Chapter 51 This is Going to Be Bad

The dark green walls exuded beads of morning dew, reflecting a cold, faint light.

The willow branches were half-yellowed by the frost, and the morning breeze clinked gently against the wind chimes.

Small groups of people queued in front of the window, and the rich aroma of breakfast permeated the entire cafeteria.

With a tray loaded with food, Lin Sicheng first grabbed a bowl of porridge and placed it in front of Wang Qizhi. "Eat something!"

With his stomach churning with sour acid, how could he possibly eat anything?

Wang Qizhi shook his head, rubbed his throbbing temples, and heaved a heavy sigh laden with the smell of alcohol.

He slumped limply back against the chair, as if all his bones had been removed, utterly devoid of any energy.

Lin Sicheng chuckled as he ate: Just last night, this man had patted his chest and aggressively fed him motivational soup, yet after a single night, he was the one who had been ambushed?

It must have been shortly after he escorted Wang back to his room that the department leadership called him: likely an impromptu invitation from a partnered institution for joint guidance, with the department assigning him to lead the team.

The crucial keywords here were "impromptu" and "guidance." In all likelihood, the partner institution had suddenly run into some tricky problem and was seeking backup.

Under normal circumstances, Wang Qizhi wouldn't have been afraid at all. But look at his current state: his brain felt like it had been scrambled into paste, and he couldn't even untangle his tongue when he spoke. Forget solving difficult problems for the partner institution; whether he could even speak coherently on the stage was a matter of sheer luck.

More importantly: he had just arrived, yet he was already competing for projects and taking up prime positions. Countless pairs of eyes were watching him. Getting help was out of the question; everyone was just waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

The more Lin Sicheng thought about it, the more amused he became.

What was it that Wang had said yesterday? Just when you need to hit the brakes the most, countless hands quietly reach out from behind you...

Wang Qizhi tapped his finger on the table. "Stop laughing and help me think of a way out!"

Lin Sicheng struggled to straighten his face. "Which partner institution is it?"

"I was so drunk at the time, I didn't even remember!"

"Then how am I supposed to help you?"

Wang Qizhi massaged the bridge of his nose. "There are only a handful of partnered institutions associated with our department—either museums or associations. And they're inviting us so urgently? I'd bet ninety-nine percent of it is related to artifact appraisal... The worst part is the urgency, leaving no room for delays or margins of error..."

Stunned for a moment, a bad premonition welled up in Lin Sicheng's heart. "And then?"

"Then you're coming with me. Just in case... I mean, strictly in case: if I'm forced to step up and everyone else stands around with their arms folded, you take over!"

No way... Professor Wang, are you out of your mind?

Seeing Lin Sicheng's dumbfounded expression, Wang Qizhi blinked. "Don't tell me you don't know how?"

Is this a matter of knowing how or not?

Lin Sicheng wore an expression of sheer incomprehension. "Under what title would I go?"

With a soft slap, Wang Qizhi's face turned bitter.

No matter how brilliant Lin Sicheng was, he was still just an undergraduate. Besides, who else even knew he was brilliant?

Whether it was for guidance or study, people brought secretaries, teaching assistants, or graduate students, but who had ever seen anyone bring an undergraduate?

Lin Sicheng thought for a moment. "How about I go buy you two bottles of glucose? Dilute the alcohol as fast as possible; maybe you'll sober up by then..."

Wang Qizhi glared at him.

Two bottles of aged liquor plus one bottle of fresh liquor—that was well over two catties, and he had downed at least a catty and a half of it.

What kind of glucose could dilute that away?

"Forget it, we'll go first and figure it out!" Wang Qizhi exhaled heavily. "Lin Sicheng, you don't want to see your future advisor make a complete fool of himself just half a month after starting his job, do you?"

Lin Sicheng was left speechless.

That logic was sound, but the problem was, what was he supposed to be when he got there?

"Professor Wang, isn't this a bit too rash?"

"No shit! But it's still better than humiliating myself... It's settled then!"

Just as his voice trailed off, his phone started ringing persistently. Wang Qizhi glanced at the screen and hurriedly answered,

"Hello, Dean... Ah, they've arrived? Great, great, great. I'll be right there..."

"Hurry, stop eating, let's go..."

