"Boss, is it true that there are such peculiar people who actually like stinky smells?"
"Xu Bei said so."
"He really likes it more the stinkier it is?"
On the way, Hu Zi kept asking questions nonstop.
Lu Fei looked over and said, "What do you want to do?"
"Then I want to try out these feet of mine..." Hu Zi chuckled, eager to get moving.
"You don't want to!"
Lu Fei glared at him.
The meeting place was at Xu Bei's friend's house, as his friend didn't like going out.
"Manager Lu, this way please."
Xu Bei led the two into a luxurious villa and, before entering, handed them each a mask.
"The scent he likes, most of us do not appreciate."
"Understood."
Lu Fei and Hu Zi put on their masks, braced themselves, and followed Xu Bei into the villa.
However.
To Lu Fei's great surprise, the house was clean and tidy, even cleaner than most people's homes.
However, there was an indescribable stench in the air.
"Wow, so rich!" Hu Zi looked at the large villa in shock, "I thought someone who likes such a smell would be very messy, at least messier than me..."
"Just because I like certain scents doesn't mean I'm a pervert." A thin man in his forties, sitting on an expensive sofa, stood up and frowned at Hu Zi.
Hu Zi was startled; he didn't expect anyone to be on the sofa and for his comments to be overheard.
"Manager Lu, this is my friend, Zhuang Mingcheng."
Xu Bei stepped in to smooth things over.
"Mingcheng, this is the person I mentioned to you, Manager Lu Fei from Sinisterium Pawnshop."
"Please, have a seat."
Zhuang Mingcheng raised his hand slightly, showing no warmth in his attitude.
His face was haggard, and his expression was filled with deep irritation and pressure, as if he had been in some kind of torment for a long time, making him impatient with everything.
"Mr. Zhuang, hello."
Lu Fei sat down on the opposite sofa, while Hu Zi stood behind him, unable to resist stealing glances at Zhuang Mingcheng.
Zhuang Mingcheng covered his nose and kept a distance from them.
"I'm sorry, I'm not used to the smell of strangers."
"No problem, Vice President Xu has already told me about Mr. Zhuang's situation." Lu Fei nodded, trying his best to tolerate the strange stench in the room.
Despite the villa being clean and tidy, there was an odor permeating the air, indicating that the smell was deliberately sprayed, much like someone lighting incense or spraying perfume at home.
"So you also think I'm sick?" Zhuang Mingcheng looked at Lu Fei with suspicion.
"I think Mr. Zhuang must have had many check-ups from a young age. If there were any physical illnesses, they would have been treated long ago. Since Vice President Xu reached out to me, I believe it must be due to other reasons." Lu Fei smiled.
Zhuang Mingcheng's expression softened a bit.
"That's right, I'm not sick! I don't think I'm sick, it's just that my sense of smell is different from most people's."
"What you find fragrant, I find foul."
"And what I find fragrant, you find foul."
"It's the complete opposite!"
"My body and mind are completely normal... no!" Zhuang Mingcheng furrowed his brows tightly, revealing boundless bitterness and helplessness, "I'm being driven crazy by this! To me, the world is a garbage dump reeking of foul odors!"
"Opposite sense of smell?!"
Lu Fei was astonished.
Throughout history, there have been many people with peculiar quirks.
There is a legend about a man named Liu Yong who enjoyed eating the scabs from wounds, believing them to be more delicious than abalone, a delicacy. Whenever he saw such scabs on someone, he could not resist picking them off and eating them.
In order to eat these scabs, he specially kept a group of people whom he would whip daily.
However, Zhuang Mingcheng's situation is clearly different. He does not enjoy it; his pursuit of foul smells seems more like a compulsion.
"Yes, Manager Lu, only the odors we consider unpleasant can make him feel comfortable," Xu Bei sighed. "I've tried many methods, but I haven't found any signs of feng shui or any other impurities following him."
In fact, Lu Fei had also observed this when he entered and ruled out these factors.
"Mr. Zhuang, when did your condition start?" Lu Fei asked.
"It started from the time I can remember."
Zhuang Mingcheng took out a glass bottle and inhaled slightly before continuing.
"I have always had a keen sense of smell and can distinguish hundreds or even thousands of different scents."
"Back then, my dream was to become a perfume designer and create the best-smelling perfume in the world... But gradually, I realized that the scents I liked were different from what others preferred, and no one would accept the perfumes I created."
"Because of my abnormality, I couldn't fit into society and could only live alone."
"Indeed, my family's financial situation is quite good, and I could live without worrying about food and clothing even if I did nothing, but what's the difference between that and being in prison?"
Zhuang Mingcheng covered his nose, his eyes filled with deep exhaustion.
"Imprisonment can isolate one from the world, but it cannot shield one from odors; they are fluid."
"Everyone in the world exudes and uses the scents they like."
"I can only continuously use even more pungent odors to mask those scents, but my sense of smell becomes keener every day... perhaps the day I can no longer mask them will be the day I leave this world."
To be able to say such things, it is evident that he has been tormented severely.
Anyone who lives day by day in unbearable odors would go mad and become irritable.
"Manager Lu, do you have any solutions? Even if it's something unconventional, Mingcheng is willing to try." Xu Bei looked at Lu Fei seriously.
Lu Fei lowered his head in thought, remaining silent for a long time.
Huzi scratched his head and blurted out, "That's simple. Just punch yourself in the nose, break it, and then you won't smell anything—good or bad, it won't matter!"
"Do you think I haven't tried that? No matter if I hit my nose or take medicine, it all ends in failure... my sense of smell is like it's cursed. The more I resist, the keener it becomes." Zhuang Mingcheng shook his head in disappointment.
"Forget it, there's no hope."
"Old Xu, you don't need to run around for me. My leaving might not be a bad thing..."
At that moment, Lu Fei raised his head: "Maybe it really is a curse."
"What?!"
Xu Bei and Zhuang Mingcheng both stared at Lu Fei with wide eyes.
"A very obscure and ancient curse, called the Reversal Curse."
Lu Fei said, mulling over it.
"This curse can turn a person's strengths into weaknesses! For example, someone with a kind heart will become particularly evil, beauty will turn into ugliness, good luck will turn into misfortune...and Mr. Zhuang, it has affected his sense of smell."
After he finished speaking, Xu Bei and Zhuang Mingcheng looked at each other in shock.
"There's actually a curse like this?" Zhuang Mingcheng found it hard to believe, but a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes.
"But I started showing abnormalities from a young age. Who would cast such a cruel curse on a child?"
"Then you need to recall carefully," Lu Fei said, looking at him. "Mr. Zhuang, did you encounter any strange people or events when you were a child?"