Chapter 7 We can cooperate to buy a lottery ticket!
On the day of the Great Heat, the temperature in southern Beijing reached a rare 42 degrees Celsius. Gao Xing was so hot upstairs that he was breathless. When he came downstairs to pick up a package, he felt like he had been pulled out of the water, and the back of his T-shirt was soaked.
On the first floor, Shen Xingjian was sitting at the dining table drinking mung bean soup. Seeing her sweating profusely while carrying a box of instant noodles, he sighed and said, "Are you hot?"
Gao Xing looked at him in his usual long-sleeved shirt and long pants and couldn't understand why he asked, "Aren't you hot?"
"It's okay." He said, and added half a plate of ice cubes to the mung bean soup.
Happy:"……"
"Would you like some?" He rarely took the initiative to show goodwill.
Gao Xing seemed to have heard something extraordinary and immediately narrowed his eyes in alertness: "What's wrong?"
If someone shows kindness without any reason, he is either a traitor or a thief. I have always kept this simple truth in mind.
Shen Xingjian didn't expect that he would be seen through as soon as he opened his mouth, so he simply stopped pretending and said, "Indeed, I want to make a deal with you."
Hearing that he did have some ulterior motive, Gao Xing felt relieved. He then took off the instant noodles from his shoulder and walked over to scoop himself a bowl of iced mung bean soup.
"Tell me about it."
Shen Xingjian straightened his body, put on the attitude of a third-rate salesman, and began his speech with a beaming face:
"Have you ever thought that space-time folding is something you only encounter by chance? Since it happened to us, what does it mean? It means that God is blessing us!"
The cold mung bean soup slid into her stomach, sweeping away the summer heat and leaving a subtle sweetness in her mouth and nose. Gao Xing was momentarily dazed; she hadn't had anything this delicious in a long time.
Come to think of it, Shen Xingjian’s cooking skills seemed to be good. Every time he passed by downstairs, he ate a rich meal and could smell the aroma of different foods.
"Look, my world is your past, and your world is my future. The key to time and space is in our hands. This is an opportunity that many people would never ask for."
Gao Xing gulped down the mung bean soup: "Let's get to the point."
"The point is, if you have any wishes or regrets, I can help you, right?"
"Are you so kind?" Gao Xing put down the bowl after finishing his drink.
Shen Xingjian cleared his throat: "Since it is a transaction, it must be mutually beneficial. I can help you change the past you want to change, and you only need to fulfill a small wish of mine..."
Gao Xing nodded thoughtfully: "I understand."
“How is it, is it a good deal?” Shen Xingjian’s eyes flashed with anticipation.
Gao Xing hummed, licking his lips in satisfaction. "It's a good deal, but I refuse."
“Why?!” Shen Xingjian didn’t understand.
Gao Xing stood up and walked towards the stairs, picking up the box of instant noodles again, "Because I don't have a past that I want to change."
Shen Xingjian was even more puzzled. How could a person not have a past that he wanted to change? Did she think that everything in the past was good and that she had no regrets?
Pity?
Of course.
Rather than regret, she is more unwilling to relive the past.
The biggest regret in her life had already been missed, and from then on, her life was only moving forward, without looking back.
Back in the room, Gao Xing piled the opened instant noodles onto the shelf. This was her entire food supply for the next half month.
She sat down at the desk and prepared to continue reading when the phone lying upside down next to the book suddenly buzzed twice. Gao Xing flipped the phone over and saw the content of the text message in the notification message. Her originally calm expression instantly darkened.
"Sister! I'm Lai Nan! I sent this to you using my classmate's phone. I beg you to save me! You blocked them and if you don't send them money, they'll threaten me and stop me from going to school. They'll force me to work in a factory right now! Sister, I'm begging you! Can you lend me 5,000 yuan? I'll definitely pay you back later! Sister, you're the only sister I have, you can't just stand by and watch me die!"
Gao Xing did not doubt the authenticity of the request for help in the text message, because she knew that their so-called parents were capable of doing something really cruel, even worse.
Gao Xing wanted to abandon everything about Xijiang and completely cut off all ties with him. If she hadn't filled in this number in many application information when looking for jobs during graduation season, she would have changed her cell phone number long ago instead of just blocking them.
Reason told her that she should ignore her sister's cry for help, because there was really no family affection between them. She herself was in a difficult situation and could hardly save herself, so how could she help others?
Just as she was hesitating, the other party, seeing that she hadn't replied, sent another text message: "Happy! If you dare to ignore me, I will tell them your school's address and phone number! Just because they are uneducated and can't use the internet doesn't mean I can't! This is my friend's bank card, you'd better transfer the money to me as soon as possible!"
