The Door to Rebirth in Apocalypse

CH 97

Default Dyslexic Roboto Lora

After finishing the meal, Gu Ning returned to her room.
She switched on her phone while charging and there was numerous missed call.
The first number was not saved but Gu Ning knew it was Jiang Yu’s number.
The next ten or so were all from home.

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Gu Ning had an ominous feeling in her heart and immediately dialled back.

Mother Gu’s anxious voice rang out: “Hello! NingNing ah.
Why is your phone off? I couldn’t find you even if I wanted to, I was so worried.”

Gu Ning replied: “My phone ran out of battery.
What’s happened?”

Mother Gu answered: “Aiya, remember you left something at home, that particularly pretty little green bowl?”

Gu Ning’s heart thumped and couldn’t help but interrupt Mother Gu sharply: “Don’t tell me it’s broken?!”

“That’s not it.” Mother Gu replied.

Gu Ning relaxed a bit.

Then she heard Mother Gu explaining: “It’s just that your cousin had borrowed it.”

Gu Ning jerked up and asked: “What do you mean? What do you mean she borrowed it? Why did she borrow it for? Who gave her permission to borrow it?!”

The urgent questioning from Gu Ning startled Mother Gu: “What’s wrong, is it something valuable? She said she is borrowing it to film a TV show.
I asked her to call you but your phone was turned off….
Your father came back and grumbled at me and told me to call you as soon as possible.
Don’t worry too much, she said she is just borrowing for a day or two and will return it to you right away.”

Gu Ning only felt a breath of anger being held in her chest but she couldn’t vent it at Mother Gu so she just said: “I’ll call her.” Then she hung up the phone.

“She had hung up.” Mother Gu looked at Father Gu guiltily.

Father Gu glanced at her and then nagged: “I’ve told you before not to touch NingNing’s things when she’s not at home.
You’re even better, you let Jiang Yu take it straight away.
When Gu Ning was a child, those bronze figurines of hers, you gave to Jiang Yu and NingNing still remember the incident till now.
After so many years, you still haven’t learned.
Later on, if your daughter resented you in her heart, don’t come crying to me.”

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Mother Gu was also full of grievances: “She went into NingNing’s room and took it out herself.
It’s already in her hands and I’m too embarrassed to reject her pleading.”

“Next time when NingNing is out, you should just lock her room.
That Jiang Yu too, how can she just casually enter someone’s room and touches their things when they’re not in.
It’s just so rude.” Father Gu continues nagging with a frown.

Mother Gu knew that Father Gu had never liked Jiang Yu.
Moreover, she felt that it was her fault that she allowed Jiang Yu to take away Gu Ning’s stuff so she just kept quiet and listened.

After Gu Ning had found Jiang Yu’s number and dialled it, the soft music ringtone only made her feel so anxious.

However, at the end of the phone call, there was only a mechanical female voice saying that the number she had dialled was temporarily unanswered and please try again later.

Gu Ning called several times but no one answered.

Taking a few deep breaths, Gu Ning calmed down and recalled Jiang Yu’s home number, and dialled over.

The phone rang four times before it was picked up.

Jiang YueZhou’s voice rang out: “Hello, who is this?”

Gu Ning asked directly: “Is Jiang Yu home?”

“Looking for Jiang Yu ah, she hasn’t come back yet.
She’s not living here now so you are…..” Jiang YueZhou stared inexplicably at the phone which was hung up.

“Who is it?” Lin MeiFeng asked.

Jiang YueZhou replied: “I don’t know…… it seems a bit like Gu Ning’s voice but I’m not too sure.”

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When Lin MeiFeng heard it might be Gu Ning, she immediately perked up: “This Gu Ning, she didn’t even come to visit us when she had returned.
Really, she couldn’t be expecting us, the elders, to visit her especially instead?”

Jiang YueZhou expressed his dissatisfaction: “You should cut the crap.
Gu Ning has recently returned and no one knows what she has been through.
I only have this niece, can’t you say something nice instead? What’s wrong with us going over to visit her?”

Lin MeiFeng sneered: “Well well well, the younger generation doesn’t pay respect and visit the elders but we have to go and visit her instead?!”

Jiang YueZhou didn’t bother to argue with her and called Gu Ning’s home to ask about her recent condition.

Gu Ning hung up Jiang YueZhou’s phone and called Jiang Yu again but there was still no answer.

Mother Gu said that Jiang Yu had taken her things away to record a show yet Gu Ning didn’t even know what show it was.

When Jiang Yu didn’t answer her phone, Gu Ning had no way of locating her.

After waiting patiently for half an hour, she tried dialling Jiang Yu’s number again.

This time, the result was still the same, the call was unanswered.

Gu Ning was very annoyed at her own carelessness, but there was nothing she could do…… Gu Ning was seated on her bed thinking before she suddenly stood up, walked out of her room, and headed straight to find Zhuang Chen.
She knocked at her door a few times and waited.

Zhuang Chen opened the door with her facial mask still on her face and was a little surprised: “Gu Ning? Is there something wrong?”

Gu Ning asked directly: “It’s like this, I have a problem.
If I want to find someone but this person doesn’t answer their phone.
Do you have any way of helping me to find them?”

