Chapter 369 - 302: Rarely So Harmonious

She hadn’t been fishing in a long time, and the fish tank at home was completely empty. It was cold when she woke up; a thin layer of ice had even formed on the water’s surface.

Ni Bingyan asked in the group chat if anyone had a fish, then went two doors down to net a small carp a little over a pound. She quickly scaled it and threw it in the pan.

While waiting for it to cook, she, still in her apron, finally checked her phone.

"Pfft—"

’What the hell is this?’

Ni Bingyan hadn’t expected that after she teased Sang Yuan a little, he would go and change their avatars to a matching couple’s set while she was asleep.

That was one thing; at most, other people would just make a few sour remarks. But he even took a screenshot to show off in the executive group chat.

It woke up a whole bunch of people in the middle of the night, and inevitably, someone posted about it on their social media to complain.

In this internet age, one could imagine that once something appears online, it’s only a matter of time before more and more people see it.

’Being low-key is one thing, but being this high-profile? Isn’t that just inviting haters?’

Netizens have always been insatiably curious.

The background of their avatars was very easy to guess; one look and you could tell it was the police station.

Discovering that they went to the police station in the middle of the night, any normal person would definitely want to know why!

But as it happened, the police station couldn’t find the person in question. Considering the case involved over a million yuan before taxes, they requested instructions from their superiors and decided to use the power of the internet. They issued a police bulletin, hoping that the person who gave Ni Bingyan the scratch-off ticket would see the news and come forward voluntarily.

And then, the netizens pieced the whole story together.

Just yesterday, netizens were still arguing about whether Ni Bingyan deserved the Golden Horse Best Actress award, debating everything from her acting skills to her appearance, from her character to her past scandals.

Just when everyone seemed to have tired of arguing and was about to take a break, she had to go and show off her relationship—all the way to the police station.

That would have been fine, but people followed the breadcrumbs and discovered the reason she went to the station was that a clever fan had given her a scratch-off ticket at the airport yesterday.

Tell me you’re not fuming.

So many people play those things only to be met with disappointment, yet she scratches one and instantly wins a million-yuan grand prize.

It truly makes one burn with envy, jealousy, and hate!

But her actions made it hard to hate her. At most, people could only call her a bit silly.

By the time Ni Bingyan finished cooking the fish, rinsed the pan, and was about to stir-fry some lettuce in oyster sauce, she saw that netizens were already discussing which "lucky duck" had given her the scratch-off ticket.

#AnOrdinaryScratchOffTicketWasMagicallyBlessedByAFairy#

"Sigh, Sister Wei, I’m really sorry. I didn’t want this to happen. I have no idea how things ended up like this..."

Wei Shuojie was currently curled up on the sofa under a cashmere blanket. Hearing her speak, she didn’t lift her head, only shot her a sidelong glance.

Ni Bingyan had an innocent look on her face. "Sis! I know you’re the most reasonable person. Before we left, we just wanted to show off on the red carpet, look pretty, and at most, we were thinking of snagging a couple of luxury brand endorsements after the awards ceremony, right?"

Wei Shuojie just snorted through her nose without even opening her mouth.

Ni Bingyan was understanding. She knew Wei Shuojie was in a bad mood from pulling consecutive all-nighters and was also on her period. Seeing that the brown sugar ginger tea in the small saucepan on the stove was ready, she grabbed Wei Shuojie’s mug, poured half a cup for her, and pressed the warm mug into her hands before continuing her defense:

"I didn’t expect Zhen Yiyi to be such a moron, I didn’t expect the organizing committee to be so decisive and switch people on the spot, and I didn’t expect Director Luo to say all that during his acceptance speech. You can understand, right?"

Cradling the ginger tea, Wei Shuojie took a small sip, her attitude finally softening quite a bit.

’None of that was her fault, really.’

But...

"Why didn’t you say anything to me last night?"

She’d had absolutely no mental preparation.

’I just got back from a business trip and was sleeping soundly in the arms of my soldier boyfriend! Then the call came, forcing me to pull an all-nighter for work while on my period!’

Not mad at all? She wasn’t a saint!

Ni Bingyan was indeed in the wrong on this one and felt a bit embarrassed.

"You’d been away on business for days, so I figured you deserved a rare day off. Plus, it wasn’t anything negative, so I thought I’d just tell you in the morning. But then I accidentally overslept."

’Not even tempted by that much money and planning to return it—even the most brain-dead anti-fan shouldn’t be able to criticize her for that, right?’

’If that’s the case, there’s no need for PR, so what was there to tell Sister Wei?’

"That’s where your thinking is flawed. The more positive the news, the more it needs to be guided!

"Otherwise, a donation will get you called a hypocrite who’s trying to buy a good reputation.

