139: Chapter 139 It's exhausting talking to you

"Yeah, let's eat first. I'll look at it when I get back."

The two of them settled down in a seaside restaurant in the old district and ordered a table full of seafood: shrimp, crab, razor clams, and clams, plus a bowl of fish head and tofu soup.

Zhou Waner ate with a beaming smile while Hu Tian peeled shrimp for her.

After dinner, they returned to Hu Tian's Yunding No. 1 villa. While Zhou Waner went to wash up, Hu Tian sat under the desk lamp in the study and opened the booklet.

The paper had already turned a deep yellow, and the ink was somewhat smudged, but the handwriting was still quite clear—typical small regular script in the qing dynasty court style.

Hu Tian's gaze fell on the title page, which read: miscellaneous records of the fujian sea, Volume One, Autumn Month of the Guimao Year, the Twenty-Third Year of Daoguang, compiled by Lin Huaide.

At that moment, the Treasure Hunting Radar quietly activated. A faint scanning light lit up deep in his mind, instantly turning into a stream of clear information that rushed in like a tide.

Name: miscellaneous records of the fujian sea, incomplete copy, three volumes remaining.

Era: Twenty-third year of Daoguang in the qing dynasty, which is 1843 AD, approximately one hundred and eighty years ago.

Origin: Private collection of the Lin Family of Jinjiang County, Quanzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province. Compiled by Lin Huaide, courtesy name Ziqing, a tribute student of Quanzhou Prefecture. He once served in the Fujian Maritime Circuit Office and spent his life traveling through the coastal counties of Fujian Province, widely collecting folk oral histories, fragments of old gazetteers, and maritime documents. It took him eleven years to complete this book.

In the late Daoguang period, the Lin Family migrated south for some reason, and this book was scattered. Two of its volumes are missing, and the remaining three volumes flowed into Jiangnan at the end of the qing dynasty, passing through several collectors before finally ending up in the market.

Cultural Relic Information: Three volumes remaining. The paper is bamboo paper produced locally in Fujian Province, which is durable and still well-preserved after nearly two hundred years. The ink is handwritten in pine soot ink, in neat small regular script in the court style, possessing high calligraphy appreciation value.

The cover has cotton-wrapped corners, with minor signs of insect damage on the inner pages. The overall condition is medium-high, belonging to the category of private folk documents from the mid-qing dynasty.

Value Assessment: Extremely high academic value.

The book records in detail the coastal geography, port channels, maritime merchant interactions, folklore, and a large number of maritime trade records not found in official histories during the Daoguang period. It is a first-hand folk document for studying the Maritime Silk Road of the qing dynasty.

In addition, the book contains several hand-drawn nautical charts and port sketches. Some of the diagrams are highly accurate, making them of great historical reference value.

In terms of market value, similar privately compiled local documents from the qing dynasty in comparable condition have mostly fetched between 80,000 and 200,000 yuan at auctions in recent years. If the contents of the book are verified by academia to be unique, its value could be even higher.

He hadn't expected that the shabby booklet Zhou Waner had casually picked up from a street stall for thirty yuan would actually contain a hand-drawn map of the waters near the Matsu Islands from that period.

He opened Volume Two again, carefully searching through it page by page under the dim light.

Just then, the soft patter of slippers on the floor came from behind him. Zhou Waner came out after washing up, standing at the doorway of the study. Her hair was still damp with steam, and she let out a lazy yawn.

"What are you looking at so seriously?"

Hu Tian looked up, his expression normal as he gently closed the booklet and gestured with it toward her.

"Not bad. It's genuine. You got a real bargain."

He had flipped through it page by page. Most of the content consisted of ordinary accounts recording the local customs, fishing seasons, and products of the Fujian region, with nothing particularly special. The only helpful part was the hand-drawn map of the waters near the Matsu Islands.

Hu Tian closed the book, leaned back against the chair, and closed his eyes to think for a moment.

"What are you thinking about?"

Zhou Waner, having changed into loungewear, walked in from the door carrying two cups of hot milk. Seeing his brow furrowed in deep thought, she leaned in curiously.

Hu Tian took the milk and said casually, "Thinking about next week's schedule."

"Where are you going next week?"

"Going to an island near the Min River Estuary to investigate something."

Hu Tian took a sip of milk, his expression casual. "I'll stop by Magic City on the way. Christies has an auction on the 15th. I have a few items being auctioned there, so if I have time, I'd like to go take a look."

"Christies? What are you selling this time?"

"Ming and qing dynasty Official Kiln porcelain, and a batch of shipwreck ceramics."

Zhou Waner nodded slightly. She was not unfamiliar with the name Christies.

Last time Hu Tian returned from Jinling, he had established a connection with Christies through a contact introduced by her grandfather. The first batch of antiques sent for auction had sold quite well, so sending a few more this time was familiar territory.

She didn't ask further about this matter. Resting her chin on her hand, she thought for a moment and changed the subject.

"Then where are we going to play this weekend? Didn't you say a couple of days ago that you wanted to stroll around the West Lake?"

"Up to you."

Hu Tian took a sip of milk, his tone lazy. "You decide."

"Then West Lake it is."

Zhou Waner's eyes brightened a bit. "The last time I went was back in college. The Broken Bridge was packed with people. Since it's not a holiday this time, there should be fewer people. We can walk around the Broken Bridge on Saturday, find a place at Lou Wai Lou for dinner, and visit Lingyin Temple on Sunday. How about that?"

"Sure."

"Can you speak more than two words?"

Hu Tian looked up at her, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. "Absolutely sure."

