Chapter 60 Something he didn’t know was brewing in an invisible place
That night, when Song Suiyang and her boyfriend were having dinner, the topic of conversation never left Tong Zhongyuan. Her boyfriend finally exploded, asking if he had a crush on her! Otherwise, with so many people in the repair department, why would they only teach you one?
Song Suiyang thought that only a boyfriend could be so blind. Even if he had met Tong Zhongyuan, he wouldn't have such a bold imagination. However, she didn't understand why Tong Zhongyuan only taught her one thing.
Her boyfriend kept insisting he meet this Teacher Tong. She showed him a photo of Teacher Yang, a bald man from the library, that she'd accidentally snapped in the cafe last time, and said it was Teacher Tong. Her boyfriend shut up. He told her to study hard, but be careful not to let this bald guy take advantage of her.
The next day, Song Suiyang arrived at the museum at 7:30 a.m. Even Tong Zhongyuan hadn't arrived yet. She had intended to clean Tong Zhongyuan's restoration table, but it was perfectly organized, spotless, with tools neatly organized and thoroughly cleaned. There was no need to clean it at all.
She had no choice but to cut some fruit and buy a few bottles of water.
Tong Zhongyuan arrived promptly at 8:00 a.m. and leaned over to guide her in restoring a Qing Dynasty bamboo bowl. She cautiously filled it with plaster, her hand trembling and causing it to overflow. She glanced at him in panic, but he ignored her and calmly allowed her to scrape off the excess. Gradually, her heartbeat steadied, and so did her hand.
After smoothing it out, she stepped back. He picked up the bowl with the Qingmo bamboo pattern and examined it. His hand had just been patched today, and the adhesive tape had become slippery from the medicine. It peeled off as he moved, revealing the bright red flesh of his fingers. Song Suiyang was startled. Qin Tian had only said he'd injured his hand while peeling off the rust, and she'd assumed he'd accidentally touched a coin soaked in the solution. But this level of damage clearly wasn't caused by instantaneous contact, but rather by corrosion over time.
An incredible guess came to Song Suiyang's mind. Could he have operated without gloves for the sake of accuracy?
She felt that this speculation was far off the mark. A professional like Tong Zhongyuan should be well aware of the consequences of not wearing gloves. But other than this speculation, she couldn't think of any other possible reason for his fingers to become like this.
She thought of Qin Tian's indifferent words yesterday and felt a surge of indignation. If Tong Zhongyuan had really injured his hand because of her money, how could she have ignored him all these days? It was too heartless.
She ate lunch with Qin Tian in a rage. She had always been protective of her shortcomings, but one day, in her heart, Tong Zhongyuan had already become her master, and the teacher's kindness was more important than friendship.
Qin Tian asked her to have lunch together in order to get a glimpse of Tong Zhongyuan's recent situation, but she looked unhappy and didn't know who had upset her. She didn't know how to turn the topic to Tong Zhongyuan.
Seeing Qin Tian just eating without asking about Tong Zhongyuan's injury, Song Suiyang felt even more upset. She thought for a moment and then said, "I'm the one repairing that Qingmo bamboo bowl now."
Qin Tian was stunned: "Why?"
"Because of Teacher Tong's hand," she shook her head and sighed, "It's so badly injured, how can he repair cultural relics? Maybe his injury affected the nerves in his hand. He probably thought he couldn't do it anymore, so he's been teaching me how to repair it these days. Yesterday it was a purple clay teapot, and today it's a Qing Dynasty ink bamboo bowl. If he didn't have a bad premonition, why would he suddenly teach me his family's skills?"
It would be strange if Qin Tian believed her nonsense. She had asked about it when she accompanied Tong Zhongyuan to the hospital on Saturday, and the doctor said it was just a flesh wound and would heal. But she was still confused. It sounded like he was really teaching Song Suiyang skills. Wasn't this exactly what she wanted from the beginning? Why was she not happy at all when he did it now, but was filled with worry? Could it be that his injuries had really worsened in the past few days?
"Maybe they think you have talent. Isn't that a good thing?" Qin Tian said absentmindedly.
Song Suiyang saw that she had made the situation so serious, and Qin Tian hadn't reacted, even saying it was a good thing. She hadn't been such a heartless person before. Could it be that she and Tong Zhongyuan had really fallen out? Tong Zhongyuan was a relatively distant person, but he was very discerning and definitely not one to offend easily.
"Qin Tian, did something happen between you and Tong Zhongyuan?" she asked cautiously.
"What could possibly happen between him and me?" Qin Tian lowered his head to eat. "We've only been colleagues for a few months. Since he's willing to teach you, you should learn well. Finish repairing the ink bamboo bowl sooner so he can go home sooner."
