The director walked forward and knocked on the courtyard door. “Mr. Fu, are you at home?”
“Yes, come in.” An old and hoarse male voice came from the small courtyard.
“Come, Professor Xia, this way please.” The director opened the door and brought Xia Wanyuan in. “Mr. Fu is already 90 years old and is the oldest person in our research institute. If he doesn’t know about it, there’s really nothing we can do.”
“Thank you.” Xia Wanyuan nodded slightly at the director.
The door opened and a white-haired old man sat in the living room. The director bowed to the old man. “Old Sir, this is Professor Xia from Qing University. She has something to ask you.”
Xia Wanyuan bowed slightly to the old gentleman to show her respect. When she looked up and met the old gentleman’s gaze, Xia Wanyuan realized that Old Master Fu was actually looking at her with a very strange expression.
“Director, if you have something on, go ahead. I can do it myself.”
“Okay, okay, okay. I’ll get another researcher to pick you up later.” The principal had too many things to do every day. He was more than happy to not sit here with him.
After the director left, Xia Wanyuan walked up to Old Master Fu. “Old Master, do you know me?”
Although Old Master Fu was old, his eyes were very clear. He stared intently at Xia Wanyuan’s face with shock and confusion in a daze. “What’s your name?”
“Xia Wanyuan.”
“How old?”
“Twenty-three this year.”
“23,” Old Master Fu murmured, as if he did not believe it at all. He wiped his eyes with his hand and sized Xia Wanyuan up again. “23…”
“Old man, you know my ancestors? Do I look very similar to my ancestors?”
Old Master Fu shook his head. “It’s nothing. I was wrong.”
Xia Wanyuan could tell that the old man did not want to say anything, so she did not continue to ask him. Instead, she handed the paper in her hand to Old Master Fu. “Old Master Fu, can you help me take a look at the patterns on it?”
The moment the paper in Xia Wanyuan’s hand unfolded, the old gentleman’s expression changed slightly. He stared intently at Xia Wanyuan. “Where did you find these?”
Xia Wanyuan was a person who respected old scholars very much, but that did not mean that she had to completely follow the other party. “Then can you tell me first if these patterns have any special meaning?”
Old Master Fu’s gaze landed on those strange patterns. After a while, Old Master turned around. “Leave. I’ve never seen these things.”
Xia Wanyuan frowned slightly. She could tell that Old Master Fu must know something, but he was also afraid of something.
Xia Wanyuan knew that more haste would lead to less speed, so she did not probe further. Instead, she nodded. “Thank you, Old Master. I won’t disturb you anymore.”
With that, Xia Wanyuan put away the painting and turned to leave.
Seeing Xia Wanyuan’s back disappear at the door, Old Master Fu’s gaze gradually darkened.
He had naturally seen those patterns before, but nearly 70 years had passed since he saw those things.
He knew that these things would appear again one day, but he did not expect it to be so soon.
After leaving the research institute, Xia Wanyuan confirmed that Old Master Fu must know something. She called Shen Qian.
“Help me investigate all of Old Master Fu’s experiences at the Cultural Research Institute. Be very detailed.”
“Okay, I’ll do it immediately.”
After hanging up, Xia Wanyuan folded the drawing paper and placed it in her bag, then called Jun Shiling.
