Chapter 48 There is a result that he cannot bear waiting for him

He knew why she'd come. He was surprised she'd come specifically to ask him why, rather than just get angry. She was waiting for a reasonable explanation. He had a reason, his reason being that this was the best and only solution. Someone else had to do it anyway, so why not him? Besides, he only trusted himself, and his operation would be more reliable than anyone else's. But he knew clearly that this was his reason, not Qin Tian's, and she couldn't accept such an answer.

"Have you come up with a solution these days?" he asked.

“You can smuggle without coming up with a solution?”

He looked at her, smiled faintly, and casually poured the remaining sparkling water into the ice glass.

"Where's the evidence?"

She was stunned. She expected him to argue that it wasn't smuggling, or explain why he did it. She even considered it a game plan, a backhanded move he hadn't yet revealed. But nothing happened. He admitted to taking the statue, and confidently asked her for proof. Because he knew it clearly, she had no proof. The moment he stopped her from breaking the statue's casing, she had lost her evidence.

She grabbed the corner of her clothes, afraid that she would not be able to resist picking up the glass of ice water and pouring it on his head.

"Where are the things? Where are they now?" She used all her strength to restrain herself.

He stared at her. It was a simple question, one he could answer instantly. He saw her patience and restraint, and her trust in him was just one step away from being shattered. If he told her the Buddha statue's whereabouts, they would be strangers from now on, or perhaps even more than strangers.

What was there to hesitate about? He had thought it all through before he did this. He was offering the best option to Sun Minfu, and to Qin Tian as well. Rather than forcing her to have the best of both worlds, he would be the one to put an end to it.

For a long time, he had never wavered in his decisions. Once he made a decision, he would overcome all difficulties, and social conventions were not a factor in his decision. He admitted that he had feelings for Qin Tian, ​​but that was all. If he truly cared about her feelings, he would not have touched the Buddha statue.

Before this, he had never thought of getting involved in Sun Minfu's mess, but he didn't want to get involved in the mess between Qin Tian and Tang Zhixu even more. Yesterday morning, the look in Tang Zhixu's eyes disgusted him. In fact, he just happened to wake up a little early and came to the museum a little early. He wanted to see how Qin Tian was doing last night. He happened to see Qin Tian sleeping in the office and took her to the sofa. At that moment, Tang Zhixu was standing at the door, looking at him with a look that seemed to see through him. He didn't explain anything, put Qin Tian on the sofa and left the office. Then he got tired of the endless repairs and went back to the hotel. Sun Minfu called him again early in the morning and said he would give him an hour. He thought about it for an hour. During this hour, he thought about every aspect. He firmly believed that this was the best option. After thinking it through, it would not be difficult to make the right decision. Just like now, he thought of Tang Zhixu's dark and restrained eyes and no longer hesitated.

"I've already left the country," he replied.

Her brown eyes narrowed, a mixture of shock, disappointment, and anger swirling from their depths. She gripped the coffee cup tightly, her eyelashes drooping. He watched her movements; if she was planning to throw coffee at him, he should be able to dodge it. After a long moment, her grip on the coffee cup gradually loosened, but she still kept her head down.

"You are..." Her voice came softly, calm and tired, "Did you plan to do this from the beginning?"

She looked up at him. There was no anger in her eyes; instead, they held a bottomless abyss. His heart skipped a beat, and an indescribable confusion gripped him. All reasoning ceased, leaving only intuition. If he had said yes, if he had said yes, she wouldn't have thrown coffee at him, or even been angry. But he could sense it, yes, there was no turning back.

"No," he denied. This was the truth, and he wasn't trying to please her; he was just stating the facts.

She continued to look at him without saying a word, as if waiting for his explanation, yet also as if she was not thinking about anything.

"At first I didn't think about how to do it. Sun Minfu called me and said he was in urgent need of money, and I thought this was the fastest way to give him the money," he explained.

He hadn't planned to explain what he'd done, but now he was. After he finished, she looked out the window blankly, seemingly confused as to why things had turned out this way. He felt strangely relieved, instinctively believing he hadn't made the worst choice. He also felt that if she wanted to throw coffee on him, he wouldn't have to hide.

