Xu Qingqing sighed inwardly at the ingenuity and the out - of - this - world imagination of the ancestors.
The statue of a human - faced bird had its bird body carved so exquisitely that almost every feather was lifelike.
Especially the eyes of the human face were made extremely prominent, and the nose was long and straight. It could barely be called a human face, but it combined grotesqueness and majesty in a wonderful way.
After confirming that the artifact was genuine, Xu Qingqing and Chen Jiashu reluctantly put it into a box and handed it over to the policemen beside them for safekeeping.
Seeing their reluctant looks, Officer Xiao He said with a smile, "Come on, there's no need to be so reluctant. This artifact will be sent to the special cultural relics task - force for research. You'll still have chances to see it."
"Thank you, Officer Xiao He." Xu Qingqing's misty eyes were full of excitement. She sighed again that it was so lucky that she had joined this task, or she would have regretted it!
After putting the artifact away, the next task was to search every store in the area to see if there were any bronzeware.
They were busy until nightfall. The stores were closing one after another. They had only searched most of the stores in Area A. They would have to continue the next day.
Wang Lide called Xu Qingqing and Chen Jiashu to call it a day and go home to rest. "Today's task is over."
Xu Qingqing sat in the car, massaging her legs and exchanging information with Chen Jiashu.
"I don't understand. The tomb - robber must have known how valuable this thing was. Why did he sell it for only 2,000 yuan?" This was the thing that puzzled Xu Qingqing the most.
Since he was a tomb - robber, he must have had some expertise; otherwise, how could he deal with valuable antiques?
"You're right," Chen Jiashu nodded seriously, sharing the same doubt.
Tomb - robbing was usually for making a fortune, but selling something for only 2,000 yuan was really not worth the great risk.
Wang Lide and Gu Yuan also came back. They had found a strange - looking golden mask in a store. It was only half of a face, tattered and inlaid with many small stones.
The store owner had bought it from the tomb - robber because he thought it was made of gold and could be melted down for money.
Wang Lide handed the mask to Xu Qingqing and Chen Jiashu to have a look. Rubbing his sore back, his voice was full of exhaustion.
"I think it's similar to the statue of the human - faced bird we're looking for, so I brought it for you to check."
Looking at the eye holes of the mask, an image of the statue of the human - faced bird they had received that day flashed through Xu Qingqing's mind. A sudden inspiration struck her. She excitedly said to Officer Xiao He,
"Officer He, could you please bring the wooden box we received today? I've made a discovery!"
"Sure." Officer Xiao He quickly opened the trunk of the car and brought over the wooden box.
Xu Qingqing opened the box, took out the bronze statue, and gently picked up the half - mask. She held her breath as if a heavy breath would blow the mask away.
She gently placed the mask on the face of the statue. The eyes of the statue fit perfectly into the eye holes of the mask, and the nose could stick out.
It was custom - made for the statue!
This discovery shocked the other three people. They had thought the statue was just a mascot or something.
They never expected it could wear a mask!
This discovery made Xu Qingqing and the others extremely excited. They even began to suspect that it might be related to some kind of creature that had once lived on Earth, a civilization that had disappeared.
But no one knew the real answer!
Xu Qingqing would never forget the pounding of her heart when she saw the statue wearing the mask that day.
It was the pounding of a heart for a great step in the development of human civilization!
By the time Xu Qingqing drove home, it was completely dark, almost nine o'clock.
There were only a few stars in the sky. Only the moon, like a large jade plate, hung there alone.
When Xu Qingqing drove home, she saw Lu Chuanbai's car parked in front of her house.
She slapped her head hard and finally remembered that she had been so absorbed in work that she had forgotten to tell her mother to pick up the two kids from school!
Oh no!
What a stupid thing to do! The two kids must have been very angry waiting for so long!
Xu Qingqing quickly got out of the car. As soon as she opened the door, she heard laughter from inside.
"Hahaha, Uncle Lu, Teacher Su, you lost! Brother and I won this round!"
"Yeah! An'an, we finally won a round!"
The voices of the two kids didn't sound angry or sad at all. Instead, they were full of pride.
Then a strange, gentle female voice sounded.
"Wow, Yiyi and An'an are so amazing. Teacher lost to you."
"Teacher let you win on purpose. Don't be too proud, you two."
This was Lu Chuanbai's doting voice.
"Humph! Uncle Lu, don't try to cheat. We won fairly!" Xu Yiyi humphed.
The scene was completely different from what Xu Qingqing had imagined. It was full of joy. And... who was this strange woman's voice?
Xu Qingqing became alert. Without even changing her shoes, she rushed into the living room. She saw the two kids, Lu Chuanbai, and a young - looking girl with long floating hair. She looked gentle and was lying on the carpet playing the flight chess.
"You..." Xu Qingqing was stunned.
She felt like she had seen this girl before, but she couldn't remember where.
"Mom, you forgot to pick us up today. Fortunately, Teacher Su called Uncle Lu," Xu Yiyi said, raising her little eyebrows unhappily and pouting her chubby face.
"I'm sorry, Yiyi. Mom was really too busy at work today and forgot!" Xu Qingqing came over apologetically to apologize.
"It's okay. We forgive Mom!" Xu An'an moved his little bottom and got closer to Teacher Su. "Mom, this is my kindergarten art teacher. I invited her to our home to play!"
The long - haired girl stood up gracefully and reached out her hand to Xu Qingqing. "Hello, An'an's mom. My name is Su Xiaoyue."
"Hello, Teacher Su." Xu Qingqing gratefully reached out her hand and shook Su Xiaoyue's. "I'm really sorry to trouble you to call the kids' dad."
Xu Qingqing remembered where she had seen Su Xiaoyue. It was on the day when the principal welcomed Xu Yiyi and Xu An'an into the kindergarten.
Su Xiaoyue withdrew her hand, covered her lips and smiled gently, with her almond eyes squinted. "An'an's mom, you don't have to hide it. An'an told me that Mr. Lu is not their real dad. He's just standing in for him."
"Ah... You know all about it..."
Xu Qingqing was taken aback, and a blush of embarrassment crept onto her face.
Indeed, she had never told Xu Yiyi and Xu An'an that Lu Chuanbai was their father. What they said was correct.
Lu Chuanbai watched Xu Qingqing's embarrassed look, the corner of his lips curving up, waiting for Xu Qingqing to admit that he was the two kids' father. But unexpectedly, Xu Qingqing just followed Su Xiaoyue's words.
"Yes, Mr. Lu is just their godfather," Xu Qingqing's voice carried a hint of coldness.
After saying that, Xu Qingqing glared at Lu Chuanbai, who was silent. Didn't he want to recognize the two kids before? Now that the teacher was misunderstanding, why didn't he admit it!