Seeing this "justified" threat, Gao Xing suddenly wanted to laugh for a moment.
Just now, she actually considered whether to help her or not, and even calculated how long it would take to eat only half a pack of instant noodles on the shelf.
Gao Lai'nan's threat was like a bucket of cold water, completely extinguishing the last trace of pity in her heart.
She deleted the two text messages on her phone expressionlessly and blocked the number.
After putting down the phone, Gao Xing turned around and went downstairs. After seeing Shen Xingjian at the dining table, he walked straight over.
"I promise you." She said decisively.
“What?” Shen Xingjian didn’t react for a moment.
"I said, I promise you." Gao Xing repeated it again.
Shen Xingjian finally reacted, and his frown relaxed: "Really?"
He said, how could anyone not want to change the past?
Shen Xingjian was already prepared to negotiate terms based on the difficulty of her wish, but he heard her say, "I want you to provide me with three meals a day until the time-space folding ends, or I move out of this house."
She'd had enough of those empty instant noodles, and she'd endured enough hardship. Although Gao Lainan was selfish and shameless, there was one thing Gao Xing couldn't match: she never cared about face or self-esteem. She'd seize every opportunity to benefit herself, using any means necessary to gain advantage!
Now that things have come to this, why should she make things difficult for herself? Shen Xingjian doesn't need her to have these meals, but she can save a lot of expenses.
She wants to eat something sweet, she deserves to eat something sweet!
Gao Xing's request was too easy and simple, and Shen Xingjian also suspected that there might be some fraud in it, but Wan He pressed too hard, and he urgently needed a large sum of money to overcome the current difficulties, so he said: "Okay. But in exchange, you have to help me fulfill my wish."
He then offered his own conditions: "I want to know the winning numbers for the next lottery draw at my time. That shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"
Gao Xing thought he would ask her about what would happen in ten years, such as what the world would be like in ten years, and where he would be in ten years. But it was understandable. With such an opportunity, who wouldn't want to get rich?
"Deal." She agreed readily.
That night, Gao Xing used his phone to help him check a set of winning numbers for the Double Color Ball lottery. Shen Xingjian took notes and bet 50 times on these numbers the next day. According to the Double Color Ball lottery rules, the lottery would be drawn on time at 9:00 pm the next day.
That night, Shen Xingjian overcame his biological clock and waited for that moment with a tense mind.
When the clock hands in the living room turned to nine o'clock, Shen Xingjian's fingers trembled slightly unconsciously as he hovered over the keyboard. He hit the refresh button on the computer, his heart almost in his throat.
He had already planned how to use the money. The east wind had arrived, and whether he could ride on it depended on this one move.
The screen in front of me slowly loaded the information, and when the final winning number popped up, the cicadas outside the window suddenly stopped chirping.
Shen Xingjian’s breathing stagnated, and he looked at the string of numbers in disbelief.
How could this happen?! How is this possible?!
He refreshed the page again and again, but the winning numbers displayed on the page remained unchanged.
Shen Xingjian suddenly felt unwell and shouted, “Happy! Happy!”
Gao Xing was typing in the study on the second floor when he heard Shen Xingjian's voice downstairs. He looked down from the railing and asked, "What's going on?"
“03, 09, 18, 21, 28, 26, 11, these are the winning numbers you gave me, right?” Shen Xingjian said anxiously.
Gao Xing wasn't particularly sensitive to numbers. He had given him the winning numbers the day before yesterday after checking them. He didn't remember them at all, so he asked, "What do you want to say?"
Shen Xingjian turned the laptop and the slip of paper with the winning numbers towards her.
Gao Xing walked down and checked the numbers on the slip with the winning numbers on Shen Xingjian's computer screen. There weren't any duplicates.
She was also a little confused, so she took out her phone and checked again, and this time, the winning number displayed on the phone screen was the same as the one in Shen Xingjian’s computer.
"Did we remember it wrong, or..."
Did the winning numbers change?
Gao Xing also understood what Shen Xingjian meant. She became serious and checked the winning numbers for the next draw again.
This time, she and Shen Xingjian used pen and paper to record the information separately. To ensure that there were no mistakes, Gao Xing even took a screenshot.
Time soon came to the evening of the second lottery draw. Gao Xing and Shen Xingjian met in the restaurant, waiting in front of their respective devices, staring at the final winning numbers.
The lottery draw will be held on time at 9:00 p.m.
The moment the numbers appeared on Shen Xingjian's computer, Gao Xing watched helplessly as the string of winning numbers on his phone changed after refreshing. When he returned to the phone album, the original screenshot had become a damaged and unreadable file.
