The Supreme Young Master

Chapter 8:

Early the next morning, Yang Ruoxi changed into her work clothes, ready to head to the police station. 

Seeing Qin Fei still sleeping, she frowned slightly.

To her, a man’s wealth or appearance wasn’t as important as his ambition. Sleeping all day, even for a genius, wouldn’t lead to much accomplishment.

Standing next to him, she nudged him gently with her foot. Qin Fei slowly opened his eyes and mumbled, “Wife, it’s so early?”

“It’s not early—it’s almost eight o’clock,” Yang Ruoxi said flatly.

“Oh, then you go to work. I’ll sleep a little longer,” Qin Fei replied, closing his eyes again. He had discovered that the longer he slept, the more his strength slowly returned. Although the progress was slow, it was better than having no hope at all.

Yang Ruoxi didn’t know the real reason behind his sleep and saw it as sheer laziness. Her voice turned cold. “You’ve mostly recovered now. Have you thought about finding a job?”

“No, I’m busy,” Qin Fei muttered. 

Between recovering his strength through rest and strategizing ways to make money to buy the medicinal herbs necessary for this weak body, he truly didn’t have time for a regular job. Once his power was fully restored, money would simply be a number to him.

Qin Fei’s laid-back attitude made Yang Ruoxi even angrier. With a huff, she said, “Fine, do whatever you want. I’m done caring.”

Stomping toward the door in her high heels, she stopped for a moment before leaving and said without turning around, “It’s my birthday today.”

“Oh, happy birthday, wife,” Qin Fei mumbled, half-asleep.

“You—” Yang Ruoxi clenched her teeth in frustration. 

Not only was her husband intellectually slow, but his emotional intelligence seemed nonexistent. Just “happy birthday” and that’s it?

She sighed inwardly. Since she didn’t care about him, why should she care about his indifference? 

With a cold huff, she added, “Dinner at Longhu Hotel tonight. Come if you’re free.”

Slamming the door behind her, she walked away briskly, the sound of her high heels echoing down the hallway.

“She seems upset,” Qin Fei murmured, scratching his head but not dwelling on it. 

Right now, he lacked the capability to give her anything meaningful. Even if he presented her with a palace, she would probably think he had stolen it.

Once he regained his peak strength, even a simple grass ring would make her accept him willingly. Before his death, Qin Fei had learned far too much about human nature and relationships.

He continued sleeping until around ten o’clock before finally getting up and heading out. His goal was to find opportunities to make money. While catching fugitives was the fastest way to earn cash, they weren’t available every day.

After wandering the streets for a few hours without success, Qin Fei stopped near a garbage heap.

To restore his strength, medicinal herbs weren’t enough. He needed a high-quality cauldron, something rare and almost impossible to buy, even with money.

Today, luck seemed to be on his side. He had noticed a boy of about seven or eight sneakily throw a bag into the trash heap. A faint red glow emanated from it—a glow invisible to ordinary people.

Thanks to a fateful encounter in his previous life, Qin Fei’s eyes possessed unique abilities, allowing him to see things like this.

Once the boy left, Qin Fei quickly approached the garbage heap and picked up the bag. Before he could open it, a mocking voice came from nearby.

“Well, if it isn’t Mrs. Yang? Hungry enough to scavenge for trash now?”

It was Zhou Kai, sitting in a Santana car with the window rolled down, smirking at Qin Fei.

The nickname “Mrs. Yang” was a cruel joke among the police, implying that Qin Fei was a stay-at-home husband living off Yang Ruoxi.

Qin Fei wasn’t interested in engaging with Zhou Kai and merely shrugged. “I’m just here to throw away some trash.”

“Oh? Your house is kilometers away. Came all the way here for some exercise?” Zhou Kai continued mocking.

“I do what I want,” Qin Fei replied, carrying the bag into a nearby alley to examine its contents.

Zhou Kai watched him go, even pulling out his phone to snap a few photos, intending to share them back at the station for another round of ridicule.

In the alley, Qin Fei opened the bag, his heart racing slightly. 

Inside was a cauldron. 

Though it appeared dull and damaged—likely used as an ashtray for years—it was undeniably a genuine artifact.

A chunk was missing from its upper right corner, roughly the size of a wine glass. This imperfection disappointed Qin Fei, as the cauldron was now incomplete.

Still, it seemed to be an artifact from before the Tang Dynasty. If sold, it would fetch millions, even in its current state. The boy who discarded it had probably broken it accidentally and thrown it away to avoid punishment.

“What a reckless kid, but I like it,” Qin Fei muttered, carefully rewrapping the cauldron before heading to a nearby recycling center.

He planned to repair it himself, knowing that the cauldron’s durability required rare metals, which were strictly regulated and not sold privately. Buying them on the black market risked exposing his identity.

Thus, Qin Fei intended to sift through scrap metal to find what he needed.

By sunset, Qin Fei left the recycling center with a plan. 

Once the cauldron was repaired and paired with medicinal herbs like Polygonatum, wild ginseng, bear bile, and bird’s nest, he could refine pills to restore 70% of his strength.

With his powers back, wealth and status would come effortlessly. Yang Ruoxi would no longer be disappointed but proud to have him as her husband.

Lost in his optimistic thoughts, Qin Fei’s phone buzzed. The caller ID read “Wife.”

Answering quickly, he said, “Hello, wife. Are you off work? Want me to pick you up?”

“No need. I’m at Longhu Hotel. Are you coming or not?” Yang Ruoxi’s voice was calm, though she still harbored resentment. It was her birthday, after all, and having her husband absent would only invite gossip.

“I’m on my way,” Qin Fei replied, leaving the alley with his trash bag. To others, the contents were worthless scrap metal, but to him, they were priceless treasures.

…

(At Longhu Hotel)

Yang Ruoxi stood by the window after ending the call. She was still fuming. If she hadn’t called, Qin Fei probably wouldn’t have shown up at all.

“What kind of husband is this?” she muttered, feeling both angry and aggrieved. How could someone as beautiful and accomplished as her end up with a man like Qin Fei?

Her thoughts were interrupted as Zhou Kai entered the hotel with a group of people. Having recently taken down three fugitives, he had been awarded first-class merit. Combined with his family connections, he was poised to secure the deputy bureau position by year-end.

Zhou Kai handed Yang Ruoxi a beautifully wrapped jewelry box and said, “Happy birthday, Ruoxi!”

Yang Ruoxi disliked hearing him call her by her given name but chose not to comment. Seeing the extravagant gift, she frowned slightly. “Zhou Kai, this is too much.”

“It’s just a bracelet. Nothing extravagant,” Zhou Kai replied with a smile.

The officers around them chimed in, urging Yang Ruoxi to accept the gift, as they believed Zhou Kai was a better match for her than Qin Fei.

“Alright, but just this once,” Yang Ruoxi said, taking the box reluctantly. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment. Her foolish husband had yet to show up.