Chapter 69: Erotic Picture?

Song Suiyang had been locked in the women's restroom for almost half an hour. No, she had to inform Qin Tian. She couldn't be so disloyal. At least she should be mentally prepared. She sent her a message, asking where she was. The police had come to see her this morning, asking her to cooperate with the smuggling investigation.

After she sent the message, she waited anxiously for a few minutes, and Qin Tian replied with four short words.

"We'll be there soon."

She stared at the words again and again, sensing a sense of calmness within them. Should everything be alright? She washed her hands and slowly walked back to the restoration room.

To her surprise, Tong Zhongyuan, who hadn't been seen for several days, actually showed up. Seeing her surprised expression, he smiled and asked, "Have you been practicing these days?"

An inexplicable feeling of gratitude welled up in her heart. He asked her if she'd practiced yet! This must be supervision from the master! This showed that he was still willing to teach her!

"Yes!" she replied, "but I don't dare practice with the Qing ink bamboo bowl."

He smiled and said, "I asked you to repair it because the difficulty is suitable for you. Don't think of it as a Qing Dynasty bamboo bowl. Just treat it as an ordinary porcelain. There is nothing to be afraid of."

That's because of you, isn't it? Geniuses really can't empathize with mortals. Song Suiyang complained inwardly. She glanced at the brocade box on the table, remembered something, picked it up and handed it respectfully to Tong Zhongyuan, saying, "By the way, Teacher Tong, this is a gift from Tang Zhixu to you."

Tong Zhongyuan was startled for a moment, then frowned, not seeming to be overjoyed at receiving the gift. He reached out to take the brocade box, but didn't open it.

"He asked you to give it to me?"

"Last time, I jokingly asked him to draw a picture for you. I didn't expect him to actually draw it. And he even finished it before leaving the country."

"Where did he go? When did he leave?"

"I heard it was last Friday night. He and Director Ming went to the United States. But he didn't say why."

Song Suiyang felt something was amiss. Tong Zhongyuan had seemed cheerful when they'd been chatting, but ever since she'd brought out the gift, he'd been unhappy, and now his expression was even more grim. Her intention had been to express gratitude, but she hadn't expected him to dislike gifts. She had an animal-like instinct: she shouldn't be here; she should be in the tea room. She hurriedly said hello, picked up her cup, and walked out.

Tong Zhongyuan stared at the brocade box, stretched out a hand, picked up the lid and shook it a few times, and the box fell on the table. Inside was a scroll with a wax seal of the word "Zhi".

It seemed he didn't want others to see his painting. What was he painting? He peeled off the wax seal with a flick of his hand. He lifted the scroll with one hand and swung it, and a painting appeared before him.

Qin Tian walked into the museum and found that the atmosphere was indeed unusual. Fortunately, she received a message from Song Suiyang a minute before entering the museum. She smiled and said nothing to her colleague who secretly glanced at her and then lowered his head.

As soon as she entered the restoration room, Yuan Junruo saw her and quickly called her in a low voice and asked her to move aside.

"Teacher Qin, the police just came to see you. This is the phone number and police number I copied. Do you want to contact them?"

Qin Tian looked at him with relief. This kid was not a heartless person.

She took the cell phone number and dialed it in public.

"Hello, Officer Zhang. I wasn't here just now. Um, the report is out. I wanted to deliver it this morning, but I had to go out for something. No need, I'll come over. It's very close. I'll bring the thermoluminescence report over right now."

She hung up and noticed that several people in the office had frozen in place while she was on the phone. Once she was done, they became busy again. She picked up the report she had prepared and shouted in Yuan Junruo's direction, "Zhou Qiang, the man who donated cultural relics to the Shanghai Museum last time, is suspected of smuggling them. The police have commissioned the Shanghai Museum to produce a report on the age of the artifacts. I'm going to the police station now and will be back this afternoon."

As she spoke, the others froze, and even after she finished, they remained frozen. Only Yuan Junruo's face broke into a relaxed smile, and he responded loudly.

Qin Tian arrived at the police station and was surprised to find Wang Yijian there. Seeing her, Wang Yijian treated her like a family member. After cooperating with the police investigation, the two left the station together. Only then did Wang Yijian tell her the whole story.

