Noon.
Inside a private room at a mid-range restaurant.
Dong Xuebin called Old Qian, the deputy director of the Sixth Division, out for lunch. Over the meal, Old Qian was deeply uneasy and kept pressing Dong Xuebin, asking whether the National Museum theft had anything to do with him. Sesshu's Splashed Ink Landscape had ended up in the Republic? And was even being exhibited at the museum? It was undeniably satisfying, but the repercussions were far too serious. The matter was growing bigger and bigger; Japan had lodged repeated protests, and it had already caused an international dispute. Newspapers and media outlets were all covering it. If the truth came out, Old Qian was afraid he would be branded an accomplice. After all, he had handled Dong Xuebin's plane ticket.
Dong Xuebin flatly denied it and made up a lie, saying he had only gone to Japan to find someone.
Old Qian seemed to believe him in the end and did not ask any more.
After lunch, Dong Xuebin felt that he really had put Old Qian in a difficult position this time and was a little embarrassed about it. He took three cartons of Chunghwa Cigarettes from his trunk and stuffed them into Old Qian's hands. Old Qian refused no matter what and even put on a stern face. In the end, Dong Xuebin finally managed to give him the cigarettes. They had been given to him by someone else during the New Year and had been sitting in his car as spares. That was how personal relationships worked in China—gifts were exchanged in return, and it helped strengthen bonds. It was not necessarily about how expensive the gift was.
Before leaving, Old Qian told him that Xu Yan had taken the day off today and seemed to be