The Ji Group's guesthouse in Haicheng was less a temporary residence than a fully equipped, compact business center.
Unlike the resort hotel where the Film Crew was staying, everything here exuded an efficient, rigorous, even slightly austere business atmosphere.
It stood on a relatively quiet hillside, far from the bustling beaches crowded with tourists. The stark, clean lines of its gray-and-white buildings reflected the efficiency and aloofness characteristic of the Ji Corporation.
Beyond comfortable guest rooms, it boasted top-tier conference rooms, workrooms, and an archive, all designed to support important business trips such as this one for the Riverside project tender.
That evening, in a workroom on the guesthouse's third floor, Fang Youcheng gently closed the last booklet of project background materials he had organized and carefully placed it into the neatly packed file box beside him.
He rubbed his aching neck and let out a long breath.
After several hours hunched over his desk, he had finally finished sorting the mountains of market research data, competitor analyses, and policy and regulatory documents accumulated during the preliminary stages, marking the key points as he went.
Only the lamp on his desk was lit, its warm yellow light outlining his intent profile.
He wore an impeccably pressed white shirt, its sleeves neatly rolled to his forearms, revealing slender wrists.
Though he was a few years older than Ji Yunhuai, Fang Youcheng always carried the earnest awkwardness of a recent graduate, which seemed somewhat out of place in a room that radiated professional excellence.
He stood and began tidying his desk with slow, gentle movements, putting stray pens and rulers back where they belonged and wiping away dust that was not there.
It was a habit, but also a way of masking his anxiety. Almost instinctively, he restored everything to perfect order,