It turned out that during Zhou Qiang's construction work, workers unearthed several pieces of porcelain that were indeed authentic. However, since all cultural relics unearthed in the country belong to the state, Zhou Qiang, motivated by selfishness, declared them to be useless fakes and hoarded them for himself.

This incident inspired Zhou Qiang, who collected a large number of forgeries, claiming they were excavated by his ancestors. He intended to donate them to museums to increase the value of other forgeries, but the Shanghai Museum refused. Knowing the Shanghai Museum's superior appraisal capabilities, Zhou Qiang turned his attention to the less sought-after Kong Museum. Knowing Kong Museum's own weak appraisal capabilities, the museum hired an external expert. However, Zhou Qiang discovered the expert's contact information and, suspected of bribing the external expert, successfully exhibited the forgeries as authentic.

Kongbo was caught in a crossfire, torn between saving face and revealing the truth. Even if the truth were revealed, Zhou Qiang was innocent of any crime except for his poor judgment, and the only casualty would be Kongbo. During this period, Zhou Qiang exploited the situation and aggressively shipped artifacts. This incident dealt a devastating blow to Kongbo. Young and impetuous, Wang Yijian refused to accept the situation. By chance, he tracked down the worker who unearthed the porcelain artifacts, and following the clues, he tracked down Zhou Qiang's former secretary. He learned that Zhou Qiang's company was in financial trouble. With both the director and deputy director under investigation, Wang Yijian secretly held a press conference to reveal the truth, admitting that the exhibition had been fake and choosing to perish with Zhou Qiang. The public was shocked. Buyers flocked to Zhou Qiang's door, and Zhou Qiang, now deeply in debt, took a desperate risk, bribing experts once again, hoping to have the genuine artifacts he had initially unearthed identified as fakes and then take them abroad for sale. After Wang Yijian learned the news, he refused to give up and finally brought down Zhou Qiang with the help of Qin Tian. When the results of the thermoluminescence identification came out, Zhou Qiang was convicted of smuggling cultural relics and there was no chance of recovery.

Qin Tian was dumbfounded. This plot was like a detective drama. Especially since Wang Yijian was so young, full of enthusiasm, courage, and strategy. She had a greedy thought again. When Ming Yuanxing returned, she would strongly recommend Wang Yijian to him and see if she could recruit him to the Shanghai Museum.

Besides, she had another thought lingering in her mind. Tong Zhongyuan had said that day that he also wanted to know what was going on. If she went back to him right now, it would be so exciting. He would definitely be interested.

She returned to the museum excitedly and without a second thought went to the restoration room to look for Tong Zhongyuan. His restoration table was empty, with no sign of anyone working on it.

She was stunned for a moment and asked Song Suiyang: "Where is Tong Zhongyuan?"

Song Suiyang shrugged and said helplessly: "How could he tell me?"

Qin Tian was even more confused. He had clearly entered the museum with her. She asked, "Did he come in?"

"I came here, about half an hour, and then left again."

The autumn air was crisp, and white pigeons strolled leisurely in People's Square, occasionally fluttering their wings. Back in London, he used to carry a few grains of corn in his pockets, but now, his pockets were empty. They came to his feet, turned their heads to look at him, and then left in a huff.

He walked through a flock of white doves, which flapped their wings and took off, bringing with them the sound of wind blowing. At the same time, the children's laughter and exclamations rang out.

He raised his face to look at the clear blue sky and the flying pigeons.

Who else do you want to fool? You can't fool anyone but yourself. It's not about heart palpitations, it's not about childhood friendship.

He likes her, he likes Qin Tian.

He wanted to see her, talk to her, and be in the same room with her. All the stupid things he had done in the past two weeks, the things he disdained and did without distance, were because he liked her.

It's not that he doesn't know, he's deliberately pretending not to know. This way he doesn't have to think about reality or the future. He indulges himself briefly in a false illusion.

Tang Zhixu presented him with a farewell painting. For someone his age, with his brushwork and understanding, he truly deserved the title of a young painter. This gift was a significant one. Even more significant than his painting was the inscription on it.

Don't say there are no friends on the road ahead, everyone in the world knows you. Gathering and parting are unpredictable, so don't worry and walk slowly.

This man woke him up in the most elegant way, telling him that it was time for him to leave, to leave without any worries.