Very quickly, it was the weekend again.
As soon as class ended, Su Zelin quickly slipped away, with Qin Shiqing still following closely behind, as she was tasked with helping Su Jianjun keep an eye on Su Zelin to make sure he didn't get into any mischief on his way home.
This time, they weren't intercepted by Huang Panpan at the school gate, probably because the little fan girl was detained by the teacher for extra classes.
Leaving the campus, Su Zelin was like a bird released from its cage, extremely excited, even humming a tune on the way.
"Su Zelin, did you get a shot of adrenaline or something?"
Tang Yan was quite perplexed.
"His lottery ticket from last week is being drawn!"
Qin Shiqing revealed the secret.
"Oh, I see, Su Zelin, do you really think you'd hit the jackpot? You might as well just dream about it tonight with a bigger pillow!"
Tang Yan scoffed.
She thought Su Zelin was daydreaming.
"Sweetheart, you don't get it. Do you know why your father decided to spend all of last week's meal money? Because my grandfather, who is your great-grandfather, gave me a dream last week, telling me to buy a lottery ticket. The dream was so vivid, so I'm definitely winning. Want to bet on it?"
Su Zelin issued a challenge.
"Let's bet that I'll at least win five thousand bucks!"
"A bet it is!"
Tang Yan was defiant.
"If you lose, don't call me that anymore!"
"Alright, and if you lose, just treat me and Xiaoyanzi to a bottle of soda every night!"
"Su Zelin, you said it, it's a deal then!"
Tang Yan nodded without hesitation.
Being teased by that thief recognition joke by Su Zelin for a long time was possible, but compared to that, treating him to a week's worth of soda wouldn't cost much, not a loss!
Besides, Tang Yan didn't think she would lose.
She didn't believe in those "great-grandfather gives a dream" kind of stuff at all.
Even if there was a dream, it wouldn't come true.
This is just superstition.
Science is what to believe in!
Very soon, they arrived at the lottery shop from last week.
The shop was particularly crowded today; there are always some lottery players who dream of something for nothing, especially after a hugely newsworthy event this week, greatly stimulating these players.
"The person who won five million has got it made, living a comfortable life forever!"
"The minute they won, they quit their job. Who the heck wants to keep working?"
"It's just my neighbor's old cousin, only bought a few times and hit the first prize, that luck is amazing!"
"I've been buying for five years, and I haven't won more than two hundred bucks. People are really infuriating!"
"..."
The lottery players in the shop were discussing, envious, jealous, and resentful.
This week, someone in the city won a massive five million, becoming one of the hottest news topics.
Looks like I didn't remember wrong, it's this period's big prize.
Su Zelin perked up, took out the stack of lottery tickets, and started checking the numbers one by one.
Five bucks, twenty bucks, even a hundred bucks, he couldn't be bothered to take another look.
Su Zelin was only focused on the jackpot.
He quickly finished checking the entire stack, and his eyes dimmed.
"How can this be, it makes no sense!"
Seeing his lost look, Tang Yan guessed the result, feeling a sense of triumph.
"I told you that you wouldn't win the big prize, I win now, don't I!"
"Stop talking, sweetheart, I need some peace."
Su Zelin was extremely annoyed.
"Don't call me that, or are you going to back out now?"
Tang Yan put her hands on her hips, her eyebrows raised.
"Who said I lost, I just didn't win the first prize, just got the second prize, that's only fifty thousand!"
In this era, fifty thousand is actually quite a bit, but since Su Zelin was aiming for the grand prize, the psychological gap was quite large.
He roughly remembered the first prize number for this period, but wasn't entirely sure, which is why he bought dozens of tickets, one of which was the closest, but it was still off by one number, only getting the second prize.
"What? Second prize, fifty thousand bucks? Come on, Su Zelin, you've been possessed!"
Tang Yan naturally didn't believe it.
"Wake up, it's not even dark yet, stop daydreaming!"
Qin Shiqing also thought he was bragging, retorting without good humor.
"Why don't you just take a look for yourselves!"
Su Zelin pulled out the second prize ticket and shoved it into Tang Yan's hand.
Just missing one number, five million to one percent, I can't stand it!
Why can the protagonists of other rebirth novels win jackpots, and I can't!
Could it be because I'm too handsome, and fate envies the talented?
The two girls took the lottery ticket and compared it to the winner numbers on the wall, and it was indeed off by one number.
But they weren't familiar with the lottery rules, so they found the shop owner: "Is this ticket a winner?"
The shop owner thought they had only won a small prize, initially not paying much attention, but after glancing at the numbers on the ticket, he got so excited he shouted: "Second prize, you've won the second prize!"
A lottery shop issuing a big bonus is also of great benefit to the shop's reputation and business, as players will think this place is quite lucky.
With his outcry, the lottery players in the shop all came over to watch.
"Wow, it really is the second prize!"
