Chapter 49: It Was All for That Final Sentence

"What would you like to eat?"

"Thank you, Professor Wang, the cafeteria will do just fine!"

"Alright!"

The university had a special dining hall reserved for guests. The private rooms were beautifully decorated, and the food quality was top-notch, rivaling any high-end hotel.

The dishes were served quickly. Wang Qizhi took out a wine bottle and requested two tall-stemmed wine glasses.

Lin Sicheng was slightly startled: even considering the current times, a single bottle of this wine would cost tens of thousands.

Wang Qizhi popped the cap, but Lin Sicheng waved his hand and asked for a bottle of fruit juice instead.

It wasn't that he couldn't drink, but rather that he preferred to keep it to a minimum. Putting personal preferences aside, alcohol had a significant impact on cognitive function and memory, something researchers generally disliked.

Wang Qizhi didn't push him. He poured half a glass for himself and sipped it slowly.

Suddenly, he let out a breath and remarked, "Six firings, almost unimaginable, right?"

Lin Sicheng paused his chopsticks. "Actually, it's not that difficult. This was a new firing; with current technology and craftsmanship, it's quite easy to achieve... The hard part is how to restore the original artifact to this degree!"

That didn't sound right, did it?

If it were as easy as Lin Sicheng claimed, would it have shocked Shang Yan into making a face as if she had seen a ghost?

No matter how unfamiliar Wang Qizhi was with the craft, he at least knew the difference between modern technological techniques and traditional methods.

He paused slightly. "What do you mean?"

Lin Sicheng sighed. "Professor Wang, I won't hide it from you: that fish tail, the piece I pried off the bottom of the basin—you didn't see it, did you? Because it shattered during the fourth firing..."

Wang Qizhi didn't speak; he pondered over this for a good long while.

Then, he picked up his chopsticks and popped a peanut into his mouth. "And so?"

Lin Sicheng wore a very serious expression. "So, repairing the original artifact can at most achieve three firings!"

"Oh?" Wang Qizhi picked up the wine bottle and poured another half-glass. "And then?"

This "and then" actually left Lin Sicheng stumped.

Professor Wang, could you perhaps not be so calm?

Or did you not listen carefully: there is a very high chance I might ruin that plate during the restoration?

As he was organizing his words, Wang Qizhi raised his wine glass. "Lin Sicheng, you don't intend to ruin that plate in the kiln, do you?"

Lin Sicheng's eyelid twitched: ruin it completely wasn't likely, at worst the repair would just turn out slightly inferior.

Yet, even as the thought merely crossed his mind, Wang Qizhi—as if possessing mind-reading powers—slanting his eyes, said:

"Lin Sicheng, novice though I am, I did study arts and crafts. Don't tell me: you fired it six times, managed to apply the gradient effect of the glaze to achieve a color saturation and texture almost identical to the original artifact, but if you have to do it with three fewer firings, you suddenly won't know how?"

"Or could it be that you didn't expect to try quite so hard? You were just testing the waters and ended up firing a sample so exceptionally well, so perfect? When you got home afterwards, the more you thought about it, the stranger it felt: how the hell am I going to spin this story now?

As luck would have it, I called you to invite you to dinner, and you started scheming: since you couldn't talk your way out of it, your only option was to stick firmly to your story—it was just pure coincidence that it turned out this way.

When the time comes for the actual restoration, you'll just do a mediocre job, or simply ruin it in the kiln... At worst, you'll just refund my money! But fearing I might grow suspicious, you decided to use this dinner as an opportunity to vaccinate me against it in advance... Am I right?"

"Professor Wang, it's not like that, I didn't think..."

"Whether you thought that way or not, I can judge for myself!"

Just as Lin Sicheng was about to explain, Wang Qizhi waved his hand to interrupt him. He downed the rest of his wine in one gulp, then began counting on his fingers:

"Come on, let's tally this up from the beginning: Lin Sicheng, the first time we met, you asked for ten thousand for that book—did I bargain? No, right?"

"That iron tally afterward—did I even wait for you to ask before offering fifty thousand straight away? Did I?"

"And this plate: that friend of yours who looks honest and simple-minded on the outside, but is full of wicked schemes underneath... Ah yes, that fat bastard from Rongbaozhai. He asked for eight hundred thousand, ninety-four thousand including commission—did I shave off a single penny?"

"So, Lin Sicheng, put your hand on your heart: aren't your conscience pricking you?"

Wang Qizhi's mouth fired like a machine gun. He kept scolding while drinking, tossing back three half-glasses in the blink of an eye. Lin Sicheng wanted to defend himself, but didn't even get a chance to wedge a word in.

