Assistant Architect

Chapter 159: The Church of Light

Demonstrating his excellent ability, Zhang Siyi didn’t disappoint as he played a few rounds. Watching him play in disbelief, Tao Fei hung his mouth open in an O shaped and glared at the score on the screen: “No fucking way! Are you cheating?!?! How can you score a 99.9% success rate with such a fast song?”

In the beginning, Zhang Siyi didn’t think he was doing anything special while he played the game, but now, not only did Gu Yu and his sister praise him, Tao Fei acted like he was witnessing an other-worldly being. Zhang Siyi smiled with self-satisfaction.

Gu Yu lifted his chin to peek over at the screen and smiled at him. Zhang Siyi was clearly playing very well. Gu Yu acted more proudly then Zhang Siyi.

Tao Fei ignored Gu Yu’s conduct. –Even if your wife was great, that doesn’t mean you will defeat me!

“Come on, it’s my turn. I don’t believe in cheaters!” Eager for a fight, Tao Fei rubbed his hands together then raised his sleeves. Zhang Siyi passed the iPad back to Tai Fei. He scored a little better than in his previous rounds, but it continued to be a far cry from Zhang Siyi’s score.

Next, it was Gu Yu’s turn to play the game….. Zhang Siyi couldn’t bear to look at Gu Yu play so he covered his eyes.

Tao Fei laughed out loud ‘ha-ha-ha-ha!’ and spoke to Gu Yu: “You are way too slow! How can you miss such a simple rhythm?”

Saddened by his poor performance, Gu Yu tactfully handed the iPad to Zhang Siyi as if to tell him to take revenge.

At once, Zhang Siyi understood what Gu Yu wanted and again, Zhang Siyi displayed masterful ability and scored an A+. Even though he received a 100% success rate, Zhang Siyi continued to feel that the game wasn’t very challenging.

Tao Fei held out the iPad and exclaimed: “Too awesome! You have God’s skill!”

With eyes full of admiration and love, Gu Yu looked at Zhang Siyi tenderly.

Bashful, Zhang Siyi looked away feeling embarrassed. Since he didn’t feel as though he put any effort into mastering the game, he didn’t think it was something to be proud of. Be that as it may, Zhang Siyi really liked making his boyfriend happy.

Compared to his talent playing the game, he much rather have the innate learning skills and excellent memory that Gu Yu possessed; abilities that were necessary to live a comfortable life!

With the rigorous academics needed to attend the best university in the country, never mind the additional talents required by the prestigious Department of Architecture, Tao Fei and Gu Yu must be very intellectual people. However, in disbelief, as with Gu Yu, Zhang Siyi witnessed Tao Fei’s lackluster performance. –But It’s easy! What is wrong with their brains?

In order to outdo one another, the friends continued to compete with one another. In the end, Zhang Siyi’s score was impossible to reach. Both Gu Yu and Tao Fei urged Zhang Siyi to evaluate their games and decide who was the better player. Unaffected by their cries, Zhang Siyi simply shook his head slowly in pity.

Tao Fei: “…”

Gu Yu: “…”

Tao Fei narrowed his eyes: “Your little boyfriend seems to be looking down on us.”

Gu Yu also narrowed his eyes at Zhang Siyi: “I think you’re right.”

Suddenly scared, Zhang Siyi waved his arms and hands all over: “I did not! I did not!”

Gu Yu leaned over to Zhang Siyi and slipped his hand under his shirt and pulled him close by his waist. In front of Tao Fei he gave Zhang Siyi a kiss on the lips.

Zhang Siyi: “…”

Caught by surprise, Tao Fei let out an audible sound then turned around and laid down on the other bed with the iPad: “I’ll give you ten minutes. Be quick about it!”

Gu Yu glanced at Tao Fei then smiled broadly. Having needed to suppress his feelings all day, like opening a floodgate, now Gu Yu couldn’t stop the torrent of desire that welled up inside him and kissed Zhang Siyi passionately.

Taken by surprise, at first Zhang Siyi wanted to protest – wait, but Tao Fei is still here! – but, once he felt Gu Yu’s soft lips pressed upon his own, he couldn’t resist. Responding to Gu Yu advances in kind, he reached out and held him close. Zhang Siyi opened his lips slightly to meet Gu Yu’s tongue and they kissed deeply…. The body is far more honest than the mind.

