Chapter Six: Five Million?

“Huh?” Yan Xuan was clearly startled. He instinctively looked at Tang Xueying, and as she winked at him, he caught on and played along, saying, “Yes, I’m her boyfriend. Please stay away from her from now on. If you keep bothering her, I won’t be so polite!”

“He must be after your money!” Tan Le snapped angrily.

This time, Tang Xueying stepped forward, her face composed. “Tan Le, I don’t want to hear that kind of talk again. Do you understand?”

“Fine! Just you wait!” Tan Le wanted to argue, but seeing Tang Xueying’s furious expression, he inexplicably closed his mouth, threw out a menacing remark, and drove away.

“Phew.” Watching Tan Le leave, Tang Xueying let out a sigh of relief and tugged on Yan Xuan’s arm. “Yan, to thank you, let me treat you to dinner!”

“Oh, that’s not necessary.”

“Come on!”

The two found a modest, affordable restaurant just outside the community where Tang Xueying rented her apartment and enjoyed a pleasant dinner together before parting ways.

Yan Xuan changed out of his clothes and collapsed into bed.

The day had been full of twists and turns.

After lying there with his eyes closed for a moment, Yan Xuan got up to keep working. The design draft was due before the end of tomorrow’s workday; time was still very tight.

He buried himself in work for who knows how long before rubbing his eyes. His phone showed it was already past 8:30 p.m., and he suddenly remembered the lottery ticket he’d bought earlier.

The Double Color Ball—by now, the results should be out!

He unlocked his phone and froze.

There were thirteen missed calls, all from the same person—Bai Jing.

Yan Xuan then recalled that when he left the hospital, his phone had already warned of low battery and had shut down automatically. Though he’d charged it at the office, he’d been too busy to turn it back on.

Not daring to delay, Yan Xuan quickly called back.

Bai Jing was one of the few friends who treated him well. Although his relationship with Zhou Man had ended and he didn’t know if the two would ever cross paths again, he still valued her.

As the call connected, Yan Xuan felt a pang of regret.

It was already past 8:30. Bai Jing might have gone to bed. Was it appropriate to call so late?

Before he could worry further, the call was instantly answered.

“Yan Xuan?”

“...Ahem, yes, it’s me. Bai Jing, I saw you called me over a dozen times. Sorry, my phone died this afternoon.”

He hadn’t expected her to speak first and felt a little embarrassed as he hurried to explain.

“Are you okay?” Bai Jing’s voice, cautious and gentle, came through. “When I went over this afternoon, I found out you’d been discharged. How’s your health now?”

“Me? I’m fine.” Yan Xuan flexed his limbs a bit. “Sorry to have worried you.”

He knew his fainting spell was due to the system—he was actually perfectly healthy, not even a scratch on him.

“Mm... As long as you’re alright.” Bai Jing bit her lip at the other end of the line, softly replying.

She didn’t mention that after riding with the ambulance to the hospital at noon, she’d hurried home to make chicken soup and cook a meal, only to return and find Yan Xuan already gone, his hospital bill settled.

“I’m fine.” Yan Xuan paused, not knowing what else to say, and found an excuse to end the call.

He was anxious—eager to check his lottery ticket.

Even though he knew these things were manipulated and winning the jackpot was less likely than winning a small prize of five hundred or a thousand yuan, who didn’t fantasize about striking it rich?

After hanging up, Yan Xuan quickly opened his phone browser and searched for the winning Double Color Ball numbers.

Eleven... matched!

Yan Xuan felt nothing; matching three numbers was quite ordinary.

Sixteen, twenty-three, twenty-six... After matching four red balls, Yan Xuan raised an eyebrow.

A hundred yuan won—unexpectedly, his first redeemed lottery ticket wasn’t a complete waste.

At the same time, his mood, which had been calm, began to quicken, his breathing growing rapid.

Twenty-seven... matched!

The prize rose to two hundred yuan—an unprecedented sum for Yan Xuan. If he matched the basketball as well, the prize would soar to three thousand.

Thirty-three... matched again!

Yan Xuan leaped off the bed.

Six red balls matched—this was second prize. If the jackpot pool was large enough, he could expect five million yuan. If not, he’d still get twenty-five percent of the jackpot.

And he knew the grand prize hadn’t been won for several rounds; the jackpot pool now surpassed one hundred million.

He could say he’d already locked in the five million prize.

Realizing all this, Yan Xuan couldn’t help but shout with joy.

Money—what could be more important than money!

He spent several minutes laughing and jumping around his room like a madman, until someone from next door knocked on his door. “Yan, what’s wrong with you? Are you losing it?”

“Hahaha, Lin, I’m fine, I’m not crazy!” Yan Xuan called out in high spirits. “I’ll treat you to dinner tomorrow!”

He rented this place—shared housing, so it was very cheap. Four households lived in this small apartment.

But everyone renting here, like him, was out working hard. Though it was already past ten, two families still hadn’t returned.

“Haha, alright. But keep it down—otherwise everyone will come knocking.”

“Got it!” Yan Xuan replied, then threw himself heavily onto the bed. His face was still grinning, unable to stop smiling.

Once his excitement calmed a little, Yan Xuan checked the final number—the basketball.

Five—matched again.

Genuine first prize, five million yuan.

Yan Xuan sprawled out on the bed, completely relaxed.

Absentmindedly, he grabbed his phone and sent a message to that WeChat contact who messaged him daily.

But the red exclamation mark snapped him out of his daze.

He and Zhou Man... had broken up...

On the surface, it seemed because a wealthy heir stepped in, but in truth, it was about money—because he had none.

Thinking of Zhou Man’s cold, emotionless eyes as she left, all of Yan Xuan’s earlier joy vanished.

Who could have expected a day so full of highs and lows?

He’d started the morning happily planning to propose, only for a sudden system to disrupt everything.

Though he was glad to have the system—a golden finger—that gave him a boost, he had truly lost his love.

All the reasons boiled down to money.

Money is a bastard, but it sure looks good. A single penny can stop even a hero.

Calming down, Yan Xuan began to think about the future.

With the system, with his little black baby, this was his luck. Today it had brought him five million, and that was thrilling, but it was only the beginning.

In the myriad worlds, who could predict what might be randomly exchanged next? Not even the system itself could know.

Every exchange was an opportunity.

Thinking this, Yan Xuan sat up.

If that’s the case, then...

Let’s keep swallowing, swallowing, swallowing!