Chapter 23

Chapter 23

“Mmgh,” the sunlight filtered through the light blue curtains and shone into the room. On the bed, Hui River stretched lazily.

By accident, he bumped into Hao Path beside him, and only then did he fully wake up. He had almost forgotten that Hao Path was still sleeping in his bed. What time was it?

Hm?

He smacked his lips, scratched his messy bird's-nest hair, pushed away the arm draped over him, and sat up. Pulling out his phone, Hui River discovered it was already eight in the morning. While yawning, he glanced at Hao Path.

“Hey, time to get up.”

“Mmn,” Hao Path turned over unhappily. There were dark circles under his eyes, clearly showing that he hadn't slept well.

Only then did Hui River remember the stunt he had pulled last night. He probably hadn't been discovered, right? Feeling a little guilty, he climbed out of bed. The moment he left the blanket, he shivered from the cold and quickly used the remote control to raise the room temperature a few degrees.

A few minutes later, while brushing his teeth, Hui River asked, ‘System? Are you there?’

【I'm here. How may I help you, Host?】

‘Did I complete that mission from last night?’

【Completed. This system has already received the 2 Gentleman Points, and the reward of 20,000 yuan has also been transferred into your bank card.】

That was great news. Hui River spat out the toothpaste foam, washed his face, and went to eat breakfast feeling refreshed.

The System thought about what Hao Path had done to Hui River last night. Although it found his behavior somewhat strange, it didn't tell Hui River.

“Hui River, where's your classmate?” Mother Hui asked doubtfully, glancing toward his room.

Hui River bit into a pan-fried dumpling, his mouth full of oil. “Oh, we worked on the design until really late last night, so he's still sleeping.”

Mother Hui shot him a sidelong glance. “Weren't you sleeping together? How come you got up earlier than him? Don't tell me you were slacking off.”

“Of course not. That's because your son has a healthy schedule,” Hui River bragged. He definitely wasn't going to tell his mother that Hao Path might have slept badly because of him last night. “Hao Path should get up soon. Don't worry about him... I'm done eating.”

“Wait,” seeing her eldest son trying to slip away, Mother Hui quickly stopped him. “Take Steamed Bun out for a walk.”

At his feet, Steamed Bun immediately started wagging his tail upon hearing his name. With watery eyes, he stared at his owner. Hui River rubbed the dog's head.

“Mom, I still have stuff to write when I get back. Let Hui Constant help—”

Mother Hui narrowed her eyes. “Your own dog gets walked by your little brother every day. Hurry up and go. You're free right now anyway.”

“Alright,” Hui River immediately backed down.

Steamed Bun was a long-haired dog that Hui River had bought. At first, he had gotten the dog because his mother liked dogs and he wanted the dog to keep her company. In the end, however, the dog had become his own responsibility.

Hui River could never win against his mother. Every time, he could only surrender. Besides, he really liked Steamed Bun.

“Steamed Bun, let's go. Follow Dad.”

This dog loved eating steamed buns, which was why he had been given such a vivid and fitting name.

Whenever he saw Hui River, he acted as though he had seen his biological father. He wagged his tail so hard it looked like it might snap off. Standing on his hind legs, Steamed Bun placed his paws on Hui River and nudged his arm with his wet nose.

Taking a leash from the shoe cabinet, Hui River said, “Stand still. I'm taking you out.”

Sure enough, Steamed Bun immediately calmed down.

After fitting the harness and attaching the leash, Hui River hadn't even had time to change his shoes before the dog started dragging him forward.

“Oh my, he gets this excited whenever you're the one taking him out,” Mother Hui remarked while drinking tea.

“Of course. I'm Steamed Bun's real dad.”

Hui Constant rolled his eyes. “Then during the National Day holiday, let Brother walk him every day.”

Speechless, Hui River said, “Hey, we agreed on taking turns, one day each.”

But with Mother Hui stepping in, he failed to negotiate with his younger brother. In the end, the entire family practically chased him out the door.

Entering the elevator, Hui River looked at the tail-wagging Steamed Bun at his feet and found him adorably silly.

Steamed Bun loved going outside. The moment the elevator doors opened, he squeezed out first. Hui River was practically being dragged along.

