Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

"Thank you so much today. Not only did you treat me to dinner, but you also sent me home," Su Qingyuan stopped and turned to look at Chen Yan with a hint of reluctance in her eyes. "I'll wash the hoodie and return it to you tomorrow." "Don't worry," Chen Yan looked at her with a hint of hesitation in his eyes. He seemed to want to say something but was too embarrassed to speak. Su Qingyuan looked at him hesitantly and felt a little nervous. She took a deep breath, mustered her courage, and said softly, "Teacher Chen, actually, I..." Before she finished speaking, Chen Yan suddenly reached out and gently held her hand. His hand was still a little cold, but very strong. The warmth of his palm was transmitted to Su Qingyuan's heart through his fingertips. Su Qingyuan's heartbeat accelerated instantly and her cheeks became hot. She wanted to withdraw her hand, but Chen Yan held it tightly and she couldn't move. She raised her head and looked at Chen Yan, just meeting his serious eyes. "I know what you're trying to say," Chen Yan's voice was soft, yet undeniably firm. "Su Qingyuan, I like you. It's not because of our work partnership, nor out of gratitude, but because I've been so happy spending time with you—discussing exhibition details with you, solving problems with you, even just sitting and chatting with you—I've felt so happy." Su Qingyuan's eyes moistened slightly as she gazed at Chen Yan's earnest gaze. She nodded vigorously, her voice choking with a hint of sob. "Me too, Chen Yan, I like you too. Ever since you argued with me over the preservation of cultural relics in front of the display case, ever since you offered to walk me home on a rainy night, I've liked you." Chen Yan's face lit up with a brilliant smile. It was the first time Su Qingyuan had seen him smile so happily, as if all his defenses had been dropped, revealing his true self. He gently tightened his grip on Su Qingyuan's hand, pulled her close, and gently embraced her. Leaning into Chen Yan's arms, Su Qingyuan could clearly hear his strong heartbeat and feel the warmth of his body. She closed her eyes, a happy smile on her lips, her heart seemed to be filled with sunshine, warm and bright. After a while, Chen Yan released his embrace, touched Su Qingyuan's head, and said gently: "It's getting late, you should go home early to rest, you still have to go to work tomorrow." "Okay," Su Qingyuan nodded, reluctantly letting go of Chen Yan's hand, "You should go home early too, be careful on the road." She turned and walked into the community. When she reached the entrance of the corridor, she looked back at Chen Yan. He was still standing there, looking in her direction. She waved to him and then walked into the corridor. After returning home, Su Qingyuan stood on the balcony, watching Chen Yan's car disappear into the night. The warmth of his palm still lingered in her hand, and she was still wearing his sweatshirt, which exuded a faint fragrance. She thought of the bronze sword in the display case, the way Chen Yan focused on repairing it, their journey together on the rainy night, the warm dinner tonight and the sincere confession, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise slightly. She suddenly felt that love was like repairing cultural relics - it requires patience, care, and some adjustment and testing before it can bloom with the most moving light through the years of polishing. And her love with Chen Yan is like the restored bronze sword. Although it has experienced some twists and turns, it finally found the beauty that belongs to each other. The future will surely be like the bronze sword, shining forever in time. The moonlight outside the window is particularly bright, shining on Su Qingyuan's body and every corner of this city. Su Qingyuan looked at the starry sky in the distance, her heart full of expectations - she knew that from today on, her life would become more exciting and warmer because of the appearance of Chen Yan. "See if there is anything else you want to eat, just order whatever you want." Su Qingyuan took the menu, looked at the dishes on it, and couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth slightly. She usually likes Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine. She didn't expect Chen Yan to choose this restaurant. Obviously, he had done his homework in advance. She ordered her favorite stir-fried seasonal vegetables and handed the menu back to Chen Yan. "I've ordered. Feel free to order more." The dishes arrived quickly. The sweet and sour spare ribs were bright red and exuded a rich sweet aroma. The squirrel mandarin fish was exquisitely shaped, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and the tomato sauce was sweet and sour. As they ate, they chatted, their topics gradually shifting from work to life. "When I was in college, I followed an archaeological team to do an internship in the field," Chen Yan picked up a piece of pork ribs, put it in his mouth, and chewed it slowly. "The conditions were very difficult at that time. We lived in tents, ate boxed lunches, and dug cultural relics in the soil every day. Once, I accidentally fell into a pit. Fortunately, the pit was not deep and I just scratched my skin. It's funny when I think about it now." Su Qingyuan listened with relish. When she heard "falling into a pit", she couldn't help laughing, and her eyes curved into two crescents: "I didn't expect you to be so embarrassing. I thought you were always so serious." "No way," Chen Yan also laughed, with a hint of helplessness in his tone, "I was young at that time, I didn't know anything, and I often made jokes. But you, when you curated an exhibition independently, it should have been smooth, right?" When mentioning the first time curating, Su Qingyuan's cheeks flushed slightly, and she said a little embarrassedly: "It was not smooth at all On the day of the opening ceremony, I had prepared a very long speech, but as soon as I got on stage, I was so nervous that I forgot the words and stood there in a daze for several seconds. In the end, my leader helped me out. After that, every time before going on stage, I would memorize my speech several times in advance, for fear of making a fool of myself again. "Chen Yan looked at her embarrassed look and couldn't help laughing: "So you get nervous too, I thought you always had a plan in mind when planning an event." "How can you be so amazing?" Su Qingyuan put down her chopsticks and looked at Chen Yan with a hint of seriousness in her eyes. "In fact, I used to think that restorers were very serious and difficult to get along with. I always thought that you only cared about cultural relics and didn't care about other things. It wasn't until I met you that I found that this was not the case - although you don't talk much, you are actually very careful and gentle." Chen Yan looked into Su Qingyuan's eyes, which were reflected by the light from the table, like stars twinkling, and were particularly bright. He set down his water cup, leaned forward slightly, and said seriously, "I used to think curators only cared about the effectiveness of exhibitions and visitor numbers, and didn't understand the difficulties of cultural relic preservation. But after meeting you, I realized you're also very dedicated to cultural relics—you'll argue with me over a lighting angle, and you'll stay up late preparing your explanations to help the audience better understand the artifacts. I've seen it all." Their eyes met, and a subtle atmosphere filled the air. The soothing piano music in the restaurant seemed to become the background sound. Everything around them blurred, leaving only their figures. After dinner, Chen Yan paid the bill, and they left the restaurant together. The night breeze was a little chilly, and Su Qingyuan subconsciously wrapped her coat tightly around her. Seeing this, Chen Yan slowed down his pace, took off his sweatshirt, and handed it to her, "Put it on. It's windy tonight, don't catch a cold." Su Qingyuan took the sweatshirt, which still retained Chen Yan's body heat and carried the faint scent of laundry detergent. She put it on. The sweatshirt was much larger than her size, but it made her feel particularly warm. The two walked slowly along the street, the moonlight casting two long shadows on the ground. Before they knew it, they had arrived at the gate of Su Qingyuan's residential complex.