In the end, they parted on bad terms.
The two of them seemed to have reached a consensus on something, but this consensus did not make them feel gratified or happy. Rather than a consensus, it would be more appropriate to call it a compromise.
That night, Jinling's Xuanwu Lake Hotel once again welcomed a group of uninvited guests.
Inside the presidential suite.
"Champagne or whiskey?"
"Water, just plain water will do."
The muscular man sitting on the sofa said.
"Okay, plain water."
The blonde middle-aged man shrugged helplessly. He looked at the eight people standing behind the muscular man and the corner of his mouth twitched. Then, he gathered all the glasses in the room and placed them in front of them.
They were all plain water.
"Professor, I understand your concern, but it's unnecessary."
The muscular man said, "We are professionals."
"Forgive me for being blunt." The professor shrugged. "I didn't see the experts I made an appointment with. Instead, you guys came … I can only say that you're barely sublimators."
It could be seen that he was quite polite. Even if he was disappointed, he still restrained himself in his choice of words.
Nine sublimators, three third-order, and six second-order. This was already a valuable force in the present realm, but in the professor's eyes, it was still not enough to accomplish his goal.
"I spent a lot of money, a lot of money, do you understand? In order to get this collection, I overdrew twenty years of my salary. "The professor suppressed his dissatisfaction and said seriously," I want it to be foolproof. "
"It's quality, not quantity."
The muscular man said calmly, "The Astronomical Society and the Social Security Bureau have been very strict with the sublimators in Jinling recently. It's inconvenient for high-level sublimators to come, but please don't worry, our ghoul team is famous for being elites in the cemetery of the deceased."
"I hope you understand, I don't want mercenaries to come to me with a corpse and say that the mission is completed." The professor raised a finger and said seriously, "I want it alive, do you understand? I want it alive. "
"Maybe you have a misunderstanding about kidnapping. It's not a violent action, but a highly technical job." The muscular man raised his head proudly. "And like I said, we are professionals.
Do you know about the Cat King incident? We did it. Even now, they still think that aliens took him away … "
"Oh, that's one of the curator's favorite collections!"
The professor's eyes lit up. He stood up enthusiastically and held the man's hand. "I'm relieved. What about the plan? Tell me about the plan. "
He picked up the bottle of whiskey and drank half of it in one breath. He sat on the sofa and listened attentively. "How are we going to transfer my dear collection from Jinling to the human exhibition hall at the border?"
"This is a thorough plan."
The leader of the ghoul squad took out a thick stack of plans from his backpack and placed it in front of him. "These days, we've come up with different plans to capture them. Tomorrow is the best time to act.
The preparation for the operation is complete. We have bribed the relevant personnel of the ABRSM. When the time comes, all of us will enter as staff members. According to your additional requirements, we have arranged an identity for you. When the target arrives, we can officially start the kidnapping. "
"Yes, yes."
The professor became even more focused and nodded. "So, how do you kidnap him? As far as I know, the combat power of that item is not low. After all, it is a legendary investigator. How can we successfully capture him? If we only rely on force, I'm afraid it won't be enough, right? "
"Please rest assured." Behind the captain, a gentle-looking man with glasses pushed his glasses up proudly. "We have grasped his biggest weakness — his only good friend."
As he spoke, he took out a photo from his pocket and placed it on the table.
In the photo, it was a girl in the prime of her life.
Fu Yi.
"According to our eavesdropping and investigation, she plans to go to the scene to personally cheer for her friend." The man with glasses said, "At that time, we will disguise ourselves as members of Green Day, take down his friend first, and threaten to take revenge on the Astronomy Association.
According to a psychologist's profiling analysis, there is a 90% chance that he will agree to exchange identities with Fu Yi and become a hostage.
Then, we will quickly take him down and evacuate quickly … "
After the man with glasses finished speaking, he proudly raised his head and waited for praise.
But the professor was stunned for a long time and asked curiously, "That's it?"
"What else?"
He asked. "Is this the only plan? Uh, although the step of throwing the blame to Green Day is pretty good, what about the rest? There must be other preparations to do, right? "
The man with glasses raised his eyebrows slightly.
Was this a client who absolutely didn't want to take any risks?
It didn't matter. This kind of client was easier to deal with. It was much more reliable than those clients who liked to blindly give orders when they had a bit of money.
Thus, he placed stack after stack of backup plans on the table.
"Please take a look. This is a measure to disrupt the Astronomy Association's spies when the time comes. This is a plan to mislead the Social Security Bureau's investigation. And this is one of the preparations to ensure the smooth implementation of the capture plan … …"
He explained in detail, "To be on the safe side, we have replaced all the green plants in the room with purple flowers from the border. Under the influence of the flower fragrance, he will be paralyzed by the Origin Substance in less than ten minutes and won't be able to use the Stigmata. Two additional teams of armed personnel will attack when the situation worsens.
