"Aww, such a cute little kitty!"The female coworker beside Lin Xian was delighted by his quick sketch."Lin Xian, why didn't you hand this in to Sis Juan? This design is great!"
Huh???
Swish—
In an instant—
Every pair of eyes in the conference room turned toward them.
Especially those from the design department—they were practically begging for help with their eyes!
"What? Let me see!"
Stomp stomp stomp! Li Juan marched over in a hurry.
At that moment, she was just masking her panic with anger. Deep down, she was even more nervous than anyone else.
Though Manager Zhao sat silently in her chair, anyone could tell—she was very unhappy. Furious, in fact.
Snatch!
Li Juan grabbed Lin Xian's sketch from the table.
Gradually...
Her breathing calmed, the tension in her shoulders eased, and the flames on her head seemed to vanish.
"You... this…"
Li Juan scratched her head, smacked her lips, then said:
"This... I actually think it's pretty good!"
She placed the sketch before Manager Zhao.
"President Zhao, take a look—this is a character design Lin Xian came up with for our new brand."
As soon as the paper landed,
Everyone half-stood, necks craning, trying to catch a glimpse.
On the plain white A4 paper, there was nothing excessive—just a few clean lines outlining a cartoon cat's face.
Simple. Refreshing. Elegant lines.
But they captured every bit of charm and expression.
Though it was just a quick sketch in black ink, the cat's playfulness and liveliness practically leapt off the page.
Suddenly, the room filled with excited whispers:
"Wow... this cat head by Lin Xian is amazing! It's got this subtle charm and elegance that's hard to describe."
"I think it's cuter than Hello Kitty! That one's a bit too ladylike and doesn't even have a mouth. Lin Xian's cat feels more youthful and full of energy!"
"Youthful, girly, vibrant—this cat totally nails our brand's keywords! Lin Xian, why didn't you show this earlier?"
"A good mascot needs to be simple, to stand out and be easy to remember. Honestly, this cat's got the same kind of magic as Hello Kitty, Mickey Mouse, or Doraemon."
…
Unanimous praise. The entire design department was hooked on this adorable, minimal cat face.
Li Juan, whose heart had been in her throat, finally let out a deep sigh of relief.
She glanced nervously at President Zhao…
Awaiting her verdict.
Zhao Ying jun—
Founder and chairwoman of MX Company.
After returning from overseas, she founded MX Cosmetics. In less than two years, she'd built a recognizable name among the youth.
Elegant, capable, talented—like a heroine straight out of a business novel.
Now, she studied the sketch before her, deep in thought.
Everyone held their breath.
Finally—
Zhao Ying Jun's brows relaxed.
"Not bad."
"Yes! Right? President Zhao! Haha, see? We do have talent in our design team!"
Now that the storm had passed, Li Juan eagerly praised Lin Xian:
"Lin Xian's our hidden ace! Our cornerstone! Our guiding star! Ahem... I always give creative freedom to true artists—I never interfere or pry!"
"Lin Xian, why don't you share your inspiration behind this cat design with President Zhao?"
Zhao Ying Jun also looked up, a hint of expectation in her eyes.
"I saw it in a dream, "Lin Xian answered honestly.
"Lin Xian, you—! Ai…"
Li Juan let out a disappointed sigh.
This was such a golden opportunity to shine, and this silly kid had no idea how to seize it!
Some coworkers laughed. That was bold.
But Zhao Ying jun smiled and nodded:
"Our thoughts shape our dreams. Many great inventions in history came from dreams."
"Dmitri Mendeleev saw the periodic table in a dream after working for three days straight."
"Einstein dreamed of skiing and was inspired to explore the speed of light—eventually leading to the theory of relativity."
"But of course, none of that would've happened without hard work and preparation. I'm sure Lin Xian has poured his heart into this project behind the scenes."
Clap clap clap clap clap—
Someone started clapping, and the whole room erupted in applause.
Lin Xian felt a little embarrassed.
He didn't feel like he deserved it. But—
"However…"
As the clapping died down, Zhao Ying jun picked up the sketch again and said:
"Just a cat head isn't enough. For packaging, posters, and brand collaborations, we need a full-body version."
"Limbs, clothes, shoes—even if those are subject to change, we still need an original concept to base everything on."
She set the sketch down and looked at Lin Xian:
"Lin Xian, could I trouble you to draw the cat's full body and outfit too?"
Her words made everyone realize—maybe they'd celebrated too early.
She was right.
You couldn't just have a head. What did the rest of the cat look like? What was the body type, posture, clothing, shoes?
Everyone now looked to Lin Xian with anticipation.
Meanwhile—
He was sipping tea, buying time.
This...
He took another sip.
The cat mask that Bigface Cat wore only had the face. Who knew what the rest of the body looked like?
But that wasn't a problem.
To solve a mystery, go to the source.
He just needed to return to the dream and ask Bigface Cat where the mask came from.
"No problem,"
Lin Xian set down his teacup.
"I have the rest of the designs at home. I'll bring them in tomorrow."
…
That night.
After getting ready for bed, Lin Xian checked the clock.
It was 21:01.
Thanks to yesterday's dream, he now understood the whole situation—
The heist had been planned by Bigface Cat and a female code expert.
They didn't know each other, so they agreed on a secret code:
Whoever wore a cat mask was Bigface Cat. Whoever wore an Ultraman mask was the code expert.
Yesterday, because Lin Xian had randomly picked up an Ultraman mask, Bigface Cat mistook him for the expert and dragged him into the robbery.
"So all I have to do tonight is wear the Ultraman mask again…and Bigface Cat will definitely show up."
He shut the window—Winter wind was no joke. Tonight, he added an extra blanket.
He set the alarm, placed his phone on the nightstand, and turned off the light.
"Sleep time."
…
…
Whoosh—A warm summer breeze passed by. Lin Xian caught the fresh scent of green leaves.
He opened his eyes.
In the brightly lit plaza, children were running and laughing.
"Catch me! Catch me!"
"Ultraman Slide Kick!"
"I want candied hawthorn! Waaaahhh!"
"I'm not going home! I wanna keep playing!"
"Mommy! I wanna ride the bike!"
He looked up at the central digital billboard.
The top right corner showed the date and time—
[August 28, 2624][21:37:17]
…[21:37:18]…[21:37:19]…[21:37:20]…
(End of Chapter)