5

Zhou Di desperately wished for a crack in the ground to hide in, feeling deeply embarrassed by his own actions. Unexpectedly, his sneaky little actions had been discovered by the person involved, who confronted him directly. It was evident that Zhou Di was being advised to stop his behavior. Upon reflection, Zhou Di admitted his actions had been indeed a bit excessive, causing people understandably displeased and uncomfortable. He realized that being observed in such a manner would naturally cause discomfort. However, Yang Chen was indeed handsome, who couldn't help but catch his attention. Wait a minute, Zhou Di thought: Would Yang Chen think I'm a pervert? No, he must clarify with Yang Chen about this. Thus, Zhou Di found himself repeatedly thinking about Yang Chen's intentions for coming tonight and his own inappropriate behavior. Finaly he sighed in frustration, feeling utterly speechless.

The next day, when Zhou Di saw Yang Chen lounging on the chair as usual, he summoned his courage and walked up, saying:

"Young Marshal, I'm sorry. I apologize sincerely to you for my behavior. You can rest assured that I will never do this again. Please don't think I'm a pervert. I...I just think that you are handsome."

After saying this, he quickly ran back to his room. 

Yang Chen was momentarily stunned by this words but soon understood the reason why Zhou Di spoke to him. Yang Chen couldn't help but smile, shook his head and continued focusing on the book he was reading. However, somehow his gaze kept drifting towards the window with the drawn curtain. Indeed, the curtain remained tightly closed. Yang Chen wondered: Why does he always keep the curtain closed? So, he stood up, walked to the window and knocked on it. The curtains was lifted. Zhou Di's baby face came into view and the window was opened. Zhou Di inquired:

"Young Marshal, what's going on?"

Yang Chen asked in return:

"Why do you always keep the curtain closed? Don't you feel it stuffy?"

Zhou Di was momentarily stunned and replied:

"The sunlight at noon is too glaring."

Yang Chen remained silent and went back to his own lounge chair. Zhou Di closed the window, focusing on piecing together the similar fragments as per the drawn diagram. After a while, the sound of clinking suddenly came from outside the window. Zhou Di opened the curtain to find Butler Yang standing on a ladder, drilling holes into the wall. So, he opened the window and inquired:

"Uncle Yang, what are you doing?"

Butler Yang explained:

"Didn't you say that the sunlight at noon was too glaring? I'm installing a sunshade for you so you won't have to keep the curtain closed all the time. It is getting hotter day after day."

"Thank you, Uncle Yang."

"Don't mention it. It is my fault. You had never mentioned this before so I neglected it. I should be the one apologizing to you."

Zhou Di asked nervously:

"It's not your fault, Uncle Yang. I'm only staying here for one or two months before leaving. Did Young Marshal mention something to you?"

Butler Yang reassured hime:

"No, he just asked me to take good care of you and ensure you're comfortable."

"Thank you, Uncle Yang."

Zhou Di said with a grateful smile and Butler Yang returned the smile. However, Zhou Di couldn't help but fall into contemplation. He didn't expect Yang Chen to be so attentive to this little "trouble", which made him feel a bit touched. Butler Yang added:

"Oh, one more thing. After dinner, Young Marshal wants you to bring the things you fixed to his office."

Zhou Di responded politely:

"Yes, sir and thank you, Uncle Yang."

"My pleasure, boy. Why are you being so polite with me? If you want to thank me, why don't you come out and help me? Don't always stay inside. Come out and lend a hand to me. Take a break for a moment."

"Ok, I'm coming."

Two of them worked on the sunshade until dinner. What they didn't know was that Yang Chen occasionally watched their busy figures from a window on the second floor. 

When Zhou Di arrived at Yang Chen's office with the repaired porcelain, he found not only Yang Chen but also two other gentlemen inside. Adjutant Yang took the porcelain from Zhou Di and carefully placed it on the tray on the coffee table. Yang Chen then said:

"Mr. Chen, Mr. Guan, please take a look at these porcelain items and give me your comments on them." As Zhou Di prepared to leave, Yang Chen halted his departure, saying, "Wait a moment, Zhou Di."

