Chapter 58: Accompanying to Work

“Why are you hiding your phone?”

Zhu Zhixi popped a quail egg into his mouth and, while chewing, nudged closer, bumping Fu Rangyi’s shoulder a few times. He mumbled, “I want to see.”

“See what?” Fu Rangyi held his ground. He couldn’t let Zhu Zhixi discover he was posting such improper threads on an anonymous forum.

Zhu Zhixi looked suspicious. “You were just typing away on your phone, and you won’t let me see… Who are you chatting with?”

Many people. The entire faculty and student body.

“Just replying to work messages,” Fu Rangyi changed the subject a bit stiffly. “I’m heading over soon, so there are a lot of things to hand over in the group chat beforehand.”

Zhu Zhixi rolled his eyes, thought for a moment, and said, “Alright.”

Did he get away with it that easily? Fu Rangyi found it a little unbelievable.

However, in the next second, Zhu Zhixi let out a long sigh and put on a sad little expression. “My husband has grown up. He has his own little secrets now.”

Fu Rangyi: “…” He’s still such a drama queen.

“We’ve only been married…” Zhu Zhixi paused and started counting on his fingers, then continued, “two months. Not even a hundred days, all told. It seems all beautiful things must…”

“Alright, stop being so dramatic,” Fu Rangyi took out a wet wipe from his pocket, opened it, and took his hand to wipe it meticulously. “Clean your hands before you eat.”

“Can’t you just let me finish my lines?” Zhu Zhixi frowned but obediently switched hands. “Don’t you know this kind of improv relies heavily on the cooperation of your scene partner? You really can’t be an actor. What a waste of such a handsome face.”

Fu Rangyi let out a low laugh. After wiping his hands, he looked up. “Then you may continue.”

Zhu Zhixi picked up his chopsticks. “Forget it, I’ve forgotten my lines.”

“All beautiful things must…” Fu Rangyi prompted him.

“You’re so serious,” Zhu Zhixi stuffed a large piece of meat into his mouth. “This is delicious!”

He immediately lowered his head and began to meticulously perform a fat-separation surgery on the braised pork with his chopsticks, isolating a clean piece of lean meat. He placed it on a spoon, added a quail egg on top, and fed it to Fu Rangyi’s mouth. “Ah—”

Fu Rangyi wasn’t used to this; no one had ever fed him before. But looking at Zhu Zhixi’s expectant eyes, he still opened his mouth and ate it.

“Your cooking is so good,” Zhu Zhixi said, mixing the sauce with his rice and eating with great relish. “You’ve spoiled my palate.”

“You were just not picky enough before,” Fu Rangyi said. “Eating bell peppers with yogurt and gnawing on raw carrots when you were hungry.”

“When I was traveling, I was lucky to have anything to eat at all. I couldn’t be so picky.” As he spoke, he took a big gulp of chicken soup and let out a long, satisfied sigh.

Fu Rangyi loved watching him eat. He had good table manners, eating with his mouth closed, his cheeks puffed out, chewing quickly. He ate with such gusto and cleanliness. Many times, Fu Rangyi was deceived by the way Zhu Zhixi ate, mistakenly thinking the food was delicious and secretly trying it, only to be tricked time and again, each time different.

He’s really suited for filming food commercials.

Fu Rangyi said, “When I’m not here, you have to eat well too.”

Zhu Zhixi nodded while eating. “Got it.”

“Dress warmer. The weather has been changing a lot lately. Don’t just focus on looking good and ignore everything else.”

Zhu Zhixi nodded again. “Okay.”

“Be more on guard around other people, especially Alphas.”

Hearing this, Zhu Zhixi finally couldn’t hold back his laughter.

Fu Rangyi’s displeasure was obvious. “What are you laughing at?”

Zhu Zhixi shook his head, holding back his laughter, and looked down to pick at the rice grains in his bowl. “Reporting, Professor Fu, I just love to laugh.”

“Do you think I’m wrong, or do you think I’m being petty?” Fu Rangyi raised an eyebrow. “Zhu Zhixi, you’ve broken the rule twice just now. I’ve broken it once. I’ve already let it slide for you. That’s generous enough.”

“Are those the same thing?” Zhu Zhixi said, then frowned. “What two times? When were there two times?”

Fu Rangyi listed them off. “Just now you said ‘starving to death,’ and also, before I greeted you all, you said to that sandalwood-scented golden retriever, ‘won’t even if I die.’ Don’t you remember?”

“You’re right…” Zhu Zhixi’s neck stiffened. “Then punish me. I don’t need you to be so generous. Give me a command.”

Fu Rangyi was silent for a moment, then said magnanimously, “No need.”

“Really?” Zhu Zhixi was a little surprised, muttering under his breath, “Is this still the same Professor Fu who likes to give people a score of 59…”

Fu Rangyi: “This agreement is just between you and me. You don’t need to follow it when talking to outsiders.” This was the formal reason.

In terms of content, what Zhu Zhixi had said was that he would never get a divorce, even if he died, which was also a sufficient reason to be pardoned.

