Chapter 18 New Project She has made up her mind to have nothing more to do with Gu Qingyan...
Lin Yuwei sighed deeply and started the car. She had attracted so many passersby along the way, and Gu Qingyan was the only witness to her vanity, willfulness, and cruelty. Thinking about it this way, his current one-sided view of himself seemed to be understandable.
Forget it, let bygones be bygones. The matter of the auctioned items is settled, and there will probably be no more entanglement between her and Gu Qingyan. The innocent are innocent, and how he sees her is no longer important.
The next day, she unexpectedly received an express package. Inside was a stack of documents signed by Gu Qingyan. The handover of "The Thorn Birds" proceeded very smoothly afterward. Gu Qingyan made no further troublesome moves, and the 2 million yuan was fully received a week later.
Lin Yuwei hadn't expected things to develop this way. After thinking it over, she sent Gu Qingyan a thank-you text message. There was no reply. She looked at the slowly falling leaves outside the window and thought that this should be the most perfect ending to this past event.
For the next month, Lin Yuwei devoted all her energy to the preparation of the art biennial. The exhibition was a great success, and her studio became even more famous as a result. She signed several high-quality clients in succession, and the operation gradually got on track.
Amidst her busy schedule, Lin Yuwei had to consider expanding her team. On the day of the job fair, Zhou Xubai accompanied her. On the way back, looking at the man who had been silently helping her, Lin Yuwei suddenly said, "Xubai, why don't you come to my company part-time as a consultant? You come to help every now and then, and I feel bad about it. I'll offer you a salary. Although you may not care about the money, it will make me feel better."
Zhou Xubai glanced at her, a gentle smile curving his lips: "Okay, I'd be happy to serve Boss Lin, but it's a deal, you can't shoulder any difficulties alone in the future. I can't just take your salary for nothing."
Lin Yuwei's office was spacious and well-lit. She had a desk added near the window. Zhou Xubai arrived the next day with his laptop and several thick art books.
From then on, he would come almost every day, sometimes to handle his own work, sometimes to help her review contracts and talk to clients. He sat there, quiet and reliable, like a steady tree, with sunlight filtering through the blinds and casting clear shadows on him.
Lin Yuwei occasionally looked up from her sketches and saw Zhou Xubai's focused profile. In that desolate place in her heart, a ray of warm sunshine seemed to finally shine in. She knew that the unbearable past could not be easily erased, but a brand new future might begin here.
****
Morning light streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting warm dappled patterns on the terrazzo floor of the Shiguang Studio. Lin Yuwei stood in front of the design table, her fingertips gently tapping on the newly completed concept sketch, her brows slightly furrowed as she scrutinized every detail.
"Weiwei, what do you think of this color scheme?" Zhou Xubai's voice came from behind. Today he was wearing a dark gray haute couture suit, which made his figure look even more upright, but he did not lose his casual artist temperament. He was holding two color schemes for her to choose from.
Lin Yuwei turned around and took the color swatches he handed her: "Both of these tones are too cold. Projects with mainly traditional elements need a warmer feel." Instead of deciding between the two options Zhou Xubai gave her, she picked out another color scheme: "This ochre color scheme might be more suitable. It has both a traditional sense of weight and a modern feel. What do you think?"
Zhou Xubai leaned closer to examine her closely and nodded slightly: "Indeed, you are the most professional." Standing beside her, he only needed to lower his head slightly to smell the fragrance of her soft hair.
Just then, the glass door of the studio was pushed open, and Assistant Xiao Li rushed in: "Teacher Lin, Mr. Zhou, the Cultural Bureau called! They said they have an important project they want to discuss with us and would like to invite you to lunch in advance to talk about the project details."
Lin Yuwei and Zhou Xubai exchanged a glance, both surprised and delighted. The fact that Director Zhang had personally invited them to meet indicated the high importance of this project in the city. Zhou Xubai smiled slightly: "It seems our presentation at the art biennial last month had an effect. I've also heard these past few days that the local cultural bureau wants to build a cultural corridor related to intangible cultural heritage, which is most likely why they contacted us today."
Lunch was arranged at an elegant Jiangnan restaurant. Director Zhang was a middle-aged man in his early forties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, who looked shrewd and capable yet possessed a scholarly air.
"I've been following Ms. Lin's work online for a long time." After exchanging pleasantries, Director Zhang got straight to the point: "Especially that series of works called 'Time Stitches,' which combines traditional embroidery with modern lighting techniques, has won many awards both at home and abroad, hasn't it?"
Lin Yuwei was somewhat surprised: "Director Zhang knows about this work?" This work is one of her earlier works. Although it has won some awards, many people do not know about "Time Needle" because it was published earlier and her later works are more popular.
"I know more than I do," Director Zhang said with a smile. "When we were planning this project, we were looking for a team that could perfectly combine tradition and modernity. Your work really impressed us, especially your ability to bring traditional culture to life."
He opened his tablet and showed the project plan: "We plan to create an immersive cultural experience space centered on Longquan wood carving, which will not only showcase traditional craftsmanship but also attract young people."
“Young people today often have a superficial understanding of traditional culture, regarding it as outdated relics. Over time, much of traditional culture will be lost,” Director Zhang continued. “We need to use technological means to help them truly understand and fall in love with traditional culture, which requires an art team that understands both tradition and modernity.”
