Rebirth in a Shura Field, but in an Abstract Version

023 Exposed Wealth

At four o'clock in the morning, the noise at the Kyiv Olympic Stadium came to an end with a long whistle from the referee.

On the television screen, the Italian national team players were celebrating wildly, with Balotelli's shirtless display of muscles being replayed repeatedly. Meanwhile, on the other side, the German-Italian team, hailed as a strong favorite to win the title, collapsed. A last-minute penalty, meant to salvage some pride, couldn't change their fate of being eliminated 1-2.

In Jiang Di's living room, the television was still on, but the silence was eerily quiet.

Jiang Di, unable to resist the drowsiness of the late night, slumped down in a corner of the sofa and fell asleep. She curled up like a kitten, clutching a pillow in her arms, her breathing long and even, her long eyelashes fluttering occasionally, as if she were having a sweet dream.

Uncle Jiang, on the other hand, seemed to be frozen in place on the sofa.

He remained leaning forward, his eyes wide and fixed on the score on the television screen, his chest heaving violently. It was a state of extreme ecstasy, yet one that he had to desperately suppress due to the constraints of his surroundings.

If he didn't suppress it, his current roar would probably turn on all the motion-activated lights in the building, and he might even lure his wife out of the bedroom for a beating.

"Huff... huff..."

Uncle Jiang, panting heavily, suddenly grabbed the half-empty bottle of Honghualang liquor from the coffee table, and without even using a cup, took a big gulp straight from the bottle.

He wiped his mouth with a "ha," reeking of alcohol, and suddenly turned his head, grabbing Wang Zhe's shoulder.

"Incredible! You're fucking amazing!" He lowered his voice to an extremely low hue, like a spy making a rendezvous, but the excitement in his tone was practically overflowing. "Thirty thousand dollars in capital, and more than four times the odds! I've never won such a lucrative battle in my life!"

Wang Zhe was a little dizzy from being shaken, and smiled helplessly, saying softly, "Congratulations, Uncle, it seems you've made back all the money you lost before."

"It's not just back! This time, with interest and after deducting the 20% I have to pay to the lottery center, I'll still get 100,000! A whole 100,000!"

In 2012, 100,000 yuan in cash was a huge sum for an ordinary family. For this man, it meant a significant change in his status within the family.

The way Uncle Jiang looked at Wang Zhe at that moment was as if he were looking at a living Buddha.

"By the way, how much did you buy? You bought quite a lot, didn't you?"

Wang Zhe smiled slightly, said nothing, and simply reached into his pocket and pulled out three lottery tickets.

"I don't have as much capital as you, so I can't bet too much. But since the odds are high this time, I bought a little more, three tickets."

Uncle Jiang took it and looked at it.

Each lottery ticket represents a bet of over two thousand yuan. Based on the odds of 4.0 for this match, the winnings for a single ticket would be over nine thousand yuan, but less than ten thousand yuan.

The three bills together amount to nearly 30,000 yuan.

Uncle Jiang clicked his tongue. Although it was less than his 100,000, it was an astronomical figure for a high school graduate.

He pondered for a few seconds, then suddenly gave a thumbs up: "For single tickets under 10,000, you don't need to go to the lottery center; you can collect it directly at the store, and you don't have to pay that 20% tax... Oh my! How come I didn't think of that!"

"Haha, then let's buy them separately during the finals. Uncle, drink less, I need to go back and rest too." Wang Zhe stood up and glanced at Jiang Di, who was fast asleep on the sofa.

Uncle Jiang glanced at his daughter, a rare hint of affection in his eyes, or perhaps it was the joy of winning money. "Let her sleep here, don't worry about her. Xiao Wang, you get some rest, come back for the finals!"

Wang Zhe nodded, turned around, and walked out of the Jiang family's gate.

The hallway was quiet, and the motion-activated lights turned on in response.

Wang Zhe reached into his pocket.

There, besides the three lottery tickets that had just been shown to Uncle Jiang, lay another fifteen identical lottery tickets lying quietly.

