I cautiously looked behind me to make sure no one was following me before I felt relieved.
"Brother Xiao Wu... I... I can't go on, I can't run anymore..." Yan Di gasped for breath, her hair a little disheveled. I laughed and pulled her to rest by the roadside for a while. We both saw a bit of a mess on each other's faces. Suddenly, we were of the same mind and burst into laughter.
Yan Di had already recovered from her shock. Still catching her breath, she exclaimed joyfully in her high-pitched voice, "Brother Xiao Wu, you, you're simply amazing!"
I deliberately grabbed her hand and laughed, "It's not that I'm a god... you gave me the lottery ticket, and you scratched it open with your own hand! It must be that your hand is too amazing."
Yan Di blushed as I held her hand, a hint of shyness flashing in her eyes. She seemed to want to break free, but dared not, and could only let me hold her soft little hand.
"Alright!" I waved my hand and laughed heartily, "Now we can take a look at the spoils!"
With so many prizes, the actual winning amount isn't that amazing.
Two Santana cars together cost no more than 200,000 yuan. Other things like air conditioners, color TVs, and microwave ovens would only cost 50,000 to 60,000 yuan.
After deducting personal income tax, the total amount of checks in my hand is 200,000.
I took out the check, shoved it into Yan Di's hand, and laughed, "Okay, now this money is yours."
Yan Di was startled and hurriedly stepped back, shoving the check back at me: "Brother Wu, this won't do! This is your prize!"
I smiled and said, "No, it's yours. From beginning to end, you were the one who took the lottery ticket and scratched it."
“But you paid for it!” Yan Di shook her head resolutely, shrinking back.
I declined for a while, but seeing that she really didn't want it, I said helplessly, "Then how about this... we'll split it equally."
Yan Di still refused. I pretended to have a stern face and said, "Yan Di, are you looking down on me? Didn't we agree when we bought the lottery ticket that it would be considered a joint purchase? If you keep refusing like this, it means you don't consider me a friend!"
Seeing my sullen face, Yan Di hesitated for a moment before saying, "Brother Xiao Wu, I know you mean well, but this money is too much! I really can't accept it!"
I thought for a moment and came up with a plan: "Well then, no matter what, I'll thank you for your lucky hand since I won. According to the rules, we share the winnings, so I should at least give you a bonus. I'll give you 10%, that's 20,000, okay?"
Yan Di still refused, saying it was too much money and she absolutely wouldn't take it. I was at my wit's end with this girl who usually seemed weak but was now so stubborn. In the end, I had to use all my persuasion to convince her to take five thousand yuan...
But it doesn't matter, I've already figured out a way.
I checked the time and immediately took her to the bank to cash the check. However, for such a large amount, we couldn't get the money immediately (most banks have a rule that you need to make an appointment in advance to withdraw cash exceeding 50,000).
However, I didn't plan to withdraw the 200,000 yuan in cash immediately. I opened two accounts, one in my own name with 195,000 yuan deposited, and the other with Yan Di's ID card, with 5,000 yuan deposited.
I secretly wrote down Yan Di's account number before handing her the bank card I had just opened.
Hehe, you don't want it? I'll transfer the money to you later. After I transfer it, I'll immediately close my account! Even if she wants to pay me back, I'll just insist I don't want it.
Yan Di was a little shy, and only after I urged her did she finally take the card.
Being a girl, her emotions were written all over her face: "I'm rich! Brother Wu, thank you, I'll treat you to dinner!"
"Let's eat? I'll treat you." I looked at Yan Di, whose face still held a touch of childishness, and patted my chest. "I made a bigger fortune than you today, so you can choose any place you like!"
I don't know why, but being with this girl makes me feel like there's more sunshine in my heart, and the dark things have faded away.
Yan Di smiled and said, "Okay, you're treating me to dinner, but I still want to thank you... um..." She tilted her head and thought for a while... I have to say, a beautiful woman is a beautiful woman; the way she tilted her head to think was incredibly cute.
"Ah! Brother Wu, I'll treat you to ice cream!" Yan Di made a face: "I know a place that makes really delicious ice cream! But it's very expensive, I couldn't afford to eat there before!"