“Slow down.”

It was still early in the morning, and there weren't many people in the residential garden. After leaving the apartment building, Hui River saw only a few sanitation workers sweeping.

The morning sun wasn't harsh. Gentle as a warm breeze, it shone upon the banana leaves, making their green color pleasing to the eye. The artificial river sparkled under the sunlight. The cool wind tossed Steamed Bun's white fur about.

As Hui River watched the dog stop and go, he vaguely sensed someone walking toward him.

He looked up and immediately saw a boy standing beneath the warm sunlight.

The boy smiled at him, revealing two small tiger teeth.

“Hui River.”

Time Marsh-Clear ran up to him and bent down to tease Steamed Bun.

“Little cutie, it's been so long since I've seen you.”

Steamed Bun remembered his scent and excitedly nudged his hand with his nose.

After rubbing the dog's head, Time Marsh-Clear looked up and asked, “So during this holiday, are you really just going to stay home with Hao Path working on the design?”

“What else would I do?” Hui River looked listless. “Did you come down for a run?”

He noticed the sportswear the other boy was wearing.

“More or less. I just finished running and was about to head back for breakfast.”

Time Marsh-Clear was much more athletic than Hui River. Whether in high school or university, he insisted on jogging for half an hour every day.

Hui River, however, was different. Ever since entering university, he had completely transformed into a lazy couch potato.

“Do you have any plans for the holiday?”

“Not yet. Originally, I was planning to travel with you.”

Then Time Marsh-Clear seemed to remember something.

“By the way, where did you have Hao Path sleep last night?”

“With me, obviously. My little brother wouldn't give up his bed, so I had to sacrifice myself.”

Time Marsh-Clear frowned.

“You could've had him stay in a hotel.”

Hui River shook his head.

“No. We need to discuss the design all the time. Once we start, it often goes on until midnight. It's much more convenient for him to stay at my place.”

“I see.”

After understanding the situation, Time Marsh-Clear's mood eased somewhat.

“I originally thought you didn't like him very much.”

“He's alright. A friendship between gentlemen.”

Steamed Bun began whining, wanting to go somewhere else. Hui River tugged him forward.

“Steamed Bun, stop making noise.”

Then he turned to Time Marsh-Clear.

“I've got to go. If I don't keep walking him, he'll start causing trouble. Hurry home and eat breakfast.”

Time Marsh-Clear didn't really want to part ways, but the hunger in his stomach urged him on.

“Alright. I'll come find you again when you're free.”

Hui River nodded.

“Okay.”

He led Steamed Bun away.

When they reached the community's recreation and fitness area, he spotted a blue box beside a trash can.

Huh? Isn't that...

Hui River walked a few steps closer. The more he looked, the more it resembled the toy box from Time Marsh-Clear's house.

He hadn't seen that box in years. If his childhood memories weren't so vivid, he probably wouldn't have noticed it.

The box had been cleaned carefully. Hui River touched the cartoon character sticker attached to it and became nostalgic for that period of his childhood.

But if Time Marsh-Clear had taken such good care of it, why throw it away?

Then Hui River remembered that his own childhood toys had long ago been thrown out by his mother.

Opening the lid, he looked at the assortment of toys inside and sighed with emotion.

They had all grown up.

Eventually, toys would be discarded.

Hui River felt a little regretful.

At that moment, the System suddenly spoke again.

【Host, pick up this box of toys and take it home. That way we'll have enough Gentleman Points to reach ten.】

The System could clearly sense Hui River's emotions. His joys, anger, sorrows, and happiness could not escape its perception, so it naturally knew about his reluctance to part with the toys.

After hearing that, Hui River was somewhat speechless.

‘Uh... even if I take it back, I don't have anywhere to put it.’

More importantly, Hao Path was still in his room. If he saw him carrying home a box of trash, he would definitely think he had gone crazy.

【You can leave it in the stairwell for now. Nobody goes there anyway.】

‘...Fine.’

After hesitating for quite a while, Hui River finally agreed.

He didn't even bother finishing Steamed Bun's walk. Picking up the box, he hurried home.

The entire way, he felt nervous and guilty. Anyone who saw him would think he was stealing something.

Hui River himself couldn't understand why he felt guilty.

