Chapter 62: with translation of chapter title

The greenery in the residential area turned from green to yellow, then withered—it was nothing more than a two-month matter.

When she went out in the morning, Xia Xi shrank from the cold wind blowing in her face, pulled up her scarf to cover her mouth and nose. Looking at the bare branches of the big tree, she suddenly recalled the confrontation she and Xu Yanfeng had in the car two months earlier.

She was so close, really so close, to blurting out the truth under his gaze.

Su Jinru called; the sudden clear ringtone made her instantly sober, no longer lost in Xu Yanfeng's gaze. She answered the phone and heard her mother say that Xuanxuan would be discharged the next day.

After hanging up, she told Xu Yanfeng, "I haven't hidden anything from you."

Regarding the encrypted photo album, she insisted it was kept merely as a memento, not indicating any lingering feelings for him—so stop pestering her. Let her go……

The last sentence had a double meaning: it meant for her to get out of the car, and also for him to let her go completely.

Xu Yanfeng always hid his emotions, but at the moment her words fell, she clearly saw disappointment slowly rising in his eyes—a utter disappointment toward her.

Xu Yanfeng gave an order; the car pulled over at the roadside. Afraid she might change her mind, Xia Xi opened the door without hesitation, stepped out, and walked away step by step without looking back.

Afterward, Xu Yanfeng flew abroad on business; she worked routine and reported progress to him.

When she sent over the renovation budget sheet, he replied in one sentence: "Don't bother saving me money—use the best materials for all the renovation."

That sentence saved Xia Xi a lot of trouble.

The renovation budget is the easiest place to clash with clients; before she had encountered a client who gave a 200,000 budget but demanded a 2,000,000 effect, making her lose hair every day.

A few days later, Xia Xi sent him another renovation process form, asking whether he would find the construction team himself or leave it to her to handle.

Xu Yanfeng's reply remained simple: "You handle it."

Having his approval, work began the next day; during this period Xu Yanfeng completely acted as a hands-off boss, not inquiring about purchases of bathroom fixtures, tiles, bay window stone, wooden flooring, etc., only saying to follow her aesthetic.

Xia Xi felt a bit worried, thinking that a client too easy to talk to wasn't necessarily a good thing.

If everything followed her taste, what if the client didn't like it after it was done? She seriously raised this issue with Xu Yanfeng, but he said it didn't matter.

In a blink, two months passed; the villa renovation was more than halfway done, with the basic construction—i. e., the "hard finish" stage—already fully completed. All that remained was the installation stage, requiring only timely inspections. She had chosen only well-reputed big-brand custom manufacturers, so quality would not be an issue.

Recently, the Xu Clan Group's Jingyu Yuan project spread within the industry—a holiday hotel completed less than half a year ago, said to be high-end, still undecorated, prompting many design firms to act, hoping to connect with the Xu Clan.

This is the project Lu Mingji previously mentioned to Xia Xi.

Lu Mingji has been busy lately, running around, socializing nonstop, contacting various connections to probe the Xu Clan's upper management, but to no avail.

This Monday, Lu Mingji said in advance that they would hold a meeting this morning to discuss the matter.

Xia Xi lent her car to Liang Yuan yesterday; this morning she took the subway to work. Her grandmother felt unwell in the morning, so she delayed a bit, arriving at the company just in time for the start of work.

The office had the air conditioning on; she untied her scarf, sat at her desk, and took a breath.

Half an hour later, Huang Shiyu came over to remind her of the meeting.

Xia Xi had already recovered; she grabbed her laptop and thermos and headed to the meeting room, randomly took an empty seat, looked up, and saw Gao Ge sitting directly opposite her.

Gao Ge glanced at her lightly, pen in hand, casually sketching a few lines in his notebook.

When everyone had arrived, Lu Mingji began explaining the Jingyu Yuan project and asked for everyone's ideas.

Gao Ge responded quickly, with implied meaning: "What ideas could we have? We're just salaried workers—how could we possibly reach the Xu Clan?"

Xia Xi unscrewed her thermos and took a sip of water; her throat had been uncomfortable the night before, she had coughed twice, and before leaving Su Jinru had prepared a cup of rock sugar pear soup for her. Hearing Gao Ge's words, she had a premonition. As expected, just after she swallowed the soup, Gao Ge glanced at her and, with a deep smile, suggested: "Let Xia Gong give it a try—last time we saw her riding in Xu Clan CEO Xu Yanfeng's car; she must be close to Xu Zong, so why not have Xia Gong just ask Xu Zong directly?"

She deliberately emphasized the pronunciation of the four words "close relationship".

Everyone looked at Xia Xi; some among them had also seen her in Xu Zong's car, which could prove Gao Ge's words were not slander.

Xia Xi calmly set down her cup, gave a soft cough, and before she could speak, Lu Mingji warned: "Gao Ge, this is a meeting."

Lu Mingji usually treated his subordinates leniently, rarely harsh; seeing him seem angry, Gao Ge dared not provoke further, lowered his head, pretended to take notes, though his expression showed some discontent.

Everyone else was discussing, while Xia Xi remained silent, picked up the phone on the desk as if sneaking a game in class, placed both hands holding the phone under the table, eyes downcast, her thick lashes casting a faint shadow on her face.

Gao Ge's words actually gave her an idea—she could go ask Xu Yanfeng.

It's all for work. She told herself.

She opened Xu Yanfeng's WeChat avatar; the chat lingered from three days ago, when she had asked him about the dimensions of the custom cabinets, and as usual he was terse, replying with just two words: "As you wish."

Xia Xi pressed her finger on the screen, swiping back and forth, browsing their chat history; from the few words she could sense that Xu Yanfeng's recent mood was very calm, unusually so.

Perhaps the conversation in the car last time had been weighing on his mind.

After killing some time, Xia Xi's thoughts returned to normal, and she typed out a message and sent it.

Xia Xi: "Does the Xu Clan have a confirmed design company for the Jingyu Yuan project?"

Xu Yanfeng: "?"

Xu Yanfeng: "Can't you beat around the bush a bit? Why ask so directly?"

Upon receiving his reply, Xia Xi lifted her gaze, glanced at the message she had just sent, and felt it was a bit stiff, lacking even basic pleasantries and courtesy.

Xia Xi promptly apologized: "Sorry. If it's inconvenient to say, just forget it; pretend I never asked. Sorry for the bother."

Is that polite enough?

Xu Yanfeng: "It's really inconvenient."

Xu Yanfeng: "Who let you be renovating my villa? That counts for some acquaintance, so I can let you in on a little."

He didn't mention the past at all, only citing the acquaintance from her renovating his villa. Xia Xi's eyes flickered.

Xu Yanfeng: "The company held a meeting and discussed it; they decided on an open design competition, with senior management voting to select the design firm with the most votes to cooperate with."

Xia Xi raised her eyebrows; this fit a businessman's nature. An open design competition yields many drafts for free, from which a satisfactory one can be chosen for collaboration, after which design fees are paid. If they had initially designated a single design firm, the final scheme might not satisfy the Xu Clan, wasting both time and money.

This approach actually benefits the participating design firms as well—it's fair and just, giving everyone a chance.

In the meeting room, everyone was discussing heatedly; Xia Xi's silence stood out, and Lu Mingji looked at her, calling on her: "Xia Gong, do you have nothing to say?"

Xia Xi locked her phone, placed it upside-down on the desk, cleared her throat, and said: "No need to think about how to connect with the Xu Clan; since they're using an open design competition, we should first think about how to devise a distinctive plan to move them."

Lu Mingji blinked, then quickly asked: "You're sure?"

Xia Xi: "Sure."

(End of chapter)