After looking up and meeting Rong Mo’s gaze for a moment, Cen Sui stood up.
She stood on the stone outcrop, her line of sight exactly level with Rong Mo’s. Looking at him, she said, “I thought you had abandoned the shop and run off.”
After speaking, she asked again, “How did the appraisal of my item go?”
Rong Mo did not answer. He simply said, “We’ll talk inside.”
He then took out the key to unlock the door and led Cen Sui into the shop.
Once inside, he showed no intention of doing business. He went straight into the back room and called to Cen Sui, “Come in.”
Cen Sui followed him into the back room and sat down on a simply designed solid-wood sofa. She watched him fill the kettle with water to boil it, then watched as he lit a censer of incense.
When the hot water was ready, he returned to the sofa and sat down, beginning to warm the teaware and brew the tea.
Cen Sui had originally wanted to speak, but when she saw this series of movements, smooth and fluid like drifting clouds and flowing water, rich with a certain poetic charm, she did not have the heart to interrupt. She was afraid that opening her mouth would ruin the atmosphere.
Rong Mo rinsed the tea leaves several times with hot water and poured them into a purple clay sharing pot.
After that, he lifted the sharing pot and poured the tea into small, white, translucent cups. Then, using bamboo tongs, he picked up a cup and placed it before Cen Sui. Looking at her, he said, “Have some tea.”
Cen Sui pressed her lips together lightly. As she accepted the cup, she said, “You really live in refined style.”
Rong Mo smiled. “You count as an honored guest, so of course I cannot treat you lightly.”
Cen Sui slowly drank the tea inside the cup, but she could not tell whether it was good or bad.
She set the cup down and still asked the same question. “That item of mine, how did the appraisal go?”
Rong Mo tasted half a cup of tea, set it down, and said in an even tone, “I also participated in the appraisal work, which is why I have not come to the shop these past few days. Over the last two days, we have gone through many ancient records and also tested the material. The porcelain fragment completely matches the characteristics described in the ancient texts, and the tested date indeed falls within the Later Zhou period of the Five Dynasties.”
Cen Sui’s eyes brightened. “Then it is confirmed to be Chai ware?”
Rong Mo shook his head. “We still cannot draw a conclusion. At present, we are in negotiations with Japan, planning to go there to see the Blue Lily Vase they have. Also, the fact that this porcelain fragment has no provenance is another issue.”
The light in Cen Sui’s eyes dimmed again. She asked Rong Mo, “What is the background of Japan’s Lily Vase?”
Rong Mo looked at her and said, “Their curator said that according to the records, roughly six hundred years ago, which would be during the Ming Dynasty, an emperor presented that vase to the Japanese shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu as a return gift. After that, it was passed down through generations of the Kōboku clan.”
Cen Sui nodded and thought for a moment. “When I came, I took a look at the stall on the way. The stall owner still hasn’t shown up.”
Rong Mo, however, remained unhurried. “There is no need to rush. He still needs to set up his stall to make a living. He will have to show up eventually.”
Cen Sui nodded again. “Then we will wait a bit longer.”
Seeing that she had relaxed, Rong Mo asked, “Feeling reassured now?”
Cen Sui hesitated for a moment before replying in a small voice, “You people in this line of work have too many swindlers. My reaction is normal. And you, a shop owner, can actually go several days without opening your doors. Aren’t you afraid you will have nothing to eat?”
Rong Mo smiled. “You must have heard the saying: three years without business, one sale feeds you for three years.”
Cen Sui looked at him and thought it over. It did seem true. An antique shop was not a store selling inexpensive handicrafts; it was not as though things could be sold casually. Even when the shop was open, hardly anyone came by to browse.
After this conversation, she finally felt at ease.
Rong Mo refilled her teacup, set down the sharing pot, and looked at her. After a moment, he asked, “Do you want to talk about anything else?”
Cen Sui was slightly taken aback by his question, feeling inexplicably a little embarrassed.
And being looked at like that by him made her feel uneasy. It was as though when he looked at her, he was examining her the same way he examined antiques.
That feeling of being seen through was not comfortable at all.
With nothing to say, Cen Sui forced out a question. “How old are you?”
This time it was Rong Mo’s turn to be startled, though only for a moment. He then answered calmly, “Twenty-six by full age. Graduated four years ago, have run this antique shop for four years. I should be quite a bit older than you.”
Cen Sui slowly nodded. He was five years older than her current age.
But that previous life of hers hardly counted as living more years. In any case, she had gone through the plot with her spiritual consciousness incomplete.
For her personal growth, she had gained nothing at all. It was basically no different from having lived a lifetime in vain.
Cen Sui had only asked casually because she had nothing else to say, and after asking, she once again had nothing to follow up with.
She covertly glanced around the room, taking in the atmosphere of the shop, before speaking again. “I want to read here for a while.”
Rong Mo was curious. “Read?”
