"Miss Tang, thank you for coming," Mr. Chen greeted with a slight smile on his face.
Gesturing to her he said, "Come, let me introduce you. Young Master Zhao has a matter requiring your unique expertise."
Tang Lin paid attention to how Mr. Chen did not say much about him and heightened her guard about her.
She could not help but notice that Zhao Jun observed her with undisguised interest.
Tang Lin did not shy away either, using the opportunity to look more closely at him.
Even though she was a little terrified at coming face to face with this mysterious entity, she did not hold back either.
She let her eyes linger on his face that could be said to be perfectly angled; the face of one highly favored by the creator.
His black chinese suit was made to fit him to perfection. The button holes, collar and lapels were embroidered with gold thread.
On the left side of it there was an embroidery of a dragon that looked to be spewing fire.
She had thought the man who came to call her earlier had done great wearing his suit as well as he did.
Unfortunately he still fell short... so, so short.
Zhao Jun seemed to become one with his attire, looking so appealing that she almost wanted to grac him and hide him away from the world...
She wanted to put him in a display glass and leave him there. For her eyes only.
She shook her head gently. Her intrusive thoughts were threatening to shine through her eyes.
She almost couldn't bear to look away from him.
Okay just one more look...
She thought, allowing herself to give him another once over.
When her eyes got to his hand, that's when she saw it.
A set of Buddhist beads sat quietly on his left wrist, the only adornment she could find on him.
The beads looked somewhat faded, an indication that he'd had them for a long time, or often rubbed them between his fingers.
Or both.
The appearance of the beads did not manage to affect his elegance at all, even adding a bit of charm to him.
Tut, tut, tut. This appearance is too top-notch, right? How could we ordinary people cope?
She had always been aware that he was an incredibly fine man, since the time she saw his photos in Beijing.
In the past two months, her assistant had always ensured to grab new issues of the magazines featuring him and she had always taken a good look whenever she had the chance.
Unfortunately, no amount of high-definition magazine photos that were mostly sneakily taken, and far in-between could prepare her for the real deal.
She almost lifted her hand to fan her heated up face.
Too cool, too handsome.
His deep, cold yet calm voice brought her out of her daze.
"Honoured to be in the presence of the famous Eagle Eye. Your reputation goes ahead of you."
"So does yours, Mr. Zhao," she replied neutrally, doing her best to keep her voice even.
A light chuckle made its way past his pale lips, the mirth no where to be found in his eyes.
"Not all reputations are correct, Miss Tang."
"In my little knowledge and experience, there's usually a chance that they are true," she countered softly.
Instead of taking offense, Zhao Jun laughed again, this time more genuinely than the first.
"I do not dare consider your wealth of knowledge and expertise 'little', Miss Tang."
"I do not dare bask too much in your high praise, either. What if I become too smug in the future?" Tang Mei followed with a quirky remark of her own, her lips curving slightly at the ends.
"Indeed," he nodded calmly and allowed the charged atmosphere to return to its previous quiet before saying,
"That's why you are a great fit for what I'm looking for. You have… discernment."
As he spoke, he reached into his jacket and took out a small package wrapped in silk.
Right at this moment, Mr. Chen rose to his feet again and made his way towards the door.
"I will leave you two to it, Young Master Zhao. Please let me know when you finish. If you need anything, do not hesitate to inform me."
Without waiting for a response, he stopped by the door and turned to give a deep bow to Zhao Jun.
Tang Lin received a polite nod of his head and he was out of the room, gently shutting the door behind him.
"I would like your opinion on this," as if he had been waiting for Mr. Chen to leave all day, he immediately resumed his conversation with her.
Tang Lin accepted the package carefully, her demeanor changing completely now that she had engaged work-mode.
She unwrapped it carefully on Mr. Chen's desk to find a fragment of jade, roughly the size of her palm, laying inside it.
The piece looked like it was part of something bigger, no matter how she looked at it.
This made her turn it to look at its edges…
The piece had rather strange markings carved onto its surface in an ancient style.
Right as her fingers touched it, a jolt of something like electricity shot through her bother, leaving her confused and at a loss for what to do.
Whether it was real or just a figment of her imagination, she did not know.
She quickly gave herself a mental shaking and returned her attention to the piece.
"It is an interesting piece, Mr. Zhao" she said, keeping her voice natural as she reached for her magnifying glass in her briefcase.
"I cannot say for sure just yet, but I believe it is something from the Han Dynasty, though the style of carving points at a specialized regional work."
"I would like a more concrete verdict, Miss Tang. Can you authenticate it?" Zhao asked cooly, observing her facial expressions the entire time.
"I will need better light and my tools," she replied, her calm voice nothing like the wave of anxiety that washed over her as she examined the piece some more.
The markings on the jade seemed to shift under her gaze, almost as if they were struggling to break free.
"I was hoping for more than just authentication with this jade piece, Miss Tang," Zhao Jun said while observing her actions.