And there are a total of six backup plans and seventeen escape plans. We will definitely send you and your collection to the Appearance Realm in one piece. "
After he finished speaking, he smiled. "By this time tomorrow, you will be able to admire your new collection in the exhibition hall."
"Very good!" The professor's eyes were already sparkling when he heard the other party's description. "Let's do it!"
Thus, the captain and the professor shook hands.
Both parties had a standard business smile on their faces.
"Please remember to give us a five-star rating on the Collection of Sins after the mission is completed!" the captain said humbly. "We are just a little bit away from reaching the target this year."
The professor nodded and downed the whiskey in one gulp. He wiped his mouth and said, "No problem!"
And so, a professor in the human exhibition hall and a group of mercenaries from the border … … The plan began just like that.
.
.
The next day, early morning.
Huai Shi stood in front of the hotel with a pair of panda eyes. He saw Ai Qing sitting in the car outside.
"Why are you here?"
"It's on the way," she said. "Jinling Music and Art Museum, right? I can give you a ride. "
"Ah, thank you, thank you."
Huai Shi was holding a sandwich that he had just taken out from the kitchen. He carried the piano case and squeezed into the car. After wolfing down a few mouthfuls, he drank a large bottle of cold coffee.
Breakfast was finished.
"Why do you look like you've been struck by lightning and are about to die?"
"Well, it's a long story …"
He couldn't tell her that he was so focused on learning how to fight that he completely forgot to revise. He also couldn't tell her that he spent the entire night practicing the piano in the Book of Destiny.
It was like rowing a boat against the current. If he didn't advance, he would fall back. There was a saying that if he didn't practice for one day, he would know. If he didn't practice for two days, the teacher would be furious … Once his hand became rusty, it would take a lot of effort to get it back.
He reached out and wiped his face. He used the life force of the Mountain Ghost Sacred Mark to forcefully wipe away the puffy circles under his eyes and tied up his hair.
"Didn't sleep well last night?"
"Yeah, I was a little nervous. After all, I prepared for more than half a year."
Huai Shi smiled and patted the piano case next to him. "But it looks like I'm in good shape. I can definitely pass."
"… You don't have to promise me anything."
Ai Qing looked at his confident face and went silent for a long time. She suddenly asked, "Do you really like the cello that much?"
"I don't know."
Huai Shi answered without hesitation.
"…"
Ai Qing frowned. She seemed unhappy.
"I don't know in the literal sense."
Huai Shi scratched his head and looked helpless. "In fact, I can't remember why I want to learn the cello. In my impression, my mother seems to like it … Maybe she thinks that her son learning this instrument will make her proud.
Speaking of liking it, I might not have liked it before. But later, when I was so poor that I could only rely on playing the cello to earn some money to buy noodles to eat. Unconsciously, I started to like it.
Maybe it's the feeling of depending on each other. Without it, I would have starved to death. "
With that, he held the cello case and showed it to Ai Qing. "Although it's old, the sound is great. I've been tinkering with it for so long that I'm reluctant to change it. If you have time, I'll play it for you."
"No need."
Ai Qing looked at the cello case next to Huai Shi. After a long time, she withdrew her gaze. "In that case, keep it well."
Along the way, Ai Qing did not say anything. She quietly closed her eyes and rested.
The car was unusually smooth. It even left room for Huai Shi to look at the score for a while. After bypassing the rush hour congestion, they passed through high-rise buildings and finally stopped in front of the Jinling Music and Art Museum.
It was close to the start of the exam. At the door, there were already many young people carrying cello cases and their teachers or parents.
Although the professional exam required an appointment, the scope of the ABRSM exam was not limited to the cello. It covered the range of almost all mainstream instruments.
It was expected that there would be many candidates.
After all, it was a level exam that was popular in the central city of London. It had quite a wide range of credibility. The eighth grade could almost be regarded as a high school diploma.
But after passing through the gate, the car did not stop. It kept driving forward.
"Passed, passed." Huai Shi reminded.
"No, it's a long walk from the front door." Ai Qing raised her eyes and looked out the window. "Go in from the back door, turn right, and there's an elevator to the sixth floor."
"Huh?" Huai Shi was taken aback. "Have you been there before?"
Ai Qing did not answer.
The car stopped.
"It's time for you to take the exam, Huai Shi." She said, "I hope you can realize your dream."
"Thank you."
Huai Shi smiled gratefully, picked up the cello case, and waved goodbye to her.
It was as if she was deliberately avoiding Huai Shi's gaze. In the end, Ai Qing did not raise her eyes to look at him.
She just silently stared at the silhouette of the building.
She gradually lowered her eyes.
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