Chapter 14 His True Identity
After hanging up the phone, she was at a loss as to how to get to the VIP channel. Fortunately, Xiao Zheng, who worked in commercial insurance, knew all about it and immediately took her there. The three of them ran all the way to the VIP channel, Qin Tian's high heels tapping out a crisp rhythm on the ground, and her heart rate exceeded 120.
As soon as she stood firm, she saw Tong Zhongyuan coming out of the corner at the end of the passage. He was pushing the luggage cart calmly. The moment he raised his head, his eyes met hers through the crowd of people, more than ten meters away, and he nodded to her from a distance.
Xiao Zheng and Song Suiyang didn't know what the visitor looked like, but when they saw Tong Zhongyuan for the first time, they guessed it immediately and had a premonition that it must be his.
Song Suiyang was obsessed with looks. If it were any other day, she would have excitedly pulled Qin Tian over to discuss it. But under the current circumstances, even she didn't have the time for that.
Tong Zhongyuan walked up to them and smiled at Qin Tian.
"We meet again."
Qin Tian looked at him expressionlessly, thinking to himself, how could you still laugh?
Tong Zhongyuan expected her to be unhappy; he'd known that from yesterday's phone call. But greeting was just a habit, and he wasn't sensitive to the other person's reaction. He turned to the two people beside her and introduced himself.
"Good evening, I'm Tong Zhongyuan. Shall we go to the car first?"
Xiao Zheng recovered, said "Okay," and quickly walked to the front to lead the way. The group arrived at the van, and the driver got out and opened the trunk. Tong Zhongyuan put only his carry-on luggage inside. He then got in with the other two suitcases, took out two cross-buckles, and fastened them to the seat with the seatbelts.
The driver started the car and drove smoothly. Xiao Zheng and Song Suiyang then introduced themselves to Tong Zhongyuan. Tong Zhongyuan listened carefully and took the initiative to shake hands with each of them. Qin Tian looked into their eyes, turned his face away, and controlled himself not to snort.
Song Suiyang asked worriedly, "Excuse me, how is the damage to the rotating heart bottle? Did you take a picture? Can I see it?"
Tong Zhongyuan didn't answer immediately. He thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to the Shanghai Museum's restoration room first. It's more intuitive to see the real thing."
Song Suiyang and Xiao Zheng both felt a chill in their hearts, it seemed the situation was not good.
Qin Tian hadn't spoken since he saw him tonight. Tong Zhongyuan looked at her. The streetlights outside the car kept sweeping across her profile, highlighting the light and dark areas, making her face look particularly stubborn.
"The British Museum has purchased heavy-duty insurance for these Chinese cultural relics and initiated the claims process the day before yesterday. We are deeply sorry and regretful that this incident occurred. We will strengthen the protection measures for the cultural relics on display to ensure that all cultural relics can be safely returned to China after the exhibition. In addition, in addition to the normal claim amount from the insurance company for the revolving vase, the British Museum will pay an additional compensation amount to express our deepest apologies."
Tong Zhongyuan's words had completely different reactions in the ears of the three people. Xiao Zheng's mood was like the clouds had cleared and the sun had come out, overjoyed. Song Suiyang had mixed feelings. Compensation was always a good thing, but even if there was compensation, it was none of her business. The broken bottle still had to be repaired. It didn't mean that the broken bottle would be thrown away after receiving the money. Qin Tian, on the other hand, was ashamed. What regrets, protective measures, and deep apologies were all empty words. Can the integrity of a cultural relic be measured with money? Broken, it is broken, and it can never be restored to its original perfect state. The British are robbers who value money above all else.
Tong Zhongyuan finished his explanation and said no more, quietly gazing out the car window at the unfamiliar scenery. Yes, unfamiliar. It had been 21 years since he left Shanghai. What he saw now bore no resemblance to when he left. Shanghai was no longer his hometown, but a strange city.
The business car pulled up to the entrance of the Shanghai Museum, and the security guard on duty pushed a cart over. Tong Zhongyuan gently placed the suitcase on the cart, took out his own suitcase, and asked Song Suiyang to lead the way.
