This year, she was full of confidence, determined to bring back an ideal ranking to show off to her family.
Several designers from the company had signed up, not just for the substantial prize money, but also to add a beautiful feather to their resumes, making it easier to negotiate salary increases or job changes later.
Everyone was giving their all, and Tiantian didn't dare slack off.
However, after working in this field for so long, inspiration would eventually run out.
Designs, when iterated, became similar.
She desperately needed a breakthrough in inspiration to present something truly novel that would capture the judges' attention.
When girls are stressed, they often want to eat good food or go shopping.
After work, she invited Wushuang out, but Wushuang happened to have plans.
"We took on a big project at the beginning of the year. If we do this one well, we won't have to worry about our KPIs for the month, so the director is very happy."
"Today he's treating the entire department to a meal to boost morale. It's a rare chance for everyone to indulge at his expense, and we're planning to go to KTV tonight. Sorry, Tiantian, I can't accompany you today."
In the workplace, maintaining good interpersonal relationships is crucial, so Tiantian naturally didn't blame her.
She just felt a bit disappointed.
She was always picky about her friends, so she didn't have many.
Besides her family, Wushuang was the closest.
Before, when they lived in the same place, Ge'er could accompany her. Now that she had chosen a house in Palm Bay, closer to headquarters, they lived far apart, and headquarters also had a lot of work.
Tiantian knew she was busy too, so she decided to go to the movies by herself.
But she didn't want to drive.
Most young people in the city seemed to be crammed onto the subway, with daily news reporting on interesting and embarrassing incidents that happened on the trains.
She had never ridden it before and wanted to experience it.
After researching how to take the subway and its routes, she put on her headphones, connected to Bluetooth, and boarded the subway heading to Wanda Plaza.
Just like in the news, it was indeed crowded.
Not only were there no seats, but there wasn't even standing room.
People were packed together, body against body. Tiantian had to hold on tight to maintain her footing.
Her shoes were stepped on countless times, and she could barely hold onto her bag.
As soon as she got on, she regretted it, thinking that this one experience was enough and that such a miserable life was best avoided.
Just as she was thinking this, a Bluetooth connection success notification suddenly sounded from her headphones.
Immediately after, her music playlist was replaced, and a very soothing and melodious English song filled her ears.
Her first thought was that someone nearby had the same phone and headphones, and her headphones had automatically connected to someone else's playlist.
How rude.
She wanted to reach up and change it, but the people around her were too crowded.
The person next to her had a bag, and if she let go, she would lose her balance.
There was no choice but to endure it, close her eyes, and listen to the music.
As she listened, her nerves actually relaxed.
It felt like doing yoga, with a vast blue sea and a gentle breeze before her.
After quietly listening to one song, the music suddenly switched again.
A cheerful folk song played, and it felt as if horses were galloping across a meadow, and people around were dancing joyfully.
She transitioned seamlessly from relaxed to enthusiastic and couldn't help but wonder, who was it? Their taste in music was so good! The songs were niche and pleasant.
Tiantian became curious about the owner of the phone.
She wanted to turn her head to see who around them might be the owner.
As she turned her head halfway, she saw a familiar face, Chen Dongyang.
He was standing three people away from her, also in a crowded space.
However, his arms were long, allowing him to easily hold onto the ceiling of the carriage, making him look like a statue, firmly in place.
He didn't see Tiantian and seemed to be lost in thought, looking down.
Recalling that night, Tiantian felt a bit awkward and quickly turned her face away, pretending not to see him.
They stood like this, passing one station after another, until her destination arrived.
A surge of people moved, and Tiantian followed them off the train.
As they walked, someone in front of them stumbled and fell.
A commotion erupted in the crowd, and people behind pushed forward, quickly creating a domino effect, with one person after another falling.
Tiantian, in the middle of the crowd, was pushed forward by the immense inertia and the people behind her.
At the critical moment, someone suddenly grabbed her arm.
With a strong pull, one of her shoes was stepped on and lost, but she was pulled out of the crowd.
The hands were so strong that they hurt Tiantian.
Tiantian winced and looked up, only to see those familiar eyes again.
"Chen..."
Another wave of people pushed from behind to get off the train.
Chen Dongyang, as if afraid she would be bumped, put an arm around her back and pulled her closer to him, turning her around.
Tiantian felt as if she was embraced by him, safely nestled in the small space he created.
Chen Dongyang's Adam's apple was directly in her line of sight: "Wait for them to pass before getting off. You'll be trampled if you fall."
His pleasant voice from above, the warmth from his chest before her eyes, made Tiantian's face flush instantly.
"My, my shoe..."
"I saw it, don't worry. You get off first, and I'll help you pick it up."
With a surge of congestion, people rushed off, and the carriage finally became less crowded.
Chen Dongyang released her, and Tiantian saw her shoe under the feet of the people standing.
She felt too embarrassed to let Chen Dongyang pick it up and was about to go get it herself when Chen Dongyang reminded her.
"The doors are closing soon, hurry up and get off."
With no other choice, she had to run off.
The moment she stepped off, the train doors slowly began to close.
Her shoe!
Tiantian anxiously shouted towards the inside, "Chen Dongyang, hurry! The doors are closing, you won't be able to get off!"
Chen Dongyang bent down, picked up her shoe, and looked up to find the doors already closed, leaving only a crack.
With no time to get out, he could only shout at Tiantian through the gap.
"Stay where you are, don't move. Wait for me, I'll come back to find you."
Then the doors slammed shut, and the train sped past her.
What a mess this was. She should have known better than to take the subway.
Tiantian looked down at her feet and noticed many people staring at her. Embarrassed, she hopped on one foot to a nearby corner and crouched down against the wall.
She and Chen Dongyang hadn't exchanged contact information, and she didn't know how he would return or how to contact him after the train left.
Frustrated, she was scrolling through her phone, about to complain to Wushuang, when a message popped up on WeChat.
It was a friend request.
She clicked on it, and the remark was Chen Dongyang.
How did he get her WeChat ID?
Tiantian quickly clicked to accept, and soon, Chen Dongyang sent her a voice message.
"I got your WeChat from Douya. Are you still where you were?"
Ah, they had a mutual friend, Douya. Thank goodness.
"Yes, I am. How long will I have to wait for you?"
"At most half an hour. I'll go to the next station and walk back. Find a place to sit down first."
Go to the next station and walk back?
Tiantian felt it was quite troublesome for him, but at this point, there was nothing else she could do.