By a stroke of fortune, at the first Modern Chinese Architecture Creation Symposium, which gathered all the current giants of China’s architectural world, Xia Xiaolan, an undergraduate architecture student previously unknown in the industry, unexpectedly won the opportunity to speak first.

Even knowing it was Nie Weiguo’s challenging questioning, some still found it absurd. Making a group of veteran professionals sit and listen to an undergraduate architecture student?

Mao Kangshan had already called Xia Xiaolan to the stage. The elderly gentleman placed the microphone in front of her.

“Share your thoughts with everyone.”

Xia Xiaolan nodded with a smile: “Thank you, I understand. Everyone here could be my teacher. I’ll share my ideas, and I welcome all teachers’ guidance!”

Her graceful demeanor made Nie Weiguo appear petty.

Nie Weiguo was furious. In the cafeteria earlier, he thought Xia Xiaolan had a fiery temper, so he arranged her position last, but she hadn’t reacted on the spot.

Now, when pressured to speak immediately, she cheerfully said Nie Weiguo was looking after her by giving her an opportunity.

How could someone be so shameless?

Nie Weiguo had seen many young people cry when bullied, but he had never met someone as thick-skinned as Xia Xiaolan!

This thick-skinned Xia Xiaolan was also blessed with good looks.

Her voice was pleasant, her Mandarin extremely standard, without any regional accent, and her pronunciation clear. When she spoke, people were willing to listen.

Would President Xia be nervous speaking in front of everyone?

Heh, even if her actual ability was only five out of ten, Xia Xiaolan’s performance showed at least eight out of ten!

“Today, I’ve brought my recently led design work, a hotel renovation plan.”

As soon as Xia Xiaolan said this, Gong Yang, who was sitting in the back row attending the meeting, quickly distributed the prepared materials to everyone present.

They didn’t lack materials – Xia Xiaolan had just this one work, but she had printed an entire box. It was difficult to find a copy shop on the street now, but for large quantities of printed materials, one could go to a printing factory. These materials were all prepared by Gong Yang in Yangcheng and brought to Jiangcheng at Xia Xiaolan’s request.

Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times.

Nie Weiguo’s expression changed as he gripped the materials.

This proposal was clearly for the Nanhai Hotel in Pengcheng.

Even their design institute knew about this project, but when the hotel approached Ning Yanfan, no design institute had secured it.

Seeing Mao Kangshan and others intently reviewing the materials, Nie Weiguo spoke in a shrill voice:

“As I recall, the Nanhai Hotel is Teacher Ning Yanfan’s work. Many colleagues here today know this, right?”

Ah, Ning Yanfan, how generous to help young people, actually using his work to boost Xia Xiaolan’s reputation!

The venue filled with whispers, but no one dared to question Ning Yanfan.

Mao Kangshan had equal standing with Ning Yanfan, and even Xing Lixin looked to Mao Kangshan for help.

Ning Yanfan spoke up voluntarily, his voice showing no anger:

“Little Nie’s information is outdated. The Nanhai Hotel was indeed my design, but only the main building. The supporting renovation plan was rejected by the hotel investors. Later, Xia Xiaolan took over the design. I recommended her to participate in the symposium because her work contains a brilliant idea.”

The whispers didn’t die down; they grew louder!

Ning Yanfan admitted that his renovation plan was rejected, while Xia Xiaolan’s design proposal was approved.

Wasn’t he afraid of public opinion?

Saying he wasn’t as good as a young person…

Ning Xue bit her lip; she had strongly opposed this initially, fearing exactly this situation!

Xu Yuejin wanted to throw Nie Weiguo to the ground and beat him.

Only Gong Yang looked at Ning Yanfan with admiration, clearly impressed by his broad-mindedness.

It was Mao Kangshan who finally stopped the commotion.

“Old Ning, the brilliant idea you mentioned is the infinity pool, right?”

Ning Yanfan nodded, “For the specific concept, you can ask Xia Xiaolan herself.”

Whatever technical challenges existed, experts like Mao Kangshan could probably figure them out after a few glances. Although the materials didn’t contain detailed data, he could easily lead a team to replicate this infinity pool.

If he could replicate it, it proved its constructibility.

Anyone can draw fantastical design sketches.

Buildings can be square, round, or even funnel-shaped!

As long as architects use their imagination, they could even design tentacle-shaped structures… but considering construction feasibility, some imaginative works remain just concept drawings.

The Nanhai Hotel’s renderings were achievable, and Mao Kangshan was asking why Xia Xiaolan thought of an infinity pool.

Design inspiration always has its origins.

Mao Kangshan didn’t ask Xia Xiaolan about data; he asked about the design concept, walking right into Xia Xiaolan’s area of expertise. She cleared her throat:

“As all teachers know, since the National Tourism Bureau held the ‘National Tourism Work Conference’ and other related meetings in ’79, tourist hotels and foreign-related hotel buildings have become an unavoidable issue in the domestic construction industry. The completion of Xiangshan Hotel in 1982 sparked widespread discussion and controversy from design to completion. The controversy centered on expensive construction investment, but since its operation began, it has received unanimous praise from both Eastern and Western travelers. With the deepening of Reform and Opening Up, we will inevitably build more tourist hotels and foreign-related hotels. My idea is that when designing hotels, besides emphasizing functionality, we should also increase their aesthetic appeal, giving both Eastern and Western travelers a better experience… This was my initial intention when leading the Nanhai Hotel design proposal. Pengcheng is a window for Reform and Opening Up. For Nanhai Hotel to stand out among other hotels and be remembered by foreign guests and Hong Kong-Macau compatriots, it needs a unique feature – the infinity pool gives it that uniqueness.”

The infinity pool rendering was indeed outstanding.

Otherwise, during the bidding, the three Hong Kong investors, including Tang Yuanyue, wouldn’t have surrendered.

Du Zhaohui’s Tianchen Decoration also lost fair and square.

Dongfeng Holdings effortlessly won the hotel’s renovation rights and subsequently its management rights!

Nie Weiguo stared intently at the renderings.

The Nanhai Hotel was a major project.

Any architect in the circle who led even just a renovation project worth 30 million Chinese yuan would certainly qualify to participate in the symposium.

Even Nie Weiguo hadn’t independently handled a renovation plan with a 30 million budget.

“Renderings and actual construction are two different things. We’ll have to see the final result… Xia Xiaolan, this design is still just on paper, it hasn’t been adopted, right?”

Xia Xiaolan smiled shyly:

“Senior Nie pays close attention to my affairs. The Nanhai Hotel is already under intense renovation. It’s now July ’85, and the hotel will officially open for business by next year at the latest. If Senior Nie has doubts, feel free to stay at the Nanhai Hotel for a few days. I’ll see if I can get you a discount.”

–Sorry to disappoint you, but it wasn’t just adopted, it’s already under construction. The proposal has successfully landed, not just Xia Xiaolan’s wild imagination!x