Assistant Architect

Assistant Architect by Xi He Qing Ling

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Zhang Siyi was so ecstaticthat his hair was on end. After his self-confidence and self-esteem have been consistentlychallenged these last few months doing tasks under the extremely demandingsupervision of Gu Yu, has he now gained some sympathy?

Therefore, Zhang Siyi was soflattered at this moment, he jumped out of his seat and quickly grabbed a penand notepad, headed over to his office and prepared to listen to Gu Yu'steachings. At the same time, he feels that he is no longer a draftsman, but areal designer! He leaned in to listen intently.

Gu Yu said: “Before youdo residential planning, you must first forget that you are a designer.”

Zhang Siyi: “???”

Gu Yu explains: "Currentlyin China, it is not the design ideas, but the regulations, market demand anddevelopment profits that determine the appearance of the house. The planning ofthe house is based on the comprehensive consideration of regulations, firecodes, traffic flow, floor area ratio, the combination of cash flow, turnover,marketing and other issues, in short, this is a logical mathematicalproblem.”

Zhang Siyi's face is blank. Thisseems to be a little different from his imagination!

Gu Xiao paused and asked,“Are you okay with math?”

Zhang Siyi: “It’s verygood…”.

“Okay, let’scontinue,” Gu Yu nodded and glanced at the section of the plan that theyhad already done. Then, “The directors of the planning board of Z Cityonly provided an outline for the plan, scope, and purpose. Since it isn't afinal plot construction plan, it does not specifically address variousfunctions with detailed indicators, so we must come up with answers based onthe local statistics bureau on the new district’s demographics such aspopulation growth rate, local residential style, planning height control, etc. Areasonable indicator will make the subsequent arrangement look morereliable.”

Clasping a pen and wideeyed, Zhang Siyi has been knocked unconscious by this string of nouns. He wantsto take notes, but he doesn't know what variables to write.

In advanced, Gu Yu gatheredthe data necessary for calculations. He calmly brought out a calculator, ablank sheet of paper, and pen and in front of Zhang Siyi, quickly began to lista string of values. He handed the paper to Zhang Siyi and said: "These figuresset up the rules of the game. You make arrangements and combinations to playthe game."

Zhang Siyi: "………"

“Similar to the parkinglot planning from before, residential planning is not about starting with thebuilding alone. One must start from the flow of traffic on the roadways anddetermine the main entrance, internal axis, road traffic, etc.…… Gu Yu took oneof the plots as an example. He picked up a pen and draw on the side of the map."The difference between them are that the parking spaces are mostly fixed 3meters by 6 meters whereas the houses have more variables like heightrequirements. There are lighting requirements as well, but the principle isexactly the same no matter if the content changes."

After drawing the roadnetwork, he pulled open the drawer and grabbed a small homemade plasticbuilding block from inside. He said: “We assume that this is the size of asingle-family house.”

It is like a special planfor the same scale. The building blocks are just the size of the house. Gu Yuput them one by one on the map and quickly draw a decent picture of the house.

Zhang Siyi is simply stupid.In a project that he sounds so complicated, it seems like playtime for Gu Yu.At the rate he was drawing, it looked like he could finish the whole area intwenty minutes!

“Do youunderstand?” Gu Yu looked at him. “If you don't have any morequestions, go try and draw."

Zhang Siyi seems tounderstand and nod his head and go out. It is not that he has no problem, buthe does not know what questions he can ask. Outside the office, the pizzas thatwere ordered have been delivered and the entire office is filled with a richcheesy scent.

“Four! Come and eat!Supreme seafood is being robbed!” Bi Lele screamed at him with a pizza. ZhangSiyi put down his notebook with no words and the sheet of statistics that Gu Yuwrote to rush and grab the pizza.

Already seven o’clock, morethan half of the group is still there. Due to the refinement plan, even theoriginal non-project team Du Rui and Lu Qiao were temporarily transferred. Althoughit is overtime, the office staff are full of enthusiasm. Without complaints,the transfer has invigorated the group and the good mood is very infectious.

Everyone is talking about thesimilarities between B Group and H Design Institute plans. People are guessing whetherthere is a spy in the company. It's a conspiracy.

“Impossible! H DesignInstitute is a large-scale business. With such capabilities, they don't need toengage in low means to prevent the small firms like Borderless to compete on abid."

