Chapter 162 He stood at the center of the universe, surrounded by her galaxy
Ming Yuanxing watched her anxious expression, and his doubts cleared, becoming more and more clear-headed. She hadn't even begun any research, yet she was already promising that it wouldn't impact the industry ecosystem. This wasn't the Qin Tian he knew, the one who cherished cultural relics as her life. It turned out she already had someone more important than the relics.
Qin Tian felt even more uneasy when she saw Ming Yuanxing remained noncommittal. If he refused to send the data, what would she do?
"Director Ming, this is the age of AI. We can use AI to help integrate data for analysis. I can really do it. How can the date symbol of an ancient porcelain be determined by just a few rays? There are so many things we don't know, just waiting for us to discover!"
Ming Yuanxing was amused. Anxious, this girl was anxious. Now Old Qin felt relieved. The girl had finally come to her senses, found a lover, and had high standards, choosing a great man. He took a leisurely sip of tea and spoke.
"Xiao Qin, you're worried about Xiao Tong, right? If you give the real data to the forgers, will they ignore Xiao Tong's tricks on them? But think about it, if you immediately make the real data public, won't that just make the trick even worse?"
"That's different..." Qin Tian stammered. This time it was her who was playing tricks, not him.
"It's different. There's one more person playing tricks on them. There was only one originally, and now there's another."
"Director Ming!" Qin Tian ruffled his hair. "This isn't something he can handle alone. But if the data is released in the name of the Shanghai Museum, even if they want to retaliate, their target will be an unshakable state-owned institution!"
Ming Yuanxing couldn't help laughing as he held his teacup. It turned out Qin Tian was quite eloquent. If Tong Zhongyuan hadn't come to see him yesterday, he would have been persuaded by her words.
"I understand. I will consider this matter, you don't have to worry. The child is now in the country and is safe."
"No." Qin Tian's eyes burned, "I can't just think about it. I have to make the data public as soon as possible."
Ming Yuanxing was stunned. Qin Tian had never spoken to him so forcefully before. And from her perspective, Tong Zhongyuan was in danger, and she couldn't help but worry. However, he had promised Xiaotong yesterday that he wouldn't tell anyone at the Shanghai Museum, including Qin Tian, about their discussion. Realistically, he really shouldn't have told anyone.
"Xiao Qin, I've understood the entire process of the incident. Although Xiao Tong isn't an employee of the Shanghai Museum, he's just as important to me as you are. I will never put him in danger. You have to trust me."
Guests came and went in the lobby bar, people pushing luggage in and out from time to time. Tong Zhongyuan, like a tourist, had been living in the hotel for nearly six months.
"Director Ming, I'm here to see you today about something else." Qin Tian retracted his gaze. "In two weeks, the British Museum's 2,000-year-old treasure exhibition will be closing. Have you thought about who to send to inspect it?"
Ming Yuanxing had been incredibly busy lately, and only after she reminded him did he remember. Six months had already passed, and it was time for the artifacts to return home. He had previously planned to have Qin Tian make another trip to inspect them, but now that she had brought the Tianmu back, the focus of their work for the next month or two would be on it, and she couldn't leave. Besides, he had promised Tong Zhongyuan not to let Qin Tian leave the country until the matter was resolved.
"I haven't thought about it yet. If that doesn't work, you can appoint someone from your department to go."
Qin Tian's throat rolled, and he said firmly: "It just so happens that I want to recommend someone to go to the UK for inspection."
"who?"
"Tong Zhongyuan."
"Little boy?" Ming Yuanxing asked in surprise.
"Yes. I inspected the exhibits with him when I was in the UK. He is very familiar with every exhibit, works conscientiously and responsibly, and is impartial. Although he is not from the Shanghai Museum, he is the most suitable person to inspect the museum's cultural relics."
That's true, but Xiaotong has already resigned from the British Museum. It seems Qin Tian doesn't know. Furthermore, Xiaotong's current mission is to restore Yuan blue and white porcelain. Qin Tian was originally fully committed to this project, so why is he now sending him back to England?
Ming Yuanxing sat back, leaning against the sofa, and sighed. He wondered how an old man like him could be stuck between a young couple. Shouldn't they discuss this among themselves? Why were they both coming to him?
"You should discuss this with Xiao Tong. You know, he's not someone I can command."
"Well," Qin Tian said with an illusory smile on his lips, "He will agree. It's time for him to go home."
