc.—Lan Tongtong's visits to the Director's Office increased significantly, which inevitably brought her into contact with Liu Feng again.
After being assigned to the General Manager's Office, Liu Feng was primarily responsible for clerical duties like receiving, registering, and filing documents. He lost the clout of his former on-site supervisor, but he was happy with his free time. He still had that carefree demeanor, but he'd become much more restrained.
When Lan Tongtong first ran into Liu Feng in the corridor of the director's office, her heart suddenly tightened and she subconsciously wanted to avoid him. But Liu Feng took the initiative to greet her, and even forced a smile on his face that was not really friendly:
"Hey, Lan Gong? I heard you got a promotion and transferred back to the data room? That's great. For a girl, sitting in an office is better than being exposed to the wind and sun on a construction site."
His tone was filled with an indescribable teasing, and it was hard to tell whether it was sincere or sarcastic. Lan Tongtong responded vaguely and walked away quickly.
After that, due to work needs, she had to go to Liu Feng's office frequently to submit or retrieve documents. Every contact made Lan Tongtong feel very uncomfortable.
Although Liu Feng no longer deliberately gave her a hard time like before, his attitude was always ambiguous. Sometimes he would delay giving her the documents she was looking for, slowly flipping through the registration book, muttering, "Don't worry, I need to check everything." Sometimes, while she was waiting, he would deliberately chat loudly with other colleagues about some "interesting things" on the construction site, his words occasionally interspersed with sarcasm towards the construction company or certain technicians, his eyes intentionally or unintentionally glancing at Lan Tongtong. Occasionally, he would ask in a seemingly casual tone, "Lan, are you used to being in the data room? It's much easier than dealing with those rough guys in the beam yard, right?"
These words were like tiny, soft thorns, not fatal, but piercing and uncomfortable. Lan Tongtong knew that Liu Feng must still harbor resentment towards her, but the situation was different now. He didn't dare to retaliate openly, so he could only use this sarcastic tone to annoy her, reminding her of the unpleasant past and her current "desolation" in the archives.
Lan Tongtong always tried to remain calm, handle the business as usual, and leave immediately after finishing her work, not giving Liu Feng any more opportunities to shine. But the feeling of being on edge lingered. She felt like she was stepping into a quagmire where she had fallen before. Although the surface had dried up, every step would still leave her with a tainted and uncomfortable feeling.
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