“…I apologize, Mr. Zhang. I’m the new director, Lu Jinren. My subordinates are usually a bit undisciplined, and if they’ve disappointed you, I offer my apologies on their behalf…”
Before he even approached, Xiao Mu heard Lu Jinren’s ingratiating voice. Standing at the doorway, Xiao Mu couldn’t hide his expression. Across from the clients, Wu Tianjiao, who had been seated on the sofa, had already stood up, impatiently ruffling his thinning pink hair.
Yu Sibo raised an eyebrow and murmured, “Looks like no improvement at all.”
The reception room of Group One was decorated in a cozy, home-like style. He pulled up a tall stool and sat near the bar counter.
By the coffee table, Mr. and Mrs. Zhang exchanged a glance. Mrs. Zhang spoke first: “You don’t have to do that.”
Lu Jinren smiled: “It’s still necessary. In our line of work, we’re half in the service industry. Of course, catering to your every need is the priority. Isn’t that right?”
Mr. Zhang frowned: “Do as you like. We just want the plan.”
Lu Jinren’s smile faltered slightly but he continued: “Alright. Could you tell me which part of the process you’re dissatisfied with?”
Mrs. Zhang frowned lightly: “I suggested a plan, but this young girl insisted it couldn’t be done… It’s just building a small treehouse in the room, how could it be impossible? There are plenty of online renovation videos showing exactly that.”
She pulled out her phone and played a video. The low-resolution rendering made it look rough, and a robotic voice intoned: “Borrow a few expansion screws from your second aunt…”
Wu Tianjiao couldn’t help but say, “Ma’am, this really won’t work…”
Lu Jinren turned and shot her a glare, then forced a smile: “It can be done. What’s so impossible about it?”
At this, Mrs. Zhang’s expression relaxed a little.
Lu Jinren quickly added, worried: “But doing it this way will be a bit expensive.” He roughly quoted a figure.
Mr. Zhang immediately frowned: “That expensive?”
“Of course. You get what you pay for,” Lu Jinren said, smiling. “If you leave it to us, it’ll be fine. We’ll use only the best materials.”
Mrs. Zhang nudged her husband, and the couple visibly began to waver.
“This director is different… maybe…” Mr. Zhang whispered to his wife. But as she hesitated, a young voice spoke up.
“Based on your needs, we can offer a better plan.”
The couple looked up to see the young man who had been sitting on the tall stool stand and approach with steady steps.
Yu Sibo glanced at the now-smileless Lu Jinren, pulled open a sofa chair, picked up a pen, twirled it on his finger, grabbed a blank sheet of paper, and started drawing.
“This room is for your school-age younger son. Kids love climbing and exploring. After seeing similar videos, he naturally wanted a treehouse… But in a few years, when he reaches middle school and faces academic pressure, learning in this kind of room may feel a bit oppressive.”
Mrs. Zhang nodded: “That’s exactly what I told him before, but you know, kids don’t always understand…”
Yu Sibo gave a faint smile. In a few strokes, the blank page already showed the outline of a room, with one wall resembling an oversized pegboard.
“Considering long-term usability, I think it would be better to make this a flexible space…”
“Yu team leader, that’s all just decoration,” Lu Jinren interjected. “Is it safe? Safety is the top priority in design. Don’t forget that!”
Mr. Zhang frowned: “Yes, safety is important.”
Yu Sibo added the final stroke and said simply: “Of course. That’s also our main concern.”
He reached back and took a portfolio from Gao Xiangri, sliding it in front of the couple.
Gao Xiangri opened it with a bright smile: “This is our team’s collection. We’ve done four cases similar to what we just discussed in the past two years. If you need, we can arrange follow-ups. And our company is backed by a reputable building materials enterprise, so you never have to worry about price or quality.”
Yu Sibo pressed a pen on one page and explained: “For example, here at this corner, we’ve made special adjustments, ensuring safety while increasing storage space…”
His tone was calm, yet the Zhangs became increasingly captivated. Eventually, Mrs. Zhang laughed and interrupted: “Sorry, I’ll call my son so he can hear the designer’s idea. He’ll love it!”
