Chapter 98 Shura Field
Tang Zhixu was wearing a suit with his hair combed back. He immediately spotted Qin Tian. On her left sat Song Suiyang, and on her right sat Tong Zhongyuan.
Song Suiyang was stunned: "Aren't you at the press conference?"
"Just finished." Tang Zhixu walked to her seat and raised his chin to her. "Change seats."
Song Suiyang, accustomed to being bullied by him, stood up involuntarily and moved to the serving area. Tang Zhixu sat down without hesitation, picked up the tea and poured himself a cup, then added some to Qin Tian's cup and replaced the teapot.
"What are you talking about?" He was not talking to everyone present, but to Qin Tian.
"Nothing much. Just getting started. How's it going there? Did the press conference go well?"
"That's all. Just showing off and talking nonsense."
"You've made such a big deal out of nothing. Do you think anything is important?"
"Yes. Don't you know?"
Tong Zhongyuan turned the table, picked up the tea, filled his own cup, and drank it all in one gulp.
Qin Tian was so preoccupied with talking to Tang Zhixu that she didn't notice him. She only jerked herself to attention when she saw him finish his tea. She took the teapot away, put it back on the turntable, and called out to the door, "Waiter. Bring me a glass of plain water, or orange juice."
The waiter came in with a glass of water and said, "Who is this for?"
Qin Tian knocked on the table in front of Tong Zhongyuan: "Give it to him. Take the teacup."
Tong Zhongyuan leaned against the chair expressionlessly, watching her slender fingers take the glass of water, place it in front of him, then pick up the teacup and hand it to the waiter.
Tang Zhixu sat back in his chair, raised his lips in self-mockery, and said to Song Suiyang: "What day is it today? Are you treating me to dinner?"
Song Suiyang always felt that the atmosphere was a little off, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Fortunately, the door knocked twice more, and this time the food was really served. She breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Stop talking nonsense, everyone, eat, this meal is on me."
Dai Lihua smiled and said, "Today is Xiao Song's birthday. She didn't tell me beforehand, maybe because she was afraid we would buy her a gift."
Tang Zhixu raised his glass to her: "Happy birthday! May you live forever in youth."
Everyone raised their glasses to congratulate Song Suiyang on her birthday, and the private room became lively and noisy. Tang Zhixu knew Qin Tian's preferences, so whenever she liked a dish, he would unceremoniously pass it to her and wait until she finished eating before leaving.
Chen Yun sat to Tang Zhixu's left. She knew the rumors about them, but she'd never seen them up close. Seeing them in person for the first time surprised her. Was it really just a rumor? Weren't they already together?
After three rounds of meals, a waiter came in with a cart carrying a cake with candles on it. Another waiter was holding two bouquets of flowers. They both sang Happy Birthday to Song Suiyang as they walked towards him.
Song Suiyang was dumbfounded. She'd just treated her colleagues to a meal and wasn't causing any trouble. The waiter pushing the cake walked up to her, sang the last "Happy Birthday" to her, then pulled out a firecracker and fired it at her, making her shudder. Tang Zhixu couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The waiter handed one of the flowers to her arms, looked into her eyes sincerely and said, "Happy birthday to you! May you live as long as the sky."
Then he looked at the name tag in another bouquet, scanned the faces in the room, and asked, "Which one is Teacher Tong?"
Everyone's eyes turned to Tong Zhongyuan.
The waiter received the signal and solemnly walked over to Tong Zhongyuan, presented him with the bouquet, and said sincerely, "I wish you a safe journey and a bright future."
Tang Zhixu didn't laugh this time. It was the first time he looked at Tong Zhongyuan since he entered the private room.
Song Suiyang wanted to die. Who had come up with this clever surprise? Was this a favor to her?! This was like roasting her on the fire.
Tong Zhongyuan put down his chopsticks, took the bouquet with one hand, and said "thank you" lightly.
The waiter completed his task and led the applause, hoping to make the touching atmosphere burst out again. Song Suiyang looked at Tong Zhongyuan's face with trepidation, hoping that the two people would leave quickly.
Tong Zhongyuan looked no different than usual. He calmly took the greeting card out of the bouquet and threw it on the slop. Then he handed the bouquet to Qin Tian: "This is for you."
Qin Tian was startled and accepted the flowers. Although she and Tong Zhongyuan sat together during the meal, they didn't talk much. She was afraid of neglecting him, so she started a conversation several times to get him to join in the conversation, but he didn't respond and just ate silently. He would eat whatever dish was passed to him. There was a sweet and sour spare ribs that was cooked very well. Not long after it was served, you and I were almost finishing it with chopsticks, and it never stopped in front of him. She knew he liked this dish, so when it was about to be passed to him, she quietly pushed it with her chopsticks, so that the turntable stopped in front of him. There was one last piece of spare ribs on the plate. His eyes fell on her chopsticks that were holding up the turntable, and he took away the last piece.