Setting aside the fact that he had picked it up from beside a trash can, even if the original owner, Time Marsh-Clear, saw him, the other boy probably wouldn't care.

…………

……

“Click.”

After returning home, Time Marsh-Clear locked the door behind him.

Only when he saw the two plates of burnt fried eggs on the dining table did he realize something was wrong.

With a headache, he rubbed his forehead, walked to the bedroom, and pulled the door open.

Inside stood a woman wearing a pink dress.

The moment she saw him, her movements froze in fright.

Time Marsh-Clear looked displeased.

“Mom, what are you doing here?”

The woman was tidying things up. Seeing her son suddenly return, she forced out a smile. “Little Ze is back. Mom made breakfast for you, hurry and go eat.”

She was very beautiful. Mother and son looked seventy to eighty percent alike. Not only that, she had maintained herself extremely well. Even though she was about the same age as Hui Jiang’s mother, she looked a full ten years younger.

Shi Zeqing walked in and snatched the clothes from his mother's hands.

“How many times have I said it? I don't need you coming over to help. Don't touch my things.”

“What do you mean? I'm worried about you!” Madam Shi protested, hands on her hips, refusing to leave. “Honestly, your temper is becoming more and more like your father's... Isn't it because you're living here all alone? Of course I can't rest easy.”

Shi Zeqing ignored her completely and quickly stuffed the clothes she had organized back into the wardrobe.

“A while ago it was in the newspaper. There was a young man living by himself. One day he got a high fever and passed out. His family only visited him once a week. What do you think happened?” Madam Shi paused, seeing that her son still ignored her, then walked around to stand in front of him. “By the time his mother came, he was already burning up badly. Not long after getting to the hospital, he died. So of course I can't relax. No matter what, I have to come see you three times a week.”

Shi Zeqing sighed.

“Come look if you want, but don't touch my things, okay?”

“I only wanted to help clean up a little.” Madam Shi looked wronged.

Her eldest son had been independent since childhood. He had never clung to his mother like other children. Now that he was grown up, he had directly moved out to live on his own.

“Other people say daughters can't be kept at home once they grow up. But with me, my sons are all ungrateful little wolves...”

“Shi Qingyu.”

“Brother, I'm here.”

A beautiful little boy with cat-like eyes poked his head in through the doorway.

“Call Dad right now and tell Mom to go home.”

“I can't, Brother.” Shi Qingyu blinked. “Dad went to participate in a confidential research project. We can't contact him.”

“...”

Shi Zeqing turned his head and saw the triumphant look on his mother's face, immediately feeling powerless.

“Mom, I'm twenty years old. I'm an adult. I can take care of myself.”

“Hmph.” Madam Shi looked disdainful. “You just dislike me. Shi Qingyu, when you grow up, you mustn't learn from your brother. When this brat was begging me for help before, he wasn't like this. Now that he's finished using me, he talks to me in such a cold tone. Even your father doesn't dare speak to me like that.”

Back when Shi Zeqing borrowed money from the family to buy this apartment, she already knew he was chasing after Hui Jiang.

Shi Zeqing remained silent.

“Sigh.” Madam Shi patted her son's shoulder. “Back then, I wonder who was the one begging me to talk to Hui Jiang's mother and say...”

“Mom, are you too idle every day?”

“Not at all!” Madam Shi refused to admit it.

Ever since he became sensible, Shi Zeqing had felt that his mother was strange.

She took delight in teasing him every day.

She was completely unlike other people's mothers. Not only was she terrible at housework, but her cooking was also indescribably bad.

Then after he grew up, his father told him that his mother had left the research institute for the sake of the family. In her younger days, she had been an outstanding talent at the institute.

Regarding this, Shi Zeqing remained deeply skeptical.

He couldn't be bothered arguing with his shameless mother. But when his hand reached under the bed, his expression suddenly changed.

Gone!

Could it have been kicked further inside?

Shi Zeqing knelt down and searched frantically underneath. This frightened Madam Shi.

“Son, what are you looking for?”

“It's gone!”

Shi Zeqing raised his head and looked at her.

“The box under my bed. Where did you put it?”

