Chapter 197 Yaozu in the Mountain Village (Part 12) Beep! Strive to be a good person...

Two days later, Zhong Minde, the owner of Deli Electronics, was placed under investigation for maliciously disrupting production and operations. It was later verified that Zhong Minde's act of instructing others to steal patented component parameters constituted the crime of infringing trade secrets. The Beijing Municipal People's Court sentenced him to one year in prison and fined him 5,000 yuan.

As an accomplice, considering the circumstances of Liu Yuchong's crime, his remorseful behavior, and the letter of understanding issued by Qin Zhenguo, the People's Procuratorate decided to grant him leniency and not prosecute him.

After the storm of this incident passed, the day arrived in the blink of an eye when Song Ce and Qin Chuxia agreed to go to the Jingbei Museum.

During that week, the two chatted online every day using the latest social networking app, OC, and quickly became acquainted.

The weekend sunlight streamed into the room through the curtains. Qin Chuxia got up early and tried on several outfits in front of the mirror. Finally, she chose a white embroidered dress with a black cardigan over it. The hem of the dress was embroidered with a few tiny daisies, making her look gentle and pleasing to the eye.

Looking at herself in the full-length mirror, Qin Chuxia's cheeks flushed slightly, and she involuntarily turned around in front of the mirror.

"Early Summer, are you all ready? Come out and have breakfast!" He Meifeng called from the living room.

"Alright! Coming right away!"

Qin Chuxia took a deep breath, grabbed her black shoulder bag, and left the room.

In the living room, Qin Zhenguo had just placed the boiled eggs on the dining table when he saw his daughter come out. His eyes lit up and he said, "Wife, look at Chuxia! She looks so radiant today!"

He Meifeng smiled and looked over upon hearing this, exclaiming, "That's right, you don't even know whose daughter she is!" As she spoke, she took out a thousand yuan from her bag and handed it to Qin Chuxia, instructing her, "Chuxia, keep this money safe. If you don't spend it all, save it for next month's living expenses."

Qin Chuxia was taken aback. "Mom, I still have money, I don't need it..."

"Just take it if Mom tells you to!"

"Yes, Chuxia, you're eighteen now. Socializing with friends is a very important part of your future life. For example, if you're tired from shopping today and want to go out for a meal or see a movie, you'll need money for that, you know?"

Listening to her parents' patient guidance, Qin Chuxia nodded, took the money, and carefully put it in her bag.

After finishing breakfast, Qin Chuxia took a deep breath and left the house with a somewhat uneasy feeling.

Her apartment building was quite close to the entrance of the complex; it took her about five or six minutes to walk to the west gate. There, she found someone already waiting for her under the poplar tree at the entrance.

Song Ce took two steps forward, his gaze falling on the person who had just arrived. He couldn't help but smile and said, "This dress suits you very well."

Upon hearing this, Qin Chuxia's face instantly turned red. She looked down at her low-cut shoes and said shyly, "Thank you... Well, shall we go?"

"Um."

No sooner had Song Ce finished speaking than Qin Zhenguo's cheerful voice came from not far away, "Little Ce, I'm entrusting Chu Xia to you today. You must take good care of her!"

"There are a lot of people at the museum, so please be careful." It was He Meifeng's voice.

"Uncle, Aunt, don't worry!" Song Ce replied gently.

Qin Chuxia stomped her foot, "...Dad! Mom!"

Seeing her daughter's embarrassed face, He Meifeng nudged Qin Zhenguo's arm, "Look at you, you had to sneak down here, now our daughter is annoyed!"

Qin Zhenguo stroked his chin, watching the two young people's figures gradually disappear into the distance. For some reason, he suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. He subconsciously retorted, "Our Chuxia is a good girl. This is her first time making a friend of the opposite sex. Can't I, as her father, even give it a try?"

He Meifeng rolled her eyes at him, "You were the one who said Xiao Ce was reliable back then, and now you're the one who says we need to test him out. Look how capable you are!"

"snort!"

Meanwhile, Song Ce and Qin Chuxia had already arrived at the entrance of the Jingbei Museum. They were quite lucky to have arrived today, as they happened to be there during the Jingbei Museum's 50th Anniversary Exhibition of Fine Cultural Relics.

Looking at the long line of people at the entrance, Qin Chuxia subconsciously glanced at Song Ce and said, "There seem to be a lot of people today."

