Zhen Wen Xiu’s eyes were filled with contempt for Xia Xiao Lan.

Probably few people had ever confronted her like that before – Xia Xiao Lan’s behavior had severely wounded Zhen Wen Xiu’s pride.

If looks could kill, Xia Xiao Lan would have been pinned to the wall by the daggers shooting from Zhen Wen Xiu’s eyes!

“You—”

Zhen Wen Xiu wanted to say something but abruptly stopped herself.

She snorted and walked past Xia Xiao Lan.

Xia Xiao Lan didn’t understand either – if they despised each other so much, why stay here?

“Gong Yang, hurry up!”

Gong Yang quickly followed.

During Xia Xiao Lan’s previous visits, Ning Yan Fan had always been busy – at his age, this workload was truly demanding. She hadn’t disturbed him, just waited on the side. Today, unusually, Ning Xue wasn’t visible – whether she was deliberately avoiding them didn’t particularly concern Xia Xiao Lan.

Gong Yang surveyed the entire house.

“Is this Professor Ning’s studio?”

He was both admiring and envious.

To reach Ning Yan Fan’s level, respected in the industry, having his own studio after retirement, spacious workspace, surrounded by many assistants – Ning Yan Fan’s current life was basically Gong Yang’s lifelong aspiration.

Xia Xiao Lan nodded, “Professor Ning now works for himself, taking whatever projects he wishes. His studio is becoming quite similar to foreign architectural firms… I mean in terms of workload, not income.”

Of course, even at Ning Yan Fan’s level, some projects couldn’t be refused due to personal connections or other reasons.

“20,000 yuan for design fees is already quite high,” Gong Yang muttered.

He wasn’t complaining about Liu Yong’s wages – Ning Yan Fan was an industry veteran of decades, and he deserved 20,000 yuan in design fees.

Seeing Ning Yan Fan strengthened Gong Yang’s confidence.

If he had accepted a state job assignment, no matter how much he worked, he’d never receive 20,000 yuan for a single design. State jobs offered stability, but working for private employers provided substantial bonuses. Gong Yang’s current base salary plus commission gave him a very promising future, just considering the income!

Ning Yan Fan finally came over, skipping pleasantries and getting straight to the point:

“Share your thoughts with me, I’ll listen first.”

Xia Xiao Lan glanced at Gong Yang, but he was like a starstruck fan meeting his idol, completely incapable of making a lengthy presentation to Ning Yan Fan. She had to step up:

“Professor Ning, we’ve visited the construction site. The hotel’s main structure is complete, just waiting for interior decoration. Dong Feng Holdings has given us very little time. I’ve studied your original design – the sail-shaped main building, the garden-style landscape… I only want to modify the interior color scheme.”

For a five-star hotel with ocean views, besides luxury, the main selling point was the sea view. From Xia Xiao Lan’s previous life memories, her strongest impression of the Nan Hai Hotel was its entrance pool – the azure water seemed to merge with the sea!

The main building was also beautiful – from afar it looked like a sail, up close the balconies were designed in shell-shaped arcs, with the hotel gradually tapering into a pyramidal profile with each floor. While Xia Xiao Lan couldn’t recall the hotel’s interior decoration from her previous life, she remembered its main architecture vividly.

Ning Yan Fan’s design wasn’t the problem.

The issue was the competition between Nan Hai Hotel’s major shareholders. Xia Xiao Lan wasn’t planning major changes; she wanted to emphasize the “sea view” selling point.

“Peng Cheng has a subtropical monsoon climate – hot summers, mild winters. She Kou has nice ocean views. We could make the hotel’s style more comfortable and leisurely, less business-oriented. What do you think?”

Xia Xiao Lan had Gong Yang bring out several renderings. Ning Yan Fan took them and examined them carefully, finally looking up after a while:

“Did young Gong design these?”

Gong Yang’s mouth went dry, not daring to take credit.

“The ideas are Xiao Lan’s, I just illustrated what she meant.”

While Gong Yang could handle independent home decoration designs, he’d never touched a five-star hotel project. In design, talent matters – it’s a qualitative leap, but before that leap comes the extensive accumulation of experience.

Ning Yan Fan remained neutral, “You’ve studied quite a few cases, haven’t you? That’s quite commendable.”

Xia Xiao Lan didn’t quite understand Ning Yan Fan’s evaluation.

Of course, she’d studied many cases – she could close her eyes and see various beautiful hotel images, all from her previous life!

“So your opinion is…”

Ning Yan Fan put down the renderings, “Draw according to your ideas. Everyone has a different understanding of beauty. You’ve hired me as a consultant to ensure you don’t go off track. There’s a gap between renderings and practical implementation – I’ll warn you about what’s not feasible.”

If Xia Xiao Lan had dared to say she could design the hotel’s architecture, Ning Yan Fan would have shut her down immediately.

Buildings house people – how could one build recklessly? With Xia Xiao Lan’s limited knowledge, she wasn’t qualified to draft architectural plans.

But for interior decoration, as long as she didn’t alter the main structure, changing flooring, furniture styles, or light fixtures wouldn’t affect safety. After hearing her general direction, Ning Yan Fan felt comfortable letting her make changes.

At least she hadn’t suggested filling the sail-shaped Nan Hai Hotel with classical furniture!

“I’ll find you some more assistants to help.”

As Ning Yan Fan was about to leave, Xia Xiao Lan opened her box and took out a large envelope.

“Professor Ning, this is a token of appreciation from my uncle – your consultation fee. If you have any other requirements, we’ll try our best to meet them.”

Giving cash would be too crass.

Cash payments depend on the occasion – for a master like Ning Yan Fan, to impress him with money… Xia Xiao Lan couldn’t afford that amount.

The envelope contained a wire transfer slip that Ning Yan Fan could personally collect.

Ning Yan Fan didn’t refuse – if he didn’t accept this money, Xia Xiao Lan wouldn’t feel justified coming to the studio. Today, Ning Yan Fan had already firmly asked his daughter-in-law Zhen Wen Xiu to leave, though she had been reluctant, saying she wanted to stay to take care of Ning Xue.

Ning Yan Fan had gotten angry:

“Xue will be staying at school for now. If you want to take care of her, go to the Hua Qing dormitory.”

In his study, Ning Yan Fan casually opened the envelope.

Xia Xiao Lan had given him a wire transfer slip for 20,000 yuan.

Consultation fee?

She had asked Dong Feng Holdings – he had only charged 20,000 yuan for designing the Nan Hai Hotel. Xia Xiao Lan’s generosity made Ning Yan Fan both amused and touched.

This meant he needed to take it seriously.

For the same hotel, Ning Yan Fan had received payment twice – he really needed to do something in return.

Ning Yan Fan put the transfer slip in his drawer and called his star pupil:

“Xiao Xu put your current work aside for now. You were quite involved in the Nan Hai Hotel proposal initially. This time, oversee it personally, check if there are any issues with Yuan Hui’s revised proposal, and give them more advice.”

Ning Yan Fan’s “Xiao Xu” was already in his thirties.

The older students had already been sent out to work independently. Among those still with him, Xu Yue Jin was the most capable!

Xu Yue Jin, nearly bald and short with a stout, honest appearance, wasn’t a natural genius but had very solid foundational knowledge of architecture:

“Professor, are you trying to find me a junior sister?”