"The element of a cityflower is inherently easy to think of…."

“…but the elements havedifferent usages. Does it include a flower pattern?”

“This is not clear…”

After listening to a fewpeople, Zhang Siyi was worried: “If the plan of the Design Institute isreally similar to B Group, will we have a chance of winning? A group plan hasalready been smashed once by B Group's plan. If the Design Institute's plan iseven better then our Group B, then when it comes time to put it on the table,would it even be a contender?"

Everyone is somewhat silent.Ji Feiyu promptly encourages everyone: “Gu Yu said, since it is done, wemust believe that our plan is the best, although the total effect is notdazzling, but our content is very rich!”

Zhu Hongzhen also said:“Yes, those who are not allowed to be the city government are real-handed,we still have a good chance.”

A few simple words havesuddenly stimulated everyone's confidence. Zhang Siyi shoved the last bites ofpizza in his mouth and with a purposeful clap of his hands, he psyched himselfup to tackle his house planning problems.

Everyone was about to startwork. Du Rui suddenly looked at Gu's office and asked: "Has the boss had anyfood?"

Zhang Siyi stunned, indeed,it was almost eight o’clock, and Gu Yu had not come out of his office since thetime he was inside.

Bi Lele saw a few pieces ofpizza on the table and didn’t finish eating. She blinked at Du Rui and said, "Gogive a few pizzas to the boss!”

Blushing Du Rui had a thinface and shouted: “You do it.” Then she hurried back to her seat.

The task of delivering thepizza to Boss was handed to the position of Zhang Siyi, who was closest to GuYu's office.

Zhang Siyi walked to thedoor of Gu Yu's office with a box and heard the faint voices from inside. Hewas a bit unsure of whether or not to knock on the door, hesitating for twoseconds, there was a voice from Gu Yu: "Who? Come in.”

Zhang Siyi almost forgot,this door is frosted glass, even if he does not knock on the door, Gu Yu canalso see someone outside. He pushed in and saw Gu Wei standing by the windowwith his mobile phone, still talking on the phone –

“In short, this time I'llbe very busy and won't be back at night…." Gu Yu turned to look at Zhang Siyiand immediately said to the human on the phone. “Well, I know, I am goingto eat now, you should rest early. Good night.”

Zhang Siyi listened to theintimate tone of Gu Yu's speech, and the gossip cells in his mind started tobrew again - but not going home at night? Take some rest first? Gu Yu liveswith someone? girlfriend? Intimate people? Wife?

Zhang Siyi specially glancedat Gu Yu's right hand and saw that there was no ring on his ring finger. Could hebe in a relationship?

Zhang Siyi don’t know what tothink. Seeing Gu Yu hang up the phone, he instinctively blurted out: “Is thatyour girlfriend?” Perhaps it was because Gu Yu jokingly asked him if FuXinhui was his boyfriend, so he returned the question. But Gu Xiao took thephone, just looked at him and smiled then laughed.

Zhang Siyi： "……"

Gu Xiao looked directly atthe pizza box in Zhang Siyi’s hand and said, “Is this for me?"

Zhang Siyi felt perturbed,but he still replied honestly: “Well, since the group couldn't go out toeat, we used today’s bonus for pizza instead. Here are a few slices for you.”

Gu Xiao asked him to put iton the table and let him out. Zhang Si resolutely returned to his seat andclearly felt the difference in the number of paragraphs between himself and GuYu. …. ah! Why did he laugh? Is it by default? Why didn't he answer me?!

At 9:30 in the evening, theoffice is still brightly lit.

A few hours later, ZhangSiyi only slightly digested the data and rules that Gu Yu said, and finallybegan to draw the road network. He noticed the difference between the smoothroad network that Gu Yu drew in comparison to his own wavy work and sighed.Zhang Siyi was concentrating on his drawing that he didn't notice the top ofhis head was dark.

Looking at Zhang Siyi soabsorbed in what he was going, Gu Yu wasn't sure when to interrupt him. Heplaced one hand at his table and leaned over. With a slender finger he pointedtowards the edge of the screen. "This side".

