Chapter 8: Tips for Being Warm-Hearted
The Shen family was very wealthy, no less than Jiang Wanzhou’s family.
As a rich second-generation heir, Shen Minglang had casually invested more than two million yuan just to open a small bar.
When he placed bets on games, he casually wagered 50,000 yuan, which was actually considered modest in his circle.
It was just a little gambling for fun.
Some hardcore gamblers around him would bet several hundred thousand on a single match, even more at times!
It was all about excitement!
Cheng Zhu was a friend of his cousin Jiang Wanzhou. Although Shen Minglang didn’t know his background, based on his demeanor and casual speech, he instinctively felt that this plainly dressed ‘new cousin’ probably came from a well-off family.
When people interacted, the vibes were very obvious.
Despite Cheng Zhu constantly addressing Shen Mingland as (elder) cousin, their conversation flowed more like a chat between friends.
Children from wealthy families who had just graduated from high school and gotten into university had likely received a lot of red packets. It wasn’t unusual to spend more than 10,000 yuan just for fun.
However, spending 12,000 to bet on a specific scoreline, and only one scoreline, and a 0-0 scoreline at that, was entirely different!
For people like them, when betting on scorelines, they wouldn’t just pick one.
After all, with such high odds, they would usually spread their bets across multiple scorelines. As long as they hit on one, they’d make a profit!
What Cheng Zhu did, though, carried too much risk.
If he had bet 12,000 on Germany winning, Shen Minglang wouldn’t have been surprised.
But betting 12,000 on a 0-0 draw? Even Shen Minglang couldn’t help but double-check with this soon-to-be college student.
“Yeah, twelve thousand,” Cheng Zhu said.
To be honest, he only hated himself for having so little money.
Damn it, he had just spent over 1,000 yuan a few days ago to buy a pair of matching shoes for Li Xinyue.
Was that really just a thousand? No! With odds of 7.5, he had spent nearly 10,000!
In Cheng Zhu’s memory, the score of the 2014 World Cup finals was 1-0.
However, Germany had scored in extra time. When placing bets, only the regulation time score mattered. At the end of regular time, the score was 0-0.
In other words, he couldn’t bet on 1-0. He had to bet 0-0, or else it would count as a loss.
This year, the gamblers could be said to have been completely wiped out! Almost everyone who bet on scorelines lost money.
Speaking of which, Cheng Zhu had not started watching the World Cup back in 2014, but he had seen every subsequent tournament.
Because of this, he only remembered two matches from the 2014 World Cup.
These two matches were frequently mentioned by commentators in later World Cups.
One of them was Germany vs Brazil, which had already ended.
This game was unbelievable, ending with a score of 7-1!
That year, there was a very famous piece of news about a Dutch drunkard who had placed a 200-euro bet on a 7-1 score. The odds were 6,500 to 1!
He really took off!
As for whether the news was true or not, Cheng Zhu didn’t know.
Such exaggerated odds wouldn’t be possible within the country anyway.
He only knew that he had regressed a few days late. If he had regressed to before this game, even if his capital was only 12,000 yuan, even if the odds for a score of 7-1 domestically were not that exaggerated, he could have taken off on the spot and instantly become a decently rich man.
With sufficient capital, many things would become much more convenient in the future!
Unfortunately, he had only managed to catch the final match of the World Cup.
It doesn’t matter. I’ll take it slow. Opportunities are everywhere, Cheng Zhu thought.
As a regressor, he already knew the outcome. This wasn’t even gambling anymore. It was more like making easy money.
To be honest, he did want more money to bet on the scoreline.
But the time was too tight.
Jiang Wanzhou definitely had a lot in his little treasury.
But Cheng Zhu understood this guy well.
He would definitely lend Cheng Zhu money, but the condition would be understanding why Cheng Zhu needed it, and he would even watch him spend it.
This was related to their personalities. Cheng Zhu knew that Jiang Wanzhou’s behavior was actually a form of concern.
And the reason he asked Shen Minglang to help buy the bet when Jiang Wanzhou went to the restroom was that it wasn’t convenient to do it in front of him.
Shen Minglang didn’t know about Cheng Zhu’s family situation, but Jiang Wanzhou did.
