Sweetheart, guess what? The Moutai you just gave me—when I opened it and scanned the code, I won five million…
——
A few seconds later, Ryan's call came straight back.
His voice had a tremble he couldn't suppress. "Joy… what does that message mean?"
I held the phone, the corner of my mouth lifting soundlessly, and put on an act like I was too excited to speak coherently.
"Honey! It's those two bottles of Moutai you gave me! You know that open-the-cap-and-scan promotion? I just casually scanned it in the car. Oh my God… it showed I won the grand prize! Five million! It's really five million!"
From the other end came the sound of him sucking in a breath, followed by a clatter of something getting knocked over.
"You… you're sure you didn't see it wrong?" Ryan's breathing grew heavy.
I sent him the picture I'd photoshopped minutes ago.
"I confirmed it over and over. It says it clearly: Grand Prize, five million in cash. On the first of next month we can go claim it!"
"Joy, wait… wait…"
I could almost imagine how flustered he was right now.
"Where are you? The liquor—do you have it?"
"Yes. The gift box is sitting on my passenger seat."