Chapter 45: Saying he can't drive is the same as saying he can't sleep.
This was impossible. The Kong Museum had three outside experts examine the porcelain, and they all declared it authentic. Only then did Director Chen accept the donation and stage a grand special exhibition. The bureau had long been dissatisfied with the Kong Museum's lack of presence and was considering merging it with other cultural institutions. This special exhibition was their only chance.
"Teacher Qin," his Adam's apple moved and he raised his eyes, "Is it possible that you are mistaken?"
Qin Tian looked at him, despair spreading in his eyes.
"Well, we invited three experts to authenticate it, and they all said it was authentic. Is it possible that you have different schools of thought in cultural relic appraisal? Or perhaps some other different criteria led to different conclusions?"
Tong Zhongyuan looked at Qin Tian, ​​unperturbed by the questioning. Her gaze swept across each piece of porcelain, finally settling on the plum vase. After careful consideration, she said, "Judging by sight, one might reach a different conclusion. But the thermoluminescence analysis is undoubtedly correct. I only sampled 10 pieces for thermoluminescence analysis. The remaining 90 pieces were indeed my subjective judgment. If you want to verify the authenticity of other exhibits, taking samples for scientific analysis is still the best option."
Wang Yijian met her determined gaze. He understood what she was about to do. But he was just a recent college graduate, and he had only been working for three months. He had no choice but to accept the consequences of such a serious matter.
"Please wait a moment. I'm calling the curator now."
He hurried away and called Director Chen. He knew he was being interviewed by the media, so even if he was on TV, he had to make the call. The dial tone rang and rang until it disconnected, but no one answered. He called again and again, but still no one answered. He called the deputy director, but no one answered either. They must be being interviewed together. He walked back anxiously.
"Director Chen might be busy and didn't answer the phone," he said dejectedly. "I'm sorry, Teacher Qin, I can't make the decision on this matter."
Qin Tian said implicitly, "I understand. This isn't really the Shanghai Museum's responsibility. I'm just worried that after tomorrow's opening, there will be many professionals with better eyesight than me."
Wang Yijian was completely bewildered and had no idea what to do. Why was he being tested like this? What if all the porcelain was fake? Wouldn't it be a joke if Kongbo continued to operate like this?
Qin Tian glanced at Tong Zhongyuan. He seemed not to want to get involved and just wait and see.
"In that case, we'll take our leave. I wish Kongbo a successful exhibition tomorrow," she said.
Qin Tian packed up her things, picked up her backpack, and left Kongbo with Tong Zhongyuan. Tong Zhongyuan glanced at her and asked, "Are you just letting it go?"
"What can we do? Force him to unlock the door and take samples? The child is quite pitiful, he's almost crying."
Tong Zhongyuan smiled silently. She looked no different from other people, yet she still called them children.
"Besides, it's too late. Even if we take samples now, we have to rush back to the Shanghai Museum to process, test, and analyze them. The report won't be ready by tomorrow morning. Whether we do it or not, the result will be the same. Kongbo is definitely going to suffer a loss. The fear is that it's not just a loss."
They got in the car, and Qin Tian slowly drove out of the parking lot. A figure ran after the car, sprinting past it at the speed of a 100-meter sprint and banging on the window. Qin Tian quickly stepped on the brakes and lowered the window. Wang Yijian, sweating profusely, leaned against the car frame, panting, "Please stay. Teacher Qin, Teacher Tong, if we take samples now, will we get the results tonight?"
Qin Tian shook his head regretfully: "The instruments are all at the Shanghai Museum. It will take me three or four hours to get back. Analysis takes time. It's impossible to get the results tonight."
Wang Yijian took a deep breath and stared at her. "What about tomorrow morning? Can the results be out before eight o'clock tomorrow?"
Qin Tian's eyes met his, and after a while, she said slowly, "I'll try my best."
Wang Yijian's sweat ran down his eyes. He wiped them away and said, "Then I'll leave it to you."
Qin Tian and Tong Zhongyuan reentered the museum and sampled 20 pieces of porcelain respectively. They left their contact information with Wang Yijian, who accompanied them out of the museum and put them in the car.
"Teacher Qin." He clung to the bicycle frame, wanting to speak but hesitant. Finally, he took a step back, bowed to her, and said nothing.
He had thought it through. Since Director Chen had asked him to be in charge of curating the exhibition, he would definitely shoulder the responsibility. He had only been working for three months and had fewer responsibilities than anyone else here. If something went wrong and a contract worker was needed to handle the work, then he would do it.
Qin Tian waved to him, rolled up the car window, and sped away with a single step on the accelerator.
Tong Zhongyuan opened the navigation system on his phone and projected it onto the car's computer. He picked up her phone, which was on the central control panel, and asked, "What's the password? What's your birthday?"
Without waiting for her answer, he tried her birthday, and sure enough, it unlocked the phone. Qin Tian was speechless and wanted to argue with him, but he was unfamiliar with the road and was driving while looking at the navigation, so he had no time to argue with him.