Zhuang Chen smiled as soon as she heard the request: “Then, you’ve found the right person.”

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On the other hand, Jiang Yu was already in the recording of the show at the TV station.

This was a treasure appraisal show, an improvised version of the older treasure hunting show.

A great deal of money was spent in bringing in the master of treasure appraisal society, along with a brand new group of expert examiners.
In addition, the previous host who was rather dull in their way of presenting was replaced by another new male host who was calm, funny, and very knowledgeable.
All these innovative changes had brought the show ratings to a new height.

One of the improvisations was to divide the previous single show format into several treasure appraisal segments which would capture and hold onto the audiences’ curiosity.
The first segment was to have an overview in which the experts had to gauge the item based on the photographs provided by the crew.
Afterward, the actual item would be brought out for the appraisal from them before concluding the final verdict.
The experts had to share their opinions at the end of each segment while the master of the treasure appraisal society would be the one who had the final say in the end.

For the best effect of the show, the items were kept in high confidential and the experts would not be able to know it until the recording.

The host started the show introduction before moving on to the topic of the day.

An enlarged photograph appeared on the big screen and the first item of the day was shown.
There were five photographs of each item and each photo could only be viewed for twenty seconds.
Later on, there would be a five minutes pause for the experts to share their opinions and discussion on the item before moving on to the next item.

The celadon sunflower wash was arranged as the sixth showcase and was the last item of the day.

The first five items were mediocre and those experts were leaning lazily in their chairs without spending too much focus on them and commented on the items with some brief descriptions.
The master appraiser was even sipping his tea slowly, occasionally raising his eyes to look at them.

As soon as the celadon sunflower wash appeared on the screen, the experts who had been mingling with each other sat up straight and even subconsciously leaned forward to look at the screen.
The camera zoomed in on the experts’ expressions, capturing their shocked look which was a stark contrast to their previous casual and disinterested look.

Even the master who was sitting leisurely drinking tea covered the lid and stared at the screen with surprise.

An expert whose expression was filled with disbelief asked: “Isnt’ this, isn’t this the Northern Song Ru-Kiln Celadon Sunflower Wash?”

The expert examiner beside him was much calmer, the shock on his face was only for a moment when he saw the photo and by now, he had already regained his composure before commenting with slight disdain: “One of the two celadon sunflower wash is in the museum in Country Y.
The other one is in Hong Kong.
I think this is an imitation in all probability.”

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Upon hearing his statement, the other few experts who were full of amazement collected their composures and astonishment.

The middle-aged man in his fifties who was seated beside him in a green robe sneered: “Li YaoXian, aren’t you too presumptuous? Since there are two of the items, who says there won’t be a third? This is only the first photo and you’ve already concluded that it’s a fake?”

“Haha! The two experts have already fired up as soon the item is shown.” The host smiled and tried to explain: “I assume that the audiences here and those in front of the TV are not quite sure about the origin of the celadon sunflower wash.
Therefore, I will start by giving you all a brief introduction.
The full name of this antique is Northern Song Ru-Kiln Celadon Sunflower Wash.
Right now, there is only two existence are known, one of which is kept in a museum in Country Y.
The other one fetched an astronomical price of 200 million dollars during an auction in Hong Kong in 2012! Fellow audiences! That’s 200 million dollars ah!”

The audience that was presented in the recording all drew in a cold breath and immediately stared at the celadon sunflower wash on the screen and exchanged whispers among themselves.

The five photos were quickly shown.

It was time for the experts to officially begin their verbal sparring.

The middle-aged man in the green robe who had dismissed the other expert who commented that the item was a forgery said: “As we all know, the Ru-Kiln is the pinnacle of Chinese porcelain history, with a history of over 900 years.
As the host has explained, another celadon sunflower wash had fetched a record price of over $200 million in Hong Kong and is now in a private collection.
If this is the real deal, then I can guarantee that if it is taken to auction, it will definitely set a new world auction record for the Song Dynasty porcelain!”

Li YaoXian sneered back: “You are talking about how much it is worth when the verdict of the item authenticity is not out yet.
No wonder your antique shop is getting bigger and bigger, after all, you are just a businessman.”

The host interrupted the tensed bickering and shifted the focus to other experts: “What about the fellow experts, what are your thoughts about this?”

Indeed, they couldn’t tell much from just a few photos but this was just the flow of the show, and everyone else shared their opinions before moving on to the next segment.

The items were brought out by the owner of the item.

The experts had shown a lack of enthusiasm for the first five items and just gave very brief reviews and conclusion on it.
Luckily, the host was able to chime in some gags occasional to prevent the show from getting dull as it was clear that the main highlight of today’s show was the last item.

When Jiang Yu walked out with the delicate box in her hand, everyone felt refreshed at the sight of her.

Jiang Yu walked out, wearing a pair of high heels which made her figure look tall and slender.
Her hair was pulled back into a bun, her skin was fair and her make-up today made her look very gentle and beautiful.
She wore a gracious and warm smile, making everyone feel that this girl was very pleasant to the eyes at first glance.

However, the eyes of the experts were all focused on the box she held in her hands.