Zhou Xubai chimed in at the opportune moment: "That is precisely Professor Lin's strength. Her work in London perfectly balanced these two aspects and received great acclaim."
“Yes, that’s why Ms. Lin was the first person we thought of.” Director Zhang pointed earnestly to the project proposal on the tablet and said, “This is our project proposal. According to the initial plan, we intend to set up a VR experience area here, where visitors can virtually experience the carving process. This is a digital interactive wall that uses motion capture technology to recreate the carving movements of master craftsmen…”
Lin Yuwei listened with increasing focus, as this was precisely the area she was interested in and relatively good at.
"Finally," Director Zhang emphasized, "to make young people feel that traditional culture is 'cool,' the use of technology is crucial." He paused here, "We have already found a local technology company to provide technical support; they have a lot of experience in the field of digital display."
Lin Yuwei's heart tightened suddenly. A local tech company... could it be Gu Qingyan's Qichen Technology? She had already made up her mind to have no more contact with Gu Qingyan. If it was Qichen Technology, she might choose to abandon this project...
"I wonder which company it is?" She tried to keep her voice calm and natural.
“ZhiChuang Interconnected, I wonder if Ms. Lin and Mr. Zhou have heard of it?” Director Zhang said, “Although it’s not a large-scale project, it has done a few good projects.”
Lin Yuwei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing it wasn't Venustech. However, she had never heard of this Smart Innovation Interconnection before, and the unease in her heart had not yet dissipated.
Seeing that Lin Yuwei had not expressed her opinion, Zhou Xubai immediately took over the conversation: "I have heard some things about them. I believe that under Director Zhang's supervision, they must have undergone strict screening. We look forward to cooperating with them."
Director Zhang nodded in satisfaction: "That's good. This project is a key project this year, and every aspect is under strict control. You don't need to feel too much pressure. Art is about boldly unleashing your creativity and imagination. Leave the implementation to the technical team."
Lunch ended in a pleasant atmosphere. Back in the car, Zhou Xubai asked softly, "When we talked about tech companies earlier, you seemed a little hesitant? Would you like me to help you investigate?"
Lin Yuwei immediately shook her head: "No need to trouble yourself. Since it was Director Zhang who chose it, there shouldn't be any problem." After all, it was just her personal intuition that she was worried, and Lin Yuwei didn't want to trouble Zhou Xubai too much, especially since it involved things that might be related to Gu Qingyan.
Zhou Xubai considerately did not insist: "Okay, then let me know if you need anything."
Back in the studio, Lin Yuwei received project materials from Director Zhang and immediately convened a team meeting. The project materials sent by Director Zhang were very detailed, and everyone on the team was eager to try them out.
"This is so interesting! This is exactly the project we wanted to do!" Xiaoyu, the design team leader, said excitedly.
“The VR experience could be made more immersive,” suggested UI designer Li Xiao. “For example, we could add haptic feedback so that visitors can ‘feel’ the changes in the carving’s pressure.”
Seeing the team members' enthusiasm for the project, Lin Yuwei's anxiety eased slightly. After the meeting, she kept her assistant, Xiao Li, behind.
"Xiao Li, could you privately investigate the background of Zhichuang Internet?" She lowered her voice, "especially whether it has any connections with other large technology companies, such as Qichen Technology. Don't make this public, and don't reveal it to Mr. Zhou either."
Although Xiao Li was a little confused, he immediately agreed: "Understood, Teacher Lin, I'll take care of it right away."
****
In the president's office of Venustech, Gu Qingyan was staring intently at the bidding announcement from the Cultural Bureau on his computer screen. The screen displayed the "Announcement of Winning Bid for the Intangible Cultural Heritage Corridor Project," and the name of Zhichuang Interconnect stood out starkly.
"Boss, why aren't you off work this late?" Vice President Lu Ming peeked in, paused for a moment after seeing the computer screen, and said, "Isn't this the cultural corridor project? I remember you said you wouldn't participate in the bidding, so why are you working overtime on it now?"
Gu Qingyan quickly switched pages, her tone indifferent: "Just browsing. We can't just bury ourselves in work. Industry trends are also important. It's just a bit of a surprise that Zhichuang Internet won the bid."
Lu Ming raised an eyebrow: "What? Is there something wrong with this company?"
"I heard they took on several big projects at the same time, so their cash flow might be a bit tight." Gu Qingyan brushed it off lightly: "Since they were chosen in the end, there must have been a reason for choosing them."
Lu Ming looked at him thoughtfully: "You seem to be paying special attention to projects in the city lately?"
"No, right?" Gu Qingyan stood up, picked up her coat, and said, "Let's not talk about work anymore. Let's go, I'll treat you to a late-night snack."
Lu Ming smiled and followed, "Okay, I am indeed a bit hungry at this time, let's go."
Meanwhile, in the Shiguang Studio, a short phone notification sounded. Lin Yuwei, who was working late into the night at her design desk, picked up her phone, unlocked the screen, and saw an anonymous text message: "Choose your technical partners carefully."
This was the third text message she'd received tonight. She called back, but the number was still disconnected. Who could be sending her such a message? Lin Yuwei frowned, the name she'd lost contact with for so long surfacing in her mind…
Is that you? Gu Qingyan.
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Author's note: Sigh, both sides have decided to cut off all contact...
this……
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