Chapter 1

Yang Kang sat in his chair, looking at Wang Qiying, who sat opposite him.

Wang Qiying was twenty-three years old, one year older than Yang Kang. At this moment, he was rather pleased with himself.

"I told you long ago, even after graduation, you would only be able to work for me. See, isn't that the case now?" A hint of sarcastic smile appeared at the corner of Wang Qiying's mouth as he looked at Yang Kang, sneering.

"What do you want?" Yang Kang's gaze fell on a brocade box on the desk. The box was open, revealing the fragments of a Xuande blue-and-white porcelain bowl with lotus flowers.

Yes, fragments!

Yang Kang—this was a very common name, and he had nothing to do with the young prince Yang Kang from "The Legend of the Condor Heroes." Earlier, his family had run an antique shop near the Confucius Temple in Nanjing, and the business was very successful, making them a relatively wealthy family. However, two years ago, Yang Kang's father, Yang Chongxuan, made a mistake in purchasing an ancient painting, losing all their wealth.

Unable to bear the blow, Yang Chongxuan fell ill and soon passed away.

Yang Kang, with no other choice, had the family house mortgaged to the bank after his father's death. He sold the antique shop at a low price to a distant uncle and raised some money to pay off the debts his father had borrowed from relatives and friends.

He completed his university studies through part-time work and study. When he started looking for a job, he realized a tragic issue—he had studied history, and in this era, it was very difficult to find a job in this field.

Fortunately, Zhou Bomin, a good friend of his father, remembered the old times and arranged for him to work at this "Wang's Pawnshop." The work was relatively easy, mainly involving managing some miscellaneous items and organizing documents.

However, Yang Kang did not know at first that this pawnshop belonged to Wang Qiying, who had some grudges with him from school.

Yesterday evening, someone came to pawn a Ming Dynasty Xuande blue-and-white porcelain bowl with lotus flowers. After Zhou Bomin's appraisal, the bowl was in excellent condition, with a bright glaze, and was considered a rare treasure, worth at least two million yuan on the market. The person pawning it claimed it was a family heirloom and needed money urgently, so they were willing to sell it for 800,000 yuan.

Upon receiving such a valuable item, everyone at the pawnshop was overjoyed. They all admired it, and then Zhou Bomin ordered Yang Kang to lock the porcelain bowl in the safe.

Later, when Wang Qiying came to the pawnshop today and asked to see the porcelain bowl, he ordered Yang Kang to take it out. However, when Yang Kang brought out the brocade box and placed it on the table, he was stunned...

The blue-and-white porcelain bowl was broken into more than ten pieces of different sizes. Zhou Bomin's face immediately changed, and Wang Qiying's expression was also very grim.

Yang Kang was speechless for a moment before he said, "It wasn't me..."

Yes, the Xuande blue-and-white porcelain bowl with lotus flowers was definitely not broken by him, but he was the one who locked it in the safe yesterday and the one who took it out today. The key to the safe was only held by Zhou Bomin, the manager of the pawnshop, and Wang Qiying, the young master.

Even if Yang Kang was foolish, he knew what this meant. A porcelain bowl worth about two million yuan was broken, and he was the only one who handled it. If he couldn't find strong evidence to prove his innocence, he would have to compensate Wang's Pawnshop two million yuan.

Feeling his chest, he didn't have two million yuan. Even if he were sold for meat, he wouldn't have two million yuan.

He had only been working for a year, earning about 3,000 yuan a month. After deducting his living expenses, his total assets amounted to only about 15,000 yuan.

After saying this, Yang Kang fell into his chair, his face ashen and his mind numb. His appearance was so bad that Zhou Bomin didn't know how to complain to him.

"Uncle Zhou, you go out first, I need to talk to him," Wang Qiying said.

Zhou Bomin looked at Yang Kang. This boy had grown up under his watchful eye, and he and his father, Yang Chongxuan, had always been good friends. He had advised Yang Chongxuan not to buy that painting, as it was too expensive, and all his assets combined were not even half the price of the painting.

But Yang Chongxuan didn't listen. He had no choice but to watch as he sold his assets and borrowed money to buy the painting, only to find out it was a high-quality fake. The buyer who had pre-ordered the painting disappeared, and the seller was nowhere to be found. However, the debt had to be repaid by Yang Chongxuan.

Thus, a once prosperous family was left in ruins.

Zhou Bomin had seen it all and wanted to help, but he couldn't do much. After Yang Chongxuan's death, the only thing he could do was take care of his son, Yang Kang.

But today, he... really didn't know what to say—Wang Qiying, the young master, was sitting there watching.

"Alright!" Zhou Bomin frowned slightly, glanced at Yang Kang again, and then turned to leave.