Seeing how excited she was, I couldn't bear to refuse her kindness, so I agreed.
I walked with Yan Di for a while, watching the girl skipping and jumping around me like a cheerful elf, and I couldn't help but be a little mesmerized.
I actually know about the ice cream shop that Yan Di mentioned, and I've been there before.
This is a Hong Kong-style dessert shop that specializes in selling beautifully made shaved ice and sago desserts, which are very popular with girls.
When I'm with Aze and his friends, Qiaoqiao has dragged me here to eat before. Aze also often brings girls here when he's picking up girls.
The shop was decorated in a clean and elegant style. We found a window seat for couples. Yan Di ordered a fruit shaved ice, and I ordered a shaved ice on her recommendation.
The afternoon sunlight streamed through the large, bright floor-to-ceiling windows, shining on me. Looking at the pedestrians and vehicles outside the window, and then at Yan Di's cheerful and charming smile in front of me, I suddenly felt a feeling called "happiness".
After spending more time with Yan Di, she became less shy. She has a naturally cute and endearing personality. After eating her own shaved ice for a while, she looked at my shaved ice with a longing expression. I smiled and pushed my shaved ice towards her. Yan Di cheered, took a few bites, and let out a silvery laugh. Then, seemingly a little embarrassed, she picked up her spoon and scooped up a spoonful of shaved ice, insisting that I eat it.
As I watched this charming and beautiful girl in front of me speak to me in a sweet and affectionate tone, as if she were a lover, I was completely captivated.
A thought suddenly occurred to me:
We look like a couple...
But almost immediately, I reminded myself: Chen Yang, have you forgotten who you are? Have you forgotten what you do?
She's a very innocent girl, don't you dare hurt her!
Naïve? Do you deserve that?
I sighed and tried my best to suppress these annoying thoughts. But looking at Yan Di, who was staring at me with wide eyes, I felt a strange impulse rising within me.
Damn it, I don't care anymore! I'm going to have this woman!
Just as I was lost in thought, Yan Di suddenly remembered something and said, "Brother Wu, you're so strange..."
"What?"
Yan Di thought about it seriously for a moment, then looked at me and said, "I think you're a strange person... You won such a big prize, yet you're much calmer than most people! What happened today is really strange! But you don't seem very surprised at all."
My heart sank!
Indeed, while I was also surprised today, I wasn't as "shocked" as others. Because I have a thought in my mind that I dare not even consider, and it's been weighing heavily on my mind ever since!
The thought was: Could all of this be the result of that "lucky ring"?
If this is true...
Wow! That's what real wealth is!!
This small prize money is nothing! If it's true... even if I scream, I'm shocked, I go crazy, it's all for this ring!!
I took a breath and couldn't help but look down at my left hand, hidden under the table. The ring there seemed to sparkle in the sunlight.
Just then, a voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts.
A news program was playing on a television set hanging on the left side of the counter in the ice cream shop. It seemed to be a "Live News Report" program from the local TV station.
On the screen, the news anchor said: "Breaking news: A fire has broken out in a residential community on a certain street in this city. The fire is currently serious, and firefighters are doing their best to put it out. Fortunately, because it is daytime and there are not many people in the community, there are no casualties so far."
Then the television screen showed live footage, showing a street where, in the distance, flames and thick smoke could be faintly seen...
Huh? That looks like the street where I live.
The camera pans to a residential area...
Huh? That looks like my neighborhood.
The scene shifts again, now showing a building. Fire trucks are parked below, and several firefighters are spraying water upwards with hoses. Upstairs, flames are shooting out of a residential window, and thick black smoke billows into the sky…
Huh? That looks like my building...
Depend on!!
I jumped up immediately!
This is my house! My house is on fire!!!
No way?! I just won the lottery, 200,000 yuan, and my house immediately caught fire?!
Is this good luck or bad luck?!
Part One: A Man in the Martial World, Forced by His Own Will, Chapter Fifteen: A Glimmer of Hope
A house fire is no small matter.
As I stared in disbelief at the TV screen, Yan Di noticed something was wrong with my expression. When I asked, she told me that my house had caught fire!
She dropped the food she was holding, jumped up with me, rushed out of the ice cream shop, hailed a taxi on the street, and ran home.