Yu Sibo paused briefly: “Just tell him. You can take this drawing home.”
On the sheet were already two or three possible layouts for the room: from a playful kid’s room, to a study-friendly youth room, and finally a clean, elegant room suitable for an adult with display space.
The Zhangs compared the drawing with their video, and even with the video’s polished render, the difference was staggering.
“This design fee is money well spent!” Mrs. Zhang beamed.
Mr. Zhang, now smiling, looked at Lu Jinren: “Your designer is excellent!”
He spared the new director’s pride, refraining from saying out loud, “How is this director worse than a normal designer?”
Lu Jinren, however, still looked displeased, forcing a smile and standing silently as the clients finalized the schedule with the team.
Wu Tianjiao said: “Three workdays from now, I and Team Leader Yu will communicate a few draft plans with you online…”
Mrs. Zhang nodded, about to agree, when Director Lu interrupted:
“No need to wait three days,” he said, smiling again, bowing slightly. “You probably don’t know, Team Leader Yu from Tingji is famous for efficiency. He can give it to you tomorrow morning.”
Mrs. Zhang was taken aback: “Isn’t that a bit tight?”
“Just a matter of working overtime,” Lu Jinren said. “It’s what we do for efficient client communication.”
“Good,” Mr. Zhang pressed his wife’s hand. “I really like your efficiency.”
In three words, the fate of Group One working overtime today was sealed. Lu Jinren curled half a smile, turning to admire the team’s reaction, especially Yu Sibo’s.
But he only saw an intern, Xiao Mu, glaring, while the other three quietly worked. Yu Sibo showed not a single expression.
Lu Jinren suddenly felt frustrated, without even a reason to vent.
“If you need, we can have the final rendering ready by tomorrow,” Wu Tianjiao said professionally. “It just requires a 10% rush fee.”
Mr. Zhang didn’t hesitate: “Fair enough. Let’s do that.”
The follow-up was settled smoothly. Mr. Zhang looked up in surprise: “Where’s your director?”
Lu Jinren had already disappeared without a trace.
Gao Xiangri shrugged: “Maybe he found a hole to crawl into.”
The couple chuckled: “This designer is so talented, he should be the director!”
“He was offered, but our team leader isn’t interested in management. He just wants to focus on design,” Gao Xiangri said proudly.
Yu Sibo glanced at him.
After seeing the clients off, the team exchanged glances, emotions mixed.
Gao Xiangri laughed heartily, slapping his thigh: “He’s showing off things our leader doesn’t want!”
Wu Tianjiao tidied up papers: “Just hope he’s not the grudging type.”
“Team Leader, I’ll take over,” Xiao Mu said, taking her work and finally asking:
“Master, Team Leader, aren’t you guys uncomfortable working overtime today…?”
Gao Xiangri tapped the kid’s forehead: “Your leader’s mouth isn’t for show. He has his reasons.”
Wu Tianjiao nodded: “Leader has his own pace.”
Following their gaze, Xiao Mu looked at the leader by the bookshelf.
Yu Sibo closed the portfolio with a heavy thud, placing it back on the display rack as if it couldn’t be toppled by any storm.
Xiao Mu suddenly felt reassured.
When the news of the earlier deadline reached Group One’s office, it sparked a round of cursing at Lu Jinren:
“Damn, leader! How dare he?”
“I saw Lu with Team Two this morning…”
“Is he sent here to keep messing with us?”
“Looks like he wants to challenge Director Ji?”
Yu Sibo returned to his workstation amidst the chatter.
The office was bright and airy, sunlight hitting the plants, and he didn’t feel the least irritation about overtime.
A team member asked: “Leader, should we stay tonight and finish it?”
Intern Xiao Mu was confused. Stay? Isn’t overtime for everyone?
Yu Sibo waved his hand: “Focus this afternoon. Start first.”