After Zhou Bomin left, Wang Qiying looked at Yang Kang but didn't speak. The atmosphere in the office was somewhat tense. At this moment, Yang Kang calmed down. The Xuande blue-and-white porcelain bowl was definitely not broken by him. It was still intact when he locked it in the safe yesterday. How could it suddenly break?

The key to the safe was only held by Zhou Bomin and Wang Qiying. Zhou Bomin had always taken good care of him and wouldn't harm him, but Wang Qiying was a different story.

However, even if Wang Qiying wanted to harm him, he wouldn't smash a porcelain bowl worth two million yuan, unless... the fragments in the box were not genuine? The real one had been replaced?

Thinking of this, Yang Kang carefully took out the fragments from the brocade box and examined them closely in the light.

"I wouldn't smash a fake to harm you," Wang Qiying saw his actions and immediately whispered in his ear.

"You..." Wang Qiying's words made Yang Kang instantly realize that he was the one behind this.

"Are you crazy?" Yang Kang was furious and couldn't help but shout.

"Whether I'm crazy or not is my business," Wang Qiying said with a low laugh, "But now, everyone knows that you broke the porcelain bowl, and you have to compensate me."

Yang Kang suppressed his anger, looked up at Wang Qiying's smug face, took a deep breath, and said, "Young Master, I don't have the money."

"No money?" Wang Qiying sneered, "Do you think you can just say you have no money and make everything disappear?"

"Young Master, the one who is distorting the truth and trying to make everything disappear is you," Yang Kang shook his head. He didn't know what to say. If this matter were reported to the police, it would be unclear, and at most, he, Wang Qiying, and Zhou Bomin would all be suspects. Without solid evidence, it couldn't be proven that he was the one who broke it.

Even if the three of them shared the compensation, he would still have to pay 600,000 to 700,000 yuan, which he couldn't afford.

"Prince, you know what I want," Wang Qiying leaned in close and whispered, "If you agree, I won't hold it against you."

"You..." Hearing him bring up the old matter again, the anger that Yang Kang had been suppressing could no longer be controlled. He raised his hand and slapped Wang Qiying's face hard.

Wang Qiying didn't expect him to suddenly get angry. Stunned, he was slapped in the face. Anger surged within him, and he grabbed Yang Kang's clothes, raised his hand, and slapped him twice, shouting, "You dare to hit me?" At the same time, he pushed Yang Kang to the ground and kicked him in the chest and abdomen.

"Ah..." Yang Kang, filled with anger, had already regretted slapping him. When he was kicked in the chest, he cried out in pain, feeling dizzy and tasting a mix of bitterness and sweetness in his throat.

"Young Master!" Zhou Bomin, standing at the office door, heard the commotion and knew something was wrong, so he hurriedly opened the door and walked in.

At first, Yang Kang and Wang Qiying had spoken in low voices, so he hadn't heard them, but when they started fighting, the noise was loud, and he naturally heard it.

Seeing Yang Kang curled up in pain on the ground, Zhou Bomin rushed over and grabbed Wang Qiying, saying, "Young Master, let's talk it out."

Wang Qiying, held by Zhou Bomin, couldn't move and said angrily, "Uncle Zhou, he... he hit me first..."

"Ah..." Zhou Bomin was stunned. Yang Kang was a boy he had watched grow up, always gentle and refined. He wouldn't even argue, let alone hit someone. How could he hit someone?

But seeing the finger marks on Wang Qiying's face, he couldn't help but believe it.

At this moment, Yang Kang coughed twice, spat out a mouthful of blood, and felt a bit better. He struggled to stand up, leaning on a chair, and then turned to leave.

"Stop!" Wang Qiying shouted loudly.

Yang Kang stopped, thought for a moment, and said, "Even if you report me, I would only be responsible for one-third. I don't have the money, and at most, you can use your power to send me to prison for two or three years." Saying this, he turned and walked out without looking back.

Zhou Bomin originally wanted to say something, but at this moment, he didn't know what to say.

"Young... Master, are you going to report him?" Zhou Bomin thought for a moment and stuttered.

"Am I crazy?" Wang Qiying was also very angry. After thinking for a moment, he said, "If he wants to leave, have the finance department settle his salary for this month, I..."

"Uh?" Zhou Bomin was taken aback. It was early July, and if Yang Kang resigned, according to Wang's Pawnshop's rules, he wouldn't get his July salary, let alone the other issues.

Looking at Wang Qiying's previous behavior, he seemed very intimidating. Why was he being so reasonable now?

"Uncle Zhou, go quickly!" Wang Qiying, seeing Zhou Bomin standing still, stomped his foot and said, "I can't bring myself to talk to him now, go quickly."

"Alright, I'll go!" Zhou Bomin hurriedly walked out.

Sure enough, Yang Kang had already packed his few belongings and was preparing to leave.

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