in love
"Zhou Jingxing, do you want to date me?"
Zhou Jingxing was so happy he almost fainted.
Hearing your confession this morning was like hearing celestial music, instantly clearing my ears.
My God, my mother, my coat, my jacket, my brain has turned into a big date, my lord, don't run away.
The homeless child finally received his confession of love.
Zhou Jingxing jumped up, knelt by the bed, and tightly grasped Chen Zhou's hand, extremely excited: "I do!"
He said excitedly, "How about we hold our wedding on an island? Or do you want something more traditional and go back to your hometown? Oh, and the new house! My current apartment is too small. I'll get a bigger one later, and it also needs to be close to your company. Oh right, meeting the parents! I almost forgot about such an important part. Can you get in touch with your parents? My dad's always in the lab anyway, so we can just casually meet them sometime when you're free. He doesn't need to interfere in my affairs..."
"What kind of wedding? What about the new house? The meeting with the parents can be omitted..."
Zhou Jingxing was so engrossed in his dreamy married life that he seemed oblivious to the world around him. When he heard that Zhou Jingxing was already planning where the two of them would be buried together after their deaths, Chen Zhou finally couldn't take it anymore. He shouted, "Isn't it too early to be discussing epitaphs?! Don't just talk nonsense!"
Zhou Jingxing stopped talking. He looked at Shen Zhou with wet, bright eyes, like a puppy that had just opened its eyes after birth, which made Shen Zhou's heart soften: Was I too loud to him just now?
Zhou Jingxing hugged Chenzhou, his face beaming with happiness. "I'm so happy, Chenzhou. It feels like all my life's wishes have come true. May I kiss you?"
Shen Zhou gently turned his face away with her palm and said without any mercy, "No, you just got up and haven't brushed your teeth yet."
Before Zhou Jingxing could condemn his heartlessness, Chen Zhou smiled and placed a kiss on Zhou Jingxing's cheek. "But I've brushed my teeth, so I can kiss you." He gently traced Zhou Jingxing's chin with his fingers. "Good morning, boyfriend."
Zhou Jingxing happily rushed towards the sunken boat, exclaiming, "Wife, you're the best!"
"Wait! You didn't brush your teeth!"
"Zhou Jingxing, how dare you!"
"Don't bite! Are you a dog? Huh!"
...
By the time Shen Zhou finally managed to deal with the clingy Zhou Jingxing, it was almost noon when the two of them walked out of the room together. Zhou Jingxing was unusually clingy today; he even followed Shen Zhou to get some soup for lunch.
Shen Zhou warned him, "Two men don't need to be glued together all the time. Don't be so lovey-dovey, or I'll really lose my temper."
Zhou Jingxing felt extremely wronged. "How can dating be called being lovey-dovey! Wife, you're too strict with me."
Shen Zhou almost spat out the soup he had just drunk. He looked at Zhou Jingxing with displeasure and said, "What wife? You're not allowed to call me that in public!"
Zhou Jingxing secretly pouted. Fine, if I can't shout it in public, then I'll shout it to my heart's content in private.
Today's meeting schedule is a morning break, followed by a midday trip for all participants to an archaeological site in the eastern suburbs for on-site study and research.
Upon arriving at the archaeological site, Zhou Jingxing followed closely behind Chen Zhou. Li Weilin gave him several meaningful glances, signaling him to come over, but he pretended not to see them.
In the rolling countryside, only this piece of land under our feet has been leveled and cleared. The excavation squares are neatly arranged one after another, and from above, they look like a giant waffle.
The person in charge who led them on the tour of the construction site was named Dai Shu. He was also Li Weilin's student and Zhou Jingxing's senior. After Zhou Jingxing greeted him briefly, he told Chen Zhou, "He's the senior I told you about, the one who worked so hard on Professor Li's project that he almost suffocated himself."
Chen Zhou's heart skipped a beat, and he asked Zhou Jingxing seemingly casually, "Did Senior Brother Dai come to the construction site after graduation? Is he married now?"
Zhou Jingxing looked at Dai Shu, who was explaining to everyone, and whispered to Shen Zhou, "Senior Brother Dai is not married yet. He and Senior Sister Wang Qian were a couple on campus, but when they graduated, Senior Sister's family disliked his poor conditions, so they broke up. Senior Brother Dai was greatly affected, and after graduation, he exiled himself to the archaeological site. He said that it was far away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd, which was the best place for him to recuperate."
After a moment of silence, Chen Zhou asked, "Why didn't he come to your sect's dinner party last night? Is he still upset?"
Zhou Jingxing shook his head, "Then I don't know. He rarely contacted us after graduation. After all, archaeology sometimes doesn't even have a signal in the field, so I don't know what he was thinking."
Shen Zhou didn't ask any more questions. He followed the group, looking around as he went. He would occasionally ask Zhou Jingxing for advice on things he didn't understand, and he was much more attentive than Zhou Jingxing.
Before they knew it, the two of them had trailed at the back of the line. Chen Zhou looked at the bronze artifacts piled up in the exhibition area and asked curiously, "Huh? Did they use these bronze artifacts in this era? I thought they were used a lot only in the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties."
Zhou Jingxing explained to him, "It was used in every dynasty, but later, other more exquisite and widely used cultural relics were unearthed, so the public's attention shifted."
Shen Zhou nodded. "These bronze artifacts come in many shapes and the inscriptions are so difficult to understand that I always forget them as soon as I see them when I go to the museum."
Zhou Jingxing got excited. "I'll teach you. This is a gui, which is used like a large bowl nowadays. I think it looks a bit like the enamel basin my grandma used to hold lard when I was little. Does that make it easier to remember?"
