Chapter 13 A call from 10,000 kilometers away
Qin Tian and Song Suiyang came to Ming Yuanxing's office and knocked on the door gently. When they pushed the door open, they found that in addition to Ming Yuanxing, Deputy Director Wang Qiqing was also in the office.
Wang Qiqing's work style was always strict, and employees would either avoid him or keep their heads down when they saw him. Seeing him there, Song Suiyang immediately stood up straighter.
Wang Qiqing's face was frosty, looking even more severe than usual. He cast a cold gaze at Qin Tian. Qin Tian's heart trembled, and he thought of the eleven cultural relics.
Ming Yuanxing's expression remained calm, but the smile on his face wasn't as usual. He waved at Qin Tian and said, "Xiao Qin, you're the one who took care of the insurance for the cultural relics being sent to England. Contact the insurance company and have them come over as soon as possible."
After that, he turned to Song Suiyang and said, "Xiao Song, make some preparations. A Qing Dynasty official kiln revolving vase was broken in England. The porcelain fragments will be shipped back in the next few days. You and Qin Tian will go to the airport to pick it up and bring it back to the museum. We will assess the damage as quickly as possible."
Qin Tian and Song Suiyang were both shocked. Although they purchased substantial insurance for every artifact shipped out of the museum, the reality was that there was no chance of a loss. Every step was carefully monitored by dedicated personnel, ensuring every possible precaution was taken. Insurance companies celebrated such orders like New Year's Eve; they were able to meet their sales targets while ensuring safety.
While not as valuable as the Southern Song Dynasty Nine-Peach Vase, the Qing Dynasty Guanyao Revolving Vase boasts a complex design. It appears to be a single vase, but is actually two nested together. The outer vase is hollow, and when it is rotated, the pattern on the inner vase moves like a revolving lantern. Once damaged, repair is extremely difficult, and simply matching the pieces is a tedious process.
Song Suiyang's expression visibly fell, and she looked like she was about to cry. Wang Qiqing was even more angry when he saw her expression, but he couldn't blame Song Suiyang for this. He looked at Qin Tian and said coldly, "Xiao Qin, who asked you to come back early? The exhibition hasn't even started yet, and you're already back. Now that such a big thing has happened, how are you going to solve it? Where is your sense of responsibility?"
Qin Tian was speechless. It had already been two weeks since the opening ceremony. Even if she had stayed until the opening ceremony, she would have returned two weeks ago. But this excuse was useless, so she could only lower her head and remain silent.
Seeing this, Ming Yuanxing waved his hand at the two of them and said, "Just these two matters, go ahead and take care of them. If you have any questions, please communicate promptly."
Song Suiyang didn't dare to breathe, and hurriedly pulled Qin Tian and retreated to the door. Qin Tian felt a chill in his heart. Although the breaking of the rotating bottle had nothing to do with her, she had been following the entire process of the Yingbo Treasures Exhibition from insurance to acceptance. She even went on a business trip to the UK for three weeks for this. Now, the cultural relics have been broken after only two weeks of the exhibition. How could she not regret and feel heartbroken? It was normal for Wang Qiqing to have a problem with her. He didn't know about the eleven cultural relics. If he knew, he would probably want to fire her. She still self-righteously thought that she was the guardian of cultural relics and the king of bronze. She was really too arrogant and ignorant.
As soon as Song Suiyang walked out the door, he started yelling, "Qin Tian, what should I do? I've never repaired a rotating bottle before. I don't know what's happened to it. Even if only the outer bottle is broken, it's still very troublesome."
How could Qin Tian know what to do? She didn't even know what to do herself. Her phone rang again and again, but she turned a deaf ear to it. It was only when Song Suiyang reminded her that she took it out and took a look.
It was a number starting with +44. She woke up and immediately answered the call.
The few seconds of silence when the line was connected were like a hurricane brewing 10,000 kilometers away.
"Qin Tian, I am Tong Zhongyuan." Tong Zhongyuan's calm voice came across the strait.
Qin Tian remained silent. How could he? How could he still be so calm? She couldn't hear a trace of anxiety or apology in his voice. She knew she didn't know the truth of the matter, and that Tong Zhongyuan was most likely innocent. But just as Wang Qiqing accused her, as a staff member of the China Pavilion at the British Museum, did Tong Zhongyuan have no responsibility at all? Shouldn't he be calling now out of guilt, seeking forgiveness with a feeling of atonement?
"Tomorrow evening at 8:00 Beijing time, I will arrive at Terminal 1 of Shanghai Pudong Airport with the Heart-Turning Bottle." Tong Zhongyuan's voice was still calm and professional, without any nonsense or guilt.
Qin Tian spoke, a short sentence.
"Is it the Heart-Turning Bottle or the fragments of the Heart-Turning Bottle?"
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a second, then he said, "The fragments of the Heart-Transforming Bottle."
Qin Tian sneered silently.
"I'm sorry I'm the one to tell you this."
