The Bet

Campus life always passed quickly. Before he knew it, the night had already slipped away.

"Bro, get up!"

"What's going on? Can't you see I'm busy fantasizing?"

"Quit trolling the Earth. Today is the battle between rookie Zhou En and Yue Hua the Benchwarmer."

"What? How could I forget something this exciting?"

"I heard an upperclassman even opened a betting pool today."

Similar conversations filled every corner of the campus.

After hearing them, Zhou En's face paled, and he hesitated. How could he possibly beat Yue Hua?

Yesterday had all been because several bad friends had egged him on. Now that his head was clear, he immediately began having second thoughts.

The news had spread throughout the campus. If he lost, Zhou En would truly become a rat everyone despised.

How could he face anyone after that?

"Zhou En, listen to your buddy's advice. Don't go!" Chubby said again.

Zhou En hesitated for a while, then gritted his teeth.

"All right. I'll take a cab out and have some fun, then come back this afternoon," Zhou En said.

"Mm, you've finally made the correct choice." Chubby spoke with the air of an old sage.

"Huh? Zhou En, the school gym is over there. You're going the wrong way." Just as Zhou En started walking toward the school gate,

an incongruous voice rang out.

Zhou En had yet to realize that he had already become a celebrity at school.

"Oh." Zhou En answered, but he quickened his pace considerably.

Zhou En wasn't stupid. He had no desire to be thoroughly humiliated in front of the entire school.

"Zhou En is running away!" Zhou En immediately regretted not shutting that bad friend's mouth.

The passerby's shout startled the couples kissing beneath the trees. They all came over and blocked Zhou En's path.

"Zhou En, that's not honorable of you. As a seven-foot man, you can't go back on your word," Passerby B rebuked him.

"Even if you're going to lose, you have to lose with dignity."

"I'm not a seven-foot man." Passerby B's words made Zhou En flush with anger.

After hearing that, everyone wore shocked expressions. Could he be a Thai shemale?

"I'm an eight-foot man." To be honest, Zhou En was very satisfied with his height.

"Zhou En, no matter how many feet you are, you should be inside the stadium right now, not standing here chatting with us."

"Even if you're going to get beaten up, you can't surrender."

Passerby B waved his hand impatiently.

There was nothing he could do. An arm couldn't overpower a thigh, so under the crowd's intimidation, Zhou En could only obediently walk toward the stadium.

"Hey, brother, we've got a betting pool on the battle between rookie Zhou En and martial arts expert Yue Hua."

Just as Zhou En reached the gym entrance, a figure stepped in front of him.

"Zhou En lasting one move: one to 0.5."

"Zhou En lasting two moves: one to twenty."

"Zhou En lasting three moves: one to thirty."

The man finished in one breath before Zhou En could say anything.

"Is there a bet on Zhou En winning?" Zhou En asked casually.

The young man scratched his head awkwardly.

"Brother, just opening odds for Zhou En to last three moves is enough to make me lose money."

Zhou En nearly spat up a mouthful of blood when he heard that.

"Brother, I'll bet twenty yuan on Zhou En lasting one move." Beside Zhou En, Chubby gritted his teeth and pulled out twenty yuan.

Chubby thought that if he won, he could make ten yuan. It was only ten yuan,

but even the smallest mosquito still had meat on it.

"Wang Ning, you..." Zhou En looked at his best friend in grief, trembling so badly that he couldn't speak.

Clearly, Chubby's action had infuriated him.

"All right, all right. Once I win, I'll treat you to meat buns." Chubby patted Zhou En's shoulder generously and comforted him.

"Zhou En, don't be nervous. This is school, after all. Yue Hua won't make things too difficult for you."

Chubby's comforting words were like a massive golden cudgel thrust straight into Zhou En's heart.

"Fine. Fine!" Zhou En said furiously. He had already made up his mind to win today, no matter what.

Zhou En turned to look at the young man behind him. "Are you still taking bets?"

The young man was stunned at first, then nodded. "Our odds are absolutely the fairest. What do you want to bet on?"

"We accept Alipay, WeChat, and JD Baitiao transfers."

At that, Zhou En pulled out a hundred-yuan Mao Zedong note with a bold flourish and said, "I'm betting on Zhou En winning."

When Chubby saw the Mao Zedong note in Zhou En's hand, his little eyes widened, filled with disbelief.

Chubby knew perfectly well that if Zhou En lost that money, he wouldn't be able to afford food for the last few days of the month.

When the young man heard Zhou En's words, he stammered,

"Brother, what did you say? Did I hear that right?"

It wasn't that the young man had asked such a foolish question, but that Zhou En's chosen bet was simply too unbelievable.

That was why he had asked.

"Brother, we don't have anyone here betting on Zhou En winning."

Zhou En's anger began to rise rapidly.

Fine. So all of you look down on me.

"Just because nobody else is betting doesn't mean I can't. Can you do it or not? If not, hurry up and move aside."

Zhou En waved his hand impatiently. If anyone had seen him like this, they really might have been intimidated.

"All right, all right, I'll take it." The young man thought for a moment and said, "The odds for Zhou En winning are one to a hundred."

Hearing that, Zhou En couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath.

Even Chubby was badly startled. He patted Zhou En on the shoulder

and said sympathetically, "Go ahead and bet. If you win, you'll make a thousand yuan."

After hearing that, Zhou En became brimming with confidence and strode into the gym.

"Who the hell is this idiot?" The young man watched Zhou En's back and asked Chubby.

"Tsk, you don't even recognize the famous Zhou En?" Chubby said with utter disdain.

Without waiting for the young man to reply, he walked away on his own.

The young man stood there blankly. A full minute later, he finally realized what had happened, his face lighting up with delight.

He immediately opened Meituan Takeout and ordered a deluxe KFC meal worth 99.8 yuan.

In the young man's mind, Zhou En was simply giving him money for free.

As for Zhou En winning? Heh, wouldn't that be more absurd than the end of the world?