Zhang Siyi wore headphones,intently drawing and suddenly caught by the person next to him. A hand appearedin front of him, pointing. Zhang Siyi practically jumped out of his seat,startled. He quickly took off the headset and looked at Gu Yu who was observinghim.

Gu Yu whispered in his ear,“Have you considered the road retreat?”

Zhang Siyi looked back atthe drawing with a red face and pointed to the Blue line he had drawn:“Well, this one.”

Gu Yu: “Very good butremember to draw red after the retreat.”

Zhang Siyi can only hear theloud thumping of his heart. Every time he is praised by Gu Yu, he is nevercalm. "I…, I painted a bit slow.” Zhang Siyi said.

Gu Yu: “Slow isirrelevant. As long as the ideas are right, all the conditions are consideredclearly, and the feelings are slowly conveyed. As they say, practice makesperfect.”

Slow doesn’t matter? Isn’ttime already very scarce? Seeing that others are doing things so fast, ZhangSiyi is afraid that he will drag everyone down!

Zhang Siyi: “There arestill nine days left. What do I do if I can’t finish drawing?”

Gu Yu calmly said: “Youwon't have a problem finishing. You have me."

Zhang Siyi "……" Crap. Thatsentence is so domineering! Zhang Siyi feels electrocuted. What to do! What todo! Ah, ~~!

Gu Yu left Zhang Siyi to histask and went to walk around the room to evaluate the progress of everyoneelse. He was very satisfied with the work everyone has completed thus far so helet everyone go back home for tonight. Work can continue tomorrow.

For the next few days, theproject team stayed at Borderless until 10 in the evening every night. Therefinement of the project is not only to refine the detailed level of the majorfunctional sections, but also to provide guidance on street space andarchitectural style as well as to arrange fine landscape planning andecological planning. The night lighting design of the whole district is even moredetailed as the design is derived from the shape of the iconic building in thecommercial center of the area. Finally, it will take a few days to make a fullset of 3D renderings for the company.

Because of the huge numberof tasks, more people are starting to work even later overtime hours. Gu Yu'sprinciple of doing things is "today's today". Generally, tasks assigned thatday are expected to be completed that day. If its not done, then it will causea delay for the next step which in turn would cause more accumulated delays.

Under the control of GuXiao, the overtime work of the crowd has been to the utmost minimum. The lightof hope remains in people's eyes. Even when everyone stayed up for a few nights,they are still motivated to continue as if the extra time working was nothing.

However, the four lounges inthe company aren't enough to house everyone. Many people bring their ownfolding beds and put them next to the desk. They can work until two or three inthe morning then sleep for three to four hours, then get up at six or seven inthe morning.

Under such a tightsituation, Zhang Siyi finally ushered in his first day and night in his career.

In fact, two days earlier,he was already working until midnight then going home and then arriving back atthe office by 8am the next day. Since Zhang Siyi lived close, he always wenthome to sleep better. Anyway, the taxi fare was also reimbursed by the company.

It was only in the last twodays that it was very urgent. Everyone counted the second hand. Even eating andgoing to the bathroom felt like a waste of time.

Zhang Siyi’s housing planhas been completed with the help of Gu Yu. He continued to act as a patch inthe later stages. He was so embarrassed to be idle that he made himselfavailable if needed, so he simply followed around everyone in the office theselast two nights.

Since the text was to bepresented in both Chinese and English, Zhang Siyi concentrated his efforts intotranslation. Originally, there was no international student in Group A. Theonly professional level English-speaking girl in the group felt overwhelmedevery time she was asked to translate because she had to juggle her designtasks with the pressure of also translating. Now with the help of Zhang Siyi,she is so happy that she is sobbing: “Four aunts Ah!” You’re themascot of our group!"

Zhang Siyi: “Aha?”When did he become a mascot?

The girl said: “You area good person, willing to help, and can build stuff!"

Zhang Siyi’s hands-onability is not only manifested in the pumpkin lantern. Half a month ago, the girlbought a bookshelf to assemble which Zhang Siyi helped with.

When studying abroad, ZhangSiyi’s design classes often require them to do manual models. The architecturedepartment is equipped with an oversized model studio with various sawmills,laser engraving machines, 3D printers and other model instruments… Zhang Siyidoesn’t like drawing pictures, but he likes to build them.

