Assistant Architect

Translator: Blues

Editor: Shem

NOTE: I made a mistake, it’s actually Zhang Si Yi not Zhang Siyi.

Zhu Hongzhen met him and wanted to ask him what he had for lunch, but the guy forgot his name: “What’s your name again? I forgot."

“Zhang Si Yi. The si from si xiang, and yi from yili.” Zhang Si Yi repeated it patiently while comforting himself in his heart about the deduction.

It was only five hundred Yuan, not enough to buy a pair of jeans, just buckle it! Don't be stingy! The first major was to grow the experience and learning skills, not to mention the trial period. The trial salary was 4,500 Yuan. Salary was not the main point… Salary was not the main point… not the point.

Zhu Hongzhen: “Your name is not easy to remember. Do you have any nickname? Maybe a childhood nickname?”

Zhang Si Yi: “How about an English name? Dannis? My foreigner classmates called me that."

Zhu Hongzhen pronounced it awkwardly, then said: “Oh, dang! It's not as good as the Chinese name.”

Bi Lele who was sitting opposite them said: “Simply from a homonym Si Yi… Master of ceremonies? Or fourth aunt? How about it?"

(T/N: The pinyin of 司仪 (Master of ceremonies) and 四姨 (fourth aunt) has an identical sound as the pinyin of our MC's name. It's really hard to explain T.T)

Zhu Hongzhen: “Poof!”

Zhang Si Yi almost fell down, then he said: “I'm a man, why do I have to be called aunt?”

Bi Lele rolled her eyes: “There is a guy in our group nicknamed Sister Qiao."

Zhu Hongzhen: “Engineer Tong's group also has a sister, the nickname is Brother Shuang. Kid, don't mind these details. I think fourth aunt is very easy to remember.”

Zhang Si Yi: “…” What an ass!

Bi Lele again: “And look at this group, you happened to be the fourth member to come. So calling you 'fourth aunt’ is too appropriate."

Yuan Zhicheng who was on the opposite side looked up and said in a vague sentence: “Fourth aunt is good.”

Zhang Si Yi was too late to prevent it, a few people on the side still openly called him “fourth aunt this" and "fourth aunt that”. He was a little mad, he still wanted to struggle about it and make them change it to call him “Master of ceremonies", but it happened that the company’s IT who came to help him set up the computer had mercilessly stripped him of his last chance to protest.

The office's computers had an internal LAN. In order to prevent the outflow of resources, communication and file transfer between colleagues needed to be done through internal communication software in a form similar to QQ. All employees’ address books were inside and people could see it at a glance.

Zhang Si Yi curiously studied it for a while. He found that the architectural design division was subdivided into three major groups, namely: Engineer Gu's group (A), Engineer Tong's group (B), and Engineer Cui's group (C), whose name was in group A.

“Xiao Zhu, who is this Engineer Cui?” Zhang Si Yi knew the first two, but he never heard of the last one.

Zhu Hongzheng: “Oh, you mean teacher Cui from group C? He is a teacher at J-Grand school of Architecture, making ancient Chinese architectural design. He is usually at school. Relatively speaking, Group C is equivalent to his personal studio. It's under “Boundless”, when there's a joint project."

Zhang Si Yi understood it. The well-known teacher of architecture department in the country had his own personal studio [Note 1], and many teachers would choose to cooperate with design institutes and companies.

Zhang Si Yi carefully looked at the names of his colleagues in the same group, when his line of sight moved to the name of “Gu Xiao” on the top, he remembered that he had been deducted 500 Yuan of wages. He gritted his teeth in depressed and his fingers unconsciously double-clicked the dialog box.

Almost at the same time, a sentence popped out of the dialog box—

“Go to my office."

Zhang Si Yi was shocked and was stunned for a few seconds, repeatedly confirming that this sentence was received just that moment, to believe that this was a coincidence.

He did not dare to delay. With his hands shaking, he replied “OK”, then got up and went to Gu Xiao's office.

He tapped the frosted glass door, once he heard the sound "Come in" coming from the inside, Zhang Si Yi pushed the door to enter.

This was a room with less than 10 square meters, a large design table in the middle, an iMac, a laptop, and a printer; The corner of the desk was neatly piled with a stack of data, next to the data was a desktop pen-holder area, which was stacked with colored markers, colored leads, needle pens and scales.

Gu Xiao was sitting opposite him and was leaning on a bookshelf. There were a lot of professional books on the shelves, and there were also some large and small model designs in the empty spaces.

Zhang Si Yi did not know how to describe his feelings at the moment. Before coming in, his mood was a little restless, perhaps he still grumbled about the deduction of his salary. But when he came in, he just looked at everything in this office that was related to architecture and thought that this was a place where Gu Xiao usually work, his inner anxiety turned to excitement.

……my lord! (兀v兀)

It might be that he was poisoned too deeply in the midst of that year, that the yearning from the heart had become some kind of instinct. When memory was once again awakened, this kind of obsession would be hard to let go…

Gu Xiao pointed to the chair opposite his desk and let him sit down

Zhang Si Yi took a deep breath. He looked around and saw a piece of calligraphy on the left side of a blank wall, it was a letter to Zhuge Liang's《Ring Article》with three words under it: Tranquility yields transcendence.

