Chapter 111 Tong Zhongyuan is like a peacock spreading its tail every day
Tang Zhixu was woken up by the ringing of his cell phone early in the morning. Actually, it was not too early, it was almost ten o'clock. He said "Hello" hoarsely.
Wang Qiqing frowned, but his tone remained the same.
"When will you enter the museum?"
Tang Zhixu scratched his hair and yawned: "About... 40 minutes?"
"Come into the museum and find me."
Tang Zhixu was stunned for a moment, then slowly went to brush his teeth and wash his face. He'd been out a bit late, picking out clothes. He used to just throw on some random outfit and go, assuming that a girl like Qin Tian, who didn't dress up, wouldn't care what a man wore. Lately, he'd discovered he was wrong. While she wasn't demanding of herself, she was obsessed with looks. She'd actually noticed whether his hair had grown longer or shorter. He'd been wearing a new outfit in front of her all day, and if he didn't know better, he'd think the Shanghai Museum even covered his wardrobe.
Although his neck still hurts a bit, he said today that he didn't want to wear a neck brace at all. And yesterday, he cut the laces of his AJs.
As he was about to enter the museum, his phone rang again. He thought Wang Qiqing couldn't wait and called to urge him, but he saw that it was Qin Tian calling.
"Why haven't you come yet?" she asked.
"Why are you like Wang Qiqing, counting your income but not your expenses? I worked overtime every day last week, even all night long. Is it illegal to come into the museum late this week?"
"Did he look for you too?"
"He called me early in the morning."
"Then go find him quickly. I'll look for you later."
"No, tell me what you want first, or I'll be the first one to come find you when I get to the museum."
"Nothing serious. Just wanted to ask how your neck is doing. Will it be better this week?"
"That depends on what you want to do. If you want to take me bungee jumping, I'm not fully recovered yet."
"I'm going to Luoyang, Henan this weekend and am booking flights and hotels. Can you take the flight?"
In the sunshine, the corners of his mouth curled up. This invitation was truly timely; there couldn't be a better time.
"It's not a fighter jet, so why not? When are we going? One weekend isn't enough, right?"
That's right. She hadn't wanted to delay work and wanted to use her weekend off to go, but it was only long enough to get to Luoyang. What if there were no clues in Luoyang? She flipped through the inscription materials on the table. Yang Yuxin and Fang Molin were deciphering the inscriptions anyway, so it would be okay for her to leave for a few days. However, Tang Zhixu hadn't rested in weeks and was busy with blind dates recently. Taking up his weekend off was already shameless, and asking him to take time off was a bit rude.
"How about this, I'll leave on Thursday. If you're free, come over on Saturday. I'll pay for the airfare and hotel."
"Then I'm going on Thursday too. Please book the ticket for me."
"Isn't Chunhua Ge Tie being promoted in the media this week?"
"What does publicity have to do with me? There are plenty of people who want to be in the spotlight. Why should I join in the fun?"
"Can you get away?" She was actually worried that he didn't have time for blind dates, but that was his private matter, and it was inappropriate for her to bring it up.
"Why can't I leave? I can leave right away. I just have one request. Can you book a better hotel? The soundproofing in the budget hotel is terrible."
"Brother, even though I'm the one asking you to go, I can only afford the basic package. If you want to upgrade, you can pay for it yourself, or let me give you credit. When I have more money, I'll treat you to a five-star hotel."
"Alright. Then I'll just stay here for a while and wait for you to take me flying."
Tang Zhixu hung up the phone and gazed at the bronze building before him. This was where he and the person he loved had worked together. They had traveled across the country, from city to country. They would go to many more places together in the future. After this, he didn't want to be separated from them again.
Tang Zhixu arrived at Wang Qiqing's office door. Before he knocked, he heard him speaking on the phone. He stood at the door for a moment. To be fair, Wang Qiqing treated him well, but he always kept a distance from him. This time, when he was in the United States, Wang Qiqing had made things difficult for Qin Tian, and he had endured this matter.
After a while, there was no sound in Wang Qiqing's office, so he knocked on the door and walked in.
"I'm here." Wang Qiqing greeted indifferently.
Tang Zhixu walked up to him and stood respectfully. Wang Qiqing looked him over. Even with his hands hanging down, he still gave him a feeling of being untamed.
"Jia De said there's a special calligraphy and painting show this Sunday. If you have time, go check it out. Being there gives you an advantage."
He frowned. He knew the auction was this week, but it was his paintings, not his person. It made no difference whether he went or not.
"I can't go. I have something to do this week."
Wang Qiqing paused. This was supposed to be an opening statement, but he hadn't expected Tang Zhixu to reject it outright. He didn't even care about his own affairs. Even if he wanted to treat him as a confidant, this guy wasn't the right material.
Tang Zhixu waited for a while, and when Wang Qiqing didn't say anything else, he felt puzzled. He wouldn't call him here just to ask him to go to Beijing. He had no choice but to ask, "Director Wang, is there anything else?"