If he found out that Cheng Zhu spent 12,000 to bet on a specific scoreline, his first reaction would undoubtedly be to scold him. “Cheng Zhu, are you crazy?!”
Jiang Wanzhou would definitely try to stop him and would even give him a few Bone Dissolving Palms.
Therefore, Cheng Zhu wanted to settle everything while Jiang Wanzhou was away.
Speaking of which, the odds for betting with Shen Minglang are high, and he’s currently the most suitable person I can think of for this. Otherwise, there would be no need to come to the bar at all, Cheng Zhu thought.
As for how Jiang Wanzhou would react after knowing about this, he had already devised a plan and prepared a few lines.
He was very confident in deceiving his brother!
Shen Minglang was quite fast and soon helped Cheng Zhu place the bet.
During the process, he suggested that Cheng Zhu spread his bets instead of focusing on just one scoreline, but Cheng Zhu didn’t listen.
At the side, Shen Qingning remained silent the whole time.
She watched the young man in front of her, whose eyebrows were naturally slightly raised, wondering if he was doing this because he was stimulated by the boy at the neighboring table.
He bet 2,000, so Cheng Zhu bet 12,000?
Childish, Shen Qingning thought.
However, she was a cold and aloof person by nature. If it had been Jiang Wanzhou doing this, she might have said a few words. But since it was Cheng Zhu, she simply chose to watch from the side, and her impression of him began to turn less favorable.
Gambling excessively, unwise, and childish.
Indeed, boys at this age were consumed by love and jealousy.
In her mind, her brother, Shen Minglang, was no different. She had heard stories about him encountering a love rival at a nightclub. When the rival ordered a bottle of expensive Ace of Spades champagne, he immediately ordered three in response.
Shen Qingning glanced at Cheng Zhu and felt that today’s trip to the bar was turning out to be rather boring.
* * *
Inside Hidden, Shen Minglang spoke rather loudly. After all, it was his establishment. So Li Xinyue’s group could hear every word he said.
In contrast, Cheng Zhu spoke at a normal volume, so they only caught snippets of what he said.
As a result, Li Xinyue’s group only heard that Shen Minglang had helped Cheng Zhu place a bet of 12,000, but they didn’t know what he was betting on.
However, just hearing the figure of 12,000 was enough.
This made Li Rui suddenly feel that his 2,000 yuan bet was a bit embarrassing.
“Cheng Zhu is just bragging, right? Is he really betting twelve thousand?” Chen Rongrong whispered.
“Is he crazy? Where did he get so much money?” Li Xinyue frowned.
From what she knew about Cheng Zhu, he shouldn’t be doing something like that.
She felt she must have misheard or missed some detail.
Meanwhile, Li Rui felt he had to show his financial strength again. Cheng Zhu might not be able to do it, but I can.
He sent a message to his cousin, asking him to help him place a bet.
After making his bet, he said, “I just analyzed it with my cousin and felt that Argentina would definitely win, so I placed another bet of ten thousand.”
“Huh?” Chen Rongrong was shocked, and Li Xinyue turned to look at Li Rui.
Li Rui actually didn’t know much about soccer. He rarely paid attention to the sport.
But in fact, it didn’t really matter whether he understood soccer or not.
Which World Cup didn’t have its share of upsets?
Who would have ever predicted that Germany would beat Brazil with a heaven-defying score of 7-1?
Li Rui said in a low voice, “Argentina has Messi. They’re a sure bet.”
To be precise, he only recognized Messi.
“Do you guys want to place some bets too?” Li Rui asked.
Chen Rongrong was very interested and said she wanted to bet 500. She even urged Li Xinyue to join in.
Li Xinyue had no interest in soccer, but she couldn’t resist her best friend’s persistence. Moreover, she didn’t know what was going on with Cheng Zhu, which inexplicably led her to bet 500 on Argentina to win.
Li Rui already had his plan figured out. If Argentina won, he would transfer the money to Li Xinyue. If Argentina lost, he would say he hadn’t communicated well with his cousin and made a mistake in placing the bet.
Anyway, I can’t let Xinyue lose money and affect her mood to hang out with me.
Even a dog had to bark a few times in response. “So warm, what a warm-hearted guy!”