antique on the run

In Paris in July, the sun is so bright that it is dazzling.

Sai Wei leaned in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling glass at the airport, with the endless blue sky, white clouds and green lawn behind him.

There are several large planes parked on the runway in the distance, and the fuselage reflects a dazzling metallic luster in the sun, like a gorgeous oil painting.

Air France flight AF247 from Beijing, China, finally landed safely after a four-hour delay. There was a lot of noise for a while, and there were people everywhere who came to pick up the plane with their name cards, and looked around the exit passage layer by layer.

Soon the passage gate was opened, and passengers continued to come out of it. Most of them were tourists visiting Paris, carrying large and small bags, dressed casually and casually.Among them were a few young men in shirts and ties with briefcases in a hurry, but...

The curator's love-hate look when he talked about Qi Xiao appeared in Sewei's mind.

"He is an extremely outstanding oriental man, regardless of appearance or talent. He is a genius expert in hunting antiques, and is a magnificent treasure in the Forbidden City! It's a pity that he is too principled, otherwise I would have dug him into the Louvre Yes, my salary is definitely higher than that of Joseph Lee!"

Joseph Li is the foreign-style English name of the director of the Palace Museum of China.

Sewei smiled and shook his head. If Dean Li heard this, he might fly to Paris to fight with the curator——

I kindly send someone to help, I won't take you to poach someone like this!

But to be described by the curator as a "magnificent treasure of the Forbidden City", that young man named Qi Xiao shouldn't look so ordinary.

Another young couple came out arm in arm, smiling all over their faces, and ran quickly to the pre-booked tour group.

Saiwei looked back slowly, but inadvertently caught a glimpse of the young man following the couple.

Suddenly his eyes lit up.

It was an extremely handsome oriental man with black hair and black pupils, and a tall figure.He has delicate skin and delicate facial features, with picturesque eyebrows and eyes, which reminded Sai Wei of those pictures of ancient Chinese ladies in the Louvre.

He was wearing a slim black shirt, the cuffs rolled up to the elbows, and the hems were carefully pressed.As he approached, the silver coiled dragon pattern embroidered on his shoulders gradually became clear, and it shimmered and flowed in the sunlight, lifelike.

What a beauty.

Saiwei felt that he could probably understand where the curator's evaluation came from.

The beauty was holding a mobile phone and was making a call, and the other end of the phone was none other than their dean.

Qi Xiao originally just sent a text message to the dean to report his safety after getting off the plane, but the old dean actually called him directly, completely ignoring the high roaming charges across the ocean.

"It's really shameful that it's been delayed for so long!" Although it's time to go to bed in Beijing, the voice of the old dean still sounded full of anger, "The Louvre said to send someone to pick it up, have you seen it?" ?”

Qi Xiao replied: "No, I just got my luggage and am about to leave the customs."

"Get out of customs..." The other side was silent for a while, and the old headmaster suddenly said: "Boy Qi, remember to dress handsomely later!"

Qi Xiao paused, "Why do you say that?"

The old dean grumbled dissatisfiedly: "I asked who the person who came to pick you up from the Louvre was. I heard it was called Saiwei, and I asked what that person looked like..." There was a faint grinding of teeth from the receiver, " That old fellow Derrick said that the most handsome French guy in the whole airport is Sai Wei."

Derrick Formont is the current curator of the Louvre Museum, a tall, thin old man with a white beard and curly hair.He usually likes to wear a pair of brown presbyopic glasses. He looks like a very friendly person, but for some reason, every time he encounters the old dean, he will argue with him.

It used to be compared to the collection, but this time it was better, and it was changed to subordinates.

The old dean on the other end of the phone continued to grind his teeth: "You old guy who doesn't know much, really thinks there are handsome guys in France? Kid Qi, take care of yourself later, and you can't lose to that Frenchman!"

After a pause, he said again: "But don't be too hard on yourself, your usual appearance is pretty good."

As the recognized facade of the Palace Museum, the old director is still very confident in Qi Xiao's appearance.

Qi Xiao said helplessly: "You didn't send me here to participate in the draft, but to argue with Director Derrick about these things."