His whole body could not help but calm down after reading it.

“How about it? Are you familiar now with the company's environment?” asked Gu xiao.

“Almost…." All right! stop thinking about the salary matter, the priority is to stay through the trial period! Zhang Si Yi made up his mind.

Gu Xiao handed a piece of paper to him: “This is an office building located in D City, S Province. Take a look at it. Currently there are three people in the group doing this project, design and external streamline have come out, and this is the building function zone and contour map."

Zhang Si Yi took the map and swept a glance at it, he was suddenly dumbfounded…… Dang, that's a wide horizontal plane!

"What kind of drawing software do you usually use? Is the computer set up? Have you installed the software already?" Gu Xiao asked again.

The atmosphere became tense with the pace of Gu Xiao's dialogue. Zhang Si Yi hurriedly said: "Mostly with ArchiCAD, but also with AutoCAD."

He just graduated and these softwares did not work very well, so he had to draw for a long time.

Gu Xiao nodded: “Lu Qiao use Tianzheng to draw this project. Some Tianzheng plug-in ArchiCAD does not display, there will be problems when transferring files, you’d better learn it too."

Zhang Si Yi: “Oh…"

Gu Xiao: “Lay out the inside core tube in a moment, then give it to me before you get off work tonight."

Zhang Si Yi: "……."

Taking the map back to his seat, Zhang Si Yi had not yet reacted from the state of his shock—a new software must be learned in the afternoon, but also have to draw the core tube of such a big building.

Damn it! Somebody kill him!

“Did the boss give you a task?” Zhu Hongzhen asked with a smile.

“Uh…” The task quantity was huge, Zhang Si Yi did not dare to delay. He quickly opened the address book to find Lu Qiao. “Xiao Zhu, Lu Qiao is not what you just said… sister Qiao?”

"That’s him,” Zhu Hongzhen pointed to the skinny little figure in the distance and said, “The one in the blue clothes, see?”

As he was speaking, the other person had already paged him online: “Fourth aunt, right?”

Zhang Si Yi: “……” (=皿=)

Zhang Si Yi: “Sister Qiao, I’m here.”—Come on~ let's hurt each other!

Lu Qiao: "……"(=A=)

Zhang Si Yi: "How do you know the nickname they just gave me?"

Lu Qiao: “When you just got here, someone in the group was asking about you. Lele has already publicized it around."

Zhang Si Yi: "……."

Lu Qiao: “Our group has three big rotten women. Boys who have a good appearance can't escape their claws, we are already powerless to reserve the situation."

Zhang Si Yi: “[crying]”

Lu Qiao: “Brother, accept it. Okay? I understand your pain."

…Why did he hint a big wave of taking joy in calamity and delight in disaster from the other party?!

With a few words, Lu Qiao hurriedly said: “Engineer Gu said to let me send you information of the D office building. Take it.”

Zhang Si Yi received a large package of project information, but he still asked: “Can you please tell me what is Tianzheng ah?”

Lu Qiao: “Gee, you don’t know? This is a domestic building software developed based on the AutoCAD platform, most of the domestic architecture use this.”

Zhang Si Yi: “I just wanted to ask. Is it easy to learn?”

Lu Qiao: “It's easy! Super simple! As long as you can AutoCAD, you can learn it for 10 minutes!"

Zhang Si Yi was relieved and said thanks. With the help of Zhu Hongzhen to find this legendary “super simple” software, fumbling for two hours, repeatedly disturbing Lu Qiao several times, before he could finally touch the doorway.

When he was introduced the electronic map to start the design, it was already five o’clock, less than an hour away from getting off work time.

…Really? It would take ten minutes to learn it? I'm in the damn hole! TAT

The phone in his trousers' pocket was buzzing. Zhang Si Yi took a look and saw that it was from Fu Xinhui.

“We have booked a big table for 7 at Harbor Li tonight, so we can have a good dinner and then KTV. I'll call you later."

(T/N: KTV – Karaoke Television)

Zhang Si Yi quickly replied with a word “OK”. He then thought that the core tube, the toilet and the stairs should be resolved soon.

But it wasn't long before Zhang Si Yi found out that he was overestimating himself.

During his undergraduate course, he mostly did a few hundred square meters of small buildings. The largest one on the graduation project to do the Student Activity Center, the total area did not exceed 3,000. Now Gu Xiao all at once gave him a 10-storey office building. He was a fool, he completely did not know where to start.

Seeing that it was almost time to get off work, the task didn't make any progress. His heart was anxious.

“Xiao Zhu, Engineer Gu asked me to draw a picture. I would have to give it to him before getting off work tonight. What if I don’t finish it before I get off work?”

Zhu Hongzheng said: “Work overtime."

Zhang Si Yi: "……"

At this moment, a familiar voice sounded from behind: “How is the drawing?”

Zhang Si Yi's whole body trembled as he turned around to see Gu Xiao who appeared quietly behind him. There were only two words in his mind: I'm finished!

