"Let me take a look at that Buddhist prayer bead bracelet!"

Just as the vendor was about to set the prayer bead bracelet on the stall, Ye Chen appeared in front of him and said.

"Huh?"

Hearing someone inquire about his goods, the vendor was initially delighted, thinking a naive customer had wandered over.

But when he looked up and saw it was Ye Chen—the guy who had been loitering around since morning, only looking and never buying, and secretly ridiculed by other vendors—his excitement instantly vanished.

"This isn't some ordinary trinket. If you don't plan to buy it, it's better not to touch it. If it gets scratched or damaged, don't you dare accuse me of scamming you!" the vendor said impatiently.

"How will I know if I want to buy it if I don't take a look first?" Ye Chen replied with a calm smile, ignoring the vendor's tone.

The vendor was momentarily at a loss for words. "Fine, take a look, then!"

Though he was reluctant, he had no choice but to hand over the prayer bead bracelet.

Taking the bracelet in his hands, Ye Chen carefully examined each bead.

As expected, it was just as he thought!

His old gambling buddy in his previous life hadn't been exaggerating.

The bracelet had exactly 18 beads, and each bead was intricately carved with a figure of an Arhat. Eighteen beads—just enough to represent the Eighteen Arhats!

Although he didn't know the full backstory of this prayer bead bracelet, the hefty and solid feel of it in his hand made it clear that it wasn't just some cheap knockoff.

In his previous life, Ye Chen had amassed a personal fortune of 40 billion yuan by the end, and he had come across countless extraordinary items. While this prayer bead bracelet wasn't as impressive as the treasures he had handled before, in this chaotic antique market, it was undoubtedly a rare find.

"Are you done looking? Are you buying or not? If not, hand it back!" the vendor barked impatiently as Ye Chen inspected each bead one by one.

"How much?" Ye Chen asked.

The vendor was surprised that Ye Chen actually asked for the price but remained unconvinced that he would buy. He casually quoted, "Fifty thousand!"

Ye Chen thought for a moment and decided to test the waters. "Five hundred—will you sell it?"

He wasn't just being stingy. In this antique market, it was common for prices to start high and end low. Many items initially priced in the tens of thousands were eventually sold for just a few hundred yuan.

In his past life, Ye Chen had snagged several such deals, where he paid only two or three hundred for items originally priced at tens of thousands.

However, the vendor instantly snatched the bracelet back from Ye Chen's hands. "Get lost!"

Ye Chen chuckled awkwardly, neither angry nor surprised. After all, in his previous life, that gambling buddy had bought this bracelet for thirty thousand yuan. Hoping to get it for five hundred was a bit unrealistic, even though the vendor had probably gouged that buddy, seeing him as easy prey.

Amidst the vendor's quiet curses, Ye Chen, having firmly remembered the bracelet's location, didn't linger any longer.

After wandering the market for most of the day, he finally left the antique market leisurely.

He bought a few pieces of bread and a bottle of mineral water, settling for a simple dinner.

At 7:30 PM,

Ye Chen showed up at the entrance of the sports center.

By now, the sports center was packed with people!

Posters of a popular young idol were everywhere, and hordes of fans were queuing to have their tickets checked and enter.

In his previous life, Ye Chen had heard that a few fanatic female fans had spent 11,000 yuan each to buy tickets with a face value of just 560 yuan.

But he didn't know which scalper they had bought the tickets from.

Still, this didn't stop him from identifying his target—scalpers were far too obvious in their behavior.

After the peak fan entry period passed and the concert inside moved to its opening acts, Ye Chen started pacing back and forth near several ticket gates.

Time quickly approached 8 PM, and Ye Chen was visibly anxious.

At that moment, his eyes caught sight of a man who seemed even more desperate than him.

"Need tickets? I've got them! Seats in Section 7, great view, great deal! Interested?"

"Miss, want a ticket? Miss?"

"Sir, how about you?"

The man was stopping anyone and everyone, looking visibly flustered.

He had every reason to be nervous.

Hearing that scalping tickets could be highly lucrative, he had gritted his teeth and spent an entire month's salary, staking out at his computer to snag six consecutive seats when tickets went on sale.

Since it was his first time scalping tickets, he wasn't skilled in pricing strategies and had been misled by a fellow scalper he met briefly. The other guy claimed this concert was a hot commodity, and ticket prices would soar as showtime neared. So, even when people had offered double the original price earlier, he refused to sell, determined to hold out for three to four times the price.

Little did he know, while he was holding out, his fellow scalpers had sold off their tickets and packed up with satisfied grins. Now, he was stuck with six unsold tickets. If they went to waste, not only would his efforts be in vain, but he'd also lose an entire month's salary.

"Damn it, those bastards tricked me! What do I do now?"

He pulled out his phone to check the time. The concert was about to officially start, but his six tickets were still unsold.

The rookie scalper, fooled and left in the dust, was spinning in circles with panic.

"Are you selling the tickets?"

A voice suddenly rang in his ears.

The rookie scalper was so excited he nearly cried.

"Yes, yes, I'm selling!"

But when he turned around and saw only one person, his excitement quickly vanished.

"Just one? That means I can only sell one ticket! The other five are still going to be stuck with me!"

"How many do you want?" Although his excitement dimmed, the rookie scalper still clung to the hope that this might be his savior.

"Well, you've got six tickets left, right? I'll take them all. How much?" Ye Chen glanced at the tickets in the man's hand.

The scalper was stunned for a moment, then broke into a near-frantic exclamation of disbelief.

He didn't dare try to raise the price anymore, nor did he even think about breaking even. He immediately offered a discount below face value, afraid of losing the deal.

"The listed price is 560 each. If you take all six, I'll give them to you for 500 apiece—500, that's all!"

"2,800," Ye Chen said.

"Buddy, you're killing me here!"

At 500 each, the scalper was already losing 60 yuan per ticket. At 2,800, he'd effectively lose the cost of one whole ticket.

"Take it or leave it. If you're not selling, forget it."

Ye Chen wasn't trying to lowball out of greed—this was literally all the money he had.

He had earned 3,000 yuan selling flowers, but after paying for meals, taxi rides, buying McDonald's for Yoyo, and ingredients for a breakfast noodle dish he made for Yi Nuo, he only had just over 2,800 yuan left.

"Fine, I'll sell!" After hesitating briefly, the scalper gritted his teeth and agreed.

Losing one ticket was better than being stuck with all six.

"Great. Let me scan your QR code!"

Without even checking if the tickets were genuine, Ye Chen took them from the scalper and immediately transferred 2,800 yuan.

By then, the countdown to the concert had begun echoing inside the stadium.

As soon as the scalper left, a group of students, both male and female, approached Ye Chen.

"Hey, handsome, are you selling those tickets?"

"Nope." Ye Chen refused without hesitation.

He was almost certain these were the same people who had bought tickets from a scalper in his previous life.

As they grumbled and started looking for another scalper, Ye Chen's eyes fell on a group of six young women.

They didn't look very old, but their demeanor and appearance radiated wealth. They were arguing anxiously among themselves.