Main Story Ch. 5-03 - His Boundaries (他的边界线) | Light and Night 光与夜之恋

Previously on 5-01... (Read it here)

You have submitted your competition piece for the drafting competition, and accidentally started a conversation with Manman about Evan...

It seems like he has heard it all.

After three nervous days of waiting, the final appraisal results is about to be revealed. All that appeared in the enormous meeting room is mere dead silence, as everybody stares into the digital display screen, not wanting to move their gaze away for even a single second.

You: This is even more nerve-wrecking than the Warson Prize finals...

"Ring--" an unexpected sound ended the dead silence, and the display lit up all of a sudden. I could feel the golden hammer of fate has already been set above my head--

Designers who have passed: Group A's Y/N, Group B's Jiang Lai and Gao Cheng.


You: !!

"Bang!", the sound of gold hammer has firmly hammered into my mind, and I can't help myself but to smile happily.

.... I really passed! But why are there three people?

Designer A: Isn't there only a single designer that could participate the Grand Show? How will this trio count?

Designer B: Who knows if they'd be working together to participate?

??: I do not recall when this place has been reconstructed into a cafeteria.

Outside the frosted glass door, a silhouette walked in with a casual pace. The chit-chatting sounds in the meeting room earlier has turned quiet right at that moment.

Sariel raised his gaze and coldly scanned around the room, and paused shortly when his gazed towards me.

Sariel: There are some people among you who's smiling so much that the lips are reaching their ears.

You: ......?

Was it that obvious?

I quickly kept my smile and sat properly, but the corners of my lips can't help themselves but to curve up slightly.

Sariel: The competition has yet to end. The three of you, play-off*.

*T/N: An additional match played to decide the outcome of a contest.

Jiang Lai: What?

I widened my eyes and looked towards Sariel. He, however, pursed his lips, and is looking like he's in a great mood.

Sariel: Two hours. The three of you are required to make amendments towards that design draft. Not a custom design, target audience, the working class.

He pointed at the main space at the round table, over there, three design drafts of black flats have already been placed on it before I've even realized it.

Jiang Lai: Two hours?!

Isn't this too rushed? Not talking about looking for inspiration, even if there's a direction for adjustment, it might be impossible to complete it on time.

Sariel: All of you have already wasted a minute.

We quickly dashed out, and started this sudden match at these three temporary workstations set up for this competition. The crowd silently surrounded us, whether it was us picking up our pens tentatively, or to frown, or to bury our heads as we fall into deep thoughts, each and every moment are magnified in the eyes of the crowd.

I try my best not to allow my mood to be affected by my surroundings, but my mind can't help itself but to flash back towards that disappointed look from Sariel during the Warson Prize finals back then.

Sariel: The most important thing for a designer is to know what they are designing for. 

I held onto my pen tightly, putting my identity away as a designer in my mind, and placed myself into the shoes of an office worker. There's not a single moment in the past that I've been this focused, and all I hope for is to complete my work a little better, and even better.

Sariel: Time's up.

The mentors have all arrived. All three design drafts that have turned into a different appearance are now submitted into their hands.

Bob: Who'll come first?

Bob is the team leader for Group B, and has worked with Warson for more than 10 years, and he is a core figure among the mentors.

Jiang Lai: Then I'll go first. When I saw this pair of shoes, I think its heelless design is its main highlight. So I've chosen to make this point stand out further. I changed the all of the shoe's material into PVC, adding a light blue silk ribbon that allows you to tie it until your ankle. Like the ballerina's pointe shoes, the 10cm of height represents a form of extreme romance and wildness. It'll be the most eye-catching existence in the office.

Jiang Lai smiled confidently, and the mentors have been nodding.

Gao Cheng: Uh... I also think that the heelless design is great. However, I think it'll affect walking to a certain extent, so I've infused a large amount of elements from sneakers. I've changed the toecap to a design of sneakers, and kept the shoelaces so it'll be more suitable for a busy office worker.

Although his voice gradually turns quieter, but Gao Cheng have firmly expressed his ideas.

It's my turn. After taking a deep breath, I stepped up to the podium.

You: I believe that although the heelless design is meaningful, but it has almost no practicality. Although what it wishes to convey is to "bravely accept others' criticism", it's covered with an overexaggerated design. What office workers need the most is comfort, so during my adjustments I've added a suitable cat's eye. Using black organza to shape them into the shape of cosmos, and embellish them onto black, thin metal wires. Wrapping the metal wires around the heel is also an ingenious method to hide the heel. 

After explaining my concept, the scene is so quiet, that even I am starting to feel even more nervous.

I quietly raised my gaze to observe Sariel's response, but I've noticed that he's also coincidentally looking at me. That glance was very brief, but it's a little gentle.

Sariel: Since the explanations are over, then let the scoring begin. The tutors of all three designers will not participate in the appraisal.

The other tutors have seriously examined our design drafts, and marked the scores on the form. Very quickly, the final statistics fall onto Bob's hands.

Bob: The one that enters the Grand Show in the end will be--

He flipped open the folder, and his expressions froze for a moment, then followed by a shrug over his shoulders and returning to his normal demeanor.

Bob: It's Y/N.

I was dazed for a moment, and only snapped back into reality when Gao Cheng patted on my shoulder.

Gao Cheng: Congratulations, you deserve it.

Mya: Jiang Lai's design is avant-garde, but is lacking in terms of humanity for ignoring the most important target audience. 

Mya: Gao Cheng's works have made a breakthrough from his usual conservative style, but have drifted even further from the aesthetic needs of the target audience. As for Y/N's, your work is the most practical one. We've seen the shapeless yet close connections from the creator and the audience from it. Only if you carry this connection in your heart that you are considered to have truly walked into the path of a designer.

Jiang Lai: But the judgment of art and public have always been different, not everyone understands unique things.

Bob: Jiang Lai, if you've lost, then you've lost. Don't be rude.

Sariel: Good works are a combination of function and art. Designers make emotional connections to their audience through their creation of beauty. These beauty, however, can't exist without experience.

Sariel: If your design mindset are still stopping at the superficial level of art, then I'll recommend all of you to start working as a salesperson starting from tomorrow, and experience what it means to be "people-oriented".

The meeting room is overly quiet, nobody actually expected Sariel to suddenly make a comment.

Sariel: Y/N, follow me.