Chapter 178 Extra 2
It was almost eight when Qin Tian woke up. Tong Zhongyuan's arm was still around her waist, and when she moved, he subconsciously tightened his grip. He buried his head in the crook of her neck, taking long, drawn-out breaths, showing no sign of waking.
Qin Tian felt that since he didn't have to work after arriving here, his sense of time had relaxed. In fact, for Tong Zhongyuan, it wasn't so much laziness as complete relaxation. The six months of forced self-discipline, the inexorable depression and repression, all faded away the moment he held her in his arms.
He held her to sleep every night and woke up together in the morning sunshine. He had never thought that happiness could be so concrete. Doing happy things with the one he loved, he wanted nothing else.
But that was just Tong Zhongyuan's thoughts. For Qin Tian, this week had been a mixture of joy and worry. She certainly enjoyed being with him, but not to the point of missing work! The legal marriage leave was only three days, and she'd already been with him for nine! She'd told him days in advance that she had to go back to work on Monday and go home on Sunday to adjust, and he respected, understood, and agreed.
In the end, they were apart for only a few hours, and when she opened her eyes again, she woke up on the mattress they had chosen together. Thinking that she was already late, she wanted to push the annoying head away, but as soon as her fingers touched his fuzzy hair and the cool back of his neck, her heart felt like honey flowing out, sweet and soft.
She dropped her hand and inched away, trying to pull herself from his embrace, like an antelope passing by the feet of a sleeping lion. One of her legs had already reached the edge of the bed, and she was slowly, carefully pulling the other back. Just as she was about to complete the task, the sole of her foot brushed against his abdomen, and he grunted unconsciously. She barely steadied herself, hurriedly picked up her clothes from the floor, and fled.
Song Suiyang hadn't expected to see Qin Tian in the museum today. Two weeks ago, she'd called Tong Zhongyuan, and after the weekend, Qin Tian had taken a long vacation. She'd guessed the reason for her leave was related to Tong Zhongyuan. Six months earlier, Tong Zhongyuan had abandoned the Yuan blue and white porcelain he was restoring and returned to China without warning. After that, Qin Tian had been unusually depressed for a long time. Even if she was slow to react, she'd figured it out: they'd probably broken up.
This ending is sad but also understandable. If she were Teacher Tong, she wouldn't have given up her career in the UK to stay at the Shanghai Museum. Qin Tian is also stubborn and probably didn't want to go to the UK with Teacher Tong.
She always felt that the words Tang Zhixu asked her to convey were like a string of codes, and she didn't know which knot it had untied.
Qin Tian felt a little guilty about asking Song Suiyang's probing questions. It wasn't that her relationship with Tong Zhongyuan was shameful, but Song Suiyang and Tong Zhongyuan were acquaintances. Telling her that Tong Zhongyuan was dating her would make her dig her toes in embarrassment. She'd better discuss this with him before making it official.
After a week away from work, she was immediately busy. Besides her regular duties at the Shanghai Museum, she now had to serve as a visiting professor every two weeks at F University, a Shanghai Museum-affiliated university. This week, she had come to realize that she couldn't concentrate on her work, whether at Tong Zhongyuan's house or her own. Only in the office could she focus on her work.
Tong Zhongyuan sent her a message at around nine o'clock, asking her if she had arrived at the museum.
She replied to him unhappily: I’m at work!
He was extremely smart and could tell from just these three simple words that she was unhappy. He tactfully stopped bothering her.
She simply switched to Do Not Disturb mode and focused on efficiently dealing with the backlog of tasks. When she finally finished the lesson plan PPT, she looked at the time and saw that it was already 12:30 noon. Only then did she feel hungry.
She grabbed her phone and froze. Song Suiyang's chat box displayed 12 unread messages. Several other work groups at the Shanghai Museum were all red. A vague premonition arose in her heart, and she clicked on Song Suiyang's name.
Qin Tian stood up suddenly, pushed away his chair, walked out of the office, and ran towards the coffee shop.
