Assistant Architect

Assistant Architect by Xi He Qing Ling

Chapter 159: The Church of Light

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Demonstrating his excellent ability,Zhang Siyi didn't disappoint as he played a few rounds. Watching him play indisbelief, Tao Fei hung his mouth open in an O shaped and glared at the scoreon the screen: "No fucking way! Are you cheating?!?! How can you score a 99.9%success rate with such a fast song?"

In thebeginning, Zhang Siyi didn't think he was doing anything special while heplayed the game, but now, not only did Gu Yu and his sister praise him, Tao Feiacted like he was witnessing an other-worldly being. Zhang Siyi smiled withself-satisfaction.

Gu Yu lifted his chin to peek over atthe screen and smiled at him. Zhang Siyi was clearly playing very well. Gu Yu actedmore proudly then Zhang Siyi.

Tao Fei ignored Gu Yu's conduct. –Evenif your wife was great, that doesn't mean you will defeat me!

“Come on, it's my turn. I don'tbelieve in cheaters!” Eager for a fight, Tao Fei rubbed his hands togetherthen raised his sleeves. Zhang Siyi passed the iPad back to Tai Fei. He scoreda little better than in his previous rounds, but it continued to be a far cryfrom Zhang Siyi's score.

Next,it was Gu Yu's turn to play the game….. Zhang Siyi couldn't bear to look at GuYu play so he covered his eyes.

Tao Fei laughed out loud'ha-ha-ha-ha!' and spoke to Gu Yu: "You are way too slow! How can you miss sucha simple rhythm?"

Saddened by his poor performance, GuYu tactfully handed the iPad to Zhang Siyi as if to tell him to take revenge.

At once, Zhang Siyi understood what GuYu wanted and again, Zhang Siyi displayed masterful ability and scored an A+.Even though he received a 100% success rate, Zhang Siyi continued to feel thatthe game wasn't very challenging.

Tao Fei held out the iPad and exclaimed:“Too awesome! You have God’s skill!"

With eyes full of admiration and love,Gu Yu looked at Zhang Siyi tenderly.

Bashful, Zhang Siyi looked awayfeeling embarrassed. Since he didn't feel as though he put any effort intomastering the game, he didn't think it was something to be proud of. Be that asit may, Zhang Siyi really liked making his boyfriend happy.

Compared to his talent playing thegame, he much rather have the innate learning skills and excellent memory thatGu Yu possessed; abilities that were necessary to live a comfortable life!

With the rigorous academics needed toattend the best university in the country, never mind the additional talentsrequired by the prestigious Department of Architecture, Tao Fei and Gu Yu mustbe very intellectual people. However, in disbelief, as with Gu Yu, Zhang Siyiwitnessed Tao Fei's lackluster performance. –But It's easy! What is wrong with theirbrains?

In order to outdo one another, thefriends continued to compete with one another. In the end, Zhang Siyi's scorewas impossible to reach. Both Gu Yu and Tao Fei urged Zhang Siyi to evaluatetheir games and decide who was the better player. Unaffected by their cries,Zhang Siyi simply shook his head slowly in pity.

Tao Fei: “…”

Gu Yu: “…”

Tao Fei narrowed his eyes: “Yourlittle boyfriend seems to be looking down on us.”

Gu Yu also narrowed his eyes at ZhangSiyi: "I think you're right."

Suddenly scared, Zhang Siyi waved hisarms and hands all over: “I did not! I did not!”

Gu Yu leaned over to Zhang Siyi andslipped his hand under his shirt and pulled him close by his waist. In front ofTao Fei he gave Zhang Siyi a kiss on the lips.

Zhang Siyi: “…”

Caught by surprise, Tao Fei let out anaudible sound then turned around and laid down on the other bed with the iPad:"I'll give you ten minutes. Be quick about it!"

Gu Yu glanced at Tao Fei then smiledbroadly. Having needed to suppress his feelings all day, like opening afloodgate, now Gu Yu couldn't stop the torrent of desire that welled up insidehim and kissed Zhang Siyi passionately.

Taken by surprise, at first Zhang Siyiwanted to protest - wait, but Tao Fei is still here! - but, once he feltGu Yu's soft lips pressed upon his own, he couldn't resist. Responding to Gu Yuadvances in kind, he reached out and held him close. Zhang Siyi opened his lipsslightly to meet Gu Yu's tongue and they kissed deeply…. The body is far morehonest than the mind.

