Golden Eyes

Chapter 1

Chapter 001 Unexpected Disaster

In December, the nights are long and the days are short in Zhonghai City. Just after six o'clock, the sky outside gradually darkens, and the streetlights on both sides of the road gradually turn on, keeping the city bright. The crowds of people leaving get off work fill the streets and alleys of this city like a huge spider web, and all kinds of sounds echo in the city.

"Whoosh..."

Zhuang Rui pulled the shop's roller shutter halfway down, carried the several metal boxes, which were neatly packed and sealed, inside the counter, and casually closed the security door. The items in these boxes were worth millions. Usually, two security guards would handle the handover with Zhuang Rui, but today was the weekend, and the security company was having training, so they had been temporarily recalled.

The workday was coming to an end. Although it wasn't very busy, Zhuang Rui's young face still showed a hint of fatigue. Perhaps it was because it was the end of the year and he hadn't been home for a year, so he was feeling a little homesick.

Zhuang Rui is 24 years old this year. He was born into a single-parent family in an ancient city in northern Jiangsu. He is 1.8 meters tall. Although he is not handsome, his smile gives people a friendly feeling. His every move reveals a sense of composure, and he looks a few years older than his actual age.

During his university days, Zhuang Rui was a lively person. However, after leaving school, everything went wrong, which made Zhuang Rui much more reserved and mature. Apart from cursing the association while watching football, he spent most of his time reading historical novels in his rented apartment after get off work. He had just bought a set of "Emperor Kangxi" by Er Yuehe a few days ago. If he wasn't worried about the negative impact, he would have brought it to work to read.

In 2000, Zhuang Rui graduated from a prestigious university in Zhonghai City with a major in finance and accounting. In theory, college graduates at that time would not have trouble finding a job. However, Zhuang Rui was unlucky. She fell ill a few days after graduation and missed the civil service exam that year. After recovering, she worked for a few days at a small company in her hometown. Feeling that there was no future in it, she returned to Zhonghai and became an accountant at a pawnshop.

Private companies generally prefer to hire experienced accountants, but getting into government departments requires connections. When Zhuang Rui first arrived at China Overseas, he couldn't find a suitable job for over a month. In the end, it was his college classmate and dorm leader from China Overseas who helped him get a job at this newly established pawnshop.

When it comes to pawnshops, people's first impression is probably pawn shops. And when they think of pawn shops, the phrase "eaten by insects and gnawed by rats, bare and unkempt, a tattered and worn-out coat" from the TV series that just aired will immediately come to mind.

In fact, with the development of the times, pawnshops have become multifunctional places that combine financing, online shopping, and storage.

The pawnshop where Zhuang Rui works displays forfeited items such as diamond rings, jade bracelets, and brand-name watches. Since the price for these items is generally around half of the original price, once they are forfeited, the selling price will only be slightly higher than the purchase price. This is very attractive to people who are short of money but still pursue brand-name luxury goods.

Zhuang Rui had seen many beautiful women and handsome men adorned with gold and silver come here and pawn the jewelry they didn't like, then go to the pawn section to find items they liked. In this way, not only were the pawned items circulated, but there was also no situation where funds were tied up.

The pawnshop's personnel structure is simple. The chief appraiser, Uncle De, also serves as the pawnshop's manager. There are two young appraisers who have returned from abroad, mainly responsible for appraising foreign art and luxury goods. Both are in their early thirties, have been in the industry for some time, and are formally trained. However, these two are usually arrogant and are not well-liked by Uncle De. In addition, there's the cashier, Xu Ling, and the sales clerks in the forfeiture section.

Uncle De's real name is Ma Delin. Before the liberation, he worked as a clerk in a pawnshop in Zhonghai. Later, he continued to work in the excavation and appraisal of cultural relics, specializing in miscellaneous items and calligraphy and paintings. He had a high reputation in the cultural relics and antiques collection circle in Zhonghai. Before the pawnshop opened, it took a lot of effort to invite Uncle De, who had retired from the Zhonghai Museum, to serve as the pawnshop's chief appraiser and manager. In the old days, he would have been called the head manager of the pawnshop.

