Second Prize... Not Too Shabby, I Guess

"Ah, too bad the last number was wrong, otherwise it would have been the first prize. Oh well, second prize... not bad, I guess. With the multiplier, it’s seven million. Not too shabby," Xu Mo said with a hint of humble bragging.

Zhou Qiaoqiao: "?"

An Youyi: "?"

Yang Jingxuan: "?"

Li Jiaxin: "?"

The four of them all wore the same expression of confusion.

Second prize is "not bad"?

Seven million is "not too shabby"?

Are you even hearing yourself?!

Is this even human language??

Seven million is already a huge amount! What more could you possibly want after winning seven million?

"Do you know someone at the lottery station?" An Youyi suddenly asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously as she stared at Xu Mo.

There was something strange about Xu Mo—no, something extremely strange!

After all, he had just won seven million, a full seven million, not seven hundred.

A normal person who wins seven million would undoubtedly be ecstatic, overjoyed, maybe even speechless or moved to tears.

But Xu Mo looked completely calm, as if he had known all along that he would win.

There had to be something fishy going on.

An Youyi even wondered if Xu Mo had some insider information, maybe he knew the winning numbers in advance, which was why he was so confident when he made the bet with them...

"It’s just that I have a bit of good luck, that’s all. Nothing special," Xu Mo rolled his eyes. "If I really knew someone on the inside, I’d be rich by now... This lottery ticket was randomly generated. It has nothing to do with me. I probably just got lucky."

"Randomly generated and you won second prize?" Yang Jingxuan squinted her eyes, as if she had just thought of something.

Back in college, she used to love buying lottery tickets, but she never won anything, so she eventually concluded that the lottery was a scam.

But now, she wasn’t so sure.

Maybe it wasn’t the lottery’s fault—maybe it was hers!

Back then, she always picked her own numbers and never used the random selection option.

Could that be the key? Was random selection the way to win? Yang Jingxuan pondered.

Her long-abandoned interest in the lottery was suddenly rekindled.

She picked up her phone, opened a map app, and typed "lottery station" into the search bar.

Several nearby lottery stations popped up on the map. Yang Jingxuan bookmarked the closest one, planning to try her luck there tomorrow...

...

Meanwhile, at the lottery station where Xu Mo had bought his ticket.

The shop owner had just finished his work for the day and was about to close up and head home.

As usual, after the lottery results were announced, he checked the computer to see if any of the tickets sold at his store had won big.

This was because whenever a customer won a major prize, the lottery center would reward the store with a bonus.

In other words, if a customer hit the jackpot, the store owner would also get a cut.

Plus, a big win was great publicity. Hanging up a banner saying "Million-Dollar Winner Sold Here!" would instantly boost business.

Today happened to be the drawing day.

So before leaving, the shop owner turned on the computer and checked the sales records.

The results for the latest Double Color Ball draw were already out, and if any tickets sold at his store had won, he would be able to see it in the system.

As soon as he checked, the shop owner’s eyes lit up. The system showed that one of the tickets sold at his store had won, and the prize was substantial—seven million.

After confirming the amount, the shop owner checked the details of the winning ticket.

The second-prize ticket had been randomly generated and had a 100x multiplier.

At this, the shop owner frowned, recalling a young man who had come into the store earlier that day.

That afternoon, a clueless young man had walked in and bought a randomly generated Double Color Ball ticket with a 100x multiplier.

The shop owner remembered him well because it was the biggest sale of the day—the young man had spent 200 yuan on that single ticket, and it was the only one that had been randomly generated with a 100x multiplier.

The thought of someone who knew nothing about the lottery casually buying a 200-yuan ticket and winning seven million made the shop owner’s stomach churn.

"What kind of luck is that..."

The kid had won on his very first try, and it was a second prize! With the multiplier, the prize was seven million!

Was this guy some kind of luck god?

How could this even happen?!

Earlier that day, the shop owner had secretly mocked the clueless young man in his mind, thinking he was just another daydreaming fool.

But now... the fool had actually won.

The joke was on him.

All the shop owner could think now was: Why didn’t I buy a ticket too?!

...

Back at the villa.

"I really don’t know any insider information. Why won’t you believe me? I told you, the ticket was randomly generated. I just got lucky... Are you trying to back out of the bet because you lost? Can’t handle it?"

An Youyi’s little scheme had been exposed, and her face flushed slightly.

The next second, she put her hands on her hips, pretending to be angry. "Who’s backing out? Fine, I’ll give you a foot massage! Come on, give me your foot."

Xu Mo leaned back on the sofa and stretched out his foot, ready to enjoy the treatment.

Meanwhile, Yang Jingxuan and Li Jiaxin, true to their word, also fulfilled their bets—one massaging Xu Mo’s shoulders, the other kneading his legs.

"How’s the pressure? Is this okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, just like that... feels great," Xu Mo said, closing his eyes in relaxation.

Seeing Xu Mo’s content expression, An Youyi’s eyes gleamed mischievously.

"I saw a foot reflexology chart online. There’s a pressure point on the foot that corresponds to the kidneys. It can test your kidney function. Let me try it. I’ll start with a little pressure, and if it hurts, let me know."

With that, she twisted her face into a grimace and pressed down with all her might.

"Does that hurt?"

That’s a "little pressure"? Your face is literally contorted from the effort—do you think I can’t tell?! Despite the sharp pain, Xu Mo kept a straight face. "Nope, doesn’t hurt at all. Are you even pressing? I can’t feel a thing."