One part of Zhang Siyi’s mind knew that there was another person in the room and that he should feel embarrassed, but there was another part of his mind that thought having another person present made it more exciting. Concentrating on the sensations on his skin, Zhang Siyi grew numb to his surroundings and solely focused on Gu Yu’s touch. With only the tip of his tongue meeting, Zhang Siyi could feel his whole body start to tingle. Gu Yu’s gentle caresses heightened his feelings and made his body tremble.

Tao Fei watched ten minutes slowly pass. Behind him, the sounds of kissing and heavy breathing intensified. They didn’t seem to care that Tao Fei was in the room since the two didn’t hold back. Damn it! Was he supposed to go straight to Lu Qiao’s room with a pillow? He called out: “All right, that’s enough….”

Finally, he could quietly hear Zhang Siyi say a sensible ‘stop’ but, in the next second the sound turned into more erotic noises. Gu Yu had pressed his lips upon Zhang Siyi again.

…… God Damn it! Am I just a dog!

After a few minutes, the two of them separated and Gu Yu brought Zhang Siyi to the door. Even though Tao Fei heard them say good night to one another at the door, it was some time later that he heard Gu Yu finally open and shut the door to let Zhang Siyi out.

Looking down at the iPad screen, Tao Fei saw his score was actually higher than Gu Yu’s. Even though he ‘won’, there was nothing to feel happy about. With a heavy heart, Tao Fei felt that he really lost.

As though he ate a pound of honey, Zhang Siyi returned to his room in a very good mood.

When Zhang Siyi returned to his room, a single small bedside lamp was lit. Since Lu Qiao was quiet and already in bed with only the very top of his hair visible out of the quilt, he thought his roommate feel asleep early. After quietly turning off the bedside light, Zhang Siyi got into bed and soon fell asleep.

The next day was another full day of scheduled events. The main agenda for the day was Tadao Ando’s famous building: Church of Light** It was located outside of Osaka in the small town of Ibaraki. Since the space was small, the Church required reservations to tour the site in order to regulate the flow of visitors properly. Half of the people from Borderless went to see the Church early in the morning.

At the time of the visit, there was a group of Chinese tourists already inside looking around. Since they weren’t there for religious reasons, they respectfully walked through the space in a rush and were going to leave. When the group of Borderless people arrived, they were whispering excitedly and snapping photos non-stop in order to capture every detail. Being architects, the group had inside knowledge about the building as it was a place that many studied at university.

Witnessing the group of young people acting so enthusiastic about the Church, they remained inside for longer. Now curious, they approached Zhang Siyi and one of them struck up a conversation with him. After learning that they were all architects, they asked Zhang Siyi to explain why the building was special.

Since it was four years ago that his professor at university gave a lecture about the Church, he had forgotten many details about it and thus, felt an immediate pressure.

However, these people are all without an architectural background. He took a deep breath to gather his thoughts and told them what he thought: “The interior of this church is in a minimalistic style. The designer used geometry to effectively make a cross made out of light that is illuminated by the sun outside. The image of the cross projected inside changes with the position of the sun’s rise and fall in the sky and thereby making the inside feel like a mysterious, sacred space.

He pointed to the slope inside the church and said: “The concept that diverges from traditional churches is the location where the pastor stands. Since it is at the same height as the people in the pews, the design reflects the architect’s idea to express the idea of equality for all.”

The group of tourists listened to Zhang Siyi’s explanation attentively and thanked him. As they were gathering themselves to leave the building, Zhang Siyi breathed a sigh of relief. From behind him, he heard Gu Yu speak: “You spoke very well.”

“Ah? Really?” Zhang Siyi said feeling slightly embarrassed. He looked back at Gu Yu: “It’s been so long since hearing my professor lecture about Tadao Ando’s work that I’ve forgotten the details. I simply told them my thoughts and opinions.”

“Your quick thinking was very good.” Gu Yu walked over to him. On the basis of Zhang Siyi’s explanation to the visitors, he added a few points of his own which included the materials used in the building and a formal analysis. “Since the ideas expressed in books are summed up by others, you don’t need to remember the details printed in them. On the contrary, the points you expressed just now are what you personally feel. It shows that you are able to appreciate the merits of master works and prove that you already have the aesthetics and judgment of a professional architect.”

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T/N: Church of Light: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7ZtfYOD5I8M/maxresdefault.jpg

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