Uncle De liked Zhuang Rui very much, this down-to-earth and hardworking young man, and wanted to bring him into this business. However, although Zhuang Rui liked to read historical novels, he was not very interested in these antiques. He would let Uncle De's teachings go in one ear and out the other, and would often steer the conversation toward a certain historical figure or story, which would often make Uncle De angry.

According to regulations, cashier Xu Ling was supposed to hand over the items in the unclaimed pawn section to the bank's armored truck with Zhuang Rui at the end of the workday. However, that gold digger was going to have dinner at the Oriental Pearl Tower with her nth boyfriend and left early. Xu Ling is a local from Zhonghai and always has some excuse. This wasn't the first time, and Zhuang Rui was used to it. The pawnshop closes at 6 PM, while the bank's armored truck usually arrives around 6:30 PM. By 6 PM, Uncle De and the clerks in the unclaimed pawn section had left, and the two highly paid appraisers were even clocking in and out with stopwatches. Only Zhuang Rui was left. He pulled the roller shutter halfway down and sat inside the counter to wait for the bank staff. According to regulations, cash boxes and boxes containing valuable jewelry must be retrieved by the security guards, who will also check the seals.

The last rays of the setting sun shone into the shop through the glass door. Suddenly, Zhuang Rui felt a darkness in front of him as three figures slipped in from under the half-closed roller shutter.

"It's only 6:10. The bank's car usually doesn't come this early."

Zhuang Rui was taken aback. Although the armored truck would arrive a little earlier on weekends, it would still be around 6:20. Since the people who came in were backlit, Zhuang Rui couldn't see their faces clearly at first. However, he knew that these people were not bank security guards. He could see that there were no bank armored trucks parked at the entrance.

"Gentlemen, we're closed for the day. If you need anything, please come back tomorrow. We're open on Saturdays and Sundays, okay?"

Zhuang Rui was speaking when he suddenly realized that the three people who had entered were all men. What stopped him from continuing was that all three of them were wearing knitted hats, the kind that could be folded down to cover their faces, leaving only their eyes exposed. These hats were very popular a few years ago, but now they are rarely seen. Although it was December, the weather in Zhonghai was not cold enough to warrant wearing such hats. A sense of foreboding immediately rose in Zhuang Rui's heart.

"Kid, stop talking nonsense and hand over the box you're holding."

Two people stood in front of the counter, while the other person ran directly towards the unclaimed pawn section. Judging from their actions, they must have been quite familiar with this pawn shop.

“You’re committing a crime. Bank security personnel will be here soon. If you don’t run now, you won’t be able to escape later.”

Zhuang Rui knew he had encountered robbers. Although the local police station had conducted several drills, he never expected that in addition to banks, even pawnshops would become targets of these people.

However, aside from the initial panic, Zhuang Rui quickly calmed down. The pawnshop counters were all designed like bank anti-theft and anti-robbery counters, with steel window frames completely isolating the counters from the outside. If they had arrived a little earlier, they might have been able to steal items from the unclaimed pawn section. But now that he had taken all these things inside, Zhuang Rui believed that these few people would definitely not be able to break through the security door in a short time.

While talking to the robber, Zhuang Rui sat back down in his chair, his hand already reaching for the emergency call button. Once pressed, the 110 police and the nearby local police station would receive the alert immediately, and they could arrive within five minutes at the earliest. This wasn't a movie scene; several drills had been conducted on-site over the past year, and Zhuang Rui had great confidence in the police officers who always arrived quickly.

"Damn it, big brother, everything here has been packed up. There's not a single thing left. It's super clean. Didn't you personally scout out this place last time, big brother?"

The person who ran to the Juedang area naturally couldn't find anything, and shouted towards Zhang Yang in a thick Northeastern accent.

"Who the hell are you cursing? I've told you to be civilized, damn it, how many times have I told you to speak Mandarin?"

