Chen Feng didn't pay attention to those envious lottery players, and went to the counter to claim his prize before heading out.
The scratch ticket with the car prize, Chen Feng planned to wait another day, to look around the area again tomorrow. If there still were no news, he would, of course, go claim the prize himself.
That night, Chen Feng packed his belongings, planning to find a new place to move into the next day.
Shen Lin didn't come home that night.
The next morning, Chen Feng first went to the lottery shop to look around; there was no one there except for the shop owner.
Chen Feng casually asked, "Has there been any talk of a big scratch-off winner around here lately?"
Chen Feng had won over three thousand yesterday at the shop, and he also visited from time to time over the past two years, so the shop owner remembered him and said with a smile, "The biggest prize for scratch-offs here should be yours. You scratched off over three thousand just yesterday."
Chen Feng nodded, and without saying much else, he bought two more tickets for 20 yuan. He didn't scratch them there and just walked out with them.
He planned to look for a house nearby since he had lived in this area for almost two years and was familiar with it.
Fortunately, as he passed by a bun shop, he bought a few meat buns and a carton of milk, and casually inquired if there were any single rooms for rent nearby. Surprisingly, the shop owner's wife knew of one and eagerly gave him the landlord's phone number.
He called the landlord while eating his meat buns and having breakfast nearby.
A few minutes' walk brought them together at the breakfast place, where the landlord, straightforward and with a good impression of him, directly took him to see the room.
It was only two streets away from where he currently lived, in an old neighborhood about twenty-plus years old, not too decrepit.
On the first floor was a little over fifty square meters, simply decorated. There was a living room, a bathroom, a bedroom, and a seven- or eight-square-meter open-air courtyard. The kitchen, small but just sufficient, was located beside the steps leading to the courtyard.
The monthly rent was 800 yuan, with one month's deposit and three months' advance payment. Chen Feng offered to rent for a year, paying ten thousand upfront. For renewing the lease, he'd give two months' notice in advance.
The landlord agreed without a second thought.
They hurriedly drafted a contract, even waiving the agency fee.
Chen Feng had a fairly good impression of the somewhat plump, middle-aged landlord. Although he paid a bit more on the rent, he still felt somewhat guilty about it.
He thought to himself that he might very likely die suddenly in this very room one day. When his time was near, he planned to leave some money for the landlord as compensation.
Chen Feng had always been considerate in this way, which is why his life, soon to be concluded, had not been very satisfying up till now, full of too many concerns.
Having found a new place, not far from his former "home," Chen Feng took a taxi to move his belongings.
After tidying up a bit, he was all set.
Stepping out, he walked to the same street where he had found the winning ticket, but still no one was looking for it.
He dropped by the same lottery shop and didn't hear anything about a lost ticket.
By noon, having had lunch, Chen Feng walked around the area again without any rumors of a lost winning ticket.
It seemed that the ticket for the car prize was a gift from heaven to him.
What heaven bestows, one should not refuse, otherwise one would bring trouble upon oneself.
Chen Feng no longer attempted to look for the original owner. He took a taxi straight to the lottery prize center.
He smoothly received a Buick Envision worth over two hundred thousand, the very model he had wanted to buy for years but was unable to afford.
Now a single lottery ticket had made it happen.
Driving the Buick, however, Chen Feng wasn't overwhelmed with joy because he was close to death.
He drove aimlessly, wandering around in the city of millions, and before he realized it, he had left the urban area, following the straight road, just continuing to drive ahead.
I don't know how long I had been driving when, after rounding a bend and taking a fork in the road, the landscape suddenly opened up before me: lush green fields stretching far and wide, woods, golden rice paddies, and herds of cattle and sheep scattered about—a thriving pastoral scene.
Looking at the beautiful scenery in front of me, Chen Feng's mood improved considerably.
After driving a bit further, the number of cars on the road started to thin out, and Chen Feng decided to find a spot to stop and stretch his legs, to get some fresh air.
Unbelievably, more than two hours had slipped by unnoticed.
Just then, from a distance, I saw a mini car parked by the roadside with a beautiful, long-haired woman standing next to it, waving in my direction.
I quickly reached the mini, stopped my car, rolled down the window, and asked, "Is there a problem?"
"Could I borrow your phone? My car broke down, and my phone is dead," the woman said as she bent down and looked into the car at Chen Feng. She was indeed very pretty, probably around twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with a fresh-looking face and a pleasant voice.
"Sure! I'll stop the car."
Chen Feng moved his car forward, parked neatly by the curb, then got out and handed his phone to the woman without hesitation.
It wasn't that he was without caution, but the area was surrounded by fields, with no village ahead or shop behind, few cars on the road, and only this young and pretty woman on the scene—could she possibly be setting a trap?
More importantly, Chen Feng was feeling braver than usual, on the edge of death, and not afraid of being taken advantage of while doing a good deed.
"Thank you, thank you so much."
The girl took the phone, expressing endless gratitude. She then hurriedly called a friend, talking for a good while before ending the call and returning the phone to Chen Feng.
"Brother, thank you. I'll treat you to a meal someday."
"No need."
Chen Feng took back his phone, gesturing to leave, but the girl stopped him: "Brother, could you... could you wait with me a little longer? My friend will be here soon. I'll treat you to a meal another day. I'm really sorry for the trouble."
By the end, the girl was pleading with her hands clasped together.
Chen Feng had intended to get out of the car to enjoy the scenery and stretch anyway, so he readily agreed: "Alright. I'll just enjoy the view here and take a rest."
"Thank you, Brother. You're so kind." The girl's face was etched with gratitude. With no village in sight, a car that had broken down, a dead phone, and few people passing by, a young girl like her was naturally a bit scared.
Chen Feng walked off on his own towards his car, grabbed a bottle of water provided by the car dealership, and began to drink while taking in the surrounding countryside.
It was October, and the golden rice paddies were close to harvest time. In the distance, a few water buffaloes leisurely munched grass, while a flock of white goats not far off chewed and bleated contentedly, looking quite satisfied with their meal.
Chen Feng eyed the flock of white goats, feeling his mouth water.
"Brother, are you a local?" The girl had approached him at some point and suddenly asked this question.
Chen Feng snapped back to reality and shook his head unconsciously: "No."
"Oh, my name is Wu Mengting. What's your surname?" The girl seemed to be trying to cozy up to Chen Feng.
"I'm Chen," said Chen Feng, showing no intention of giving his first name and instead asked, "What brings a girl like you out here?"
Wu Mengting laughed a little sheepishly: "I came to gather some ideas and take photos of the rural scenery. Who knew my car would refuse to start once I stopped here. And then my phone died, too."
She turned to Chen Feng again, offering thanks: "I'm lucky I met you, Brother Chen. Otherwise, I would have been in real trouble. It's several kilometers to the main road. I waited for over half an hour without seeing a soul, let alone fearing running into bad people."
"Aren't you afraid I'm a bad person?" Chen Feng asked curiously.
Wu Mengting laughed and said, "Brother, you don't look like a bad person at all. You seem very amiable. Besides, isn't this car of yours a new purchase? It must have cost over 200,000. People who can afford such a car, especially a new one, are generally not bad guys."
Chen Feng found this logic somewhat incomprehensible.
However, he couldn't deny that her assessment was quite accurate. His facial features did indeed look rather handsome and friendly, not at all linked to those of a bad guy.