Chapter 2: The Golden Dragon Pawnshop
Twelve million yuan.
The number echoed in Ye Chen's mind, louder than the whistling winter wind.
Just an hour ago, he was a man who had lost his entire world, standing on the precipice of death. Now, he held the equivalent of a luxury villa in the palm of his hand.
The Imperial Glassy Jadeite bracelet felt warm, almost pulsing with energy against his frozen skin. Its vibrant green color was mesmerizing under the streetlights, a stark contrast to the mud staining his expensive wedding suit.
Ye Chen quickly stuffed the bracelet into the inner pocket of his suit jacket, holding it tight against his chest. He could not walk around flashing this kind of wealth. In his current state, he looked like an easy target for robbers.
A wave of dizziness hit him. It was not just the shock; it was intense hunger and cold. He had not eaten since noon before the wedding preparations began. His stomach roared in protest.
"First, I need to survive the night," Ye Chen muttered, his teeth chattering. "I need cash. Real, spendable cash."
He could not deposit this bracelet into a bank at 1:00 AM. Even if he could, Su Yun and her lawyers had frozen all his known accounts. He needed a place that dealt in high value items immediately and in total secrecy.
He scanned his memory. Jiangbei City had a famous commercial district that never truly slept. There was a place there, the Golden Dragon Pawnshop. It was renowned for handling high stakes transactions for desperate businessmen and wealthy gamblers who needed quick liquidity in the middle of the night.
It was a thirty minute walk. Ye Chen wrapped his ruined suit jacket tighter around himself and started walking.
The wind bit at his face, but the fire of determination burning in his chest kept him moving. Every step was a promise of revenge against Su Yun and everyone who had humiliated him.
Thirty minutes later, Ye Chen stood in front of the Golden Dragon Pawnshop.
Unlike the seedy, dark pawnshops in the movies, this one looked more like a high end jewelry boutique. The entrance was made of polished marble, and two large golden dragon statues guarded the bulletproof glass doors. The lights inside were blazing bright.
Ye Chen pushed the heavy door open and stumbled inside. The sudden warmth of the heated interior made his frozen face sting.
The shop was quiet. Behind a tall fortified counter sat a young man in a sharp uniform. He was dozing off, his head nodding rhythmically.
The sound of the door chiming woke the clerk. He jerked his head up, rubbing his eyes irritably. When he saw Ye Chen, his expression immediately soured.
Ye Chen looked terrible. His hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat and rain, his eyes were red and wild, and his once impeccable suit was filthy and torn at the knee.
"Get out," the clerk sneered, waving his hand dismissively like he was shooing away a fly. "We do not have any spare change for beggars. Go sleep in the subway station."
In the past, Ye Chen, the polite businessman, might have apologized and left. But the Ye Chen standing here tonight had already died once.
He walked straight to the counter, ignoring the clerk's disdain.
"I am here to sell something," Ye Chen said, his voice raspy but firm.
The clerk let out a short, mocking laugh. "Sell something? What, did you steal a bicycle? Look at yourself. This is the Golden Dragon. We only deal in high end goods. The minimum transaction here is fifty thousand yuan. Do you even know what fifty thousand yuan looks like?"
Ye Chen did not waste energy arguing. He reached into his muddy suit pocket.
"Keep talking, and I will take my business elsewhere," Ye Chen said coldly.
He pulled out the jade bracelet and placed it gently on the velvet pad on the counter.
The clerk was about to make another sarcastic comment when the brilliant green light caught his eye. The words died in his throat.
Even an apprentice appraiser like him knew that true top tier jade had a unique presence. This bracelet did not just reflect light; it seemed to contain its own internal light source. It was translucent, like frozen green water, without a single impurity visible to the naked eye.
The clerk's jaw dropped. He looked from the bracelet to Ye Chen's muddy face, then back to the bracelet.
"Wait here," the clerk squeaked, his arrogance completely replaced by panic. He slammed a button under the counter and bolted through a door into the back room.
Two minutes later, the clerk returned, followed by an older man wearing thick glasses and a traditional silk Tang suit. This was Master Liu, the chief appraiser of Golden Dragon, known for his ruthless eye and even more ruthless pricing.