“What?” Madam Shi seemed to remember something. “That thing was important?” She was startled by the twisted, pained expression on her son's face.

Shi Zeqing immediately looked toward his younger brother.

“Where is it? Tell me.”

Shi Qingyu was so intimidated by the stare that he almost forgot to drink his yogurt.

“The blue box? Mom opened it and saw it was full of old toys, so she threw it away.”

“What...”

Shi Zeqing grabbed his brother.

“Where did you throw it?!”

“The trash can on the first floor, just outside the building entrance.”

The moment he finished speaking, Shi Qingyu watched his brother rush out.

He took a nervous sip of yogurt to calm himself.

His brother's expression just now had been terrifying.

“Sigh.” Madam Shi let out a breath, her expression growing increasingly serious.

“Mom.”

“Hmm?”

“Why did you do that? Brother kept that box in such good condition. It must have been very important.” Shi Qingyu was confused. “Were you doing it on purpose?”

Madam Shi gently rubbed her younger son's head.

“I just wanted to test something.”

“Test?”

“Forget it. Actually, I already knew the result. I just couldn't give up...” Her voice became softer and softer, looking somewhat depressed.

Then less than two seconds later, her expression changed again.

“Xiao Yu, you didn't throw it into the main garbage collection area, right? If your brother can't find it, we're definitely doomed...”

“Don't worry. I followed your instructions and placed it beside the trash can on the first floor. Unless someone picked it up, it won't disappear.”

“Whew—that's good.” Madam Shi immediately returned to her carefree, innocent appearance. “Otherwise your brother would definitely explode.”

Shi Qingyu stared at his mother.

He felt like she knew something.

But those were all his brother's private matters. If she interfered too much, his brother would get angry.

...

...

Very few people woke up early during Golden Week mornings.

Hui Jiang took the elevator and quickly returned to his floor.

He pushed open the iron door to the stairwell and carried the box inside.

“Whew—I'm exhausted.”

He wiped the sweat from the corner of his forehead.

【Collected Shi Zeqing's toys × 1 box. Reward: 1 Gentleman Point, ￥1,000】

The monetary reward for collecting trash was not very high.

As expected, the more perverted the task, the higher the reward.

Since obtaining this system less than a month ago, Hui Jiang had already earned over sixty thousand yuan.

Most of it came from “sneak attacking” Hao Tu at night.

Although it was perverted, nobody would refuse money.

Counting the money in his bank account, Hui Jiang began planning to buy a DSLR camera.

Before, he had relied on living expenses from home. If he spent too freely, he would end up broke and have to work part-time jobs.

Now things were different.

Although he had become a little perverted and creepy, his quality of life had improved dramatically.

【Current Gentleman Points have reached 10. Unlocking the “King of Gentlemen” rules. System upgrade in progress. Please wait patiently.】

‘Upgrade?’

No wonder it had been constantly urging him to collect Gentleman Points.

But what did the “King of Gentlemen” rules mean?

Once the system started upgrading, it could no longer communicate with the host.

As a result, Hui Jiang had no idea when the upgrade would be completed.

Steamed Bun whined and paced around his feet, confused about why his owner was standing there doing nothing.

Hui Jiang rubbed its head, took out his key, and opened the door.

The moment he stepped into the entryway and changed into slippers, he saw Hao Tu sitting in the dining room.

That man was chatting enthusiastically with his father.

The two of them were having a great conversation, and Father Hui had even taken out his special tea set.

This Hao Tu was pretty good at winning people over.

“You're back.”

Hearing the sound of the door unlocking, Hao Tu looked over.

He seemed to be in a very good mood. Even his smile was warmer than usual.

“Come have some tea.”

Just listen to that voice.

It was so gentle it practically dripped with warmth.

Hui Jiang looked somewhat frightened.

“Wait, let me put Steamed Bun back first.”

He hurriedly dragged the dog toward the balcony.

Had Hao Tu taken the wrong medicine again?

Hui Jiang suspiciously peeked toward the dining room. Seeing that Hao Tu was also looking at him, he was so startled that he immediately turned away.

Could it be that his good attitude in admitting his mistakes had finally made Hao Tu calm down?

But Hao Tu had obviously slept badly last night, yet somehow hadn't exploded.

