He won 900 million in the lottery.

Never go all in. Always keep a backup plan, not just to win, but to ensure your survival.

After midnight, the music and rhythm in the bar slowed down, allowing for a half-hour break. This was a perfect opportunity for the ears and tense nerves to relax.

I turned to look at the young girl beside me. She was dressed quite fashionably, but her naivety was still evident.

Since I had nothing better to do, I casually started chatting with her.

Me: "Do you come to places like this often?"

She quickly shook her head: "It's my first time here, it's too expensive. My best friend said that if I go out for drinks with the boss, I can come in and experience it."

Me: "Do you like the atmosphere here?"

She nodded, then suddenly leaned close to my ear, her voice tinged with a hint of uncertainty: "Brother, you seem quite wealthy, could you buy me a cell phone? I... can keep you company tonight."

This girl is quite straightforward. Later, a friend said that she would trade even clothes worth a few hundred yuan for something, let alone a cell phone.

I raised an eyebrow: "Fine, as long as you listen to me."

"I'll definitely listen!" Her eyes lit up, and she became exceptionally enthusiastic.

I opened a bottle of wine and handed it to her. She took it, tilted her head back, and drank it all in one gulp. She does know a bit about reading people.

Just then, his phone vibrated. It was a WeChat message from Liu Haitao: "Brother, the deal's done, let's go!"

I glanced at Liu Haitao not far away; he was whispering intimately to the girl beside him, their posture suggesting they had reached an agreement. There are always freebies in places like this, but they're not for ordinary thirty-year-old men like us; everyone has a price tag.

I pulled the young woman next to me up: "Let's go." She was already a bit tipsy, clinging to my arm, her eyes unfocused, even more drunk than the girl next to Liu Haitao.

When we arrived at the bar, I casually asked, "What's your name?"

The girl in Liu Haitao's arms answered first: "Her name is Liu Chunqiu, the boss."

Liu Haitao pinched the girl's cheek in his arms: "And what about you?"

"My name is Liu Yiting, and I'm from the same village as Chunqiu."

"Hey, we're from the same clan, what a coincidence!" Liu Haitao winked at me, his tone flippant. "Tianyi, wanna join in the fun tonight?"

Liu Yiting immediately chimed in, "Great, boss! More people, more fun!"

I frowned and pushed him away: "Get lost, I don't have that hobby."

Liu Chunqiu, standing to the side, was so drunk he could barely stand, his head bobbing up and down, completely unconscious.

There were designated drivers outside the bar. I gave them the address: "Driver, to the Bund."

Upon arriving at the hotel, I booked two rooms and settled in. When I helped Liu Chunqiu into her room, she was so limp she seemed boneless, so I gently placed her on the bed. She was extremely drunk, and I didn't care about her; I went to take a shower first.

A splash of cold water sobered me up considerably, and my mind cleared. Having spent the entire day pondering Li Tie's business, my thoughts were now even clearer—this project was absolutely off-limits. I'd specifically researched it online beforehand; his business not only involved selling citizens' personal information but also involved selling counterfeit and substandard products. At best, it was health supplements; at worst, it was fake medicine. If caught, the maximum sentence could be over twenty years—the risk was simply too great.

As I thought about it, I remembered my own situation. I've been back here for two days, haven't changed my clothes, and don't even have a means of transportation. I need to buy a car as soon as possible to make things easier. I used to have a Volkswagen Passat, but at the end of last year, I saw that live-streaming games on Douyin were popular, so I impulsively went all in to start a business. As a result, I lost everything. I sold the car, lost all my money, and almost couldn't make ends meet.

I had just lain down on the bed when Liu Chunqiu's phone rang. I sat up helplessly and handed the phone to her ear.

She answered the phone groggily, and blurted out, "Let's break up. Someone's already offering to buy me a phone."

I was stunned for a moment, and then I watched as she hung up the phone and blocked the other party. I was quite surprised.

"Are you almost sober?"

She rubbed her eyes and chuckled, "You're awake. He promised to buy me a phone before I agreed to be his girlfriend, but he hasn't kept his word for a month."

Me: "Then you've wasted this whole month?"

Liu Chunqiu immediately sat up straight: "How is that possible! If he doesn't buy a phone, he can't even touch my hand!"

I couldn't help but laugh: "You seemed pretty relaxed at the bar, I thought you were easygoing."

"I've only been out of school for a month, so I don't have much social experience, but I know how to protect myself."

She pouted, a hint of stubbornness in her eyes: "My phone has been broken for months, and I don't have the money to replace it. I'm too embarrassed to take it out when I'm with my friends."

Remembering how she had acted earlier, I pressed her for an answer: "Don't your parents care about you?"

She immediately lowered her head and fell silent.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward, so I changed the subject: "Why don't you go take a shower and clear your head?"

She silently got up, took a change of clothes from her bag, and went into the bathroom. I leaned against the headboard playing on my phone when Liu Haitao sent me a WeChat message—a video.

When I opened it, the screen was a mess, so I quickly closed it. It was really an eyesore—a farce by an acquaintance was far less interesting than I had imagined.

Hearing the bathroom door open, I suddenly remembered something: "Where's your ID?"

"It's in my bag."

I took a look at it, and only then did I feel relieved.

Liu Chunqiu came out wrapped in a bath towel, her hair still wet, her face flushed, and she didn't dare to look up at me. The air conditioner was a bit cold, and she shivered. I patted the edge of the bed, and she hesitated for a moment before slowly walking over, crawling under the covers before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

"Talk to me for a while," I said, breaking the silence.

She obediently lay down beside me and said, "Mmm."

Me: "Are you enjoying this life of just getting by?"

She nodded first, then shook her head: "It's very free, but it's so frustrating not having money. There are so many places I want to go that I can't go."

I brought up the same question again: "What do your parents do for a living?"

This time she didn't shy away from the question: "They are all teachers, busy managing their students every day, they have no time to manage me, yet they still have to manage my allowance and where I go."

I understand.

No wonder her name sounds so grand; she comes from a family of teachers. It's just unexpected that a teacher's child would end up doing this kind of thing in a bar. As parents, they must feel quite helpless. Perhaps in their eyes, students are always more important than their own children.

This little girl can't keep a secret.

Under my persistent questioning, he told me what had happened.

They deliberately did poorly on the test to get their parents' attention.

Seeing her childlike stubbornness, I suddenly had an idea. I reached out and patted her head: "I'll buy you a new phone tomorrow, but you have to promise me one thing."

Her eyes lit up: "Brother, whatever you say, I'll listen to you."

The little girl looked puzzled after hearing what I said.

Why?

I teased her with a laugh, "Because I have money and nothing to do, so I thought I'd sponsor a college student."

Liu Chunqiu didn't say anything, but buried his face in the blanket, his ears turning red.