Zhu Zhixi said in a small voice, “Alright, my great vinegar-slipped husband.”

“What?”

“Ah, I said, I want to eat vinegar-slipped potato shreds,” Zhu Zhixi said with a smile on his face. “Make them for me tonight.”

Fu Rangyi didn’t commit, just used a small fork to spear a strawberry and handed it to him.

After eating, the two of them cleaned up and prepared to leave the break room. Before leaving, Fu Rangyi took Zhu Zhixi’s hand, lowered his head, and took off his ruby wedding ring.

“Hm?” Zhu Zhixi watched as the ring was removed, his tone a little panicked. “What are you doing?”

Fu Rangyi didn’t speak. He put the ring on his own pinky finger, then took out hand cream from his pocket, squeezed it into his palm, spread it slightly, and enveloped Zhu Zhixi’s hand, applying the cream for him.

“I just wiped them with an alcohol wipe. Your hands will be very dry later.”

Zhu Zhixi stared at his hand, his pinky finger, and the brilliant ruby on it. The combination was somewhat novel, yet seemed unexpectedly fitting.

“There.” Fu Rangyi took the ring off his pinky finger and put it back on his ring finger.

Zhu Zhixi truly loved this action, no matter how many times he saw it.

He couldn’t help but hook his fingertips, pulling Fu Rangyi’s hand. But he himself hadn’t thought of what to do next. After a few seconds of being stunned, he brought the hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.

“It smells so good,” Zhu Zhixi smiled. “It smells a bit like your pheromones.”

Fu Rangyi didn’t speak, letting him link their arms as they went out. His ears had turned a little red, but they were well hidden by the dim lighting in the museum.

He didn’t leave after eating but stayed to accompany Zhu Zhixi at work. Anyway, he was leaving for C-City tomorrow.

“It’s been super busy these past two days, with several consecutive days of artifact transportation and handover. There can’t be a single mistake. I even got into an argument with the transport team yesterday,” Zhu Zhixi complained. “But luckily, the loaned exhibits are fine. Otherwise, I’d be finished.”

“Loaned?” Fu Rangyi was a little surprised. “Weren’t they not approved?” He remembered Zhu Zhixi had said before that the museum was facing closure, and this was very likely the last exhibition. He had originally wanted to enrich the exhibits and borrow more from other collections, but was rejected.

Speaking of this, Zhu Zhixi’s eyes were quite proud, his face beaming. “Because of the promotional videos I made from the artifacts’ perspective, a few of them went viral on short video platforms. They got a lot of traction. I took these viral videos to negotiate a collaboration with them, and it worked out.”

Fu Rangyi smiled and said, “That’s amazing.”

Zhu Zhixi added, “Once the main plan for artifact conservation is finalized, we’ll start setting them up in the display cases one by one. That’s another time-consuming and labor-intensive major project.”

As they spoke, they passed an empty glass display case. Zhu Zhixi stopped, checked the serial number in the bottom right corner, and called over the lighting assistant nearby. “Xiao Yang, is this case being adjusted for lighting?”

The assistant also stopped, came over to them, and frowned at first, but quickly managed his expression. He checked and said, “It’s already adjusted.”

“That’s not right,” Zhu Zhixi pointed at the label with only numbers. “This is for the dragon-patterned white jade ring, the one that’s exceptionally white, remember? Among all the Han dynasty jade artifacts, this one is the whitest. That’s why I specifically wrote that it needs a 5000k spotlight so it doesn’t look yellow. This is obviously 3500k, too warm. Was it mixed up with the… mandarin duck-patterned gold plate? Their serial numbers are consecutive.”

The lighting assistant checked on his tablet on the spot. “You’re right.” He was a little apologetic. “Sorry, there are too many things, I got them mixed up.”

“It’s fine,” Zhu Zhixi patted his shoulder. “We’ll go over it again once it’s done.”

“Okay, I’ll get back to it then.”

Zhu Zhixi nodded. After the person left, he muttered to himself in a low voice, “The names should have been printed too.”

“You remember them just by the serial numbers?” Fu Rangyi was a little surprised. After all, this guy could even mix up table numbers on a blind date.

“I’ve seen them countless times, I’m numb to it. If I still can’t remember, I must be an idiot,” Zhu Zhixi said. “And both the jade ring and the gold plate are super beautiful, so I have a strong impression.”

Fu Rangyi loved watching him in his work mode. He was completely different from his usual childish self, remarkably professional, capable, and striving for perfection.

A curator is like the general director of an exhibition. From setting the tone and planning the overall direction of the exhibition to the display method, lighting choices, and textual descriptions of each exhibit, every single step has to go through their hands. The hardest part wasn’t coming up with inspiration or ideas, but dealing with countless people and coordinating all parties. This was something Fu Rangyi couldn’t do.

But Zhu Zhixi was different. He was socially adept, able to quickly familiarize himself with anyone. Even when conflicts arose, he could skillfully resolve them. He also had an excellent aesthetic sense and professional expertise in art. He was truly born for this line of work.