Unexpectedly, the old dean said seriously: "You can't talk like that. That old guy likes to argue with me about everything. If it weren't for the Louvre Museum's century celebration exhibition, it would be coming soon. He can't explain to the public when the antiques are lost." , do you think he can be ashamed to talk to me like this?"

As he spoke, he became smug again: "It's so satisfying to see him slumped once! I've already told him that it's fine for you to help him find antiques, but he has to give up the white-glazed carved gourd vase of Ding Kiln in the Northern Song Dynasty. Give me."

The white-glazed engraved gourd vase he was talking about is one of the collections of the Louvre Museum. The body of the bottle is clear, pure and flawless.The dean has been watching it for a long time, but curator Derrick has been biting him to death and refused to give it up to the Forbidden City, which really made the dean miss it for a long time.

But this is good, he finally got the chance to ask for the bottle.

"How do you young people say that... slap in the face? Yes, slap in the face! Kid Qi, relying on you this time, I'll have to slap Derrick's old face once!"

The old dean's tone was firm, as if he was determined to win the white glaze engraved gourd vase.

Qi Xiao laughed and said, "I'm afraid Curator Derrick won't like it if you take advantage of the fire to rob me like this."

The old dean didn't take it seriously: "He's not happy? I'm not happy! I'm a good person in the Forbidden City, why should I go to France to work for him in the hot weather? He wants something from me, so why don't I charge some interest? ?”

As he said that, he laughed cheerfully again: "Before when he borrowed someone from me, he called you by name. I said that Qi Xiao couldn't go if he had something to do, so he should change someone else. As a result, the old guy was not happy for a long time, and threatened to say If it wasn’t for you, the gourd bottle would be gone, and I can only give a finger to Xiaoyu in the late Qing Dynasty. Hey, what are those things? After the work visa was sent over, the gourd bottle was exchanged....Hey, it doesn’t matter about the Henan Museum, right?”

Qi Xiao was in Zhengzhou, Henan Province for the past two days to help the Henan Provincial Museum hunt down antiques, but before the matter was finished, there was a problem with the Louvre.

Originally, the old dean thought that Qi Xiao was a principled person, and he would definitely not leave the unfinished work at hand to take on new ones. He was afraid that he would miss that white-glazed carved gourd bottle again. Knowing that Qi Xiao was uncharacteristic this time, he hurried back to Beijing the day after receiving the news, and then flew to Paris immediately.

Sure enough, it's because the reputation of the Louvre Museum is higher than that of a provincial museum?

It shouldn't be, Qi Xiao is not such a superficial person...

The old dean couldn't figure out the reason, and he didn't bother to think about it, as long as he knew that Qi Xiao's trip to the Louvre would exchange him for his most beloved gourd bottle, that was enough.

"Don't worry, there is only the last set of Ming Dynasty blue and white tea set left in Henan. It is not difficult to recover. I have asked Xiao Zhou to go for me."

Qi Xiao on the other end said without haste, but when he said this, although his tone sounded the same as before, his eyes were dark.

He is indeed not the kind of person who would leave the unfinished work at hand to others and then turn around to pick up a new commission. The reason why he did this this time is of course not because the Louvre is more famous, but because of a A mail from France.

This email arrived at his mailbox on the night when the old dean contacted him. Qi Xiao didn't mention it to anyone, but arranged for someone to go to Henan Museum to replace him early the next morning, while he took the email as quickly as possible. On the plane back to Beijing, and then immediately rushed to Paris.

The email is very short, only a few lines——

"Dear Qi Xiao:

So glad we finally got to meet.

I am waiting for you in Paris.

To come. "

The sending address of the mail is encrypted and cannot be seen, what really makes Qi Xiao care about is the sender of the mail.

From: Silver Sparrow

The man who swept the world of antique hunting two years ago, but disappeared overnight.

"Hey, Qi Xiao? Qi Xiao, are you listening? Hey!!"

The old dean on the phone called for a long time but couldn't hear Qi Xiao's reply, so he yelled loudly.

Qi Xiao came back to his senses and quickly replied "I'm here", and then heard the old dean say: "That's enough, let's not talk about this, where are you? Derrick said that the ancestor who came to pick up the plane was a French nobleman , he is also a viscount or an earl, 1.9 meters tall, with yellow hair and blue eyes, he is quite handsome and has a good temperament..."