Gu Xiao glanced at Zhang Si Yi’s computer screen, he only saw a messy layout above of several toilets and a few irregular staircase lines. He then said with a frown: “Only this?”

Zhang Si Yi's cold sweat on his forehead came down, he stammered: “I, I have just been familiar with the software.”

Gu Xiao did not speak, he paused for two seconds then left a sentence "Continue" and just walked out.

Zhang Si Yi saw Gu Xiao's figure disappeared in the office entrance, he dared to ask Zhu Hongzhen: "Is Engineer Gu gonna leave work?"

Zhu Hongzhen: “Ah? No, didn't he ask you to show him the picture?

Zhang Si Yi: “I just saw him go out. It's not off work yet?”

Although there were more than ten minutes left to work, but the leader to leave first, Zhang Siyi was completely understandable.

He thought he was lucky. If Gu Xiao already got off of work, then he would quietly slipped away. He would take the tasks back, but first he would go to dinner with his classmates and then karaoke. After that, go home and start the night work.

But Zhu Hongzhen gave him a fatal blow: “Maybe he went to the toilet? The boss won't leave.”

Zhang Si Yi: “Why?”

Zhu Hongzhen said with a look of happiness: “He is the only one I have seen who's been working overtime with his subordinates. As long as you still have tasks in your hands, he will stay with you until you are done."

Zhang Si Yi: “…………” Help! TAT

The author has something to say: 【Note】

In the text [Note 1] part, the original sentence is as follows—

Zhang Si Yi understood that some well-known domestic architecture teachers have their own personal studios, such as “Atelier Feichang Jianzhu” of Professor Yung Ho Chang at Peking University and president of GOME Wang Shu’s “Amateur Architecture Studio”, as well as many teachers would choose to cooperate with design institutes and design companies.

***

[Interruption]

When writing this sentence, because I did not know in the novel appeared the real character was appropriate or not, so it's a bit tangled.

Although these were just for the background, it seemed a bit offensive. In order to avoid disputes, or deleted in the text, the notes here are for readers in need of reference.

Yung Ho Chang (pinyin: Zhang Yonghe ): Director and Professor of the Graduate Center of Architecture, Peking University, head architect of "Atelier Feichang Jianzhu"

Wang Shu: Dean of the School of Architecture, China Academy of Art. China’s only architect who had won the Pritzker Architecture Prize (Pritzker Architecture Prize is equivalent to the Nobel Prize in architecture), and his wife opened “Amateur Architecture Studio”.

ArchiCAD / AutoCAD / Tianzheng: It’s good to understand the computer software used in architectural design. The former is mainly used in the Apple system. It seems that (I knew) international students use it more.

Core tube: The central part of the building through the center of the building, the elevator shaft, stairs, ventilation shafts, cable wells, public toilets, some of the equipment between the envelope

(This explanation is more professional, as long as you understand it as “staircase, elevator, bathroom” just fine.)

This chapter is really good to write ah. I feel a lot of details of professional aspects, although it has been cut a lot, but still worried that everyone feel that it's too boring ~

Whoa! After entering the main story, it will be much better. Don’t abandon me~TAT~

• Tencent QQ, also known as QQ, is an instant messaging software service developed by the Chinese company Tencent Holdings Limited.
• Zhuge Liang – (181-234), military leader and prime minister of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period; the main hero of the fictional Romance of Three Kingdoms, where he is portrayed as a sage and military genius mastermind.
• Tranquility yields transcendence – 宁静致远 (níng jìng zhì yuǎn) a Chinese idiom which means quiet life of profound study
• Taking the joy in calamity and delight in disaster – to rejoice in other people’s misfortune /Schadenfreude

PS:

This is my rant so you can skip it because it’s boring.

I just want to say, I am sorry for the late update and there was no excuse for that. I know that I don’t have schedule, I only update when I finished translating. But, it’s been two weeks! thank you for waiting patiently.

So let me tell you a story…..

It start when my laptop broke because I abused it without care, so I translated this novel in my tiny phone and sometimes I borrowed a laptop from my friend. He was a good friend but he didn’t know that I was a closeted rotten female. I was sure he didn’t I use his laptop for translating danmei novel. lol

A few days ago I went to his house and borrowed his laptop. I thought I just need to finish the last part then share it with Shem. So I opened the laptop and do it there in his living room. Then suddenly he stood behind me. I literary jumped out of my seat. I tried to calm my heart and asked him. he said he need his laptop for a minute. I gave him his laptop while my mind full of chaos…

he didn’t see it, right? yeah, I’m sure he didn’t know that I read those kind of novel. I’m just normal, innocent, nerd girl not the perverted girl who like to read about man and man in action. After all it’s in English and he don’t know Eng…. wait, he studied English Literature in college. arrrrgh!

Five minutes later, he finished and gave the laptop. I sighed a relief. I’m sure he didn’t see it. even if he saw it, he might think it’s a novel about architecture. yeah, nothing dirty about it. Thank god, I managed to finish it and send it to Shem so she could edit it.

Therefore I want to thank Shem for editing this and for my friend for lending me his laptop. I hope you never read this. Please, stay innocent like I used to be. for the time being, I should delete all the files I saved in his laptop. XD