Such a down-to-earth metaphor made Shen Zhou feel that the bronze lump looked much more approachable.
"This is a gu, which is a stemmed wine glass, similar to the red wine glasses we use today. This is a yan, which is divided into several parts. The bottom part is the li, which holds water, and the top part is the zeng, which holds food. Between the zeng and the li, there is a copper plate called bi, which has holes for steam to pass through. So this set is actually a steamer."
Shen Zhou found it interesting and couldn't help but move closer to look at the objects. Zhou Jingxing even pointed out the distinctive patterns to Shen Zhou and explained them to him carefully. Before they knew it, the two of them had separated from the main group.
As the two were engrossed in examining a bronze gu vessel with a taotie pattern, Li Weilin suddenly walked up behind them and said to Zhou Jingxing with a look of disdain, "Alright, stop showing off your mediocre skills. I have something to tell you."
Zhou Jingxing dared not speak out in anger, and pretended to be obedient, asking Li Weilin, "Teacher, what's wrong?"
“Your senior brother Dai just submitted an application to the association, saying that they need an expert in porcelain restoration to assist them in the excavation and scientific research of a batch of porcelain in the short term. After discussing it, we decided to keep you here.”
Huh? How was this decided so quickly? Why wasn't anyone consulted with the parties involved? Is this reasonable?!
Zhou Jingxing tried a roundabout approach: "Senior Brother Dai is a porcelain restoration expert himself, so why would I need to point fingers or add unnecessary details?"
Li Weilin said, "No matter how capable your senior brother Dai is, he can't be used in two. He also has to be responsible for the excavation of bronzes and jades. Don't worry, you can fill in for him for a short period of time. They have already recruited people here, and they will arrive in about a week. Then you can go back."
Zhou Jingxing felt as if he'd been struck by lightning. Not only was he going to spend a week in this desolate wilderness with intermittent signal, but more importantly, he and Shen Zhou had just become engaged, and they were supposed to be newlyweds, all sweet and ready to make their love blossom... No! Now was not the time for a word game!
Breaking up with Shen Zhou? He doesn't want to!
Zhou Jingxing's mind raced, and he found another reason. He hesitated, "But it's my job, the Provincial Museum..."
Li Weilin smiled maliciously, "Don't worry about that. The Museum Association has already spoken with your curator, and the secondment letter will be sent to your unit this afternoon."
Fine, our escape route is blocked too.
Li Weilin also tried to elicit sympathy from Dai Shu, saying, "Your senior brother Dai has it tough. He's practically splitting himself in two, working day and night, non-stop overtime. As his junior, how can you bear not to help him?"
...
Zhou Jingxing said with a blank face, "You've already made your decisions, so why are you discussing it with me?"
Li Weilin smiled and said, "I didn't discuss it with you. I already told you to let me know." He patted Zhou Jingxing on the shoulder. "This is the organization's decision, and there's no arguing with it. Your luggage will be delivered to the hotel tonight. Now you should go and report to your senior brother Dai."
Thus, Zhou Jingxing suffered a crushing defeat in this game. Li Weilin delivered the final blow to Zhou Jingxing, saying to Shen Zhou, "Little Shen, the conference organizing committee's bus is about to leave for the return trip. Come back with me."
Watching Shen Zhou and Li Weilin leave together, Zhou Jingxing felt extremely depressed.
He thought, "Who's going to manage my life? I'll fucking screw it!"
Zhou Jingxing went to report to Dai Shu with a deathly look on his face, and Dai Shu was overjoyed to see him.
"Jingxing, you're so generous! I didn't expect you to actually stay and help me. But our conditions here are tough, so be prepared."
Zhou Jingxing maintained a blank expression throughout, saying, "Haha, I did it voluntarily."
Once he arrived at his workplace, Zhou Jingxing finally understood what "difficult conditions" meant.
Looking at the muddy excavation site, Zhou Jingxing couldn't help but ask, "Wasn't the area we just visited quite clean and tidy? How come this place is such a mess!"
Dai Shu was a little embarrassed. "Of course we have to make it look nicer when people come to visit. We haven't had time to clean up here because it rained last night." As he spoke, he handed a pair of rubber boots to Zhou Jingxing in a fawning manner. "Junior brother, wear these when you go down to the scouts. These are new."
Zhou Jingxing wasn't one to be pretentious; since he was already there, he naturally had to do his job well. He changed into his rubber boots, jumped into the excavation area, and began digging diligently as Dai Shu had instructed.
Around six or seven in the evening, it was already so dark you could barely see your hand in front of your face. The lights on the shelves next to the exploration site were all on. Dai Shu came over and greeted Zhou Jingxing, "Jingxing! It's time to rest. Come up and have dinner. Oh, by the way, the person who brought your luggage is here."
Zhou Jingxing climbed up from the excavation site. After working for several hours, his clothes were covered in mud, and his hands were so dirty it looked like he had just finished cleaning out a latrine. He stretched his stiff neck, feeling so exhausted he almost wanted to hang himself.
Suddenly, Zhou Jingxing looked up and saw a person pushing a suitcase not far away. He immediately abandoned Dai Shu and ran over. Zhou Jingxing heard his own footsteps making a drumbeat, and the next moment he realized it was his heartbeat.
Chen Zhou stood against the light at the entrance of the workers' shed, the lamplight framing him with a golden, warm glow. He smiled at Zhou Jingxing and said, "I've come to keep you company. How about that? Surprised? Unexpected?"
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