Lucky Bracelet

Li Qingqing had barely entered the classroom when she heard someone complaining to Hu Lai, "Pay up, Hu Lai! I bought five times the numbers one-two-three-four-five-six-seven yesterday because you told me to, and I didn't win a single cent!"

Hu Lai, seated at his desk, spread his hands. "I told you, I rely on skill, not luck."

Someone heckled, "You actually believed the numbers he gave you? One-two-three-four-five-six-seven? Just thinking about it, there's no way they'd win!"

"Yeah, to be fair, you're the one responsible here, not Hu Lai—you were naïve enough to believe him!"

"Hahaha!"

The classroom was filled with cheerful laughter.

Seeing Hu Lai like this, Li Qingqing frowned slightly—apparently, Hu Lai was still immersed in the sense of accomplishment from scoring a hat-trick. He was full of confidence about the future and had no idea that those three goals still would not get him selected for the school team...

Thinking of this, Li Qingqing became even more determined to train Hu Lai over the course of a year until he met the requirements for joining the team!

She clenched her fist and gave herself a little encouragement.

Come on, Li Qingqing. You can do this!

Hu Lai ignored the laughter and entered the system.

On the upper left of the system interface, his current point balance was displayed in real time—three thousand points, the reward for completing yesterday's hat-trick mission.

After claiming the [Marrow-Cleansing Potion] and [Training Boost Potion] last night, he had also noticed the point reward. He knew points could be used for draws—five hundred points for one lottery ticket.

Hu Lai now had three thousand points, which meant he had six chances to draw.

But he did not draw immediately. Thinking about how he had pulled "Thank You for Participating" twice in a row last time, Hu Lai felt a little uneasy.

He was afraid that, in a moment of impulse, he would pull "Thank You for Participating" six times in a row.

That would make him cough up blood.

So last night, Hu Lai had forcibly suppressed his urge and refrained from drawing.

Especially after learning the lottery results and discovering that the ticket with one-two-three-four-five-six-seven had not won, he became even more convinced of it—his luck at draws was not good.

He had dragged it out until today, but now he thought, Maybe I should try just one draw?

If the first one gave him "Thank You for Participating," he would stop immediately and save his points until his luck improved.

With that in mind, Hu Lai spent five hundred points in the shop to buy a lottery ticket.

Then he used it.

After the great wheel slowly came to a stop, a flash of light appeared, followed by an item before Hu Lai's eyes.

It looked like a red handwoven cord bracelet.

As Hu Lai looked at it, all the information about the item appeared in his mind:

[Lover's Red String], slightly increases the wearer's luck. Effective only for a single match.

There was also a line of small print beneath it: Rumor had it that this was carefully woven by a childhood sweetheart for a boy, and had always been worn on that boy's wrist.

Hu Lai's eyes widened. This was a new item he had never seen before—not a potion or medicine, but wearable equipment!

It was like equipment in an online game. Although there were no specific attribute values, it was more or less the same.

When he saw that it could slightly increase the wearer's luck, his first thought was how great it would have been if he had drawn it yesterday. He could have worn the bracelet while buying lottery tickets—would he have won then?

Even if he could not win the jackpot, winning a hundred or so yuan would have been fine.

But then he saw "effective only for a single match," which meant the item was only valid for one match. It could only be used in a match and only increased his luck in competition, not in everyday life.

This system really would not let him exploit even the slightest loophole...

After rolling his eyes at the system inside the system, Hu Lai thought that drawing something like this meant his luck was probably pretty good today. So he decisively exchanged for another lottery ticket and used it.

This time, it was not "Thank You for Participating," but a bottle of [Stamina Potion].

Including the one he had drawn before, this was already his second bottle of [Stamina Potion], both obtained through draws.

From these draws, Hu Lai confirmed two things: first, [Stamina Potion] could be obtained repeatedly.

Second, [Stamina Potion] seemed to be relatively easy to draw... Based on his limited drawing experience, he had drawn "Thank You for Participating" three times and [Stamina Potion] twice. Its drop rate was second only to "Thank You for Participating."

Looking carefully at the description of [Stamina Potion], it could only restore the stamina consumed in the previous match. This meant it was a one-time-use item that needed to be used repeatedly in large quantities, so a higher drop rate was only reasonable. After all, turning this thing into some scarce orange-tier item would not fit its intended usage...

After drawing the [Stamina Potion], Hu Lai still had two thousand points left. He could exchange them for four more lottery tickets, but he chose not to continue drawing.

He thought that the fact he had not drawn blanks twice in a row today, and that one of the items was wearable equipment he had never seen before, what did that mean?

It meant he had nearly used up all his good luck!

He was worried that if he continued drawing, the next one might directly be "Thank You for Participating."

A real man knew when to bend and when to stand tall!

The wise adapted to the times and knew when to quit while ahead!

Hu Lai left the remaining two thousand points in the system space, stored the [Lover's Red String] and [Stamina Potion] he had drawn in the system's storage room as well, and exited the virtual space.

He decided to save the remaining points and use them for draws once he felt luckier.

That day, the boys were all discussing who would make the school team. Coach Li had said that at noon tomorrow—Friday—the list of students selected for the school team would be posted on the notice board.

Like people waiting for lottery results after buying a ticket, the boys who had taken part in the school team trials were eagerly anticipating it. Even those who had not participated were just as eager.

Some were calculating who might make the school team, while others were trying to figure out whether their own names would be on the list.

So far, they did not know their results. They could only make guesses based on their performances in the various tests.

But everyone already had a good idea about the standouts who had distinguished themselves in the trials. They would definitely be selected for the school team.

For example, Luo Kai from Class 2 of Senior Year One, and Mao Xiao, the tall center back from Class 8 of Senior Year One.

And everyone also had a good idea about that short guy who had scored a hat trick in the very first test match.

"Could that guy not make the school team?" In Class 8 of Senior Year One, Mao Xiao, seated in the last row, was discussing the school team selections with his classmates.

The "that guy" he meant was Hu Lai.

His classmates burst out laughing. "How could he? What does that guy have besides a bit of good luck? Someone who gets lucky by stepping in dog shit can't make the school team!"

"Exactly! If that alone could get someone onto the school team, wouldn't that be way too unfair to all the people who made it through actual skill?"

"Still, scoring three goals through dumb luck means his luck is ridiculously insane..."

"That only means he stepped in dog shit all the way there!"

"Damn, that line has a smell to it!"

"Hahaha!"

See? No matter where he was, Hu Lai could always bring people joy...

Yet amid the laughter, Mao Xiao fell into deep thought.

He kept feeling that guy had not simply gotten lucky.

That final goal had left a particularly deep impression on him. He clearly remembered that the moment the ball was kicked over, Hu Lai had immediately turned and run forward without the slightest hesitation, his back resolute and decisive.

It was as if... as if he had known the ball would land there.

Mao Xiao felt that Hu Lai was definitely not as simple as everyone said—not someone who relied on luck alone.