Chapter 134 If You Don’t Like Him, Then Never Contact Him Again
Ming Yuanxing rubbed his brow. He should have told Qin Tian about this a few days ago, but he'd gotten so busy that he'd forgotten. He'd never expected the police to contact him again today. The call was busy, but forget it. She and Xiaotong had just gone to Jingdezhen; there was still time to discuss this matter after she returned. As long as they were in the country, it wouldn't be a big deal.
"Um..." Qin Tian walked to Tong Zhongyuan awkwardly, "I need to go back first. Are you okay on your own?"
Tong Zhongyuan was washing his hands. "You mean going back to Shanghai? What's going on? How long will you be gone?"
"Personal business, just a few days. I contacted the porcelain factory this morning. The shrinkage rate has been calculated, and the formula for the body and glaze is almost ready. The mold will be shipped the day after tomorrow at the latest. You can familiarize yourself here, and I will help you once the data and mold arrive."
Tong Zhongyuan didn't answer. He really wanted to ask her what she really thought of him right now, regardless of everything. If she didn't like him, then don't give him any hope. He didn't need her to solve his problems, he didn't need her to secretly tidy up his room, he didn't need her to live under the same roof with him. He didn't need any of that! He wasn't the second Tang Zhixu, and he would never be her best male friend. But he couldn't say a word. Because he knew her answer. And he would never make the same mistake again.
Qin Tian left, symbolically leaving behind a few daily necessities, and dragged her luggage to Ding Yiyi's car to the high-speed rail station.
Yesterday they moved half of the supermarket back home, and the empty villa felt like home. He called her sister, and her face blushed like a June rose. In countless moments, he firmly believed that his feelings were not just one-sided, but that they were in love with each other.
At this moment, the huge house, with only her missing, became empty again. The overflowing pots, cups, and towels only made him look even more miserable and ridiculous.
Qin Tian thanked Ding Yiyi and pushed his luggage onto the high-speed train. It wasn't a train bound for Shanghai, but for Kongshan City.
"Teacher Qin, I'm Wang Yijian. Do you remember me?"
Of course she remembered the boy. She also knew that Tong Zhongyuan remembered him, too. So she didn't tell Tong Zhongyuan where she was going. Compared to what Wang Yijian had said on the phone, escaping from Tong Zhongyuan was what she really wanted to do. Her will had collapsed, and her long-lasting love-crazy brain had struck again. Through the pottery wheel, she could still smell the youthful and sexy scent of Tong Zhongyuan. Science told her that he might not have any scent at all. It was a genetic choice. Her genes had chosen him. His voice, his scent, his hands, all attracted her. Like a drowning person, she used up her last bit of strength to escape from him.
In the evening, she arrived in Kongshan City. Wang Yijian said apologetically, "Teacher Qin, I didn't expect you to come here in person."
She waved her hand: "It's none of your business. I was just passing by here on my way somewhere else."
After not seeing each other for a few months, Wang Yijian had become much calmer. He hadn't said much on the phone before. He invited Qin Tian to a restaurant they had booked, and they chatted over a meal.
Builder Zhou Qiang was taken into custody at Pudong Airport for investigation as a suspected cultural relic smuggler. The plum vase had been taken from Kongshan City, and Kongbo, as the plaintiff, had sued him for fraud, so the case was sent back to the Kongshan City Public Security Bureau. Even before the police questioned him, he claimed innocence, claiming Kongbo's external experts had misled him and mistaken the genuine artifact for a fake, which was why he had attempted to take the plum vase out of the country. The police called in experts to investigate, and under pressure, all three admitted to accepting bribes from Zhou Qiang. Seeing that not only had he failed to exonerate himself, but he had been charged with an additional crime, Zhou Qiang clamored to atone for his crimes. He said that it was the Shanghai Museum that had pointed him in the right direction. Wang Yijian, ever grateful for the Shanghai Museum's help, was concerned that Zhou Qiang's accusations would damage the museum's reputation, so he contacted Qin Tian immediately.
"Although Kong Bo is a party involved, the police said the interrogation process cannot be leaked. So the information I have here is not the most comprehensive. I am mainly worried that you offended this villain because of me, and I am afraid he will deliberately do something bad, so I am giving you a heads up."