The bandit leader, separated from Zhuang Rui by a security window, cursed angrily. He was very dissatisfied with the quality of his subordinates, or perhaps it was because he was being questioned by them. Zhuang Rui wanted to laugh to himself. In this day and age, there are still robbers who uphold the Five Stresses, Four Beauties, and Three Loves. However, he immediately stopped laughing because a dark gun barrel was pointed at him through the security window.

Zhuang Rui shuddered and pressed down hard on the alarm button, which was already on his finger. The piercing alarm sounded immediately. He was confident that if he could stall for a few more minutes, these people would definitely not be able to escape. But just then, the sound of brakes came from the pawnshop entrance. Zhuang Rui looked outside and was overjoyed. It turned out that the bank's armored truck had arrived early, which was normal on weekends.

Seeing that the bandit leader standing in front of the counter seemed to be distracted by the sound of brakes outside the door, Zhuang Rui took the opportunity to lie down under the counter, which was a blind spot for shooting, and the bandits outside could not do anything to him. However, the swivel chair Zhuang Rui was sitting on slipped, causing Zhuang Rui not to lie down, but to step back more than a meter, and now face to face with the bandit leader.

"Kid, you're playing tricks!"

With the bandit leader's angry shout, he suddenly pulled the trigger at Zhuang Rui. As he spoke, Zhuang Rui subconsciously turned his body to the side. The bullet grazed his eye. Zhuang Rui only felt a flash of light fly past his eyes, followed by a stinging, burning sensation in his eyes.

The eyes are the most developed and sensitive part of the human nervous system. Blood was seeping out from between Zhuang Rui's fingers as he covered his eyes. The intense pain caused Zhuang Rui's body to spin around and fall backward. He could not see that the back of his head was falling towards the location of the alarm button.

"Bang……"

With a loud bang, Zhuang Rui's head slammed hard against the glass box outside the alarm button. The huge impact shattered the square glass box, and blood instantly stained the counter where the alarm button was installed. Zhuang Rui's head rested on the counter, and he had already lost consciousness.

Gunshots and alarms alerted the bank security guards outside. Armed with live ammunition, they rushed into the pawnshop. The gang leader's pistol, seemingly homemade, fired the bullet aimed at Zhuang Rui but then stopped firing. There were no hostages inside for them to take hostage. After a struggle, it was clear that the robbers were not very skilled, and they were quickly subdued by several bank security guards.

"Xiao Zhuang, Xiao Zhuang, how are you? Can you speak?"

The bank teller who knew Zhuang Rui called out urgently to Zhuang Rui inside the counter, but there was no response. The lobby, which had just been filled with the strong smell of cheap gunpowder, made their hearts sink.

Standing outside, one could see the bloodstains inside the counter, but the security door couldn't be opened, leaving everyone outside helpless. A few minutes later, the police from 100 who had received the alarm arrived at the scene and cordoned off the pawnshop. Several robbers were blindfolded and taken to police cars, but everyone nervously watched Zhuang Rui, who was only showing a patch of his scalp inside the counter, waiting for the pawnshop staff to arrive and open the security door.

Unbeknownst to anyone, the blood seeping from the back of Zhuang Rui's head slowly seeped into the gap of the alarm button. A blue current flowed along the blood into Zhuang Rui's brain, causing his body to twitch slightly. His hands, which had been covering his face, had already fallen to his sides. If someone could see Zhuang Rui's face now, they would notice a multicolored halo around his eyes, but it disappeared in just a few seconds.

Chapter 002 Hospital

"Why is everything black? Why do my eyes hurt so much? Why can't I open them?"

In a special care ward for high-ranking officials at a hospital in Zhonghai City, Zhuang Rui, who had been in a coma for three days, finally woke up. The severe headache made him forget what had happened before he fell into a coma. The darkness in front of him and the pungent smell of disinfectant filled him with panic. Zhuang Rui tried desperately to open his eyes, but found that it was all in vain. He could only wave his hands in the air.

"Xiao Rui, don't be afraid, Mommy's here..."

