Mrs. Wilson was watching “Cats” at one of Broadway’s hottest theaters, comparing its overall quality with her theater.

Xia Xiaolan was observing the theater’s interior design.

New technology was used in both stage acoustics and backdrops.

The seats were more comfortable than those in Mrs. Wilson’s theater.

As for the quality of the musical performance, Xia Xiaolan couldn’t judge, but the stage performance was indeed captivating. The show’s length was well-controlled, keeping the audience engaged throughout without feeling tedious… Overall, Xia Xiaolan felt it was better than she had imagined.

This gave Xia Xiaolan an odd expression.

She thought she would resist it more, but surprisingly, she found it easier to accept than expected.

Mrs. Wilson watched with tears in her eyes – wealthy ladies’ compassionate hearts could only be freely expressed in such settings.

She wiped her tears:

“Xia, aren’t they performing wonderfully?”

Xia Xiaolan nodded, “Yes, it’s quite good. Do you like this theater’s interior style?”

While the stage technology was advanced, the interior decorations were vintage and luxurious.

When audiences buy tickets for performances, part of what they’re paying for is the theater’s decoration and popularity.

Competition among Broadway theaters was fierce. Popular theaters with good shows were hard to get tickets for while struggling theaters often discounted their tickets to fill seats.

What could theaters do when audiences were willing to pay full price for tickets?

Besides location, theaters needed good management. Mrs. Wilson’s wanting to give audiences a fresh interior experience was just one way to try turning losses into profits.

Would renovation alone be effective?

No, it would need to be combined with other measures.

But other matters weren’t Xia Xiaolan’s concern – she was only responsible for the theater renovation.

Xia Xiaolan began her theater-visiting activities with Mrs. Wilson. That evening’s “Cats” was just the beginning. Over the next few days, Xia Xiaolan maintained a pace of watching six or seven shows daily, quickly touring most of Broadway’s theaters.

Mrs. Wilson, being over 60, couldn’t match Xia Xiaolan’s energy despite her youthful appearance. She couldn’t handle six or seven shows a day!

But she made sure to accompany Xia Xiaolan for at least one show daily.

Mrs. Wilson felt she had become quite close with Xia Xiaolan.

This week she’d spent more time with Xia Xiaolan than with George!

“George and his wife returned to New York but went back to China today.”

One day, leaving the theater, Mrs. Wilson suddenly said.

“Ma’am, congratulations to you and Mr. Ivan for getting what you wanted!”

Xia Xiaolan wanted to quickly move past this topic, but Mrs. Wilson snorted: “Ivan and I want George to return to America. We’re still far from that goal.”

George had agreed to sign the marital property agreement with Ji Ya, but he wouldn’t give her up and insisted on returning to China with her.

“Ma’am, this is true love. As we say in China, you and Mr. Ivan should just let nature take its course.”

Whether Ji Ya’s love was true remained unknown, but George’s certainly was.

However, this true love had changed under Ji Ya’s repeated self-destructive actions… it was up to Ji Ya herself to salvage it.

Some people don’t have others to clean up their messes. If they’re not smart enough or beautiful enough, one mistake can use up a lifetime’s worth of luck, so ordinary people should just live honestly.

Others rely on heaven’s favor, born into good circumstances, fortunately, blessed with a pretty face and repeatedly court disaster.

Without looking for trouble, there would be no trouble. No one gets hundreds of chances to start over. Even a good hand can be ruined by careless play. Xia Xiaolan did not comment on this.

Having toured most of Broadway’s theaters, Xia Xiaolan gathered her team for a meeting:

“I’m very open-minded. Everyone can share their opinions. What are your thoughts on Mrs. Wilson’s commission?”

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t the only one preparing.

While she chose to immerse herself in Broadway, Matthew dug up GMP’s previous theater projects from around the world.

Lisa looked at Xia Xiaolan without speaking.

Kissinger asked her to assist Xia Xiaolan!

Working with Hoffman was one thing – despite years of service, she still hadn’t become a senior architect. Now being asked to assist an intern? Lisa’s displeasure was inevitable, but having been suppressed throughout her career, she dared not defy GMP partners’ authority. She couldn’t openly say that assisting Xia Xiaolan was humiliating, so she could only resist passively.

That meant silently withholding opinions!

Let’s see what kind of commotion Xia Xiaolan could stir up.

Wasn’t she relying on connections to get ahead?

Well, let’s see if the client would hold their nose and accept whatever garbage design she came up with.

“Xia, I have no opinions.”

Lisa smiled.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t even furrow her brow, “If no one has any opinions, I’ll proceed with my ideas. I think we all agree on upgrading to more advanced stage acoustics, lighting, and other facilities. Lisa, I’ll need your help with that aspect. As for the theater’s interior decoration plan, I also have my ideas.”

Whether there was passive resistance didn’t matter; Xia Xiaolan simply split up the project.

She would do what she was good at, and research what she didn’t understand, and if colleagues withheld information, surely Cornell’s architecture professors wouldn’t!

She directly assigned tasks to Lisa and others – after all, she had asked for opinions, and Lisa herself said she had none.

Xia Xiaolan brought out her concept drawings from the past two days:

“Lisa, do you see any technical issues with implementing this?”

Lisa flipped through her concept drawings, “The stage acoustics can use Dolby Labs’ new technology. That’s not a problem.”

As for whether there were problems with the plan—

Xia Xiaolan wanted to completely overturn the theater’s previous style. When Mrs. Wilson gave everyone a tour that day, she was very emotionally attached to the theater. Even the 1971 renovation had maintained the theater’s original style and layout.

Xia Xiaolan wanted to change the luxurious style into an extremely modern, minimalist artistic style. Would Mrs. Wilson agree?

“The renderings are beautiful.”

After looking for a long time, that was all Lisa had to say.

Of course, the renderings were beautiful. They required extensive lighting modifications. When the theater’s main lights were off, Xia Xiaolan wanted people to see a slowly flowing galaxy overhead.

Creating the illusion of watching a musical under a vast night sky.

The galaxy couldn’t be static; it had to flow slowly, with small light strips surrounding the theater seating. If there had been “Instagram-worthy” spots in 1986, she wanted Mrs. Wilson’s theater to be one.

She couldn’t explain social media economics to Lisa. Mrs. Wilson had her aesthetic, and Xia Xiaolan had her plans for the renovation.

Matthew had collected a pile of materials, and at heart, he supported Xia Xiaolan’s design concept.

“There are so many theaters on Broadway, all similar to each other. This way, Mrs. Wilson’s theater might stand out.”

This compliment hit the mark, and Xia Xiaolan couldn’t help but give him an approving look.