Song Suiyang opened the door to the restoration room. Tong Zhongyuan glanced around, declined the security guard's help, and carried the two boxes onto the restoration table himself.
Tong Zhongyuan opened the boxes one by one. The first box revealed the damaged main body of the revolving jar. Both the inner and outer jars were damaged, the lower half remaining largely intact, while the upper half was missing a third, resembling a slanted torch.
Song Suiyang closed his eyes in despair, and Qin Tian's gaze grew even colder. Tong Zhongyuan ignored their expressions and carefully removed the main body, placing it on the repair table. He then removed the shock-absorbing pads that had been wrapped around it. The second layer of the box revealed a complete 3D-printed rotating bottle. From the bottle's mouth to the third of the way through the body, each piece was numbered.
Song Suiyang looked at the printed bottle and his heart suddenly shook, like a ray of sunshine shining into the darkest canyon.
The second box opened. The missing pieces were all there, neatly arranged. Each piece was labeled with a corresponding number. Song Suiyang gasped and blurted out, "Impossible!"
Tong Zhongyuan glanced at her casually, then returned to the box. He gently lifted the layer of fragments and placed it on the repair table. Below it was another layer of numbered fragments. There were three layers in total. They were stacked one after another on the repair table.
Song Suiyang covered his mouth in shock, speechless. How could it be possible! The rotating vase had only been broken three days ago, and with such damage, it would take a month just to piece together and compare the pieces, and that was with several people working simultaneously. How could they have completed the first phase of restoration work in such a short time? Could it be that the British Museum had some kind of advanced technology that could automatically identify and number the fragments?
Tong Zhongyuan removed the empty box and scanned the restoration room. He walked over to the tool racks and scanned the rows. The restoration tools here were essentially the same as those in his studio, and he had already brought along the tools he relied on most or was most comfortable with.
He turned around in front of the tool rack and asked Song Suiyang, "Can I borrow some of the tools here?"
Song Suiyang was still confused. When he heard his question, his mind was a little confused. He subconsciously replied, "Yes, you can use it."
Tong Zhongyuan opened his suitcase. On one side were a few spare clothes and some daily necessities. On the other side was a toolbox. He took the toolbox, placed it on the repair table, opened it, and pulled a pair of glasses from his pocket, putting them on. He took a look at the 3D printed model, then removed fragment No. 1 from the fragment box and gently placed it over a notch in the rotating bottle. Holding a pair of slanted tweezers in his left hand, he ran them across the white glue, which immediately coated the sides of the tweezers with a thin, even layer of glue. He moved the tweezers between the fragment and the bottle, and the white glue obediently followed his movements, clinging to the fragment. Fragment A1 was fixed to the rotating bottle. Then, he removed fragment A2.
Qin Tian stared at him blankly. She didn't know when her gaze had shifted from the Heart-Turn-Piercing Bottle to him. Her anger, her dissatisfaction with him, her disdain, were like a bonfire doused by heavy rain, leaving only a wisp of melancholy smoke.
Song Suiyang suspected she was dreaming, a bizarre mix of sweet dreams and nightmares. At her most desperate moment, a young man suddenly appeared, descending from the sky, saving her career like the ancient Greek god of restoration. It was something she hadn't dared to dream of, but this god of restoration also made her realize the vast gap between humans and gods. Her long-held beliefs, her pride in having topped her major, shattered in that moment.
Tong Zhongyuan had already attached the A2 fragment. The restoration room was eerily quiet, the only sound being the breathing. It was a stark contrast to his usual work environment. He opened his bag, pulled out a pair of headphones, and looked at Qin Tian and Song Suiyang with a questioning look.
Qin Tian understood he was asking if she could wear headphones while working. She made a silent gesture of "please go ahead." Tong Zhongyuan put on his headphones, turned on some music on his phone, and returned to his work at the repair station.
Song Suiyang stood next to Qin Tian and asked in a daze, "Who is he?"
Qin Tian looked at Tong Zhongyuan's focused eyes, steady hands, and precise movements, and slowly replied, "Tong Zhongyuan, He Wu's son. He's a cultural relic restoration expert at the British Museum."
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