Confession
"In the restoration of this batch of Ru ware porcelain unearthed at Baota Temple in Changqing County, we drew on and referenced..."
Looking at Zhou Jingxing speaking calmly and eloquently on stage, Chen Zhou smiled. The little dog is still quite handsome when he gets serious.
Shen Zhou was quite surprised when he received Li Weilin's invitation at the hot spring hotel, as such purely academic conferences generally do not invite members of commercial organizations. Li Weilin explained that the conference organizers were grateful for Shen Zhou's curated exhibition of restored cultural relics, which had brought positive social impact to the field, and therefore specially invited him to attend the conference.
Attending such a high-profile conference would undoubtedly benefit Shen Zhou's career. Even if not, it would be good to broaden his horizons, so Shen Zhou came.
He just didn't expect Zhou Jingxing to be there, which made him wonder if Li Weilin was using his position for personal gain.
"That concludes my presentation. Thank you to all the experts for listening."
After Zhou Jingxing bowed to the audience after leaving the podium, Shen Zhou walked straight towards him. Zhou Jingxing gave him a warm and handsome smile, which made Shen Zhou's heart flutter and a hint of shyness arise inexplicably.
Zhou Jingxing sat down next to Shen Zhou and asked him with a smile, "I was busy yesterday and didn't have time to ask you why you came too? I didn't hear you mention this when we were at the hot spring hotel."
"Professor Li invited me here, didn't he tell you?" Shen Zhou asked him curiously, "Are the requirements for academic presentations this strict? Why do we have to stay up all night revising the presentation PPT?"
Zhou Jingxing was completely baffled by this; heaven knows why the teacher was suddenly being so strict this time!
Yesterday, Zhou Jingxing only had a brief encounter with Shen Zhou at the hotel reception before Li Weilin kept him occupied, endlessly revising the PowerPoint presentation and communication draft. Given Li Weilin's strictness, anyone who didn't know better would think Zhou Jingxing was going to give a presentation at a UN conference!
Last night, Zhou Jingxing had subtly suggested that they should give themselves and Shen Zhou some time and space, but Li Weilin glared at him, saying, "Why not date at any time? Why now? Instead of tidying up this hot academic garbage, you still have the nerve to think about other things?"
Zhou Jingxing said to Shen Zhou with a bitter face, "Don't even mention it. Teacher Li suddenly got all worked up this time, and he almost killed me. Fortunately, it ended smoothly. I hope he won't come up with any new tricks to mess with me later."
Chen Zhou smiled, "Your teacher-student relationship is really good."
Zhou Jingxing, though outwardly reluctant, said, "It's just a tragic fate."
The two spoke in hushed tones, and after the meeting ended at noon, they went to a restaurant for a buffet together.
Zhou Jingxing and Shen Zhou sat down at a table by the window with their trays. At that moment, Wu Qin saw him in the crowd, waved to him, and ran over.
Wu Qin sat down next to Zhou Jingxing and spoke to him warmly, "Senior Brother Zhou! I listened carefully to your report this morning. You're amazing! How did you handle the repair of that cross-section so well!"
Zhou Jingxing said, "It's all about practice. All the teachers in our museum can do it; it's nothing to mention."
Wu Qin smiled and continued, "You're too modest. And that gourd-shaped bottle, you were able to determine its shape from just a fragment, that's amazing!"
Zhou Jingxing frowned. "Did you not practice your basic skills well in school? Teacher Li has a course called 'Complete Guide to Fragment Restoration,' didn't you learn it?"
Wu Qin's smile froze for a moment. "I have learned, but I can't master it as well as my senior brother."
Seeing Wu Qin's embarrassed expression, Shen Zhou came to her rescue, saying, "How can you master every subject perfectly? Jing Xing, you're being too strict with your junior sister."
But Zhou Jingxing didn't take the easy way out. He said, "You don't know, this course is very basic, she..."
