The divorce comeback system arrived right after I was born.

The morning sunlight illuminated every speck of dust in the stairwell.

Chen Zhi pushed open the door.

Lin Wanwan was like a rabbit guarding its hole, hopping around in place while holding onto the straps of her schoolbag with both hands.

Upon seeing Chen Zhi emerge, she immediately approached him, lowered her voice, and looked around mysteriously.

"Did you bring any money?"

Chen Zhi patted his pocket.

It was bulging with the more than 1,000 yuan he had "borrowed" from that girl yesterday, as well as some pocket money he had saved up.

"Walk."

He spoke succinctly and then stepped down.

Lin Wanwan followed behind like a little spy, walking very quietly, afraid of disturbing the neighbors in the building.

As soon as the two turned the corner on the second floor, Chen Zhi suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Lin Wanwan couldn't brake in time and her head hit his back, letting out a cry of pain.

"What's wrong?"

She rubbed her forehead and peeked out from behind Chen Zhi.

A small, thin figure stood at the dark stairwell on the first floor.

Li Zhiyi was wearing a clean and tidy blue and white school uniform, revealing a section of her thin, bony wrist.

She kept her head down, her toes pacing nervously on the concrete floor, as if she had been standing there for a long time.

Hearing footsteps, Li Zhiyi suddenly looked up.

Her eyes were red and swollen, clearly from crying not long ago; her eyelids were still a little swollen.

What are you doing here?

Lin Wanwan was somewhat surprised, then as if she had thought of something, her mouth opened into an "O" shape.

"Did you hear us?"

Li Zhiyi ignored Lin Wanwan and stared intently at Chen Zhi.

She walked quickly forward, and almost tripped on the steps because she was walking too fast.

Chen Zhi reached out and helped her up.

"Are you sleepwalking so early in the morning?"

He released his grip, his tone casual.

Li Zhiyi didn't say anything, but just reached into her pocket and struggled to pull something out.

It was a small cloth bag wrapped in layers of handkerchiefs.

Her hands were trembling, and it took her several tries to untie the knot.

Inside was a stack of crumpled money.

There were hundred-yuan notes, fifty-yuan notes, and mostly ten-yuan and five-yuan notes, with even a lot of coins mixed in.

Although it was messy, it was neatly arranged, with all the banknotes having their corners smoothed out and stacked according to their face value.

Li Zhiyi held the pile of money in both hands and handed it to Chen Zhi.

"for you."

Her voice was hoarse, as if she had grit in her throat.

Chen Zhi lowered his eyelids and glanced at the pile of money.

There are probably two or three thousand.

This was a huge sum of money for the girl who was living in poverty.

"what?"

Chen Zhi didn't take it. Instead, he took a step back, leaned against the stair railing, and crossed his arms.

"Want to keep me as a sugar daddy? This amount of money isn't enough; I'm worth a lot."

Li Zhiyi didn't laugh.

She stubbornly held up her hand, her arm trembling slightly from the prolonged exertion.

"This is what I earned from selling barbecue."

She sniffed, trying to make her voice sound steady.

"Now I can set up my own stall separately from my grandfather, and I can earn a lot of money. This is my own money, it's what I've saved for my studies and... and for the future."

"You offered to share the money with me before, but you refused."

"Now that you need money, you must accept these."

Chen Zhi looked at her.

This girl is usually as quiet as a gourd, you can't get a word out of her even if you hit her three times, but she's surprisingly outspoken today.

"I don't need it."

Chen Zhi turned his head and his gaze fell on the old locust tree outside the stairwell.

"My family is short of big money; your little bit is just a drop in the bucket. Take it back and buy some candy."

"I'm not buying candy!"

Li Zhiyi suddenly shouted.

The sharp sound echoed in the empty hallway, startling Lin Wanwan.

"I know it's not enough!"

Li Zhiyi took a step closer and forcefully stuffed the money into Chen Zhi's arms.

"I know this amount of money won't plug the hole! But... but every little bit helps!"

"Don't go feed the pigs...and don't go shovel manure..."

As she spoke, tears began to fall from her eyes.

