Novels2Search

Chapter 2

Since he was young, Star Han had enjoyed listening to his mother tell various tales of immortals. After meeting his master, he became even more enamored with the freedom and independence displayed by his master. He admired someone who could roam freely between mountains and walk among the heavens and the earth. However, many times when he tried to find the place where his master lived, he couldn't locate it. Furthermore, when he asked his companions upon returning, they all said in unison that they had never seen such a place in the vicinity. It made him wonder if everything that happened during that time was just a dream. Eventually, he let go of the idea of finding the old man and settled into his life, content with the present.

In reality, aside from the 100,000 RMB left by his parents, Star Han had no other source of income. The villagers did not show much care towards him as an orphan. Instead, they became envious of him because of the 100,000 RMB. Moreover, as people believed he was a bringer of misfortune, he became isolated in the village. This made him even more indifferent towards others and more eager to leave this place. The best way to achieve all of this was through education, attending university, which was also his parents' greatest expectation of him.

Due to these reasons, he finally arrived in this big city to pursue his university education. However, university life left him disappointed. The reality of university life was worlds apart from what he had imagined during his high school days. The university life depicted in novels seemed so exciting and had filled him with envy. Now that he had experienced it, he realized that the lives portrayed in novels would always remain out of reach, no matter how real they seemed. Novels always depicted the lives of a few select individuals.

It had been six months since he entered university, and apart from the fact that he seemed to forget much of what he learned, he wondered if he would ever acquire the knowledge he desired over his four years of university. The textbooks contained outdated information, and even if he mastered them, they held little practical value. In terms of his personal life, not much had changed either. Perhaps he had become accustomed to his indifference towards his surroundings and had become an outsider. In school, he hardly knew anyone, except for a few classmates in the same class. He was relatively close to the several roommates he shared the dormitory with. There were four people in the dormitory, including Star Han. One person was from another city, and the other two were from the same province. The one from out of town, named Liu Huaming, seemed to be quite sociable and adapted well to the school environment. One of the local students was named Zhao Xuyou, who had no particular hobbies other than playing the lottery. He would always buy some tickets and constantly analyze the numbers, hoping to win a 5 million RMB jackpot. There was also another local student whose name Star Han couldn't recall, but he seemed arrogant and didn't have much to say to others. Star Han didn't know much about him either. Usually, the four of them kept to themselves and rarely spent time together. Therefore, they didn't have much opportunity to get to know each other on a deeper level.

Star Han had made plans with several classmates to go to the city center today. Their school was located in the outskirts of the city and was quite desolate. If they wanted to buy something, they usually had to go to the city center. Therefore, on weekends, the school would be filled with people going to the city center. Star Han didn't usually go, but today he wanted to go to buy a few books and explore the city.

Sitting in the car, Star Han watched his classmates chatting but didn't join in. He quietly listened instead, wondering if it was because of his practice of Clear Heart Technique that he had become even more indifferent towards people and events. He rarely got involved in matters concerning others. This indifference was not coldness; Star Han always wore a faint smile, and when you saw that smile, you felt a sense of warmth, yet there was also a certain distance. Due to this, Star Han didn't have close friends in his class, but he had a decent relationship with all his classmates.

At that moment, a classmate noticed that Star Han was quiet and asked, "Hey, Star Han, I rarely see you going anywhere. Is there something important happening today that requires your presence?"

"Oh, there's nothing important. I just feel bored and want to go out and relax, maybe buy a few books," Star Han replied.

While speaking, Star Han suddenly felt his eyelids twitching vigorously, which startled him. After all, he had always trusted his instincts. There's a saying, "Twitching right brings good fortune, twitching left brings misfortune." Star Han couldn't help but wonder if he had encountered both fortune and misfortune recently.

The person beside him noticed his strange expression and quickly asked what had happened.

"It's nothing, just both my eyelids twitching. I don't know why," Star Han replied with a wry smile.

His classmates suddenly had a topic to discuss and expressed their opinions.

"Haha, twitching right brings good fortune, twitching left brings misfortune. It seems that Star Han has both fortune and misfortune. I wonder what good thing has happened," someone said.

"You're so clueless. What kind of fortune can students like us have? It must be fortune in love. Star Han, I envy you," another classmate said with a chuckle.

"Why only fortune in love? Maybe he's going to become wealthy. Who knows?" someone retorted, refusing to believe it.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"That's right. I heard they're selling lottery tickets now. Star Han, you should give it a try. Maybe you'll win a big prize. The top prize is 5 million RMB. Hahaha!"

"Forget the top prize, even winning a small prize would be nice. It's still a substantial amount of money. Don't you think so?" Star Han listened to their discussions with a smile.

"Yeah, of course. To be honest, even winning the second prize would be fine. When it comes to money, it's always better to win more. But hey, Star Han, if one of us wins the first prize, 5 million RMB, what would you do? Tell us," someone asked, and everyone started discussing:

"If I had 5 million RMB, I wouldn't continue studying. Isn't university just for earning money? I would start my own company and work for myself. I would become like Bill Gates..." one person dreamed aloud.

