Chapter 16 The Son of an Old Friend

Seven years ago, they had just been partners for a year. He made a mistake when soliciting for works at an auction and bought a fake painting, which ended up being sold at a high price, causing trouble. Qin Tian was so anxious that he ran to tell Director Ming that she was there at the time and wanted to share the responsibility with him. Later he found out that during that time, she not only went to see Director Ming, but also to see the buyer. She was willing to redeem the fake painting and pay compensation. When he found out, he asked her where she got the money to dare to ask such a question. She said nothing. Looking at her expression at the time, he suddenly lost his temper, saying that she was causing trouble and scolded her harshly. She cried and said that she could borrow money first and pay it back slowly. Anyway, she had no hobbies and interests, so she could always pay it back.

Time is like a river, flowing to the sea, never to return. The past is gone, and there is no chance to return to that point in time. The mind of the past is unattainable, the mind of the present is unattainable, and the mind of the future is unattainable. One should give rise to the mind without dwelling on anything.

Qin Tian had worried about him and cared about him in the past. He still did now. He would also worry about him in the future.

As expected, Director Ming went to the restoration room immediately after arriving. Qin Tian and Song Suiyang accompanied him, and they recounted yesterday's events. Ming Yuanxing was overjoyed. The son of an old friend had come from afar, and his presence was even greater than before.

Ming Yuanxing told Qin Tian to notify Tong Zhongyuan as soon as he arrived. After walking a few steps, he turned back and reminded her to remember to notify him, not to bring him to his office. Qin Tian had no choice but to agree. She hadn't made such a grand appearance when she went to the British Museum.

Tong Zhongyuan slept until five in the afternoon. Seeing the time, he realized it wasn't the right time to go to the Shanghai Museum. He wanted to take a quick stroll around the area, but found it almost impossible to move. He had arrived in a hurry and didn't go to the bank to exchange RMB. He simply took an old version of RMB that his mother had kept as a souvenir, figuring he could live on credit cards. He knew that mobile payments were the mainstream payment method in China, but he hadn't expected that in Shanghai, mobile payments were not only mainstream, but had become ubiquitous. Even swiping cards required UnionPay, as not all merchants accepted VISA. He took out the old version of RMB, and the young clerk looked at it for a long time, shook his head, and apologized, saying he had never seen this version of RMB. In the end, he had no choice but to give up on the dumplings and vermicelli soup and return to the hotel for the buffet.

He also discovered another problem. Aside from calling, he had virtually no other way to contact anyone. For example, he wanted to inform Qin Tian that he'd be arriving at the museum the next day. It wasn't a big deal, but it was something he had to arrange in advance. A phone call would be too intrusive, and a message wouldn't work. So, he resorted to sending an email to Qin Tian's work email address, saying he'd be at the museum the next day at 9:00. The biggest problem with emails is that they wouldn't be discovered in time, especially after hours. But Qin Tian noticed.

Qin Tian received Tong Zhongyuan's email. Although she was reluctant, she still told Ming Yuanxing the time he would come to the museum. She knew that according to Tong Zhongyuan's sense of time, if he said he would arrive at 9 o'clock, he would only be early, not late.

She replied to Tong Zhongyuan's email, saying it had been received. When she sent it, the progress bar froze; his email address was an external one. It suddenly occurred to her that, besides phone calls, email seemed to be the only way they could contact him. She hadn't found it inconvenient in the UK, as she could always contact him back home via WeChat and QQ. But it would be different in China. He feared his social media apps wouldn't work here, preventing him from making instant contact. Besides, China was already dominated by mobile payments. His UK phone card wouldn't work here.

She rummaged through several drawers and finally found an unused SIM card. It was the family card she'd forced to get when she signed up for broadband. She entered the card number into her phone, marking it as Tong Zhongyuan. Then she put the card in the small pocket on the side of her backpack. She thought she'd finally be able to go to bed early tonight.

The next morning, Qin Tian arrived at work and waited for Tong Zhongyuan at the entrance of the Shanghai Museum. When Tong Zhongyuan arrived, she saw Qin Tian standing at the gate. As soon as she spotted him, she started making calls like a police officer spotting a suspect. Puzzled, Tong Zhongyuan walked up to her and greeted her. Qin Tian pulled a temporary access card from her trouser pocket and handed it to her.

As Tong Zhongyuan entered the lobby, Ming Yuanxing approached, beaming. He shook his hand and exchanged pleasantries. He asked He Wu how he was and if his father was doing well, as if they were uncle and nephew reunited after a long separation. Finally, he took his arm and went into the director's office to chat. The morning's ins and outs were filled with employees arriving for work, and they were all amazed to see this scene. Tong Zhongyuan had only just appeared, and in just one morning, everyone at the Shanghai Museum knew his identity.

After chatting for over an hour, Qin Tian received a call from Ming Yuanxing, asking him to bring Song Suiyang to his office. Unlike last time, his office was filled with a relaxed atmosphere this time.