Qin Tian held the bouquet. Tang Zhixu looked at her. Since the news that Tong Zhongyuan was going back to England had spread, Qin Tian should have known about it long ago. It was just a gift from a friend. There was no point in arguing with someone who was about to leave. He whispered to her, "Are you free tonight?"
"Is there anything?" She was indeed much freer this week, and although she still had a lot of things to do, they were not so urgent.
"Didn't you say you'd treat me to a nice dinner after I was done with my work? I'm done with my work after the press conference. Better today than later, let's do it today."
"Can you still eat more? You eat so much at noon and you're going to have a big dinner at night?"
"You don't need a big meal, but you have to eat dinner. The fish you cooked last time was delicious, and I missed it a lot."
"Who are you? Young Master, you want me to cook dinner for you?" Qin Tian rolled his eyes and turned a steamed fish on the turntable in front of him. "If you want fish, there's fish here."
"It's different." He turned the turntable away in disgust. "You're the one who said you wanted to thank me. You don't have any sincerity at all."
When he said that, Qin Tian suddenly remembered that for this favor, let alone cooking one meal, it would not be too much to cook ten meals for him.
"Okay, okay, I'll do as you say. Just make a list of what you want to eat, and I'll see if I can make it."
"That's not necessary. Let's go to the supermarket together after work and buy the ones you can cook."
Qin Tian gave him an OK gesture. Tang Zhixu sat back in his chair with a smile and raised his chopsticks again.
The sounds in the private room were intermittent, as Tong Zhongyuan ate his food in silence. What was he eating? Was it salty or sweet? Their whispers drifted through, fragments of words, tinged with laughter, coquettishness, and a sharp, hurtful edge. He had thought so much, planned so much. In his plan, as long as he was willing to make sacrifices, she would be with him. Arrogant and self-righteous.
Chen Yun stood up, walked to Tong Zhongyuan, and raised the cup: "Teacher Tong, I will use tea instead of wine to wish you smooth sailing and a bright future." This time she finally said a complete sentence.
Tong Zhongyuan raised his head and looked at her blankly.
Seeing the pace had reached this point, the restoration staff also rose, carrying tea. Tong Zhongyuan raised his head, watching the figures approaching him, the faces bidding farewell. His gaze wandered, searching, and he found it. She also looked at him, her expression indistinguishable, her lips slightly parted, as if wishing him a bright future. His heart suddenly tightened. He was saying goodbye to the Shanghai Museum, not to her, and he didn't want to hear it from her.
He suddenly stood up. Song Suiyang had just cut the cake and was about to give the first piece to Tong Zhongyuan as a sign of respect, but he suddenly stood up and knocked over the plate in her hand, sending the cake flying sideways. Qin Tian screamed "Ah!" and the cake landed on her shoulder.
Tang Zhixu was quick to act and quickly threw the cake off her shoulders to the ground. But there was still cream on her clothes and hair.
Song Suiyang cried out "Ouch!" and hurried to check on Qin Tian. She hated this cake so much. What the hell was going on?
"It's okay, it's okay," Qin Tian took the wet towel that Chen Yun handed her, "Just wipe it off."
Song Suiyang quickly unpacked another wet towel and helped her wipe it. The surface was clean, but the mark on the clothes remained, and the hair was still sticky. Qin Tian tied her hair up again without any concern.
"Just go back and wash it."
She said this to Tong Zhongyuan. He usually said "sorry" and "sorry" all the time, but this time he didn't even say sorry after knocking over the cake. It seemed that he really cared about her.
He still stood there, his eyes fixed on her. His expression was complicated.
She sat back down. Seeing the commotion, the others lost interest in offering tea and sat down again. Tang Zhixu ruffled her hair and asked, "Did you wash your hair yesterday?"
"Yeah..." Qin Tian said helplessly. She hated washing her hair the most because she had thick hair and it took too long to blow dry it.
Tang Zhixu laughed. How could he not know her? Whoever could let her go on a date with her hair down was in true love. He said half gently and half jokingly, "It's okay. I'll blow dry your hair tonight."
There was a sharp sound of a chair being pulled away, and Qin Tian's heart jumped and he looked up. Tong Zhongyuan was just pushing open the chair, pulling open the door to the private room, and walking out.
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