"Dad, you might not believe this when I tell you…"
Yu Zhou leaned in close to his father's ear and whispered,
"I won the lottery."
He added silently in his heart: and not just any lottery — the Grand Prize of the Land of Light. A reward of countless shining bricks.
His uncle and aunt noticed that Yu Zhou and his father still had something private to talk about, so they smiled knowingly, gathered up the little cousin, and went home first.
They could always come back later to join the excitement — for now, it was better to let the father and son talk things through.
"Won the lottery?!"
Yu Zhou's father raised his voice in shock — but quickly caught himself, realizing that such things were better kept quiet.
"You rascal, I've been buying lottery tickets for decades and never won anything big, and you—!"
His father's face was a mix of envy and pride, laughter never leaving his lips.
After all these years of scraping by, maybe the hard days were finally over.
"How much was this car?"
He ran his hand over the shiny new vehicle, trying to stay calm.
"Over a million."
"Oh, over a million, huh…"
"WHAT— over a million?!"
When it sank in that his son hadn't said a hundred yuan but a million, Yu Zhou's father was completely dumbfounded.
He had thought the prize might be a few hundred thousand at best — but the car alone was worth more than that!
Which could only mean one thing.
"Son… tell me honestly. How much did you win?"
Taking a deep breath, he braced himself for a shock.
"Dad, maybe it's better if you don't know," Yu Zhou sighed, rubbing his temple. "I'm afraid it might be too much for you to handle."
As a lifelong lottery player, his father knew — nothing was more thrilling than hitting a massive jackpot.
And this time, it was his own son.
"I get it," his father said at last, face calm but heart pounding like a storm.
If Yu Zhou couldn't even tell him the number, that could only mean one thing — the amount was far beyond his imagination.
Thinking that, old Yu Xiasheng began taking deep breaths again.
"Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it…"
He muttered to himself, inhaling and exhaling to steady his nerves.
Yu Zhou just sighed helplessly.
He was used to his father's personality by now — emotional, excitable, but kind-hearted through and through.
And really, in this little village, to have such a father was a blessing in itself.
When they returned home, Yu Zhou saw Camearra chatting happily with his mother.
On the way back, Yu Zhou had already told his father the "truth" behind his wealth — a cover story he'd carefully prepared.
That Camearra was his university classmate, that they'd been together for a long time but kept it private, and other plausible details to make it sound convincing.
"I was just telling your girl here," his mother laughed from her seat on the wooden chair, "earlier I thought I saw a wild boar climbing a tree to eat fruit. Turns out it was you, giving me not one, but two surprises today!"
Yu Zhou twitched the corner of his mouth.
Who describes their own son like that?
Their house was simple — a two-story flat-roofed home, white paint over clay bricks, with a small courtyard where vegetables and fruit trees grew.
The inside had a living-dining area, kitchen, storage room, and three bedrooms upstairs. Modest, but homey.
Most of the time, Yu Zhou's parents worked on the small hill nearby, planting crops.
After chatting with Camearra for a while longer, Yu Zhou's mother suddenly looked at the clock, stood up in a hurry, and went into the kitchen.
"I'm going to make something delicious for Little Mi!" she said cheerfully.
His father, Yu Xiasheng, was just as excited — rushing off to the market to buy extra dishes.
Soon, only Yu Zhou and Camearra were left in the house.
"Your mother is really kind-hearted," Camearra said with a soft smile before Yu Zhou could even speak.
Though she was far, far older than Yu Zhou's mother — tens of millions of years older — she still respectfully addressed her as "Auntie."
"Yeah, that's just how my parents are," Yu Zhou smiled. "So… what did you two talk about?"
"Nothing much," Camearra replied lightly. "Just small talk. Though she did ask a bit about our relationship."
Seeing Yu Zhou's slightly tense expression, she smiled and added, "Don't worry — everything's fine."
"That's good," Yu Zhou said with relief. He'd been worried Camearra might accidentally say something that didn't fit her "human" identity.
"Pretty big sister!"
A familiar childish voice came from the doorway. Yu Yu, his little cousin, had come running over again from next door.
"Oh, what a sweet little girl!" Camearra said, pinching Yu Yu's cheek happily.
What woman doesn't like being called pretty?
"Yu Yu, it's really thanks to you today," Yu Zhou said, ruffling her hair.
Then he remembered something, walked out to the car, and opened the trunk.
"Here, Yu Yu, this is for you — your brother bought you some snacks."
He handed her a big box of chocolates.
"Thank you, brother!" she said, face glowing with excitement as she clutched the box.
"Yu Zhou-ge!"
A teenage boy, maybe fifteen or sixteen, came running up next. His name was Yu Lei — Yu Yu's older brother and Yu Zhou's cousin.
"Perfect timing, Xiao Lei," Yu Zhou said. "Come help me carry some things."
"Sure thing, bro!" Yu Lei said, grabbing some gift bags. But then he noticed Camearra standing nearby — and his eyes lit up.
"Hi, sister-in-law!" he said immediately, grinning.
"Hello there," Camearra replied, amused and delighted. She hadn't expected Yu Zhou's young cousin to be so polite — and so quick to call her "sister-in-law."
Her heart melted a little.
From the pile of gifts Yu Zhou had brought, Camearra picked out a small bag and handed it to Yu Lei.
"Here — a little gift from your sister-in-law."
"Thank you, sister-in-law!" Yu Lei said, surprised and overjoyed. He set the bags down and opened the small package — only to gasp.
"It's the newest model of smartphone — with top specs!"
Then he turned to Yu Zhou with a cheeky grin.
"Bro, when are you marrying sister-in-law?!"
Such a perfect sister-in-law, how could anyone let her slip away?
"You brat," Yu Zhou said, giving him a light flick on the forehead. "You're on your phone too much already — no wonder your eyes are getting bad."
Still, he couldn't help smiling.
That little rascal really did know how to say the right things.
A clever kid — one who might grow up to be quite the charmer someday.