Chapter Eleven

On Saturday, Zuo Xutong, unusually, didn't go to the company. After breakfast, she started cleaning the room. After mopping the floor, she took a rag and wiped the dust everywhere. Peng Kun's house was empty, just like his large and spacious villa, with monotonous colors and a simple style.

The living room shelves were empty; the top two shelves were only accessible by standing on tiptoe. The thought of moving a chair over flashed through Zuo Xutong's mind, and she immediately stood on tiptoe, stretched out her arm, and swept a rag across the shelf.

A sharp crack echoed as porcelain shattered against the marble floor, sending a shiver down her spine. Looking down into the middle of the living room, she saw the object was broken into several pieces. Zuo Xutong's heart sank. She wondered what she had accidentally knocked down. Remembering Peng Kun's telescope, worth hundreds of thousands of yuan, her heart leaped into her throat. Had she broken a priceless antique?

She nervously crouched down and picked up the fragments with her bare hands. After piecing them together, she couldn't help but gasp. It was indeed an antique! A blue and white porcelain plate, in perfect condition, with a deep and colorful lotus scroll pattern on the body, and the words "Made in the Yongzheng Reign of the Great Qing Dynasty" written in regular script on the bottom.

Holding the broken pieces of the plate in her hands, Zuo Xutong's mind went blank. She couldn't tell if it was real or fake, but judging from Peng Kun's financial resources, this item must be quite valuable.

She still owed him rent, and now she'd broken one of his antiques. At this moment, she was utterly desperate. She could only silently pray that the item wasn't worth much, which was why he hadn't taken it with him when he moved. But after a while, she dismissed that possibility: the shelf was so high; even she hadn't seen the plate on it, so perhaps he hadn't seen it either. He must have left it behind during the move. A little while later, she overturned that idea again: no way, he's much taller than her; he could definitely see the plate. Just because it's worthless, he simply didn't want to take it…

Zuo Xutong squatted in the center of the living room, holding a few shards of blue and white porcelain, repeatedly agonizing over why Peng Kun hadn't taken the plate with him. She kept going until she was exhausted before standing up, finding some white paper, and carefully wrapping up the broken porcelain plate.

On Monday, she placed the pile of things in front of Peng Kun and explained incoherently, "Um, I'm so sorry, I accidentally broke it yesterday when I was cleaning."

“A porcelain plate from the official kiln during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty,” Peng Kun glanced at the fragments on the table, then looked at her pale face due to nervousness, and suddenly smiled, “It’s a pity it’s a fake. I even used it to feed stray cats a few times.”

Admittedly, his smile was captivating, especially when he uttered the word "counterfeit." Zuo Xutong felt that his smile was like the grace of Jesus, sweeping away a large gloom from her heart.

However, she still didn't quite understand why someone as wealthy as him would buy a fake to keep at home. So the only plausible explanation was that he had been scammed. So she asked again, "Even though it's a fake, you must have bought it thinking it was genuine, right? And it must have cost you a lot of money, right?"

"Do I look like a brainless idiot to you?" Peng Kun said patiently, then waved to her, "Help me throw this in the trash can."

Emerging from the general manager's office, Zuo Xutong felt a wave of relief wash over her, even her steps becoming lighter. Gazing at the smog-shrouded sky outside the window, she felt incredibly at ease. From the moment she broke the plate the day before yesterday, she had been living in constant fear. If it truly was a priceless antique, she couldn't afford to pay it back even if she sold everything she owned. Did that mean she would have to sell herself to this company for years to slowly pay off her debts, essentially returning to a state of slavery? She had just found a job, and had almost earned nothing while inexplicably incurring a huge debt—the thought alone was terrifying. Fortunately, Peng Kun personally confirmed that it was a fake, finally putting her mind at ease after two days and two nights of anxiety.

However, Zuo Xutong didn't throw the plate into the trash can. How could she so easily discard the pieces that had tormented her for two days and two nights? She wanted to keep them carefully as a memento of her survival.

When she got home that evening, Zuo Xutong took the broken plate out of her bag and spread the pieces out on the table. Then she stared blankly at the fragments of blue and white porcelain in front of her. The plate had a smooth glaze, delicate texture, elegant and dignified inscription, and rich and deep colors. It didn't look like a cheap item from a street stall at all. She couldn't help but marvel at how realistic the imitations were these days.

Regardless, she couldn't just let it go without feeling at ease after breaking someone else's things, so she decided to buy another one just like the one she had and put it back in its original place.

On Friday, Peng Kun ran into Zuo Xutong as she was leaving the office, carrying her canvas bag that looked like a flour sack. She seemed to be getting ready to leave as well.

In the past few days, Zuo Xutong made a major discovery while conducting experiments. She inadvertently discovered that an inexpensive compound could replace platinum as a catalyst for membrane electrodes. This discovery excited her greatly. She worked like a ghost in the company's experimental area, often working through the night to study the performance of this material and test its catalytic activity and stability.

When Peng Kun met her in the corridor, he was startled. She had lost a lot of weight in just a few days, and her face was pale and haggard.

“Looking at you now, you could easily play a vampire with just a little makeup,” he said.

"Maybe I'm more suited to playing a heavy smoker," Zuo Xutong said, before hurrying away.

"Wait a minute," Peng Kun called out to her. He was on his way to a business dinner. He had received the invitation two months ago, but he had completely forgotten about it until his assistant reminded him that afternoon. The dinner was attended by industry bigwigs. Peng Kun's attire today was too casual, but he didn't plan to change. His theory was that clothes were for others to see, so why should he compromise himself to please others? Therefore, he would dress however he felt comfortable. Fortunately, most men didn't care much about their appearance, so his unkempt look didn't attract much criticism. However, a woman as unkempt as Zuo Xutong was truly rare.

Every day she wore a dull, bulky brown cotton coat and carried a large canvas bag that could almost hold a small printer, just like a female technician who had come out of a state-owned chemical plant in the 1980s.

Peng Kun had met countless women. Some women seemed empty inside at first glance, while others were intelligent and sophisticated, and didn't hesitate to display their intellect and rationality. But the woman before him was enigmatic. Her expression carried an unapproachable detachment, and her heart seemed unfathomable.

Seeing her dressed in a rustic way but showing no shame, Peng Kun suddenly felt a mischievous urge and wanted to tease her.

"Would you like to come to dinner?" he asked.

Actually, Zuo Xutong hadn't planned to leave work. She wanted to go downstairs to the lab to continue her membrane electrode experiments. But when Peng Kun suddenly called her over, she felt a little guilty, afraid that he would notice something amiss. So she gave a vague answer: "Where are we going to eat?"

"Five-star hotel, business dinner."

"Will you let me in dressed like this? Aren't there dress codes for that kind of place?" Actually, Zuo Xutong wasn't interested in where they were going to eat at all; she just wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible and get to the lab.

"I'm not much better dressed than you. It's just a meal, don't feel guilty."

"Well, I still have some work to finish..." she stammered.

"Or should I have Jiang Zhuo find someone to replace you?" Peng Kun persisted.

"No need, I'll go." Zuo Xutong finally gave up struggling, afraid that if she persisted any longer, it would arouse the other party's suspicion.