The banquet soon officially began.
Several of the company’s top executives took turns on stage, delivering long, tedious speeches that put everyone to sleep. Following that was a warm-up performance by an invited song and dance troupe.
Wendy Lynch was absent-minded the entire time. She had zero interest in the performances; all her attention was focused on the upcoming lucky draw. The grand prize was an eighty-thousand-yuan gold bar!
Finally, amidst the crowd’s eager anticipation, the host walked onto the stage with a microphone in hand, beaming brightly.
"Dear colleagues, I know you can’t wait any longer! Next, let us officially enter today’s most exciting segment: the annual gala lucky draw!"
Thunderous applause and cheers erupted throughout the venue.
The draw began with the consolation prizes: cash envelopes ranging from one hundred to one thousand yuan, and various small electronic gadgets worth a few hundred.
Carmen Sutton looked at those small cash prizes and scoffed disdainfully. She deliberately raised her voice.
"See that? Ordinary employees like us only deserve these little consolation prizes.
"Don’t dream about it. A grand prize like the gold bar has long been rigged for the higher-ups’ cronies!
"It’s like this every year. This so-called lucky draw is just a formality.
"Only workplace newbies like you would actually believe this nonsense."
Shirley Lowell ground her teeth in anger. Had Wendy not been holding her back, she would have marched over to give Carmen a piece of her mind.
As consolation prizes were drawn one by one, the atmosphere grew increasingly heated. Finally, the host announced in a highly rousing tone, "Alright, everyone! The appetizers are over!
"Next, we will draw our first heavyweight prize of the day: a one-hundred-gram investment gold bar purchased directly from the national bank!"
BOOM!
The atmosphere in the venue instantly ignited!
Based on the current gold price, a single bar was worth over eighty thousand yuan! Aside from the executives at level S6 and above, most of the employees present only earned between eight to fifteen thousand a month. Eighty thousand yuan equated to several months’ salary for almost everyone in the room.
Carmen crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, adopting a know-it-all posture. She cast a contemptuous glance at Wendy, a mocking smile playing on her lips.
"Stop staring. Even if you look until your eyes go blind, a grand prize like this will definitely never fall into your laps."
Just as she finished speaking, the numbers on the massive screen behind the stage began to scroll wildly. Everyone’s hearts leaped into their throats, keeping pace with the rapidly flashing digits.
"Stop!"
Following the host’s shout, the wildly spinning screen instantly froze.
[00001]
Eyes widened across the room as people darted their gazes back and forth between their raffle tickets and the number on the screen.
"00001!!"
"Number One! Who is Number One?!"
"Which lucky bastard hit the jackpot?!"
The host shouted in excitement, "Congratulations to this lucky colleague! May I ask who holds ticket 00001? Please come up to the stage!"
Carmen’s gaze swept back and forth through the crowd, trying to spot which crony had won. However, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a person beside her slowly standing up.
She instinctively turned to look. When she saw clearly who had stood up, her eyes immediately widened.
She thought, "Wendy Lynch?? How is that possible! How could a grand prize worth tens of thousands possibly be awarded to a newly hired junior employee?"
Under the watchful eyes of the entire audience, and in stark contrast to Carmen’s expression—which looked worse than if she had swallowed a fly—Wendy stood up with her raffle ticket. She tilted her head and looked in Carmen’s direction.
"Sorry about that.
"This grand prize really was rigged. But it seems it was rigged for me."
Having delivered the mocking clapback right to her face, Wendy hurried up to the stage with her ticket in hand.
The host took the ticket and immediately announced with excitement, "Congratulations to our colleague from the Post-Production Department, Wendy Lynch, on winning the one-hundred-gram pure investment gold bar from the national bank!!!"
With that, the host placed a beautifully crafted brocade box containing the gold bar into Wendy’s hands.
Wendy accepted the box and flashed a triumphant raise of her eyebrows at Carmen. Seeing the deeply frustrated, deflated look on Carmen’s face only made her smile grow wider.
Not only did she get the gold bar, but she also thoroughly rubbed it in Carmen’s face. It was an absolute win-win.
Wendy returned to her seat with the brocade box. Carmen’s eyes remained deadlocked onto that red box.
Her gaze was filled with jealousy, resentment, and a heavy dose of disbelief. She thought, "How could it be her? On what grounds does a newbie who hasn’t even been here for two months get to win a grand prize like this?!"
"Wow!!! Wendy! You’re amazing!" Shirley excitedly threw her arms around Wendy. "A one-hundred-gram gold bar! You’re rich, Wendy! You’ve struck it rich!
"Quick, quick, take it out and let me see. I’ve never seen what a one-hundred-gram gold bar looks like before."
She was genuinely thrilled for Wendy, showing not the slightest hint of disappointment over not winning anything herself.
Wendy smiled and patted her on the back. "Calm down, Shirley. Who knows, maybe you’ll win one too."
Despite saying that, she swiftly took out the gold bar and handed it over to Shirley. To Carmen, the cheers coming from beside her were incredibly grating. She coldly snorted and turned her head the other way, choosing out of sight, out of mind.
The lucky draw continued.
After the host drew another few dozen consolation prizes, the atmosphere in the venue cooled down slightly. Just then, the host raised his voice again.
"Everyone! Another exciting moment has arrived! Next, we will draw today’s third prize: a brand-new Apple iPad worth thirteen thousand yuan!"
As soon as he spoke, the venue boiled over once more. Although it couldn’t compare to the gold bar, the tablet was still a solid, highly sought-after prize. The vast majority of people could use it, and even if they couldn’t, it would be easy to sell.
Carmen’s eyes lit up as well. She had no hope for the gold bar anymore, but if she could win this tablet, the night wouldn’t be a total loss. Even though she publicly claimed the prizes were rigged, she still harbored a sliver of hope in her heart.
The numbers on the large screen began to scroll wildly again. Everyone held their breath.
"Stop!"
The numbers froze.
[00358]
"Number 358! Congratulations to Number 358! Who is the lucky winner?"
Carmen subconsciously glanced down at her raffle ticket. A second later, she froze entirely.
[00358]
It was actually her?! After a brief moment of shock, a massive wave of ecstasy instantly swept through her body!
"It’s me! It’s me!"
She practically shrieked as she shot up from her seat, raising her ticket high into the air with uncontrollable glee on her face. Amidst the envious gazes of the crowd, Carmen marched onto the stage in utter triumph.
She felt like she had finally evened the score! Taking the beautifully packaged tablet from the host, she deliberately lingered on the stage for a few extra seconds, basking in the sensation of being the center of attention.
Upon returning to her seat, she immediately slammed the tablet’s box down onto the table with a heavy thud. Crossing her arms, she turned to Shirley beside her and spoke in a mocking, passive-aggressive tone.
"Oh my, Shirley, it seems your luck isn’t very good. See? Like I said, a lucky draw like this purely comes down to luck."
She patted the tablet she had just brought back as she spoke.
"Some people, you see, manage to win a tablet. While other people... well, they’ll probably only end up with a pair of Bluetooth earbuds."