Fu Xinhui also said he wouldhave been a great carpenter in ancient times, but this skill did not seem to beparticularly useful to Zhang Siyi now.

First of all, from aprofessional point of view, computer software is now so developed, mostconstruction companies do not have the conditions and time to let the designer buildphysical models. Secondly, from the point of view of wooing a girl, this is notsomething to brag about.

When Zhang Siyi learned touse the engraving machine, he also used a cork to engrave a “ghost”in the studio and gave it to his ex-girlfriend. However, because the symbolicmeaning wasn't good, she didn't want it. Indeed, a piece of broken wood isbetter than a bag and a necklace? Even if you are looking for a blind date, themeaning of doing a manual model is not as great as the significance ofrepairing a water pipe.

Therefore, his advantage mayonly be slightly downgraded to medial tasks. His ability is highlighted whenbuying assembled furniture and making pumpkin lights.

The girl stood on the sideand watched the English on the keyboard without stopping. While continuing to talkabout him: “Good character, soft and cute, can laugh, take picturesbeautifully, and translate!”

Zhang Siyi: "……" Seemsto have mixed in some weird adjectives.……

She said with emotion:” It's no wonder that the Boss is so fond of you!"

Zhang Siyi: "……" Wait,where did she see that Gu Yu, uh, liked him? Don’t say it’s about the cactusagain?

“Hehe,” ZhangSiyi, laughing, “You must have got it wrong, he’s pretty much treats melike everyone else.”

The girl said: “No way!He gave you a cactus!”

Zhang Siyi: “…”Sure enough!

The girl said with a smile:“You also gave him your pumpkin lantern. It is still in the most prominentposition on his desk. Every time one goes to Gu Yu's office, they can see it. Giveand gave… you two are so ambiguous!”

Zhang Siyi listened with aface of constraint: “I think you are sure…… There’s something…… GotIt……. Wrong……."

The girl continued: “Ihaven’t made a mistake! We all think that the work is very special for you. Let’sgo to the office to think about the girl who gave the gift. Is there any giftfor his birthday? Yours! The pumpkin lantern is the first one to be put ondisplay!”

Zhang Siyi: “But it’sjust a pumpkin lantern, it’s not worth it.”

The girl looked at him witha “you won't understand it anyway” expression on her face.

Zhang Siyi paused and asked:“When is Gu Yu's birthday?”

The girl blurted out andsaid: “On January 8, the Capricorn man symbolizes absolute consciousness,ideals and ambitions…”

Zhang Siyi: “…”

It seems that this girl alsofeels the same as Du Rui.

This translation wastranslated to five in the morning, and for several days of high-intensity work,Zhang Siyi couldn’t open his eyes until the end.

Colleagues are stillencouraging each other: “Hang in there… today and another night, totomorrow night and will be free!” Yes, by the last two days, most people’swork is done. The reporting day is the day after tomorrow and generally mostare finished. The last task is putting all the text onto the plan drawings andthat responsibility is Bi Lele.

Bi Lele stared at the computerscreen with utmost attention and was already immersed in the work. Also,reluctant to go to sleep since others are still working, Zhang Siyi saw severalgirls giving Bi Lele help. He turned his head to see Gu Yu's office lights arestill on. He whispered to Zhu Hongzhen:“Boss hasn't slept?”

Zhu Hongzhen A haggard face:“You don’t have to worry about him, he has a rollaway bed in his office.When he is tired, he will sleep.”

Zhang Siyi nodded and lookedat the results of the concerted efforts of everyone. All the work that everyonehas contributed and the comradery between them gave Zhang Siyi andoverwhelmingly good feeling. He felt hopeful – yes, they will win the bid!

Ji Feiyu saw a few people aroundthe room on the verge of collapse, and quickly said: “You guys go to sleepfirst, don’t stay up late!”

Zhang Siyi couldn't stayawake anymore and walked to the lounge swaying. The whole person fell on thelittle single bed and lost consciousness.

Since it's not be his ownbed, he is a little uncomfortable when he falls asleep. As he is slowly wakingup, he feels something itchy on his face. It seems that something is touchinghim.

Zhang Siyi opened his eyesin an uncomfortable way. The lounge was a dark room with no windows, and thefront was dim. The doorway was open with a bright light.

In the mist, he saw a familiar face.

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