The Rigged Draw

Ning Ran had been certain that her usual good fortune would allow her to pick the specially folded slip of paper.

But…

To her utter surprise, her meticulous plan backfired spectacularly.

****

The narrative rewound to ten minutes prior.

Ning Ran had led Jiang Zhe into her private lounge, where they both settled down.

Jiang Zhe placed the lottery box he was holding onto the table, then rotated his phone halfway before handing it to her.

Thoughtfully, he brightened the screen for her.

Ning Ran looked down, immediately spotting a browser tab displaying a forum post.

It contained scattered details about various penalty games.

[You can’t abandon the roommate you chose, even if they cry. So, you just have to prank them!]

[Poster: Hello everyone, I’ve just experienced something utterly serious (and wonderfully exciting!). I’ve come specifically to share it. This whole thing started because my roommate’s foot odor was unbearable, and they never washed their feet. After much discussion in the dorm, we decided to host a ‘luck of the draw’ event to punish them.]

[Second Floor: Marking my spot.]

[Third Floor: Poster, stop dragging your feet! Spill it, spill it!]

[Poster: It’s nothing much, really. We just pooled our ideas for some penalty tasks. For example: happily running to the school gate and shouting ‘My illness is cured!’, or acting like a lovesick fool and telling the security guard, ‘I love you!’…]

[Fourth Floor: Pfft, aren’t these just ‘Truth or Dare’ penalties? You guys are really uncreative this year.]

[Fifth Floor: Heh, I actually think it sounds pretty fun!]

Ning Ran meticulously scanned the initial posts, paying particular attention to the original poster’s comments.

She then checked the posting date, noting it was from May of last year—quite a long time ago.

“I just found one at random. If you don’t like it, we can keep looking for others…”

“No need, this is pretty interesting! Let’s go with this one!”

As Jiang Zhe spoke, a hint of apprehension on his face, Ning Ran shook her head.

While a few of the penalty tasks were a bit outlandish, most were harmless jokes.

She could accept them.

Moreover, even if things went awry, she could always resort to some subtle tricks.

As long as she didn’t pick the wrong one!

Normally, Ning Ran appeared to be an aloof, untouchable swan, radiating an air of pride and respectability.

In reality, however, there wasn’t a single sneaky trick or cunning maneuver she hadn’t mastered.

It was just that, due to her tsundere and awkward personality, she couldn’t openly embrace the role of a villain.

This particular trait was no secret.

Otherwise, the rumors of school bullying that had once spread wouldn’t have gone viral so quickly; clearly, the students firmly believed Ning Ran was indeed capable of such things.

Thus, this time, she decided to secretly mark her chosen slip.

“However, since you chose the content, I should be the one to prepare the slips.”

Ning Ran thought to herself, secretly planning to gain the upper hand.

Jiang Zhe smiled and nodded, showing no objection.

He smoothly handed over the paper and pen he had brought; the pre-cut paper showed his thoughtfulness, which delighted Ning Ran as she took it and began copying earnestly.

Jiang Zhe, meanwhile, fought to suppress the upward curl of his lips.

He propped his chin with one hand, blinking as he tilted his head, watching Ning Ran copy with such seriousness.

He found her utterly adorable.

Despite Ning Ran’s composed expression, which typically masked her thoughts, she had to consider who was sitting opposite her.

Jiang Zhe, who could expose a corporate spy in a short time—individuals far more formidable than Ning Ran—had still managed to outsmart them.

So, when he took the slips Ning Ran handed him and placed them into the lottery box, Jiang Zhe subtly glanced at the folded corner of one slip.

He simply smiled, ignored it, and tossed it directly into the box.

However, one of the ten slips absolutely had to be removed and hidden within his left sleeve.

His sleight of hand, perfected through practicing magic, was so quick that even with Ning Ran’s continuous scrutiny, she couldn’t find a single flaw.

Jiang Zhe swiftly lowered the hidden compartment inside the lottery box.

A thin wooden panel dropped rapidly, seamlessly covering the bottom and revealing the nine slips he had already prepared.

He then folded a corner of the slip he’d hidden in his sleeve and, with a smile playing on his lips, tossed it into the lottery box.

