Page 19

The dormitory erupted with loud voices. Lin Zhaoran and Song Lijia stood to one side, envious of the two men's luck as they reminded them, "Make sure you keep those lottery tickets safe and claim the prize as soon as possible. Whatever you do, don't lose them."

That reminder snapped them both back to their senses. Tang Shi immediately said to Lu Hengzhi, "Come on, let's cash them in first. I won't be able to relax until the money's in our hands."

"Huh?" Lu Hengzhi's eyes widened in shock. "Seriously? Today is the Qualifier Round! Aren't we supposed to gather soon?"

"It'll be fine. We'll talk to Auntie Li first and have our performance moved back. If I don't get this money in my hands, I won't be able to settle down. It'll affect how I perform instead." As he spoke, Tang Shi carefully put the lottery tickets back into his backpack and dragged Lu Hengzhi off to ask for leave.

This was four million yuan. In his previous life, he had worked himself to the bone, getting up early and staying up late to type square characters for years. Even with the money he later made from screenwriting and publishing books, he had never earned this much.

After weighing it over, Lu Hengzhi also felt that Tang Shi was right. He immediately put away his own ticket and followed Tang Shi downstairs. Cui Yujin unconsciously trailed after them. As for Lin Zhaoran and Song Lijia, they headed for the cafeteria first on the grounds that they still needed to prepare for recording their performance—this had nothing to do with them in the first place. Rather than waste time, they might as well rehearse their dance a few more times and gain a little more confidence for the Qualifier Round.

By the time they reached the recording venue, Li Mei was onstage speaking with the staff. Seeing Tang Shi and the others file in, she asked in surprise, "Why are you here so early? Recording doesn't start until nine."

Tang Shi walked up to Li Mei and lowered his voice. "Auntie Li, we'd like to take some leave to handle something, then we'll come right back. Could our performance slot be moved back a little?"

Li Mei frowned unhappily at that, her voice sinking. "What could possibly be more important than recording the show? Can't you be more considerate? You aren't even famous yet, and you're already trying to act like big shots?"

Seeing Li Mei's dark expression, Tang Shi immediately realized he had not explained himself clearly. He hurriedly said, "No... On our first day here, after we passed the Auditions, we thought we were pretty lucky... so we casually bought a few lottery tickets. The results came out today, and we won first prize... Lu Hengzhi and I each won five million."

Tang Shi's words gave Li Mei such a fright that she let out a disbelieving "Huh?" and blurted, "No way. Do you think I'd believe something that absurd?"

Tang Shi quickly pulled the tickets from his backpack and handed them, along with the newspaper, to Li Mei. "I'm not lying. Auntie Li, please help us. It's such a huge sum of money. If I didn't know about it before, that would be one thing, but now that I do, even knowing we have sixty days to claim it, I still can't calm down. If we don't get the money as soon as possible, I won't be in the mood to compete. Please help us, Auntie Li. We won't delay the recording—we just want our time onstage moved back a little."

Putting herself in their shoes, if she had suddenly won five million herself, she would also want to get the money immediately.

Li Mei looked skeptically between the newspaper and the lottery tickets in her hand. After confirming that the numbers matched, she was momentarily at a loss for words.

A contestant finding out that he had won five million on the day of recording was something she had never encountered in her entire career. Still, Li Mei immediately spotted the promotional angle in it.

After thinking it over, she said to Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi, "I can talk to the production team and give you time to claim the prize. We can even arrange a car to take you there directly. But I have something I need to ask your opinion about... Would you be willing to make this win public?"

Since the production team had already positioned the Sugar Juice Duo as seeded contestants, they would naturally receive more attention during recording, more camera time, and more effort put into uncovering their appealing qualities.

After hearing from Cui Yujin that Lu Hengzhi came from a well-off family, Li Mei had already planned to shape him into a young gentleman from a wealthy family. As for Tang Shi... when Li Mei learned that Tang Shi's father had died young and he had been raised by his mother, that he helped ease the family's burden by selling buns outside the school gates every morning, and had ultimately helped his mother secure a major business deal, she not only sighed over how children from poor families matured early, but also prepared a storyline of hardship for Tang Shi on the show. She planned to create an image of Tang Shi as young yet filial and sensible, as well as gifted and talented.

But while those things were true, they still felt somewhat deliberately manufactured. And during her interactions with Tang Shi over the past two days, he had consistently resisted this sort of thing. He did not want to lay his family circumstances out before the cameras to win everyone's sympathy. Taking his wishes into account, the production team had not forced the issue.

Now that she had suddenly learned they had won the lottery, Li Mei felt this hook was much better than anything the production team had previously planned. It would draw attention and carried a touch of legend, enough to leave a deep impression of Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi on anyone who heard it. Their undeniable good fortune would also become an advantage in attracting fans. After all, people sought benefits and avoided harm; liking auspicious things was only natural.

Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi understood what Li Mei meant, but they still hesitated.

As the old saying went, wealth should not be flaunted. Throughout history, there had been countless examples of innocent men being punished for possessing treasure, so Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi could not help feeling uncertain.

Seeing that, Li Mei persuaded them, "Five million may sound like a lot, but in the entertainment industry, it isn't really that much. A top-tier star can earn ten or even twenty million a year from a single endorsement. Once taxes are deducted, five million isn't even half of a celebrity endorsement fee."

After a pause, seeing that the two were somewhat swayed, Li Mei smiled again. "As the saying goes, follow the trend of the times. If you were still ordinary students, I would advise you to be cautious. But now you're entering the entertainment industry. You're going to become artists. In that case, the more attention you get, the better it is for you."

Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi exchanged a glance before finally saying, "We need to call our parents and discuss it first."

