Chapter 2

"Daniel? Has Carola driven you crazy? What are you muttering about?"

My best friend Borges shouted at me.

I looked up, struggling to contain my surging emotions.

"My fortune destiny is hard to transfer. Why don't you come with me to the lottery shop..."

After I scratched through a stack of tickets at the lottery shop, the owner kept shaking his head.

"Young man, your luck is terrible! Others at least break even, but you can't even win a consolation prize?"

The owner's teasing words sounded like blessings to my ears.

Borges was anxious beside me:

"Stop testing! Go wash off that damn tattoo now! Maybe it's not too late!"

I clutched my arm tightly and backed away repeatedly: "I'm not washing it."

"Are you kidding me? Are you an idiot?" Borges looked at me in disbelief.

"Not really." I replied quietly, not daring to speak the truth.

"Daniel! Are you stupid! Do you know the power of a destiny-switching curse!"

He pulled me aside and opened his phone. The pattern on the screen was almost identical to the tattoo on my arm.

"Look carefully! This is a dark curse from Southeast Asia. Once successful, your fate will be swapped with hers! You have a fortune destiny, but what does she have? A pauper's fate! Do you want to be poor for her?"

Borges loved studying mysticism, but I was still skeptical:

"Are you sure... destinies can be swapped?"

Borges was shocked by my reaction: "Why don't you care at all!"

I almost revealed my secret, but thinking of my deceased parents and not wanting to lose another good friend, I changed the subject.

"Forget it, let's just end this here. Don't worry about it."

"Why? Are you really going to become poor for that bitch?! It's not too late to wash it off now!"

"I'm not washing it! I said no, so no!"

I clutched the tattoo tightly and ran away.

Why would I wash it? Being poor is better than being dead!