Is this guy really not straight? Helpless, Shen Zhou gently kicked him under the table, and Zhou Jingxing finally behaved, looking at him with a shy yet affectionate gaze.
How did my wife seduce me?
Chen Zhou smiled and said to him, "Jing Xing hasn't introduced me yet. And who is this?"
“Oh, this is my fellow student, Wu Qin.” He paused. “This is Chen Zhou, my, um, friend. He’s a renowned curator, collector, connoisseur, artist, a talented student from the China Academy of Art, a top student from the Royal Academy of Arts, one of the founders of a certain art museum, a professional model, poet, calligrapher, and painter…”
"Stop, stop, stop!" Chen Zhou was stunned and quickly interrupted his introduction, which sounded like he was reciting a list of dishes. "Don't talk nonsense. Are there really that many people at this table?"
Shen Zhou smiled at Wu Qin and said, "Hello, I'm Shen Zhou."
Wu Qin had been secretly observing him. He had delicate features, a radiant yet understated temperament, and two small dimples when he smiled. He looked very elegant and gentle, which made people feel good about him.
"Hello, Teacher Shen." She smiled at Shen Zhouyou. "You've become quite famous in the industry lately. The online exhibition you launched last time was amazing! If I weren't so busy with work lately, I would definitely go see the restored cultural relics exhibition."
Chen Zhou smiled and said, "Welcome! Let me get you some exhibition tickets. We really need experts like you to provide guidance."
Wu Qin's liking for him immediately rose another notch. With such ability and beauty, and yet so humble and approachable, he was truly rare!
After thanking Chen Zhou, she turned to Zhou Jingxing with an expectant look, "Senior brother! Will you be attending the dinner party that Teacher Li is organizing tonight?"
Zhou Jingxing nodded. "Yes, I will go."
Wu Qin blinked, her face full of joy, "That's great! Senior brother hasn't attended any sect gatherings since graduation. We've invited you privately many times, but you've always been too busy. This time we can finally get together again!"
She said excitedly, "Teacher Li said everyone is welcome to bring their families to the dinner tonight. I wonder which classmates will bring their families? Do you remember Senior Sister Wang? I heard she got married and divorced once..."
Wu Qin began reminiscing about the past with great enthusiasm, while Zhou Jingxing grew anxious. Why wasn't she leaving yet? She was disturbing his and his wife's time together!
Finally, Wu Qin's colleague waved to her, and Wu Qin had no choice but to say goodbye to the two of them. Before leaving, she looked at Zhou Jingxing, her shyness and admiration evident in her eyes, "Well then, see you tonight, Senior Brother Zhou, Teacher Shen."
Shen Zhou frowned briefly, then smiled and said goodbye to her.
After everyone left, Zhou Jingxing deliberately acted aggrieved, saying, "I'm injured."
"Um?"
Zhou Jingxing feigned anger, "How can you smile so beautifully at other people? Last time it was Wang Ao, and this time it's Wu Qin. Please stop radiating charm immediately!"
"...Don't go crazy."
"Then don't look at her, okay? Am I not pretty? Look at me."
While verbally replying with "Looks good, looks good," Shen Zhou secretly wondered if this guy was really not straight!
Junior Sister Wu Qin can't even see his obvious one-sided affection, and she's still getting jealous here. It's truly outrageous!
Zhou Jingxing, finally satisfied with his antics, asked Chen Zhou, "How about we go out for dinner tonight?"
Shen Zhou refused without even thinking, "What would I do at your sect's gathering? No way, it would be so weird."
Zhou Jingxing urged, "You must have heard it too, right? The teacher said we can bring family members. Why don't you come with me? Friends are family too, aren't they?"
"Then go find the person in the room next to yours, aren't you two friends too?"
Zhou Jingxing started to whine, "Can he be like you? Besides, everyone else is in pairs, and I'm all alone, how pitiful is that? Just come with me."
"I'm not going."
"Can you bear to see me being mocked by my fellow disciples for being single?"
"I can't bear to go."
Why is my wife like this?
