Back home, Mom was cooking, and Dad was drinking tea on the sofa in the living room.
"Son, you're back!"
Zhao Lixia heard the noise and came out of the kitchen.
"Yeah, Mom and Dad, I have two things to report to you folks. First, I spent all of last week's meal money on lottery tickets!"
As soon as he spoke, Zhao Lixia turned livid with anger and dashed into the kitchen to grab a broom.
Su Jianjun didn't react so intensely. He occasionally tried his luck with lottery tickets too, so he didn't really oppose it, as long as his son didn't go to the arcade to gamble.
But his wife was obviously mad, and he had to show an attitude; otherwise, she'd scold him for indulging their son again.
So Su Jianjun furrowed his brows: "Zelin, don't blame Dad for not supporting you. Buying lottery tickets is just for fun; buying one or two is fine, but how could you spend all your meal money? This mindset of getting rich without effort is undesirable; it's no different from gambling. People must live honestly!"
At this point, Zhao Lixia had already raised the broom.
Su Zelin calmly said before the broom fell, "I won second prize, a 50,000 cash prize!"
"What?" Both of them were stunned, and Zhao Lixia's broom stopped in mid-air.
Spending all the meal money on lottery tickets was gambling, but winning several tens of thousands changed the narrative.
This was a shortcut to wealth.
Seeing their shocked expressions, Su Zelin felt quite smug and decided to throw in more sensational news.
"The second thing, I got a perfect score in English on the third mock exam!"
He proudly puffed out his chest.
Praise me!
Come on, praise me!
Mom and Dad, you never thought I could be your pride, right?
"Slap!"
Zhao Lixia's broom handle landed on his butt.
"You rascal, it's one thing to lie once, but twice? Even Qin Shiqing doesn't get perfect scores in English; what you said is more far-fetched than winning the jackpot!"
Su Jianjun also shook his head and sighed continuously: "Sigh, just last week I was telling your mother that you've grown more sensible, yet you can't even lie properly!"
"Slap, slap, slap!"
The broom rained down like raindrops, and Su Zelin could only cover his head and scamper away.
"Mom, believe me, I really got a perfect score in English!"
While using his schoolbag to shield himself, he finally managed to pull out his third mock English exam paper.
"Just see for yourself!"
Only then did Zhao Lixia stop with the broom, and as she took the paper and looked, she saw the bright red 150.
"See, I wasn't lying, was I?"
Zhao Lixia flipped through it a few times.
"Not bad, Su Zelin, your skills at changing scores are getting better, not a trace left!"
Su Zelin had a record of doing that; he once used correction fluid to alter his test scores, trying to pull the wool over their eyes, but unfortunately, he was found out and got a beating.
Seeing Zhao Lixia raise the broom again, Su Zelin hurriedly said, "Mom, you can ask Qin Shiqing. If I'm lying to you all, you can beat me to death!"
Zhao Lixia was half skeptical: "Fine, I'll go to Shiqing, and ask her to come over for a meal too. Jianjun, keep an eye on this rascal, don't let him run off!"
Afraid it was Su Zelin's trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain, Zhao Lixia reminded her husband once more before heading out.
A while later, she returned with Qin Shiqing in tow.
The anger on Zhao Lixia's face had transformed into delight.
"Son, you really scored perfect in English, and won second prize?"
"I told you already, you just didn't believe me!"
Su Zelin rubbed his swollen buttocks with grievance.
If he'd known, he wouldn't have bragged; overdoing it made Mom disbelieve him and got him beaten for nothing.
"No way!"
Su Jianjun couldn't believe it either, his gaze shifted to Qin Shiqing.
"Uncle, it's true. Zelin got first in English in the entire school this time, and I was with him when he went to the store to verify the lottery win!"
Qin Shiqing nodded to confirm.
Su Jianjun finally believed it, both shocked and delighted.
Unexpectedly, his son had improved so much.
"Zelin, how much did you say the prize was again?"
Zhao Lixia asked again.
"Fifty thousand!"
"That's a lot of money. How about letting Mom and Dad keep it safe for you first?"
Zhao Lixia suggested.
Su Zelin was always a spendthrift, and she feared he'd start squandering with money in hand.
"No need, Mom and Dad, don't worry, I have plans for the money, I won't waste it!"
This initial fund, Su Zelin planned to use as future startup capital.
But before college, he still could do a bit to make it grow.
However, he had to wait until after the college entrance exams to embark on things, as before graduation, his parents certainly wouldn't allow him to focus his time and energy on anything outside exams.
"What can a little brat like you do with such a large sum of money?"
Zhao Lixia still wasn't reassured.
"Alright, alright, Lixia, the son is grown up now. Besides, he earned this money from winning the lottery, let's not interfere too much."
Su Jianjun mediated.
Zhao Lixia muttered a few more words, but did not keep nagging.
No matter what, she was still very happy.
Her son got a perfect score in English, and also won second prize in the lottery, so it was a double blessing.
Su Zelin's scores in other subjects were a bit lacking, but the two elders were immersed in joy and didn't say much.