Forget it.

If Hao Tu wasn't scolding him, was he really so twisted that he couldn't get used to it?

Today was the third day of National Day vacation.

After washing his hands, Hui Jiang felt there was no time to waste drinking tea. He directly called Hao Tu back into the room and continued studying the design plans.

Seeing how busy they were, Father Hui naturally let them go, even patting his eldest son's shoulder and saying earnestly,

“Work hard and bring back a championship.”

Speechless, Hui Jiang returned to his room.

As if a championship were that easy to win.

The two opened their computers and continued wrestling with the design plans.

In reality, however, most of the highly technical work was being done by Hao Tu.

As for Hui Jiang, he was basically just handling miscellaneous tasks.

On one hand, Hui Jiang admired and trusted Hao Tu.

But on the other hand, he didn't entirely agree with Hao Tu's choice of materials.

It wasn't that Hao Tu's bridge designs were bad.

Given a year, Hui Jiang might not even be able to create something better than Hao Tu's work. That was simply the gap in their abilities.

Yet Hao Tu's designs always gave people a strangely ethereal feeling.

Exquisite and detailed, yet lacking a sense of solidity...

That was why Hui Jiang was worried.

Moreover, Hao Tu still hadn't produced a design better than the first draft.

As a result, Hao Tu treated all current designs as drafts, ready to discard or revise them at any moment.

The two of them were like headless flies, blindly crashing around.

Hui Jiang knew that the person suffering the most right now was definitely Hao Tu.

Hao Tu was outstanding.

Ever since entering the competition, he had been determined to win first place.

The fact that he could decisively fall out with Cui Xingwen proved how confident he had always been.

But as time passed, how much of that confidence remained?

Hui Jiang lowered his eyes to the calendar displayed at the bottom of the screen and gritted his teeth.

He suddenly wanted to help Hao Tu.

But in terms of ability, he was absolutely inferior to Cui Xingwen from the neighboring class.

The hand resting on the keyboard gradually tightened into a fist.

“Hao Tu, let's change the plan.”

“What?”

Hao Tu, who had been researching materials, stopped what he was doing.

Hui Jiang took a deep breath.

“Come outside with me. I want to show you something.”

He slipped his phone into his pocket and waited for a response.

After hesitating for half a second, Hao Tu closed his laptop.

“Okay.”

Although puzzled, he trusted Hui Jiang completely.

After leaving the apartment, Hui Jiang led him into the elevator and up to the top floor.

After climbing two flights of stairs, they arrived before a large door.

Hui Jiang swiped a card and pushed it open.

A powerful gust of wind surged into the stairwell, blowing up the hair on his forehead.

Outside, the sunlight was brilliant, forcing both of them to squint slightly.

“Let's go.”

Hui Jiang took the first step out.

Without hesitation, Hao Tu followed.

The building was thirty-five stories tall.

Standing on the rooftop, one could take in the surrounding scenery at a glance.

Hui Jiang's home was located beside a great river.

Several sand-washing boats were docked along the bank.

From afar, sunlight reflected off the river's surface, creating sparkling ripples.

“See that river?”

Hui Jiang pointed toward it.

“My parents chose this place because of it. They said living beside a river would make summers cooler.”

“So?”

Hao Tu looked confused.

Hui Jiang smiled.

“But actually that's not the reason. This area was newly developed by the government. When we first moved here, this was still basically the suburbs, so housing prices were very cheap.”

He pointed toward the opposite bank.

“But do you know what's over there?”

Hao Tu shook his head.

“How would I know?”

Yet he vaguely sensed what Hui Jiang was trying to say.

“That's S City.”

Hao Tu was surprised.

This river was actually the boundary between S City and F City!

S City was a major city comparable to a municipality directly under central administration. It was also the most economically developed city in H Province.

As a result, land prices and job opportunities there far exceeded those of F City.

The two regions were separated by only a single river, yet the difference between them was enormous.

“Then why hasn't a bridge been built here?”

Hao Tu asked.

“A few years ago, the government planned to build one.”

Hui Jiang leaned against the railing.

“But there are two islands in the middle of the river.”

Only then did Hao Tu notice the two small islands.

Not only were there houses on them, but many crops were being cultivated there as well.