A familiar voice rang in Zhuang Rui's ears, followed by soft sobs. It was his sister's voice. Hearing his loved ones beside him, Zhuang Rui slowly calmed down. His mother's and sister's voices made him feel at ease, and he fell into a deep sleep again.

Zhuang Rui's grandfather was a famous geologist in his hometown, but he did not survive the ten years of turmoil. Even Zhuang Rui's father was implicated and passed away due to health reasons when Zhuang Rui was five years old. Zhuang Rui's mother was just an ordinary middle school teacher who raised Zhuang Rui and his sister with great difficulty. She took early retirement last year.

Zhuang Rui's older sister, Zhuang Min, is five years older than him. She is married and has a child who is over three years old. She hasn't worked since having her child. Her brother-in-law comes from an ordinary family with several brothers. Their parents can't help them much. Her brother-in-law is an ordinary worker. He is very honest and treats Zhuang Rui's sister very well, but his income is not very high. The family of three lives a somewhat difficult life. Most of Zhuang Rui's mother's retirement pension is used to support them. This is one of the reasons why Zhuang Rui came to Zhonghai to find a high-paying job.

When Zhuang Rui was injured, his mother and sister rushed to Zhonghai City immediately after receiving the notification. They have been guarding Zhuang Rui's bedside for two days, and both mother and daughter showed signs of fatigue and worry.

"Doctor, how is Xiao Rui? Why has he fainted again?"

Zhuang Rui's mother gripped the doctor's white coat tightly, her tearful eyes filled with expectation, fearing she would hear bad news from the doctor.

"It's alright. His electrocardiogram is stable, and he should be asleep now. Don't disturb him; let him wake up naturally. The patient's eyes still need further examination, but his retina hasn't detached; it was just severely stimulated. There shouldn't be any danger of blindness. Don't worry, the patient is a hero of our city, and the leaders have given instructions that we will do our best to treat him."

The doctor's words quieted the mother and daughter, who looked at Zhuang Rui on the hospital bed with worried expressions.

The morning sunlight streamed through the curtains of the ward, brightening the dim room. Zhuang Rui's ward was in the inpatient area, where most patients had nighttime caregivers. Now, most of them were up and washing up, and the doctors had begun their rounds. For a moment, the once quiet place became somewhat noisy, bringing some life to the otherwise quiet hospital.

Today is the day Zhuang Rui's head wound stitches are removed, and whether his eyesight will be restored will only be known today. If there are no major problems with his eyes, he can be discharged from the hospital today. As for a full recovery, it will take time for him to recuperate.

More than half a month has passed since the pawnshop robbery, and with the attention of many people, the details of the case have become quite clear.

This was a robbery gang that had roamed Zhonghai City. The gang consisted of four people, and the lookout was arrested by the Zhonghai police a few days later. Interrogation revealed that in the week leading up to the robbery, the gang had posed as customers and visited the pawnshop multiple times to scout it out. Xu Ling's early departure on the day of the robbery made them think that their plan would succeed easily. However, Zhuang Rui's good habit of strictly keeping valuables in the counter before leaving work every day, which he had developed over the past year, completely ruined the robbers' plan. The early arrival of the bank's armored truck also determined their tragic fate.

The public security authorities and the leaders of the pawnshop fully affirmed and highly praised Zhuang Rui's professionalism and heroic actions in this incident. A few days ago, they sent 100,000 yuan as a condolence payment to Zhuang Rui's bedside. It should be noted that if Zhuang Rui had not handled the situation properly, those unredeemed items worth more than one million yuan might have been stolen by the robbers.

"Mom...it's okay. The doctor said the worst-case scenario is some vision impairment, but I won't go blind. Don't worry..."

Inside the ward, Zhuang Rui felt his mother's hands trembling slightly as she placed them on his shoulders. He comforted her, explaining that his sister had gone back to Pengcheng after he first woke up because she had to take care of her child. His mother had been taking care of him in the ward these past few days.

