You promised me something sweet, you would give me something sweet...
There were still two days before leaving for the capital, and Cheng Sizhou had some free time, so he looked over the photos Xu Yang had sent him over and over again.
Gu Yanxun is worthy of being the gold medal tour guide of the Lantern Festival. His comprehensive qualities are excellent. He wrote seven or eight pages in both Chinese and English with neat and powerful handwriting. In an era when typing has basically replaced handwriting, his handwriting is still pleasing to the eye.
"Gu..." There was a "Gu" in the header of the first page. Cheng Sizhou thought for a moment and sent a message to Xu Yang, "Yangyang, there are two things I don't understand. First, why are you so sure these are Gu Yanxun's notes? Second, what kind of exhibition would bring together all those bizarre items from the Lantern Festival?"
Xu Yang was probably busy, and replied after a while: "The 'Gu' on the first page of the notebook should be a surname. When I was cleaning, I passed by Sister Yang's workstation. She had posted the department address book, which hadn't been changed in years. There was a name on it that had been crossed out with black pen. I could vaguely see it was Gu Yanxun. Besides, there was no other person with the surname Gu in the address book."
"He resigned from Dengbo six years ago, so that's fitting."
"As for the second question, I also find it strange. Those bizarre and inconclusive artifacts are generally not put on display. Even if they are, the tour guides will selectively skip them."
Yes, if even the experts can’t say for sure, the tour guide will know even less.
So why did Gu Yanxun record these?
"Unless..." Xu Yang continued typing, "someone asks."
Cheng Sizhou knows that as a guide, he occasionally encounters curious visitors. For example, someone might see an ancient coin and insist on asking how much it's worth in RMB. But since ancient coins are classified as cultural relics and no longer circulate, how can they be linked to the real monetary system and purchasing power?
"Isn't it usually just a matter of muddling through?"
"It's not fashionable to fool around these days."
"So what's popular?"
"Popular sincerity, if you don't know, you don't know."
Well, sincerity is always the best way.
Cheng Sizhou recalled visiting the exhibition with Wen Zichuan. He couldn't explain the strange-looking porcelain gui, but he managed to get away with it.
Who made Zichuan a little fool? He would believe anything you said.
Wait...! A porcelain gui?
Isn’t the six-eared porcelain gui the most bizarre and strange artifact in the Lantern Museum?
As expected, Gu Yanxun also recorded it. In his notes, he said that the porcelain gui had a unique shape and was most likely a ritual vessel, but there were no high-standard imperial or royal tombs in the unearthed area, so it might be a gift, that is, a gift from the emperor to the tomb owner.
However, the above statements are all his speculations, which are not logically rigorous and have no supporting evidence. It seems like a bluff.
If others were to read the Chinese version, they would skip the English version because they mean the same thing anyway.
Cheng Sizhou is used to splicing cultural relics. Even if the patterns look similar, there will be slight differences, and these differences are often the key to splicing.
He shifted his gaze and read the English translation line by line, and unexpectedly found a sentence "Is it real or fake" between the lines.
Fake?
How could the cultural relics that the master personally participated in restoring be fake?
Cheng Sizhou suddenly understood that if he had the same question, Gu Yanxun must have had the same question six years ago.
As soon as he saw me, he asked about Mr. Jiang. Does this mean that he had a good relationship with Mr. Jiang back then, or that he had also asked him about the authenticity of the porcelain gui?
The Lantern Festival's most valuable treasure is a fake?
Compared to the beginning, he just wanted to find out what favor Gu Yanxun owed Mr. Jiang, and whether he could use this to help Mr. An Jie, a top voice actor in the dubbing circle, to help Wen Zichuan. But now, the authenticity of the porcelain gui made him more concerned.
But he didn't dare to ask his master.
Otherwise, I should wait until I come back from my business trip and find a chance to ask Gu Yanxun.
Just as I was thinking about it, I heard the sound of a key entering the lock outside the door.
He got off work early today, bought some vegetables and cooked some food, which he kept warm on the stove. He endured the hunger and wanted to wait for Zichuan to come back before eating together.
He saw the note and felt that his hesitant attitude was indeed hurtful, so he prepared two dishes to apologize to the little foodie and make things clear at the same time.
"Zichuan!"
Wen Zichuan's steps were unsteady as he stumbled inside. He first bumped into the shoe rack. If Cheng Sizhou hadn't been quick to rescue him, he would have bumped into the corner of the table.
The smell of alcohol wafted into his nose, and Cheng Sizhou pulled him to the sofa. "How much did you drink?"
"Not much," Wen Zichuan said to him incoherently, "five cans of beer and four ounces of white wine..."
"Why are you suddenly drinking?" Cheng Sizhou knew that he could drink quite a bit, but he had a bad stomach, so how could he drink freely?
Wen Zichuan closed his eyes and leaned back: "I met Xu Jiaxuan, and I'm celebrating his birthday."
Cheng Sizhou said "Oh" expressionlessly and poured him a glass of water. He worked hard to cook for him at home, but he didn't come back to eat. Instead, he went to celebrate the birthday of that brat?
"He said his mother had mental... schizophrenia... and broke his phone. He stole the money to buy a new phone... a new phone, so he could earn some... living expenses..." Wen Zichuan's eyes moistened, and he hugged himself, "How pitiful... He and I both have no father, and we still have to take care of our mother. No one cares, no one cares..."
Cheng Sizhou looked at his flushed face and aggrieved look, and softened his tone as he spoke: "Don't say that again. Brother Zhou will take care of you and cares about you very much. Be good."