Qi Xiao didn't hear the following words clearly, because the radio happened to be broadcasting flight-related information.

By the time he answered the phone, he had already reached the end of the aisle, and in front of him was a crowd of people waiting for the airport.Qi Xiao frowned, stepped aside, and just as he stood firm, he saw a blond Frenchman walking towards him with a smile, pushing aside the flow of people.

The man had pale golden shoulder-length curly hair, which was very conspicuous in the crowd. Perhaps because it was too hot in summer, he casually tied it into a small pull at the back of his head.He wears a delicate silver watch on his wrist, low-key yet luxurious, and a sapphire earring on the right earlobe, which is exactly the same color as his pupil.

Qi Xiao looked him over from head to toe, and said to the other end of the phone: "Dean, I probably saw the person you mentioned."

The old dean gave a few more nagging instructions, and finally hung up the phone.

Sai Wei just stood in front of Qi Xiao.

The sun illuminated his blond hair and half of his face, casting deep shadows on the brow bone and the bridge of the nose. With the most iconic French smile on his face, he stretched out his hand to Qi Xiao.

"Is that Qi Xiao? Hello, I'm Saiwei."

He used a declarative tone, as if he wasn't worried about identifying the wrong person at all.

Qi Xiao took his hand and left as soon as he touched it, and said politely: "Hello."

Sai Wei took Qi Xiao's suitcase very naturally and pulled it in his hand, he didn't seem to think that such behavior would damage his noble image.He pointed to the "P" sign above his head and said, "I parked the car in the underground parking lot, go this way."

As he spoke, he took the initiative to lead the way, turned his head from time to time, and chatted with Qi Xiao in fluent Chinese.

"Is this your first time in France?"

"Been here before."

"Have you ever been to the Louvre?"

"Ah."

"Are you also helping to hunt down antiques?"

"No, travel."

"..."

Although he bears the title of nobility, Sai Wei's speech and behavior are not aristocratic airs. Not only is his tone friendly, but he is also smiling all the time.

"I heard from the curator that you are a very good expert in hunting antiques. I am very glad to cooperate with you this time. Please give me more advice in the days to come."

……cooperate?

Qi Xiao was taken aback for a moment, and soon remembered that the dean seemed to have mentioned before departure that Director Derrick asked Qi Xiao to bring one of his subordinates with him when he was chasing antiques this time, so that he could observe and learn, but because Qi Xiao Xiao was busy packing his luggage and booking air tickets at that time, so he just passed on after hearing what the old dean said, and didn't take it to heart.

Although the antiquity hunting technology has been dabbled in countries all over the world, only China is the most proficient in using it.And Qi Xiao is the most prestigious antique hunting expert in China, no wonder curator Derrick wants to use his hands to train his own people.

Sure enough, the gourd bottle is not so easy to hold.

Qi Xiao didn't have the concern that others could not learn his own skills, so he nodded and said, "Okay, please teach me more."

During the conversation, the two arrived at the parking lot, and Saiwei drove an off-road vehicle with a flamboyant shape and a unique style. It was very expensive at first glance.

He opened the passenger door for Qi Xiao as a gentleman, and waited for Qi Xiao to get in the car and sat down before going back to the cab to start the car.

"It takes more than an hour to drive from Charles de Gaulle Airport to the Louvre. If you are sleepy, you can sleep for a while." Waiting for the car to pull out of the dark parking lot, Seve said.

He could tell that Qi Xiao hadn't had a good rest in the past few days, and there was a faint bruise in his eyes.Although such a beauty looks more haggard, but considering the huge amount of work that will follow immediately, Saiwei thinks it is better for the beauty to be healthy.

Unexpectedly, Qi Xiao said, "No, thank you."

Although he was indeed exhausted from running around these two days and didn't have a good rest, but in the business of hunting for antiques, it is common for him to turn around day and night when there are urgent tasks, and he is not that delicate.

What's more, instead of sleeping, he now hopes to learn something about the lost antiques of the Louvre from Seville.Before coming here, due to time constraints, the dean did not give him the details. He only knew that the Louvre had lost three important antiques a few days ago. As for what and how they were lost, he was completely unclear.