“Miss Xia.”

One shouldn’t reject someone who comes with a smile. Xia Xiaolan was polite to Tang Yuanyue: “Chairman Tang, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Tang Yuanyue pointed toward the hotel interior, “Since Miss Xia designed the renovation plan, would it be possible for Xiaolan to give me a tour?”

This request couldn’t be refused. If she could deny Tang Yuanyue access to the Jinsha Pool construction site, she couldn’t deny him access to the hotel – after all, Tang Yuanyue owned a portion of it.

Liu Yong smiled warmly, “Chairman Tang if you don’t mind my unsophisticated knowledge, I can explain things too. We encountered quite a few issues during construction, but fortunately, we resolved them all!”

Although Tang Yuanyue wanted to be alone with Xia Xiaolan, he couldn’t refuse Liu Yong’s company – he was Xia Xiaolan’s uncle and Mayor Tang’s brother-in-law.

“Of course, we should go together. I’ve been thinking about renovating my office. I received several proposals from Hong Kong, but I didn’t quite like them. I wonder if Yuanhui could provide a design. It’s a small project, but I hope Liu won’t refuse.”

“Chairman Tang, that’s no problem at all. I’ll personally bring our company’s designer to take a look before giving you an answer.”

Liu Yong was quite shrewd and traditional in his approach.

While office renovation wasn’t an issue, and Yuanhui’s designer was Gong Yang, his niece was just a freelancer – Tang shouldn’t use this as an excuse to harass her.

With Tang Yuanyue following Xia Xiaolan and Liu Yong, Huo Chenzhou naturally didn’t linger with the Huajian people, and the inexplicably present Du Zhaohui joined them as well. The Huajian representative was furious – Yuanhui’s boss Liu Yong was practically thuggish, employing unprofessional workers, and using his beautiful niece to curry favor with Manager Huo and Chairman Tang… how shameless!

The Huajian project manager continued his internal rant while quietly following behind.

He tried several times to take control of the conversation but failed.

Though Huajian was responsible for three-quarters of the renovation, Xia Xiaolan still held the title of chief design planner. Beautiful and sweet-voiced, even Huo Chenzhou, who was somewhat wary of her, preferred listening to her detailed explanations.

Xia Xiaolan knew the South Sea Hotel’s renovation inside out.

She had thoroughly researched any unclear points during the Jiangcheng symposium – how else could she have faced Nie Weiguo’s challenges?

Honestly, while Nie Weiguo might have poor character and lacked creative talent, he was still a professional with years of experience. His expertise not only surpassed outsiders like Tang Yuanyue but might even exceed that of the inspection specialists Huo Chenzhou had hired.

Having survived both the symposium’s scrutiny and Professor Mao Kangshan’s use of the South Sea Hotel as a teaching example, the entire project was now truly imprinted in her mind. She could answer any question about it.

The group moved from the lower to upper floors, looking down at the still-empty swimming pool. The hotel’s renovation was indeed mostly complete, with only some landscape details being finished.

“Why isn’t there water in the pool?”

Du Zhaohui, who had been captivated by the infinity pool’s design renderings, was quite dissatisfied seeing it empty.

The Huajian representative finally found a chance to speak: “This infinity pool is just a money pit. To achieve the effect described in the proposal, we need not only to fill it with water but also operate an entire water circulation and thrust system – it consumes a lot of electricity daily!”

The Huajian representative was being well-intentioned.

Having worked for the state for so long, he instinctively thought about conservation.

Liu Yong had previously suggested filling the pool, but this representative opposed it.

What the representative didn’t understand was that a five-star hotel wasn’t about saving money – should it be like a small guesthouse that couldn’t even guarantee 24-hour hot water?

Du Zhaohui gave a meaningful smile, while both Huo Chenzhou and Tang Yuanyue looked displeased.

“Start filling it with water now. How can we verify the entire circulation and propulsion system without testing whether the infinity pool can achieve the effect described in the design proposal?”

The representative was quite embarrassed.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t bother to smooth things over. Though Huajian and Yuanhui were collaborating on the renovation, Huajian, being a large corporation, had always looked down on Yuanhui.

Her uncle had endured plenty of disrespect – why should she try to be diplomatic?

While the pool was being filled, Huo Chenzhou and the others walked around the hotel, trying to experience the overall environment from a guest’s perspective. Though they couldn’t assess the service, everything else was in place.

Tang Yuanyue, having the most experience, even lay on a guest room bed for a while.

“The bedding could be improved.”

That was the young master Tang’s only comment.

Liu Yong nodded seriously.

Xia Xiaolan completely ignored it.

The budget was limited, and Yuanhui wasn’t responsible for bedding procurement. With Tang Yuanyue’s family wealth, his home certainly had the most comfortable beds. Even by international standards, not just domestic five-star hotel standards, they couldn’t compare to the bedding used in the Tang household.

As Xia Xiaolan left the room, Du Zhaohui appeared from somewhere:

“Xia Xiaolan, let’s call a truce. We never had any deep grudges – you’ve just always disliked me. Was it because I suggested you film in Hong Kong? The car accident was just that – an accident. I promptly sent you to the hospital, and I’ve dealt with Xia Dajun… We don’t have any grievances left, right?”

What did Du Zhaohui mean by “dealing with” Xia Dajun?

Probably not drowning him, but firing him.

Xia Xiaolan refused to follow his lead – whether Xia Dajun was valued or fired by Du Zhaohui was none of her concern!

“Young Master Du, personal relationships depend on chemistry. We didn’t like each other from our first meeting. You fired Xia Dajun – do you expect me to be grateful? Why don’t you tell me about my cousin Xia Ziyu’s whereabouts instead?”

Du Zhaohui knew she would ask about this.

This woman was truly unlikeable. Smart women would turn a blind eye, but Xia Xiaolan had to be so particular.

Seeing Tang Yuanyue coming out, Du Zhaohui lowered his voice: “I’m kindly reminding you that no matter how enthusiastic Tang Yuanyue seems, it’s because of Mayor Tang.”

Xia Xiaolan raised an eyebrow:

“Oh, and what about you? Young Master Du, if Chairman Tang approaches me because he wants something, what exactly are you after?”

Du Zhaohui stepped back, stumped by her question.

Indeed, given Xia Xiaolan’s constant aversion to him, why did he keep pursuing her? So far, he hadn’t gained anything but frustration.

Seeing Du Zhaohui like a startled rabbit, Xia Xiaolan couldn’t be bothered talking to someone so problematic. Any situation involving Du Zhaohui only brought her trouble.

Huo Chenzhou came up from downstairs and pointed to the hotel’s lounge: “When I was in Beijing, I wanted to talk to you several times but feared disturbing your studies. Shall we talk now?”

Xia Xiaolan had split her life into two parts: Monday through Friday, she was a university student.

On weekends, she was a businesswoman.

Setting aside how she managed these dual identities, Huo Chenzhou felt strange about going to Qinghua University to discuss business with her. Being too aggressive in negotiations would feel like bullying a student – the non-academic environment felt more appropriate!