Xie Ji lay slumped over the bare dining table on the first floor, with Mu Yao and Lu Xunji seated on either side of him and Ji Shi across from him. It was a stage for four, yet Xie Ji alone had no part to play.
Ji Shi folded his arms and said, "Why didn't you pick any roses this year, Young Master Mu?"
Mu Yao and Lu Xunji both looked up and glanced at him, neither saying a word.
[Here it comes, here it comes! Young Field's daily morning staple!]
[Seriously, ever since Xie Ji showed up, Ji Shi's roasting skills have improved by more than just a little! In the past, he could never have come up with a brilliant line that offended two people at once!]
[Young Master Ji thinks he's hot stuff again. Just wait until Xie Ji calls him a dumbass. That'll settle him down.]
[Doesn't the production team provide breakfast? Is today's breakfast not out yet? Damn it, hurry up and feed our young masters! I want to watch them go hard at farming and then strip!]
Once everyone had gathered in the downstairs dining room, the production team reiterated the rules: they would no longer provide the guests with food, and two guests would have to take a small boat to a nearby town each day to buy ingredients.
"Even so, isn't it going too far to not even give us breakfast today?" Ji Shi had done physical labor all day yesterday, and the food Xie Ji had left for him last night had been nowhere near enough to fill him up. He had been counting on this free breakfast, and now that hope had been dashed too. Famished, he slammed the table and stood up. "Shouldn't this start tomorrow? At least give us some time to adjust!"
Director He's cool voice came through the drone. "I think you've got plenty of energy. Off you go. Young people should brave the wind and rain..."
Xie Ji raised his hand from the side. "What does young people braving the wind and rain have to do with me, a successor? I'm calling to report you for child abuse."
Director He said, "You're an adult."
Xie Ji planted his hands on his hips. "I mean the one in my belly!"
Director He was speechless. "Whose is it this time?"
Sitting nearby, Ji Shi suddenly gave a light cough and fumbled to straighten his collar, only to discover that his crew-neck T-shirt had no collar. He could only awkwardly pick up the tap water he had poured first thing that morning and take a big gulp.
Mu Yao propped his cheek on his hand and leaned toward him with a smile. "Well, of course it's my..."
Before he could finish, Lu Xunji, who had been sitting beside Xie Ji, silently stood, moved his stool twenty centimeters away, then sat back down gracefully.
Before Mu Yao could react, Xie Ji addressed the camera livestreaming to the whole world. "It's yours. Even a vicious tiger won't eat its own cubs. I hope you won't harm your own child."
Ji Shi: "Pfft-"
The water he had just taken into his mouth but had yet to swallow instantly sprayed out, hitting Mu Yao, who was leaning toward Xie Ji, square in the face.
Mu Yao: "..."
Ji Shi: "Pfft-holy shit."
Mu Yao ground his back teeth, snatched a towel from the side, and frantically wiped his face. "Ji Shi, what the fuck is wrong with you?!"
Ji Shi opened his mouth, only to find he had no defense. He apologized sincerely. "Sorry. I shouldn't have underestimated Xie Ji's mouth. I swear I'll never consume anything liquid while Xie Ji is talking again. That's the greatest apology I can offer you."
Mu Yao: "Fuck off!"
Through the drone, Director He said through gritted teeth, "Is there any benefit to pissing me to death, Xie Ji?"
Xie Ji said, "Of course there is."
Director He: "Such as?"
Xie Ji: "Such as pissing you to death."
Director He: "..."
The next moment, the assistant director's panicked voice came through. "Director He, your nose is bleeding! I told you that bottle of mineral water this morning was too nourishing! Here, let me wipe it for you..."
Director He kicked the assistant director away, grabbed the microphone, and snapped, "Xie Ji will handle today's shopping! The production team will provide no financial assistance whatsoever!"
Lu Xunji spoke up at just the right moment. "I think..."
Director He: "Lu Xunji will go with him!"
Lu Xunji: "..."
Before either of them could speak, the drone's call disconnected with a click, and it wobbled out of the courtyard.
Only as the drone flew farther away did the system notifications in Xie Ji's mind gradually subside.
[System notification: Director He's favorability toward you -10. Gained 100 points!] [System notification: Director He's favorability toward you -10. Gained 100 points!] [System notification: Director He's favorability toward you -5. Gained 50 points!]
[System notification: Congratulations! You gained a total of 550 points. Lottery shop items unlocked: Whitening Pill, Muscle-Growth Pill, Hair-Growth Pill. Ultra-rare skill unlocked: Turn Stone into Gold.]
Xie Ji's eyes lit up, and he poked Little Black's head. "You had something like this and didn't tell me sooner?"
Little Black hissed, flicking his forked tongue as he wound himself around Xie Ji's finger. "The odds of drawing an ultra-rare skill are very low. With your current luck stat, your chances are practically zero."
Xie Ji refused to believe it. "Someone said I'm the luckiest person in the world. I believe him."
As he spoke, he opened the lottery shop. With the 550 points he had just earned from Director He added to his previous savings, he had enough for seventy draws.
Without hesitation, Xie Ji did seventy consecutive draws.
[System notification: Congratulations! You drew the following in the lottery system: Whitening Pill: 10 pills, Hair-Growth Pill: 16 pills, Rosemary: twenty bottles, Better luck next time: 33 times.]
The pointer on the big wheel was still spinning rapidly. This was the final draw.
With a smile that did not reach his eyes, Xie Ji said, "Are you sure there's nothing wrong with your lottery odds? Believe me, I'll report you to the industry and commerce bureau..."
The wheel slowed, and the pointer inched toward the ultra-rare skill section before coming to an abrupt stop!
Just as Xie Ji was about to marvel at the power of the protagonist halo, the system notification sounded.
[System notification: Congratulations! Your luck is off the charts! Special skill drawn: Turn Stone into Gold Fragment +1. Please collect 99 fragments to synthesize the special skill! The gears of fate have begun to turn. Keep up the good work, host!]
Xie Ji: "..."
Hilarious.
The gears of fate hadn't turned an inch, but the chain of his life was about to fall off completely.
Xie Ji's lottery draws had taken only an instant. Ji Shi wiped the water off the table, then looked up to find Xie Ji's sorrow had already become a river flowing against the current.
"Y-you, what's wrong?" Ji Shi paused, raising his hand in a slight panic. Halfway up, he felt it wasn't quite appropriate and could only lower it again, asking softly, "Why are you crying all of a sudden?"
Xie Ji sniffled and rubbed his tears off on Lu Xunji's clothes.
Lu Xunji glanced at him but did not seem to mind. He took two tissues from the side and wiped Xie Ji's reddened nose.
Between sobs, Xie Ji said, "Bro, I got scammed. He's put me through so much pain!"
Before Lu Xunji could speak, Ji Shi grabbed Mu Yao by the collar and roared, "What did you do to Xie Ji?!!"
Mu Yao: "?"
Mu Yao: "...Me?"
Xie Ji clung to Lu Xunji's arm, breaking down. "Pinduoduo clearly said my luck stat was higher than ninety-nine percent of users nationwide!"