"And showing no interest in a huge prize will get you called an idiot.

"If I hadn’t worked my butt off all night, you’d already be the number one idiot in the entertainment industry right now!"

Ni Bingyan’s eyes widened. She scooped up the oyster sauce lettuce and said indignantly,

"These people are so unreasonable! No matter what you do, someone will criticize you!"

"What do you expect? Would someone with a good moral compass become an anti-fan? Wouldn’t it be better to spend that time getting a certification? Wouldn’t it be better to earn more money to support their parents? If they’re young, why not just study hard and try to improve every day?"

Ni Bingyan sighed helplessly and silently placed the cooked red bean rice on the table.

’That’s just how it is in this line of work. You’ll always face baseless accusations.’

’Just have to get used to it.’

She also knew that Sister Wei wasn’t truly angry with her, just frustrated and wanting to vent.

The work pressure was high. As partners, supporting each other and helping to ease the other’s emotions when needed was actually a good thing.

The two of them slowly ate the fish. Just as Ni Bingyan was pondering talking to Sister Wei about a new endorsement later, the phone rang.

It was the police station.

"Miss Ni, the fan who gave you the scratch-off ticket has been found."

The person on the other end hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly either.

Ni Bingyan immediately brightened up. "Really? Where is she? Do you have her contact information? I need to get in touch with her to see how to handle this prize money."

"You filed a report here, so you’ll have to come down to the station. We need to close the case."

"Okay, okay. Let’s arrange for us all to meet. That would be more impartial."

"Alright!"

The officer on the other end of the line readily agreed.

Ni Bingyan was more cautious this time. After hanging up, she immediately told Wei Shuojie what had happened.

"Sister Wei, are you going to take a nap, or come with me? They’ve made contact."

"Let’s go. The sooner we deal with this, the sooner we can focus on other things with peace of mind."

Wei Shuojie thought she was handling this matter very well.

There’s no such thing as a wall that’s perfectly sealed. If she had pocketed the prize money, it was very likely that while she might not have a problem with it and the fan might not have a problem with it, the netizens certainly would.

It wasn’t worth the risk for a mere eight hundred thousand yuan.

They quickly finished their meal and stuffed all the pots and dishes into the dishwasher. Ni Bingyan put on a hat and scarf, but when she saw Wei Shuojie wearing a coat with bare legs in the freezing weather, she hurried upstairs to find her a new pair of pants.

"Sis! Beauty can’t come before health. If you pair your coat with these cream-colored knit trousers, it’ll be slimming and fashionable. You’ll look eighteen again~"

Wei Shuojie hesitated for a moment but accepted her kind offer.

This winter seemed particularly cold. She didn’t know if it was because she was getting older, but going bare-legged was becoming a bit unbearable.

As it turned out, the pants fit well enough, but they were a bit long.

"Let me cuff them for you. I know a really cool way to do it that looks super trendy!"

Without waiting for her to refuse, Ni Bingyan fixed them up for her.

Seeing this, Wei Shuojie didn’t say anything more.

But the next time she came over, she brought a set of her own clothes, planning to leave them in the guest room.

However, when she pulled open the closet, she found several sets of seasonal clothes hanging neatly inside, all in her size.

But that’s a story for another time. When the two of them arrived at the police station, Luo Tiantian was already there.

Upon seeing each other, they both said at the same time, "I’m so sorry for all the trouble!" which made the onlookers burst out laughing.

Neither of them wanted the prize money. They looked at each other and, in unison again, said, "Why don’t we donate it to charity?"

It was rare for a matter involving such a large sum of money to be resolved so smoothly. The police officers were happy to help, providing them with basic information on underprivileged families in their jurisdiction.

After a brief discussion, the two decided to send winter supplies to these families.

It wasn’t too much trouble. They first went to claim the prize money, then found a factory, ordered the corresponding supplies directly, and had the factory ship them out according to the list.

Worried that people might think it was a scam when they received the goods, they even asked community officials to call each family in advance.

At first, Ni Bingyan thought the community officials would be unhappy about the extra trouble, but everyone was incredibly enthusiastic!

"Grassroots work isn’t easy. We’re always suspected of skimming something off the top. With you doing it this way, the supplies don’t pass through our hands, which gives us peace of mind as we do our work."

Never expecting to hear something like that, Ni Bingyan felt like she had learned so much!

The matter was quickly settled. Ni Bingyan was once again so busy her feet barely touched the ground, and it wasn’t until several days later that she learned Luo Tiantian had added more money to the fund, sending an extra barrel of cooking oil to everyone.

’Not only did I fail to return the money, but I also caused her to spend more.’ Ni Bingyan felt terribly guilty.

But when she thought about Ms. Luo’s act of kindness, her heart felt incredibly warm.