Wen Zichuan's fragile stomach was burning with alcohol. He twisted and turned, pulling out seventeen hundred-yuan bills from his back pocket one after another, and pushed them towards Cheng Sizhou: "Here I give them back to you."
Another seventeen hundred dollars.
Given the situation of the Xu family, Cheng Sizhou never thought that he could get the money back, but he couldn't let Zichuan suffer in silence, so he used his own money to fill the hole afterwards.
Who would have thought that Xu Jiaxuan would have a change of heart and really give him the chance to return the money.
"I don't want it. I'll give it to you." Cheng Sizhou folded the sheets for him one by one.
"Give it to me? Why would you give it to me? Why would you give it to me?!" Wen Zichuan almost cried, "You're always like this, thousands, tens of thousands, you just give them away without any hesitation... You can easily come up with so much, I've tried everything but it's no use! I know you're a good person, you sympathize with me and give me charity, but I don't want your sympathy or charity, nor do I want your money...!"
It turns out it’s more than 1,700 yuan, there’s also the 50,000 yuan registration fee.
Cheng Sizhou frowned and smiled bitterly. It was not something he could take out easily. Fifty thousand yuan was a lot, right?
Although they shared a house and never cared about who spent more and who spent less, the daily expenses were not large, so Zichuan didn't mind too much.
This time I helped him pay 50,000 yuan. He was anxious to sign up for the class and couldn't refuse, but his self-esteem was hurt.
Cheng Sizhou pulled the man into his arms and patted him on the back gently: "I'll consider it a loan from you, including the principal and interest, okay?"
Wen Zichuan's tears fell immediately, but he held his throat to prevent the sobs from leaking out.
"Brother Zhou, I feel bad."
"Where does it hurt?"
Wen Zichuan pushed him away, clenched his fists and pressed them against his abdomen. He quickly ran into the bathroom and locked the door.
"Zichuan, open the door! Can you open the door?" Cheng Sizhou was blocked outside the door and could hear nothing except the sound of water.
Ever since Zichuan moved in, he has always paid attention to his diet, and his stomach problems have almost never recurred.
But seeing the situation today, Cheng Sizhou felt particularly bad and didn't care about privacy anymore. He immediately took out the spare key from the drawer and forced the door open!
"Zichuan——!"
In the narrow bathroom, Wen Zichuan curled up by the glass door of the shower room, pressing his abdomen hard, his face pale and bloodless.
Cheng Sizhou carried him back to the room, quickly took off his coat and shoes, and stuffed him into the quilt.
"Why would someone with stomach problems drink alcohol? What on earth are you..." She wanted to yell at him, but she felt sorry for him, so at the end of her accusation, she turned into a feeling of reluctance. "I still have stomach medicine, and hot water is ready. Just lie down and don't move. I'll get it for you."
"Brother Zhou, I'm hot..." Wen Zichuan took out his arm and kicked the quilt restlessly.
"Don't move." Cheng Sizhou restrained his inappropriate thoughts, walked out of the bedroom quickly, added warm water, and made some powder. Seeing that it tasted bad, he also gave him a piece of chocolate.
"Take the medicine."
He took the capsules obediently, but refused to drink the granules. Wen Zichuan turned his face away and said, "No, it's too bitter."
Cheng Sizhou smoothed his messy hair and said, "Drink it. Finish it in one gulp and I'll give you a sweet one."
His eyes were too deceptive, or maybe Wen Zichuan had no resistance to him, so he half-heartedly took the cup from his hand and drank it all in one gulp.
After drinking, he didn't say anything, just pursed his lips in grievance.
Cheng Sizhou knew that he was waiting for the "sweet one".
"Hmm...!" Wen Zichuan's pupils dilated slightly. He thought he would get a piece of candy, but unexpectedly, it was not candy, but a kiss.
Cheng Sizhou kissed him gently, gently, and his soft tongue licked the medicine stains on his lips clean.
All the tangled, tossing and wandering thoughts vanished in an instant. Wen Zichuan felt as if his whole body became light. He closed his eyes, and the boundless darkness seemed to be swallowed up by a golden crow. The dazzling white light strung together the floating points of memory, making him sink deeper and deeper into the abyss of affection and love.
"Brother Zhou..." The kiss was gentle and long. Wen Zichuan stretched out his arms and climbed onto his neck.
Cheng Sizhou put down the cup, lifted his waist, and deepened the kiss again.
The night outside the window is as thick as ink, with no moon or stars. The air is filled with the smell of grass before the rain. The rain that has been suppressed for a long time is waiting for an earth-shaking eruption and release.
The alcohol and drugs took effect. Wen Zichuan felt dizzy from the kiss and his stomach didn't hurt as much anymore.
"If I didn't see you feeling uncomfortable, I would never let you go today." Cheng Sizhou hugged him and lay in the bed. His arrogant words were sweeter than chocolate.
"Isn't it good to take advantage of someone's misfortune?" Wen Zichuan closed his eyes, and because of the heat, he reached out and ripped open a part of his collar, "I couldn't ask for more."
"You..." Young Master Cheng is upright and would not take advantage of others in distress.
"Brother Zhou, I'm really poor," Wen Zichuan laughed and then started crying, "But I also... love you so much... I can't even pay back the principal and interest. Can I... use my own money... to pay it back..."
Cheng Sizhou laughed when he heard it. You little fool, what are you thinking about all day long?
He tightened his arms around him and kissed his forehead: "I approve your loan. It will take 30 years. As long as you stay by my side, you can pay it back."
Wen Zichuan was about to fall asleep: "Thirty years, what if I can't live that long...?"
Cheng Sizhou looked at his dazed appearance and sighed, "I will live as long as you do."
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