My "academic genius" persona is so convincing!

"Affordable luxury?"

Xue Lin was also surprised when he first heard this concept.

"It's alright. Tsinghua University is consciously pursuing this style, which shows they are still exploring it."

"Aren't you angry?"

Chen Hui spoke on the other end of the phone, somewhat surprised.

"Why are you angry? Did they copy me? Architecture isn't static; understated luxury and minimalism aren't the same thing."

"Furthermore, 'affordable luxury' is also a part of modern architecture, so it's normal that it's more popular than minimalism."

"Minimalism is a concept, a paradigm, or you could call it the underlying logic."

"It's a niche aesthetic."

"Modern architecture should be more diverse."

"this……"

Chen Hui was even prepared to go all out against Tsinghua University, but he didn't expect Xue Lin to be so calm.

He remained calm, as if his minimalism was firmly etched into architectural history.

"Okay, it's good that you know your limits. Also, regarding that paper, I criticized it in the academic presentation."

"Tsinghua University has also apologized, and the results should be available in a couple of days."

"I didn't mention your name, so you can rest assured."

Xue Lin was completely stunned.

What are you doing?

Go to war with Tsinghua University?

A fight to the death?

We'll see each other all the time, and we'll be meeting frequently for meetings, so there's no need to ruin things.

But never mind, he didn't ask any more questions.

Chen Hui must have his own plans.

The call ended quickly.

Xue Lin lay on the bed, quietly pondering the concept of understated luxury.

The style is quite nice, and it's usable.

It might even be more widespread and popular than minimalism, after all, Tsinghua University's architectural status speaks for itself.

Moreover, it's too easy to promote a style.

In fact, affordable luxury is more in line with popular aesthetics than minimalism.

Architecture can't turn living into art, can it?

Xue Lin smiled gently. "Minimalism is not suitable for everyday life, but for large venues and public buildings. However, affordable luxury targets the lower-tier market."

"By introducing this style, they've dug their own grave!"

"In architectural history, there is bound to be a page for minimalism, but whether there will be a page for understated luxury is another matter."

After all, architecture needs to be preserved for a long time in order to inspire people to think.

Typical home furnishings, often in the style of upscale brands, lack any distinctive features.

Modern products are so common that anyone can make them; they're mass-market brands, found everywhere, and lack any distinctive features.

Making some money is possible.

Want to make your mark on architectural history?

What sweet dreams are you having?

Concepts are the foundation; if you try to create something that's merely luxurious, you'll only ever live in the shadow of minimalism.

Plagiarism?

Who cares if you plagiarized or not?

Once you become famous, you become mainstream!

One targets high-end venues, the other focuses on home design. Which one will have a bigger reputation? It's hard to guess.

He didn't think much of it; for things like this, time is the best judge.

Moreover, he has never considered affordable luxury as a competitor.

You make your money from home design, I make my money from large venues. These two things don't conflict, and I don't think Qingda will block my path to wealth.

If you think that "light luxury" can be used in the design of large venues, then it is destined to leave little reputation.

……

"Linzi, tomorrow is the class beauty's birthday party, want to go relax together?"

"How do I relax?"

"I heard that her villa has pretty good karaoke equipment, so you can go and have some fun there."

"Alright."

Xue Lin readily agreed.

As for whether it's fun or not, it's nothing new to him.

He just wanted to relax for a bit and not think about anything.

"What gift are you going to give her?" Xue Lin asked Chu Ming.

Chu Ming hesitated for a moment.

"What gift should I get? I don't know. Her family is well-off, so they shouldn't lack anything, right?"

"Besides, we're classmates, so we can just go and buy something simple."

Xue Lin nodded.

The thought of the birthday party only crossed his mind briefly before he stopped thinking about it.

……

The next evening, there was no evening self-study session, and they arrived at the villa on time.

"Tell me, what kind of business does their family run? How come they're so rich? This villa is quite luxurious. And didn't you also have your eye on the prettiest girl in class back then?"

Chu Ming looked at the villa in front of him, a hint of emotion in his eyes.

"I heard they're in the clothing business, right?"

Xue Lin thought for a moment before speaking. He had indeed heard people mention this, but he wasn't entirely sure, since he hadn't actually inquired about it.

"I see."

Chu Ming nodded.

"As for when I'll pursue the class beauty, where did you hear that rumor from?"

Xue Lin was speechless, and his face darkened slightly.

"Didn't you make this yourself?"

"Back then, he fawned over the class beauty, asking her questions every day. Now that his grades are better, he stops asking her questions and leaves her out of the picture."

"Go away, where is it?"

Xue Lin spoke helplessly.

What does it mean to ignore the class beauty once you get good grades?

Doesn't he often buy milk tea or something for the class beauty?

After all, if he raises his favorability rating, who knows, maybe one day the class beauty will provide him with some other keywords?

But he quickly thought about it and wondered if doing so might also cause misunderstandings.

Forget it, I don't want to.

In short, he's only a senior in high school and hasn't graduated yet, so he doesn't have any thoughts about dating at the moment.

Once inside the villa, they put down the gifts, which had already piled up into a small mountain at the entrance.

There were no adults inside; it was just a small gathering of their classmates and the class beauty's friends.

They were all the same age, so they weren't very reserved.

Xue Lin greeted the class beauty and wished her a happy birthday.

Sitting to the side, eating fruit from the plate.

"I wonder when the food will be served?"

"I haven't eaten yet today, I just had some oatmeal," Chu Ming muttered.

"Didn't you want to lose weight?"

"To build muscle now, you need to eat more protein, which is good for muscle growth," Chu Ming replied seriously.

Xue Lin didn't think much of it.

Especially in times like these, it's crucial to perform well.

Otherwise, if one or two trolls appear, his entry for today will be ruined.

"Let's go upstairs and sing, it's too noisy here."

"You're going to sing? Wouldn't that be even noisier?"

Xue Lin smiled, not thinking much of it.

He simply wiped his palms with a tissue, removing some crumbs of pastry, and said, "Let's go."

I'll just browse some music-related terms.

If it can succeed in music, that would be great.

At least you can earn a lot more money.

Without money, it's not so easy to take on big projects.

Moreover, if you only rely on design and don't do the engineering yourself, you'll earn even less money.