Chapter 65: An Accident Occurred

In the coffee shop, Xia Xi ordered a hot hazelnut latte for herself; after one sip, her body warmed considerably.

She had just come out of the restroom when she ran into Zhang Wanli on the hallway; he seemed to have been waiting for her on purpose and solemnly invited her to have a coffee and chat. Not wanting to repeatedly refuse his face, she agreed.

Zhang Wanli glanced around; it was a weekday afternoon, before normal off‑hours, only a few customers were present, spaced far apart, so he didn't worry that their conversation would be overheard.

Seeing him so cautious, Xia Xi put away her casual mood and became more vigilant.

If Zhang Wanli still wanted to poach her to Present Cypress, there was no need to be so careful; he could have said it outright. Obviously, his purpose in summoning her was not that.

Zhang Wanli took a sip of black coffee and said, "Xia Gong, you should know I've always admired your ability; I've followed your works domestically for the past few years. I don't know why you seem so low‑key, not pursuing fame. Most designers who want to stand out will try every way to make their name known and attract more clients, but you do the opposite—many of your works are under different names; if I weren't paying special attention, I wouldn't have noticed."

Xia Xi clearly understood in her heart that these were not what he really wanted to say; he was merely laying groundwork.

As for why she stays low‑key, is it because she is indifferent to fame and fortune and doesn't want to be known?

Of course not.

She fears that if Xu Yanfeng discovers her whereabouts, it will shatter the peaceful life she has struggled to achieve.

It's also possible she's overthinking; after hurting Xu Yanfeng that way before, he might never have thought of looking for her. Even if he did search, that person would have blocked him.

No matter what, being cautious is never wrong.

Xia Xi naturally wouldn't explain these to an outsider like Zhang Wanli; she gave a light smile and casually lied, "It's just a personal choice—I prefer to focus on design itself and can't handle all those trivial matters."

"Haha, I just appreciate that about you!" Zhang Wanli set his coffee cup on its saucer, interlaced his fingers, and looked at her as he spoke slowly, "To be frank with you, this circle in Nancheng is still different from abroad; you chose Broad and Elegant, I won't say anything, but for this Xu Clan Group project, Present Cypress has been eyeing it for over half a year. I hope you can see the situation clearly and join us."

Xia Xi tilted her head, seeming not to understand: "I'm a designer at Broad and Elegant—how could I join you? Deputy General Manager Zhang, I don't get it."

"No beating around the bush, Xia Gong—I have confidence in you; a plan led by you will surely shine. I'm very interested in this proposal; you can set any terms, and I'll meet whatever I can. What do you think?"

Having said that clearly, Xia Xi finally felt the fog lift.

The reason Zhang Wanli specially summoned her was to get her to hand over the competition proposal through him, after which he would promise her some benefits, unbeknownst to gods or ghosts.

Xia Xi shook her head and gave a quiet laugh; Zhang Wanli overestimated her. With so many design firms entering the competition, what makes him think she could win? Moreover, this draft mainly came from Gao Ge; strictly speaking, it isn't her work, although she is indeed the head of the design team.

Seeing her shake her head, Zhang Wanli's expression turned slightly odd, displeased: "You disagree? Xia Gong, no matter how lofty one is, one must bow to reality; the backgrounds of Broad and Elegant and Present Cypress are worlds apart, you'll eventually regret your original decision. Why don't you understand? I'm giving you a way out now—my words are always valid; you can come to Present Cypress anytime, and I'll give you the highest salary grade."

Xia Xi had been smirking earlier, but after hearing him finish, she genuinely curled the corners of her mouth.

"Deputy General Manager Zhang, do you lack confidence in Present Cypress that much? Knowing full well the gap between Broad and Elegant and Present Cypress, you still come to bribe me."

Zhang Wanli seemed at a loss for words, his face darkening a little; he suppressed his anger and continued to persuade: "Xia Xi, I hope you give this serious thought. Our cooperation this time can be seen as paving the way for your future entry into Present Cypress."

Xia Xi couldn't even down her fragrant coffee: "Don't bother advising me—different paths, no plot together. That's that."

She pulled out her wallet from her bag—she rarely uses cash and had no change—took out a 100‑yuan bill and placed it on the table: "I'll get the coffee; drink slowly, I'm leaving first."

Xia Xi rose and left the coffee shop, not noticing Zhang Wanli's gaze turn sinister in an instant. Looking at that red bill, Zhang Wanli was genuinely furious—young people are just short‑sighted; they refuse a toast and insist on drinking the penalty.

Xia Xi stepped out, wrapped a scarf around herself, hailed a taxi, and told the driver the address: "To Lanting Bay Residential Area, thank you."

She watched the sky darken outside the window, recalling the conversation with Zhang Wanli, and a sly smile crept onto her lips—she wondered what he was thinking; bribing her would be less effective than bribing the voting judges.

Present Cypress is an old‑hand design firm; it ought to have deeper foundations than newly started small companies. Who would have thought its interior is rotten, having long forgotten its original aspirations, actually playing such tricks behind the scenes—truly despicable.

Fortunately, she wasn't swayed by Zhang Wanli back then to go work for Present Cypress.

*The next morning, the Broad and Elegant team arrived again at Junrui Hotel.

Some out‑of‑town teams stayed at the hotel that night, while the local ones could go home to rest; anyway, the company arranged shuttle service, which was quite convenient.

In the afternoon it was Broad and Elegant's turn to present; everyone's mind was on their own team, so during the morning when they observed others, they weren't fully focused.

Xia Xi, however, had been watching attentively. This morning Xu Yanfeng didn't show up; the Xu Clan sent another person in charge to preside over the proceedings. As the authority figure, Xu Yanfeng certainly manages more than just this project; being able to make a cameo yesterday was already good—he couldn't possibly stay the whole time.

"Next is the proposal from Present Cypress Design Company—"

After the host's introduction, the Present Cypress representative took the stage with a USB drive, lowered his head to operate it, and the projector displayed their design draft. When the three bolded characters "Commercialization" leapt out, Broad and Elegant's colleagues were stunned.

"This… this… how could it be the same as our idea?" They told themselves to stay calm; with so many companies entering the competition, overlapping concepts are normal, and it's happened before—if the final renderings differ, there's no issue.

The tension hadn't yet eased when an accident occurred.

Those drawings were identical to Broad and Elegant's design drafts down to the very lines, with no deviation.

This is their Broad and Elegant plan!

How could this happen? Every member of the Broad and Elegant design team was shocked, looking at each other, none understanding where the problem lay.

Xia Xi had originally been sitting with her legs crossed, left hand propping her right elbow, fingers touching her chin, looking relaxed; a few seconds later she sensed something was off, straightened up, stared wide‑eyed, just as shocked as the others.

She had clearly not agreed to Zhang Wanli's deal, so why did Present Cypress obtain Broad and Elegant's design draft?

Could it be… that Zhang Wanli, besides approaching her, also contacted others?

Xia Xi turned her head, scanning her colleagues' faces one by one; the full design scheme existed only in the hands of a few of them—who had betrayed the team, who had sold out the company?

Zhang Wanli rubbed his fingertips, tilted his body slightly to better watch the panicked expressions of the Broad and Elegant designers—especially Xia Xi, whose bewildered look was truly laughable.

Xia Xi swept her gaze over the team members, as if recalling something, then looked toward Zhang Wanli, who stood a few meters away.

Zhang Wanli sat steady; when she looked his way, he raised an eyebrow, gave a meaningful smile, lifted the cup on the table, offered a remote toast, then took a slow sip.

Gao Ge happened to witness this scene, his face darkening as black as a pot bottom.

(End of chapter)