"Right after a first prize, here comes a second prize!"
"Little lady, you've struck it rich, this is fifty thousand bucks!"
"You better keep that lottery ticket safe, don't lose it, hurry home and tell your parents!"
"..."
The lottery enthusiasts were chatting away, leaving Qin Shiqing and Tang Yan completely bewildered.
The two girls were dumbfounded.
It really was the second prize, a fifty-thousand-yuan jackpot!
From Su Zelin's expression, they thought they were going to lose everything; it was truly unexpected.
"This lottery ticket belongs to my classmate!"
After quite a while, the two girls finally reacted. Tang Yan returned the ticket to Su Zelin.
"Young man, I remember you! Didn't you say last week that your grandpa came to you in a dream and told you to buy a lottery ticket? You even said the dream was so vivid and you'd definitely win!"
The shop owner had an excellent memory and immediately recognized Su Zelin.
Most of the customers in the lottery store were old men, with some middle-aged folks. There weren't many students, plus, Su Zelin had bought over a hundred yuan worth of lottery tickets, which left a memorable impression.
The shop owner's words added more drama to the story immediately, stirring up the lottery players.
"Such a thing, that's really remarkable!"
"Seems like it's fate, an ancestral blessing!"
"Don't say that, my late husband also once appeared in my dream and seemed to mention a few numbers, but unfortunately, I didn't remember them when I woke up! Alas!"
"I should go home and burn some incense, see if the old guy will appear in a dream!"
"..."
Besides the second prize, that pile of lottery tickets also won some smaller prizes: five yuan, twenty yuan, and even a hundred yuan, amounting to over two hundred yuan in total, which were redeemed on the spot.
However, the second prize ticket needed to be redeemed at the city's lottery center.
After redeeming the smaller prizes, Su Zelin didn't linger and the three of them left the store.
"Qin Shiqing, here's your money, keep the extra thirty as interest, no need for change!"
Su Zelin grandly stuffed a hundred-yuan bill into Qin Shiqing's hand.
He owed his childhood friend twenty from earlier, and with this week's meals costing fifty, a hundred would still leave thirty extra.
"Su Zelin, you really won the second prize, that's a fifty-thousand-yuan jackpot!"
Qin Shiqing still found it unbelievable.
"It's just fifty thousand yuan, what's there to be so happy about?"
Su Zelin appeared calm.
Even though he narrowly missed the five-million prize, his indifferent attitude quickly kicked in.
In this life, Su Zelin's desire for money wasn't as strong as in the previous one.
With his reborn perspective and foresight, achieving financial freedom wouldn't be too hard, it'd just take more time.
If he'd really won five million in one go, with that much capital, starting a business would be too easy, losing its challenge.
With this thought, Su Zelin came to terms with it.
"Just? Are you sure you didn't use the wrong word?"
Tang Yan was puzzled.
If it were someone else, they'd probably be jumping for joy, wouldn't they?
After observing for a while, she felt that Su Zelin wasn't faking it; he genuinely didn't care.
This composure was something she couldn't help but admire.
"Dear daughter, don't forget my sodas every evening next week!"
Su Zelin nonchalantly said.
When the bet was mentioned, Tang Yan felt frustrated.
First, he got a perfect score in English, then he won the second prize in the lottery.
Either of these happening alone would be fantastic, yet they both occurred.
It's uncanny when you think about it.
This dream visitation things, wasn't it supposed to be superstitious and unscientific?
Tang Yan started having second thoughts.
Looks like the adults were right, sometimes you have to believe it exists rather than think it doesn't.
"Sure, but I don't have money. Dad, can you give me some allowance?"
Tang Yan held out her hand.
She decided to go for it since she was already called dear daughter, there might as well be some benefits. After all, Su Zelin was now holding a prize of tens of thousands, a real "big shot."
"Here, take fifty cents!"
Su Zelin handed her a crumpled fifty-cent note.
"Dear daughter, go buy some candy, and remember not to go with any strange uncles, okay?"
"Winning fifty thousand and only getting fifty cents, what a cheapskate!"
Tang Yan rolled her eyes.
"Is that how you talk to your dad? If you don't want it, give it back!"
Su Zelin huffed.
"Who said I don't want it!"
Tang Yan grumbled, but she quickly stuffed the fifty cents into her pocket.
Even mosquito meat is still meat.
This scoundrel dares call me dear daughter once, I'll milk him for it once.
Even if it's fifty cents each time, it all adds up!
"About my lottery win, don't go blabbing at school. I'm a rich, handsome guy now, and I don't want people asking to borrow money!"
Though he said "don't go blabbing," Su Zelin's eyes were on Tang Yan.
Qin Shiqing was okay, but Xiaoyanzi was quite the chatterbox.
"Got it, I'm not a gossip girl. Whoever blabs is a puppy!"
Tang Yan vowed.
"Good, that's a relief!"
…