Ming Yuanxing pointed at Qin Tian and Song Suiyang and said, "Xiao Qin, you've met Xiao Song. Xiao Song will grant you all the permissions in the restoration room. You can also ask her about other issues in the restoration room. It's easier for young people to communicate. Xiao Qin, you are not strangers either. You can go to her if you encounter any inconveniences in the museum. You can also go to her if you have any difficulties in life. I don't need to say more about this. You are friends."

Tong Zhongyuan looked at her, smiled and nodded in agreement with Ming Yuanxing's statement. Qin Tian also had to force a smile and nodded to Ming Yuanxing.

After leaving the director's office, Song Suiyang diligently led Tong Zhongyuan to familiarize himself with the restoration room. It was another moon surrounded by stars. Qin Tian had originally thought of taking him to get acquainted with the staff cafeteria, but it seemed that it was not necessary. This was not a hostage who came to apologize for breaking someone's things, but a return home in glory. Qin Tian simply stopped joining in the crowd and went back to the office to do his own thing. A while ago, Ming Yuanxing told her that he hoped she could collect some treasures of ethnic minority culture. If they did not hurry up to preserve their civilization through objects, they were afraid that some primitive ethnic groups would continue to be civilized and the thousand-year tradition would soon disappear. She was not familiar with ethnic minorities, so she had to hurry up and make up for it.

Tong Zhongyuan had expected to arrive today just to get down to business. Instead, he spent the morning catching up with Ming Yuanxing, and at noon, he was dragged by his colleagues from the restoration department to a nearby restaurant for lunch, supposedly for a welcome break. That afternoon, a group of elderly former colleagues from He Wu arrived one after another to acknowledge their relationship. Each one greeted his mother eight hundred times, forcing him to wear a perpetual smile and call her "uncle" and "auntie" all afternoon. Having been away from China for over twenty years, he had long since grown accustomed to the British social etiquette and distance. Unexpectedly, on his first day back, he'd already recalled all the uniquely Chinese ways of socializing.

By the time work was over, the uncles and aunts scattered like birds and beasts, each returning to their own homes. He finally got away and hurried to find Qin Tian. Qin Tian's office door was open; thankfully, she hadn't left yet. She was buried in documents, showing no sign of leaving. It seemed as if he had seen her buried in books since their time in London. He knocked gently on the door, and Qin Tian looked up and saw him.

"Are you busy?" Tong Zhongyuan chose a common opening line.

"I'm not busy. Do you have something to talk to me about?" Qin Tian stood up.

Although it was a little difficult to bring up, he had no choice but to ask her for help. He didn't necessarily have to tell Ming Yuanxing that he was truly struggling, unable to get a taxi or take the bus, and truly struggling to get by. He wanted to exchange some cash with her. They had some financial dealings in London before, so it shouldn't be too out of place.

Before he could speak, Qin Tian seemed to suddenly remember something and took out a card from his backpack and gave it to him.

"I almost forgot, this SIM card is for you. China is all about mobile payments now, and it's very inconvenient if you can't use it. Does your phone have dual SIM cards? Switch to one and I'll help you set it up."

Tong Zhongyuan obediently took out his phone and handed it to her. Qin Tian deftly used a paper clip to push out the card slot and inserted the SIM card. She picked up her phone and called him, leaving her name. Then she went to the App Store and downloaded various apps without hesitation.

After clicking download, she took a picture of her face in front of his and started the installation. After WeChat was installed, she took out a bank card from her bag and entered the card number into WeChat to bind it.

"I've linked a card to your account with about 50,000 yuan in it. You can use WeChat to pay for food, drinks, entertainment, taxis, and rides. If it's not enough, I'll transfer more money. We'll settle it when you get back."

Qin Tian had almost finished the operation. He had the transportation card, Dianping, Xiaohongshu, Didi Taxi, Qunar, and Amap Navigation. He then returned the phone to Tong Zhongyuan.

"By the way, are you free tonight?" Qin Tian looked at him calmly.

Tong Zhongyuan looked at his only friend on WeChat, "Sunny Day": "I'm free."

"Then let's go out for a walk? I'll teach you how to do it in practice, and you'll get used to it quickly."

Qin Tian picked up the bag and put a few books into it.

"What do you want to eat? Use your WeChat Pay to treat me."

"Xiaolongbao." Tong Zhongyuan replied.

Qin Tian opened Dianping and demonstrated it to him.

"Xiaolongbao, like this, you can search here and see which ones have high ratings. Remember not to go for the ones with 4.8 or 4.9 ratings, those are all fake reviews. The ones with around 4.2 are the best."

Tong Zhongyuan's gaze fell from the phone screen to the tip of her nose. Her eyelashes half covered her eyes like a fan, casting a thin shadow on the tip of her nose.

"By the way," Qin Tian suddenly raised his head, and the pair of pupils that were just covered by eyelashes suddenly caught his sight. "What did you come to see me about? I was so busy talking about my own things that I almost forgot."

Tong Zhongyuan quickly turned his gaze away.

"Nothing. Just wanted to say hello before leaving get off work."

"Oh," Qin Tian put away his phone, "Let's go now. Do you want to take anything?"

"No."

Tong Zhongyuan held the door open, letting Qin Tian go first. Then he followed, walking side by side.