There are eighteen in total.

Each winning ticket is worth 9,700, for a total prize of over 174,000.

Moreover, all taxes are waived.

Wang Zhe walked on the empty streets in the early morning, feeling the night breeze, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

The so-called "not flaunting wealth" doesn't mean not telling anyone, but only telling others the portion that you can accept. Thirty thousand yuan would make Uncle Jiang think this young man is capable and smart, but if it were seventeen thousand yuan, it would probably attract unnecessary jealousy.

Wang Zhe had seen a lot about human nature in his previous life, so he naturally knew how to handle things properly in this life.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

When I got home, it was already 4:30 a.m.

Wang Zhe quietly unlocked the door with his key; the room was pitch black. He breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed his parents were fast asleep.

He went back to his bedroom, locked the stack of lottery tickets in the deepest part of the drawer, and then took a shower in the bathroom.

After washing away his fatigue, Wang Zhe changed into a loose-fitting short-sleeved shirt and shorts for sleeping, dried his still-dripping hair, and walked out of the bathroom, preparing to go back to his room to sleep.

"Smack."

The living room lights suddenly turned on.

Wang Zhe was startled. He squinted to adjust to the sudden light and saw his father, Wang Yuanshan, sitting on the sofa in the living room, wearing a coat and staring at him.

"Dad?" Wang Zhe draped a towel around his neck. "Why aren't you asleep yet? Or are you getting up to use the bathroom?"

Wang Yuanshan didn't answer, but sniffed and frowned even more.

"You reek of alcohol. Even though you've showered, I can still smell it." Wang Yuanshan's voice was deep. "What have you been doing in the middle of the night? Don't tell me you went to an internet cafe all night. Internet cafes only smell of cigarettes, not this kind of high-end liquor."

Wang Zhe's heart skipped a beat.

It seems experience counts; Dad's nose is even more sensitive than a police dog's.

He didn't intend to lie, since staying out all night was hard to cover up, and there was no need to.

"Watching the game at someone else's house," Wang Zhe said casually as he walked over and poured himself a glass of water. "Today's semi-final was Italy vs. Germany and Italy, it was quite exciting."

"Other people's families?" Wang Yuanshan scrutinized his son. "Which other people's families? Male classmates or female classmates?"

Wang Zhe took a sip of water and looked at his father: "Female classmate."

Wang Yuanshan's teacup trembled slightly: "You...you spent the night at a female classmate's house? Even though you've graduated high school, there are some fundamental mistakes you absolutely cannot make! Can you take responsibility if someone dies?"

Seeing his father's expression that said, "Our pig has caused trouble by messing with someone else's cabbage," Wang Zhe almost choked on his water.

Wang Zhe reluctantly put down his cup: "What are you thinking? I'm going to my female classmate's house to watch the game, and her dad is there too."

Wang Yuanshan was stunned: "Her dad's here too?"

"Yeah, it was her dad who invited me," Wang Zhe shrugged. "Her dad drank the alcohol too. I just sat there and got a little bit of the smell. Their whole family was there, what could I possibly do?"

Wang Yuanshan blinked, seemingly processing the amount of information.

Since the parents were present, it was indeed unlikely that anything inappropriate for children would happen. However, this raises another question.

"That girl's dad invited you over to watch the game in the middle of the night?" Wang Yuanshan looked at his son suspiciously. "Are you close to that family? Or... what are you up to?"

No one knows a son better than his father. Wang Yuanshan knew his son all too well. He used to be a quiet, reserved person, only interested in studying. When did he become so socially adept? How could he even hang out with a female classmate's father?

Wang Zhe remained silent for a few seconds.

He knew that some things couldn't be hidden forever, and there was no need to keep them secret indefinitely. Since he had made money, he would eventually want to improve his life, so rather than having to make up reasons to explain where the money came from later, it was better to reveal a little bit now.

"Actually, I bought football lottery tickets with that uncle."

"What?!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.