Zhou Waner was amused and exasperated by his nonchalant attitude. She reached out and lightly poked his arm. "Forget it, talking to you is exhausting."

The night grew deeper. The glow of the desk lamp cast a warm yellow light over the study. As the two chatted casually, the atmosphere was relaxed and peaceful.

Only Hu Tian's fingers holding the cup inadvertently rubbed the closed booklet on the desk. His gaze fell on the cover, lingered for a moment, and then moved away.

He had committed the waters near the Matsu Islands to memory.

Hu Tian casually placed the copy of miscellaneous records of the fujian sea onto the bookshelf against the wall and mentally reorganized his timeline.

Saturday and Sunday, he would spend quality time with Waner to clear his mind.

The halo of the desk lamp gradually narrowed. The night was already very deep.

Zhou Waner drank her last sip of milk, set the empty cup on the desk, and stretched lazily. Her spine arched into a beautiful curve, and the faint scent of shampoo from the tips of her hair drifted gently with her movements.

"Alright, no more chatting. I'm sleepy."

She stood up, gathered the collar of her loungewear, and looked back at Hu Tian. "When are you going to sleep?"

"In a bit."

Hu Tian put his cup back on the tray, shifted his gaze away from her, and looked down to flip through some rough notes on the desk.

Zhou Waner stood at the doorway for a second. Without saying anything more, she shuffled her slippers and headed toward the bedroom.

Hu Tian didn't sit for much longer. He tidied up the things on the desk and got up to wash up.

The bathroom light was white and bright. He turned on the faucet, scooped up some cold water, and splashed it on his face. As the water dripped down his chin, he stood in front of the mirror for a moment, the coordinates of that sea area still faintly floating in his mind.

He raised his hand to wipe his face, hung the towel back on the rack, and switched off the light.

Only the bedside lamp was still lit in the bedroom. Its soft, warm orange light made the entire room feel very quiet.

Zhou Waner had already crawled under the covers, lying on her side with one hand pillowed under her face. Her eyes were half-open. Seeing him push open the door and walk in, she moved slightly.

"All washed up?"

"Yeah."

Hu Tian sat down on the edge of the bed and bent over to place his shoes. His movements were gentle, but the bed still sank slightly.

He turned his head and glanced at her.

Her eyes were closed, her eyelashes delicately covering them. Her breathing had already slowed down as if she were about to fall asleep. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from rubbing against the blanket, and her hair was scattered across the pillow in a beautiful, messy way.

Hu Tian reached out, brushing away a strand of hair that had strayed onto her forehead, his fingertips gently sliding along her temple.

Without opening her eyes, the corner of Zhou Waner's mouth twitched. "Your hands are cold."

"Just washed them."

"Mm."

She didn't dodge, her eyelashes trembling slightly as if she were waiting.

Since their last parting in Jinling, they had reunited, but it had been nearly a month since they last saw each other.

During that month, phone calls and video chats had been constant, but in the end, it wasn't the same. Only when they actually met did they realize that the deep-seated clinginess after a long separation was impossible to suppress.

Hu Tian leaned down, his kiss falling on her temple, light and tentative.

Zhou Waner slowly opened her eyes. In the hazy light, she met his gaze. Without speaking, she merely tilted her chin up slightly and leaned a little closer to him.

This tiny gesture already said everything.

Hu Tian bent down, his hand resting on her waist as he gently pulled her into his arms.

The blanket rustled softly.

At some point, someone reached out and switched off the bedside lamp. The light went out, leaving only a sliver of the night filtering through the curtains, thin and hazy.

Outside, there was the occasional sound of wind passing through the treetops, very soft and distant.

The two people in the room fell silent.

A night of tenderness, lingering and quiet, like a slow-falling rain.

The next day, the sunlight had already climbed over the top of the curtains, casting a long, thin beam of light inside that fell diagonally across the floor, illuminating the wood grain with a faint golden hue.

The wall clock had reached 10:07.

Zhou Waner was the first to wake.

She didn't move right away, but slowly opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling above for a moment, her consciousness gradually rising from her sleepiness.

Behind her was Hu Tian's warmth, with one of his arms resting heavily on her waist. His breathing was steady, and he was clearly still asleep.

She lay quietly for a while without pulling away. She slowly turned her head to the side, glancing at the light filtering through the gap in the curtains to estimate the time, then turned her head back and wiggled her fingers.

The sleepiness hadn't fully dissipated yet; her eyelids felt heavy, and her body was sluggish. Even the effort to move felt redundant.

They had slept very late last night.

Her face flushed slightly as she suppressed the thought, her gaze drifting back to the ceiling.

Outside the window, the chirping of birds drifted in through the glass, soft and fragmented, yet pleasant to hear.

After another moment, the person behind her moved.

Hu Tian's hand resting on her waist tightened slightly in a seemingly unconscious gesture, and then he rolled over and opened his eyes.

He didn't speak immediately, nor was he in a hurry to get up. He just stared at the ceiling for two or three seconds, slowly shaking off his sleepiness.

"What time is it?"

His voice still carried a trace of morning grogginess—low and slightly raspy.

Zhou Waner turned her head and glanced at him. "It's past ten."

"Mm."

He closed his eyes briefly and reopened them, resting the back of his hand on his forehead. He just lay there with no intention of getting up.

Zhou Waner slowly sat up, propping herself up on her elbow. Messy strands of hair covered half her face, which she casually tucked behind her ear as she turned to look toward the window.

The sunlight turned the curtains a pale orange, bright and gentle. The entire bedroom was washed in this color, and even the air carried a lazy warmth.

"We slept too late last night."