Ring ring ring...
Lin Fanās phone suddenly rang again.
It was Liu Mengjie calling: "Little Fan, are you free to come to school for class today?"
Lin Fan worked as a substitute piano teacher at Yun City Music Academy, but heād been a bit busy lately, not attending classes every day, so Liu Mengjie would call every day to ask, to better arrange the schedule.
Lin Fan couldnāt possibly teach every day, but he was a musical genius; both teachers and students were happy to accommodate Lin Fanās schedule.
Lin Fan said, "Yes, I can go today. Iāll head over in a bit."
Liu Mengjie was delighted: "Shall we schedule the class for 10 a.m.?"
"No problem," Lin Fan agreed cheerfully.
After hanging up, Lin Fan tidied up a bit and went out, preparing to head to the school.
Passing through a neighborhood, Lin Fan felt it was familiar, recalling it was near the place where heād bought a lottery ticket that night, so he decided to redeem it along the way, saving himself a trip later.
So Lin Fan drove to the entrance of that lottery shop.
The lottery storeās business was booming, customers were coming in non-stop, and the entrance was almost worn out.
Everyone was busy buying lottery tickets, and no one noticed Lin Fanās arrival.
The entrance was jam-packed, and as he entered, Lin Fan was jostled from behind, bumping into an uncle in front. The uncle turned his head and angrily scolded, "Are you blind?"
Lin Fan didnāt bother arguing, and just said, "Sorry!"
The uncle cursed as he walked away.
Lin Fan entered the store and saw people queuing at the counter, so he got in line to wait.
"Ah, I won, I won!"
Suddenly, a burst of delighted shouting came from the side, instantly drawing everyoneās attention.
It turned out that someone was playing a type of instant lottery where you just scratch off the coating to see whether you win.
The man who shouted in excitement was in his thirties, and he had just won 100,000 yuan.
It quickly drew the envy of the crowd.
"Wow, so envious!"
"Someone actually won 100,000 yuan!"
"Another winner, it seems this place is truly blessed with good luck! All thanks to the person who hit the five million jackpot!"
"This guy successfully rode the wave of luck; we donāt know when weāll succeed!"
Voices of envy echoed among the crowd.
The man who had won the prize was not pleased to hear this.
"What are you all saying? My win has nothing to do with anyone else. I won because of my own good luck, not because I piggybacked on someone elseās luck!" the lucky man said proudly.
"Iām different from you guys; Iām not here to ride on someone elseās fortune. Luck resides with me personally! Letās be honest, my luck is absolutely better than the person who won 5 million!"
"Compared to me, the guy with the 5-million jackpot is just a weakling!"
The lucky man proclaimed.
On hearing this, people around him shook their heads and sighed.
This guy might be a bit too arrogant.
He only won 100,000, while others hit a 5-million jackpot. Where does he find the nerve to call others weaklings!
The lucky man saw the disbelief in peopleās faces and continued to boast: "Donāt doubt me, I guarantee none of you riding on that guyās luck will win. Tell me, did any of you win?"
Everyone fell silent.
Indeed, no one riding on that luck had won anything this past week.
Therefore, the lucky man concluded: "Youāre all here to piggyback on that personās luck, yet no one won, but I, who did not rely on his luck, won instead. This proves that personās luck is used up. Now Iām the one with great fortune!"
People glanced at each other, starting to doubt and consider his words.
What he said made sense, maybe the person who hit the jackpot really had run out of luck, and they couldnāt benefit from it after all.
The lucky man added: "Donāt doubt me, have you seen that jackpot winner come to claim their prize? No, right? What does that mean? It means his luck is depleted, he encountered obstacles, preventing him from claiming the prize, hence the saying ājoy at its peak turns to sorrow.ā"
On hearing this, everyone couldnāt help but nod. The lucky manās analysis was so convincing, it was hard not to believe him.
Only Lin Fan knew that the so-called lucky man was talking nonsense.
Lin Fan hadnāt claimed his prize yet simply because he never took the lottery ticket seriously, and besides, wasnāt he here now?
"Hey bro, you say youāre currently blessed with great fortune, right? So youāre the luckiest one here?" Lin Fan smiled and asked.
The lucky man glanced at Lin Fan, dressed in market-stall clothing!
Another poor guy trying to change his fate through lottery tickets!
The lucky man sneered, "Little brother, youāre right, I am the luckiest person here. Do you have any objections?"
Lin Fan said, "I actually do have a different opinion. I donāt think youāre the luckiest one here. Youāve only won 100,000; itās best to be humble."
The lucky man chuckled, "Only 100,000, you say? Who are you to say that? How much have you won? I see you in market-stall clothes; you probably canāt even afford proper clothing. Iāve seen plenty of people like you, the most miserable in the world, yearning to change their fate through lottery tickets ā keep dreaming!"
The crowd burst into laughter.
Indeed, Lin Fan didnāt look like a lucky person at all.
Lin Fan ignored the lucky man as it was his turn now.
"Shop owner, Iād like a scratch-off ticket," Lin Fan said.
The shop owner said, "Alright, 10 yuan per ticket."
The shop owner didnāt care about the argument; as long as they were spending money, the more noise the better.
Lin Fan paid 10 yuan for an instant lottery ticket.
Immediately, everyoneās attention turned to the lottery ticket, waiting to see Lin Fanās result.
Lin Fan used his fingernail to scratch off the coating.
The lucky man sneered, "You really think you can win? Keep dreaming; youāre going to get slapped by reality soon. If you scratch off more than 100,000, Iāll give you my 100,000! Otherwise, you kneel and call me daddy, how about that?"
That was a fresh play, and everyone suddenly got interested.
Lin Fan smiled, "Is that so? Everyoneās listening, and they can serve as witnesses. If I scratch off more than 100,000, your 100,000 will be mine, no backing out."
The lucky man chuckled, "Why would I back out? Just make sure you donāt back out, prepare to kneel and call me daddy. Iāll show you whoās the daddy!"
Lin Fan didnāt respond, he focused on scratching it carefully.
In the meantime.
Ultimate Koi Carp Luck, activated!
Finally, the coating was completely scratched off, and everyone eagerly leaned in, curious about Lin Fanās result.
Lin Fan picked up the lottery ticket, displayed it to everyone, and then placed it in front of the shop owner.
"Ah!"
The shop owner exclaimed.
"A prize of 250,000, the highest prize level!" the shop owner said excitedly.
What?
Everyone was stunned.
The lucky man was completely dumbfounded.
"Wait a minute!" the shop owner added.
Kidding, everyoneās heart skipped a beat.
The lucky man laughed, "Must be a mistake, right? I told you, how could this guy have better luck than me!"
The shop owner, voice trembling, said, "He scratched off a sequence that doubled the prize, the final prize is 500,000."
"Ah!"
The entire place erupted, the whole store was in an uproar, goodness, an instant lottery ticket, Lin Fan had scratched off a sky-high prize of 500,000!
The lucky man was frozen, his face turned pale, as if heād been struck by lightning.
Lin Fan just smiled, then pulled out the lottery ticket from his pocket, placed it in front of the shop owner, and said, "Actually, Iām here to claim my prize today."
What?
The shop owner wiped cold sweat from his brow, seeing the numbers on the ticket, his whole body trembled with excitement, his trembling hand cradled the ticket.
It was him, it was him, it was really him!
"Are you, youāre the one who won the five million..." the shop owner stammered.
What?
With those words, the store fell silent, deathly quiet, everyone was already shocked.