Chapter 68 Tang Zhixu's Backhand
Qin Tian worked until seven in the evening. The process went more smoothly than she had imagined. She knew Tong Zhongyuan had come once, probably to have dinner with her, but seeing that she was at a critical juncture in the data observations, he left. She printed two copies of the report, stamped them, took a photo, and sent them to Wang Yijian. She kept one copy and would send the other to the police station on Monday. This plum vase was last cast 820 years ago, during the Yuan Dynasty.
When she finished her work and walked out, she saw Tong Zhongyuan sitting in Yuan Junruo's seat again, reading a thermoluminescence report. She suddenly remembered that in her previous paper, Tong Zhongyuan had given her a set of thermoluminescence data, claiming it was from a friend's studio. But it must have been from his own studio! She quickly walked over and snatched the report from his hand. His hands were empty, and he looked up. She was staring at him with suspicion.
"Is the appraisal report out?" he asked with a smile.
"Well," she said noncommittally, "Why do you keep reading our group's reports?"
"Can't I watch it?" he asked.
"No, you can't," she said firmly. "Who knows what you'll do after you see it?"
He smiled, and the teardrop mole at the corner of his eye was very delicate.
"Okay, I won't watch it anymore."
"Has the report been sent to Wang Yijian?" He changed the subject.
“Just sent it.”
"I'd really like to know what's going on."
"Me too. Should I give him a call and ask?" She couldn't help herself. She had helped the little boy a lot, so he had the right to know.
He pointed to the hamburger on the table and said, "Eat first, then we have to go somewhere else."
"Where? I'm going home soon. Go by yourself." She picked up the burger and started eating.
Tong Zhongyuan ignored her and walked into the darkroom, looking at the model of the instrument. Qin Tian felt that he was unpredictable, and all she could do was get him out of the lab as soon as possible. She quickly finished her burger and stood at the doorway, asking vaguely, "Where are you going? Is it far? Do you want me to take you there?"
He walked out of the dark room: "Your home."
Qin Tian really didn't expect that Tong Zhongyuan would come to her house for two consecutive nights.
Her steps were quick, practically a run. He followed her a few paces away, watching as the streetlights stretched her shadow into a thin, blurry mass. Her ponytail bounced, and she occasionally glanced back at him, her face a bright, expectant glow. When he'd just uttered the word "negative," her eyes had instantly shone with a captivating brilliance, like a feline spotting its prey. The night breeze she brought was incredibly fresh, even her shadow seemed alive. Every step she took led him into the unknown.
Qin Tian opened the door with her key and quickly made her way to the boxes. There were two boxes containing a number of miscellaneous items that couldn't be sorted. She remembered a few iron boxes that she had left unopened and placed directly in the boxes.
She found the iron box, which was already a little rusty. She used her fingernails to pry open the seams. Tong Zhongyuan took the iron box from her hand, took out the door card and pried it open. The iron box opened.
A box full of small black films was revealed. They looked at each other, and she turned on the flashlight on her phone and compared them one by one.
Many of the negatives were photos she had never seen before. She thought some might be of her grandparents. There were also some landscapes she didn't know where they were. She picked up and put down one, and Tong Zhongyuan, with a flashlight, also examined the pile she had seen. As he did so, he split the pile in half.
She wondered, "What did you separate out?"
"Wash the scenery too," he said.
She remained silent. The scenery could be locked to a geographical location, and when she looked at it again, she separated the scenery. He suppressed a smile, put down his phone, and stopped checking the negatives she had seen.
The negatives in the box were dwindling, and her confidence was fading. She sighed to herself, picked up the next negative, and held it up to the light.
Tong Zhongyuan saw her pause, her eyes gleaming with a familiar light, and his heartbeat quickened. She held up the film, looked up at him, and there was a subtle tremor in her voice.
"Is there any photo studio open at this time?"
He took the film and held it up to the overhead light for a long time.
"Generally speaking, there aren't enough photo studios, so we need to find film to repair it."
On Monday morning, Song Suiyang entered the restoration room. A narrow, brocade box sat on her desk. She was a bit confused. She opened it and found a scroll, sealed at the joint with a wax seal bearing the Chinese character "zhi."
Who put this on her desk? She thought for a long time and remembered that Tang Zhixu had sent her a message on Friday night. She was watching a movie with her boyfriend at the time and glanced at it but didn't click on it.
She then looked at the message Tang Zhixu had sent her on Friday and was stunned.
"I've already painted the teacher's gift you requested and placed it on your desk."
That day, she'd jokingly asked him to draw a picture, and he'd said, "Just wait." She'd thought he was threatening her, but she hadn't expected him to actually draw it? And finish it before leaving the country? Was this just a happy occasion? She'd read the message over and over again before finally believing he'd actually drawn a picture for her to give to Tong Zhongyuan.
However, Tong Zhongyuan hadn't come in since last Thursday, including today. She didn't know if he would still teach her. As for the painting, she was deeply moved but couldn't understand it, so she wanted to ask Qin Tian about it. Unexpectedly, the workaholic Qin Tian hadn't come either. Even more outrageous, two police officers stood outside her office, claiming they were there to ask Qin Tian for assistance in the smuggling investigation. Her colleagues in the restoration department were apprehensive, saying she hadn't come in since morning.
