After Shiyi left, Star Han continued reading for a while, feeling a bit bothered and finding it less interesting. He picked up a stack of newspapers and flipped through them, but nothing caught his attention. Then, a headline caught his eye: "National Economic Student Essay Competition." Star Han read the rules, which were simple – any essay related to economics would qualify. There was still over a month until the deadline, so there was plenty of time. However, he didn't have much interest in it.

But come to think of it, this semester was almost over. Star Han vaguely recalled that some of his teachers had assigned research papers, which would contribute to the final grades. One of the elective courses was Economic History, and he seemed to remember that he hadn't written the required paper yet. It seemed like it was time to get started. Fortunately, the newspaper reminded him; otherwise, he would have completely forgotten about it. It would have been troublesome if he couldn't complete it by the end of the semester. Star Han was the type of person who tried to avoid tasks, but when he had to do something, he put in maximum effort. With the realization that there was work to be done, he immediately began preparing.

What should he write about? Oh, right. He recalled reading some books on stocks not long ago. He was interested in that topic at the time, so he had read them quite attentively and gained some insights. It seemed like a good choice to write about it. He believed that with additional research, he would be able to produce a decent essay.

Originally, he thought he could finish the essay in a few days, but every time he wrote something, he felt it wasn't good enough and that he should gather more information to improve it further. Star Han was genuinely interested in the stock market and wanted to deepen his understanding. He didn't feel bored or tired. After nearly a month of revisions and adjustments, Star Han finally settled on a finalized version of his essay titled "A Brief Discussion on the Similarities and Differences between Domestic and Foreign Stock Markets." The essay provided a detailed analysis of various aspects that were the same or different between the Chinese and foreign stock markets. Star Han included viewpoints from various articles and incorporated his own insights from the books he had read. He felt satisfied with the result. Once he submitted the essay to his teacher, he finally felt relieved. Though Star Han was usually diligent in his work, he had really put his heart and soul into writing this essay. If it weren't for the fact that there were only three weeks left until the final exams and he needed to prepare for them, Star Han might have continued revising.

After completing the essay, Star Han focused on preparing for the exams. He would go to the classroom every day to study, often returning home late. The time spent on the essay had made him feel pressed for time, so he wanted to make the most of it and ensure he didn't fall short.

On that day, when Star Han returned to the dormitory, he heard several people gathered around a newspaper, discussing excitedly about something. They were saying things like "three million" and "winning the lottery," their emotions running high and their words filled with enthusiasm. Star Han couldn't help but feel curious and asked, "What's going on? Did something big happen at our school? Why is everyone so excited?"

"What could happen at our school? Apart from some glutton finishing over a dozen steamed buns in one meal or some guy successfully dating a girl online, there's nothing major. We're talking about this edition of the lottery," said Zhao Xuyou, a roommate who was passionate about the lottery.

Star Han knew that one of his roommates was interested in the lottery, so everyone in the dorm paid attention to it, including him. "It's just a lottery. Is it worth getting so excited about?" Star Han couldn't understand.

"Don't you know? Someone won the grand prize in this round of the lottery. It's been a while since anyone won it, and this time, the grand prize is three million! Just think about it, three million! Not three hundred, but three million! Imagine what you can do with three million. If I won, that would be amazing," one of them exclaimed, drooling with excitement.

"Oh, I see," Star Han replied nonchalantly.

"Are you daydreaming again? With your appearance, do you really think you can win a big prize?" someone teased him.

"In that case, who do you think has a chance of winning? Speak up," Zhao Xuyou challenged, unwilling to back down.

"Well, let me see..." The person paused and suddenly pointed at Star Han. "Star Han could do it. Just by looking at his calm and composed demeanor, you can tell he has what it takes to be a successful businessman. Unlike you!"

In order to belittle Zhao Xuyou, the person ended up praising Star Han. Seeing that the conversation was directed towards him, Star Han quickly changed the subject and said, "Enough of this. What are the winning numbers for the grand prize? Tell us, let's see what the lucky numbers are."

"Yes, yes," everyone echoed.

The person who was reading the newspaper immediately recited a series of numbers. "It's nothing special, just an ordinary combination. I wonder who the lucky one is," Zhao Xuyou muttered.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Upon hearing the numbers, Star Han suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. It seemed like he had heard them before. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "I think I've heard these numbers before."

"You've heard of it? Could it be that you bought a lottery ticket, and it's this number?" someone asked.

Suddenly, Star Han remembered. It was true. When he went to the city not long ago, he had actually bought a lottery ticket with these numbers. I won! I won the jackpot! I...

Star Han's heart was shouting with indescribable joy. He glanced at his surroundings, preparing to announce, "I won!"

