Losing Money to Become a Tycoon: Starting with Games
Chapter 488: The "Bare-Walls" Style
Friday, April 15
Company Reception Room
Liang Qingfan handed a tablet to Pei Qian.
"President Pei, I've put together several interior design proposals. Please take a look and see which one you prefer."
After President Pei accepted the tablet, Liang Qingfan picked up his teacup and took a sip, savoring the lingering sweetness of the tea. A trace of pride showed on his face.
He was very satisfied with most of the designs he had produced.
For some reason, the moment he saw this apartment layout, inspiration had come flooding in. After returning to his hotel, he barely rested and immediately got to work. He had worked nonstop until now, quickly producing several renderings, discussing them with his studio team, and then bringing them directly to President Pei.
Liang Qingfan had devoted a great deal of effort to this project. Partly because President Pei was paying a generous design fee, and partly because, as a young designer, opportunities to independently handle projects like this were relatively rare. He had to seize this chance.
Every project would become a calling card showcasing his abilities to the outside world.
Liang Qingfan was confident. He believed that every client would ultimately be won over by his designs.
Pei Qian took the tablet and looked at the renderings displayed on the screen.
As he viewed them, Liang Qingfan explained.
All of the designs followed a minimalist style. There was none of the gaudy, gold-plated "rich man's mansion" aesthetic, nor any flashy "garden villa" styling. In that regard, Liang Qingfan had indeed listened carefully to Pei Qian's requirements.
However, despite all being minimalist designs, the renderings still differed greatly from one another.
The first image used mainly white and brown tones, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. The furniture followed a minimalist aesthetic, while the brown cabinetry along the TV wall clearly contained extensive storage space, though it was cleverly concealed and not immediately obvious.
At a glance, the entire space appeared clean, tidy, and stylish, with a refined middle-class charm.
Liang Qingfan explained, "This design adheres to minimalist principles while fully addressing the practical needs of the tenants."
"Considering that this apartment has four bedrooms and is intended as a rental property, multiple occupants will inevitably require a large amount of storage space."
"However, storage space and minimalism are naturally contradictory concepts. So through careful design, I've hidden all the storage areas as effectively as possible."
"Tenants living here will not only experience a high-end, minimalist, modern lifestyle, but they won't have to sacrifice convenience either. It's truly the best of both worlds and will definitely be very popular among young people."
Pei Qian was silent for a moment.
"Pass."
This design was simply too considerate toward the tenants.
Pei Qian could practically already see crowds of aspiring middle-class renters scrambling to move in, willing to pay extra for the privilege. Naturally, he had to reject it.
This was exactly the kind of minimalist design most ordinary people would readily accept. Combined with all that storage space, the consequences would be disastrous.
Liang Qingfan: "..."
Having his first proposal rejected immediately was a bit discouraging.
However, he quickly adjusted his mindset.
"Well, although the storage spaces are well concealed, they do indeed conflict somewhat with the philosophy of minimalism and could create a slightly cheap impression."
"It's understandable that President Pei wouldn't be interested."
"Please continue to the next one."
Pei Qian swiped to the next rendering.
This one was still minimalist in style, but the color scheme was bolder. The overall palette consisted of gray and green tones. Though simple, it conveyed a sense of luxury and quality.
The furniture and decorative elements also leaned toward a low-key, steady, and substantial aesthetic, somewhat similar to the style found in high-end hotel suites.
Liang Qingfan explained, "This one features an ultra-premium gray palette, emphasizing a light-luxury, high-end atmosphere. Unlike the previous design, this style isn't aimed at the average young urban professional."
"Instead, it's targeted at successful middle-aged businesspeople."
Pei Qian said, "Pass."
This style practically screamed middle-aged business executive. It looked even more likely to attract tenants than the previous one.
Liang Qingfan: "..."
Another proposal rejected. Liang Qingfan felt a little discouraged.
In his view, Sloth Apartments was obviously meant to be a premium apartment complex. The target audience could only be one of two groups:
One, white-collar workers pursuing a high-quality lifestyle.
Two, businesspeople who frequently traveled to Jingzhou on work trips.
Yet President Pei had rejected both approaches.
So what kind of style did President Pei actually like?
Liang Qingfan was baffled, but he didn't ask.
After all, he had prepared several more concepts. Surely one of them would align with President Pei's tastes.
Pei Qian swiped to the next rendering.
This time, the design revolved around black and white tones, creating a sharp contrast. Even through the image, one could sense a strong artistic atmosphere, the sort of style favored by high-end designers.
It was minimalist yet carried a hint of Zen aesthetics, making it especially conducive to inspiration and creativity.
Pei Qian felt that Ruan Guangjian would probably love this one.
Before Liang Qingfan could even begin explaining, Pei Qian had already swiped past it.
"Pass."
Compared to the first design, this one was less practical, but its appeal to white-collar professionals and aspiring urban elites was even stronger.
It was essentially an upgraded version of the first concept.