One part of Zhang Siyi's mind knewthat there was another person in the room and that he should feel embarrassed,but there was another part of his mind that thought having another personpresent made it more exciting. Concentrating on the sensations on his skin,Zhang Siyi grew numb to his surroundings and solely focused on Gu Yu's touch.With only the tip of his tongue meeting, Zhang Siyi could feel his whole bodystart to tingle. Gu Yu's gentle caresses heightened his feelings and made hisbody tremble.

Tao Fei watched ten minutes slowly pass. Behind him, the sounds of kissing andheavy breathing intensified. They didn't seem to care that Tao Fei was in theroom since the two didn't hold back. Damn it! Was he supposed to go straight toLu Qiao’s room with a pillow? He called out: "All right, that's enough…."

Finally, he could quietly hear ZhangSiyi say a sensible 'stop' but, in the next second the sound turned into moreerotic noises. Gu Yu had pressed his lips upon Zhang Siyi again.

…… God Damnit! Am I just a dog!

After a few minutes, the two of themseparated and Gu Yu brought Zhang Siyi to the door. Even though Tao Fei heardthem say good night to one another at the door, it was some time later that heheard Gu Yu finally open and shut the door to let Zhang Siyi out.

Looking down at the iPad screen, TaoFei saw his score was actually higher than Gu Yu's. Even though he 'won', therewas nothing to feel happy about. With a heavy heart, Tao Fei felt that hereally lost.

As though he ate a pound of honey, ZhangSiyi returned to his room in a very good mood.

When Zhang Siyi returned to his room, asingle small bedside lamp was lit. Since Lu Qiao was quiet and already in bedwith only the very top of his hair visible out of the quilt, he thought hisroommate feel asleep early. After quietly turning off the bedside light, ZhangSiyi got into bed and soon fell asleep.

The next day was another full day ofscheduled events. The main agenda for the day was Tadao Ando's famous building:Church of Light** It was located outside of Osaka in the small town of Ibaraki.Since the space was small, the Church required reservations to tour the site inorder to regulate the flow of visitors properly. Half of the people fromBorderless went to see the Church early in the morning.

At the time of the visit, there was agroup of Chinese tourists already inside looking around. Since they weren'tthere for religious reasons, they respectfully walked through the space in arush and were going to leave. When the group of Borderless people arrived, theywere whispering excitedly and snapping photos non-stop in order to captureevery detail. Being architects, the group had inside knowledge about thebuilding as it was a place that many studied at university.

Witnessing the group of young peopleacting so enthusiastic about the Church, they remained inside for longer. Nowcurious, they approached Zhang Siyi and one of them struck up a conversationwith him. After learning that they were all architects, they asked Zhang Siyito explain why the building was special.

Since it was four years ago that hisprofessor at university gave a lecture about the Church, he had forgotten manydetails about it and thus, felt an immediate pressure.

However, these people are all withoutan architectural background. He took a deep breath to gather his thoughts andtold them what he thought: "The interior of this church is in a minimalistic style. The designer used geometryto effectively make a cross made out of light that is illuminated by the sunoutside. The image of the cross projected inside changes with the position ofthe sun's rise and fall in the sky and thereby making the inside feel like amysterious, sacred space.

He pointed to the slope inside thechurch and said: “The concept that diverges from traditional churches isthe location where the pastor stands. Since it is at the same height as thepeople in the pews, the design reflects the architect's idea to express the ideaof equality for all."

The group of tourists listened toZhang Siyi's explanation attentively and thanked him. As they were gatheringthemselves to leave the building, Zhang Siyi breathed a sigh of relief. Frombehind him, he heard Gu Yu speak: "You spoke very well."

“Ah? Really?” Zhang Siyi saidfeeling slightly embarrassed. He looked back at Gu Yu: "It's been so long sincehearing my professor lecture about Tadao Ando's work that I've forgotten thedetails. I simply told them my thoughts and opinions."

"Your quick thinking was very good." Gu Yu walked over to him. On the basis of Zhang Siyi's explanation to the visitors, he added a few points of his own which included the materials used in the building and a formal analysis. "Since the ideas expressed in books are summed up by others, you don't need to remember the details printed in them. On the contrary, the points you expressed just now are what you personally feel. It shows that you are able to appreciate the merits of master works and prove that you already have the aesthetics and judgment of a professional architect.”

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T/N: Church of Light: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7ZtfYOD5I8M/maxresdefault.jpg