Song Ce smiled, took out two tickets from his backpack and handed them to her, saying with a smile, "It's okay, we've already bought our tickets."

Qin Chuxia's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this. "Didn't we come together? When did you...?"

Song Ce remained expressionless: "Fortunately, I live nearby, so I came to buy it in advance."

Actually, neither his dormitory at Jingnan University nor his residence at Runzhuyuan were close to the Jingbei Museum, so he hurriedly left home just after six o'clock in the morning.

Qin Chuxia, being thoughtful, said shyly, "Thank you..."

Song Ce looked up at her, his eyes bright, as if they held a glimmer of light: "It's alright, let's go!"

"Um!"

The current exhibits at the Beijing North Museum are far less diverse than they will be in the future. Currently, the exhibits open to the public include small artifacts, Sui and Tang Dynasty pottery figurines, classical texts, and genre paintings.

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the Beijing North Museum has brought in an exhibition of rare foreign artifacts for the first time, featuring over 300 pieces that are truly impressive.

Looking at the terracotta figurines in the glass case, Qin Chuxia asked curiously, "Song Ce, how do you know so much? Is this what you study in archaeology?"

“Yes, there’s an art appreciation course in our major.” As he spoke, Song Ce pointed to the terracotta figurine Qin Chuxia had just looked at, his eyes shining. “Chuxia, look! This is a terracotta maidservant from the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty was at its peak; social stability and economic development provided a solid foundation for the production of terracotta figurines. This figurine wears a long blouse and skirt, adorned with a shawl that hangs down from her shoulders—the lines and patterns are so fluid! You know, the artisans of that time relied entirely on handcraftsmanship to create such a serene and elegant female figurine; it’s truly amazing!”

Seeing the young man, who had been somewhat reserved just moments before, now appear as a completely different person, Qin Chuxia couldn't help but smile and sincerely praised, "Yes, you're really amazing!"

Song Ce explained in detail, and Qin Chuxia listened attentively. People came and went around them, yet it seemed as if an invisible barrier had formed around them. Sunlight streamed through the glass window and fell warmly on them.

When they arrived at the last exhibition hall, Qin Chuxia walked to the central display case, pointed to the jade pendant inside, and exclaimed, "Song Ce, look, this jade pendant is so beautiful!"

It was a dragon and phoenix pendant from the Han Dynasty. The jade was warm and smooth, with vigorous dragon patterns and graceful phoenix patterns, tightly intertwined.

Song Ce nodded. "This is a dragon and phoenix pendant unearthed from the Western Han Dynasty. Dragon and phoenix pendants are usually in pairs, one dragon and one phoenix. When they are put together, they are one piece, and when they are separated, they are two pieces. The craftsmanship is extremely rare."

Qin Chuxia subconsciously looked up at Song Ce, and met his gaze.

"..."

Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly lowered her head, pretending to look at the patterns on the jade pendant, her ears turning slightly red as she said, "Is...is that so? I thought there was only one."

Song Ce looked at Qin Chuxia's reddened ears, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and his eyes were filled with a smile. "Yes, together they are one."

Qin Chuxia realized that the two of them were in a somewhat ambiguous situation. She nodded hurriedly, almost staring at the dragon and phoenix pendant in front of her until it bloomed.

Five minutes later, Qin Chuxia cautiously looked up, feigning composure, only to find Song Ce staring intently at her. His eyelashes were long, and the golden sunlight cast soft shadows upon them.

Neither of them spoke; they simply looked at each other in silence.

"you……"

"I……"

Song Ce and Qin Chuxia spoke at the same time, then stopped when they realized the other was speaking.

"Ladies first." Song Ce smiled and gestured for Qin Chuxia to speak first.

Qin Chuxia chuckled at his words, and the awkwardness from before vanished instantly. She raised her hand to brush a stray hair behind her ear and said somewhat shyly, "What I wanted to ask was, do you want some noodles? There's a well-established noodle shop nearby that's really good, and I was thinking... I was going to treat you to some noodles."

Looking at Qin Chuxia's slightly flushed profile, Song Ce subconsciously softened his voice: "Okay, sure! I'm hungry too."

The two reached an agreement and left the museum after noon. The poplar trees lining the road cast deep shadows, and the cicadas chirped incessantly. Following the address her friend had given her, Qin Chuxia led Song Ce through a maze of turns into an old alley.

