Chapter 2 — The Second Life of the Italian Examiner

Say nothing. Lam Chinh Tac continued:

“The old town is having a project to renovate the cultural street.”

“The investor is the city's Culture and Tourism Group.”

“My design consulting team needs more people.”

He stopped for a moment.

“Do you want to try?”

That evening. When I returned home, Khuong Ngan was sitting in the living room watching football. I put down my bag and went to the kitchen to warm up food. The steady sound of the microwave rang out. I stood by the window. Quietly looking at the night outside. His face remained calm as usual. But in the deepest part of my heart, something is coming back to life little by little. Like a seed buried for too long. Finally starting to sprout. The next morning. I sent Lam Chinh Tac a message.

“Teacher Lam, I want to try.”

The reply message came very quickly. Just two short words:

“Wednesday comes.”

Wednesday afternoon. Office building of the City Culture and Tourism Group. Conference room on the sixteenth floor. When I pushed the door open, there were four people already sitting inside. Three men. A woman. One of them stopped when he saw me.

“Exam Tri Y?”

I was also a bit surprised. It's Trieu Ky. Khuong Ngan's college friend. Currently holding the position of project manager at Culture and Tourism Group.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to join the design advisory group.”

Trieu Ky smiled slightly. I'm so familiar with that kind of smile. Three parts of politeness. Seven parts to take lightly.

“Does Khuong Ngan know about this?”

I pulled out a chair and sat down.

“What does this have to do with him?”

Trieu Ky raised his eyebrows but did not say more. At that moment, Lam Chinh Tac walked in. The meeting officially started. Investor representative presents project requirements. Three alleys in the old town. Total area is six thousand square meters. It is necessary to put the cultural tourism model into operation but still maintain the inherent historical structure. Budget eight million yuan. Construction time is six months. After listening, Lam Chinh Tac began dividing design tasks.

“Tham Tri Y is in charge of the Nam Hang section.”

“Key experience area.”

Trieu Ky immediately raised his head.

“Master Lam and Nam Hang are the faces of the entire project.”

“It's also the most difficult area.”

"I know."

Lam Chinh Tac interrupted. He didn't even look at him.

“That's why I gave it to her.”

The meeting ended. Trieu Ky immediately chased me out.

“Tri Y, I don't mean anything.”

“I'm just worried that this pressure is too much for you.”

I raised my hand to press the elevator button.

“Thank you for your concern.”

“But what about Khuong Ngan's side?”

“Have you told him yet?”

“This type of project takes a long time.”

“Had to work overtime, had to run to the scene regularly…”

The elevator door opens. I walked inside. Before the door closed, I looked at him.

“Trieu Ky.”

“My job.”

“No need to report to Khuong Ngan.”

The elevator door slowly closed. On the way home, the phone rang. It's Khuong Ngan's WeChat message.

"I have a social party tonight. I won't be home for dinner."

I just answer briefly: Then move to another chat frame. Download full project documentation. Sixty-three pages. That night. After Tieu Niem fell asleep, I sat alone at the dining table, flipping through the pages of documents. Until one o'clock in the morning. The next morning, I still took Tieu Niem to school as usual. Still coming home to clean up like usual. In the afternoon, I went alone to Nam Hang to conduct a field survey. Only a tape measure and camera in hand. During two hours, I walked all three alleys. Take more than a hundred photos. When I turned around, the sun was leaning towards the horizon. At the beginning of the alley there is an old tea shop. A few old men were sitting in front of the door playing chess. One person raised his head to look at me.

"Girl, are you here to take pictures?"

"No. I'm a designer. This street is about to be renovated."

The old man nodded.

"But don't change too much. There are things that have existed here for decades."

I smiled.

"Don't worry. What should be kept, I will keep."

That evening. I started sketching out the first idea. With pencil. The more I draw, the more I don't want to stop. By two o'clock in the morning. Khuong Ngan just returned. There was a strong smell of alcohol on him. He saw me still sitting at the dining table, surrounded by drawings covering the table.

"What are you doing?"

"Let's just draw something."

He walked over and looked over.

"What is this?"

"Concept plan for a project."

"What project?"

"Urban renewal project."

He snorted softly.

"What you draw, can it really be done?"

I put down the pencil.

"Whether you can do it or not, it's not up to you to decide."

He raised his eyes slightly. Maybe because I drank too much, I didn't say more. Just staggered back to the bedroom. And I continue to draw. One week later. The design advisory group held the first plan reporting session. I projected the idea draft onto the big screen. There are seven people in the meeting room. Lam Chinh Tac sits on the far right. Trieu Ky sat opposite me. I spent twenty minutes presenting the entire plan. When the report ends. The room was silent for about five seconds. The first person to speak up was Lam Chinh Tac.

"Continue to dig deeper. The direction is right."

Trieu Ky turned over the documents in his hand.

"The idea is not bad. But where is the feasibility? Construction technology, material costs, fire protection standards, have you calculated it all?"

I move on to the next PPT page. Cost estimation. List of materials. Escape diagram. Structural reinforcement plan. One by one, each page appeared on the screen. Trieu Ky did not say another word. After the meeting. Another member of the group stepped forward. Is a man in his thirties. Last name is Co, first name is Co Yen. Previously worked at a design company in Shanghai.

"Ms. Tham, your plan for organizing the flow of movement is very good. The space at the end of the street in the old town is the most difficult location to deal with, yet you use the garden method in a layered manner."

I packed up my laptop and replied:

"Just thought of it by chance."

"It doesn't look like a coincidence at all."

He looked at me.

"It feels like I've been thinking about this for a long time."