Suddenly.

As he passed by Ye Chen, the middle-aged man, referred to as Uncle Lu, stopped in his tracks.

The young man was curious and puzzled. "What's the matter, Uncle Lu?"

Lu Cheng didn't respond immediately.

His eyes were fixed intently on the Buddhist prayer beads bracelet in Ye Chen's hand.

"Young man, could you let me take a look at the Buddhist prayer beads bracelet you're holding?"

"Huh?"

Ye Chen turned his head.

Seeing that the speaker was a middle-aged man, he couldn't help but be taken aback.

Could it be that he had encountered the middle-aged man his gambling friends had mentioned in his past life?

No, that couldn't be right.

His gambling friends had described that man as someone dressed in a white Tai Chi outfit.

But the man in front of him wasn't wearing a white Tai Chi outfit—just plain, ordinary clothes.

"You mean this?" Ye Chen, though surprised, raised the bracelet in his hand.

"Yes, that's right. May I take a look?"

Clearly, Ye Chen noticed the solemn expression on the man's face.

After a moment's thought, Ye Chen handed it over.

"Sure, here, take a look."

"Thank you!"

As soon as Lu Cheng took the bracelet, his eyes widened.

In an instant, the vendor who had sold the bracelet to Ye Chen for 20,000 yuan frowned, and several nearby vendors also showed similar expressions.

Could it be that this bracelet truly had some extraordinary origin? Had Ye Chen stumbled upon a rare treasure?

How could that even be possible?

"Uncle Lu, what's so special about this Buddhist prayer beads bracelet?" The young man, Zhang Jingshan, curiously leaned in.

Little did he know that the middle-aged man was now stammering, his mouth dry.

"This... this is the Arhat Beads from the Vajra Temple! It really is the Arhat Beads from the Vajra Temple!"

Hearing Lu Cheng's words, Ye Chen raised an eyebrow.

He knew about Vajra Temple—it was the most renowned temple in Jiangzhou and also the one with the most flourishing incense offerings.

But what were these Arhat Beads about?

Even though he had lived until the age of 89 in his previous life, he had never heard of them.

"Uncle Lu, what's the story behind this? Are they valuable?" Zhang Jingshan asked, astonished.

"It is said that sixty years ago, the eminent monk Hongyi from Vajra Temple carved eighteen prayer beads from the branches of a century-old sandalwood tree in the temple's rear garden to commemorate the Eighteen Arhats. It took him three years to carve the images of the Arhats onto the beads. For decades after, the prayer beads were with him every day as he immersed himself in chanting sutras and meditating amidst the temple's incense.

"Twenty years ago, he passed away in a state of enlightenment. Ten years ago, I accompanied an old leader to Vajra Temple to discuss Zen teachings with the abbot, and it was then that the abbot casually mentioned these prayer beads. He said that a few years after the passing of Master Hongyi, the beads were stolen by thieves.

"The old leader even asked if the abbot wanted him to help track them down, but the abbot shook his head. He said that since the beads had left Vajra Temple, it meant their bond with the temple had ended. Once a bond is severed, there's no need to renew it. He only hoped that the prayer beads, imbued with the essence of Master Hongyi's teachings and decades of incense and sutras, would be treated kindly by someone destined to have them.

"Master Hongyi's beads are not divine artifacts, but their ability to calm the mind and dispel negative energies is unparalleled. Evil spirits cannot come near them."

Lu Cheng narrated this solemnly, forgetting that Ye Chen and the vendors were all listening.

Finally, he said, "Master Hongyi's Arhat Beads cannot be measured by money. To most people, they are just ordinary prayer beads. But to that old leader, they are priceless. He has been searching for them all these years, but fate hasn't allowed it yet!"

"Boss, fifty thousand! Fifty thousand to sell me back this string of prayer beads!"

As soon as Lu Cheng finished speaking, the vendor immediately regretted his decision and shouted anxiously at Ye Chen, not doubting for a moment whether they might all be in cahoots.

