"What's wrong?"
"The decoration on the bronze mirror is a typical style of the early Western Han Dynasty, not the Warring States period. You wrote it wrong." After she said this, as if she had exhausted all her courage, she quickly lowered her head, her ears turned red, and she twisted her fingers together, as if she was waiting to be scolded.
Song Yutang smiled, squatted down to look at her level, turned the bronze mirror over, and handed it to her eyes. "Then tell me, how should this pattern be dated?"
Jiang Shiqing was stunned for a moment, probably not expecting the other party to ask further questions.
She was silent for a few seconds, her fingers unconsciously touching the pattern on the edge of the mirror, and finally spoke again, her voice a little louder than before. "The pattern of pattern in the early Western Han Dynasty continued the style of the Warring States Period, but the lines were smoother and the overall layout was more stretched. And there is a circle of inscriptions on the edge of this mirror, which means we will never forget each other, which is a common auspicious saying in the Western Han Dynasty..."
She spoke slowly, as if she was organizing and vomiting, but the light in her eyes was different.
The layer of water mist that had been covered all year round seemed to have been gently pushed aside by something, revealing the clean pupils underneath.
Her lips curled up slightly, almost unnoticeably, but Song Yutang saw it.
Song Yutang did not interrupt her, listened carefully, and then said, "You are right, I remembered it wrong. Can you teach me?"
Jiang Shiqing raised his head to look at her. At that moment, Song Yutang saw something shiny flashing in her eyes.
Although it disappeared quickly, it was indeed the light that belonged to living people apart from fear and fatigue.
From then on, Song Yutang brought several antiques back every now and then, deliberately wrote wrong appraisal notes, and waited for Jiang Shiqing to correct them.
Sometimes she would take the initiative to ask for advice, "Can you understand this inscription?"
"What period does this instrument seem to be from?" Jiang Shiqing's answer gradually became smoother from the initial stumble. Occasionally, he would even take out the book and point to the illustrations for Song Yutang to see, and his voice also changed from a hum to a normal decibel.
Her back also began to straighten a bit, and her shoulders were no longer hunched. It was as if someone had cut a small skylight in her cement wall, letting in light.
On the weekend a month later, Song Yutang tentatively said, "There is a special archaeological exhibition recently, which is a batch of Qin and Han bamboo slips newly unearthed in the northwest. Are you interested?"
Jiang Shiqing sat on the sofa, twisting his clothes with his fingers, and was silent for a long time.
Song Yutang thought she was going to refuse again, and was about to smooth things over by saying it was inconvenient, but Jiang Shiqing nodded lightly.
That was the first time she walked out of the Jiang Family's door.
The lighting in the exhibition hall is soft, and rows of slips are displayed in glass cabinets. The ink marks on the slips are faintly discernible. After two thousand years, they are still dark and calm.
Jiang Shiqing walked to the display cabinet, like a dried fish finally returning to the water, his whole person was completely different.
Her back was straight, her steps were light, and when her eyes fell on the slips, her eyelashes trembled, and her mouth opened and closed slightly, as if she was having a conversation with the people who wrote the slips across time and space.
She bent down to read the explanatory text, the tip of her nose almost touching the glass, and her fingers traced the pattern of the characters in the air, completely forgetting that there was anyone around her.
Song Yutang stood not far behind her, watching her lower her head to read the text on the display board, watching her unconsciously take half a step forward, and watching the corner of her mouth curl into an extremely small, almost invisible arc.
That was the first time she showed a happy expression after returning to China.
Halfway through the tour, Song Yutang took her to sit down in the rest area, handed her a cup of hot cocoa, and said casually, "If you are really interested, you can study systematically. I know your grades are very good. With a little tutoring, you can definitely get into the best school in the country."
Jiang Shiqing held the cup of hot cocoa and rubbed his knuckles on the side of the cup for a long time. "But... my parents want me to study business. They said that someone will take care of the family's property in the future. I can't count on my brother like that..."
Song Yutang did not refute or persuade.
She just nodded and said, "Then think carefully first. Don't be in a hurry."
When she came out of the exhibition hall that day, Jiang Shiqing took the initiative to hold her arm.
Song Yutang looked down at the thin wrist, revealing a faint old scar.
But the hand tightened slightly.
More than a month later, Jiang Shiqing's condition has improved a lot.
She started to be willing to go out with Song Yutang.
I went to the mall and bought some new clothes. Although I still prefer plain colors, I was at least willing to replace the old T-shirt I was wearing that had been washed to white.
The bangs are still very long, but occasionally they are tucked behind the ears, exposing half of an eye. Although the eyes are still timid, they are no longer so evasive.
The glasses still had the same bulky black frames, but she began to care about whether the frames were crooked, and would adjust them twice in the mirror before going out.
Song Yutang decided to take it one step further.
She chose a dinner party that was not too high-profile but had a relatively clean social circle, and attended it with Jiang Shiqing.
The dinner was held in a private club in the west of the city, imitating European-style architecture, with crystal chandeliers shining brightly, and people drinking and drinking among the fragrant clothes and temples.
Jiang Shiqing wore a light pink dress, which she chose herself. Her hair was tied into a rare low ponytail, revealing a slender neck.
Standing next to Song Yutang, although he still has the habit of hunching his shoulders and lowering his head, at least he is not shaking and his palms are no longer cold.
Everything went smoothly for the first half hour. Song Yutang took her to recognize a few people.
Jiang Shiqing lowered their heads to say hello one by one. Although the voice was low, they were able to communicate normally. Occasionally, they could raise their eyes to make eye contact with others.
During the intermission, Song Yutang was pulled over by a familiar chamber of commerce president to chat for a few words, and asked Jiang Shiqing to drink some juice by himself on the edge of the terrace.
It took her only five minutes to turn around, but when she came back she saw something was wrong...