With that, he roughly understood.

“The government is worried that building a bridge would destroy the islands? But the economic benefits from the bridge would definitely be greater than those two islands.”

Hui Jiang shook his head.

“Our country has environmental protection laws. The elevation of those two islands is too low. If a conventional bridge were built, the islands would be submerged directly. Too many interests are involved, so the government ultimately had no choice but to halt the project.”

“You brought me here to see this. Don't tell me you want me to design a bridge for this river.”

Hao Tu quickly guessed his intention.

“Yeah.”

Hui Jiang nodded.

“Let's switch to designing a domestic bridge.”

Hao Tu frowned.

“Why? If you'd said that earlier, I could have...”

“No...”

Hui Jiang hesitated, but eventually spoke.

“Because back then, I was just coasting through life. Whether we won the championship or not didn't really matter to me.”

“So when I saw you obsessing over foreign bridges, I never thought about giving suggestions.”

“But... now I can't sit still anymore.”

“Hao Tu, I've seen all the effort you've put in.”

“So if we lose the competition... I'll be sad and regretful too.”

“...”

Hao Tu silently turned his face away.

From the beginning, when he had pulled Hui Jiang into the team, he had never expected him to help.

Yet after hearing these words, he felt inexplicably happy.

“Sigh.”

Hui Jiang sighed.

“Hao Tu, whether you accept it or not, I hope you'll think about it again.”

“This competition is organized by H Province. Looking at previous years' champions, every winning design was a domestic bridge.”

“So drawing inspiration locally actually gives us a better chance of winning.”

Hao Tu glanced at him.

“Let me think about it some more.”

Hui Jiang knew it was impossible to persuade him in one attempt.

The fact that Hao Tu was willing to consider his suggestion was already the best outcome.

He sighed.

Thankfully Hao Tu was in a good mood today.

Otherwise, with his arrogant, self-centered personality, how could he possibly listen to all this rambling?

After returning home, Hao Tu began collecting design drawings from previous competitions.

His research was even more detailed than Hui Jiang's.

Any work that had made it into the finals, he copied and archived.

One by one, Hao Tu carefully studied them.

Hui Jiang waited for a response.

What he hadn't expected was that simply reviewing all those designs consumed five or six hours.

Mother Hui eventually called them out for dinner.

After working all day, the two had barely eaten or drunk anything.

They could only obediently come out.

Hui Jiang wanted to speak but stopped himself.

Hao Tu gave him a reassuring look.

“Don't worry. After dinner, we'll discuss it.”

“Okay.”

Throughout dinner, both of them looked preoccupied.

Father Hui and Mother Hui naturally noticed that the two boys were troubled by the competition.

Even while eating, Hao Tu continued thinking.

Hui Jiang was right.

Looking across so many years of design competitions, every championship-winning design had been a domestic bridge.

It wasn't because the competition discriminated based on region.

Nor was it because the judges were biased.

Any design that reached the finals was excellent.

Yet the winners were often the simplest and most balanced works, stripped of unnecessary complexity.

What confused Hao Tu was this:

Could innovative and unconventional works truly never win?

Or rather—

If he wanted to become champion, did he have to become as conventional as previous champions?

If it were Hui Jiang, he would never trouble himself with such a question.

Whatever kind of work the organizers wanted, he would honestly create exactly that.

But Hao Tu was different.

He was too proud.

Even though he desperately wanted to win, he refused to be constrained by invisible rules and frameworks.

After an exhausting day, both young men were starving.

They quickly finished dinner.

The moment Hao Tu stood up and headed toward the room, Hui Jiang didn't even have time to wipe his mouth.

Throwing down his chopsticks, he chased after him.

“Hey, there's still fruit!”

Mother Hui called out.

Hui Jiang waved his hand.

“Not eating it.”

He poured himself a glass of cool boiled water and hurried back to the room.

“How is it?”

The moment he entered, Hui Jiang asked how Hao Tu's consideration had gone.

Hao Tu shook his head.

“I'm still confused about something.”

He lifted his eyes to look at Hui Jiang.

Those deep eyes were as beautiful as the night sky.

“Must we really be bound by those frameworks?”

“Huh?”

