C2 A Blessing in Disguise!

The faint scent of antiseptic lingered in the air as Lee Wen gradually came to, taking a moment to adjust to the light spilling into the hospital room. He slowly pieced together the events that led to his awakening: an antique vase had fallen and struck him on the head shortly after he had started his new job.

Had the beautiful owner been the one to rush him to the hospital? How long had he been out?

Questions swirled in his mind. Lee Wen noticed that the pain in his head and fingers had subsided. Glancing over, he saw his phone on the nightstand. He checked it and was relieved to find he had only been asleep for a couple of hours.

"Squeak."

Just then, the door to the ward opened. Ye Tingyu, clad in her professional attire, entered carrying several bottles of nutritional drinks.

"Is Lee Wen awake?" Ye Tingyu approached the bed, leaning over to examine his head with a smile. "How are you feeling? Do you need me to call a doctor for you?"

"No need, no need!" Lee Wen quickly sat up, waving his hand dismissively. "Ms. Ye, the pain has lessened significantly. There's no need to bother a doctor; they're always so quick to charge for everything and scare you... I wanted to explain about the vase!"

"I was following Gao Zheng's instructions to clean, and the moment I touched the vase, it just shattered. It didn't break when it hit my head..." His explanation sounded feeble even to his own ears. Gao Zheng was the appraiser at Tingyu House, and he was just a handyman who had only been on the job for a few hours. Ye Tingyu was unlikely to take his word over Gao Zheng's. With a sinking heart, Lee Wen's voice trailed off, and he could only hope the vase wasn't a priceless antique.

As he recalled the incident, Lee Wen was certain he hadn't even touched the vase. There was only one explanation: someone had accidentally broken the vase and then seized the opportunity to pin the blame on him, making him the scapegoat.

"Gao Zheng!" Lee Wen thought bitterly of the appraiser from Tingyu House with a scowl.

"I've looked into the situation. The vase was valued at 600,000 yuan, and we already had a buyer for it. Since it broke while in your care, I'll consider the loss at 500,000 yuan. I understand you're new to the workforce and don't have the means to repay such an amount, but you can work off the debt at our shop... What do you think?"

"I-I... I suspect that Gao Zheng accidentally broke the vase and left it there!" Lee Wen's heart sank when he learned of the vase's value, which was in the hundreds of thousands. It was as if lightning had struck on a clear day. He broke into a cold sweat and stuttered through his explanation.

Ye Tingyu observed Lee Wen's doubtful demeanor and nodded with a smile. "You're aware that my family's business isn't huge, but it's not insignificant either. I'm certainly not struggling to pay an employee's wages to the point of resorting to such petty schemes. Besides, you're welcome to have the broken vase appraised."

"You can draw half of your salary in advance each month, and the rest can go towards your debt," Ye Tingyu continued, still smiling. "Once it's fully paid off, you'll be free. Of course, if you decide you no longer wish to work at the shop, we can draft an agreement, and you can seek employment elsewhere, as long as you make your payments on time each month. Why not take some time to rest and think it over?"

"I've made up my mind!" Lee Wen, possessing remarkable resilience, swiftly regained his composure, holding back the impulse to curse Gao Zheng's ancestors. Clenching his teeth, he said, "Ms. Ye, I appreciate how considerate you've been. I'm ready to stay and work off the debt at the shop! And thank you for looking after me."

"No need to thank me. Just focus on getting some rest for now. Once the doctor gives you the green light, you can be discharged and come back to work at the shop," Ye Tingyu instructed. "I've taken care of the medical bills, so just concentrate on your recovery. And if there's anything you need, don't hesitate to call me." With that, Ye Tingyu left the hospital room in a hurry.

"Damn it!" Lee Wen, never one to let a grudge go easily, glared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

He rested until the evening, and to his surprise, he found that the pain in his head and fingers had vanished. He cautiously unwrapped the bandages and was amazed to see that the wounds had already scabbed over.

"Is my recovery really this quick?" Lee Wen murmured to himself. After completing the hospital discharge process, he boarded the bus and headed back to his rental.

Lee Wen's rental was situated in the only yet-to-be-developed area of Oklark. A mix of new and old buildings dotted the landscape, and due to the lax oversight, the neighborhood was a melting pot of people from various walks of life.

Upon arriving at the entrance of his rental, Lee Wen noticed a middle-aged man in a dated Santana and a cheap suit engaged in conversation with the landlord and her daughter. The car bore an advertisement for scrap collection, which puzzled Lee Wen. Was it common for someone to use a car for collecting junk? The man's attire suggested he might be more of an antique dealer scouring the Old Quarter for treasures.

"Hey, Wen's back?" Wang Min, the landlady, called out to Lee Wen, then turned back to the middle-aged man, gesturing towards the small incense burner in his hand. "Make up your mind. Are you buying it or not? Give me an offer. You're dawdling like an old lady!"

The middle-aged man shot a glance at Lee Wen and said to Wang Min with a look of difficulty, "Sis, this incense burner isn't really worth much—maybe five or six hundred yuan. Do you have anything else valuable?"

"What? You expect to buy a treasure that's been in my family for generations for just five or six hundred?" Wang Min snatched the incense burner back, clearly displeased. "I won't sell it! That's too little!"

"So, how much are you asking for?" inquired the middle-aged man.

During a lull in their haggling, driven by curiosity, Lee Wen took the incense burner from Wang Min to examine the finely crafted, delicate piece more closely.

"Hmm? Why does this incense burner feel itchy? Or is it just my hands?" No sooner had he touched it than Lee Wen's palms began to heat up, accompanied by a peculiar itchiness, as if ants were crawling inside his skin with nowhere to scratch.

Thankfully, the sensation of heat and itchiness wasn't too intense and remained tolerable.

"Ding!" Just as Lee Wen was about to hand the incense burner back to the landlord, a clear, bell-like sound rang out. "Three-legged purple copper incense burner, 410 years old, verified authentic!"

"What was that sound?" Lee Wen was completely baffled. He looked up at the landlord and the middle-aged antique collector, who were still negotiating. Clearly, the voice he had heard wasn't from either of them.

"Ding! Three-legged purple copper incense burner, 410 years old, verified authentic!"

The clear sound echoed again, this time unmistakably in his own mind, leaving Lee Wen utterly astounded.

Could Lee Wen have turned a misfortune into a blessing, experiencing some sort of transformation? Scientists say that we've only tapped into a tiny fraction of the human body's potential, and who knows what the untapped parts could hold? The more Lee Wen pondered, the more he believed in the possibility.

"Fine, $10,000 it is!" At that moment, the landlord's booming voice snapped the dazed Lee Wen back to reality. "But it has to be cash. Not a penny less, or no deal."

"Deal, you'll get every penny!" The middle-aged man was grinning from ear to ear as he reached for his wallet.

"Auntie Wang!" Lee Wen, regaining his composure, thrust the incense burner into Wang Min's hands, his voice filled with urgency. "This incense burner truly is a family heirloom, passed down through five generations, over 400 years old. It must be worth hundreds of thousands at least. Don't let anyone cheat you out of its true value!"