There was no expression on his face, and he sat silently to the side, turning a deaf ear.
After a while, the secretary came back and shook his head as soon as he entered the door: "Sorry, the ancient jade you mentioned is not there."
She made a gesture of apology.
"No?" Helan Jingyi said in a tone that showed he had no intention of leaving. He snorted coldly. "This is a national relic. You said no. What do you mean?"
"No means no. What else can that mean?" The secretary's tone was tough.
"How can it not be here?"
"I don't mean...that is, in the curator's, in his office." The secretary finally confessed.
"So… you need to go and ask the curator."
The secretary wanted to resist, but seeing He Lanjing's steely face, she hesitated for a moment, and then called the room next door.
After a while, she came back and said, "Please come with me."
*******************
The Yuhu quietly lay on a wooden table covered with flannel. It was only the size of a palm. The jade of the head had been eroded.
He Lanjing put on a soft cloth glove and took the Yuhu in his hand and stroked it, then turned it and put it down. Picking up the magnifying glass and the condenser, he looked carefully at the lines and ochre bordering it.
"Is this fake?" Pipi leaned over and pointed to the two round holes on the back of the tiger: "Could the craftsmen of the Warring States period drill such a round hole? This hole looks like it was done with a machine drill."
"The holes from the Liangzhu period were this round."
"Was the Liangzhu period before the Warring States period or after?"
"After five thousand years."
"... So before or after?"
He sighed. "Before."
They stood behind two tall, sturdy security guards, looking ahead with blank expressions.
He Lanjing twisted the spotlight to the brightest setting. Then, facing the light, he used a soft ruler to measure the length and spacing of the pattern.
After a while of enduring his silence, Pipi said: "The light here is not good. Why don't you take the sunglasses off? If you're worried about them, I can hold them for you."
"If you are concerned, just treat me as a blind man."
"You didn't wear glasses in the museum yesterday."
No, Pipi remembered it clearly. At that time, He Lanjing had quickly put on his glasses as soon as he had heard her movements. Suddenly, she seemed to have realized something. "Don't you wear glasses only when I am around?"
"Yes, you're just that important, aren't you?"
Pipi shut up.
After another half an hour, Pipi couldn't help but ask: "Are you finished looking?"
"No."
"How long will it take?"
"A little more time."
"I'm hungry."
"There is a restaurant next door."
"I don't have enough money." Because of the rush to catch the bus, Pipi had ended up sitting in an air-conditioned, direct super-luxury model. After the ticket she'd had little left. The rest of the money would have to be used for the return ticket.
He Lanjing stood up, greeted the security guard and put back the Yuhu.