Tong Zhongyuan fiddled with her phone for a while until a text message alert sounded. He put the phone down and turned around and said, "I'm going to the train station. You can take the high-speed train back later. The ticket is already bought. It will take you to Shanghai in an hour."
Qin Tian was stunned: "I'm taking the high-speed rail? What about you? Are you driving alone?"
If they set out at this time, by the time they enter the city, it will be the evening rush hour and the traffic conditions will be very complicated, not to mention that he has to change from right-hand drive to left-hand drive.
"Drive slowly and you'll get used to it."
Qin Tian hesitated for a moment, but when she thought of Wang Yijian's bow to her, she stopped hesitating and drove directly to the train station.
"Be careful on the road. Send me a message when you arrive." Tong Zhongyuan said.
He should be the one to be careful, Qin Tian thought silently. She walked a few steps with her bag on her back, but still worried, she turned back and shouted to him, "If it doesn't work, park the car outside the city. I'll pick it up tomorrow."
Tong Zhongyuan smiled at her. For a man, driving to the suburbs and parking there, waiting for her to pick it up tomorrow, this kind of thing would never happen unless there was an earthquake, war, or an atomic bomb explosion.
Qin Tian hurried through security and entered the station. Tong Zhongyuan's ticket was timed perfectly, so the train arrived almost as soon as she reached the platform. She glanced at her electronic ticket and realized that he had booked a business class seat.
This person, who couldn't bear the slightest hardship herself, was so generous to others. He used her phone and bank card to buy her a business class ticket, luckily it was only a short trip.
Tong Zhongyuan found a mall to charge his car and grab lunch. The navigation system indicated the return trip would take significantly longer than the way there. The journey hadn't felt long when he'd come with Qin Tian that morning. Driving back alone, however, it seemed as if the road would never end. The rolling hills were already shrouded in twilight, their shadows shimmering in gray. Caves and tunnels stretched one after another, like a newly opened, unfamiliar map to explore. He thought of his life in England. He'd only been away for a month, but after experiencing summer and early autumn, it felt a bit distant.
The car computer flashed with an incoming call. It was from Sun Minfu. He had almost no contacts on the Qin Tian phone card he was using.
"Little boy, what does my Buddha statue say? You guys don't explain it clearly, and I'm getting anxious." Sun Minfu's anxious voice came over.
"Can you wait a few more days? We are still discussing it."
"I can't wait. I need the money urgently. Xiao Qin said yesterday that it's worth at least 200,000. Let me think about it, even 200,000 is fine. If it really doesn't work out, go to the auction house and tell them to raise the reserve price. I'll just forget about this heirloom."
Tong Zhongyuan mused in silence. Sun Minfu called again from the other end.
"Let me think about it tonight and I'll come over tomorrow."
After hanging up the phone, the vehicle entered the cave again. Unlike during the day, the cave seemed brighter at night.
Qin Tian took a taxi back to the museum after leaving the high-speed rail station and headed straight for the thermoluminescence laboratory. Yuan Junruo, upon seeing this, knew that overtime was inevitable. Seeing Qin Tian so busy, Tang Zhixu didn't want to disturb him, so he quietly gave him a meal and went home.
By eight o'clock in the evening, the sampling and separation work was complete, and she could do the rest by herself. She asked Yuan Junruo to go back first. As soon as Yuan Junruo left the museum, she saw Tong Zhongyuan driving his car back unscathed, and she was overjoyed.
Tong Zhongyuan entered the quiet office and walked to the thermoluminescence measurement room. Qin Tian was not there. He went to the darkroom where the radiometer was working, where Qin Tian was concentrating on separating the radiation components of the sample. The only light from the instrument shone on her pure and graceful jawline, casting a soft and warm reflection. Her amber eyes were as transparent as glass, and her long eyelashes cast a fan-shaped shadow on her straight nose. A few strands of fluffy hair clung to her cheeks, curling across her slightly parted lips.
He stopped, his hands on the door frame, his eyes shining like moonlight, unable to move away.
An unknown amount of time passed before the separation was complete. She finally let out a breath, closed her eyes, and turned away, only to see a figure standing in the doorway, backlit. He was completely shrouded in darkness, with only a thin sliver of light illuminating his edges. His eyebrows and eyes, completely submerged in the darkness, grew even more intense, while only his high nose bridge held a silvery, blade-like reflection. Beauty is truly a miraculous thing; even with only a narrow sliver of light, one can still see a nobleness that stirs the heart.
For a moment, forgetting to breathe, she stared blankly at the man. His gaze was elusive, his soul was unfathomable.
His fingers, gripping the doorframe, gradually tightened, their knuckles turning white from the strain. He used his strong rationality, which he was always proud of, to fight against the overwhelming urge. He didn't know what his intense urge to be by her side was all about. He didn't want to know, he didn't dare to know.
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