Hui Jiang tilted his head.

“What frameworks?”

Hao Tu leaned against the backrest.

“You also noticed it, didn’t you? The champions of every competition are very conventional. Although you can’t say they are particularly brilliant, there is absolutely nothing wrong with them either. In fact, you can’t even say those design drawings are poorly done.”

“I get it. Let me tell you my view,” Hui Jiang pushed up his glasses and opened a design drawing. “This is last year’s championship work. It also has standout details and unique creativity. Although the creativity is small, we can’t ignore it because of that. On the other hand, the runner-up had many creative ideas, and at first glance it looked impressive, but there were too many impractical elements. Because of that, it also had many flaws. The scoring in the competition is based on modules. Although its creativity score was high, it lost many points due to errors. Being able to design a creative bridge while ensuring no mistakes is of course the best outcome. But the core of design is ‘zero error’—safety comes first. Hao Tu, we are designing bridges.”

Flashy things are certainly tempting to look at, but as architecture, one must return to reality and consider the practicality and safety of what is actually built.

“I…” Hao Tu pressed his lips together. “Yeah. People in architecture actually understand this point.”

“Hao Tu, you still don’t truly understand,” Hui Jiang brought up another set of analysis data—this was the material he had prepared himself last week. “You still think other works are better than the champion’s, but when you compare them directly, the winning designs are always more detailed. Their details are something others cannot match. Why is it that river and bridge projects within the province or country are more likely to win?”

Hao Tu suddenly seemed to realize something. “You mean… the designers did field research there?”

“Not necessarily. But I believe only by truly understanding that river can you design a bridge that fits it,” Hui Jiang said, already seeing through the essence of the competition from the beginning. He lowered his eyes. “We are after all inexperienced newcomers, relying entirely on self-study to enter the competition. But you’re very strong. If we only talk about fundamentals and ability, even given me another year, I might not be able to catch up to you.”

“You’re overestimating me,” Hao Tu said, now understanding a little more. “So the two most important points are: first, safety; second, practicality. Designing foreign bridges is not something I can do right now. Without field investigation, no matter how much data I look up online, it’s still just armchair theory. No wonder…”

Hui Jiang frowned. “No wonder what?”

Hao Tu looked back at him. “Actually, when I first submitted the initial draft with Cui Xingwen, I already felt something was wrong. I wanted to redesign it, but he refused. He thought it was already good enough and there was no need to waste more time. So we ended up splitting up.” He opened his original draft and moved the mouse to delete it.

“Wait,” Hui Jiang panicked and rushed over, grabbing his hand. “Why are you deleting it? Such a good design— even if it can’t be used for the competition, it can still be kept as a record. And these sketches too, you’d better not delete them.”

Hao Tu froze slightly. The warmth from the other’s palm transferred onto his skin, and his heart began to beat uncontrollably.

“Yeah, I know,” he said, the corner of his lips lifting slightly. The afterglow of the sunset outside the window fell across his handsome face. His beautiful eyes shone like the night sky, as if fireworks had exploded in an instant, scattering into countless bright sparks.

“Don’t be so impulsive. They’re actually all very good,” Hui Jiang smiled along with him. In truth, from the very first glance at Hao Tu’s design drawings, Hui Jiang had been shocked—he simply didn’t have the ability to produce work like that.

Hao Tu moved his right hand slightly. Only then did Hui Jiang realize and let go.

“Right now we need detailed and realistic data, so let’s use the river outside as our template.”

Hui Jiang widened his eyes. “You agreed?”

“Mm. Since what you said makes sense, why wouldn’t I agree?” Hao Tu smiled. “How come I never noticed before? You’re actually somewhat useful.”

Hui Jiang blushed from the praise. “Ha… that’s right.” His tail practically shot up into the air.

Seeing his expression, Hao Tu teased him coldly, “You’re happy too early. We’ve only just found a direction. The bridge outside was a project abandoned by the city government. We might not even be able to produce a good design and plan yet.”

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Hui Jiang: #$@…&%…

Hao Tu: Even though I don’t understand, my wife must be right!

Hui Jiang: You’re the best, you can definitely do it!

Hao Tu receives a special buff.

Mu Nanzhi: So when do I finally get to appear…