Chapter 4

Leo’s face went pale.

"Why are you looking at me? That’s a team competition. Only the top-tier geeks win that. There's no way I can win."

But Frank didn't care about logic. He was possessed by greed.

"A hundred thousand! A hundred thousand dollars! Leo, you have to enter!"

Leo shook him off, annoyed. "I told you, I can't! My major isn't even related to that tech stuff. I'll just embarrass myself!"

"Who cares about embarrassment! Your sister said this is to reset our family's luck!" Sarah urged. "Do you want to watch your father's luck rot forever?"

"I’d rather not look like an idiot on stage!" Leo snapped.

"You ungrateful piece of—" Frank raised his fist.

I let out a loud, painful cough, whispering weakly, "Dad, don't force him. That competition is too hard anyway. Leo's groupmates... I heard they think he's dead weight and don't want to work with him..."

I made sure to say it loud and clear, letting every word stab right into Leo’s fragile ego.

He was incredibly insecure and hated being called useless more than anything.

Sure enough, his head snapped up, and he glared at me with pure hatred.

"Who said I'm dead weight?! Who said nobody wants to work with me?!"

He turned to Frank, gritting his teeth. "Fine! I'll enter! Not only will I enter, but I’ll also bring home that hundred-thousand-dollar prize to show you!"

Frank cheered. "Yes! That's my boy! I knew you had it in you! My luck is riding on you now!"

To make sure Leo had everything he needed to win, Frank went to his shady gambling buddies and took out a massive high-interest loan, calling it "startup capital."

He bought Leo the newest, most expensive MacBook, funded lavish dinners for Leo’s team, and acted like a wealthy tech investor.

Leo was completely intoxicated by the attention. He genuinely started believing he was a tech prodigy, daydreaming about his inevitable fame.

I watched it all with cold detachment.

I knew that in Leo's team, there was a quiet, brilliant programmer named Julian Ward.

In my past life, Julian was the one who did all the work, won the grand prize, and got recruited by a tech giant right off the stage.

Leo was nothing but a lazy tag-along who barely contributed a single slide to the PowerPoint.

The night before the competition, I casually said to my dad:

"Dad, I heard Julian’s mom is really sick. She needs urgent surgery. Apparently, he's thinking about selling their entire project to some company early just to get the cash for her medical bills."

Frank’s eyes went wide.

"Selling the project?! No way! That project belongs to our family's luck!"

He immediately found Leo and threw a massive fit.

"Leo, that Julian kid is trying to pull the rug from under us! He wants to steal our family’s luck! You can't let him!"

Leo panicked too. "What can I do? He wrote most of the code. If he wants to sell, I can't stop him!"

Frank paced around the room. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh.

"I’ve got it!"

He leaned in close to Leo, whispering, "Go tell Julian that our family will pay for his mom’s surgery. But in exchange, the sole ownership of the project must be registered under your name!"

Leo was stunned. "Dad, are you crazy? Where are we getting that kind of cash?"

"Don't worry about the money! I'll handle the loan sharks! My gut is telling me this is a guaranteed win! Heaven is helping us!"

I hid behind the kitchen door, listening to their frantic plotting. I smiled.

Make sure you hold onto that "good luck" tightly, Dad.