Although he had been mentally prepared, when Lin Fan saw the string of zeros on the ticket, his heart still surged uncontrollably with excitement.
“Dad, you really won!” Lin Fan said, unable to hide his exhilaration.
Lin Zhigao’s hands trembled as well. Having worked hard his entire life, he had never seen so much money before.
“Xiaofan, with this money, we can pay off your mortgage in one go. That way, the pressure on you and Yuanyuan will be much less.”
“And we can buy you a small car too, so it’ll be more convenient for you and Yuanyuan to go out. More and more families have cars these days.”
Hearing this, Lin Fan’s heart tightened painfully.
His father had just won the jackpot, yet the first thing he thought of was helping his son repay the mortgage and buy a car.
Such was the love of parents… always thinking of their children, every moment, without exception.
“Dad, now’s not the time to talk about this. Let’s plan everything carefully after we get the money,” Lin Fan said softly.
“Alright, alright!” Lin Zhigao nodded repeatedly.
After finishing scratching the remaining tickets, they cashed in the small winnings at the shop, while the 2 million yuan ticket had to be redeemed at the provincial lottery center.
Lin Fan had already made his plans. Tomorrow, he would take annual leave and accompany his father to claim the prize.
With a lottery win like this, who would still go to work?
In his previous life, he had worked tirelessly at the company, yet after several years, he was still just a minor department supervisor.
Meanwhile, those less capable than him but skilled at flattering their superiors had climbed above him.
Now that he had been reborn, Lin Fan had no intention of enduring such humiliation and continuing to work for others.
He would use this period of leave to carefully plan how to turn this first bucket of gold into a business of his own.
Besides, wasn’t Chen Yuanyuan still thinking about taking half of his salary?
If he didn’t even work, what was there for her to take?
As for how to use the lottery winnings, Lin Fan had already thought it through. In his previous life, he remembered that the residential complex directly across from his parents’ home would be demolished in a month and rebuilt into a sports stadium.
This demolition was government-led, and the compensation standards were extremely generous—roughly double the local housing price.
Lin Fan planned to have his parents use the money to buy an apartment in that complex. In just one month, they would receive compensation worth twice the purchase price.
Wasn’t that far more profitable than paying off the mortgage in advance?
…
Early the next morning, Lin Fan requested a few days of leave from HR and his direct supervisor. He had important matters to handle over the next few days.
Then he accompanied his father onto a high-speed train bound for the provincial capital.
After thinking it through overnight, he decided to persuade his parents to sell their current home as well. Combined with the lottery winnings, they could use all the money to buy property in the complex across the street.
Lin Fan did a rough calculation. His parents’ current apartment was about 80 square meters, with a market price of around 10,000 yuan per square meter, meaning it could sell for roughly 800,000 yuan.
After taxes, the 2 million yuan lottery prize would leave them with about 1.6 million yuan. Together, that made 2.4 million yuan.
Using all that money to purchase property in the other complex, they could multiply their assets several times over in just one month.
This opportunity was something Lin Fan had to seize.
Of course, the most critical part was convincing his parents.
Asking them to sell their home and move elsewhere wouldn’t be easy.
He also planned to have his parents move in with him after selling the house.
Which meant it was time to come clean with them about his situation with Chen Yuanyuan…
…
While Lin Fan boarded the high-speed train, Chen Yuanyuan also left her house.
After their fierce argument at the court yesterday, the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. So today, she decided to confront Lin Fan and demand an explanation.
“Lin Fan, if you don’t give me a satisfactory answer today, don’t blame me for making you lose face in front of your colleagues!”
However, when she arrived at Lin Fan’s company in a fury, she couldn’t find him.
Just as she was about to call him, a man walked toward her.
His name was Fu Ming, one of Lin Fan’s subordinates.
“You’re Sister Chen, right?” Fu Ming greeted her warmly.
Lin Fan had brought Chen Yuanyuan to several company annual parties before, so his subordinates all recognized her and even envied him for having such a beautiful wife.
Hearing someone greet her, Chen Yuanyuan raised her head. The man looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t recall his name.
“You’re one of Lin Fan’s colleagues, right? You’re called…”
“Just call me Xiao Ming. That’s what Brother Fan calls me,” Fu Ming said shyly.
“By the way, Sister Chen, you came here to…?”
“I’m looking for Lin Fan. Where is he?” Chen Yuanyuan asked flatly.
Now it was Fu Ming’s turn to be surprised. “Sister Chen, Brother Fan took a long leave.”
“You didn’t know?”
The moment she heard this, Chen Yuanyuan’s eyes widened, her voice rising sharply. “He took a long leave?”
“When did that happen?”
Seeing her shocked expression, Fu Ming muttered inwardly, What’s going on with these two? Something this big happened in their family, and she doesn’t even know?
Still, he kept a polite smile on his face and said, “Brother Fan told us this morning that he’s going to claim a prize today.”
“Maybe he hasn’t had time to tell you yet.”
Now Chen Yuanyuan was even more confused. “Wait, what do you mean by claiming a prize?”
“The more you talk, the less I understand.”
“Explain it clearly!”
Fu Ming was startled. What’s going on? Doesn’t she know Brother Fan hit the jackpot?
It didn’t make sense. Not mentioning the leave was understandable, but winning a big prize was a huge deal—there was no reason for him to hide it.
But seeing her genuinely puzzled expression, Fu Ming could only explain truthfully.
“Sister Chen, Brother Fan said in the group this morning that he won’t be coming to the company for a while and handed over his work to us temporarily.”
“He also said he won a big prize and is heading to the provincial capital today to claim it.”
“Didn’t he tell you any of this?”
…
The moment Chen Yuanyuan heard that Lin Fan had won a big prize, her eyes lit up instantly, and her face was filled with wild joy. She didn’t even bother listening to the rest of what Fu Ming said before turning around and leaving.
“Well, well, Lin Fan—you won a big prize and didn’t even tell me?”
“You think you can keep it all for yourself?”
“Too bad heaven has eyes—I still found out!”
“This prize money counts as marital property. I must take half of it!”
As she walked, she muttered to herself, frantically dialing Lin Fan’s number. But his phone was already turned off.
She immediately called her younger sister instead. She had to share this good news with her family as soon as possible.
“Sis, your tuition is settled!”
“You can rest completely assured!”
“And I’ll cover your living expenses at university too!”
…
“What are you thanking me for? We’re sisters!”