Chapter 46 Exclusive Release Chapter 46—E. Once you…
Yuan Ning sat on a small stool, holding a thermos and a blanket in her right hand, her eyes fixed on the screen. Elias's face changed about once every ten seconds.
What...is that...on your head?
A strong gust of wind blew, tilting Yuan Ning's Lei Feng hat. She instinctively reached out to press it down, her movements clumsy.
"I borrowed it from a colleague; it's very cold here."
"...Next week...there's a blizzard in New York City...Wynne...I can't reach you..."
Yuan Ning replied, "It's been windy here, so the signal is bad."
Sizzle...
“...I heard...a serious delay...are you...safe?” His voice was broken.
"Safe! I'm at the research institute! Connected via satellite!" she almost shouted in response, the noise of the generator inevitably carrying in the background. "Repair work is underway! We've encountered challenges, but there's progress!"
This time, the delay seems to be even longer.
Just when Yuan Ning thought the connection had been lost, his voice squeezed in again, still distant and distorted:
"...Understood. Focus on...technical issues. Need...resources?"
Another violent electrical interference struck, and the screen turned into a blurry patch of color.
Just when Yuan Ning thought the connection would be completely severed, Elias's voice reached her ears intermittently:
“...Wynne”.
He simply called her name. A simple syllable, yet with a strange weight in the hum of the electricity.
Then, after a long pause, his severely distorted voice, accompanied by the last vestiges of the image's impending collapse, finally managed to squeeze out those words that seemed to have been swirling in his heart for countless days and nights:
"...I miss you so much."
The moment the words left his mouth, the screen went black.
The connection has been completely lost.
Yuan Ning sat on a small stool, holding the cold computer, and remained motionless for a long time.
On the Gobi Desert, only the continuous low hum of the generator and the ceaseless howling of the wind remain.
I miss you so much.
She heard it clearly, very clearly.
Elias van der Berg, with his calm and restrained voice, spoke from halfway around the world, using the worst possible communication.
Zhang Qingrang glanced at the black screen, then at Yuan Ning, who seemed frozen in place, and asked softly, "Did it break? In the end... I think I heard him say something?"
Li Xiaohui patted Yuan Ning on the shoulder: "It's normal for young couples to feel like they've been apart for three autumns after just one day. Let's go back first, it's too cold here."
Yuan Ning suddenly came to her senses.
The icy air choked her lungs, causing her to cough violently, and her eyes instantly filled with physiological tears.
She didn't know why she was crying.
She was the one who was carefree before.
Her heart was always hard; she viewed the world as a playground, and men as nothing more than her toys.
Even though she liked Elias very much, there were no exceptions.
But why, when those four words were gently touched, those four words that traveled halfway around the world, did her heart suddenly collapse and her vision go blank?
— Elias, you fouled.
How could you... say such things in such a tone?
So, that high wall was made of paper.
He had to be that cold, aloof, and unattainable Elias van der Berg.
—E. Once you become a mortal, I'm finished.
Li Xiaohui handed her a thick coat and wrapped it around her. She and Zhang Qingrang exchanged a glance, not knowing why Yuan Ning suddenly started crying.
She only exchanged a few words with her foreign boyfriend, who simply expressed some very ordinary concern.
"I miss you" is a phrase that any couple would say repeatedly; it's an ordinary phrase.
"What did he say? Why are you crying?" Zhang Qingrang was a little confused.
“He…” she sniffed, “He said… there will be a blizzard in New York next week.”
Li Xiaohui and Zhang Qingrang exchanged a glance and began tidying up the scattered cables and equipment.
"Let's go back first, it's too cold here."
Li Xiaohui said.
Zhang Qingrang held the equipment, in high spirits. The experiment was a success, which meant that they could secretly access the internet in this way from now on.
Although the institute has a machine room, it is an important scientific research equipment, and its use requires strict application and approval.
Over the next few days, Yuan Ning gradually adapted to life here and built genuine friendships with her colleagues.
To be honest, this was the first time she had experienced such a friendship.
In this simple life, she began to experience a sense of authenticity and mission that was different from the glitz and glamour of New York City, as if she had also become a part of the Western Development Strategy.
