Reborn in 2005, starting with repairing mobile phones

Several clear images flashed through Lin Dong's mind—the scene in 2007 when Steve Jobs held up that world-changing cell phone, the scene of countless people going crazy for it, and even the nickname "kidney phone".

iPhone 4.

It will not be released until 2010 and is hailed as the pinnacle of industrial design.

Back in 2005, this would have been enough to drive any designer crazy.

"Miss Su," Lin Dong's voice pulled her back from her reverie, "Do you know what the core message of this picture is?"

Su Xiaowen looked up blankly, her eyes still somewhat unfocused.

core?

The image itself is the core... something so perfect...

Lin Dong's finger lightly touched the circular Home button in the center of the drawing. "It's intuition."

"When a user gets lost on any interface, their finger will instinctively seek out this one and only solid point of contact. Pressing it takes them back to where it all began, back to where they can start over."

"All the complex logic is hidden beneath this simplest physical button. That's what design is all about."

Su Xiaowen stared at him blankly.

intuition……

Every word he said felt like a death sentence for all my past designs.

What made her even more uneasy was Lin Dong's young and calm face when he said those words.

What exactly is going on in this man's head?

How could he draw something like that, and say such things?

A strange feeling, a mixture of awe and a peculiar excitement at being utterly crushed, quietly crept into her heart.

The way she looked at Lin Dong unconsciously softened, losing some of the sharpness of their confrontation and gaining a more focused, probing look that she herself didn't even realize she was giving him.

Lin Dong noticed the change in her eyes.

Ok?

That look in his eyes... something's not right.

He had prepared his next remarks, about the laboratory, the equipment, and future plans, but suddenly found himself unable to say them.

Because Su Xiaowen seemed... not to be listening at all.

Her gaze would fall on his face for a moment, then drift back to the picture. Her breathing was lighter than before, but her eyes were more complicated.

Lin Dong paused for a moment, then decided to skip all the preamble and get straight to the conclusion.

"I need someone who can turn this image into something that countless people would want to hold in their hands."

He spoke very quickly, almost as if announcing:

"The upstairs area is under renovation; it will house Shenzhen's best product design center in the future. Come up with me now; there's a place for you there."

After saying that, he stretched out his hand.

This is an invitation, but also a test.

Su Xiaowen's reaction surprised Lin Dong.

She didn't say anything.

There was neither the pride of a confrontation nor the excitement of being persuaded.

She simply lowered her head slowly, looking at her hands resting on her knees, her fingers unconsciously gripping her jeans before letting go.

Then, she looked up at Lin Dong's outstretched hand, her eyes somewhat unfocused, and her cheeks... seemed to have a faint blush?

Did she even understand what I was saying?

Lin Dong was a little puzzled.

There was a full five seconds of silence.

Su Xiaowen finally moved.

She first stood up, picked up her bag, and then did something that surprised Lin Dong even more.

She walked to Lin Dong's side and stood very close to him.

Lin Dong was so close that he could smell her faint fragrance.

"Let's go."

After saying that, she actually reached out and gently tugged at his sleeve.

Then she let go and walked towards the door first.

Her steps were quick, and her ponytail swayed gently behind her head.

Lin Dong: "..."

What kind of reaction is that?

That's not how the script was written.

He stood there, watching Su Xiaowen's retreating figure as she walked to the coffee shop entrance, a rare moment of confusion settling over him.

but……

He glanced at the drawing on the table that outshone all the designs from 2005.

Once the people are taken care of, everything will be fine.

He put away the blueprints and followed them.

Uncle Cai and Ah Hao looked at each other in bewilderment and quickly jogged to catch up.

Stepping out of the coffee shop, the sunlight was a bit too bright.

Su Xiaowen stood by the roadside, squinting slightly as she looked at the dense scaffolding and green protective netting on the building opposite.

The wind blew the stray hairs across her forehead.

As Lin Dong walked to her side, he heard her whisper:

"Could I have a copy of that picture?"

His voice carried an almost reverent caution.

Lin Dong glanced at her.

In the sunlight, the lines of her profile were clean and sharp, but there seemed to be a lingering blush behind her ears.

understood.

Lin Dong suddenly understood.

They were completely defeated.

By the way... there might be something else.

"I'll give it to you when you come upstairs," he said.

"Mmm," Su Xiaowen responded softly.

Then, she did something that surprised Lin Dong even more: she slightly turned her body to let Lin Dong walk in front.

Lagging behind by half a step, then following.

Like a student who knows the way following the teacher.

Lin Dong found it a little funny, but he didn't show it on his face.

He walked toward the building that was still clanging.

Behind him, Su Xiaowen followed quietly, her gaze occasionally falling on his back before quickly shifting away to look at the building, the sky, or anywhere else.

That picture...

How did he even come up with that...?

And the way he speaks...

Her mind was a jumbled mess, half of it the shock of the design drawings, and the other half a strange emotion she had never experienced in her twenty-four years, an emotion that made her uneasy yet unable to stop thinking about.

Lin Dong, who was walking ahead, had already started thinking about the next question.

Su Xiaowen got it sorted out.

Hardware, software, design... the three core pieces of the puzzle are complete.

He walked steadily toward the bustling construction site.

The footsteps following behind were light and steady.

He traveled alone, with only a little over a thousand yuan in his pocket.

Now, he has capable brothers behind him, a genius in technology, and an eye for beauty.

The blueprint for the future construction of a skyscraper had never been so clear in his mind.

Reaching the building entrance, Lin Dong stopped and turned around.

Su Xiaowen also stopped and stood two steps away from him, quietly watching him.

"It's still a construction site up there, very dusty," Lin Dong said, taking two brand-new white hard hats from the materials piled up by the door. He gave one to her and put the other on himself.

Su Xiaowen took it, put it on deftly, and tucked her long hair into the hat.

This simple action made her look less aloof and more like someone who was ready to work.

Without saying another word, the two entered the construction elevator one after the other.

The elevator goes directly to the 52nd floor, the top floor.

As soon as the door opened, the sounds of electric drills and hammering mingled together, and dust danced in the sunlight.

Before you is a completely empty, unfinished floor of 1,000 square meters, with only a few pillars standing, but huge floor-to-ceiling windows on all four sides frame the entire Shenzhen CBD.

Lin Dong didn't say anything, but led her to a spot in the southeast corner with a better view.

It's relatively quiet here.

He took a folded A3 sheet of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it.

"This floor will be used like this from now on."

Su Xiaowen looked at the picture.

She was stunned at first glance.