Stars Fall Late, Meeting the Long Wind

Su Jing'an, a brilliant architect, was disgraced and died with a grudge after being smeared with accusations of plagiarism. Three years later, his granddaughter Su Qingyan assumed a false identity and infiltrated Shengjing Design Institute, an industry giant responsible for her grandfather's wrongful conviction, as an intern. She had hoped to clear his name through her own talent, but instead faced a boss who stole her work and an industry-wide blacklist. At her lowest point, she won the favor and investment of Lu Chenyuan, head of the Lu Group real estate empire, and founded her own studio, Longwind Research Lab. But Su Qingyan soon discovered that her grandfather's old case was closely tied to the failed bid by Lu Chenyuan's father, Lu Zhenting. The real culprits were the alliance of interests between He Dongping and Lin Zhenghong, now monopolizing the industry. With help from Lu Chenyuan, who provided capital and protection in the industry, and Shen Ke, an idealistic senior who offered a public-interest platform and a legacy of shared ideals, Su Qingyan resolutely took on the most challenging task in the Lighthouse Project: restoring the century-old drum tower in Yunling Village, a remote Dong settlement. From there, the story unfolds on two fronts: The urban front: A fierce business and public-relations battle against entrenched interest groups such as Shengjing and Dingshang, fought over design philosophies, industry standards, and project resources. The rural front: Deep in the Dong settlement of Yunling, Su Qingyan faces complex cultural taboos, struggles among local powers, scarce resources, and other challenges as she works to restore the drum tower and put her ideal of "design for people" into practice. Su Qingyan and Lu Chenyuan go from wary allies to partners who share the same ideals, and then to lovers who fall for each other, joining forces against the industry's entrenched abuses and the undercurrents of capital. And in this "longwind" that spans two generations, brings together city and countryside, and entwines ideals with reality, Su Qingyan finds a way to carry forward the dream her grandfather left unfinished…