Gao Ran told Yuan Ning that the repair experiment was progressing steadily, and Yuan Ning also plunged into the laboratory to provide assistance using her knowledge of fabric science.
Zhang Qingrang would occasionally stroll over, not to check on the repair progress, but to share his experimental plan with Yuan Ning and Li Xiaohui with shining eyes.
"According to the connection logs from that night, the stability of the satellite band we locked onto exceeded expectations! Although the bandwidth is still narrow, if we optimize the algorithm and get a more powerful backup generator, maybe we won't have to go through so much trouble to occasionally check international information or send an email in the future!"
He pushed up his glasses. "Yuan Ning, next time you want to video call your boyfriend, tell me in advance, and I promise I'll adjust the signal to be stronger than last time!"
Yuan Ning could only smile helplessly.
"We don't need it for now, you can use the internet if you want."
*
Only one work light was on in the laboratory, casting the shadows of Yuan Ning and Gao Ran bent over their desks.
For the third consecutive day, the re-application test for red wine stains was not satisfactory.
Yuan Ning took off her goggles, rubbed her sore eyes, and her voice was filled with barely concealed anxiety:
"Professor Gao, have we gone in the wrong direction?"
The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the Singing Sand Dunes in a golden-red hue, while the distant Sanwei Mountain remained silent as if it had never existed.
"Xiao Meng, come and take a look." He suddenly spoke.
“Those caves,” Gao Ran’s voice was as steady as the wind in the Gobi Desert, “are over 1,600 years old. What are these three days of anxiety you’re experiencing compared to the murals, sculptures, and scriptures inside?”
“I know you’re anxious. You have your contract period and career plans.” He pointed out the window, “But our time scale here is thousands of years. Generations of people will continue to join us. Now that you’re here, you need to calm down.”
Yuan Ning gazed at the Singing Sand Dunes outside the window, lost in thought for a long time, suddenly wondering where her own value lay.
What she has been pursuing all along is perhaps something that the people here disdain.
So what is her value? Was her life's struggle worthwhile?
A few days later, Yuan Ning overheard two young researchers chatting in the cafeteria.
One person said they wanted to quit their job and return to Beijing, saying, "The wages here are too low. My classmates who graduated with me are earning 100,000 yuan a year in foreign companies."
Another person was silent for a while before saying, "But last month in Cave 205, when I was putting back the small piece of paint that had sticked up on the skirt of that flying apsara, I suddenly looked up and saw the Bodhisattva looking at me with a kind and benevolent expression. Suddenly I felt that... it would be nice to spend my whole life here."
Yuan Ning told Gao Ran about the conversation she had overheard.
Gao Ran was meticulously cleaning the dust off the simulated mural sample with homemade bamboo skewers, without even looking up.
"How do you measure his statement that it was 'worth it'?"
Yuan Ning thought for a moment: "...A sense of accomplishment? Artistic value?"
“No.” Gao Ran put down his tools. “It was that moment when you touched eternity.”
"That moment when you touched eternity?"
He gestured for Yuan Ning to come closer, pointing to an extremely fine repair mark on the sample:
“Look here, the pigments made by the painters of the Northern Wei Dynasty using lapis lazuli and malachite are still vivid a thousand years later. The value is whether your work can survive in time, not until you retire, not until the end of this century, but until people in the next civilization cycle open this cave and can still see it.”
Yuan Ning exclaimed in amazement, "If people from the next civilization cycle open this cave, they will still be able to see my value..."
As the repair work entered its third week, an urgent email was delivered to Gao Ran's office.
The email was sent by the "Joint Committee for the Protection of Silk Road Cultural Heritage," a transnational platform led by UNESCO and involving several European art foundations, universities, and research institutions. The email content was concise and to the point:
To the Dunhuang Academy:
The committee's annual inspection team will arrive in seven days. This inspection will focus on mural restoration techniques, the preservation environment for cultural relics, and the possibility of international cooperation. The team will consist of twelve members, including representatives from the British Museum, the Getty Foundation's head of conservation science, and representatives from various national arts foundations.
Please prepare for the reception. Detailed schedule will be faxed later.
