Chapter 128 : Everything, Pretty Much
Fei Zhouren used to be an outstanding supermarket employee. Since graduating from college, he had been working at the store, living a good life—free meals and accommodation, insurance, a steady salary, and even attractive colleagues. Life couldn't have been better.
Until one day, his manager assigned him to host a raffle at the front desk. If he did well, he would be rewarded with a promotion and a raise.
Back when he heard the news, Fei Zhouren was overjoyed. Hosting a raffle? That was easy. But the manager had warned him, "Whatever happens, make sure the first prize stays put." Apparently, the first prize was a computer that the manager had bought for himself, and he planned to have an insider win it later.
At the time, Fei Zhouren was too busy daydreaming about his promotion—becoming a CEO, marrying a beautiful woman, and reaching the pinnacle of life. He paid little attention to what the manager had said. Besides, the raffle box was huge, and the chances of drawing the first prize were about as high as getting ten SSR cards in a ten-pull. No big deal.
But then, not long after, an unbelievably lucky customer showed up and completely shattered his confidence.
Fei Zhouren still remembered it clearly. It was a sunny afternoon when a beautiful young woman with a certain "housewife" charm walked up to him. He still remembered her so vividly precisely because of that distinct aura.
Just like any other customer, she handed over her receipt and slowly reached her hand into the raffle box.
At that moment, for some unknown reason, a wave of unease surged through Fei Zhouren, as if he had just encountered his natural enemy. Goosebumps broke out all over his body. Later, he realized this was what people called the "Luck of the Europeans"—a force too powerful for someone like him to control.
When he saw that housewife-like beauty pull out the first prize, Fei Zhouren knew that his career was over. Promotion and pay raise? Forget it. Marrying a rich, beautiful wife? Out of the question.
Watching the young woman happily walk away with the laptop, a hint of envy flashed in Fei Zhouren's eyes. What he envied wasn't the computer but the sheer luck she had. But he knew that kind of luck was something he could never possess.
Sure enough, that very night, the manager told him to collect his paycheck and that he didn't need to come to work the next day.
Hearing the news, Fei Zhouren wasn't disheartened. He had heard rumors about the opening of a legendary new supermarket called "Everything, Pretty Much" near a high school.
To land a job at that supermarket, Fei Zhouren trained hard, learning new skills and studying all the knowledge he could find. He did 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and ran ten kilometers every day. Even during scorching summer days, he refused to turn on the air conditioner.
His efforts eventually paid off, and he was accepted into the legendary "Everything, Pretty Much" supermarket. Of course, it came at a great cost—his hair. He ended up with male pattern baldness, with only the top of his head balding. He wasn't even thirty yet and already had a noticeable "Mediterranean" look.
Still, it didn't matter. Working at that supermarket had been his lifelong dream, and now, he had succeeded.
Today was his first day at work. The manager called him over and assigned him to the raffle station at the entrance. It seemed like the manager wanted him to redeem himself from where he had previously failed.
Determined not to repeat his mistake, Fei Zhouren tucked the only first-prize ticket securely into his pocket. According to the manager's plan, someone would come by the next day to "win" that first prize.
"Too easy, no pressure at all." At that moment, Fei Zhouren felt overconfident, completely missing the fact that at some point, the prized ticket had fallen out of his pocket.
Even more coincidentally, he dropped the entire stack of tickets, and the prized ticket got mixed right in with them.
As he was tidying up, he suddenly noticed a familiar face standing in front of him—a beautiful young woman with that same "housewife" charm. It was her—the one who had cost him his last job. He would never forget that infuriatingly lucky face.
"Even if you have that European luck, you'll get no further this time. Prepare to fall into the pit of 'Better Luck Next Time,'" Fei Zhouren silently scoffed, glaring at her.
But a second later, his smile froze. The young woman scratched her ticket, revealing "First Prize" printed boldly on it.
His first thought was, "Impossible! The first-prize ticket should be right in my pocket!" Panicking, he touched his pocket, only to find that the ticket had vanished. It must have fallen out and mixed with the others.
As understanding dawned on him, Fei Zhouren stared at the girl in horror. He never imagined that the power of her luck could be this overwhelming. Apparently, he wasn't yet ready to face such an overwhelming force.
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"Ye Xuan, I won the first prize!" Ling Ning beamed, showing off the laptop to Ye Xuan. It was a "Zhixie GL-233," though the color was slightly different from her current one.
"Yeah, I see," Ye Xuan replied, raising an eyebrow. She remembered Ling Ning whispering earlier about how inconvenient it was to share a computer with her daughter and how nice it would be if she won one. Who knew?
"Oh, and I still have two more tickets! Want to try your luck?" Ling Ning was clearly in a great mood after winning.
Ye Xuan eyed the tickets in Ling Ning's hand, considered it for a moment, and then took one. She wanted to test her own luck. Using her fingernail, she scratched the ticket, revealing she had won a crate of "Sulent." It wasn't a bad prize at all, and Ye Xuan nodded with satisfaction before looking over at Ling Ning.
Ling Ning was leisurely talking to the bald raffle worker, saying, "I'd like to exchange for the second prize, please."
Upon hearing Ling Ning's words, Ye Xuan glanced at her own ticket. For some reason, a pang of bitterness welled up within her.
The second prize was a PS4 gaming console, complete with a few game discs. Ling Ning was quite happy with it—she figured it would be fun to play with her daughter.
As Ling Ning walked away, Fei Zhouren's eyes welled up with tears. He knew he was probably about to lose yet another job.
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Author's Note:
I think my ability to come up with names is absolutely epic.
Also, no fire-linking today—I'm off to play some Mahjong!