Large teardrops fell onto the stack of banknotes, soaking the thin layer of paper.

"That's all I have... that's really all I have..."

She was crying so hard she could hardly breathe, but she still clung tightly to Chen Zhi's clothes, afraid he would run away.

"If you leave, there will be no one to help me with business, and no one... no one to protect me."

Chen Zhi felt as if something had struck him hard in the heart.

What an idiot.

Chen Zhi sighed and reached out to grasp Li Zhiyi's wrist.

Her wrists were as thin as withered tree branches, as if they would break at the slightest force.

"Let go."

Li Zhiyi shook her head desperately, but her fingers clenched even tighter, her knuckles turning bluish-white.

"I won't budge! Unless you accept it!"

"Tsk."

Chen Zhi had a headache.

This girl is as stubborn as a mule when she gets going.

He reached out and flicked Li Zhiyi's forehead.

A crisp "thud" was heard.

Li Zhiyi winced in pain and subconsciously loosened her grip.

Taking the opportunity, Chen Zhi pulled his clothes back and casually pushed the bag of money back into her arms.

"I've put it away."

Seeing that Li Zhiyi was about to pounce on him again, he immediately raised his hand to stop her.

"stop."

"Who said I was going to feed the pigs?"

Chen Zhi straightened his wrinkled clothes, his face revealing his usual nonchalant attitude.

"I'm going there to make a fortune."

Li Zhiyi froze, her tear-streaked eyelashes trembling.

"Get...get rich?"

"yes!"

Lin Wanwan finally chimed in, puffing out her chest with pride, as if she were the one about to make a fortune.

"Chen Zhi said he's going to buy a lottery ticket! He's going to win the grand prize! Several million!"

Li Zhiyi stared blankly at Chen Zhi, as if she had heard some unbelievable story.

"Lottery?"

Although she didn't know much about it, she had heard from her neighbors that it was a scam.

"That's a lie..."

She murmured softly, then reached out to hand over the money.

"Chen Zhi, don't be foolish, just pay off your debts honestly..."

Chen Zhi ignored her advice, put his arm around the two girls' shoulders, and pushed them out.

"Stop talking nonsense."

"Today I'll show you what it means to be the chosen one."

"Keep your money safe. If you lose it, you couldn't afford to pay for it even if you sold yourself."

Li Zhiyi was pushed so hard that she stumbled and could only frantically put the money back into her pocket while also having to wipe the tears from her face.

The three of them walked out of the residential area and through the bustling morning market.

The roadside fried dough stick stalls exuded an enticing aroma, and the fried cakes sizzled in the oil.

Chen Zhi didn't look to the side, and walked straight to the inconspicuous lottery station on the street corner.

A thick cotton curtain hung at the entrance of the lottery station, covered in grease.

As soon as I lifted the curtain, a stench of cheap tobacco, sweat, and foot odor hit me.

The room was filled with smoke, and several middle-aged men in military overcoats were gathered around the trend chart, discussing things like "hot and cold numbers" and "odd-even ratio" with great enthusiasm.

Seeing the three teenagers enter, the shopkeeper peeked out from behind the counter and waved his hand impatiently.

"Go away, kid, go play somewhere else. This isn't an arcade."

Chen Zhi didn't say anything and walked straight to the counter.

He pulled a hundred-yuan bill from his pocket and slapped it onto the glass countertop, which was covered in cigarette ash.

"Buy lottery tickets."

The boss paused for a moment, his gaze lingering on the bright red bill for two seconds, before his attitude immediately made a complete 180-degree turn.

"Hey, little boss, how many tickets do you want to buy?"

He picked up the bill with a smile and held it up to the light to check the anti-counterfeiting watermark.

"Randomly selected, ten bets."

Chen Zhi didn't waste any words and pointed to the lottery machine that looked a bit old.

The boss skillfully typed a few keys on the keyboard.

"Alright, ten quick picks, twenty dollars."

The machine hissed as it printed, and a sheet of thermal paper slowly emerged.

Chen Zhi took the lottery ticket, didn't even look at the numbers, folded it up, and stuffed it into his pocket.

Then there were nine more operations.

Ten lottery tickets, neatly stacked in my hand.