Zhuang Rui was quite confident about regaining his sight, because after waking up for the second time, he felt as if a cool breeze enveloped his eyes, so that his eyes did not feel the burning sensation they had when they were injured. Moreover, the cool breeze also greatly reduced the pain in the wound on the back of his head.

Not knowing what caused this phenomenon, Zhuang Rui was initially panicked, fearing that he would go blind. However, he later felt that the cool air seemed to make his eyes more and more comfortable, so he put his mind at ease.

Zhuang Rui was unaware that the intense airflow from the bullet that whizzed past his eyes had ruptured all the pores around his eyes and damaged his cornea. However, by the time he was lifted into the hospital ambulance, it had miraculously healed, all thanks to the unknown cool sensation in his eyes.

The doctor explained that the medicine had a cooling effect, which caused Zhuang Rui to feel a cool sensation in his eyes. It was just the airflow from the bullet that irritated his eyes and did not cause any actual damage (the wound in Zhuang Rui's eyes had completely healed by the time he arrived at the hospital). Therefore, it would not have a significant impact on his vision. However, the injury to the back of his head worried the doctors for a while, but after a period of observation, no sequelae were found.

Just after eight o'clock in the morning, the leaders of the municipal investment company and Uncle De, the manager of the pawnshop, came to the ward.

Because of Zhuang Rui's outstanding performance in this incident, the pawnshop suffered no losses whatsoever. Furthermore, with Uncle De's recommendation, it's highly likely that he will become the pawnshop's manager after Zhuang Rui recovers. This was something Uncle De had privately revealed to Zhuang Rui a few days ago when he visited him. Zhuang Rui was quite pleased with this, as it meant a significant increase in his income. Combined with the condolence money he received, he could consider moving from his current residence in the Zhabei shantytown and taking out a loan to buy a small apartment in Zhonghai City so his mother could come and live with him. ...

"Young man, relax, don't be nervous, it'll be alright..."

Zhuang Rui's attending physician patted him on the shoulder and then gestured to the nurse behind him to come forward and remove the gauze from Zhuang Rui's head and face.

The nurses in the special care ward were all selected from across the hospital. They were not only young, but also top-notch in appearance. A few days ago, when Zhuang Rui's college roommate came to visit him, she kept praising Zhuang Rui for his good fortune with women. Zhuang Rui was both amused and exasperated. He was blind, so he couldn't even tell how beautiful she was.

As the nurse's soft, boneless hands gently unwrapped the gauze from his face, Zhuang Rui's heart calmed down. The anxiety he had felt earlier had completely vanished with the faint fragrance emanating from the nurse.

Finally, the gauze was removed from his face, but the nurse was still assisting the doctor in treating the stitches on the back of Zhuang Rui's head. There was a cut on the back of his head from the glass, which required six stitches. Now the stitches could be removed. However, the nurse and Zhuang Rui were in a strange position. From behind, it looked as if the nurse was shielding Zhuang Rui's head with her own high and prominent breasts.

"Xiao Zhuang, let your eyes adjust to the light first, open them slowly, don't rush..."

The doctor behind Zhuang Rui, who was treating the wound on the back of his head, spoke up.

Actually, when the black eye patch containing the medicine was removed from Zhuang Rui's eyes, he could already feel the light even before he opened his eyelids. After hearing the doctor's instructions, he slowly opened his eyes.

"Huh? Pink..."

When Zhuang Rui opened his eyes a crack, the first thing he saw was a blurry pink color that seemed very close to him. The sweet scent he had smelled earlier must have come from there. Zhuang Rui opened his eyes wide, wanting to see what it was.

Just as Zhuang Rui was staring intently at the pink area, he suddenly felt a greenish-blue light appear in his eyes, and the entire world before him turned greenish-blue. At the same time, the black pupils in Zhuang Rui's eyes seemed to split into two like cells dividing, and then quickly merged back into one. This process was extremely brief, perhaps only a fraction of a second. In the recombined pupils, an invisible and colorless ray of light shot towards the pink area that Zhuang Rui was looking at, following Zhuang Rui's focused gaze.