Tang Zhixu sat down next to Qin Tian with a tray. He finished painting last night and came to work today. This was the first time Song Suiyang saw Tang Zhixu this week. He looked even more refreshed and handsome after changing his hairstyle, which was a pleasant surprise.
"What are you talking about?" Tang Zhixu asked.
Qin Tian lowered his head and didn't answer. Song Suiyang continued, "He said Tong Zhongyuan is now my master. Today, he even gave me the Qing Dynasty bamboo bowl to repair."
"Oh?" Tang Zhixu raised his eyebrows. "Did you drug him?"
"If I had the medicine, I would have taken it long ago," Song Suiyang picked up a chicken leg and started chewing it. "His hand was crippled by Qin Tian, so he probably wants to leave a descendant."
As soon as the words came out, the atmosphere took a sharp turn for the worse. Qin Tian's face turned pale, and Tang Zhixu was as cold as ice. Song Suiyang realized that she had said too much. She slowly put down the chicken leg and covered her mouth. After a while, she said, "I was talking nonsense. He's fine. It's just a minor injury and he's almost healed."
Tang Zhixu continued to gaze at her coldly, his plate untouched. She felt guilty yet unconvinced. Even if she'd said something wrong, it was Qin Tian's fault; what did his expression mean? But she had always been timid, only daring to think, not speak. She gave a few dry laughs, trying to smooth things over.
"You say, since he accepted me as his disciple, should I give him a gift? I see he has everything he needs, and I don't have any skills to show off. How about this, Qin Tian, I'll pay you, and you can carve a seal for me? Just engrave 'Unforgettable Master's Grace'."
Qin Tian forced a smile and said, "I'm very busy recently and don't have time."
Song Suiyang was stunned. She was just joking. If it were any other day, Qin Tian would most likely tell her that he asked her to pay the deposit first, and then laugh and talk nonsense.
She couldn't respond to Qin Tian's answer, so she looked at Tang Zhixu for help and tried to make amends.
"How about you draw me a picture?"
"Okay," Tang Zhixu withdrew his gaze from Qin Tian, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating. "You wait."
The three of them finished their meal in an awkward atmosphere. Song Suiyang made an excuse that he needed to practice and left in a flash. Qin Tian put down his plate and was about to return to his office when Tang Zhixu followed him.
"What's wrong with his hand?" he asked directly.
This was the last thing Qin Tian wanted to hear today. His hands, his hands, the hands of an expert in cultural relic restoration. It wasn't her who asked him to do this, so why were they all coming to attack her?
"Nothing," she said restrainedly, "Didn't Song Suiyang say that he was slightly injured and will be healed soon?"
Tang Zhixu looked at her impatient expression.
"Because of your injuries?"
"No!" Qin Tian denied louder than she thought. "It's none of my business, and it's none of yours. He got hurt on his own."
She didn't want to answer any more questions about his hand and left in a hurry.
Tang Zhixu stood still. He'd asked for the injury. He chewed on the words, holding out his hand and glancing at it. A cultural relic restoration expert willingly willingly injuring his hand—that was the funniest thing he'd heard all day. He twitched his lips, but there was no trace of a smile on his face. A colleague was greeting him, but he didn't even bother to nod, walking straight back to the calligraphy and painting department.
Song Suiyang leaned on the table and held his head.
You wait.
It didn't sound like a nice thing at all; it seemed more like a threat to her.
"What did you have for lunch?" Tong Zhongyuan's voice sounded behind her.
She turned around in surprise. He actually cared about what she had eaten. Was it possible that being a teacher was like being a parent? Deep affection for one's child came naturally.
"Chicken drumstick, greens, short rib and corn soup, a small bowl of rice, stir-fried meat," she recalled carefully, fearing any regrets, "but I didn't finish it."
"Why?" Tong Zhongyuan asked with a smile.
"Because..." She shouldn't have brought up all sorts of random things, but the person asking was her master. "Because I talked too much and offended Qin Tian, and Tang Zhixu threatened me, so I... couldn't eat anymore."
"What did you say?" Tong Zhongyuan's smile gradually faded.
"I..." Song Suiyang couldn't bring himself to say it. "Forget it, let's not talk about it. I just didn't think before I spoke."
Tong Zhongyuan's eyes grew colder as he sat at the end of the repair table, tapping his fingers regularly on the tabletop as he repeated himself indifferently.
"What did you say?"
Song Suiyang looked at him, bewildered. The man before her was a complete stranger. Cold, intimidating, and ruthless. But inexplicably, she had a feeling that this was the real Tong Zhongyuan.
She didn't dare to hold back and told him everything that happened at noon, like pouring beans out of a bamboo tube.
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