Gao Ran read the email twice and handed it to Zhang Qingrang, who had just entered: "A bunch of foreigners are coming again. You'll be in charge of receiving them."
Zhang Qingrang refused: "No way, I'm busy studying the beautiful Bodhisattva in Cave 57, I'm not going to serve those foreigners."
Gao Ran was handing the documents to someone when Yuan Ning came in carrying two meat buns. His eyes lit up: "You're the one. You speak English, so you can be in charge of reception."
Yuan Ning took the email and glanced at it. When she saw "representatives of art foundations from various countries," her heart skipped a beat.
She recalled Elias mentioning that the Van der Berg family's art trust was a long-term funder of several major cultural heritage preservation projects in Europe.
"Me? Can I do it?" She took a bite of her steamed bun.
Gao Ran nodded: "Yes, you. Zhang Qingrang, go and select a few representative caves, and take them to see them later."
At the same time, it was evening in New York.
In the dining room of the Van der Berg mansion at No. 1 Willow Street, Viscount Arthur, Theodora, and Elias are having dinner.
The dining table is an 18th-century mahogany long table, with silver candlesticks reflecting off the snow-white linen tablecloth.
Dorotha quietly set the table. Tonight's main course was roasted venison tenderloin with black truffle sauce, the venison coming from the family's hunting grounds in Scotland.
“I received two very interesting invitations today.” Theodora said elegantly as she cut venison, her voice particularly clear in the restaurant. “One is from the UNESCO committee, inviting me to participate in their annual expedition to Dunhuang this year on behalf of the family’s art trust.”
Viscount Arthur looked up, a hint of interest flashing in his dark brown eyes: "Dunhuang? That Buddhist grotto complex in China?"
Arthur is a member of the board of trustees of an Ivy League school and is quite accomplished in art history.
Elias paused slightly in the hand holding the knife.
Theodora told her husband, "The other letter is from the Department of Art and Archaeology at Princeton University, inviting you to visit as a visiting scholar. The location is also in Dunhuang."
A brief silence fell over the restaurant. The firewood in the fireplace crackled.
“So,” Theodora’s gaze shifted between her husband and son, “who should go? We can’t all go. Elias, since you’re the only one who didn’t receive an invitation, you’ll have to stay in New York and look after the house.”
Elias put down his knife, making a "clink" sound.
Theodora frowned: "Mind your dining manners, Elias."
“Mother,” his voice was as steady as stating a mathematical theorem, “Percival Capital is assessing the investment potential of the Asia-Pacific cultural heritage tourism sector. Dunhuang, as a UNESCO World Heritage site, has a typical research value in its protective development model.”
He picked up a napkin and gently wiped his mouth, his movements unhurried and deliberate.
"I need to conduct an on-site investigation."
Theodora raised an eyebrow, picked up her wine glass, and the Bordeaux red wine swirled in the candlelight: "So, you went there under the guise of an investment inspection?"
“It is reasonable and necessary,” Elias replied.
Viscount Arthur chuckled softly. “Very good. The commercial reasons are sound, and the academic value is clear.” He looked at his wife. “Theodora, it seems we need to reassign roles.”
"So, who stays at home?" Theodora asked slowly.
After wiping his mouth, Elias reached for the two invitations Theodora had placed on the corner of the table: "Conditions in Northwest China are harsh. Father, Mother, there's no need to trouble yourself. I'll go in your place."
Dinner ended in a subdued atmosphere. An hour later, Theodora knocked on Elias's study door.
He was standing by the window when he heard the knock on the door. Without turning around, he said, "Come in, Mother."
Theodora came in and closed the door. She didn't sit down, but went to her son's side and followed his gaze to the garden outside the window.
The Van der Berg mansion at night resembles an ancient ship sailing through time.
“Your father has agreed,” she said. “The authorization documents can be ready by tomorrow morning.”
"thank you."
“But I need to know the real reason.” Theodora turned to look at him directly. “It’s not for investment assessment; Perseus has a complete Asia-Pacific research team. It’s not for academic research; your interest in Buddhist art isn’t that great. It’s not even entirely for Wynne, although that’s certainly one of the factors.”
