New opportunities
As Zhong Hua stuffed the last document into his briefcase, it was already dark outside the glass curtain wall. The revolving doors of the office building lobby were constantly shuttling in and out people returning home late. He glanced up at the digital clock on the wall; the hands were pointing to 9:30 p.m.
This is his fifth year at Qixing Design. From a newbie who spent ages figuring out how to use a printer when he first joined the company, to a project leader who can now work independently, the coffee stains in his desk drawer bear witness to countless nights of overtime.
"Team Leader Zhong hasn't left yet?" The receptionist, carrying a folder, walked by and waved at him with a smile. "Director Wang said he wants you to go to his office first thing tomorrow morning. It seems like there's something good."
Zhong Hua's heart skipped a beat, but he only replied, "I understand." Recently, the company was bidding for the planning project of the science and technology park in the east of the city. It is said that the opponent is the top "Zhumeng Design" in the industry. Director Wang has been so worried that several of his hairs have turned white these past few days.
The next morning, Zhong Hua arrived at the company half an hour early. He took a deep breath at the door of Director Wang's office, and heard suppressed coughing coming from inside. When he pushed open the door, he saw Director Wang rubbing his temples in front of the computer screen, with a thick stack of drawings piled on the corner of the desk.
"Zhong Hua is here, please have a seat." Director Wang gestured to the chair opposite him, his eyes showing a hint of fatigue but unable to hide his excitement. "We won the bid for that project in the east of the city."
Zhong Hua looked up abruptly, nearly dropping the documents in his hand. He had been involved in the entire design process and knew how many sleepless nights the team had spent working on this project, revising the drawings seventeen times.
"Furthermore," Director Wang changed the subject, handing over an appointment letter, "the company has decided that you will be the chief person in charge of this project."
Sunlight streamed through the blinds and fell on the appointment letter, the words "Chief Person in Charge" stinging Zhong Hua's eyes. He recalled how, three years ago, when he lost the bid, Director Wang patted him on the shoulder and said, "Young man, there will always be opportunities." At that time, he clutched the rejected proposal, his fingernails almost digging into his palm.
"Thank you for your trust, Director." Zhong Hua's voice trembled slightly.
“But there’s something I need to make clear to you.” Director Wang’s expression turned serious. “Zhang, the general manager of Zhumeng, called me yesterday and said that although they didn’t win the bid, they are willing to send a team to cooperate with us, on the condition that… their chief designer, Lin Wei, will serve as the co-head.”
Zhong Hua was stunned. Lin Wei's name was well-known in the industry; her design for the Riverside Art Center won an international award last year and she was known for her bold and avant-garde style. But he had heard that she had a terrible temper, and there was even a report recently that she had slammed her fist on the table with her collaborator because of a disagreement over ideas.
“I know this is a challenge for you,” Director Wang sighed, “but this collaboration is crucial to the company, and… Lin Wei is indeed talented.”
Zhong Hua's fingertips turned white as he gripped the appointment letter. He could imagine that the days to come would be anything but easy.
Sure enough, Lin Wei gave him a hard time on her first day at the project team. In the meeting room, she threw the preliminary design drawings that Zhong Hua's team had worked on for three consecutive nights on the table, her tone full of undisguised contempt: "This kind of conservative design is completely inconsistent with the positioning of the science park."
The young designers on the project team were stunned. Xiao Zhou, a newly hired intern, blushed bright red. Several of those drawings were ones he had stayed up all night to create.
"What brilliant ideas does Designer Lin have?" Zhong Huaqiang suppressed his anger and pointed to the whiteboard. "Why don't you share your thoughts?"
Lin Wei walked to the whiteboard, picked up a marker, and started drawing. Her lines were sharp and decisive, and she quickly sketched out the outline of a spiraling building: "A science park should have a futuristic feel, breaking away from the traditional square structure so that each floor can offer a different view."
The conference room was completely silent. Zhong Hua had to admit that Lin Wei's idea was indeed brilliant, but this design would not only increase costs by 30%, but also be extremely difficult to construct.
"What about the cost and construction period?" Zhong Hua asked.
“We can apply for additional costs, and the construction period can be extended.” Lin Wei turned around, her eyes sharp as knives. “Design is not a math problem; you can’t just look at the numbers.”
“But the client clearly requires completion within six months,” Zhong Hua argued, “We have to be responsible to our client.”
"Being responsible to our clients means giving them the best design," Lin Wei insisted.
The two argued for the entire morning, finally parting on bad terms. During lunch break, Xiao Zhou secretly said to Zhong Hua, "Brother Zhong, why don't we talk to the director about this? It's impossible to work with her like this."
Zhong Hua looked out the window; the traffic below resembled flowing blocks of color. He recalled what Director Wang had said yesterday: "A true strong person is not one who can defeat all opponents, but one who can cooperate with different people."
"Wait a little longer." Zhong Hua patted Xiao Zhou on the shoulder. "This afternoon, let's make a cost budget based on her ideas."
In the days that followed, the project team found themselves in a strange balance. Zhong Hua and Lin Wei argued about design details every day, sometimes even spilling their arguments into the hallway outside the office. But strangely, after each argument, the design would always improve—Zhong Hua's meticulousness balanced Lin Wei's radicalism, and Lin Wei's creativity broke through Zhong Hua's rigid thinking.
One night, Zhong Hua was working late when he ran into Lin Wei in the break room. She was sighing at her phone screen, which showed a picture of a little boy smiling and revealing two cute little tiger teeth.
“My son is three years old.” Lin Wei noticed his gaze and awkwardly put away her phone. “The reason I came here for this collaboration is actually to be closer to him.”
Zhong Hua was stunned. He had always thought Lin Wei was the kind of career woman who only cared about her work.
"I apologize for being too harsh in the meeting room last time." Lin Wei stirred her coffee with her head down, her voice much softer than usual. "I just... really wanted to achieve something."
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