Chapter 117 She Carved His Name

After four o'clock, Sister Zhou was preparing to leave work, and Tang Zhixu tactfully ended the conversation. Tong Zhongyuan had also finished work, sorting the materials into categories and helping Sister Zhou move them back.

The two of them tacitly returned to the hotel. This was the first time Tang Zhixu had stepped into Tong Zhongyuan's room in recent days. He took a can of beer from the refrigerator, opened it, and sat down on the sofa next to the coffee table.

"How was it? Did you gain anything?"

"Xu Ming donated a total of five cultural relics. The remaining four were found on the return list and have been signed for. Only the gilded plate was painted black. There are a total of 25 cultural relics painted black like the gilded plate. Nineteen of them were donated by unclaimed individuals. Three of them belong to the same donor, who donated only three in total, all of which were painted black. He is not on the return list. It is very likely that he has been unable to contact him. The remaining two, like the gilded plate, have not been returned to their donors but have been painted black."

Tang Zhixu was a little confused by his series of data, but he understood the general meaning.

"So, the blackened artifacts were neither added to the collection nor returned to the donors? Where did they go? Why wouldn't ownerless artifacts be added to the collection?"

"My understanding is that the blackened artifacts were not returned to their original donors." Tong Zhongyuan also grabbed a bottle of Perrier from the refrigerator and sat down in the chair across from him. Of course, he had other theories, but he didn't want to discuss anything he wasn't sure of. "They weren't added to the collection because they were taken away."

Tang Zhixu put down his beer and looked at Tong Zhongyuan's handsome and calm face for the first time.

"What makes you come to this conclusion?"

"Didn't Miss Zhou say that the ones painted black were taken away? This isn't a conclusion, it's just speculation. If you want a conclusion, you have to ask her father. How's it going there?"

"Her father, 75 years old, started out as a collection manager at Xiding and later rose to the position of deputy director. After retirement, he went to a park near his home every morning to practice Tai Chi and play Go. Do you know how to play Go?"

"No. You?"

"No. If I could, I would ask you?"

The two of them fell silent, and Tang Zhixu drank his beer silently. He drank the last sip and stood up.

"Let me take care of this. We'll go find Sister Zhou tomorrow morning and ask her to take us to see her father. You decide what to ask and how to ask it."

Tong Zhongyuan looked at him with his head propped up: "What are you going to do?"

Tang Zhixu picked up his coat and walked out the door.

"No plans, just give it a try. You can learn Go tonight. If her father doesn't like us tomorrow, you can go play Go with him the day after tomorrow."

The next morning, Tong Zhongyuan finished breakfast but Tang Zhixu didn't come down. At 9:30, he sent him a message, but he didn't reply. At 10:00, Tang Zhixu still hadn't said a word.

Tong Zhongyuan dressed neatly, replied to a few emails, and checked the news. Seeing no response, he went to Tang Zhixu's door and knocked. He knocked twice, but there was no response. Just as he was about to leave, footsteps were heard inside the room, and Tang Zhixu opened the door. His hair was disheveled, and he looked like he hadn't woken up yet.

Tang Zhixu opened the door and stumbled back in. Tong Zhongyuan stood at the door, holding it open with his hands.

"When are we leaving?"

Tang Zhixu supported the back of his neck and walked towards the bathroom: "Leave after the painting is done."

Tong Zhongyuan cast his gaze into the room. The floor was littered with crumpled pieces of drawing paper, tossed everywhere. On the desk lay several pens and a piece of colored rice paper.

Tang Zhixu washed his face with cold water, regained his composure, and walked out brushing his teeth.

"Are you all right? I'll just change my clothes and leave."

"Are you planning to give her a painting? Does her father like it?"

Tang Zhixu raised his chin towards the desk.

"Let's try it."

Tong Zhongyuan walked to his desk, where the ink had just dried on the pristine white paper. Two sages played chess in a bamboo forest. The title was "Chess Game in a Bamboo Forest." The painting was beautiful, the calligraphy was beautiful, and the seal above it, his name, was beautifully engraved.

Tong Zhongyuan's gaze slowly shifted to a chicken-bloodstone seal beside the Duan inkstone. This stone was rare, a brilliant red with a hint of jade, likely a type of agate. Stone of this quality was hard to find. He reached out, picked up the seal, and flipped to the inscribed side. Three characters, inscribed in a simple and elegant style, marked the man's name—Tang Zhixu.

