She thought Chen Dongyang might hesitate, but he nodded without a pause.
"Everything is almost ready."
Tiantian was a little surprised. "That's amazing! Where do you get so much inspiration? Do you never get stuck?"
Or was his design just shoddy, thinking this competition was some low-tier event where any random drawing would suffice?
She hadn't expected Chen Dongyang to be so confident.
"I haven't really gotten stuck yet. What's wrong? Are you having trouble?"
Haven't gotten stuck yet...
"Designer Chen, you're so Versailles."
Tiantian couldn't help but glance at him again.
"I've only been in this industry for two years, and I've been completely stuck lately. Is it because I don't need money desperately enough? I feel like I'm falling far behind you in terms of effort."
Chen Dongyang also looked at her again.
Big eyes, thick eyelashes, a perky nose, small cherry-red lips, and skin like white porcelain...
He soon shifted his gaze back to the distance.
"If you don't lack money, there's no need to push yourself so hard. Take some time to go out and wander. The more you experience, the more inspiration you'll naturally find."
As they spoke, they had already arrived by the car.
Tiantian hadn't been drinking, so she could drive herself. Chen Dongyang was ready to bid her farewell.
"Although we are in the same field, we are not rivals. If you lack inspiration or encounter problems, feel free to call me. I can't guarantee I can help, but exchanging ideas can always broaden your perspective."
Tiantian didn't take his words too seriously.
She knew Chen Dongyang was just being polite, and they weren't close enough for her to need to ask for his help.
After that meal, they lost contact again.
It wasn't until four days later that Tiantian's design drawings were reported to have data issues by the on-site construction crew.
She felt frustrated, reviewing them over and over, unable to figure out where the problem lay. She asked her colleagues in the office, and they all said the theory was sound.
She wanted to go to the site herself to see the difference. Rummaging through her phone for the contact information of the construction supervisor, she scrolled and saw Chen Dongyang's name.
His WeChat name was simple, just his real name.
In that moment, remembering what he had said that night, she inexplicably wanted to test his abilities. Tiantian sat back down.
After thinking for a long time, she sent Chen Dongyang three words.
"Are you free?"
Then she felt that might sound a bit inappropriate and added a follow-up.
"I have a question I'd like to ask your advice on."
Chen Dongyang was at the construction site and didn't see her WeChat message immediately. By the time he saw it, Tiantian had already finished work and gone home. Fearing he would delay things, he directly called her via voice message.
Tiantian, though surprised, answered.
Chen Dongyang got straight to the point.
"I was busy just now and didn't check my phone. What's your question?"
With his business-like demeanor, Tiantian no longer hesitated and explained the problem she encountered, sending him the data.
She expected him to hang up, calculate for a while, and then explain. To her surprise, he answered after just running through it in his mind.
"There's a small error in the algorithm in one section, which causes a gap of nearly a centimeter when the materials are actually assembled. If there's a gap in this step, the next step will naturally have problems."
Tiantian followed his advice, pulled out the drawings, and recalculated. It was true; in one calculation, she had rounded off a decimal place.
While this was theoretically fine, it did indeed cause an error in practical operation.
"Thank you, I understand now. I was initially unconvinced, thinking it was an error during on-site cutting by the workers, but now I'm completely convinced."
Chen Dongyang emerged from the construction site and heard her readily admit her mistake. He chuckled softly on the phone.
"Your error wasn't significant on its own, but manual cutting also has its own margin of error. When you combine the two, the problem becomes much larger."
"But fortunately, the issue was discovered in time, and it's good that nothing went wrong."
Tiantian felt she had judged him unfairly before.
Seeing the small projects he took on, she subconsciously assumed he lacked capability, but in reality...
Her face felt a little hot. Although Chen Dongyang couldn't see her expression, she felt a moment of self-consciousness.
She instinctively reached for her teacup to take a sip of water, but her attention was entirely on her phone. She didn't hold it properly, and the glass cup fell to the floor.
Chen Dongyang heard a crisp shattering sound from the phone and quickly asked if she was alright.
Hot water splashed onto her. Tiantian slid her chair back, saying she was fine, but her heel, clad in slippers, accidentally stepped on a shard of glass.
With a gasp, she stumbled back a couple of steps with her chair.
The chair, an ergonomic model with three legs and three wheels, was stable when sat upon normally, but now it suddenly tipped over.
Chen Dongyang heard a series of crashing sounds from the phone, along with Tiantian's pained cries, and knew something had happened. He urgently asked,
"What happened, Miss Jiang? Are you alright?"
Tiantian felt utterly humiliated today, having never fallen so badly before, and broadcasting it live to someone.
Her phone was tossed aside. She wanted to tell Chen Dongyang she was fine, to be strong.
But her foot really hurt, and her eyes caught a glimpse of the stark red bloodstain on the floor.
Her consciousness immediately blurred. Her survival instinct drove her to grab her phone.
"Chen Dongyang, I fell..."
Chen Dongyang replied, "I heard. Is it serious? Did something break? Did you get cut?"
"I'm fine... but I'm bleeding..."
"Don't panic. I'm coming over right now. Where did you get cut? Can you move? Do you need me to call 120?"
"I don't know. I'm afraid of blood. Chen Dongyang, I'm fading..."
Afraid of blood?
Chen Dongyang ran quickly to his van, starting the engine as he shouted into the phone,
"Don't look at the bleeding part, listen to me, listen to me! Cover your eyes, don't fall asleep, you can't pass out! If you faint, I won't be able to get into your complex. If you lose too much blood, you're finished! Talk to me, talk to me quickly!"
Tiantian felt her consciousness fading, her eyelids heavy. She really wanted to pass out.
But she also knew she couldn't. She was alone in the house. If no one came to help, would she die?
She didn't want to die, especially not in such a pathetic way.
"What should I say... I don't know what to say..."
Chen Dongyang, hearing her weak voice, drove faster.
"Tell me your name, what's your name?"
"I, I'm Jiang Jingtiian."
"Good. How old are you? Where did you go to elementary school? Middle school? University? Answer me!"
He kept finding topics for her as he drove, shouting for Tiantian to answer his questions. This managed to keep her from fainting.
Upon reaching the complex entrance, the security guard naturally wouldn't let him in. Chen Dongyang was prepared and handed his phone to the guard.
"The resident in Building B, Unit 501 is ill. I'm her boyfriend. Don't believe me? Ask her."