It was lunchtime, and the lobby and cafeteria were bustling with Shanghai Museum staff. Behind the floor-to-ceiling windows of the cafeteria, Tong Zhongyuan calmly ordered a cup of coffee, oblivious to the surprised glances he received. Fortunately, he'd never interacted much with anyone during his time working here. While many people saw him, few came up to greet him. He simply nodded and smiled, managing to get by.
The figure he was waiting for finally appeared in the direction he was looking, but as he expected, her expression wasn't very good. She walked towards him quickly, head bowed, looking as if she wanted to hide her face. He smiled and stood up to greet her.
Her first question was, "Why are you here?"
"Can't I come?" he asked. "Are you done? Let's have lunch together."
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"
"Do I need to make an appointment to have lunch with you?" He naturally took her hand and asked, "What do you want to eat? Is the cafeteria okay?"
He could feel Qin Tian's hand stiffen for a moment, but he didn't shake him off. He knew she was shy and slow in relationships, and it was thanks to this slowness that the rumors of her affair had never come true. And he came today to put an end to that rumor.
"Let's go out and eat. The cafeteria doesn't have much food at this time." Sweat was beading down her back, and out of the corner of her eye she saw several colleagues passing by. But now that things had come to this, hiding it wouldn't be a good idea; it would be known sooner or later anyway. Tong Zhongyuan was very thoughtful. Only after he came back this time did she realize that she had broken up with him under the guise of doing it for his own good, and it had hurt him deeply. She didn't want to make him sad again, even in the slightest.
Just as she had prepared herself mentally, she looked up and saw Ming Yuanxing striding towards her. She suddenly shook his hand off and stood a meter away at lightning speed.
"Zhong Yuan!" Ming Yuanxing's face was full of surprise. "I didn't believe them when they told me you were here! When did you come? Is there something going on? How long will you be staying this time?"
Tong Zhongyuan smiled and said, "I arrived last Saturday. My schedule hasn't been decided yet, but I should be here for the short term."
"Have you eaten yet? Let's talk while we eat."
"Okay." Tong Zhongyuan responded, turning to Qin Tian, who was about a meter away, and asked, "Which restaurant do you want to eat at? Can you lead the way?"
Ming Yuanxing was startled and looked over. Qin Tian looked irritated, ashamed, and angry, while Tong Zhongyuan smiled brightly, his eyes full of spring. His heart cleared, and his mood brightened.
"Come on, I know a good family, you two follow me."
Ming Yuanxing found a Cantonese restaurant and asked Tong Zhongyuan to order. Tong Zhongyuan didn't refuse and picked out a few dishes that Qin Tian liked. Qin Tian said almost nothing the entire time. She had never thought of hiding her relationship with Tong Zhongyuan, but she had never thought she would reveal it to Ming Yuanxing so soon. They sat in a four-person booth facing each other. After Director Ming took his seat, she was about to sit over, but Tong Zhongyuan pulled her over and they sat across from Ming Yuanxing.
Qin Tian habitually reached for the teapot, intending to pour tea for Ming Yuanxing. Tong Zhongyuan reached out and took it first.
"Let me do it."
Ming Yuanxing looked at the two of them with a smile. His previous question was unnecessary. It seemed that Xiaotong wouldn't be able to leave China this time. This decision would be a significant loss for his personal development, but it was an opportunity for Shangbo. He picked up the teacup and drank half of the tea they had offered.
"Zhongyuan, what are your plans for coming to China this time?"
Tong Zhongyuan lowered his eyes, filled up his teapot, and put it down.
"I came here in a hurry, and the specific plan has not been decided yet. I want to discuss it with Qin Tian before making any plans."
Qin Tian felt a tightness in his chest and his heart suddenly jumped into his throat.
"But one thing is certain, I want to restore the Yuan blue and white porcelain first," he continued.
"Okay." Ming Yuanxing nodded. "No matter what decision you make, I respect you. I just want to say that the Shanghai Museum will always keep its doors open to you."
After dinner, Ming Yuanxing tactfully said that there was a meeting at the bureau in the afternoon and asked them to go back to the museum on their own.
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