As June arrived, after more than two months of work through the sweltering summer heat, Xia Xiaolan completed the museum design draft. The amount of draft paper she had gone through couldn’t be measured in sheets – it had to be counted by the pound.

In early June, Xu Zhongyi and Xu Changle returned from the United States. As the clients, they naturally needed to review Xia Xiaolan’s completed design. This was her longest project to date, with everything from design to budget calculations done entirely by her.

For the first time, she truly felt she was designing an artwork, not just completing a job. She hadn’t even thought about discussing payment.

This work wasn’t about making money. Truthfully, even though Xu Zhongyi had raised the budget to 20 million, Xia Xiaolan would still exceed it to achieve her desired effect… Even with her designing it through Qihang Firm and calculating all materials at cost, it still went over by several million.

Indeed, neither Qihang Firm nor Xia Xiaolan would make any profit – they’d lose several million. If someone else were to build it according to Xia Xiaolan’s designs, without including her design fee, they’d need a budget of at least 30 million to make it worthwhile. With just a few million in profit, what contractor would take on such a project? Every boss had workers to support and couldn’t work for free.

Though she wasn’t making money herself, Xia Xiaolan felt guilty about spending Xu Zhongyi’s money: “Uncle Xu, I’ll cover the extra 6 million me.”

Xu Zhongyi had already increased the budget by 10 million yuan – should he add another 6 million just to fully realize her design and gain international recognition?

Neither Xu Zhongyi nor Xia Xiaolan could accept this. She wasn’t worried though – in just a few months, once her operation in Qiong Island turned a profit, covering the 6 million shortfall would be easy.

Xu Zhongyi was frank with her, “If you want to contribute, that’s fine. Whatever amount you put in, I’ll give you an equal share of the museum ownership. Don’t rush to refuse – think carefully about my offer.”

Xia Xiaolan hesitated: “Then let me revise the plan—”

Xu Changle picked up her design drawings and studied them carefully before shaking his head: “We can’t change this. Altering such a design just to save money would be a loss. I’ll cover the additional cost – I’ve recently taken over two trading companies that are becoming profitable again. Xiaolan, don’t refuse or consider it a burden. I love your design, and this museum is important to our entire family! Honestly, no matter how much money we make or how successful we become, it’s not absolute. Even the most beautiful buildings might change hands, but this museum… I have a feeling it will stand for a very long time!”

Commercial buildings and residential complexes could rarely be called works of art. If needed, they would be demolished to make way for new construction. But museums and opera houses were naturally meant for architects to showcase their talents! They perfectly embodied architectural aesthetics and artistry. As a city developed, it might tear down old, low buildings to build new ones, but it wouldn’t demolish its “artworks” – instead, they would be maintained and protected.

Xu Changle believed that even after he was gone, Xia Xiaolan’s museum design might still stand proudly in its original place!

Xu Zhongyi also felt no changes were needed. Any modifications should only be improvements, not compromises for cost.

Xia Xiaolan’s greatest fortune was having the Xu father and son as clients. While they weren’t the wealthiest clients, they both possessed excellent artistic appreciation.

Xu Zhongyi’s aesthetic sensibilities were shaped by his scholarly father and his mother from a former wealthy merchant family in the commercial district – they were his earliest teachers in artistic appreciation. Over the years, he had dealt extensively with antiques. Whether porcelain, paintings, calligraphy, or precious metals and jade, these historical artifacts that survived the passage of time were all works of art! Xu Zhongyi had developed a keen eye for traditional Chinese culture and art.

Xu Changle, meanwhile, was more versed in modern and contemporary arts.

Such clients were rare indeed – they had no desire to interfere with Xia Xiaolan’s design. They were satisfied with it, and even though it exceeded the budget by several million, they wanted to preserve this design! Even if the architect wasn’t Xia Xiaolan herself, if someone else had presented this design, the Xu father and son would likely have approved it after careful consideration.

At this point, what drove their decision wasn’t just personal connections, or at least not only that… it was Xia Xiaolan’s renderings that moved them, that gave them satisfaction!

The original purpose of building the museum was to exhibit the antiques that once belonged to the Yu family of the commercial district. The Yu family’s antiques deserved to be displayed in such a setting.

Xia Xiaolan understood the Xu father and son’s intentions, though she remained somewhat skeptical. Was it really that good?

In early June, the AIA Association announced the results of its first “AIA Rising Star Architect” competition, with a 26-year-old Italian architect winning the award.

Frank, looking at the winner’s work in the journal, didn’t speak disparagingly but rather quite objectively: “You were right to decline this year’s competition. If you had competed against this Italian architect with your theater design, the outcome would have been uncertain. Even if AIA had awarded you this year’s Rising Star Architect award, others would have speculated that it was AIA’s ‘compensation’ to you, since your skill levels are quite similar.”

But that was before Xia Xiaolan’s museum design had been revealed.

Frank changed his tone, lavishing praise on his new boss without reserve: “Next year will be completely different. I don’t believe anyone could surpass you. This work is amazing, truly. I don’t think even if Mond Dawson personally stepped in to ghost-design for his daughter, he couldn’t exceed your design!”

Frank spoke with absolute sincerity.

His flattery made Xia Xiaolan feel somewhat comfortable, though she maintained her final shred of rationality: “Whether it’s as good as you say, we’ll see the feedback once two magazines publish it.”

If those around her continued praising her this way, Xia Xiaolan would become too proud.

She needed someone to criticize her right now.

But Mao Kangshan had been extremely gentle with her lately, barely criticizing her at all. Even regarding the museum design, Mao Kangshan only checked if she had miscalculated any data, offering no opinion on the design itself. Where could she find suitable, rational people to evaluate her work?

As Xia Xiaolan humbly sought criticism, Mao Kangshan finally couldn’t resist and called Ning Yanfan: “Do you have time these days… why don’t you come to Pengcheng?”