Chapter 19

Executing the Bet

Qiao Yue was busy at work despite her disgust at gasping in studio she heard from time to time. This was the workplace for all the conservator-restorers at Yayi Club after all.

Given the same environment and the same equipment, if Qiao Yue could restore the painting 100% while other conservator-restorers only 70 to 80%, it all came down to skill.

Gradually, Qiao Yue got into her zone where she could no longer hear any sound around her.

When a few conservator-restorers saw Chu Jia enter, they were about to greet her when she stopped them with a gesture.

Chu Jia walked up to Qiao Yue and saw that her hands were moving in a way that she didn’t understand. This was not the first time she had seen Qiao Yue work, but every time she saw her work, she was amazed and felt assured.

Qiao Yue would probably remain tense until she finished the restoration.

Chu Jia waved her hand to ask the other conservator-restorers out. Two of them still wanted to watch Qiao Yue work; Chu Jia had to urge them repeatedly before they followed her out.

“I think you all know Qiao Yue’s skill level now.”

The moment Chu Jia said this, the few people who were still discussing Qiao Yue’s craftsmanship instantly fell silent.

“Qiao Yue is the conservator-restorer I invited here. He’s here to protect our club’s reputation, but you’re always picking on him. I didn’t expect that my men would side with an outsider; you didn’t work together to let Boss Li know how challenging it was to repair his painting, but questioned Qiao Yue’s craftsmanship and credibility instead.”

“I, I was just afraid that if we didn’t restore it properly, the club would have to take the blame.”

“Then tell me, could you fix it?”

“I...”

“Alright, I’ll let you guys think about it! If you insist that you’re right, I won’t keep you.”

With that, Chu Jia turned and left. She trusted Qiao Yue. Although she was young, she had become their pillar of support all these years. Hence, she would believe whatever Qiao Yue said.

Chu Jia’s guess was right. Qiao Yue was in a tense state for two days. It wasn’t until she finished the last stroke when she heaved a sigh of relief.

A few of the conservator-restorers hurried to examine the painting when they saw Qiao Yue take off her gloves.

“Amazing, it can actually be restored to this extent.”

Even when they stuck their faces to the painting, they couldn’t see any traces of tea on it.

Qiao Yue, who had been tense for a long time, felt exhausted and irritable.

She walked around them, rolled up the painting and walked out of the studio with two dark circles under her eyes.

Restoring a painting could take anywhere from a few days to a few years. There were very few people who could repair a painting that was soaked in tea in two days.

“Qiao Yue, how are you?”

The first thing Chu Jia asked when Qiao Yue left the studio was not about the ancient painting but Qiao Yue’s wellbeing.

“Has everyone arrived?”

“Yes. President Qiao and President Shen are here too.”

“Alright,” Qiao Yue said before she walked towards room 107.

When Qiao Yue pushed the door open and entered, Boss Li was chatting with the smiling man about family matters.

Qiao Jing’s eyes had been fixed on the door; as soon as Qiao Yue opened the door, their eyes met.

Qiao Jing looked at Qiao Yue’s dispirited appearance and stepped forward with a frown, “You didn’t sleep for two days?”

“I’m fine,” Qiao Yue replied before she looked at Boss Li and asked, “Boss Li, do you still remember our bet?”

Boss Li was looking at Qiao Jing and Qiao Yue suspiciously when he heard Qiao Yue’s question. He replied absentmindedly, “Yes.”

“That’s good. Boss Li, please take a look at the painting!”

The painting was unrolled on a long table. Boss Li looked at the painting carefully, wishing that he could stick his entire body to it. If the painting was not restored as promised, he would get double the amount he paid in compensation.

But after a long examination, Boss Li still didn’t find any tea stains. He walked around again and suddenly shouted, “Here, there’s something here!”

Qiao Yue stepped forward to look. She raised her eyebrows slightly as she said, “Boss Li, are you sure this is it? There’s no problem anywhere else?”

“No, this is it! You failed to restore it!”

Hearing the conviction in Boss Li’s answer, Qiao Jing and the smiling man also went up to check. Their expressions were a little strange after they looked.

Qiao Yue asked again, “Boss Li, are you sure?”

“Yes! I’m very sure!”

Since Qiao Yue asked again, Boss Li thought that he wasn’t convincing enough, so he howled with even more conviction.

Qiao Yue’s lips curved into a smile as she handed a before-restoration photo of the painting to Boss Li. “Boss Li, why don’t you compare it yourself?”

Qiao Jing stared at Qiao Yue’s smile, dazed for a moment before he snapped back to reality when someone touched his arm.

Why? When he saw Qiao Yue’s smile just now, his heart seemed to have skipped a beat.