To ensure his deception went smoothly, Jiang Zhe had made thorough preparations.

Not only had he created a lottery box with a hidden mechanism, but he had also searched the school forum for Ning Ran’s past award-winning essays.

He found several exemplary compositions from writing competitions, reading them word by word several times to analyze her handwriting style.

He then practiced imitating Ning Ran’s handwriting.

Even the forum post Ning Ran had read was one he had manipulated using programming techniques to alter the date, and he had used a different account to write it himself.

Otherwise, how could there be exactly ten penalty tasks so coincidentally?

Additionally, he had backup plans hidden away, hoping they wouldn’t be needed.

Without any further surprises, Ning Ran embarked on a path that was already predetermined, unfolding exactly as Jiang Zhe had anticipated.

Upon seeing the content she had drawn, Ning Ran instantly regretted it.

At this very moment, it was Ning Ran’s turn to nervously watch Jiang Zhe, fearing he would be relentless and refuse a redraw.

Ahhh, I clearly marked it! Why did I pick a different slip?

Why am I so unlucky?

This is… Wait, did Jiang Zhe intentionally set this up, secretly swapping the slips?

The agony of waiting caused Ning Ran’s mind to race, and she convinced herself her suspicions were correct.

This made her glare at Jiang Zhe, her eyes wide with indignation, feeling she couldn’t be fooled so easily.

Does Jiang Zhe think his good looks give him the right to be a hooligan and make her kiss him?

Bah!

Dream on!

Impossible!

With these thoughts swirling, Ning Ran didn’t wait for an answer.

Instead, she spoke with righteous indignation, “Jiang Zhe, I want to see the lottery box. Take it apart.”

“Take it apart? You want to see inside?”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhe looked up at her with a hint of confusion.

He then lightly scratched his hair with one hand.

The next moment, he didn’t hesitate, immediately pushing the wooden panel on top of the lottery box to the left, revealing the space inside.

The remaining nine slips lay quietly at the bottom of the box.

One of the slips still had its folded corner, allowing Ning Ran to spot it instantly.

For a moment, Ning Ran froze.

She had been certain Jiang Zhe had secretly played a trick, making her draw a different slip.

But now, it seemed she had overthought things.

Perhaps another slip had accidentally gotten a folded corner, leading to this misunderstanding.

As this thought crossed her mind, Ning Ran’s cheeks flushed even deeper, not from shame, but from sheer exasperation.

She felt her lifelong reputation was about to be ruined; she was going to have to kiss Jiang Zhe.

This was her first kiss!!!

And she absolutely did not want to give it away so carelessly!

As Ning Ran continued to ponder, a small sense of grievance welled up within her.

Her eyes became a little red, and she looked at Jiang Zhe like an bullied kitten lying on the ground, crying and begging for comfort.

Seeing this, Jiang Zhe hesitated for a long moment before finally speaking, “You can draw again.”

“Really!!!”

Ning Ran instantly came back to life, looking at Jiang Zhe with delight.

She hadn’t expected such a fortunate turn of events, a light at the end of the tunnel.

It seemed that imitating Su Lianlian’s ‘white lotus’ charm could indeed help her get away with things.

She resolved to learn more from her in the future.

Jiang Zhe nodded earnestly, explaining, “Actually, even if you picked this slip, it’s fine. There are no other restrictions, after all. You could go home and kiss your cat, dog, or any other pet. Just send me a video, and it’ll count as passing.”

“……”

“However, since you want to redraw, we’ll have to add another rule.”

Just as Ning Ran wished she could go back two minutes to stop herself from regretting, Jiang Zhe, smiling benignly, added the condition.

There was no way out; she had regretted it herself, so she would have to accept it, even if she cried.

Ning Ran nodded glumly, signaling Jiang Zhe to continue.

Jiang Zhe’s smile remained, as he laid out the new rule: “You only get this one chance to back out, and whatever you draw this time must be performed immediately, no more than three minutes after.”

Jiang Zhe, ever prepared, showed no fear.

After all, with his contingencies in place, his lottery box contained five layers of hidden wooden panels.