Chapter 2

My brother let out an ecstatic shout.

“Holy crap! I just won a lottery ticket—one million! Ethan, you’re my lucky star!”

His voice was high and loud, instantly drawing the attention of everyone around us.

I steadied myself and forced calm.

My brother waved the phone in his hand, looking smug.

“Come on, I’m taking you to a big meal! Lunch is on me today, as a celebration for our Ethan finally catching a break!”

Quite a few people nearby were drawn in by his words and started whispering.

“This guy’s luck is insane. He just bought a sports car and then won a huge prize.”

Seeing that, my brother grew even more pleased with himself. He cleared his throat and told the crowd another joke:

“One day, a crab went out and accidentally knocked over an eel. The eel looked up and angrily said:

‘Are you blind?!’

The crab said wrongfully, ‘No, I’m a crab!’”

At first, everyone froze.

Then the whole crowd burst out laughing.

I kept my eyes locked on the digital watch on his wrist. A line of text popped up on the screen:

【Making a group of passersby laugh, +2,000 yuan.】

But just then, a scream suddenly rose from the crowd.

“Wait? Where’s my wallet?”

An auntie slapped at her pocket in panic, her smile instantly turning into alarm.

“It was there just now! How did it disappear in a blink?”

That scream was like a stone thrown into a lake. The crowd’s laughter stopped dead.

My heart sank. A terrifying thought surfaced in my mind.

Was he stealing more than just my fortune?

An older man nearby chimed in too:

“Tsk, what a shame.

So young and already a director, but his fortune is this bad. Classic rich-house poor-man.”

My brother heard that and immediately stepped up to argue.

“Hey, that’s not how you say it! My little brother’s abilities are top-tier. He just wasn’t born with money luck.

But it doesn’t matter. Whatever he loses, I can earn back for him twice over. We’re brothers—there’s no dividing line between us!”

The murmurs around us only got louder.

“Listen to that. What kind of heavenly brother is this? The brother handles the grind, the older brother handles the backup. Unreal.”

“But why do I feel like this little brother is kind of miserable?

Look at his face. He lost money for nothing and still has to rely on his brother. How can that feel good?”

“What can you do? It’s just how fate works. Some people are born to toil, while others make money lying down.

His brother is the latter. He’s the former.”

My hands at my sides clenched into fists so hard my nails dug deep into my palms.

Seeing my pale face, my brother leaned in again and said with a cheeky grin,

“Why do people play dead when thunder strikes?”

“Because fake death avoids lightning.”

A passerby nearby couldn’t help snorting.

But I didn’t laugh like I usually would.

I just looked at him expressionlessly, my gaze ice-cold.

His smile froze on his face.

“Ethan, why aren’t you laughing? Was it not funny?”

This was the first time since I was a kid that I’d given him a straight face after one of his jokes.

Then I saw a prompt flash across the digital watch screen on his wrist:

【Failed to make little brother laugh, first penalty -5,000 yuan】

【Making one passerby laugh, +100 yuan】

【If the task fails again afterward, the penalty amount will double】