The last time he came, the lighting hadn’t been set up yet. This time, Fu Rangyi found that many designs in the exhibition were not like a conventional artifact exhibition, but more like an art exhibition, using a large amount of light and shadow aesthetic designs not commonly seen in ancient artifact exhibitions, and the color combinations were also brilliant.

He looked up and noticed some thin, soft gauze fixed to the ceiling of the exhibition hall. So he asked, “What is this for?”

Zhu Zhixi smiled and said, “Congratulations on discovering the little Easter egg!” As he spoke, he ran to the side, flipped a switch, and adjusted it for a moment. “Look!”

Projections appeared on the soft gauze. Brilliant golden murals danced with the swaying gauze like flowing gold. A moment later, the color of the projection changed to a luminous white, light and translucent.

“Because most of the exhibits on this floor are gold and jade, although this device is very simple, it will give visitors a more immersive experience.”

Fu Rangyi looked up, watching quietly, thinking it was very beautiful.

“You will continue to curate exhibitions in the future, right?” he asked.

“Why the sudden question?” After a moment, Zhu Zhixi caught on and asked with a mischievous smile, “Is it a shame that you didn’t see my previous exhibitions?”

He was just joking, but he didn’t expect Fu Rangyi to actually nod.

“Yes, it’s a pity I missed them.”

This time, it was Zhu Zhixi’s turn to be stunned.

However, before he could think of how to respond to this sentence, Sun Qi appeared, destroying their private world. But Zhu Zhixi couldn’t do anything about it; this was work.

“We just discussed the conservation plans for a few of the more important artifacts. Teacher Xiao Xi, would you like to come and take a look?”

“Stop calling me that,” Zhu Zhixi’s head was throbbing. He felt the handsome husband behind him was about to gradually turn into a haunting spirit.

“Okay, then Xiao Xi?”

“…Child, you should just call me Xiao Zhu.”

“Alright, Xiao Zhu.”

Zhu Zhixi followed him to the third floor, the spirit behind him also following with resentment. The group from the artifact conservation team was still there, studying. A few sets of exhibits had already been placed in the cases and secured.

“Take a look. Are these few okay?” Sun Qi asked.

Zhu Zhixi circled the glass display case, carefully examining it. “It’s quite meticulous. No wonder old Director Wang recommended you.”

“Right? If there’s anything unsuitable, we can still discuss it. There are also many ways to secure them. We’ll try our best to choose the best solution.”

The team chattered away, and Zhu Zhixi listened while looking. Suddenly, Fu Rangyi’s steady voice came from the other side.

“This bronze multi-branched lamp, it can’t be placed like this.”

Everyone followed the voice and saw Fu Rangyi standing in front of the display case, his hands in his overcoat pockets. He said in a deep voice, “The base of this piece has not been fully restored and has a gap. If I remember correctly, the bottom is also uneven. A multi-branched lamp is like a tree; the main trunk is thin, and the bronze is heavy. You were probably afraid it would tip over, so you added shock absorption to the base, but that’s not enough. Each openwork branch needs to be suspended with a transparent fishing line. That way, it will be stable and more aesthetically pleasing.”

Although his tone was casual, the content he delivered was extremely professional. In just a few short sentences, the previously lively discussion completely disappeared, and the exhibition hall was quiet for several seconds.

“Then let’s use this plan.” Zhu Zhixi stepped forward and introduced to everyone, “This is our exhibition’s special professional consultant, Professor Fu Rangyi from S University, an expert in archaeology.”

The crowd nodded in understanding, but Fu Rangyi added, “I am the curator’s husband.”

The atmosphere immediately changed. “Ah, no wonder.”

“Xiao Zhu has an expert giving him legal private tutoring!”

“Then let’s listen to the curator’s husband!”

Sun Qi visibly deflated. He walked to the side alone, picked up his tools, took out the artifact corresponding to the serial number—a turquoise-inlaid bronze mirror—and half-knelt to select the fixing materials and secure it on the spot.

Fu Rangyi watched for a while, then walked towards him. Seeing this, Zhu Zhixi felt something was wrong and also hurried over.

Smelling the SA’s pheromones, Sun Qi frowned and turned his head.

Fu Rangyi stared at the bronze mirror in the display case and asked, “Did you borrow this from the provincial museum?”

Zhu Zhixi nodded. “Yes.”

Seeing him staring, Sun Qi felt uneasy and asked, “Is the fixing for this one also not right?”

When Fu Rangyi wasn’t smiling or speaking, he naturally exuded a cold, intimidating aura. His gaze habitually carried scrutiny, which indeed put pressure on people. But a few seconds later, he opened his mouth and said, “No, this invisible hook is well done.”

After being praised, Sun Qi was stunned and even a little embarrassed, scratching his head through his beanie.

Zhu Zhixi wanted to see the praised hook, but his sleeve was quietly tugged by Fu Rangyi.

He turned his head. Fu Rangyi leaned close to his ear and told him in a super low voice, “Our team excavated this bronze mirror.”

After speaking, he even slightly raised the end of his eyebrow, like a small child asking for praise.