Cen Sui made a sound of acknowledgment, then pulled two books and some review materials out of her bag.
Seeing that she had actually taken out books, Rong Mo could only ask, “Then should I leave this space for you?”
Cen Sui did not bother with politeness. “If that’s possible, thank you.”
Rong Mo said nothing more. He left the back room for Cen Sui and got up to return to the front area of the shop.
Cen Sui simply felt that the environment here was good and wanted to try whether she could truly calm herself enough to study.
After Rong Mo left, she opened her books. With the mellow fragrance of tea on the table and the faint threads of sandalwood drifting from the censer, she was surprised by how easily she became absorbed in the reading, without the slightest hint of restlessness.
Rong Mo did not disturb her. He tidied up the front room and carefully wiped the antiques on the shelves.
For the remaining half of the afternoon, no one came in. The shop remained wrapped in the quiet and distant tranquility peculiar to a spring afternoon. If one did not look outside, it almost felt like retreating from the world into some ancient immortal realm.
It was within this illusion that Cen Sui earnestly read for half a day.
It was only when dusk deepened into darkness and Rong Mo came to call her that she slowly withdrew her mind from the books.
Rong Mo asked her, “Let me treat you to dinner?”
Cen Sui blinked blankly once, then closed her book. “Sure.”
Rong Mo asked what she wanted to eat. She said she wanted something spicy, so he drove her to a Hunan restaurant.
After they sat down and ordered, Cen Sui took a sip of the barley tea in her cup.
Moistening her throat, she sat across the table and stared at Rong Mo for a while.
Even being stared at for so long, Rong Mo did not feel uneasy. He remained calm and composed as always, though he still asked, “What are you looking at?”
Cen Sui thought for a moment and asked him, “Do you have a girlfriend?”
Rong Mo, hearing this, still remained completely calm. He answered, “Not at the moment.”
A faint light flashed in Cen Sui’s eyes. She immediately followed up, “Then can I work at your shop?”
Rong Mo: “???”
This girl’s train of thought was anything but ordinary.
And with the brand-name outfit she was wearing, she wanted to work at his little shop?
Seeing that Rong Mo said nothing, Cen Sui hurriedly grabbed her bag, lowered her head, and rummaged inside. She then took out a small sheepskin wallet, pulled out two cards from it, and placed both in front of Rong Mo. Looking at him, she said, “This is my student ID and my identification card.”
Rong Mo accepted her student ID and ID card to take a look.
He did not suspect her of having any bad intentions, but he was curious. After looking, he returned them and asked, “Why?”
Cen Sui put away her cards and said, “I can’t concentrate in the school library or study rooms, but at your shop I can. So I want to go there to review and prepare for my graduate school entrance exam.”
Rong Mo laughed. “So it’s not about working?”
Cen Sui shook her head, then nodded. “It is working. Aren’t you preparing to go to Japan? Then your shop will definitely be unattended. I can watch it for you. You can trust my ability to appraise antiques. There is absolutely no problem.”
Hearing this, Rong Mo’s attention shifted slightly. He suddenly asked, “Is antique appraisal something passed down in your family?”
Cen Sui did not think much of the question and shook her head immediately. “No. My family runs a gold and jewelry shop.”
This only confused Rong Mo further. He looked at her. “You are only twenty-one, and your major in university is finance. How can you know how to appraise antiques?”
Cen Sui froze for a moment at his question, then brushed it off. “You wouldn’t understand. It is a talent.”
Rong Mo still wanted to ask more, but before he could open his mouth, Cen Sui spoke quickly to cut off his questions. “Just tell me whether I can work at your shop or not. I don’t need a base salary. I will pay for my own food and drinks. I will only take a small commission when something is sold. You decide how much the commission is. How about it?”
Seeing that she clearly did not want to elaborate, Rong Mo did not press the matter further.
He let out a small breath, lifted the cup in front of him and took a sip of barley tea. Setting the cup down, he said, “Then come over.”
Hearing this, Cen Sui was satisfied. She clasped her hands together and immediately smiled, flattering him as she said, “Thank you, boss. I will treat you to this meal.”
Rong Mo looked at her, his tone calm yet leaving no room for argument. “I said I am treating, so I am treating.”
Since she had already called him boss, she might as well listen to him.
Cen Sui did not argue with him any further and let him pay for the meal.
By the time they finished eating, night had fully fallen. Rong Mo drove Cen Sui back to her university.
She got out of the car at the school gate, said goodbye to Rong Mo, and only after watching his car merge onto the road did she turn and enter the campus.
*
The small villa on the outskirts of the city.
Chen Yu sat on the sofa, watching as Wang Jie and Zhao Zicheng huddled together over a phone, whispering to each other.
After observing them for a while, he finally spoke in a low, steady voice. “What is that?”
Hearing him speak, Zhao Zicheng hurriedly turned off the screen of his phone and said in an obviously evasive tone, “Nothing.”