The rain fell in thin, restless threads across the city, painting the glass windows with blurred reflections of passing lights.
Inside a small rented apartment on the 8th floor, a young woman sat alone.
Her name was Su Wan.
She was twenty-three years old, broke, exhausted, and unlucky in every possible way life could offer.
Her desk was cluttered with unpaid bills, half empty instant noodle cups, and a crumpled lottery ticket she had bought on impulse earlier that afternoon.
She stared at it now.
As if it could answer her suffering.
Outside, thunder rolled low and distant.
Inside, silence pressed against her chest like a weight she could no longer carry.
Su Wan let out a tired laugh.
"Just one win… even a little… would be enough to restart everything."
She wasn't dreaming of luxury.
She was dreaming of survival.
Her fingers slowly unfolded the ticket.
The numbers blurred through her tired eyes.
At first, she didn't understand what she was seeing.
Then.
Her breath stopped.
Her heart did not follow.
The winning numbers matched.
Perfectly.
A full jackpot.
For a long moment, Su Wan did not move.
Not because she was calm…
But because her mind refused to accept reality.
"…No way," she whispered.
Her voice cracked in disbelief.
She checked again.
And again.
And again.
Each time, the truth remained unchanged.
A sudden sound of thunder shook the building violently, and at that exact moment, the lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then darkness swallowed everything.
Su Wan stood up abruptly, her chair scraping the floor.
"No, no, no don't do this now!"
She rushed toward the desk, reaching for her phone, the ticket still in her hand.
But before her fingers could touch anything—
A strange sensation spread through her body.
Like cold water pouring into her bones.
Her vision twisted.
The room stretched.
The walls bent like paper caught in wind.
"Wha....what is happening…?"
Her voice echoed strangely, as if it was coming from far away.
The lottery ticket slipped from her hand.
It floated.
Not falling.
Floating.
Then
A blinding white light exploded across the room.
And everything disappeared.
****************************
A blinding white light swallowed everything.
Then.
Silence.
Cold.
That was the first thing Su Wan felt.
Not the rain anymore. Not the thunder. Not the cramped apartment.
Cold… and something heavy pressing against her head.
Her eyelids fluttered.
Her vision blurred.
A pounding headache split through her skull like something had been forced inside it.
"Ugh…"
A weak groan escaped her lips.
She tried to move but her body felt strange. Heavy. Not hers.
Slowly, her eyes opened.
And the world was wrong.
Too bright.
Too ancient.
Too real.
A carved wooden ceiling hung above her instead of concrete. Red silk curtains draped around a large bed. The air smelled faintly of incense and medicine.
And.
People.
So many people.
Women in ancient robes stood around her bed, some crying softly, others whispering urgently. A few servants bowed repeatedly as tension filled the room.
Two men were even arguing near the doorway, voices sharp, angry.
"What happened to the Old Madam"
"She was perfectly fine yesterday"
"Call the physician again!"
Chaos.
Noise.
Confusion.
Su Wan's heart began to race.
"What… is this place…?"
She lifted her trembling hands.
And froze.
Wrinkled skin.
Thin, aged fingers.
A jade bracelet slid slightly down her wrist, too large for her arm.
Her breath hitched.
"No…"
She sat up abruptly.
Pain shot through her body, making her dizzy, but she forced herself upright anyway.
"What is this?!" she gasped, her voice cracking.
"What am I wearing?!"
Heavy silk robes wrapped around her body. Layers upon layers of ancient clothing. Nothing about it made sense.
Her hands shook violently.
"And where is it… where is it?!"
She looked around wildly, panic rising in her chest.
"My lottery ticket 300 million!
Where is it?!"
The room went silent.
Every single person stopped moving.
Even the arguing men froze.
A maid stepped forward hesitantly, eyes wide with fear.
"Old Madam…"
Su Wan's head snapped toward her instantly.
"Don't call me that!" she shouted.
"I am not your old madam!
I am Su Wan!
I am twenty-three years old!"
Murmurs erupted immediately.
"She really hit her head badly…"
"Has she lost her memories?"
"This is terrible…"
Su Wan's breathing turned uneven.
"No… no, no, no…"
Her hands clutched the blanket tightly.
"I waited my whole life," she whispered, voice breaking. "I finally won… I finally had it… Why would you do this to me?"
Tears filled her eyes.
"Why is life so unfair?!"
Her voice cracked completely at the end.
And then.
A small hand gently touched her sleeve.
"Grandma…"
A child's voice.
Soft.
Hesitant.
"Grandma… are you alright?"
The words struck her like lightning.
Slowly, Su Wan turned her head.
A young child stood beside her bed, looking up with worried eyes.
Something inside her snapped.
"Who is your grandma?!" she suddenly yelled, pulling her arm away. "I'm still a young girl!"
The child flinched.
The entire room froze again.
Confusion spread like wildfire.
The maids looked at each other.
The servants whispered louder.
"She really doesn't remember…"
"Did she lose her mind after the fall?" "Should we inform the family heads?"
Su Wan's vision swayed.
The room felt like it was spinning.
Faces blurred.
Voices overlapped.
Her chest tightened.
"I… I…"
Her knees weakened.
"I don't understand…"
Her body tilted slightly.
Before anyone could react.
She collapsed back onto the bed.
Darkness flickered at the edge of her vision.
But one thought remained clear in her mind before everything faded again:
My lottery ticket…