Before he could finish, others burst into laughter, teasing him, "You? Becoming like Bill Gates? Keep dreaming!"

"He has tens of billions, what about you? I doubt you even have a few hundred yuan," someone mocked.

"I would put the money in the bank and live off the interest. With the interest, I would have enough to live comfortably for the rest of my life," another person said with an intoxicated look, as if they could already see a bright future.

"No ambition," "How pathetic!" "Having money and not spending it means you don't have money. Having no money and being able to spend it means you have money. You're practically penniless," others chimed in with playful remarks.

"Hey, if I had money, I would enjoy life, have beautiful women..." Before he could finish, the others burst into laughter, teasing him, "Wow, who knew you were so interested in romance."

"No ambition, always chasing after pleasure!" someone remarked.

"It's a common saying: Heroes have a hard time resisting beautiful women. Isn't it normal? Tell me, is there anyone who doesn't want that? I dare say there isn't,"...

Everyone discussed winning the lottery with laughter and banter, while Star Han kept thinking about his twitching eyelids. In the end, he decided to wait and see how things unfolded. It could be fortune or misfortune, but it was best to go with the flow. Thinking this, he glanced out the window and realized they were almost in the city center. Star Han said to himself, "Hehe, it seems this outing won't be ordinary. I'm actually feeling quite excited..."

After reaching the city center, Star Han bid farewell to his classmates. They were planning to visit a park, while Star Han wanted to go to a bookstore to buy some books.

Star Han hadn't been to the city center for a long time, to be honest, he had rarely been there. It was because the school was located far away, and he was too lazy to move around. Therefore, he was unfamiliar with the city's conditions. He strolled along the streets, as his main purpose was to relax. Looking at the continuous flow of cars on the streets and the towering buildings on both sides, Star Han inexplicably felt neither excitement nor joy. There was an indescribable sense of confusion. Nothing seemed clear, and everything felt unreal. How much darkness lay behind this prosperity? How much progress was achieved at the expense of nature? Star Han's mind was filled with questions.

After walking along a few streets, Star Han noticed that there were many bookstores. However, most of them focused on literature, and there were very few books from other genres. Among the literature books, wuxia novels were the most abundant. Star Han sighed inwardly. He flipped through the books but couldn't find any that interested him. So he left the bookstore and continued exploring the city.

Walking on the street felt quite pleasant. At least there were trees on both sides, giving a sense of vitality. Though not abundant, it was still better than nothing. Compared to many other cities, Star Han's city had gained fame for its urban development. "It's best not to have high expectations for anything. Otherwise, I'll be frequently disappointed," Star Han thought to himself.

As Star Han walked on the sidewalk, his consciousness seemed to detach from his body and rise into the air, merging with the environment. It was a mysteriously elusive feeling, and Star Han couldn't explain it or understand how it came about. It seemed to happen naturally. Star Han was enchanted by this sensation, wishing it would never be broken. Suddenly, a string of numbers floated before his eyes, repeating three times. In that moment, Star Han bumped into someone, snapping back to reality. Everything before him disappeared.

Star Han was about to raise his head and scold the person who bumped into him, but when he looked up, he was taken aback. There was a sign in front of him that read "Lottery Ticket Sales Office." Star Han remembered the numbers that had appeared before his eyes earlier and recalled his twitching eyelids in the morning. He also thought about his often accurate sixth sense. All of a sudden, he was left dumbfounded.

The woman selling lottery tickets looked at Star Han standing there in a daze, not saying a word. She couldn't help but wonder and asked, "Sir, do you want to buy a lottery ticket?" No response. She asked again, still no response. The woman began to feel annoyed and exclaimed loudly, "Hey, sir, do you want to buy a lottery ticket? If not, please move aside!" After speaking, the woman startled herself with her own voice, looking around to see if anyone noticed. Fortunately, there was no one.

Star Han was finally snapped out of his daze, but he didn't quite understand what she was saying. Moreover, he wasn't accustomed to being called "sir," so he didn't react immediately and asked the woman, "Are you talking to me?" "Of course, who else is here besides you?" Star Han looked around and realized there was no one else, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"I mean, do you want to buy a lottery ticket? Why have you been standing here in a daze?" If it weren't for Star Han's presentable appearance, the woman would have thought he was a mental patient.

"Yes, right, I was lost in thought just now. I'm sorry," Star Han replied absentmindedly, still not completely awake.

"Alright, but it's strange. How many tickets do you want?" the woman asked.

"What? How many? Oh, just one," Star Han looked at the sign again and understood. He hurriedly said, "One, just one."

"Okay, you can fill it out." Star Han hesitated for a moment but then confidently filled in the string of numbers he had seen earlier. After filling it out, he inquired and learned that the draw would take place in one month. He left the office, thinking it was only a few bucks. Even if he lost, it wouldn't matter. Besides, Star Han had a feeling that he had a good chance of winning!

After purchasing the lottery ticket, Star Han was in a great mood. Along the way, he relaxed and enjoyed looking around. However, he was disappointed that he didn't experience that mysterious feeling again during the entire journey.