Chapter 119 The itinerary is secret and we will be notified three hours in advance

Tang Zhixu is back, and Tong Zhongyuan is back too. On Thursday, a week after their joint vacation, they both came back to work. Almost everyone in the museum noticed this subtle coincidence. Originally, someone from the Shanghai Museum was on a business trip every day, and no one would care about the whereabouts of others. Unfortunately, Tang Zhixu's auction at China Guardian on Sunday caused a sensation, and everyone was looking for him, waiting to congratulate him, but he was not there. On the other hand, news came from the National Museum of China that the procedure for the release of Yuan blue and white porcelain had been approved, and the Shanghai Museum was asked to prepare to receive it. This was a national treasure that had come all the way here just for Tong Zhongyuan, and the protagonist was not there. It was not until Thursday morning that people realized that the two protagonists had disappeared together for a week, a week of leave for personal reasons.

"It's my treat~"

"Congratulations! You are so promising young man."

"When will you draw me a picture?"

As Tang Zhixu walked into the museum, colleagues both familiar and unfamiliar congratulated him along the way. He doubted he'd get such treatment even if he got married. Furthermore, his phone had been ringing non-stop since Sunday, mostly with congratulations and requests for paintings. Even his third uncle, who hadn't seen him in ten years and had left the family group due to disputes over his grandparents' inheritance, contacted him for a painting. What an honor!

What surprised him most was that his first love sent him a congratulatory text message.

"Thank you for being yourself, and I wish you all the best."

He knew she had married three years ago and her husband was a civil servant. That was exactly the life she wanted.

He didn't reply. What was there to thank her for? It had nothing to do with her. He said it as if he was being himself for her sake. They had chosen their own paths, and there was no need for them to cross paths again.

The girl he'd been dating had also sent him a message, or rather, she hadn't stopped since that dinner. She contacted him politely and with discretion. Even if he said he was on a business trip, or just replied with a polite interjection, she would still pick up the conversation, not caring that the last message in the dialog box was always from her. Tang Zhixu wanted to tell her that he already had someone he liked, but she hadn't hinted at any romantic interest, so making such a clarification felt a bit foolish.

She didn't congratulate him like everyone else. She said, "I went to see your painting in person. The composition is well-organized and the artistic conception is profound. Is that person walking down from the boat you?"

Tang Zhixu sat in the coffee shop, leaning on his forehead. She had sent this message on Tuesday, and he still hadn't replied. It was obvious enough, wasn't it?

He clicked on the dialog box and typed, "Sorry, just saw this. Just a random drawing."

Qin Tian appeared at the other end of the hall, descending the spiral staircase, her face brimming with excitement. She waved at him from afar, approaching him. His heartbeat uncontrollably quickened. He glanced down at the message, deleted the last six words, and changed it to "Drawn with my secret crush in mind," pressing send.

Qin Tian came like a gust of wind, sat opposite him, and took out a bouquet of lilies from behind.

"I'm going to call you Master Tang now~ Congratulations. Why didn't you tell me before?"

Tang Zhixu took the bouquet of flowers and counted them. There were fifteen in total.

"You're quite the romantic, aren't you? These past few days, everyone's been asking me to draw pictures and treat people, but you're the only one who sent me flowers."

"I have a lot of paintings. You always give me one every year. Now they have all appreciated in value. Of course I'll give you a bouquet of flowers to thank you."

"That's true. Then it's really not nice of you to just send me a bouquet of flowers. You promised to treat me to a meal, but you still haven't done it. Do you think that's reasonable?"

"Today, then. I also want to ask about the gilded plate."

Tang Zhixu hesitated. He had thought of this yesterday. Although he and Tong Zhongyuan had both played a role in this operation, it was Tong Zhongyuan who had found the clue to the gilded plate. He disdained to take credit for his work, and he couldn't bring himself to claim credit from Qin Tian without Tong Zhongyuan's knowledge.

"You can ask Tong Zhongyuan about this. After you ask, leave this weekend to me."

Qin Tian was a little surprised. Who said they were all the same? Why did they need to be divided into different categories? Could it be that he and Tong Zhongyuan didn't get along well?

After drinking his coffee, Tang Zhixu said he was going to pay tribute to Wang Qiqing. Qin Tian hesitated for a while and walked towards the restoration room hesitantly. She was free these days, and then she remembered that Tong Zhongyuan had been here for four months to restore the rotating vase, and now he had to stay for another six months. How should he explain to the British Museum? She always felt that she had a lot of things to say to him, but the restoration room was crowded and it was not convenient to communicate. But she didn't want to be alone with him anymore. She didn't want to embarrass herself. She couldn't spend three times as much time mourning and forgetting for a short relationship.