At that moment, Zhao Xuyou looked at Star Han's expression and said suspiciously, "Star Han, are you pretending? You mentioned that the numbers sounded familiar. Now, are you trying to say that you won? If that's the case, just don't say it. Do you think you can fool us? As far as I know, you didn't buy a lottery ticket. Even if you did, if you won, the whole world would have known by now. You wouldn't be standing here telling us. Don't you agree, everyone?"

"That's right! If I won, I would have treated the entire class to a feast at a fancy restaurant."

"Of course! If I won, I would let the whole school know that I'm a millionaire. I would pursue many girls, buy beautiful villas... "

"Keep dreaming! What 'I want this' and 'I want that.' You should go to bed and dream," they laughed.

...

At that moment, Star Han suddenly wondered, what would happen if they all knew I won? He recalled an article in the newspaper about a female college student who had created a patent and, after buying a lottery ticket, had won several tens of millions. After that, all sorts of things followed – threatening letters, love confessions, donation requests, pleas for help, and so on, which became a great annoyance for her. Although the amount of money he won couldn't compare to that, it would be better not to let people know. After all, the prize ceremony was confidential, and it would avoid many unnecessary troubles. With this in mind, Star Han decided to keep it a secret.

Zhao Xuyou, seeing that Star Han was lost in thought, asked curiously, "What are you thinking about? You didn't actually win, did you?"

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about who could win this prize."

"Well, I don't know. It's supposed to be kept confidential," Zhao Xuyou replied.

...

On the day of claiming the prize, Star Han had a class, but he took sick leave and went to the city. After half a day, he finally deposited the money into his own bank account and also obtained a credit card. Star Han finally breathed a sigh of relief. It felt like the money was truly his once it was in his account. After deducting taxes, there were still over two million six hundred thousand left—a considerable sum. Star Han had never handled such a large amount of money before. Whenever he withdrew money, it would be a few hundred or at most a few thousand. Now, suddenly having millions, he didn't know what to do. Thinking about having so much money, Star Han couldn't calm down on his way home. In the end, he decided to leave it untouched in the bank for now and continue with his normal life. He didn't want this unexpected windfall to disrupt his life too much. When the time came to use the money, he could withdraw it. With this decision, Star Han finally felt relaxed. He calmly returned to school, and nobody asked anything. Everything was peaceful.

This time, Star Han was taking an elective course in economics. Fortunately, he didn't skip class. During the class, the teacher praised Star Han's paper, saying that he had done a lot of research and could tell that he had put in a lot of effort. The teacher expressed satisfaction and allowed Star Han to take the spotlight in the classroom. After class, the teacher mentioned that there was something to discuss and asked Star Han to stay behind. When the others had left, Star Han respectfully asked, "Is there something you wanted to talk about, teacher?"

"Your paper this time was really well-written. I know it must not have been easy for you. How much time did you spend on it?" the teacher asked.

"Oh, I spent nearly a month on it. I didn't have much else to do, so I just kept writing," Star Han replied somewhat embarrassed. It did take a long time to write a paper for an elective course, while other students would spend only an hour or two downloading something from the internet, which was usually enough to pass.

"Ah, students these days lack the kind of attitude you have toward learning. Everything is just copied from others. Back in our day..." the teacher reminisced.

Star Han started to feel impatient. Is the reason you asked me to stay behind just to talk about this? I haven't even had lunch yet. If I wait any longer, I'll end up having leftovers. Fortunately, the teacher wasn't completely lost in their own world. Perhaps noticing Star Han's impatience, the teacher cut off their nostalgic rambling and said briefly, "Let's not dwell on that. There's something I wanted to ask you."

"What is it, teacher? Please go ahead," Star Han replied quickly.

"Did you submit your paper for the competition?" the teacher asked, looking at him.

"What competition? I didn't know about it. It seems like our school doesn't have any competitions," Star Han said, puzzled. He couldn't understand why the teacher was talking about this. After all, he wasn't an economics major.

"Oh, I see. Since you're not an economics student, you might not be aware. It's the 'National Economics Student Paper Competition,'" the teacher explained.

"Oh, that one. No, I didn't submit it. Is there something I should do?" Star Han couldn't understand why the teacher was suggesting this. It didn't seem relevant to him as a non-economics student.

"Well, here's the thing. I think your paper is really good, and it would be a shame not to participate in the competition. If you agree, I'll help you with all the necessary arrangements," the teacher said.

Star Han thought about it. It wouldn't do any harm to him, and since the teacher suggested it, agreeing would leave a good impression. So he said, "I'm your student, so I'll do as you say, teacher."

"Alright, there's nothing else. You can go now," the teacher finally showed some mercy and let him leave. Star Han hurried off to have his lunch.

Little did Star Han know that this statement would lead to significant changes in his life.