She didn't know what to feel right now. It wasn't anger or sadness, but a feeling of emptiness she'd never experienced before. Tong Zhongyuan seemed strange to her, but she'd never been familiar with him, so how could he be strange? Before coming here, she'd thought she had so many questions for him, and she'd expected a heated exchange of words. But now, she felt like there were nothing left to ask. What could she possibly ask? She thought and thought, only coming up with a single, insignificant question.

"Where did you get the money to transfer to him? How did the 200,000 arrive in one day?"

He choked. He had originally planned to stay for only three weeks, which wouldn't cost much, and he would pay her the bill after returning to the UK. Later, he suddenly decided to stay for two more months, but he didn't want to spend all her money during those two months. He went to great lengths to transfer 30,000 pounds across borders, and a few days ago, it showed that the money had been transferred out of the country. It was supposed to be given to Qin Tian, ​​but he urgently intercepted it and transferred it to Sun Minfu. Only a small amount was left, which would be transferred to Qin Tian's card. Qin Tian never asked him to pay it back. Strictly speaking, it wasn't her money he embezzled, so he just had to tell the truth. Thinking of this, he spoke.

"Some time ago..." He was about to say something, but then stopped, "My mom heard I was sick and was worried that I would be waiting for money, so she transferred some money to me two weeks ago, and it just arrived."

Qin Tian nodded. I see. Across from her, Tong Zhongyuan took a few sips of water from his cup. He put it down, covering his lips with his slender fingers. His eyes met hers for a moment before he looked away, out the window, wondering what he was thinking.

"What about my money? When do you plan to pay it back?" Qin Tian said.

Tong Zhongyuan was stunned, at a loss for words. He'd imagined Qin Tian would lose her temper, ignoring him until he left China, and they'd politely said goodbye. His trip to China would be a smooth journey. Despite the excitement, the entanglements, the arguments, they were all consigned to a corner of his memory, forever etched in his heart. But he had never imagined Qin Tian would ask for money at this moment. Was she trying to sever her financial ties with him quickly, or was this just her way of expressing her anger?

Seeing he didn't answer, she took out her phone, calculated on the calculator for a while, then looked up and said, "Over the past month, for your expenses and your illness, I've advanced a total of 128,400 yuan. Forget the small change, when will you pay me back? To be honest, I've sold my funds several times and lost about 8,000 yuan. If you're willing to pay for this loss, then you can. If you're not willing, it's not your fault. Just return the principal to me first."

He looked at her silently and said slowly, "Can I pay back 60,000 first?"

After deducting the money given to Sun Minfu and the high fees for overseas transfers, there is probably about 60,000 yuan left, which will be deposited into her card tomorrow.

"When?" she asked.

"tomorrow."

She hadn't expected him to actually pay back half of it, perhaps because his mother had sent some extra money. But she was determined to embarrass him today.

"What about the other half? When will you return it?"

"Ten days."

She shook her head: "No, three days. Give it back to me in three days."

He fell silent again. He took out his phone and flipped through it, as if trying to think of a solution. Then he looked up and asked her, "Can't you give me a few days?"

She was stunned. Although he was begging for mercy, his expression was calm, without a trace of embarrassment. She was even a little dazed, and there was a faint smile in his eyes. He was not angry or embarrassed because of her provocation, but seemed to be in a good mood. It seemed that she was not confronting him, but flirting with him. She suddenly became very irritable, and even more deeply self-loathing. In his eyes, she was just a fool. And she was indeed. She ran to wait for him for two hours, just to make him pay back the money? She didn't ask anything, did nothing, and let him transfer the national treasure abroad. Although she had no evidence, as long as she called the police, he would definitely be investigated with his identity. And she didn't think of doing this even when she was extremely angry. She didn't even think of telling anyone, including Tang Zhixu. All her ways of venting her anger were to ask him to pay back the money. No wonder he laughed at her in his heart.

She stood up, wordlessly shouldered her bag, and left the café. Tong Zhongyuan watched her back until she left the lobby. She passed by the French windows, her hair gleaming in the sunlight, but her expression carried the loneliness of the night. He thought of the vow he'd made that night in the hospital: never again would she cry.

She turned a corner and disappeared. He looked away. The cup of coffee on the table was still full. She hadn't taken a sip. The empty chair seemed to still hold her phantom. He took the coffee and took a sip. It was that long-lost bitter and sweet aroma. He seemed unable to fulfill the vow he made that night.