The two elderly gentlemen picked up the porcelain items and examined them with the magnifying glasses hanging from their chests. After a thorough inspection, one of them remarked:

"Hmm, the repairs are skillfully executed. They could easily deceive people. These items are from the Northern Jin Dynasty, dating back approximately 500 years. Due to constant warfare during the Northern Jin Dynasty, many porcelain kilns were often destroyed at that time, resulting in limited production. However, the porcelain that survived was of superior quality. Not many pieces have survived until now. I've heard that the local Cultural Relice Bureau acquired a few pieces in excellent condition recently, which is quite rare. Although Young Marshal's pieces are damaged, the repairs are commendable. While they may not be as valuable as the ones at the Cultural Relics Bureau, they are worth at least three or four hundred silver yuan. If they were done perfectly, it wouldn't be impossible for them to be worth over five hundred."

The other gentleman inquired:

"May I know who did the restoration?"

Yang Chen pointed to Zhou Di and said:

"It was him."

The old gentleman stood up, walked over to Zhou Di and said:

"Kid, good job! You have remarkable skills. Who did you learn from?"

Zhou Di bowed respectfully and replied:

"Mr. Guan, the name of my master is Guan Jing, your younger brother."

Mr. Guan was greatly shocked and hurriedly asked:

"What? It...it is... Guan...Guan Jing who...is your... your master. Is he...he all right?"

Zhou Di's expression turned solemn as he responded:

"Five years ago, a plague struck our area and many people succumbed to it. Master Guan was unable to escape its grasp."

Seeing Mr. Guan shedding tears upon hearing the news, Mr. Chen inquired:

"Mr. Guan, is there some news about Guan Jing?"

Wiping away tears, Mr. Guan said:

"I can't believe it. I never expected that after more than thirty years, we had a big argument over a small matter and went our separate ways. Now fate has kept us apart. He had passed away for five years and I will never meet him anymore."

Mr. Chen offered comfort, saying:

"Don't be sad anymore, Mr. Guan, Young Marshal is here."

Mr. Guan apologized to Young Marshal as quick as possible:

"Sorry, Young Marshal, I... I really..., I didn't expect to meet the apprentice of my younger brother here. Sorry! Sorry!"

Yang Chen raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Zhou Di and then turned to Mr. Guan, saying:

"Unexpectedly, I inadvertently helped you find your relative. If you plan to stay here tonight, you can have a nice talk with him."

Expressing his gratitude, Mr. Guan thanked Yang Chen:

"Thank you, Young Marshal."

However, Zhou Di interjected:

"No, I have nothing to talk with him. But my master left something for him. He asked me to hand it over if I had the chance to find him. Wait a moment, I'll get it now."

Without waiting for Yang Chen's approval, Zhou Di left the room immdiatetly. After a short time, he returned holding a small cloth bag. Without saying a word, he handed it to Mr. Guan. Opening the cloth bag, Mr. Guan found an ivory ball carving with 25 layers, accompanied by a note that read:

"I achieved it and how about you? Where is yours?" 

Both Mr. Guan and Mr. Chen were astonished by the ivory ball carving, Yang Chen asked:

"What's the maximum number of layers for this kind of the ball nowadays?"

Mr. Chen provided and explanation:

"25 layers. The earliest was carved by Weng Zhao in Guangdong, it was displayed at the 1915 World Exposition and surpassed 30-layer ball carving made by someone from the Wasoku."

Yang Chen inquired:

"How did the 25-layer one defeat a 30-layer one?"

Mr. Chen replied disdainfully:

"That 30-layer one was glued, not carved."

Mr. Guan muttered to himself:

"I lost. I lost finally."

Mr. Chen asked with concern:

"What happened?"

Mr. Guan candidly revealed the reason behind their argument: 

"This is the reason that we had a big argument. When we heard about Weng Zhao's 25-layer ball carving, both of us refused to believe it. So we secretly competed to see who could reach that level. But it was indeed challenging and I left discouraged after a few attempts. However, Guan Jing insisted on carving a 25-layer one and kept practicing intensively. As a result, he neglected other tasks, especially some jobs. I scolded him a couple of times, even mocked him. In fact, what I feared most at that time was that he would actually succeed. Finally, we lost control of our emotions and had a heated argument. In a fit of anger, I drove him away and he never returned since then." After saying, he turned to Yang Chen and continued, "Young Marshal, I don't want to say anything more. Could you please return this ball to Zhou Di? Although I don't know how skilled he is in carving, based on his restoration of these bowls and plates. I know that my brother has taught him well. I'm ashamed, truly ashamed."

With that, Mr. Guan handed the ball to Yang Chen.