Seeing him pick up the wine bottle again, Lin Sicheng pressed his hand down with a wry smile.

To be fair, he truly hadn't expected the sample to turn out so remarkably well.

Ruining the original artifact in the kiln was out of the question, but upon actual repair, the result would indeed be slightly inferior to the sample. The primary reason was that the original glaze layer was far too fragile, and he didn't dare let loose completely.

Of course, he did harbor a tiny bit of hidden intent: never say never. If he went all out and actually succeeded, the result would undoubtedly surpass the sample.

Without exaggeration, even if his grandfather were to step in, success wouldn't be guaranteed.

Explaining all of this was simply too troublesome, which was why holding back twenty percent of his effort from the start seemed like the better option.

He truly had intended to give Wang Qizhi a heads-up in advance, but he never expected that before he could even open his mouth, the man would guess seven or eight parts out of ten.

Yet, asking his own conscience, Wang Qizhi had truly treated him exceptionally well... and that was enough!

Lin Sicheng thought for a moment and let out a sigh. "Fine, I'll do my best!"

Consider yourself smart.

Wang Qizhi had been prepared to polish off the entire bottle and throw a drunken fit into the bargain—just to see if Lin Sicheng would be scared out of his wits.

Capping the wine bottle instead, Wang Qizhi asked for a bottle of fruit juice as well.

Pouring a glass, he clinked it against Lin Sicheng's. With a hint of melancholy, he sighed again, "Lin Sicheng, this world isn't as complicated as you make it out to be. So, what are you afraid of?"

"I know!" Lin Sicheng nodded. "It's just very troublesome!"

Wang Qizhi thought about it for a moment and agreed wholeheartedly.

Which genius isn't envied by others? Take himself, for instance.

Interrogation and suspicion didn't matter, but as Lin Sicheng pointed out: it was genuinely troublesome.

Family asks, and shouldn't you explain?

Leaders and teachers ask, and shouldn't you explain to them too?

Classmates and colleagues are simply endless. The crucial part is that even after you explain, they still won't believe you! Over and over again, endlessly exhausting.

So it's simply better not to admit to anything; whenever asked, claim it was a coincidence, a lucky guess...

"Don't worry, I definitely won't ask!"

"It's fine even if you do!" Lin Sicheng nodded. "I learned it from books!"

Wang Qizhi choked for a second: you have to admit, that excuse was remarkably watertight.

"Then what is even the point of you attending university?"

Lin Sicheng looked at him as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Of course there's a point, at the very least I get a college diploma, right?"

What else could it be?

At least ninety percent of college students came for precisely that. At the absolute worst, having a degree makes finding a job easier, doesn't it?

Wang Qizhi nodded. "What about you? You're graduating next year, have you figured out where you're going?"

Lin Sicheng shook his head. "Not yet!"

Impossible.

At most, he was just hesitating between options.

"Pursuing graduate studies, staying at the school to teach, joining an institution, or going solo—you have to choose one path! Of course, if you want to graduate early, it's not hard to arrange, but I think you'd be better off pursuing a postgraduate degree!"

Lin Sicheng paused. "Why?"

"Didn't your grandfather ever tell you?"

Of course he had told him.

Pure accumulation of wealth makes human greed expand infinitely... But what precisely counted as wealth?

Knowledge, ability, insight, experience... and money came last of all.

And as it happened, he possessed almost all of these, even skipping the arduous accumulation phase. To a certain extent, didn't that mean he was in even greater danger?

Compared to that, the university was more like a fortress. He could step outside whenever he wished, but others couldn't just walk in at will, which implicitly provided an extra layer of protection. It also gave him ample space and time to build up the strength needed to protect himself.

Lin Sicheng certainly agreed with the logic, but he felt it was far too slow.

After pondering for a moment, Lin Sicheng picked up the fruit juice and topped off Wang Qizhi's glass. "And then?"

"Come take the entrance exams for my graduate program!"

Wang Qizhi took a slow, leisurely sip of his juice. "Forgot to tell you, Professor Shang originally wanted you to take her graduate exams, but after I reasoned with her using both emotion and logic, she's already changed her mind... See? Aren't I thoughtful?"

Lin Sicheng froze for a moment, a trace of bizarre expression flashing through his eyes.

So, whether it was those two bottles of ten-year-old Maotai, the praises and scoldings upon entering the room, the act of pretending to be dead drunk, or even throwing out random remarks left and right—it was all leading up to this final sentence?

Yet Professor Wang, aren't you afraid that one day Professor Shang will catch you and spit right in your face?