He Faked the Wine, So I Faked a $5 Million Prize—Now He's Ruined

My husband came home from work and handed me an exquisite gift box. Inside were two bottles of Moutai.

"New Year's is coming up. Take two bottles of good liquor to Dad."

I smiled and took it, my heart warm.

Married for three years, this was the first time Ryan had ever taken the initiative to buy something for my dad.

Carrying the gift box, I walked to the garage and realized I hadn't brought the keys.

When I went back to the door, before I could even knock, I heard Susan Lambert's voice:

"You really bought Moutai for her dad? Do you have so much money you don't know where to spend it? Will her dad, that poor hick, even know how to drink it?"

My steps paused.

I heard my husband laugh. "How could that be? The bottles were empties my boss threw away. I filled them with bulk white liquor from the supermarket—eighteen bucks a pound. Her dad is just a farmer. What good stuff does he deserve?"

Mrs. Lambert's voice immediately softened. "My son is smart! You know how to live!"

After a long silence, I turned around and went back to the car.

Rubbing the gift box at my side, I curled my lip and sent my husband a message.

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."

I kept provoking him. "With this money, can the plan we talked about before—bringing my mom and dad over to live with us—become real? We can make a down payment on a four-bedroom place, so that…"

Before I could finish, I faintly heard my mother-in-law's voice, deliberately lowered.

"Bring them over? She's dreaming! That's our family's money. We absolutely can't let her call the shots!"

Ryan seemed to cover the receiver. After a rustling sound, his voice returned.

"Joy, did you tell anyone else about this? Do your mom and dad know?"

The fish took the bait.

I sneered inside.

"No! You're the first one I told! My dad can barely use a cellphone—how could I tell him this? Don't scare him."

"Yes, yes… don't say anything yet, don't tell anyone!"

Ryan agreed repeatedly, switching to a hypocritical tone like he was thinking of me. "What I mean is… this is a huge surprise. We have to pick the right time and tell Mom and Dad properly, right?"

"Mm, you're right."

I answered obediently, my fingers lightly tapping the steering wheel.

Ryan seemed to let out a breath, coughed lightly, and spoke again. "Joy, this is too big. We can't hash this out over the phone. Where are you right now? Hurry home. We'll talk face to face."