She paused. "Tell me, Elias. What exactly are you looking for in Dunhuang?"
Elias remained silent for a long time.
“The truth of order,” he finally said. “I want to know how people establish another order where there is no such order as ours.”
"Do you think you can find the truth you're looking for there?" she asked.
“I don’t know,” Elias admitted, “but I want to see it for myself. If a civilization can exist in the desert for 1,600 years, then it must have mastered something we don’t know.”
Four days later, Elias landed at Dunhuang Airport on a chartered flight belonging to the delegation.
Li Hang was the one who came to pick me up at the airport.
He changed his clothes, but Yuan Ning firmly stopped him from showing up in that faded blue cotton-padded jacket. Zhang Qingrang rummaged through his drawers and found a gray suit that was two sizes too big for him to wear.
Li Hang himself was also very uncomfortable, constantly tugging at his collar.
Seeing a group of foreigners walk out of the gate, he quickly raised the sign in his hand.
This sign was also designed under Yuan Ning's guidance; the English text was specially printed out in town.
Welcome to the UNESCO delegation.
Elias van der Berg walked in the middle of the group. He wore a tailor-made suit made of a special wrinkle-resistant cashmere blend, which was both suitable for long-haul flights and maintained impeccable bearing.
Besides Li Hang, there were two directors wearing badges standing next to him. They looked more formal than him and were sent down from the city.
Three minibuses were already waiting outside the airport.
As the car pulled out of the airport, Director Wang introduced the itinerary through the microphone: "You will first stay at Dunhuang Mountain Villa, which is the best hotel in the area catering to foreign guests. This afternoon is free time for you to adjust to the time difference and climate. Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, we will officially begin our inspection tour..."
"God, the scenery here... is even more... primitive than I imagined."
The woman who made the exclamation was sitting in a seat across the aisle from Elias.
“Mr. Van der Berg, what do you think? You seem to be adapting quite well.”
Elias glanced at her briefly: "Madam, weren't you prepared before you came here?"
Li Hang sat in the row in front of Elias, holding a pager and speaking in Chinese that Elias couldn't understand.
"Yuan Ning, they've already boarded the bus and will be here soon. Have you made the arrangements at the Dunhuang Manor?"
"Everything's set up, don't worry." A girl's voice, slightly distorted due to data transmission, came through the pager, but Wynne's voice was very familiar to him.
As Director Wang said, Dunhuang Mountain Villa is indeed the best hotel in the area. A welcome reception has already been set up in the lobby.
The long table was set with a mix of Chinese and Western refreshments, including local dried apricots and grapes, as well as sandwiches and fruit prepared for international guests.
Several key leaders of the research institute were present.
Gao Ran was among them, wearing the research institute's uniform dark jacket.
Yuan Ning busied herself moving around, and Gao Ran gave her a thumbs up: "You really did a great job organizing this party."
Yuan Ning scratched her head: "Don't even mention it. The total budget is so small. Let's just give them some raisins." She looked embarrassed, feeling that this was not a high-class event. She had never hosted such a small banquet before.
"So what if it's raisins? Raisins are expensive. Dunhuang raisins have plenty of sunshine and high sugar content. Cultural confidence should start from places like this."
"Yes, I understand, Teacher Gao," Yuan Ning replied helplessly, her head bowed.
When Gao Ran saw the minibus arrive outside, he quickly instructed her, "Go and greet them, Xiao Meng. You have a good image and speak well. You should stand at the front."
Yuan Ning borrowed a set of work clothes from the research institute and wore them today. The clothes fit well but the fabric was ordinary. Her hair was neatly combed back and she was not wearing makeup.
Three minibuses stopped in a row in front of the hotel. The doors opened, and the delegation members disembarked one after another.
Yuan Ning wore the brightest smile she had ever had, her face practically glowing with rosy cheeks. Gao Ran had offered to do it for her, and even added a red mole between her eyebrows, but she vehemently refused.
When she saw Elias get out of the car, her bright smile froze for only a moment before returning to normal.
She stepped forward and said in fluent English, "Wee to Dunhuang. On behalf of Dunhuang Academy, we are honored to have you here."