This sentence instantly blew up Qin Tian! Qin Tian felt as if a fire suddenly burned from his forehead to the top of his soul. What was he talking about? He didn't feel sorry for breaking the Zhuanxin Bottle at all. What he said implied that he was just an unlucky guy who came to tell him bad news. He apologized to himself! I'm sorry, Tong Zhongyuan, how could I let you suffer such an offensive thing. She suddenly laughed in anger. For the past month, she had felt guilty every time she thought of the two Chinese cultural relics in his house. Until this moment, she had completely let it go. Okay, very good, Tong Zhongyuan, wait, when you come, I also have some very sorry news to tell you.
"I see." She said calmly, "Anything else?"
"No more," he replied. "See you tomorrow."
Tang Zhixu knew something was up when she saw Qin Tian and Song Suiyang's faces when they returned. Song Suiyang kept grumbling, "What if they asked her to repair the rotating heart bottle?" Now she couldn't hide the fact that she was just a makeshift team.
As she spoke, she glanced at her colleagues in the restoration department, feeling even more hopeless. They were all experts, and they knew each other's work very well. She was just a makeshift assistant, and they were a makeshift team.
Tang Zhixu didn't bother to listen to her, only looking at Qin Tian. He had never seen her with such an expression since he met her. It was cold, angry, and contained a sharp sense of rupture. This made him think that this was more than just the broken bottle.
He asked in a low voice: "Did Wang Qiqing give you a hard time?"
Qin Tian shook his head and said tiredly: "I didn't do it well."
She walked back to the office and called the insurance company. The claims adjuster, Xiao Zheng, had probably been assigned this case because he hadn't checked the almanac before leaving. After she finished her first explanation, he froze for several seconds before saying his first sentence.
"Ms. Qin, there might have been a problem with the signal just now. I didn't hear it clearly. Could you please say it again?"
She held her forehead. Director Ming was indeed experienced. She shouldn't have said it over the phone. She should have called the person over first.
Later, when Xiao Zheng came out of Director Ming's office, he almost floated over. She couldn't bear it and went up to comfort him.
"Don't worry too much. It's the other party's fault, and they should be compensated accordingly."
Xiao Zheng forced a smile that was uglier than crying.
"Yes, Miss Qin."
He rubbed his face, gathered up his remaining energy, and said to Qin Tian in a feigned energy, "Then tomorrow night, our company will send a special car with you two to the airport to pick up the cultural relics!"
Qin Tian nodded.
That night, when she couldn't sleep, she thought, at least she wasn't the only one suffering from insomnia. Song Suiyang and Xiao Zheng were probably counting sheep just like her.
The next day, when Qin Tian entered the museum, all her colleagues looked at her. Tang Zhixu had arrived early and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her. A strange feeling welled up in his heart. He thought yesterday that it wasn't just because of the falling Zhuan Xin bottle.
Qin Tian wore a white shirt, suit pants, and high heels. Her hair was tied in a low ponytail, and she wore minimal makeup. She had transformed from a slovenly college student into a career-defining beauty.
Yesterday's phone call made her realize that exchanges between the two museums were like a clash between two nations. She had already been at a disadvantage since she first met Tong Zhongyuan. His attire, his demeanor, his conversation, had put her in the dust. When she went out, she represented not herself but the reputation of the Shanghai Museum.
Song Suiyang couldn't concentrate that day and couldn't do any work. As if waiting for the final judgment, she had no choice but to go to Qin Tian to huddle together for warmth, but she didn't expect that the coldness around Qin Tian made her even colder. After finally getting off work, she went to the staff restaurant for dinner and saw Tang Zhixu also serving food. Seeing her coming, Tang Zhixu casually asked, "Where's Qin Tian? Not eating anymore?"
"She said she couldn't eat."
Tang Zhixu packed a few dishes and put them on Song Suiyang's table.
"Take this to her. I won't be coming in. I'm leaving."
He collected the plate, put it in the recycling bin, and left the restaurant.
Song Suiyang looked at the food in the transparent takeaway box, still a little confused. Qin Tian said that she and Tang Zhixu looked down on each other. What exactly did they look down on in each other?
Just after six o'clock, the insurance company's business car arrived. Qin Tian and Song Suiyang set off immediately without saying a word. Sitting in the hotel was a torture for them; they might as well go to the airport and wait.
They arrived at Pudong Airport Terminal 1 at 7:05. Xiao Zheng said it was still early, so they went to the cafe first. However, before they had even sat there for half an hour, Qin Tian was the first to lose his composure and stood under the flight reminder sign, folding his arms and looking up. A few minutes later, Xiao Zheng and Song Suiyang also couldn't sit still, and the three of them joined him.
The sound of the airport's music echoed again and again, and people streamed in and out, from far away, approaching, and then moving away again. The three of them said nothing, just waiting and waiting.
At 8 o'clock sharp, a reminder finally popped up. The flight carrying the Heart-Transforming Bottle from London to Shanghai had arrived on time. Qin Tian immediately left the reminder and walked to the airport arrivals entrance to wait. Xiao Zheng and Song Suiyang followed closely behind. Qin Tian thought that in about half an hour, Tong Zhongyuan would appear with the Heart-Transforming Bottle. But she had only waited five minutes when her phone rang.
"I'm in Shanghai, VIP channel." Tong Zhongyuan's voice came.
Damn it, she hadn't thought of that. What was even more hateful was that Tong Zhongyuan knew she hadn't thought of it and called to remind her that it was a VIP channel.
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