Master Liu glanced at Ye Chen with a neutral expression, not judging him by his clothes. True wealth often arrived in strange packages in the middle of the night.
He put on a pair of white gloves and carefully picked up the bracelet. He pulled out a jeweler's loupe and examined it under a high intensity lamp.
Silence filled the shop for five agonizing minutes.
Finally, Master Liu let out a shaky breath. He lowered the loupe and looked at Ye Chen with new respect.
"Young man," Master Liu said, his voice solemn. "Where did you get this?"
"It is a family heirloom," Ye Chen lied smoothly. "Times are tough. I need to liquidate it tonight."
Master Liu nodded slowly. He did not care if it was stolen or dug out of a grave. His job was just to verify its authenticity.
"It is genuine Imperial Glassy Jadeite. The craftsmanship is superb. It is older, perhaps late Qing Dynasty. It is flawless."
As Master Liu spoke, Ye Chen's Eyes of Truth activated automatically. A translucent window appeared next to the old man's head, showing his internal thoughts.
[Target: Master Liu, Chief Appraiser]
[Internal Thought: Incredible. This is a treasure worth at least thirteen million at auction. But this kid looks desperate. He is probably a rich second generation heir who lost big at the casino. I can lowball him hard.]
Ye Chen suppressed a sneer. The world really was full of vultures waiting to pick clean the bones of the fallen.
"I can offer you a direct buyout price of five million yuan," Master Liu said calmly, adjusting his glasses. "Cash, tonight."
The clerk behind him gasped. Five million. That was a huge sum.
Ye Chen laughed harshly. "Five million? Master Liu, are you trying to rob me because I look like this? Do you think I do not know what I have?"
He leaned forward, placing his dirty hands on the pristine counter.
"Imperial Glassy Jadeite. Old mine origin from Myanmar. The color saturation is a perfect ten. This would fetch twelve million at a Sotheby's auction easily, maybe fifteen if two billionaires get into a bidding war. Five million is an insult."
Master Liu's eyes widened. He had not expected this ragged young man to be so knowledgeable. His bluff had been called.
[Internal Thought: He knows the market. I cannot cheat him too badly or he will walk away.]
"Alright, alright, calm down," Master Liu raised his hands defensively. "It is business. You know auctions take months and charge high fees. You want cash tonight. I have to take on the risk of reselling it. Eight million. That is my final offer. Take it or leave it."
Eight million. It was still below market value, but it was immediate tax free cash. For Ye Chen right now, eight million was enough to turn the tables.
"Deal," Ye Chen said instantly. "But I do not have a bank card. They were all stolen."
Master Liu nodded. "A common problem for our nighttime clientele. We can provide one million in cash right now. The remaining seven million will be put onto an anonymous bearer Swiss banking card. You can access it anywhere in the world, completely untraceable."
"Perfect."
Ten minutes later, Ye Chen walked out of the Golden Dragon Pawnshop.
He was no longer shivering. The heavy weight of ten stacks of hundred yuan bills, one million yuan total, was distributed in the pockets of his ruined suit. In his breast pocket was a sleek black metal card containing seven million more.
He was rich again. In fact, he had more liquid cash right now than he ever did when he owned his small company.
The hunger came back with a vengeance, a cramping pain in his gut.
He looked across the street and saw a small, brightly lit twenty four hour noodle restaurant. Steam was rising from the large pots outside.
Ye Chen walked over. He threw a hundred yuan bill onto a table.
"Boss," he shouted, sitting down heavily on a plastic stool. "Give me your biggest bowl of spicy beef noodles. Add triple meat. And bring me two bottles of beer."
As he waited for his food, the adrenaline began to fade, replaced by exhaustion and a simmering rage. He pictured Su Yun's smug face when she threw him out.
Enjoy my money while you can, Su Yun, he thought, clenching his fists. Because I am coming for you sooner than you think.
Just then, the mechanical voice of the System chimed in his head again, interrupting his thoughts of revenge.
[DING. Host has successfully secured the first pot of gold. Survival phase complete.]
[System Reminder. The Host has one remaining Reality Modification Card, Trial Version. To obtain more, the Host must utilize the Affection Binding System.]
[Detecting potential candidates in a five hundred meter radius.]