At this moment, he was utterly filled with remorse!

He never thought that the story he had made up on a whim would actually turn out to be true.

The prayer beads were indeed once owned by a renowned monk, and the patina was genuinely the result of incense smoke.

If he had known this, he wouldn't have sold them for twenty thousand—heck, not even for two hundred thousand!

Because just the association with Master Hongyi's name made this item worth far more than two hundred thousand!

"Brother, three hundred thousand! Sell them to me, alright?"

Before the vendor's voice even faded, Zhang Jingshan hurriedly chimed in.

From what Lu Cheng had said, if he could acquire these prayer beads as a birthday gift for the old man, the significance would be extraordinary!

For once, Lu Cheng didn't stop Zhang Jingshan.

If it were some other item, even if it had value, he would've stopped Zhang Jingshan from buying it, because this was the task assigned by his old superior.

But for these prayer beads, he didn't want to intervene, as they held a regret the old man had carried in his heart for years.

Ye Chen, meanwhile, ignored the vendor entirely and frowned slightly.

Three hundred thousand?

In his previous life, a gambling friend had sold these beads for four hundred and eighty thousand!

Clearly, this buyer wasn't the one who bought the beads in his previous life.

Should he sell them for such a low price?

"If you sell me these prayer beads, I'll owe you a favor, how about that?"

Noticing Ye Chen's hesitation, Zhang Jingshan naturally picked up on his reluctance to sell and quickly added.

Little did he know that Ye Chen, who had been about to reject the three hundred thousand offer, froze upon hearing the name Zhang Jingshan!

Zhang Jingshan?

Why did this name sound familiar?

Quickly, fragments of memory pieced themselves together in Ye Chen's mind!

Inside the Vice President's Office of Chen Yinuo's e-commerce company:

Chen Yinuo nervously stepped in.

Before she could even speak—

Bang!!!

A man in his thirties, Vice President Wang Tao, slammed his hand on the desk, his tie slightly loosened.

"Chen Yinuo, what the hell are you doing?! Do you even want to keep your job?!" he roared. "I told you to take our products and secure promotional support from Yunshan Network, so why are they now promoting our competitor's products? Is this your so-called business capability?!"

Previously, Wang Tao had been the most polite and attentive to Chen Yinuo in the entire company.

Of course, the reason was no mystery—it was either lust or ill intent.

Chen Yinuo's beauty was undeniable, even without makeup, making her the most attractive woman in the company.

More importantly, everyone knew her husband was a complete deadbeat, which only fueled the Vice President's desires.

However, no matter how hard he tried to curry favor, Chen Yinuo consistently avoided his private invitations, ignored his suggestive and flirtatious remarks, and even deliberately distanced herself from him.

Unable to obtain what he sought, Wang Tao naturally turned to making things difficult for her.

"Vice President Wang, Yunshan Network chose our competitor's product because their price was 10% lower than ours!" Chen Yinuo explained, aggrieved.

Slap!

Wang Tao slapped the desk again.

"If our promotion quotes are higher than our competitors, then what's the point of having you in the company?! Yunshan has been working with us for half a year. Why did the deal fall through the moment you were in charge?! I'm giving you one last chance—if you can't secure this promotional contract with Yunshan, pack up and get out!"

He slammed a pre-prepared contract onto the desk, scattering its papers everywhere.

The documents fluttered to the floor around Chen Yinuo.

"Understood, Vice President Wang!"

Holding back tears that were already welling up, Chen Yinuo bent down and picked up the scattered papers one by one.

Once she left the office with the barely viable contract in hand, the redness in her eyes finally overflowed into tears.

A cruel and abusive husband, parents who constantly looked down on her, and a boss who was intentionally trying to get her fired...

They were all human, so why was her life so much harder than everyone else's?

If it weren't for her only source of strength—her daughter Ye Youyou—

She would've ended it all already.

Because living... was too exhausting!