"Wen Gong! How’s the design coming along? The client is bugging us again!" The assistant’s call interrupted Wen Yuan’s thoughts, pulling him away from his computer. He turned and walked into his studio, planning to finish the half-done design draft, but ever since seeing Bald Qiang’s work yesterday, his entire perspective had changed.
The design, which had seemed decent enough before, now looked riddled with flaws. No matter how he looked at it, it just felt wrong, and he had no idea where to even begin fixing it. After staring at it blankly for a long while, Wen Yuan tore the design to shreds. ’Damn it, how did I ever come up with such a piece of crap?’
Of course, these blueprints would still pass muster with the developer. He had done so many times before. But Wen Yuan was not a proper businessman; he saw himself more as a designer. He couldn’t bring himself to hand over a design he wasn’t even satisfied with just to placate a client.
Tearing up the blueprints was easy, but drawing a new one that he could be satisfied with was another matter entirely. The images he saw yesterday had shattered his old way of thinking, but a new perspective had yet to fully form. So after Wen Yuan sat back down, he couldn’t make any headway for the longest time. His mind was a jumbled mess. All sorts of fantastic and ingenious ideas were popping up, but they were all just vague shadows. He couldn’t refine these thoughts and put them down on a blueprint.
’What am I going to do?!’ Wen Yuan tore at his hair in frustration but couldn’t escape his miserable state. After sitting there blankly for a while, he finally made a decision. ’No, this won’t do. I have to find more pictures. If I can’t understand every detail of this beaver’s nest, I’ll never be able to get any work done.’
So he rushed back to his computer. However, there were no updates on Weibo. Shen Yibin hadn’t posted any new photos, nor had he replied to his private message. At that moment, Shen Yibin was in the kitchen, cooking for Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie. He had gotten some new ingredients that suited their tastes today. Even if he were to upload more photos, it probably wouldn’t be until the afternoon.
But Wen Yuan didn’t know any of this. He thought Shen Yibin had decided not to upload any more photos, which made him extremely anxious. He felt that he was on the verge of a breakthrough, just one final push away. If he could just break through, his design skills would improve by leaps and bounds, launching him to the very top of the domestic landscape design industry. The key to that breakthrough lay in this beaver’s nest, but right now, he couldn’t see the details he most desperately wanted. The situation was driving Wen Yuan crazy.
’Fine, if you’re not going to post photos, I’ll just come find you!’ Wen Yuan immediately opened Shen Yibin’s Weibo page and started studying it carefully. Shen Yibin hadn’t hidden his information; the pet shop’s address was displayed openly in his profile. "So he runs a pet shop in Yunzhong City. Could those two beavers be his pets?" Wen Yuan stroked his chin, and without another word, he opened a ticket booking website and started buying a flight to Yunzhong City.
The flights for that day were almost sold out, with only a few first-class tickets left. This was no issue for Wen Yuan at all. He immediately booked a full-priced, first-class ticket. Then he called his assistant. "I have to go out for a bit on urgent business. Try to handle anything that comes up at the company yourself. Don’t bother me unless the company is about to go bankrupt." He planned to go to Yunzhong City to witness the beavers building their nest with his own eyes and find inspiration. He absolutely could not be disturbed at a time like this.
"What about the design you’re working on? The client just called to rush you," the assistant asked after a moment’s hesitation.
"Tell them I have a better plan. If they’re willing to wait, they can wait. If not, we’ll handle it according to the contract. If there’s a penalty for breach of contract, we’ll pay it," Wen Yuan said nonchalantly. ’Compared to his own breakthrough, what was a measly design fee? He could afford to lose it.’
"But..." The assistant seemed to want to say more, but Wen Yuan cut him off mercilessly. "That’s enough. Just do as I said. If there’s anything urgent in the next couple of days, send me a WeChat message. Don’t call me!" After saying that, Wen Yuan hung up without another word. On second thought, he just turned off his phone completely, tossed it aside, and started packing his bags. By evening, he had already arrived in Yunzhong City.
He hailed a taxi and gave the driver the name of Shen Yibin’s pet shop. The taxi driver immediately grinned and said, "Oh, are you going to the shop to see the panda or to have a drink? You’d better hurry, they’re about to close!"
’See the panda? Oh, right. I think I saw some pictures of a panda when I was scrolling through his Weibo. But what’s this about drinking?’ Wen Yuan couldn’t help but feel curious. But the driver only said that one sentence before changing the subject, launching into a tirade about how ride-sharing apps were affecting his business. Wen Yuan rolled his eyes as he listened.
Wen Yuan wasn’t much of a talker, so he could only close his eyes, lean back against the seat, and endure the noisy ride. Fortunately, Yunzhong City wasn’t very big, and they arrived at the pet shop on Baiyun Street in just over half an hour. "We’re here!"
"Okay, thanks. How much?" Wen Yuan paid the fare, grabbed his luggage, and got out of the car. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the storefront looked just like the one he’d seen on Weibo. ’He’d finally found the place.’
He didn’t rush inside. Instead, out of habit, he stood outside and sized up the shop’s design. ’It was pretty standard, nothing particularly wrong with it, but nothing great either. Compared to the neighboring shops, it could be considered decent, at best.’ As he was critiquing it, Wen Yuan’s gaze fell upon the pool. There, he saw the familiar beaver biting a branch and swimming towards the small island in the middle of the water.
’That’s it! This is it!’ Wen Yuan immediately grew excited. The beaver’s nest was extremely similar to what he had seen on Weibo. The only slight difference was that it seemed a bit more complete than yesterday. ’It must be the result of the two beavers’ labor today!’
Wen Yuan hurriedly walked towards the shop entrance. Once inside, he ignored Xia Shixuan’s greeting and ran straight to the edge of the pool. He stared at Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie without blinking, silently watching how they built their mansion.
Xia Shixuan rolled her eyes and didn’t bother with him further. It wasn’t the first time they’d had customers like this in the shop, but usually, they were here to see Hah’Er. It was rare to see someone so captivated by the beavers.
People like him didn’t cause much trouble for the business, so Xia Shixuan just let him be. She started counting the day’s earnings, preparing to do the bookkeeping.
A little while later, Xia Shixuan walked over and tapped Wen Yuan on the shoulder. "Sir, excuse me, sir. We’re closing!"
"Huh? Closing?" Wen Yuan was stunned. ’Does that mean she’s kicking me out?’