After the police left, rumors of Qin Tian's involvement in a smuggling case spread like wildfire throughout the Shanghai Museum. As soon as Ming Yuanxing left, the Shanghai Museum was thrown into chaos.
Qin Tian was completely unaware of the changes happening in the library. After all, no colleague would be foolish enough to send her a message asking, "Have you done anything wrong?" except Tang Zhixu.
She was sitting in the shop of the old-fashioned photo studio, feeling anxious. She had delivered the negatives yesterday, and the old master had examined them for a while and said that it would take some time to develop them clearly, so she was asked to come pick them up tomorrow.
Today, she came in as soon as the photo studio opened, but the technician said she came too early and the repairs weren't finished yet, so he told her to sit and wait.
She couldn't sit still for long before she stood up, looking around and touching things. Tong Zhongyuan, on the other hand, was the opposite. He calmly flipped through a photo album in the store, examining it intently. Qin Tian would occasionally scoot over to take a look, simply comparing old photos with colorized or repaired patches. She felt that Tong Zhongyuan had a particularly good learning habit, and could figure out something about anything.
Yesterday she told him not to come today, saying she could just come and get it herself. He said, "Do you play games?"
She shook her head blankly.
"If no one wants to team up with you in the game, you'll take all the equipment for yourself."
She was furious when she heard him gossip about her. She asked, "Are you keeping it for yourself or am I? Who took the Buddha statue away without saying a word? And even lied to me that it had left the country."
He immediately fell silent. As a result, he came to her house again this morning, and they went to the photo studio to pick up photos. The upstairs neighbor saw them leaving together this morning and was surprised. After all, she had always seen Tang Zhixu.
After more than an hour, the master finally came out with a photo album.
"Take a look," he said somewhat proudly, "I'll give you a photo album."
She grabbed the album, into which the master had already inserted the photos. She quickly flipped through the landscape photos, stopping at the coveted Han Dynasty gilded plate.
Despite restoration, the image, due to its age and the amount of content, still appears unclear. Nevertheless, the plump, round-bellied horse, the cart with huge wheels, the figure in the cross-collared ceremonial uniform, and the tower-like Jianque—this is a golden plate depicting a Han Dynasty court sacrifice!
Her heart surged, and she turned to look for Tong Zhongyuan. He was standing two steps behind her, his eyes moist and bright, his cheeks flushed, a dreamlike expression on his face. She couldn't help but take his hand and drag him to her side, so that they could look at the old photo that had so captivated her.
When she was talking excitedly, she wanted to point, but her hand did not rise. She looked down and saw that their hands were still clasped. She did not care and turned to point with her left hand to show him.
"Where do you want to find it?" he asked her, turning his head.
"Niya again. I think my dad has definitely looked in places like Shaanxi and Henan. The Han Dynasty had frequent exchanges with the Western Regions. The gilt plates and bronze coins appear to be from roughly the same period, and the bronze coins have a clear provenance. I want to go to Niya first."
There was another reason. Both of these things came from her maternal grandparents' home, so she had reason to connect them and look for them together.
Tong Zhongyuan looked at the photo album and pointed to the place she had just pointed.
"The window patterns here may not be correct, nor may the figures' clothing or carriages. Using them to date the figures may lead to discrepancies."
She was stunned: "Why?"
His eyes turned to the display album he had just looked at.
"Because the restoration technician here isn't an expert on cultural relics. These are just scratches on the film. He's just doing routine repairs, filling in the gaps based on common sense. His understanding is different from yours."
She had been chattering away, but suddenly fell silent, staring blankly at the photo. He thought she was in high spirits, and his words must have dampened her spirits. He consoled her, "We'll have the craftsman give us an unretouched photo, and work with the photography and engraving departments to make a high-definition copy. If you don't want them to know the source, just say you're doing a favor for a friend."
After he finished speaking, she still kept her head down. He wondered if he was too blunt, as she had her professional pride. In reality, his advice had nothing to do with her profession; it was just his habit to overthink everything.
He pointed to the repaired area in the photo again and said, "Actually, these defects don't affect the overall situation..."
"Will you come with me to Niya?" her voice interrupted him.
She raised her face and looked into his eyes stubbornly.
She knew his childhood affection for her was only two months long. She also knew he taught Song Suiyang so he could return home sooner. If he went to Niya with her, he would have to delay his return again. But she needed him. He made her understand her limitations. Qin Yunjie had spent decades trying to find the large gilded bronze plate from the Han Dynasty, and she certainly wouldn't be able to find it either. She wasn't so self-righteous. She needed him by her side on this trip.
His heart was beating fast, but he knew it wasn't a palpitation. He had wondered who would be accompanying her in her quest for the truth. It was him, the one who would accompany her to Niya, not someone else. London's autumn was at its most romantic, and he was going to miss it. But he would welcome the autumn here, walking through a dazzling dream world of yellow, pink, and red. He couldn't help but reach out and touch her head.
"good."
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