She walked to the fork in the restoration room, stood there for a while, and then returned to the office. Yang Yuxin stood up, walked over and knocked on the office door.

"There's news from the archaeological team."

Song Suiyang hung up the phone and looked in the direction of Tong Zhongyuan.

He had arrived early in the morning and had been standing in front of the Xizhou chime bells for nearly two hours, yet he hadn't even finished the rough gluing. Most of the time, he was lost in thought, not even wearing his glasses. She wanted to remind him to put them on, but she felt she shouldn't disturb him while he was lost in thought. Yes, Teacher Tong must be worried. A straight man like Tang Zhixu must be bothering him. However, now she had no choice but to interrupt him.

Tong Zhongyuan took off the rough piece he had just put together. He had put it wrong. In this state, if he wanted to quickly complete the restoration of the chimes, he could only work overtime on the weekend. Tang Zhixu should have told her about the gilded plate. In the past few days, the seal with his name on it flashed in front of him from time to time, reminding him that all his previous judgments were wrong. He and Tang Zhixu had been together for a week and had seen his talent and magnanimity, as well as his humor and willingness to express himself. Tang Zhixu was not someone who would secretly love someone for many years without expressing it, so what about Qin Tian? Was that seal her answer? The high wall he built to resist her had long since collapsed, but there was no one outside the wall. She was not there.

"Teacher Tong?" Song Suiyang stood in front of him cautiously, "There's something..."

Tong Zhongyuan came back to his senses: "What's the matter?"

"Director Ming said the Yuan blue and white porcelain will arrive late this week. Go pick it up."

Tang Zhixu placed the two prepared paintings in front of Wang Qiqing, stepped back, and stood still. After all, Wang Qiqing had supported him in the China Guardian Auctions matter. He couldn't offer Wang Qiqing the loyalty he desired, so he could only offer him a few more paintings.

Wang Qiqing unfolded it briefly, glanced at it, and then put it away. As he'd expected, Tang Zhixu's painting had sold at China Guardian Auctions. For a newcomer, the price was truly astonishing. Although he'd approached China Guardian Auctions about it, it was ultimately his own skill that won the bid. So be it; this deal was worth it. He needed to be used where he was needed, and no one else could replace him.

He took off his glasses and rubbed his nose, then said tiredly, "Go to work on time tomorrow morning. The leaders of the bureau are coming to visit the Chunhua Pavilion Calligraphy Collection, so you should accompany them."

It was eight o'clock on a Friday morning. The museum's staff parking lot was packed with cars. Everyone in the museum knew that the bureau leader was coming to view the Chunhua Ge Tie collection, and no one dared to be late at such a critical moment.

Tang Zhixu circled the car several times before finally squeezing into a small space and parking diagonally, leaving his phone number on the window. It was so serious, how could the boss arrive at eight o'clock?

Sure enough, by nine o'clock, there was no sign of the leader. Tang Zhixu drank another cup of coffee to stay awake, otherwise he would yawn non-stop when the leader arrived. He waited until almost ten o'clock, when Wang Qiqing called and asked him to come out quickly, saying that the person would be arriving soon.

Ming Yuanxing, Wang Qiqing, Tang Zhixu, and Secretary Zheng stood at the door to greet them. Director Chen and Deputy Director He of the Cultural Bureau and their entourage got out of the car and entered the museum, chatting and laughing in a lively atmosphere.

Song Suiyang arrived early today as well, and stayed in the restoration room until he left. He was afraid of collaging with the visiting leaders. Tong Zhongyuan learned yesterday that the Yuan blue and white porcelain would be removed from the museum, and in order to complete the restoration of the Western Zhou chime bells before the Yuan blue and white porcelain arrived, he took the initiative to seek Dai Lihua's help. Dai Lihua knew that this job was originally his, and he didn't know how Tong Zhongyuan took it on. Since he asked for it, it was a job that had to be done. Dai Lihua did the rough collage, and Tong Zhongyuan did the fine-tuning, working overtime until 12 o'clock in the evening. Today, it has been largely restored to its original state, and only some details need to be repaired.

Tong Zhongyuan knew that the library was hosting a banquet for the leaders of the bureau today. Not only did all the colleagues in the entire department come to work on time, but they also stayed in the office honestly. No one ran out to get coffee. Seeing this, Tong Zhongyuan went to the cafe during his break and bought seven cups of coffee. He returned to the office with the coffee and saw the leaders chatting and laughing as they came towards him from the collection room. He stepped aside and wanted to change direction, but Ming Yuanxing saw him and shouted, "Little Tong!"

The leaders all looked up. Tong Zhongyuan had no choice but to stop and, turning back, a polite and elegant smile on his face, he greeted them.