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Hearing Tang Shi's words, Lu Hengzhi and Cui Yujin both wore expressions that said, "Are you sick?" Tang Shi, now truly awake, excitedly threw an arm around each of their shoulders...

What Tang Shi had just remembered was a low-budget film from the future that had grossed over a hundred million at the box office, a classic among low-budget productions—Lottery. The reason Tang Shi remembered this movie so vividly was not only because its plot was ingenious, its quality superb, and it had been widely acclaimed and repeatedly nominated for and won various awards. More importantly, it had been adapted from a true story. The real incident on which the film had been based had taken place around the time Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi attended the Dance Miracle auditions. The winning lottery numbers happened to be Tang Shi's birthday, while the final number was Tang Shi's student ID number.

Such a coincidental and miraculous event had left a deep impression on Tang Shi. After being reborn, he was even more grateful for that movie—he had excitedly realized that he had not wasted the cheat of reincarnation after all. He had truly obtained a protagonist's halo of his own. And the cliché plot of winning the lottery that had been written to death in trashy novels was really about to happen to him.

Tang Shi was so excited by the windfall that was about to fall into his hands that he could barely speak. He took a deep breath and said meaningfully to his two best friends, "Believe me. My luck is great. If we use my birthday to buy lottery tickets, we'll definitely win. Once we hit five million, we'll be rich."

Lu Hengzhi and Cui Yujin both dismissed Tang Shi's wild fantasy with equal contempt. Seeing that, Tang Shi could not exactly tell them he was a reborn person and that he was not talking nonsense because he knew the future—he did not want others to think he was crazy.

Still, Tang Shi insisted on buying lottery tickets. Since Cui Yujin was practically half a local, Tang Shi, unfamiliar with the area, pestered him into taking them to a lottery shop. Lu Hengzhi did not particularly agree with Tang Shi's idea, but he felt that advancing smoothly in the competition was definitely worth celebrating. Even if Tang Shi's preferred way of celebrating was unusual, as Tang Shi's friend, he ought to show his full support.

Thus, after being worn down by the two of them, Cui Yujin could only agree to take them to the lottery shop. Li Mei, who was busy working in the lobby, noticed the three boys, whose clothes and appearance stood out sharply from everyone else's. Holding the contestant registration order sheet, she squeezed through the crowd and asked with a smile, "Looking at you three, are you planning to go celebrate somewhere?"

Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi nodded with relaxed expressions. Cui Yujin pointed at Tang Shi with a look of disdain and said, "This guy's got something wrong with his head. He says passing the Auditions was good luck, and he insists on going to buy a Lottery ticket so we can celebrate again after winning five million."

"Making it through directly from hundreds of contestants certainly means you have good luck, but you also need real ability," Li Mei said with a smile. Then she turned to Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi. "Congratulations. I heard Teacher Mo Zi's assessment of you two just now too. I think very highly of you."

Li Mei's words caused a small stir among the people nearby. After several brief gasps, the contestants gathered around them began whispering among themselves. As though she had not noticed, Li Mei waved to the two boys and said with a smile, "After the full Auditions end, you'll have a week to prepare before going onstage for the fifty-to-thirty Qualifier Round. I believe your dancing will be even better by then."

Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi both thanked her, their faces flushed with embarrassment.

Li Mei looked at their expressions and smiled. "You came here early this morning. You haven't had lunch yet, have you? Why don't you go to the cafeteria and get something to eat first?"

Hearing that, Cui Yujin hurriedly took credit, saying that he had already bought cold noodles from the cafeteria and that the three of them had eaten. Otherwise, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi would not have had the strength to dance, and their results might not have been this good.

Li Mei looked at the eager Cui Yujin, smiled, and shook her head without saying anything. Then she turned to Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi and said quietly, "Wait here for a moment. Once I finish up, I'll speak to the people downstairs and arrange dorm rooms for you two first. You came all this way, after all. It hasn't been easy."

Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi widened their eyes in surprise and said, flattered, "Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

Li Mei smiled and shook her head. "What's inappropriate about it? When it comes time for the National Finals, the production team will be responsible for arranging the contestants' food and lodging anyway. I believe that with your abilities, you'll definitely make it to the finals. Moving into the dorms is only a matter of sooner or later. I'm merely doing you a small favor. Besides, you're both so young, and there aren't any parents around you. We wouldn't feel at ease letting you go out into society by yourselves."

Just as they were talking, Li Mei's earpiece crackled, and someone said something through it. Li Mei answered a few times, then turned to Tang Shi and the other two. "I need to get back to work. You three go have fun first. Come find me again after five."

With that, she hurried away before any of them could say another word.

Chapter Fifteen

The moment Li Mei left the waiting hall, Tang Shi and the other two were surrounded by Auditions contestants who had been waiting nearby. Everyone talked over one another, offering congratulations while probing for information about what had happened inside the recording hall. When they saw the celebrity autographed photos in Tang Shi and the others' hands, their faces filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment.

Before long, the commotion attracted reporters and cameramen wandering among the contestants in search of interesting material. Beneath the bright, glaring flashes, a pretty and fashionably dressed female reporter held up a microphone and asked questions such as, "What is your name? Why did you come to participate in the Auditions? What ranking do you hope to achieve? What do you think of the judges?"

Faced with the unusually enthusiastic reporter and the flashing cameras, Tang Shi habitually said very little, while Cui Yujin consciously hid somewhere the cameras could not see. Lu Hengzhi, on the other hand, answered a few questions with a smile. His handsome appearance, confident and witty words, and his careful, watertight way of speaking—which made it difficult for anyone to take his words out of context or twist their meaning—gave him a special appeal before the camera.

Watching from the side, Tang Shi could not help clicking his tongue in amazement.

In Tang Shi's opinion, Lu Hengzhi had always had a bit of a flair for performing in front of people. The bigger the stage and the larger the audience, the more energized Lu Hengzhi became. Judging by when the two of them had started learning dance together and by their foundations, even if Lu Hengzhi was more talented, the gap between them was not that great. Yet for some reason, the moment he stepped onto a stage or stood in front of a camera, Lu Hengzhi's performance would explode with intensity and draw every eye.

There was an old saying: three minutes onstage, ten years of work offstage, meant to describe the hardship behind glamour and brilliance. But Lu Hengzhi was absolutely the kind of person who, in three minutes onstage, could make you feel as though one glance lasted ten thousand years. During ordinary training, you could not tell how outstanding he was, but once you gave him a stage, you would find that he was the one person you could not look away from.

That was why, during the competition in his previous life, he had always been favored by Emperor Entertainment and Apple TV Station. Even when the two of them withdrew from the competition midway through, Emperor made an exception and signed Lu Hengzhi under generous terms. And the facts proved that Emperor had excellent judgment. At the very least, Lu Hengzhi's unstoppable surge in popularity after signing, along with endorsement fees that rose like the tide, had earned Emperor a fortune from him.

By comparison, Tang Shi's presence before the camera was much weaker. He did not know whether it was simply his nature or something else, but Tang Shi had always been unwilling to put himself on display in front of others. When he had started learning dance as a child, one reason was that he had been in poor health and his family wanted him to learn something that would stretch his limbs. Another was that they thought Tang Shi was too introverted and hoped street dance would make him more outgoing and expressive. The third was that Lu Hengzhi had forcibly dragged him along to be his partner.

As far as Tang Shi was concerned, dancing let him vent his emotions without having to speak to anyone, while still drawing everyone's eyes. It was simply killing several birds with one stone. No matter how introverted someone was, who had never dreamed of becoming the center of attention?

Later, when he accompanied Lu Hengzhi to participate in the talent show, his thoughts had been even simpler. He only wanted to keep his friend company and earn some prize money to bring home. He had never thought about entering the entertainment industry. Thus, after withdrawing from the competition, he had not felt too disappointed. As for being dragged by Lu Hengzhi onto the path of screenwriting in the end, that had been even more of an accident. All that could be said was that Tang Shi had a small bit of fate with the entertainment industry.

