At noon, beneath the blazing sun, on a mountainside at the edge of Yacheng, a cool breeze blew in from afar amid waves of cicadas.
There was no need for air conditioning; it did not feel hot at all. Opening the window offered a view of the verdant summer mountains.
Beneath the quietly spinning ceiling fan, a watermelon freshly hauled from the well sat on the table, crisp, sweet, and ice-cold. A live broadcast from West City played on the television. The heated race at the racetrack was still underway.
"Final stretch, sprint!! We can see Thunder trying to widen the gap—ah, what a shame, Midnight's defense is still solid, and Princess is still biting close behind...
The final two hundred meters! Accelerating, still accelerating! One hundred! Fifty!!"
"Thunder!!!"
"It's Thunder—it's broken through! A last-second kill!! Let's congratulate Thunder... In the final moment, it defeated Midnight by half a horse length, completing a comeback three-peat after barely recovering from a serious illness!"
Through the television, the heat of the scene could not be felt.
The gamblers in the stands either cheered ecstatically or left in dejection.
"What a pity."
Tong Ting shook his head, tossed the betting slip in his hand into the nearby trash can, and sighed. "So close."
"Betting on horses means winning some and losing some. That's perfectly normal."
A voice that sounded almost consoling came from the landline beside him, set to speakerphone. Unfortunately, there was not much sincerity between them.
Or rather, after the invisible clash and struggle had ended, the two sides had tacitly entered a brief lull.
"Want another round?"
"Keep betting on horses?" Tong Ting asked.
"Powerball works too," said the person on the other end of the line. "The jackpot seems to have grown pretty staggering as well."
"Mm, though it's