Qin Tian thought, "It was indeed she who sent Zhou Qiang to jail, so she must be the one he was trying to accuse." She wasn't afraid of him, and she didn't care what he said. She was just worried he might frame the Shanghai Museum. First, there was the joint report filed by the Nanjing Museum and the Shanghai Museum, then there was the controversy over the Western Zhou chime bells, and now there was the counterfeit fraud case. Three people could make a tiger, and it was bound to have an impact on the Shanghai Museum.
"Since the interrogation process cannot be leaked, how did you know that Zhou Qiang identified Shangbo?" Qin Tian asked curiously.
Wang Yijian added tea for her.
"A lot of things happened at Kongbo. Our director... Anyway, after Zhou Qiang was arrested, I couldn't let it go. I kept an eye on it and asked someone to find out what was going on. You know, in a small place like ours, the way things are done isn't like in big cities. If you find the right person, you can get some information."
Qin Tian pondered and said, "I handled the Zhou Qiang case from beginning to end. Shangbo wasn't deceived at the time, so after he handed it over to the police, Shangbo didn't show up. How about this? If it's convenient, accompany me to the Public Security Bureau tomorrow. If there's any follow-up need for Shangbo to show up in the Zhou Qiang case, I'll handle it."
Wang Yijian naturally agreed without hesitation. The next day, Wang Yijian accompanied Qin Tian to the Public Security Bureau.
"Are you from the Shanghai Museum?" Officer Li flipped through her work ID. "Why did the Shanghai Museum send you here?"
Why did you send me? I didn't expect her to be embarrassed by the first sentence. If Shangbo didn't send her, it would be strange for her to be here now.
"When Zhou Qiang first approached the Shanghai Museum, he brought 100 pieces of porcelain, which I appraised. Later, I stopped him from taking a plum vase out of the country. So I've been following this matter the entire time."
Officer Li looked up at her for a moment, his eyes unreadable. He put down her ID, leaned back in his chair, and repeated what she had just said.
"You said he had asked the Shanghai Museum to appraise a hundred pieces of porcelain? What was your response?"
Qin Tian had a strange feeling. Could it be that the police didn't know about this? When she first went to the police station to cooperate with the investigation, it was mainly about Zhou Qiang's smuggling of plum vases abroad. At that time, Kongbo had not yet filed a fraud lawsuit as a plaintiff, and the donation to the Shanghai Museum was naturally irrelevant.
"All 100 pieces of porcelain were found to be fakes, but we implicitly informed him of this by refusing to donate them."
"Tell him implicitly?" Officer Li repeated her words.
"Yes. The Shanghai Museum is a world-renowned museum. We cannot publicly damage the reputation of a donor simply because one of their artifacts is a fake. In most cases, the donor is most likely unaware that their donation is a fake."
Officer Li then nodded in approval and sat forward.
"Ms. Qin, thank you very much for taking the initiative to come to us. I have a general understanding of the situation you described. If necessary, please cooperate with our investigation in the future."
When Qin Tian heard the official statement of "cooperating with the investigation", he thought that the person Zhou Qiang mentioned who showed him the way to the Museum was really her.
"Of course. But I'm not in Kongshan City, so it's not easy for me to come here. It just so happens that I'm here, and if there's anything that needs to be investigated, I can cooperate now."
"That's not urgent. This is the first time we've heard of what you're saying, and we need time to process and digest it. I'll contact you later."
After leaving the PR office, Wang Yijian invited her to stay for a few days, allowing Kongbo to play host, but Qin Tian declined. Officer Li said this was the first time she'd heard of a donation being rejected. Since Zhou Qiang said the Shanghai Museum had given him the direction, why didn't he mention the donation appraisal? She felt the whole incident was odd.
"If I want to meet Zhou Qiang, is it possible?" Qin Tian asked him.
Wang Yijian said awkwardly, "I probably can't do it. But I understand what you mean, and I'll think of a way. But I probably won't be able to give you an answer in the short term."
Qin Tian laughed. This young man was truly remarkable. She had been so busy that she had forgotten about him before. This time, she would definitely recommend Wang Yijian to Ming Yuanxing.
Wang Yijian drove her to the train station to say goodbye. Qin Tian sat in the waiting hall, looking up at the scrolling screen. Jingdezhen, Shanghai, with just one ticket, she could be where she was supposed to be. Jingdezhen was the place she should have been, but it wasn't where she wanted to go most.
People came and went at the train station. Screens scrolled, voices clamored. She bought a ticket on her phone and walked to the ticket gate.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