Tang Zhixu had already washed up, put on some clothes, and came over. He saw Tong Zhongyuan standing at the desk with his back to him. He was quite patient, looking at a painting for such a long time.

He glanced at the drawing paper sideways in the light. The ink and ink were dry. He pushed the inkstone aside, rolled up the painting, and placed it in a brocade box. He casually tossed the pens on the table into the bucket. Finally, he picked up the seal, tore off a piece of scrap paper, knocked out the ink, wiped it clean with a soft cloth, and smeared a little white tea oil before placing it in the satin seal holder.

"The stone is good." Tong Zhongyuan's voice rang out.

Tang Zhixu glanced at him. Good timing! He'd figured out the seal was Qin Tian's and was trying to get some information out of him. Oh, he was just asking for trouble. He opened his mouth, but the words circled around his lips and he took them back. Forget it, no more childish things, business is more important.

"Yeah, a birthday present."

Tong Zhongyuan was silent. That was enough. Don't ask any more questions. It was just a name. In other words, she had spent a month repeatedly carving and polishing a name on a precious stone, just to celebrate this person's birthday.

Sister Zhou looked at the brocade box in front of her, feeling somewhat embarrassed. She didn't know how to paint, but it looked quite good. However, Dad had already told her yesterday not to mess things up.

"Hey~ Sister Zhou, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Didn't you say yesterday that next month is the old man's birthday? Meeting is fate, and you helped us a lot yesterday. I'm giving you a painting to show my appreciation. If the old man doesn't like it, just throw it away!" There was sweetness in Tang Zhixu's smile.

"Look at what you said, then I won't be polite~"

Sister Zhou smiled and reached out to pick up the brocade box.

Tang Zhixu and Tong Zhongyuan walked outside the museum. They had done everything they could, and all they had to do was wait for news.

"Are you sure he understands painting?" Tong Zhongyuan asked.

Tang Zhixu pulled his collar all the way up and looked around for a restaurant. He hadn't had breakfast, so it was a bit cold. Finally, it was this guy's turn to be curious, but he refused to explain.

"How you are sure that the gilded plate is in the Xibo Museum is how I am sure that he understands painting."

In the Shanghai Museum cafeteria, Song Suiyang and Qin Tian were eating face to face. Qin Tian's phone kept vibrating, making their meal intermittent. Song Suiyang had so many questions to ask her, but he couldn't find a way to start. Finally, Qin Tian's phone stopped ringing for a while, and he started eating.

Song Suiyang said mysteriously, "Let me ask you something. Do you know where Teacher Tong and Tang Zhixu went?"

Qin Tianli didn't want to pay any attention to her, as she was gossiping all day long. She knew what was going on in the museum, and she would be even more excited if she knew that the two of them were on a business trip together. However, she was also very concerned about the current progress. They were supposed to be back on Sunday, but they changed their tickets. Yesterday, she asked Tang Zhixu what was going on, and Tang Zhixu hurriedly said, "Let's talk about it when you get back." It seemed that there was some progress on this matter. She guessed that Tang Zhixu was busy, so she wanted to ask Tong Zhongyuan. Tong Zhongyuan replied, "It's still in progress, you should have a good rest these days."

Indeed, this weekend was probably the freest she'd had in months. She slept until she woke naturally, then went to the hospital to visit Qin Yunjie. After a leisurely Saturday, Sunday felt like she had nothing to do. Although she'd always dreamed of relaxing, when she finally had that time, she felt like every minute wasted.

For Tong Zhongyuan and Tang Zhixu, these past few days, they had developed a subtle tacit understanding that they had never agreed to: neither of them would mention Qin Tian. They would not call or text her in front of each other. Even during their own breaks, they both knew that while they were on a business trip, neither of them would take advantage of the situation.

Song Suiyang ate a mouthful of rice listlessly. The only person who knew where Tang Zhixu and Tong Zhongyuan were refused to tell her. Just as she was getting bored, Chen Yun sat down with her plate, a look of disbelief on her face.

"You know what?! Tang Zhixu's story! It's spread all over the museum!"

Qin Tian was shocked. What happened to Tang Zhixu?

Chen Yun took out her cell phone and excitedly pulled out a photo.

"Tang Zhixu's painting was sold at China Guardian Auctions yesterday for a whopping 458,000 yuan!"