The only thing that hasn't changed is the original winning information they recorded with pen and paper.
Such a result was beyond the expectations of the two. Rather than being happy, they were just surprised. Shen Xingjian seemed to have suffered a great blow, and his whole body collapsed.
Gao Xing saw how distraught he was, but he couldn't say anything to comfort him. After all, no one would be able to accept the loss of such a huge fortune.
The change in lottery numbers instantly destroyed the cooperative relationship they had just established. For several days in a row, Shen Xingjian seemed to have lost his soul and was listless all day long.
Until one night, there was thunder outside. Gao Xing remembered that the balcony window was not closed, so he got up and prepared to close it.
The moment her hand touched the curtain rail, a flash of lightning streaked across the dark night sky. A pale light suddenly lit up, and a figure flashed in the yard downstairs.
Gao Xing was startled and looked outside quickly.
Thunder rumbled, and the sound of rain gradually began to fall on the grass. In the courtyard, Shen Xingjian did not hold an umbrella, but took a shovel and dug something on the ground.
Gao Xing suddenly remembered that afternoon. He was like this that afternoon, as if he was looking for something.
The rain started to get heavier and the wind started to blow. The cold raindrops came in through the open window and made me feel cold when they fell on my body.
After the initial fear dissipated, Gao Xing mustered up his courage and tentatively called out, "Shen Xingjian?"
Just at this moment, another loud thunder struck, and the "crack" sound drowned out her voice.
Rainy day, night, thunder, under the tree, does he think his life is too long?
Gaoxing grabbed a long-handled umbrella and went down.
On the first floor, the door of Shen Xingjian's room was wide open. Gao Xing walked quickly to the eaves, frowned and shouted, "What are you doing in the middle of the night?"
Hearing the happy voice, Shen Xingjian paused, but ignored it.
The heavy rain fell "clatteringly", the ground was filled with the smell of earth, and soon the lawn became muddy.
The rain soaked Shen Xingjian’s clothes and slid down his cheeks, but he was completely unaware.
He found the time capsule he had buried that year, right in the place where he had searched before, but he didn't see it that day.
He didn't understand why God played such a joke on him, giving him hope and then disappointing him.
The wheelchair, stuck deep in the mud, spun in vain. Raindrops as big as beans hit his back, and each drop felt like a blow from fate.
"Hello!"
Gao Xing shouted again. Seeing that the rain was getting heavier, she opened her umbrella and rushed into the rain, trying to pull him out of the mud.
“Do you also think I’m ridiculous…” Shen Xingjian lowered his head, his voice full of self-mockery.
Gao Xing held up an umbrella with one hand and pulled the wheelchair with the other, his tone not being very good: "I'm very sleepy now and don't have time to laugh at you. If you still have energy, push the wheel together!"
Shen Xingjian suddenly shook her hand away: “Leave me alone!”
Gao Xing looked at him and got angry: "Do you think I want to control you? It's thundering and raining outside and you're still sitting under a tree with a shovel. If you get struck by lightning and die, who do you expect to collect your body?"
Gao Xing's words pierced Shen Xingjian's heart like a knife. He was angry, but he had to admit that she was right. Now he was alone. The people he loved and those who loved him were no longer in this world. Even if he died, no one would care.
In an instant, Shen Xingjian seemed to have been drained of all his strength and bent down dejectedly.
Gao Xing didn't waste any more time talking to him. He pulled the muddy wheelchair out of the mud pit, pushed it to the bathroom on the first floor, turned on the hot water and threw the shower head over him.
"Wash yourself clean!"
"If everything is destined to be unchangeable, then what's the point of me living..." His voice was very soft, as if he was asking a question, but also as if he was talking to himself.
Gao Xing didn't answer and went straight back upstairs. After changing into clean clothes, she stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself in the mirror.
In the reflection, the girl was thin, and her palm-sized face lacked the innocence that should be present at her age. Her round almond-shaped eyes only showed clarity and fatigue that went beyond her age.
What is the meaning of life?
She had asked herself this question countless times, when her parents gave birth to her but didn't raise her, when her sister died suddenly, when she watched everything happen but was powerless to do anything...
She even hated why she was born.
The night after the storm became exceptionally quiet, and familiar footsteps were heard at the corner of the stairs.
"Click, click" is the sound of slippers stepping on the ground.
“Life has no meaning. Meaning is given by people themselves.”
Shen Xingjian came out of the bathroom, raised his head, and heard Gao Xing's calm and cold voice: "If the past cannot be changed, then change the future. Only the future is in your own hands."
The author has something to say:
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Live today and tomorrow, not yesterday [namaste]
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