Not far away, the golden revolving door slowly turned, and another traveler left the hotel with his luggage.
Tang Zhixu was doing a thorough cleaning. He was bored, as he had been every day for the past month. He didn't feel like painting or writing. The China Guardian auction had given him a seat at the table, but when he drew his sword and looked around, he was greeted by an unprecedented emptiness.
On weekend nights, he felt no desire to socialize or attend social events. He suddenly realized that apart from socializing and painting, he had nothing to do. He was like a ship that had completed its first voyage and, full of hope, wanted to enter its second leg, only to lose its course.
The mess in the room is just like him and his life.
He began to sort along the sofa. Crumpled drawing paper, fruit cores from months ago, unopened envelopes, stained comic books. The more he threw away, the better his mood became. Until he pulled a box of drawings from under the bed. Before he pulled it out, he had no idea what they were, but the moment he did, his memory came back to him. He slowly sat down on the floor and unfolded the scrolls one by one.
"Lean a little further. Why are you sitting so straight? Am I drawing your ID card?"
"That's enough." Qin Tian stood up unhappily. "I'm not going to paint anymore. I'm so tired."
"The painters didn't complain of being tired, so why would you be tired just sitting there? Just do it in the most relaxing posture for you, or lie down."
Qin Tian sat back down helplessly. She shifted her posture and gazed out at the sky beyond the terrace. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on her face, enveloping her in a pink glow. Her head gradually lowered, her bright eyes growing darker. She curled up in the lounge chair, her head resting on her hand, her long hair falling to the ground.
A warm blanket gently fell on her. She was unaware of the tenderness of the fingertips and fell into a sweet dream in the evening sky filled with colorful clouds.
He returned to the drawing table, and let his pen tip move across the paper, freezing this moment.
His bedroom was covered with paintings: her eyes, her smile, her flying hair, her slender fingers.
. Light and shadow, echoes, memories and love, are like a movie that was released at the wrong time. It has just started and has already ended.
"Want to go to the movies tonight?"
Tong Zhongyuan put down his chopsticks, picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth, announcing the end of his meal. He didn't want to waste his weekend eating. In fact, he would rather cook at home with Qin Tian than eat out.
"There aren't any good movies recently." Qin Tian said listlessly.
"Well, let's go to your house and find an old movie to watch together?"
Qin Tian shook his head.
"I'm a little tired. I want to take a bath and rest early in the evening."
"Qin Tian," Tong Zhongyuan hesitated, "Is Uncle Qin okay?"
During those two short days in Tokyo, he had thought his and Qin Tian's rocky relationship was over, that only complete trust and mutual love remained. For the first time since falling in love with Qin Tian, he felt at ease. The storm had subsided, and the fresh green, like drops of water, dripped down his heart, filling the lake within. But that confidence crumbled the next day back in China. An invisible barrier, an intangible sense of distance, like a shadow under a dim light, quietly lengthened.
He texted her, and she replied. He called her, and she answered. He wanted to spend the weekend with her, and she came out. But he couldn't feel the warmth and intimacy of their embrace, the cuddling they'd shared after surviving the disaster at Haneda Airport. When had he become so sensitive to the ethereal? Without facts or logic, he instinctively felt that upon setting foot on Chinese soil, she was the same person again. She had left a part of herself, belonging only to him, in Tokyo forever.
Qin Tian lowered his head and drank a mouthful of soup: "He's fine."
"Tomorrow, I'll go see him with you, okay?"
"Later. I just went to see him."
"Okay. Is there anywhere you'd like to go tomorrow? If you want to rest, we can stay home. How about I cook?"
She had sensed that Tong Zhongyuan had become increasingly gentle and accommodating since returning from Tokyo. Their relationship naturally entered the next stage. If he were an ordinary person, if he lived and worked in the same city as her, she would have no doubt that Tong Zhongyuan would be the one true love of her life, the perfect love that could only be found by chance. She had once seen a discussion online about the feeling of meeting the right person. Many people responded with a sense of security, an inexplicable conviction that "he's the one." Tong Zhongyuan, their personalities were vastly different, yet he gave her such faith, a belief that they could go all the way together, if only—he were ordinary.
"Actually, I have something I want to discuss with you."
Tong Zhongyuan's heart sank for no reason. He didn't want to hear any topic that started with "actually", especially the look in her eyes when she said this.
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