Chapter Sixteen: Is This the Legendary Cheat Code?

"Chen Fan, let's go!" Zhao Gu excitedly tugged at his arm as she stepped out of the fitting room, eager to return to the food street.

"Hold on, let me see if it fits you properly."

Chen Fan adjusted her posture and took a proper look—his breath caught for a moment.

Zhao Gu had always carried an effortless charm, her milk-white skin accentuated by the playful elegance of the blue polka-dot dress. She looked absolutely adorable.

"Does it not look good?"

Just as he was about to reply, a deep voice suddenly exclaimed from the side.

"Oh my God! What a divine beauty!"

Startled, they turned to see a long-haired man with a scruffy beard, exuding the aura of an artist. The man quickly stepped forward, eyes shining with enthusiasm.

Chen Fan instinctively blocked his path, but the stranger simply chuckled and pulled a business card from his bag, handing it over.

"I'm a photographer. This lady has an incredible presence. Would she be interested in modeling for me today?"

"Chen Fan, what's a model?" Zhao Gu asked, tilting her head.

Chen Fan leaned in and whispered, "It means standing still all day while he takes pictures of you."

"Does it pay?"

"Nope. Not only is it unpaid, but in the end, you might even have to pay them."

Chen Fan knew all too well about these so-called street photographers. He wasn't about to let Zhao Gu be scammed. At the same time, he silently regretted something—how could he have been so heartless before, sending her off to do construction work?

Upon hearing there was no money involved, Zhao Gu lost interest immediately. She grabbed Chen Fan's arm and started walking away.

The photographer panicked. "Wait! I'll pay you!"

Chen Fan quickly translated for Zhao Gu in his own way: "He says if you don't do it, he'll take revenge. He's clearly a lunatic. Let's go."

Hearing that, Zhao Gu didn't hesitate—she strode straight out of the store and never looked back.

"Chen Fan, can I take this thing off now? It's too tight."

Following her gaze, Chen Fan's face immediately flushed red.

"Uh… no, this is something everyone wears in our world. It's called 'blending in'—got it?"

But now that he thought about it, Zhao Gu's figure was truly flawless. He stole another glance before quickly shaking off any improper thoughts.

"Then why aren't you wearing one?"

"Uh… mine's at home."

"Then you can borrow mine."

Before he could react, Zhao Gu reached toward her collar as if to take it off. Chen Fan's face went pale, and he quickly grabbed her hands.

"This… this thing recognizes its owner! Once you wear it, it's yours. If I put it on, I'd get struck by lightning!"

Worried she might pull another unexpected stunt, he hurriedly changed the subject.

"Forget that! Let's just go eat more food, alright?"

"Okay!"

An hour later, Chen Fan slumped onto a stone bench, staring helplessly at the mountain of food in front of him.

Zhao Gu's appetite seemed bottomless. No matter how much she ate, she showed no signs of slowing down. She happily munched away, tasting a bit of everything like a carefree child.

Chen Fan couldn't help but laugh. "Zhao Gu, are you having fun today?"

"Yeah! Chen Fan, you're the best!" she declared, throwing her arms around him in a bear hug before planting a quick kiss on his cheek.

Chen Fan froze in shock.

"Who taught you that?!"

"No one. The computer said this is how people show friendliness. You're nice to me, so now you're my friend!"

Chen Fan touched his now-greasy cheek, grinning like an idiot.

"Chen Fan, what are they doing over there?"

He followed her gaze and saw a crowd gathered around a lottery stall with a bright sign that read "LUCKY LOTTO SCRATCHERS!"

"It's a place where people try to win money. But the odds are really low. It's fine for fun, but those who think they can get rich from it… well, we call them 'gambling fools.'"

"Haha! You can make money like that? Let's go check it out!"

Since it wasn't too late yet, Chen Fan figured he might as well let her see for herself—better that than leaving her with any curiosity.

As they approached, they saw a group of people playing scratch cards. It was peak after-work hours, so there were plenty of eager participants.

Surprisingly, luck seemed to be in the air—several people had just won a few hundred bucks each. The increasing number of winners drew a growing crowd.

The excitement was infectious. Watching the high win rate, Chen Fan felt a dangerous thought creeping in.

"Should I… just try one? Just one?"

He hesitated but kept watching. Then, someone scratched off a ticket and revealed a 1,000-yuan jackpot!

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Chen Fan's rationality wavered.

"Boss, two five-yuan scratchers."

The shop owner barely glanced at him, tossing a stack of tickets onto the counter while pointing at the QR code for payment.

Chen Fan paid, took two tickets, and carefully scratched them—his heart pounding.

But reality was cruel.

Two losing tickets.

Meanwhile, another person nearby won another 1,000-yuan prize. This time, it was from a ten-yuan ticket.

"Maybe higher-value tickets have better odds?"

Chen Fan clenched his teeth and kept scratching.

Caught in the thrill of chasing a win, he unknowingly spent over 100 yuan before snapping back to reality.

Glancing at his wallet, he realized he only had about 200 yuan left—his food budget for the next half month.

He sighed in frustration.

"Didn't win?" Zhao Gu asked.

Chen Fan shook his head, laughing bitterly.

"This is what they call a gambler's mindset. Zhao Gu, don't ever be like me."

"But I saw lots of numbers on those tickets. None of them matched?"

"Yeah, you need the numbers on both sides to match."

"If they match, you win money?"

"Yep."

Zhao Gu nodded. Then, without another word, she walked up to the counter and grabbed two random scratch tickets.

She pointed at Chen Fan. "He's paying."

Chen Fan quickly stopped her, confused.

"Why those two? Do you know they'll win?"

"Why else would I pick them? I'm not here to waste my time."

Chen Fan hesitated, but ultimately, it was her money anyway—he had no real right to object.

When she scratched the tickets, the crowd leaned in curiously.

"Whoa! She won!"

One ticket had a 10-yuan prize, and the other had 30 yuan.

Though not a huge amount, it was enough to make some onlookers scoff.

"Just 40 yuan? Girl, if that makes you happy, you'd probably faint if you hit 100!"

The crowd laughed.

Zhao Gu, unfazed, pulled Chen Fan along. "Let's go. This time, I'm treating you!"

As they walked away, a thought struck Chen Fan.

"Zhao Gu, how did you know which scratch tickets would win?"

"You said it yourself—two matching numbers win. I just looked and picked the ones that matched."

"You… you can see through the scratch cards?"

Chen Fan nearly shouted in disbelief.

A cheat ability straight out of novels—the legendary X-ray vision—actually existed, and Zhao Gu had it?!

"Zhao Gu… do you want to make some real money?"

"Of course! I want to eat like this every day—tons and tons of food!"

A crazy but foolproof plan began to form in Chen Fan's mind.

"Boss."

The lottery shop owner looked up warily as they returned.

"What now? You two got something to say?"

"We'd like to buy more scratch tickets."