Still no good!
Liang Qingfan opened his mouth to speak, then swallowed his words.
Personally, this was his favorite design. He felt it had the strongest sense of quality and refinement. Yet President Pei had dismissed it without even asking a single question, which dealt a heavy blow to his confidence.
At the same time, he became increasingly puzzled.
What kind of style does President Pei actually like?
These were all excellent minimalist designs. Even if President Pei wasn't satisfied, couldn't he at least point out some details to adjust? What did it mean to reject them outright?
Liang Qingfan no longer had the energy to explain.
Most likely, every proposal would be rejected. Once that happened, he would simply have to ask President Pei in detail about his actual requirements.
However, after swiping through a few more images, Pei Qian suddenly stopped at the final design.
In an extremely spacious and empty room, there was only a huge television mounted on the wall, a low TV cabinet barely taller than a single drawer, and a dark-colored long sofa.
Besides that, near the floor-to-ceiling window stood a small black table and two black chairs.
The entire place looked more like an empty exhibition hall than a home.
Other than two small cabinets tucked away in a corner, there was almost no storage space whatsoever.
After considering it for a moment, Pei Qian pointed at the cabinets, the table, and the black chairs.
"This one is good. But these need to go as well."
The TV cabinet had to stay because it would hold game consoles and game discs.
The long sofa had to stay because it was meant for gaming.
Everything else—storage space, extra seating, all of it—had to disappear.
For most people, storage space is something you can never have enough of.
After all, most people find it difficult to resist the temptation to buy things. They keep purchasing more and more, until eventually their homes run out of room.
Once clutter accumulates, no matter where it's piled, the house starts looking messy. Storage space allows everything to be hidden away, making the home appear neat and organized.
But Pei Qian wanted to drive these white-collar workers and urban elites away.
He wanted to tell them:
Don't live here.
Of course, this alone wasn't enough.
Pei Qian realized he needed to add another clause to Sloth Apartments' lease agreement:
Tenants would not be allowed to bring in or purchase their own furniture.
That would completely destroy the apartment's practicality.
It might still look nice, but the combination of sky-high rent and terrible functionality would be enough to scare away the vast majority of renters.
For a moment, Liang Qingfan didn't know what to say.
This rendering had actually been his original concept.
But he had quickly rejected it himself.
Because in his opinion, minimalism wasn't supposed to mean living with nothing but four bare walls.
When Liang Qingfan had first conceived the minimalist style, he had approached it from a purely artistic perspective. The color palette and layout of this rendering were all products of that mindset.
But the problem it created was that it was simply too impractical. Even after adding a few small cabinets, tables, and chairs, Liang Qingfan still felt that it wasn't very livable.
Yet President Pei had gone one step further and removed even those small cabinets and chairs!
As a result, the design was left with virtually no storage space at all. Aside from the bedroom wardrobes and the kitchen cabinets, it was literally a case of "four bare walls."
Liang Qingfan looked at President Pei somewhat uncertainly.
President Pei responded with an unmistakably confident look.
"Go with this style. The budget stays the same as before—if anything, it can only increase, not decrease."
Pei Qian handed the tablet back to Liang Qingfan.
Seeing the confusion in Liang Qingfan's eyes only made Pei Qian more certain that he had chosen correctly.
For Pei Qian, storage space was completely unnecessary.
A few sets of clothes in the wardrobe were enough. As for all the miscellaneous junk people tended to accumulate, if it could be thrown away, then throw it away. There was no need to bring any of it into a new home.
Sure, this approach had turned the apartment into a genuine bare-walls style residence, but as long as his gaming needs were met, that was enough.
The less practical everyone else found it, the better!
Looking at the final rendering, Liang Qingfan's mind raced as he tried to understand the reasoning.
'Could it be that President Pei simply wants this ultimate minimalist style purely for aesthetic reasons?'
'From an artistic standpoint, removing the storage cabinets and unnecessary objects does give the space a unique beauty.'
'Well, it was a design I created when inspiration was flowing at its peak. Of course it has artistic appeal.'
'If President Pei were decorating his own home like this, I wouldn't find it strange at all. In fact, I'd think he had excellent taste.'
'But this apartment is supposed to be rented out…'
'Ignoring practicality entirely and pursuing aesthetics to the absolute extreme—would anyone really rent a place like this?'
'And the budget can only go up, not down. With so few pieces of furniture, spending money will actually be difficult…'
'I guess I'll have to look at some of those international luxury brands.'
Countless thoughts flashed through Liang Qingfan's mind in a matter of seconds.
But when he saw the determination in President Pei's eyes, he buried all of those thoughts.
"Alright, President Pei."
"We'll proceed with this style."
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
Tn: I updated the story once a day, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 536: Still Going with the "Bare Walls" Style[1]
Link: https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/losing-money-to-164800513?collection=1399284[2]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/losing-money-to-164800513?collection=1399284
[2] https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/losing-money-to-164800513?collection=1399284