Lin Sicheng sighed, finished his soy milk in one gulp, and grabbed a few steamed buns.

...

"The department leaders will probably ask. When they do, I'll just say you're interning in my laboratory and I drafted you in as temporary labor..."

"You're coming with me strictly in charge of taking notes..."

"What about Teaching Assistant Feng?"

"Naturally, she's sick." Wang Qizhi rubbed his nose. "She fell sick this morning!"

Lin Sicheng paused for a moment and gave him a thumbs-up.

Whispering among themselves, the two entered the department office. Sure enough, there were quite a few people inside: department leaders, professors from various majors, teaching assistants, graduate students... easily over a dozen people in total.

Glancing around, Lin Sicheng spotted a few official peaked caps in the crowd.

He froze subconsciously: Ha... What a coincidence. Isn't that Guan Xingmin?

Right, why hadn't he thought of it earlier: the Heritage Academy, the Municipal Bureau's Forensic Center, and the Provincial Department's Forensic Center were all partnered institutions!

While he was looking around in wonder, the vice dean was introducing Wang Qizhi to Guan Xingmin. "Director Guan, this is Secretary Wang from our academy's Youth League..."

"He is our academy's youngest professor, and also our youngest postgraduate advisor..."

"Today's joint study session will be led by Secretary Wang..."

Four hands clasped together, and Guan Xingmin smiled cordially.

Yet inwardly, his heart was pounding: eyelids swollen, eyes bloodshot, and the alcohol fumes escaping his mouth were strong enough to sting anyone's eyes.

His footing was unsteady, his palms were sweating, and his tongue was still thick when he spoke... Just how much had he drunk?

At a glance, he was clearly still dead drunk. How could he possibly lead anyone to provide guidance?

Just as he was inwardly slandering him, a familiar figure swept across his field of vision. Guan Xingmin froze for a second: Lin Sicheng?

What was he sticking his nose into?

Then, four eyes blinked rapidly back and forth.

Wang Qizhi's spirits lifted: Ha, these two know each other?

Immediately, he remembered: when the partnership with the Municipal Bureau was established, Lin Changqing served as the vice dean and was the person in charge of liaison at the time.

Even now, he was still an advisor to the Municipal Bureau's Forensic Center...

He rolled his eyes. "Director Guan, this is my student, Lin Sicheng. He often visits your center... Since you two already know each other, I won't bother introducing you."

Lin Sicheng had been to the forensic center? Why didn't I know about this?

Still, it didn't matter. Since they had bumped into each other, he would definitely bring him along to take a look.

Guan Xingmin didn't dwell on it too much and patted Lin Sicheng on the shoulder. "Perfect timing!"

Initially, the vice dean had been suspicious: why on earth did Wang Qizhi bring Lin Sicheng along?

Just as he was about to ask, seeing Guan Xingmin's familiar and casual attitude, he swallowed the words back down.

It was probably Professor Lin pulling strings through the back door again.

Tsk, that network of connections of his truly seemed to be everywhere.

After some brief pleasantries, Guan Xingmin invited the professors to set off.

In the fleeting moments of walking down the stairs, he leaned in to give Lin Sicheng a heads-up. "The reason for this joint session is as I mentioned to you before... And the most critical piece of evidence is the one belonging to Li Guojun's business partner!"

Li Guojun? The father of Gu Ming's prospective girlfriend?

Lin Sicheng looked at Wang Qizhi: What a small world.

Without waiting for more than a sentence, Guan Xingmin called out for the professors to board the vehicles, while Wang Qizhi intentionally lagged a bit behind.

"What is it?"

Lin Sicheng lowered his voice. "Going to the Municipal Bureau today is to assist the forensic center in re-appraising physical evidence. The primary piece is a Kangxi-era imitation of an imperial Xuande bronze censer from the Ming dynasty...

The catch is, both the Municipal Bureau and the Provincial Department authenticated it as a counterfeit, but the suspect, witnesses, and the experts hired from Beijing by the defense lawyer have all insisted that the evidence is genuine."

It was that complicated?

Watching the professors boarding the vehicles one by one, Wang Qizhi's eyelids twitched violently: No wonder out of the six professors in the entire team, he was the only one specializing in bronzes?

Today was going to be a disaster...