"Boom... rumble..." A thunderous noise echoed from the horizon, as if it was about to explode the sky. The dark clouds heavily hung overhead, almost seeming to crash onto the ground.
Mechanically, Tang Qi sat in the restaurant's kitchen, listening to the thunder outside, while at the same time, descaling fish.
Today's scene was exactly the same as three days ago. On a stormy night, his girlfriend, whom he had deeply loved for seven years, decided to break up with him and threw herself into the arms of a wealthy and handsome man.
Even though it's been three days, it still seemed like it was carved into his mind and replayed in front of his eyes constantly. Soon, Tang Qi was filled with rage and wanted nothing more than to return to school, challenge his wealthy rival, and duel to the death!
However, Tang Qi quickly calmed down. He knew the wealthy and handsome man named Gao Jian, whose family had major influence in the city. It wasn’t just the university, even this street, all had to respect the Gao family's name. Seeking revenge against Gao Jian would be nothing short of signing his own death sentence.
As he mulled over these thoughts, a sudden sharp pain shot through his right index finger. Looking down, his finger had been bitten by a golden fish, and blood was quickly flowing out, staining the golden fish red.
"Damn!" Tang Qi sucked in a cold breath and quickly tossed the fish aside. His finger had immediately swollen like a small radish, with a goldish hue seeping in at the wounded area. Two orderly rows of sharp tooth marks were left, causing his finger to start to numb.
"Damn it! When it rains, it pours. I deal with fish every day, and yet I've been bitten by one!" Tang Qi couldn’t help but curse out loud. He turned to look for the troublesome fish, but it had already disappeared, probably having slid down the drainage pipe.
The golden residue left on his finger was still continuously seeping into his wound. Tang Qi thought about getting a tetanus shot at the hospital, but quickly dismissed the idea. Hospitals came with its own host of costs which he couldn't afford anymore.
He got a band-aid from the foreman and took a half-day leave. He planned to buy some antiseptic from a pharmacy to disinfect his wound properly. While passing by the private dining room, a little bronze bowl was suddenly flung out, and it hit Tang Qi.
Tang Qi caught the bowl in reflex, the anger started to rise in his heart. Those who could afford to eat in this exclusive private dining room were affluent people. This era's rich people all had such bad manners. Stealing girlfriends was excusable, but not littering - that was inexcusable.
Just then, a voice suddenly appeared in Tang Qi's ear: "A bronze gui, roughly 60% copper content, moderately corroded, made in the Zhou dynasty period, it's worth a lot."
Tang Qi quickly looked around. Who was talking?
But in the entire corridor, there was only Tang Qi; no other shadow of a person could be found. Tang Qi thought somebody was playing a prank on him. Just as he was about to lose his temper, his finger with the band-aid on it touched the little bronze bowl again: "A bronze gui... worth a lot."
Damn!
Tang Qi almost jumped up, this time he heard it clearly, that voice wasn't heard through his ear, but echoed directly in his mind.
Damn, was it the cursed fish that bit me causing me to mutate?
"Miss Mi sure knows how to crack jokes, simply using a rusty, worthless thing as a counterfeit bronze ware? Today I threw away your thing as a warning, if you dare to dupe me with such tattered junk again, do not blame me for disregarding the friendship with your father!" A middle-aged man's voice suddenly resonated from the Jingchan private room.
Then, the man left the private room in anger and spite.
Tang Qi paused for a moment, looked down at the rusty small ironware in his hand, why was this thing a fake?
Just as Tang Qi was startled, a little girl with a ponytail rushed out of the private room and cursed toward the man’s direction: “Gao De, you big liar! Do you recognize the value at all? You damaged my bronze ware, can you afford to compensate?"