Buying a Car!

Over the next few days, Dong Xuebin became even busier.

He attended classes at the Central Party School, prepared wedding invitations, and eagerly watched every single European Cup match without missing one.

That night.

Central Party School dormitory.

Dong Xuebin finally reached the last Football Lottery match.

His roommate, Han Xinghua, was an old soccer fan. He stayed up that night too, watching the European Cup livestream online with Dong Xuebin. Both of them were completely absorbed.

"Hey, he got past him!"

"He's in the box! This one's got a chance!"

"He got past another one! Hey! It's in! It's in!"

"What a goal! That was a screamer! Beautiful!"

"Shouldn't he have retired by now? That running speed is incredible!"

"It's two-nil now. This upset is huge. Who would've thought such a traditionally weak team would play this well?"

More than ten minutes later, the match finally ended with a score of two to one, producing yet another upset.

After shutting off the computer, Han Xinghua and Dong Xuebin both climbed into their own beds. Han Xinghua quickly fell asleep, but Dong Xuebin lay awake for a long time. Every one of the dozens of Football Lottery tickets he had bought several days ago had won. Not only had he picked the winners and losers correctly, but even the scores of every match were identical to those printed in that future soccer newspaper. Dong Xuebin had now won the jackpot beyond any doubt. He just didn't know the exact prize amount yet. With all these upsets, it probably wouldn't be too shabby. At the very least, they would definitely have enough money for the wedding.

He was too excited.

Dong Xuebin simply couldn't sleep. He got back up and went online to check the Football Lottery tickets he had bought once more. Three, one, one, zero, zero, three, three, one, one...

They had all won!

There was no mistake!

The next day.

Dong Xuebin got out of bed early and checked the prize results.

They hadn't finished calculating them last night, but they should have been available today.

As soon as Dong Xuebin looked, he discovered that things were indeed exactly as he had expected. There had been too many upsets in this round of Football Lottery, and only a few people had won the jackpot. Even then, they had each only bought a single combination ticket, nothing compared to Dong Xuebin's thirty tickets. When he checked the prize amount, it was over 120 million yuan!

After taxes, he would receive almost exactly 100 million yuan!

Dong Xuebin grinned from ear to ear. He finally had money again! It hadn't been easy!

Dong Xuebin immediately asked the class for leave, then headed out to claim the prize. He also called Xie Huilan and told her the tremendous news.

"Hello, Hui Lan, we won!"

"Hm? Won what?"

"What else? The Football Lottery."

"...Really? What prize?"

"Of course the jackpot. I bought thirty tickets for that bet. We'll get a total of 100 million yuan!"

"Hehe, really? Are you teasing Sister Xie?"

"Oh, come on, when have I ever lied to you? We really won. I'm going to collect the prize now. You'll know when the time comes. Haha, we don't have to worry about wedding money this time."

"If it really is 100 million, then we won't have to worry for the rest of our lives."

"Exactly, our family is rich again. Sigh, when I think about how I've been living these past few days, it really gets to me. I couldn't even bear to buy a pack of cigarettes over ten yuan. Now everything's solved." Whenever Dong Xuebin was happy, he loved taking credit. "So? Your husband isn't too bad, right?"

"Not bad. Worth praising, hehe."

"Oh, right, we're not working on the wedding today. Put everything on hold. Let's find some time tonight and go take a look at the 4S Store."

"What? Buying a car?"

Dong Xuebin sighed. "I've wanted one for a long time. Didn't the Cayenne break down? I sold it, and now I have to take taxis whenever I go out. It's too inconvenient, so I have to get another one. Help me pick one out tonight, okay? Should I buy a Mercedes or a BMW?"

"Can't you just buy an ordinary car?"

"I'm used to driving good cars. A good car it is. Besides, our money was earned fair and square, so I'm not afraid of people gossiping, and I'm even less afraid of anyone investigating. It's my own money. Why can't I buy whatever I want? Let them say whatever they want. Haven't I been living like this for the past two years? Mercedes, Cayenne, what haven't I bought? I still drove them, and wasn't everything fine? We have nothing to hide!"

"It's your own car. Buy whatever you want. Sister Xie won't interfere."

"But you still have to come with me. It's settled, then. I'll go claim the prize first. See you tonight."

"Xiao Ran and the others said they wanted to discuss some work matters with me. I don't know when I'll be free. You go ahead first. If it doesn't work out, should I bring Xiao Ran, Xiao Jing, and the others along?"

"Sure, bring them all." Dong Xuebin suddenly paused. "Do your younger brother and sister have cars?"

Xie Huilan laughed. "Why?"

"Just asking. Do they?"

"Xiao Ran doesn't have one. She works at the Youth League Committee, and it isn't convenient for her to use the office cars, so she takes the subway to work every day. Xiao Jing has an official car at Xinhua News Agency, but it isn't always convenient for her to drive it either. She can't take it home on weekends."

"So neither of them has a car. Okay, I understand."

"You want to buy cars for my younger brother and sister?"

Dong Xuebin nodded. He hailed a taxi at the roadside, got in, and said, "We've been together for almost two years now. The wedding is about to happen, and we'll be getting the Marriage Certificate soon. Look, as their brother-in-law, I haven't bought your younger brother and sister anything all this time. That really isn't appropriate."

"There's no need. Our family doesn't care about such things."

"It's not about whether your family cares or not. I need to do my part. You know I'm only twenty-five, even younger than your younger brother and sister. If they call me Brother-in-law in the future, you can't expect me not to blush, right? I need to act like a proper brother-in-law. A car isn't that expensive. It's mainly the thought that counts."

"All right, I agree to this."

"You mean it?"

"Actually, Xiao Ran and Xiao Jing's parents were already planning to buy them cars. Of course, there are many officials in my family but no businesspeople. Our circumstances are decent, and we can afford a few cars, but they wouldn't be anything too extravagant. If you pay for them, it will also make Sister Xie look good. Why would I disagree?"

"As long as we agree, then it's settled?"

"Okay."

"Oh, I just remembered. You don't have a car either!"

"Hehe, driving an official car from work is enough for me. Given my rank, I don't have to be as cautious about using an official car as Xiao Jing and the others."

"That won't do. Perfect, we'll buy you one tonight too. Pick any Porsche or BMW you want. Our family has enough money now. We won't miss this little bit."

"There's no need. It would be too conspicuous."

"We still have to buy one. Even if you don't drive it after buying it, it'll feel good just having it parked at home."

"We'll talk about it tonight."

"Fine. Don't tell Xiao Jing and the other two yet. We'll give them a surprise then."