Zhou Jingxing sighed, "If you're not going, then I'm not going either. Anyway, I'll just be eating dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection)."
Shen Zhou looked up at what was behind Zhou Jingxing, then suddenly stood up and said, "Teacher Li."
Zhou Jingxing pouted, "You acted quite well. You don't need to use this to distract me. The teacher is discussing the agenda with the conference organizers right now." He suddenly felt a surge of malice and blurted out, "It's all the teacher's fault. If he hadn't arranged this dinner, I wouldn't have been rejected by you, and I wouldn't have had the chance to be ridiculed by my fellow students."
Li Weilin sat down next to Zhou Jingxing with a tray in his hand. He slapped Zhou Jingxing on the head and said, "You're incompetent, and you have the nerve to blame me when you can't even get her?"
Zhou Jingxing turned around and immediately slid to his knees, saying, "Teacher, I'm sorry, teacher, I was wrong."
Li Weilin warned Zhou Jingxing, "You have to come tonight, or I'll break your legs." He picked up his soup to moisten his throat and said to Shen Zhou, "You come too, I'll introduce you to two people tonight."
Shen Zhou obediently replied, "Okay, thank you, Teacher Li."
Zhou Jingxing's eyes lit up. It has to be my teacher!
In terms of loyalty and righteousness.
When they arrived at the private room for the dinner party that evening, Zhou Jingxing first looked around for Chen Zhou's figure.
He didn't come.
"Zhou Jingxing!"
"Oh, Junior Brother Zhou is here."
"Senior Brother Zhou! It's me!"
The private room was bustling with activity as Zhou Jingxing greeted his fellow disciples one by one. At this moment, a lively and cheerful senior female disciple walked over, leaned closer to examine him closely, and said, "Junior Brother Zhou is still so handsome! Great, keep it up! Don't end up like those ordinary men who gain weight as soon as they start working. With your physique, as long as you manage your figure and protect your hairline, you'll be a Ferrari even when you're old!"
A protest came from the side, "Wang Qian, you're being so unfair! Why are we just ordinary men? I don't accept this!"
"That's right, that's right, I'm known as the most beautiful girl in my workplace!"
Senior Sister Wang laughed and scolded, "If there's no mirror at home, does peeing also look matte? Aren't you ashamed to say that?"
After a while of laughter and merriment, two or three more people arrived, but Li Weilin and Shen Zhou still did not appear.
Zhou Jingxing looked down and texted Chen Zhou to ask where he was. Wu Qin noticed that no one was around him, so she walked over.
"Senior Brother Zhou, are you free right now?"
Zhou Jingxing stared at the chat window with Shen Zhou without even turning his head. "Hmm?"
Wu Qin mustered her courage and said to him, "I have something I want to tell Senior Brother Zhou."
Zhou Jingxing replied absentmindedly, "Hmm, you go ahead."
Wu Qin's face turned slightly red. "It's a bit noisy in the private room. Could you come outside with me to talk?"
Just then, Zhou Jingxing saw the message from Chen Zhou saying that he was already in the elevator. He thought it would be perfect to go out and pick up Chen Zhou now, so he got up and walked out. Wu Qin looked shy and followed him out.
After walking a few steps out of the private room, Zhou Jingxing, who was preoccupied with the sinking of the boat, was stopped by Wu Qin.
"Senior Brother Zhou!"
Zhou Jingxing turned around and was somewhat surprised to see her. "You're out too? What's up?"
Wu Qin approached him, shy yet brave. Looking into Zhou Jingxing's eyes, she said, "Senior Brother Zhou, I... I like you. Would you like to date me?"
Around the corner, Chen Zhou was rushing over. He heard Wu Qin, the girl he had just met at noon, say, "I liked you when we were in school, but you were focused on your studies back then. I've never forgotten you since graduation! If you don't have a boyfriend yet, could you consider me? Senior Zhou, I really like you."
Chen Zhou stopped in his tracks, wondering how Zhou Jingxing would answer her.
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