In this new life, Tang Shi once again stood at the starting point of fate and watched Lu Hengzhi, surrounded by reporters, speaking eloquently and shining ever more comfortably. Tang Shi pressed his lips together, secretly envious. Some abilities truly were a kind of talent, and in Tang Shi's view, Lu Hengzhi was the sort of person born for the entertainment industry.

Lu Hengzhi glanced back at Tang Shi in the crowd, who for some reason looked a little lonely. Not understanding what his childhood friend was overthinking again, he answered the reporter in front of him, who had asked what he thought of Qiao Lin. Smiling, Lu Hengzhi offered a few polite remarks such as, "She's my idol. I'm really excited to see her in person. She's a hundred times prettier in real life than on television." Then he hastily ended the interview and pulled Tang Shi out of the crowd.

After leaving Apple City Television Station, Tang Shi and the others first went to a lottery shop near the television station building and bought several Lottery tickets. However, an argument arose during the process—Tang Shi insisted that his birthday was the luckiest, so he strongly urged the other two to buy tickets using his birthday as well. The other two were noncommittal about it. Cui Yujin figured there was no harm in joining the fun, so he only bought a ticket using his own birthday. To humor Tang Shi, Lu Hengzhi bought one ticket made up of his own birthday and student ID number, as well as another made up of Tang Shi's birthday and student ID number.

Tang Shi looked at his childhood friend, who had unconditionally believed in and supported him in both his past and present lives, with great satisfaction. Patting Lu Hengzhi on the shoulder, he said earnestly, "Those who believe in me shall gain eternal life. When you strike it rich, don't be too grateful to me."

Looking at Tang Shi's smug grin, Lu Hengzhi slung an arm around him and pulled him into his embrace, then ruthlessly ruffled Tang Shi's soft short hair with his other hand. "How could that do? Once I get rich, how about I treat you to delicious food every day?"

"That's enough, you two. What, are you going to keep being all lovey-dovey forever?" Cui Yujin clicked his tongue, looking as though he could not bear to watch their intimate behavior. "I seriously don't get it, Lu Hengzhi. Why do you listen to Tang Shi about everything? Is this really fun for you two?"

Tang Shi turned and glared at Cui Yujin. What an ungrateful idiot. Once the winning results came out, he would cry until he could not find the tune!

"It is fun. Very fun," Lu Hengzhi said with a serious nod. He casually draped his arm over Tang Shi's shoulder and added, "Quit babbling. What should we eat tonight? We were in such a rush at noon that we didn't eat well."

At that, Tang Shi carefully put the Lottery tickets into his backpack and frowned as he looked around at the streetscape.

It was past three in the afternoon, the hottest time of a midsummer day. Beneath the blazing sun overhead, Tang Shi stared at the street before him, warped by heat so intensely it seemed as though the air itself were visible. He stood there frowning for a moment before saying to Lu Hengzhi, "Let's find somewhere to make a call and let our families know we're safe first."

Lu Hengzhi nodded. Though he had only been away from home for a few days, the bumpy journey, scorching weather, unfamiliar crowds, and food that did not suit his taste had already made this young man, newly away from home, start missing it. Tang Shi was actually even less accustomed to the situation than Lu Hengzhi. Aside from all those reasons, ten years ago he did not yet have a mobile phone, while ten years later he had grown used to staying home every day, writing online, with an internet-connected smartphone in hand whenever he went out, constantly scrolling through all kinds of Weibo and WeChat updates.

The current situation made Tang Shi feel cut off from information, as though everything he did was inconvenient.

Cui Yujin once again acted as their guide. They followed the street outside the lottery shop eastward, and within a few minutes, they successfully found a public telephone booth. The two boys immediately called their parents in X City to share the good news. Yet their parents asked more about whether the journey had been hard, whether they had eaten properly, whether they had slept well, and other trivial matters. They chatted about every detail for a long while, until all the change in their pockets had been used up. Only then did the two reluctantly hang up and prepare to find somewhere to eat.