What could be more joyous than winning a lottery?
When a windfall of 1.16 million yuan landed out of the blue, Wang Xueya was so thrilled for Chi Yue that she couldn't stop smiling after seeing Qiao Dongyang's Weibo lottery post, loudly urging Chi Yue to hand out big red envelopes.
Chi Yue was a bit dazed, "Why do I feel like... I've stepped in dog poop?"
Wang Xueya: "..."
Her joyful face suddenly dropped by half.
After at least five seconds of breathing in and out repeatedly, she finally managed to restrain herself from swearing at her—instead, she just went straight for Chi Yue's neck.
"Moonlight, can you be any more shameless? Do you realize how many young girls would kill to be in your shoes?"
"Ignorant young girls, right?" Chi Yue was busy filling out a shipping form and casually asked, "Go on! Ask them. Can I just take the money without having the meal?"
"?" Wang Xueya doubted her own ears.
She stared at Chi Yue for a long while with the look one reserves for extraterrestrial beings, and after convincing herself Chi Yue wasn't joking, she reluctantly picked up Chi Yue's phone and contacted Qiao Dongyang through Chi Yue's Weibo.
To her surprise, Qiao Dongyang replied instantly.
"Of course that's not possible."
Wang Xueya's eyes widened in disbelief at the response.
"Moonlight, he actually disagrees?"
She used the word "actually" because, indeed, she was surprised.
Typically, Qiao Dongyang is a man of ample leisure; 'dining out' was offered as an extra incentive for retweeters. Now that the retweeter is opting out, shouldn't he be happy?
Chi Yue: "Tell him I'm abroad, very busy, and probably don't have time to come back for the meal."
Wang Xueya: "... Oh."
She played the role of a messenger, and once again was baffled by Qiao Dongyang's reply.
"Moonlight, Elder Brother Qiao says that the two awards are bundled together. If you give up one, it means giving up both."
Chi Yue, of course, was not willing to let go of both.
1.16 million! Wow!
She finally put down the mouse and looked at Wang Xueya.
The latter felt a bit nervous under her gaze, "Elder Brother Qiao is weird, why so insistent? Could it be he never imagined that 'his gift' would be scorned? Is he struggling to save face?"
Chi Yue curled her lips.
What Qiao Dongyang thought was beyond her concern.
Her focus—was on maximizing benefits.
"Little raven, post something for me right away."
"What are you up to?"
Her sister's mind was full of wild ideas, leaving Wang Xueya often very flustered. Seeing her expression, Wang Xueya knew she was up to no good and couldn't help but get anxious.
Chi Yue snapped her fingers, "I've just come to a delightful decision."
"What? How delightful it must be!" Wang Xueya was utterly confused.
"Delightful enough for us to live a life of luxury—" Chi Yue patted Wang Xueya's astonished cheeks, "Be good! Later, big sis will get you a bag—"
...
At ten o'clock that very morning, the winning Weibo account "Second Master Yue" posted an astounding message.
"Auctioning off this Weibo account, starting bid 1.16 million yuan—officially begins tonight at 10 p.m., on the TaoBao platform, fair and square for all."
Won a prize and still auctioning off the account?
How much did she not want to have a meal with Qiao Dongyang?
After all, it was this account that had won the prize.
And the winning account had been notarized by an official platform.
Chi Yue, with just "a slight bit of delight," thought up this win-win strategy, avoiding the meal with Qiao Dongyang and making even more money in the process.
"I'm impressed!" Wang Xueya gave her a thumbs-up, "Clever. You are really clever."
"Don't be like this—" Chi Yue gently grabbed her hand, "I can't take compliments. It'll go to my head!"
"Miss Chi, could you please show a bit of humility?"
"Humility...?" Chi Yue looked down, "Let me see if I can find some!"
"—"
The Weibo post from Second Master Yue stirred the waters.
If someone could get the account for 1.16 million, it would definitely be a good deal.
The account itself was worth 1.16 million.
Moreover, its added value was even higher—dining with Qiao Dongyang.
For business people, having a meal with him could be a marketing stunt, a free promotion that could save a lot on advertising costs. Why not do it?
For wealthy young ladies who aspired to become Mrs. Qiaos, one meal could spark romance, and who knows, maybe more—wasn't that an even bigger win?
Chi Yue anticipated this.
Less than half an hour after the post went live, new followers surged by over a hundred thousand.
Of course, most were there for the spectacle—
"Auction," "Having dinner with Qiao Dongyang," among other topics, have hit the trending searches again!
...
Crown Hotel.
Assistant Hou checked Qiao Dongyang's expression for the umpteenth time.
"Mr. Qiao..."
Qiao Dongyang's expression remained calm, his cup in hand shaking slightly.
"Speak!"
Assistant Hou glanced at the robot Tengu in the corner of the room, covered with a towel over its head, silently "deceased" for having offended Mr. Qiao, and shivered quietly to himself.
"The winner says they'll publicly auction the Weibo account at ten o'clock tonight—"
Qiao Dongyang let out a cool huff, "Invalid."
"But, Mr. Qiao, we didn't stipulate that beforehand."
Hmph!
Qiao Dongyang turned around, gave him a glance, and his lips, unexpectedly, curled into a gentle smile.
"Monkey, who has the final say?"
"——"
It had been less than two hours since Chi Yue's post went live.
People inquiring kept coming in droves, and Wang Xueya was frantically busy.
"It's so amazing! So many people are asking..."
It must not be that amazing.
Chi Yue watched her sprawl on the bed with her rear end in the air: "So, what exactly are you doing?"
Wang Xueya: "Replying to them, right?"
Chi Yue: "..."
"Just make a post, we'll see each other at ten tonight." Chi Yue glared at Wang Xueya, stretched lazily, and said, "Please get Miss Wang over here. Let's discuss your participation in the contest, OK?"
"OK!" Wang Xueya gestured happily.
...
The two were happy for less than three hours.
In the afternoon, bad news came flying in.
Qiao Dongyang released an "official statement."
He stated: Weibo accounts are bound with personal information, and if it does not match the winner's personal information, the prize win is invalidated.
In other words, he denied the authenticity of the Weibo account after the auction.
...
Was the auction strangled in the cradle before it even started?
Hehehehe…
Ten minutes later, Chi Yue posted on Weibo again.
"Buyers need not worry, this Weibo account was registered back in the day without any personal information linked... If you win it, it's yours."
...
The situation was full of twists and turns.
The storm was brewing.
Weibo nearly crashed from the crowd gathering to watch the excitement.
Wang Xueya watched Chi Yue and Qiao Dongyang spar from afar, her heart pounding with fear.
"Moonlight, have you really decided to auction the account?"
"Sell it." Chi Yue replied emotionlessly as she scrolled through the comments on Weibo, "I don't believe that with such a good deal, there won't be fish biting the hook."
"That... uh..." Wang Xueya tentatively tugged at her sleeve, speaking haltingly, "If you really aren't interested, then may I... take a bite at the hook?"
Chi Yue abruptly turned around.
She stared at Wang Xueya, silent for several seconds.
"You're interested in Qiao Dongyang?"
Wang Xueya nodded.
Then, she frantically shook her head again.
"Not in that sense, I'm interested in what's inside his head."
"Hm?" Chi Yue's eyes flickered slightly, "What's the situation?"
"...I want to have dinner with him." Wang Xueya said, and seeing Chi Yue lower her gaze, quickly added, "Of course, I'll bring my dad with me."
"!"
Chi Yue pondered for a moment.
"Deal!"
...