For everyone.
The delegates entered the lobby one after another. Yuan Ning shook hands with each of them and had brief conversations.
When it was Elias's turn, their hands paused in mid-air for a moment.
He was still as meticulous as ever, but standing there under the bright Gobi sun, he seemed less like a moving sculpture and more like a... real person.
“Mr. Van der Berg,” Yuan Ning spoke first, using the most formal form of address, “Welcome here.”
Elias's hands were dry and warm, and he held them tightly in his.
“Ms. Meng,” Elias responded, using the same formal form of address. But his thumb pressed very lightly on the back of her hand, as if to confirm her existence, and his own.
The handshake lasted half a second longer than required by etiquette.
Just as Yuan Ning was about to pull her hand away, Elias suddenly said in a voice only she could hear:
“You’ve lost weight, Wynne.”
The next second, Yuan Ning withdrew her hand.
"You must be tired from the long flight. The hotel has prepared rooms for you all, so you can rest and adjust to the time difference. The welcome reception will begin in half an hour."
After saying this, Yuan Ning stopped looking at Elias and walked towards Gao Ran.
Gao Ran was extremely satisfied with her.
Zhang Qingrang remarked, "Those who have studied abroad are definitely different."
Gao Ran said with dissatisfaction, "Zhang Qingrang, what are you saying? I told you to go and receive them, but you didn't go."
The city government provided them with a few bottles of Moutai, and the evening's banquet was quite successful.
Yuan Ning was standing by the table arranging dried apricots, piling them up high, when Elias came downstairs and walked up to her.
The two were separated by a table covered with dried apricots and raisins.
Yuan Ning saw him stop in front of her, glanced at him, and then turned away.
Elias called out to her.
"Wynne, how's your work going?"
Yuan Ning turned her back to him, closed her eyes, and knew that he wouldn't say anything else.
"Proceed as planned, no need for you to worry."
She raised her hand and touched her cheek with the back of her hand; it was burning hot.
She was dressed in clothes that were far from glamorous, and her unkempt hair looked dry.
Dunhuang Mountain Villa is the only hotel here that caters to foreigners, but it is also drab and has a backward and outdated feel to it.
Even if the city director ordered people to arrange flower beds around the area, where would Dunhuang get fresh flowers? They're just some repeatedly used fake flowers.
She thought she was strong enough, so why did she always lose control in front of him?
She was acutely aware of her "unglamorous clothes" and "dry, unkempt hair." This wasn't vanity, but the sharp pain of a perceived disparity in status.
The artificial flowers were like the identity she was pretending to have.
Dunhuang may not need artificial flowers for decoration; its authenticity lies in the Gobi Desert, the wind and sand, and the ancient caves.
But these artificial flowers symbolize a pathetic "reluctance": we are backward, but we try to make you think we are not so backward. This "reluctance" makes her feel ashamed.
Because she had done the exact same thing before. Wasn't she once a fake flower disguised as a real one? Now, she is a fake flower, a genuine plastic flower, covered in dust and sand, not at all bright and beautiful.
She was completely exposed in Elias's presence; he had seen right through her long ago.
Her identity, wealth, nationality, and lineage are all laid bare before us.
Caught between two conflicting values, Yuan Ning felt pain, self-doubt, and even took her anger out on Elias.
The unspoken message was: "Elijas, if you truly care about me, can you see what kind of person I'm becoming beneath all these imperfections?"
Elias watched her turn away, her reddened ears, and her slightly trembling fingertips.
“Wynne”.
He picked up a dried apricot that she had just placed there, put it in his mouth, and chewed it slowly.
It was a very bittersweet, simple yet profound flavor.
It tastes like something that can only grow in the Gobi Desert.
Yet it is more worthy of savoring than any other exquisite dessert.
Under the lights, her face did not look as delicate as before; her skin was somewhat dry, and there was a hint of fatigue in her eyes.
But her eyes, those dark eyes that had once been filled with ambition and calculation, now held something new: a calmness, a solidity rooted in the earth.
“Wynne, please turn around and let me see you, let me see Wynne whom I have never met before.”
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