Zhuang Rui only felt a flash of blue light as he focused his gaze, trying hard to see what was in front of him. The cool aura that had been surrounding his eyes for the past half month suddenly began to flow around his eye sockets and followed his gaze. Before Zhuang Rui could react to what was happening, the scene that followed completely stunned him.

First, a greenish-blue color flashed before his eyes, and then what appeared in Zhuang Rui's eyes was a pure white expanse. The distance was so close that if Zhuang Rui raised his head slightly, the tip of his nose could touch it. Zhuang Rui had never felt that white could be so dazzling. His body, which had been replenished with several bottles of glucose water every day, suddenly felt parched.

"Where do I feel like I've seen something similar before? Muto Ran? Matsushima Kaede? Or Aoi Sora?"

At that moment, Zhuang Rui suddenly felt that his usually proud and computationally adept brain was not up to par, and it went completely blank. Only four words flashed through his mind: So big, so white...

Chapter 003 Illusion?

Since graduating from nursing school, Song Xingjun has been working as a nurse at this hospital. Because of her gentle personality and sweet appearance, she was transferred to the VIP ward after less than a year in the regular ward. Although working in the VIP ward was relatively easier, she often had to deal with lecherous eyes and groping hands from those who looked respectable. However, the income was much higher than in the regular ward, and Song Xingjun, who came from an average family, was quite satisfied with her job.

Song Xingjun also felt a great liking for the patient who was about the same age as her. Although the young patient had the possibility of going blind, Zhuang Rui's optimistic and cheerful personality over the past few days had also infected everyone around him. He was also very polite to the doctors and nurses. Unlike some other patients, he never refused to take his medicine or threw a tantrum. This made Song Xingjun's work much easier and she was in a good mood.

However, at this moment, Song Xingjun completely overturned her previous good impression of Zhuang Rui. Just now, she suddenly felt a warmth on her chest, and she felt as if two hands had touched her. At this moment, the only person who could do this was Zhuang Rui, who was standing in front of her. Moreover, her body blocked other people's view, so there was no way anyone else could have seen Zhuang Rui's actions. Even her view was blocked by Zhuang Rui's head. And the stitches on the back of Zhuang Rui's head were about to be removed. Although Song Xingjun wanted to slap this young man hard, her good professional ethics made her hold back and not make a sound.

However, Song Xingjun soon couldn't bear it any longer, because the harassment didn't stop because she gave in; instead, it intensified, as if countless ants were biting her skin at the same time. If she weren't wearing a mask, everyone would have noticed that Song Xingjun's face was already flushed.

Slightly taking a step back, Song Xingjun looked down at Zhuang Rui's hands. To her surprise, Zhuang Rui's hands were hanging naturally at his sides, without any movement. If it weren't for the ongoing harassment on her chest, Song Xingjun would definitely have thought that Zhuang Rui was the culprit.

Finally, the doctor finished removing the stitches. With slightly trembling hands, Song Xingjun took the tools handed to her by the doctor and hurriedly left the ward with a flushed face. She didn't know what had happened, but she didn't know if she could keep staying there. She was afraid she would let out a moan of pleasure.

"Has the lump we found a while ago changed?"

Back in the nurses' station, the pleasure in her chest slowly subsided, but Song Xingjun was still worried. She rushed to the changing room, and when she placed her hands on her chest, she was astonished to find that the lump that had been there a while ago was completely gone. ...

Just as Song Xingjun left the ward, Zhuang Rui finally woke up, because when Song Xingjun retreated, Zhuang Rui found that the scene that had made his mouth dry had disappeared.

At the same time, the cool aura that had just flowed away with Zhuang Rui's gaze returned to his eyes. However, this aura seemed much weaker, causing Zhuang Rui's eyes to sting slightly, as if he had been punched in the nose and his tear ducts had been impacted. Tears flowed uncontrollably, and his vision blurred instantly, preventing Zhuang Rui from noticing that Song Xingjun had already left the ward.

"A hallucination? But why does it feel so real? It's clearer than those Japanese adult videos on the boss's computer, and much bigger than those..."