"A press release regarding the Chunhua Ge Tie will be released in the next few days, and a special exhibition will be held next month. Before the exhibition, the printing and publication of the calligraphy must be expedited. Although these matters are handled by the various departments, the Chunhua Ge Tie was brought back by our Calligraphy and Painting Department. Please ensure that you maintain full ownership. If anything goes wrong with this kind of thing, the responsibility still lies with the Calligraphy and Painting Department."
Tang Zhixu agreed to all of them. But in his heart, he thought, to put it bluntly, he was afraid that someone else would take the credit for such a good thing.
Wang Qiqing didn't say anything else and let him go back.
Tang Zhixu walked back to his office, bewildered. The more he thought about it, the more strange it seemed. Wang Qiqing's instructions weren't new, hadn't they been emphasized before the press conference? Why was he bringing them up again? Was he worried?
There was no one in the office; they either didn't come to work or didn't make it to lunch. He usually said Qin Tian didn't know how to manage his subordinates, and that he took on all the work himself. And Qin Tian said the people he brought in were just as undisciplined as he was. It was true, the eldest brother wouldn't let the second brother down.
The office phone kept ringing, but no one answered. Tang Zhixu was also puzzled. These days, when someone calls a landline, it's most likely an internal call from another department. He looked around and saw that it was the phone on Fang Tianyi's desk that was ringing. He walked over and picked it up. A familiar voice on the other end said, "Xiao Fang, come to my office again."
Tang Zhixu was stunned. Normally, he wouldn't have guessed who the voice belonged to, but now he knew it instantly. He had just come out of his office, and the voice belonged to Wang Qiqing.
He had a strange intuition that if he said he was Tang Zhixu instead of Fang Tianyi, the atmosphere might become very tense. Without thinking too much, he stretched out his finger and pressed the hang-up button.
Outside the restoration room, Song Suiyang and Dai Lihua opened several folding doors that were usually locked. Workers worked together to carry the Western Zhou chime bell No. 8 in, unpacked it on the spot, and then, with shouts of encouragement, carried it to the bronze restoration table in one go.
Tong Zhongyuan took the receipt, signed it and returned it to the Cultural Heritage Department.
Song Suiyang asked Qin Tian: "I bought the Western Zhou chime bells from the Shanghai Museum, but why are they silent? If I hadn't brought them here for restoration, I wouldn't even know when I bought them."
Qin Tian remained silent. While this matter wasn't completely secret, it was certainly being kept low-key. She'd wait until the inscription came out before anything else. She felt a little guilty; going to Luoyang before the inscription was out wasn't the right move. But... Qin Yunjie's condition wasn't certain, so she still wanted to get the gilded plate done as soon as possible.
"Shall we go?" Tong Zhongyuan walked to Qin Tian's side.
Song Suiyang asked curiously, "Where are you going? To eat? I want to go with you."
Tong Zhongyuan turned his gaze towards Song Suiyang without saying anything. Song Suiyang felt a sudden panic. She had been facing Tong Zhongyuan more often recently, and she had become somewhat enlightened.
"I'll go too... take a walk and have dinner with Chen Yun."
Qin Tian knew Tong Zhongyuan's taste and found a Cantonese restaurant near the Shanghai Museum.
"Did you have a good rest yesterday?" He handed her and his coat to the waiter.
There was a faint blue tint under her eyes. How could it possibly be good? The image of him standing under the moon was lingering in her mind, almost like a nightmare.
"I'm fine, how about you?"
"As for me, I'm not feeling well." He said lightly.
She sipped from her cup, unsure how to respond. He glanced at her sideways, her mind apparently unsure whether she'd slept well or not. He knew why she'd asked him out; it was simply about General Meng Tian's spring vase. He had something more to know than that, which was why he'd gone to see her last night.
"How's the Han Dynasty gilded plate going? Do you have any new ideas?"
She was curious why he was always so accurate. She had just booked her flight and hotel reservations that morning, and he asked about it at noon. In fact, if things hadn't been a little awkward between them lately, she would have told him long ago. Tang Zhixu's discovery overturned all her previous assumptions.
Her arms rested on the table, and her previously awkward tone gradually became warmer.
"It's not a new idea, it's a significant development. I'd forgotten Tang Zhixu was an expert on murals. He said this isn't a Han Dynasty gilded plate, but a Qing Dynasty imitation! Not only that, the original it's modeled after wasn't from the Western Han Dynasty, but the Eastern Han Dynasty."
She'd left a clue hanging, waiting for him to ask. Why was it a Qing Dynasty imitation? Why was it from the Eastern Han Dynasty? Tong Zhongyuan listened, then turned his cold gaze away and casually uttered, "Really?" His words were like a bucket of cold water, choking the long list of theories she was about to offer. She withdrew her hand from the table and sat back in her chair. Perhaps he was merely asking about the progress of the gilded plate out of courtesy, and she'd taken it too seriously.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com