Lin Wanwan and Li Zhiyi stood aside, not daring to breathe.

It wasn't until she stepped out of the lottery station and breathed in the fresh, crisp air outside that Lin Wanwan couldn't hold back any longer.

"That's...that's it?"

She stared at Chen Zhi's hand, her face filled with disbelief.

"Don't you even choose your own numbers? My dad spends days at home picking out lottery numbers!"

"We also need to consult the Chinese almanac and worship the God of Wealth!"

Li Zhiyi also frowned. Although she didn't say anything, her expression clearly showed that she also thought Chen Zhi was being ridiculous.

Two hundred yuan.

They just replaced it with a few pieces of waste paper.

Her heart ached so much she was clenching her teeth.

Chen Zhi stopped and turned to look at the two bewildered little girls.

He unfolded the ten lottery tickets and held them in his hand like a fan.

"What do you know?"

Chen Zhi shook his head, feigning profundity.

"This is called a divine secret."

"A number calculated by humans is going against the will of heaven, and the probability is extremely low."

"Only when a machine selects randomly can it be called destiny."

He handed the lottery tickets to the two of them.

"Come."

Lin Wanwan and Li Zhiyi subconsciously shrank back.

"what?"

"Blow a breath."

Chen Zhi said in a very serious tone.

"Blow all the good luck... oh no, I mean good fortune on you two into your bodies."

"This is called divine blessing."

Lin Wanwan blinked. Although she didn't understand what "good luck" meant, she thought it seemed pretty amazing.

She leaned closer, puffed out her cheeks, and blew a big breath.

"call--!"

Li Zhiyi hesitated for a moment, looked at Chen Zhi's determined expression, blushed, leaned over, and gently blew on it.

The warm breath brushed against Chen Zhi's fingertips.

Chen Zhi withdrew his hand with satisfaction, carefully placed the lottery ticket into his inner pocket, and even patted it.

"All done."

He looked at the two little girls, a triumphant smile playing on his lips.

"Go home and wait to count your money."

"What if we don't win?"

Li Zhiyi was still a little worried and asked in a low voice.

Chen Zhi reached out and ruffled her head, making her dry, yellow hair all messy.

"Didn't win?"

He chuckled and looked up at the azure sky above.

He certainly didn't expect to win; he planned to wait outside the lottery center and buy other people's lottery tickets.

"If I don't win, I'll sell myself to you."

Chen Zhi lowered his head, looked into Li Zhiyi's anxious eyes, and spoke with a firm tone.

"I'll be your farmhand for life, and I'll grill skewers for you every day."

Li Zhiyi blushed, looked down at her toes, and whispered as softly as a mosquito's buzz.

"Who...who cares?"

Lin Wanwan rolled her eyes as she listened from the side.

"And what about me? And what about me?"

She squeezed in, not to be outdone.

"Even if you don't pass, you'll still be my farmhand! I want you to do my homework every day!"

Chen Zhi glanced at her and retorted mercilessly.

"Dream on."

"Anything can happen in dreams."

After saying that, he put his hands in his pockets and swaggered back.

His silhouette was as dashing as a gambling god who had just won the world.

Lin Wanwan stomped her feet in anger and dragged Li Zhiyi after them.

"Chen Zhi! You're being unfair!"

"Hehehe."

The boy's laughter echoed through the streets in the early morning.

When they got home, Zhang Guifang was sitting on the sofa wiping away tears, while Chen Jun was squatting on the balcony smoking, with cigarette butts scattered all over the floor at his feet.

The atmosphere inside the room was so oppressive it was suffocating.

Seeing Chen Zhi return, Zhang Guifang quickly wiped her face and forced a smile that looked worse than crying.

"Zhizhi's back? Breakfast's in the pot, still warm."

Chen Zhi felt a pang of sadness as he looked at his mother's red and swollen eyes.

But he didn't say anything.

It's all meaningless to say anything now.

Only by actually putting the money on the table can this crumbling family be stabilized again.

"I'm not hungry."

Chen Zhi changed his shoes and went straight into his room.

The door slammed shut.

He leaned against the door and let out a long breath.