Chapter 5: Buying a Lottery Ticket

Faced with the little girl's pleading look, Ye Chen's heart softened. He patted her head. "Alright, you can come along." After all, it was just buying a lottery ticket. There was no harm in letting her tag along.

"Yay! That's great!" In the past, Brother Ye Chen rarely let her follow him anywhere, so this made her very happy.

Ye Chen held her little hand as they left the school gates and headed toward the nearby lottery center. However, just as they reached an alleyway, their path was blocked.

Standing before them was the school bully, Meng Fei, and next to him was an even chubbier boy with a blue backpack slung over his shoulder. He looked fierce and had several younger kids following behind him.

To a group of elementary school students, this chubby kid definitely seemed intimidating.

"Hmph, Ye Chen, today's the end for you!"

"Brother, he's the one who pushed me!" Meng Fei tattled, pointing at Ye Chen.

Since the teacher hadn't punished Ye Chen, Meng Fei had no choice but to call his brother to handle it.

Meng Ze snorted. "This skinny kid? And you couldn't beat him? Useless!"

Under his brother's scolding, Meng Fei hung his head, not daring to say another word.

Gu Nianxi hadn't expected Meng Fei to actually bring his older brother. Her face turned pale. This Meng Ze was in a higher grade, had many followers, and was known for being good at fighting. What should they do? Brother Ye Chen couldn't possibly beat them all.

Thinking quickly, she stepped in front of Ye Chen, tilted her face up to look at Meng Ze, and gritted her teeth. "You're not allowed to bully Brother Ye Chen!"

Ye Chen placed a hand on her shoulder. "Nianxi, step aside and wait for me."

They were just a few kids—not a big deal. Winning a fight required skill, not just size or strength.

But Gu Nianxi refused to move, her little face full of stubbornness and her fists clenched tightly. She didn't want Brother Ye Chen to get hurt.

Meng Fei was so annoying—such a tattletale!

"Brother Ye Chen, I won't!" Gu Nianxi's eyes started to redden.

Meng Ze sneered. "Hiding behind a girl? What a coward!"

He then turned to his gang of followers. "Go, teach him a lesson he won't forget."

Meng Fei smirked smugly. Hah! Let's see you push me again, Ye Chen. My brother is super strong.

Ye Chen gently moved Gu Nianxi behind him and smiled. "Nianxi, you have to trust your Brother Ye Chen."

As he watched the kids charging at him, Ye Chen's gaze turned icy.

In his previous life, he had learned karate and wrestling. Although he was now just a child, handling these rowdy kids wouldn't be a problem.

"If you apologize, maybe I'll ask my brother to let you off," Meng Fei taunted.

Before he could finish his sentence, the scene that unfolded left him dumbfounded.

Ye Chen faced the charging kids with complete composure. He focused his strength in his fists and aimed for their stomachs, each punch causing the kids to cry out in pain.

After all, they were just children. None of them had experienced real hardship before. A single punch was enough to subdue them.

The Meng brothers were stunned. What was going on? How was Ye Chen so strong?

"Ding! Congratulations, Host. You've shocked Meng Fei. Admiration Points +3!"

"Ding! Congratulations, Host. You've shocked Meng Ze. Admiration Points +3!"

"Ding! Congratulations, Host. You've earned Gu Nianxi's deep admiration. Admiration Points +10!"

Ye Chen hummed to himself. So this was another way to earn admiration points? Not bad at all.

After dealing with the group of kids, Ye Chen calmly turned to the Meng brothers. "You two, come at me together. Let's save time—I still have to buy a lottery ticket."

His cool and composed demeanor didn't match his age at all.

The brothers exchanged uneasy glances. For some reason, their confidence wavered. Their lackeys had been easily defeated—how could they stand a chance against Ye Chen?

The Meng brothers had bullied many classmates before and were used to getting their way. They hadn't expected to meet such a tough opponent.

"Let's go, Meng Fei," Meng Ze said, turning to leave. Their followers quickly followed suit. Before leaving, Meng Ze couldn't resist threatening Ye Chen. "You're going to regret this, kid!"

Meng Fei was confused and unwilling. "Brother, why are we leaving? We haven't even taught him a lesson…"

Before he could finish, a slap landed on his head. "Teach him a lesson? Do you see how strong that kid is? We don't have enough people. We'll get him next time!"

As the group left, Gu Nianxi finally relaxed. She had been so scared she nearly cried. She hadn't expected Brother Ye Chen to be so amazing.

"Brother Ye Chen, are you okay?" she asked, her eyes filled with concern.

Ye Chen patted her head. "I'm fine. Let's go."

---

At the Lottery Shop

The shop owner was playing Tetris on his flip phone—a popular mobile game at the time. When the two small figures walked in, he thought they were there to buy snacks. Without looking up, he asked casually, "What are you kids buying?"

Ye Chen looked around and said, "We're here to buy a lottery ticket."

The shop owner finally looked up, raising an eyebrow in surprise. These kids wanted to buy a lottery ticket?

At that moment, a few adults in the shop also noticed and found it amusing.

"Kids these days are already buying lottery tickets."

"Yeah, it's probably the parents' fault. What do kids know about this? A lottery ticket costs several yuan—it's such a waste."

"I'm buying it for my dad," Ye Chen said quickly, coughing to cover up the truth.

"Oh, that makes sense," the shop owner said, losing interest. "Alright, do you want a quick pick or manual selection?"

"Manual selection," Ye Chen replied.

He took out a notebook from his backpack, where he had written down the winning numbers from the system news.

The red ball numbers were (06)(11)(21)(25)(28)(31), and the blue ball was (07).

The shop owner entered the numbers into the computer without much thought. Shortly after, the lottery ticket was printed.

Ye Chen examined the ticket carefully, confirming that the numbers matched those in the system news. He held it cautiously.

This ticket was worth 5 million yuan!

In this era, 5 million yuan was an enormous fortune.

Gu Nianxi, still confused, asked, "Brother Ye Chen, why are you buying this?"

Ye Chen smiled. "To win the lottery, of course!"

"I heard my dad say it's really hard to win," she said, showing her understanding of the odds.

"I'll definitely win. Do you believe me?" Ye Chen smiled confidently, patting her head.

The people in the shop couldn't help but laugh. Even the shop owner chuckled, not taking the child seriously.

Win the lottery? If only it were that easy.

Gu Nianxi blinked her big, bright eyes, then broke into a radiant smile. "I believe you, Brother Ye Chen."