Dinner was ready quickly. Su Zelin took a can of beer from the old Xinfei refrigerator for his dad, and a can of Guangshi pineapple beer for himself.
Zhao Lixia frowned again when she saw this.
Although she reluctantly agreed to her son smoking at home, she never allowed Su Zelin to drink alcohol because alcohol can harm young people's brains and affect their studies.
Before she could explode, Su Zelin opened the can first and said with a smile: "Mom, today counts as a double blessing, doesn't it? Shouldn't we celebrate a bit? Besides, this pineapple beer has almost no alcohol content, it's just like a soft drink. How about you try a sip?"
"Go, go, go, I'm not drinking it! It seems like you and your dad are the same, sooner or later you'll become a chain-smoking, hard-drinking person. The big one doesn't act responsibly, and the little one doesn't learn well!"
Zhao Lixia cursed and swore, but she tacitly agreed.
In a few months, her son would be going to college, and she wouldn't be able to control him even if she wanted to.
Su Jianjun quickly explained as the fire turned on him: "Hehe, I do this for social occasions!"
Zhao Lixia snorted coldly: "Social occasions, social occasions. You use that as an excuse every day, yet I haven't seen you do any big business. You talk as if you're a big boss!"
"Auntie, please calm down. Today is a good day, you should be happy."
Qin Shiqing smiled and placed a piece of chicken in Zhao Lixia's bowl.
"Shiqing is such a good girl, sensible and well-behaved. This rascal really worries me to death. If only I had a good daughter-in-law like her to help me keep him in line!"
Zhao Lixia took the opportunity to imply something.
Qin Shiqing's pretty face blushed a little, and she lowered her head to eat.
Su Zelin cleared his throat and raised his can of pineapple beer: "Dad, let's have one, father and son."
"Alright, let's do it!"
...
Stayed at home for two days, and returned to school with Qin Shiqing on Sunday night as usual.
As soon as they walked into the classroom, all eyes were on them.
And quickly, Su Zelin could tell that everyone was looking at him, not Qin Shiqing beside him.
If last week they were paying attention to him for his new look, the novelty should have worn off after a week.
Su Zelin was puzzled, but soon realized the reason.
Just as he sat down, Lu Haoran excitedly asked, "Zelin, did you really win second prize in the lottery with a five-thousand bonus?"
"How did you know?"
Su Zelin was shocked.
Aside from Qin Shiqing and Tang Yan, he hadn't told anyone at school, nor did he plan to.
Money should be kept hidden!
His gaze instinctively turned to Tang Yan.
"It wasn't me who told Lu Haoran, I swear!"
Xiaoyanzi raised her hand and pointed to the sky.
"It was Liu Wei who told me!"
Lu Haoran quickly clarified for her.
"Liu Wei?"
He's a guy in Class 2, but how did he know about it?
If it was Tang Yan who told Haoran, it would have been fine, but now it seemed the situation had escalated beyond expectations.
Su Zelin's gaze turned back to Tang Yan again. Qin Shiqing was definitely not suspicious, so the key suspect must be Xiaoyanzi.
Tang Yan felt guilty under his gaze and said a little embarrassedly: "It's the first time I've seen someone win such a high lottery prize, and it happened to a classmate around me. Keeping this kind of thing bottled up would make me uneasy, it might even affect my studies. So, I couldn't help but share this little secret with Dong Ying. But I solemnly told her to keep it a secret for you!"
Oh my gosh...
Su Zelin was exasperated.
Dong Ying is Tang Yan's roommate, and they have a good relationship.
The most important thing is that the girl is nicknamed "Little Megaphone," known for gossip. If she ever joins the paparazzi, she would definitely become the backbone of an entertainment weekly.
"Little Megaphone" knowing this means the whole class would soon know!
Su Zelin turned dark-faced and sneered: "Really, a woman's mouth is full of deceit. Believing a woman can keep a secret is like believing a pig can climb a tree. I was really foolish and naive!"
"Sorry, I didn't expect it to turn out like this."
Tang Yan surprisingly apologized to him.
"Don't be so stingy. At most, I'll treat you to a week of sodas!"
"You already owe me that!"
Su Zelin angrily demanded: "Your penalty is to help Haoran draw water until graduation!"
Lu Haoran, realizing the conversation was turning to him, quickly said: "I don't need it, I don't need it!"
"Then the penalty is she helps me, but since Qin Shiqing helps fetch my water, we will borrow your cup instead. Let's happily decide on that!"
Su Zelin's words left the honest fellow confused, making it hard to refuse.
His classmate was really playing all sorts of tricks.
"Fine, I'll do it!"
Tang Yan pouted.
This time she was at fault, so she didn't dare to protest or bargain with Su Zelin.
After all, last week when Qin Shiqing was fetching water for Su Zelin, she was helping Lu Haoran too, so it was just a small favor and this punishment didn't matter much to her.
Since things had come to this, Su Zelin didn't have much of a solution.
But he decided that if anyone in the class asked to borrow money, he would blame his parents, claiming they confiscated the bonus money.
...