Chapter 156: Lucky 8
"Haha!"
Lin Tian laughed triumphantly.
Some people, some things, when you encounter them, they happen, it’s not something you can forget just because you want to...
Even if you don’t mention it in the future, can you really forget?
"Miss Bai, where are we going next?"
After the playful bickering ended, Lin Tian returned to normal and asked aloud.
"Where to?"
Bai Shishi scanned the surroundings thoughtfully and pointed to a shop: "Let’s go buy a lottery ticket!"
"Lottery?"
Lin Tian scratched his head. Normally, women like to go shopping after meals, so why does she like buying lottery tickets?
Buying lottery tickets is mostly something men enjoy, thinking about winning five million, buying a house, a car, finding a woman.
"Miss Bai, you’re so wealthy, and you like buying lottery tickets?"
Lin Tian looked at Bai Shishi and asked curiously.
"I don’t know what else to do, just playing around!"
Bai Shishi said, not forgetting to ask in return: "Besides, who would complain about having too much money?"
Upon arriving at the lottery shop, the place wasn’t big but it was fully equipped. A small table was filled with various slips of paper and ballpoint pens, and there was a sofa next to the table where two people sat watching the TV mounted on the wall, which was showing the lottery results.
Beside the table, there were two chairs occupied by people intently staring at the numbers written on the wall, their pens constantly scribbling on the paper, so focused that they didn’t even notice the ash falling from their cigarettes onto the floor.
Bai Shishi, a stunningly beautiful woman, attracted everyone’s attention the moment she stepped into the lottery shop.
No one was even playing the lottery anymore; all eyes were on the beauty.
Bai Shishi was already used to being watched and walked straight into the shop to buy.
Inside the lottery shop was a small counter, with two machines and a transparent glass cabinet on top. A middle-aged man was busy tapping away on one of the machines.
"Give me a scratch-off ticket!"
Bai Shishi took out a ten-yuan bill from her wallet and handed it to the middle-aged man.
"Which one does the lady want?"
The middle-aged man pointed at the colorful scratch-off tickets inside the glass cabinet.
"Let’s go with this one!"
Bai Shishi didn’t really understand; buying lottery tickets was just a game to her, so she picked one at random.
Lin Tian, standing beside Bai Shishi, was buying lottery tickets for the second time, so he was naturally familiar with scratch-offs.
"Oh no, I didn’t win!"
Bai Shishi scratched off the entire ticket, only to find she hadn’t won, looking particularly disappointed.
"What kind of game is this scratch-off ticket?"
Lin Tian bent down and whispered in Bai Shishi’s ear.
"Each scratch-off ticket has different rules. The one I bought is ’Good Luck,’ and as long as you scratch off a number with an 8 in it, no matter if it’s 18, 28, 38... as long as it has an 8, you win the prize amount below. You can win multiple times!"
Bai Shishi explained the rules to Lin Tian like a seasoned lottery player.
"Boss, give me another one!"
The first ticket didn’t win, which only fueled Bai Shishi’s competitive spirit.
"You pick yourself!"
The shop owner directly handed Bai Shishi a stack of scratch-off tickets.
Bai Shishi tore one off the top and started scratching eagerly.
Lin Tian narrowed his eyes slightly at the stack of lottery tickets, and everything before him changed instantly.
He saw many numbers appear on the tickets, 8, 18, 28... and the amounts below were all crystal clear.
Seeing all this, Lin Tian blurted out, "Winning is just like playing a game!"
Bai Shishi, who still hadn’t won with the latest scratch-off and was sighing, suddenly heard Lin Tian’s words and felt as if someone had slapped her across the face.
"If you’re so great, why don’t you buy a ticket and win a big prize yourself?"
Bai Shishi huffed coldly, "Winning, like a game? Easy for you to say..."
"Whoa~ you’re actually upset. I didn’t say you were dumb!"
Lin Tian’s offhand comment was taken by Bai Shishi as an insult aimed at her.
"Young man, it’s not as easy as you say to win the lottery!"
The shop owner also joined in the joke: "If winning were that easy, who would still work?"
"Listen to that~ even the shop owner said something to you!"
Bai Shishi felt that not winning with two tickets wasn’t a big deal, maybe just bad luck.
"I think it’s quite easy to win!"
No matter how difficult others might find winning, scratch-offs were a breeze for Lin Tian.
"Alright then, let’s see you win a prize!"
Bai Shishi stood up with her hands on her hips: "If you can win a thousand bucks today, I... I’ll... I’ll spend the night with you!"
"Betting is fine, but don’t be so harsh on yourself!"
Lin Tian tried to comfort her.
"Indeed, ma’am, that’s quite a bold joke!"
The shop owner also thought Bai Shishi was betting too much; what if his luck really was good?
"I don’t believe you can win!"
Bai Shishi was certain Lin Tian wouldn’t win: "With two scratch-off tickets, if you can win a thousand, I’ll spend the night with you!"
"Boss, give me two!"
Lin Tian tossed twenty yuan on the glass counter and grabbed a thick stack of tickets to tear from.
Quickly, two tickets lay before Lin Tian, and he placed his right hand on one, pushing it towards Bai Shishi: "Your luck’s better than mine today, you scratch one for me!"
"I’ll scratch it!"
Bai Shishi, having calmed down, realized the joke was big, and wondered what she’d do if he actually won.
However, considering her luck today, she had missed twice, so she was sure the third one wouldn’t win either.
With her pink fingernail, she gently scratched the ticket, and soon the number 8 boldly appeared.
"Oh, I’ve won!" Bai Shishi exclaimed upon seeing the number 8.
"It might just be ten bucks!"
Because of Bai Shishi and Lin Tian’s bet, the shop owner’s attention had been on the ticket in Bai Shishi’s hand.
"That’s what I think too!"
As Bai Shishi spoke, she scratched off the covering below the number 8, uncovering 500 yuan.
"Not bad, won five hundred bucks!"
Lin Tian’s voice had a hint of smugness: "Looks like someone may lose!"
"It’s just five hundred, still far from a thousand!"
Bai Shishi said defiantly, but she was afraid to keep scratching, fearing what might happen if she really won a thousand.
"Why stop now? Keep scratching!"
Lin Tian smiled slightly: "Miss Bai, you aren’t scared, are you?"
"I’ll scratch it!"
Bai Shishi wasn’t superstitious. One ticket with 8 chances to win, she had scratched off four and was sure there was no way the other three could hit five hundred again.
But as luck would have it, on the 8th try, the number 18 appeared again.
"Ah, another win!"
Lin Tian shouted again, but this time, with a hint of schadenfreude.
"Young man, you have quite the luck!"
The shop owner looked up at Lin Tian. Though the ticket had 8 chances to win, usually none would win; the so-called "multiple wins" in the rules was often just a facade, with very few actually winning multiple times on one ticket.
But Lin Tian’s chosen ticket not only hit five hundred but also had another winning opportunity.