He glanced at the clock, thought briefly, and assigned tasks. Even Xiao Mu, still inexperienced, got an important role.
The whole project pushed the team to high intensity. The team worked like a well-oiled machine until Yu Sibo’s clock struck four times.
Six o’clock.
Xiao Mu hadn’t noticed the time and was still hard at work when a tap on his shoulder startled him.
He looked up to see all the senior team members packed and ready to leave.
“The drafts are basically these three. Xiangri reviewed them; only final tweaks remain,” Wu Tianjiao said, then went back to her station.
“Let’s go. Clock out. Didn’t you have dinner plans with your crush tonight?”
Xiao Mu stumbled out the glass door, knocking a sunflower decoration along the way.
The corridor was empty except for Group One leaving. Only then did Xiao Mu find his voice:
“We only finished seventy percent…! Leader has to do the rest alone tonight? Don’t we stay to help him?”
Wu Tianjiao quickly stopped him: “The rest is work only the leader can handle. We’d just be in the way.”
“Or you could stay and bring him tea,” another member teased. “But he might kick you out anyway.”
Xiao Mu froze, looked back, and saw the office. Only the leader’s desk, deep inside, was still lit, like a lone lighthouse in the ocean.
The “lighthouse” seemed to notice, looked up, and waved.
Xiao Mu looked down, dejected: “…I know I can’t help the leader much.”
He thought back to when he first joined the team, staying up until 3 a.m., frustrated at not completing tasks, feeling he couldn’t keep up.
“But the leader suddenly came online,” Xiao Mu continued, gripping his shirt. “Late at night, he sacrificed his sleep to teach me for half an hour. Taught me skills and tricks… My mentor wouldn’t do that.”
“When I finished, he was still there.” Xiao Mu sniffed, turning his head. “I just wanted to help him, so he’s not so tired. I’ll work hard.”
A moment of silence passed. Xiao Mu blushed, realizing his words.
Wu Tianjiao laughed softly and looked at Yu Sibo: “Seeing this, I suddenly feel guilty… Look at your leader.”
Xiao Mu’s eyes widened: “Master! You’re crying?!”
Gao Xiangri’s eyes glistened red.
Wu Tianjiao smiled: “Your leader isn’t as…” She finally found the word: “He’s not as clumsy as you think.”
Xiao Mu: “…Huh?”
Gao Xiangri patted him: “Go home. Rest, study. When the leader needs us, he’ll tell us—just like this afternoon.”
Yu Sibo, watching the team leave, returned to his computer.
He opened a long-hidden game on the E-drive:
—Fearless Contract, start!
After some gaming, he returned to work, drafts falling into place effortlessly, like breathing. Each revision required only a few strokes.
Saving his work, he sighed. If ranked games were this simple…
But that wasn’t comparable. Today’s smooth work relied entirely on the team’s afternoon focus.
He thought whimsically: maybe he could duo with Execut2, the top champion.
Yu Sibo smiled faintly, a cold smirk. Fantasy done, he refocused on work.
His commute later required waiting for the last metro, so he planned to work until 11:30, then take the train home.
At the glass door, someone had been watching silently for five minutes—Ji Wenze. He saw Yu Sibo’s expression change under the lone lamp: pensive, frustrated, annoyed at Lu Jinren.
Finally, Ji Wenze knocked. Yu Sibo looked up, expressionless, then slightly puzzled.
“Director Ji?”
Ji Wenze smiled: “How’s progress?”
“…Maybe two more hours,” Yu Sibo replied, frowning at the screen.
“Clock out. Save your work and continue tomorrow morning. Let someone else cover the morning meeting. If Lu has issues, tell him I said so.”
“Ah…ah?” Yu Sibo’s eyes widened in shock.
Ji Wenze waved and left. In the empty office, Yu Sibo muttered in disbelief:
“…Is he crazy?”
Overtime pay, all mine… thanks, Lu Jinren! And closer to meeting the card god!