I didn't say a word the whole way.
I had a feeling that from that "bloody disaster" to the small amount I extorted from the property management company, then I won a huge lottery prize, and then my house caught fire.
It's all like a double-edged sword. It seems that whenever I'm unlucky, good luck follows. And conversely, whenever I'm lucky, something unlucky immediately happens to me.
Is all of this really because of the ring on my hand?
Seeing my unpleasant expression, Yan Di assumed I was just worried about my family and offered me a few words of comfort. I just smiled faintly and didn't say anything to her.
The entrance to the residential area was already blocked, and cars couldn't get in at all, so I simply got out of the taxi and dragged Yan Di all the way to our building.
The firefighting operation was over, and the fire had long been extinguished. Looking up from downstairs, I could see that the window of my third-floor apartment had been smashed, presumably by the firefighters. A fire truck was parked downstairs, and some firefighters were packing up their tools, carrying long hoses back onto the truck. Suddenly, I saw my landlord arrive, talking to several people in police uniforms.
I had just walked over when the landlord saw me. He suddenly yelled, his whole body contorted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. His face contorted with rage, and he lunged at me, baring his teeth and claws. He looked as if he wanted to kill me with a single blow...
He leaped into the air, his left palm extended—the legendary Five Poisons Heart-Piercing Palm! His right fist clenched tightly, though smaller, was none other than the vicious "Black Household Heart-Piercing." His feet assumed a stance for a shadowless kick…
I never imagined that a thin, short, and usually honest middle-aged man could be driven to this state by a fit of rage!
Seeing him charging at me with his claws outstretched, ready to fight me, I quickly dodged to the side and shouted, "Stop!"
"Enough with the nonsense! Chen Yang, it's either you or me today!" The landlord's voice was fierce, tears welling in his eyes: "My house... my house that I've worked so hard to save up for my whole life..."
Pshaw, stop pretending! Everyone knows this guy's a real estate speculator. A few years ago, when prices were low, he bought several properties with loans and then rented them out at inflated prices. The rent we paid each month was enough to pay off his mortgage. And now, with prices skyrocketing these past few years, he's made a fortune!
"Chen Yang, if you don't explain yourself clearly today, I'll fight you to the death!" The landlord gritted his teeth and said hatefully, "The cause of the fire has been found out. It was caused by your haphazard wiring in the kitchen!"
Uh...yes, because I'm lazy, I put a high-powered electric stove in the kitchen...that thing has an extremely high power output, but it boils water very quickly...but its power output definitely seems to be excessive...
The landlord was about to grab my clothes. I frowned slightly, but seeing that there were a few police officers nearby, I simply pushed his hand away and sighed, "Okay, don't worry, I won't renege on my debt. I'll compensate for the fire damage."
I know this guy is greedy and stingy; he definitely didn't buy insurance for the house.
Besides, the people living upstairs and downstairs here aren't wealthy. If my house catches fire, it will definitely affect my neighbors as well. I may not be a good person, but I'm not a scoundrel either, and I don't want those innocent neighbors to suffer losses.
Upon hearing that I was willing to compensate, the landlord finally stopped his "chaotic" attitude and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
After some haggling, I agreed to pay 50,000 yuan in compensation, and then gave an extra 20,000 yuan to the neighbor. After that, the landlord went back with the police to give a statement.
A crowd of onlookers gathered around, and Yan Di and I parted ways to go upstairs and go home.
The front door had been broken open by firefighters who were fighting the fire. When I went inside, the living room was a complete mess. The floor was covered in water, and most of the walls were charred. The kitchen was a complete ruin. Everything, including the refrigerator and microwave, was destroyed. There was a thick layer of fire extinguishing foam on the floor.
All the tiles on the wall are ruined.
The two bedrooms in the house, including my master bedroom which is closer to the kitchen, were completely destroyed. The fire spread into the bedroom, half of the furniture was burned, the bed was reduced to a frame, and the sheets and blankets were reduced to a pile of tattered rags.
Fortunately, the only area with minor damage was my small room. There wasn't much in the room except for a TV, a computer, and a set of exercise equipment. The small room was near the balcony, but the balcony doors and windows were also smashed.