After walking for about five minutes in the alley, Song Ce saw a large red sign at the end of the alley with four big characters written on it: "A Bowl of Noodles".

Song Ce couldn't help but chuckle; he hadn't expected the noodle shop to have such a unique name.

"This is it." Qin Chuxia smiled, pushed open the door, and went inside.

It was past lunchtime, and the restaurant wasn't crowded. The proprietress, wearing a blue apron, greeted the two with a smile as they entered, "What would you two like to eat? Our signature dishes are beef noodles, noodles with soybean paste, and scallion oil noodles."

"Two bowls of their signature beef noodles, and two beef and vermicelli buns, please." After Qin Chuxia finished speaking, she looked at Song Ce and asked, "Can you handle spicy food?"

Song Ce nodded first, then shook his head shyly, "Just don't make it too spicy."

"Okay." Qin Chuxia smiled and said crisply to the proprietress, "Add a spicy... mildly spicy cucumber."

"Okay!" The proprietress quickly wrote it down and turned to go to the kitchen to get busy.

Qin Chuxia found a seat by the window, and soon, their beef noodles were ready.

Looking at the huge bowl of noodles in front of him, Song Ce pretended to be calm and glanced at the plate full of cold dishes between the two of them. "The portions at this noodle shop are really huge!"

"Right!" Qin Chuxia handed him the chopsticks and said fervently, "Eat up! Their soup is made with beef bones, it won't taste good when it's cold."

Song Ce lowered his head and silently took a bite. The broth was rich and flavorful, the noodles were chewy, and the tender beef had a subtle braised aroma—it was indeed delicious. He couldn't help but take another bite, and when he looked up, he met Qin Chuxia's gaze.

She wasn't eating the noodles; she was smiling at him, her eyes bright.

"Early Summer, why aren't you eating?" Song Ce asked her.

Qin Chuxia paused for a moment, her cheeks slightly flushed: "Uh... it's a little hot, let me cool off first..."

Song Ce hummed in agreement and then handed her a glass of water.

Qin Chuxia blushed, took the water, and sipped it. "...Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Song Ce lowered his head and continued eating his noodles, but his ears turned red.

Just then, the proprietress brought over beef and vermicelli buns and placed them on the table, breaking the shy and sweet atmosphere between the two: "Here, these buns are fresh out of the steamer, eat them while they're hot!"

"Thank you, Auntie." The two exchanged a quick glance and thanked her profusely.

After finishing her noodles, Qin Chuxia took out her wallet to pay, but Song Ce stopped her, saying, "Chuxia, I'll pay this time, and you can pay next time, okay?"

"But, I promised to treat you..." Qin Chuxia wanted to say something, but Song Ce shoved the wallet back into her hand without saying a word.

"It's settled then. Auntie, please pay the bill."

Qin Chuxia looked at him, feeling a little guilty: "Then, then I'll definitely treat you next time."

"OK!"

After Song Ce paid, the two walked out of the noodle shop one after the other.

The sun was still very strong in the alley. Qin Chuxia took out a parasol from her bag, opened it, and tilted it slightly towards Song Ce. "Let's walk together."

Song Ce paused for a moment, then nodded and walked alongside her.

The space under the umbrella was small, and their arms would occasionally touch. Qin Chuxia's heart was pounding. She glanced at Song Ce beside her and saw that he was also slightly flushed and looked flustered. She felt a sweet warmth in her heart for no reason.

...

As the sun began to set, Qin Chuxia looked at the bustling street scene outside her residential compound and suddenly felt that the day had passed exceptionally quickly.

"Song Ce, well... I'll go in first."

"Um."

Hearing his low "hmm," Qin Chuxia felt inexplicably disappointed. She replied sullenly, "Be careful on the road."

Just as she turned around, preparing to walk towards the entrance of the residential area, she heard someone behind her suddenly call out to her: "Chu Xia."

"Hmm?" Qin Chuxia turned to look at him.

"Thank you for taking me to eat such delicious beef noodles today." Song Ce smiled slightly. "I'm very happy."

"Yes, I'm very happy too, and thank you for accompanying me to the museum."

Song Ce gazed intently at the girl before him. "Then... shall we meet at school tomorrow?"

"Um……"

Qin Chuxia blushed and nodded haphazardly before turning and running into the residential area.

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Author's note: Time to get down to business! [Cat emoji]