Li Mei nodded. "No problem."

The two of them were then led into an office to call home.

For the Lu Family, Lu Hengzhi winning five million from the lottery was certainly a great deal of money, but it was no more than readily available cash flow. So while the Lu Family was delighted, they were not alarmed. After hearing Li Mei's suggestion, they gave their approval without much concern. They only repeatedly stressed that the television station had to guarantee the two children's safety.

But for Tang Shi's mother, the news Tang Shi brought was like a bolt from the blue—though not in a bad way. Having never seen anything on such a grand scale, she was a little dazed. Once the wild delight of pie falling from the sky faded, this single mother, whose husband had died in middle age and who had only her son left, immediately began worrying about his safety.

"Are you all right over there? You have to be careful. Don't go out casually, and be careful not to let bad people target you. Be cautious when you go claim the prize too. You absolutely must be careful." Tang Shi's mother gripped the receiver tightly, her voice trembling. "How about you stop competing and hurry home... Or should Mom come pick you up?"

Hearing her worry, Tang Shi did not know whether to laugh or cry, but his heart also warmed. After repeatedly assuring her that he was safe—absolutely safe—Tang Shi explained Li Mei's suggestion and analysis to her.

Tang Shi's mother remained silent for a long while. Only after Tang Shi grew impatient and urged her several times did she say that she wanted to speak with Li Mei. Tang Shi obediently passed the phone over. He listened as Li Mei gave a string of "mm-hm"s and "yes"es to Tang Shi's mother on the other end for nearly half an hour. Finally, Li Mei handed the phone back to Tang Shi and said with a soft smile, "Your mother agreed."

Tang Shi took the phone and heard his mother say, "I understand what Producer Li means. I don't know whether her suggestion is truly good or not, but the two of you are in another city, unfamiliar with the place and people. You can only rely on that television station. It's such a large organization; they probably won't deceive ordinary people like us. She promised me that she would keep you safe and handle this matter properly. I agree with Producer Li's suggestion too... Take good care of yourselves over there. Be careful, eat properly, don't be afraid. Mom will come keep you company soon."

Tang Shi's mother had originally wanted to let go for once and allow him to gain experience outside. After all, Tang Shi was already sixteen. He was practically a young man and ought to develop some independence. But she had not expected something like this to happen... Although it was a good thing, she simply could not rest easy leaving Tang Shi alone outside at a time like this. Left with no choice, she could only set aside her business for the time being and go be with her son.

Sensing Tang Shi's mother's unease and concern, Tang Shi immediately comforted her. Li Mei also helped reassure her from the side and carefully described the production team's upcoming arrangements for the two boys. She made it clear that they would send a car and staff to accompany them to claim the prize, then bring them back, and that nothing could possibly go wrong...

Tang Shi also explained over the phone that after claiming the prize, he would transfer the money into his mother's account and told her to keep an eye on her bank card. With money in hand, it would also be more convenient for her to run her business. This was the most crucial stage in setting up the food factory, so she did not need to come over specially. There was nothing much happening here anyway.

Meanwhile, Lu Hengzhi suggested over the phone that Tang Shi's mother move out of her rental and stay at Grandma Lu's house for a while. After all, four million yuan—the amount they could receive after taxes—was not a small sum, and it could easily attract the covetous eyes of others. The Lu Family was considered a wealthy and influential household in the area, and the security at their home was naturally a hundred times better than at Tang Shi's mother's rental.

That well-meaning reminder instead made Tang Shi's mother even more frightened and uneasy. Father Lu, however, did not think the matter was difficult at all. He patted his chest and told Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi not to worry. They had been neighbors for years, and since he had the ability, he would naturally look after her more. Tang Shi's mother did not want to trouble others too much, while Mother Lu felt that she should not put on a brave front at a time like this. At the very least, she had to put the two boys at ease...

After they had chatted on and on for quite a while, Grandma Lu suddenly remembered that a family in their residential complex had apparently lost money in business and was urgently selling their home to raise funds. She casually asked whether Tang Shi's mother might be interested in buying it. Then the two families could live next door and look after one another more easily.

Tang Shi, with his sharp ears, caught that from the other end of the call and immediately agreed. He knew the Lu Family's residential complex. Though it was not in the city center, it was a River-View Residential Complex beside the Songjiang River. In the future, land there would be speculated up to more than ten thousand yuan per square meter. Right now, it was only a little over two thousand yuan per square meter. Besides, that family had an urgent need to sell, so the price could be negotiated even further.

This time, Tang Shi's mother did not say anything more. Chinese people were always like that—once they had money, they wanted to buy a home.

Meanwhile, while Tang Shi was making the call, Li Mei reported the matter to the production team. After receiving their enthusiastic approval, she began handling it. Since none of them had any experience claiming lottery prizes before, Li Mei immediately called the Lottery Center. Once she understood the full process, she promptly arranged a vehicle and staff to accompany the two boys to claim their winnings.

After going through registration, ticket verification, tax calculations, and other procedures, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi took the two four-million-yuan cashier's checks issued by the Lottery Center to the bank. After consulting both sets of parents by phone, the two boys wheedled and bargained until they were each allowed to keep one hundred thousand yuan, saying they wanted to properly enjoy the life of the rich. Father Lu and Tang Shi's mother found the children's nouveau riche behavior both amusing and exasperating, but they agreed. Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi immediately transferred the rest of the money into their respective parents' accounts. By then, it was already past two in the afternoon. Having skipped breakfast and missed lunch as well, the two finally rushed back to the Qualifier Round recording venue with hefty receipts for the withholding and collection of income tax tucked against their chests.