NOVPUB"You youngsters think too much. Do you believe I would step in for the Horse Club to win back those forty-something million?"
Long Wu’s gaze drifted away from Suming’s face as he pulled out a cigar from his chest pocket, bowed his head to cut the cigar, and spoke lightly, "If they couldn’t afford to lose even this small amount of money, the Horse Club would never have grown to its current scale. Not to mention that real tycoons wouldn’t even take a proper look at the Horse Club, even someone like me looks down on it."
The Xiangjiang Jockey Club has a history of over a hundred years with the support of the special district government and the entire Xiangjiang upper class society, so forty million is certainly nothing. The Long family, ruling the Xiangjiang underground for decades and making a fortune in the entertainment and stock market, had amassed wealth both above and below the table, and didn’t care much about the forty million either.
But Suming was different. A year ago, he couldn’t even find a job. His greatest hope at the time was to find steady employment, grateful if he ended up with four to five thousand a month after deductions for social security and housing fund.
Even now, his entire net worth, when converted, was roughly that amount. That is, of course, if he didn’t seek financing or venture capital.
For someone like him, who had been in business for less than a year, the perspective from which he viewed problems was naturally different from that of families with decades or centuries of accumulated wealth.
Although Long Wu had made his stance clear, Suming couldn’t help but roll his eyes, thinking that if the Horse Club really didn’t care about the money like you said, would they dare let me keep gambling? There’s a bottom line, and once someone breaks through it, the Horse Club would still have you step in to mediate.
"Since everyone’s having such a good time, it seems I have no choice but to join in," Jacky said, shaking the bottle of red wine in his hand. "I’m no match for Suming at horse betting, and I don’t have as much money as Brother Shi. How about we bet something else? Win or lose, no hard feelings. I happen to have a bottle of ’78 red wine at home, perfect for a bet."
"Alright, I’ll use that horse, Great Joy, as my bet. If I lose, it goes to the winner," Long Wu said.
Suming fumbled around his person but couldn’t find anything valuable, turning his head to look at Nangong, "I’ll bet her."
Jacky: "..."
Long Wu: "..."
Nangong: "..." A slap came flying right at him.
Suming dodged quickly, grinning, "Just kidding, to lighten the mood. I can’t compare to you guys, as I’m a penniless guy. How about this, I’ll also bet with booze. This year, Great Sage Liquor Industry will release ten bottles of genuine Hundred-Fruit Liquid brewed by monkeys, I’ll put that up as my bet."
"Couldn’t be better!" Long Wu clapped his hands, "Jacky is always boasting about the monkey liquor you gave him, now to have ten whole bottles in front of me, if I win them, Jacky, you better shut up for good!"
"Brother Shi, you’re happy too early. Suming, you’ve got to step it up. I’d rather lose the red wine to you!" Jacky shrugged.
Nangong tugged Suming’s sleeve at the side, blinking her eyes and whispered, "Can I join too?"
The VIP box was no more than twenty square meters, so everyone was seated close together. Long Wu naturally heard Nangong and laughed, "Beautiful lady, men are responsible for earning money, women for spending it. You don’t need to ask his permission for spending money."
"Brother Shi, the way you say it sounds as if I’m bound to lose!" said Nangong, not willing to give in.
"Woah, I didn’t say that," Long Wu’s tone clearly suggested otherwise, while Jacky, with his wine in hand, chuckled silently. Both could see that Nangong was absolutely clueless about horse betting and was bound to lose if she played.
"No problem, if you want to play, play. If you lose, it’s on me; if you win, it’s yours," Suming patted Nangong’s hand, signaling her to join the game if she wished.
"Hmph!" Nangong shoved her handbag stuffed with cash onto the table and unzipped it, revealing roll after roll of Hong Kong dollars, looking like a fierce female bandit here for an arms deal.
"I don’t have horses or liquor, just cash. Is that okay? If not, I’ll bet my boyfriend on it."
Suming could only laugh helplessly, "Instant karma, eh? Too bad I’m not worth much."
Long Wu glanced at the money in the bag, "Wow, the beauty is seeking revenge for her husband today! All right, I’ll raise the cash. In addition to Great Joy, if you win, I’ll personally compensate you with this much."
The four of them bet on the eighth race. Since it was an internal contest with no bookmaker, they scrapped all fancy betting methods and just bet on the winner, meaning which horse would finish first.
There was a betting machine in the room, and Long Wu and Jacky placed their bets in turn. Long Wu, seeing no strong contenders in the field, thoughtlessly chose his horse, Great Joy. Jacky went for a chestnut horse named Disney’s Light.
The stakes weren’t high in this race, the main ingredient being fun, similar to a small game among friends. Suming didn’t need to cheat; he hadn’t ’communicated’ with the horses beforehand and simply picked a popular one named ’Paradise Gate’ based on the horse racing guide’s recommendation.
"What should I pick?" Nangong asked Suming.
"You listen this well without even being married, careful or you might never be able to lift your head at home," Long Wu chuckled.
"Mind your own business," Nangong retorted with a cocked face, pulling on Suming, "I’ll listen to him, so there!"
Seeing the affectionate couple, the two uncles, experienced in life, couldn’t help but laugh, Suming held Nangong’s hand, "Pick whatever you love, as long as you’re happy, it doesn’t matter!"
"Okay, then I’ll pick... Pink Rose, yes, that one!" Nangong finally settled on a pure white horse, that was spotlessly white without a single stray hair, and it was a mystery why it was named that.
After making his choice, Nangong began to waver. This was, after all, over seven hundred thousand—a substantial sum of money. He looked anxiously at the large pile of cash on the table and then at the few people in the room, casting a plea for help at Suming as he muttered, "Will it work? I have this feeling that I might lose..."
Jacky and Long Wu were people accustomed to the big scene, their lifestyles on a different level from ordinary people, and although Suming’s finances were not yet a match for them, with his "animal friend" ability, he could be considered a person with special powers, his perspective even more detached.
At this moment, seeing Nangong fretting like an ordinary commoner over a bit of "small money", he found her more endearing and genuine, revealing a hint of cuteness.
"Don’t worry, beauty, if you lose, I won’t take your money," Long Wu said with a smile.
"That won’t do, I’m a woman, but I know the importance of keeping my word!" Nangong said confidently, her face held high. However, the fact that she was gripping Suming’s hand tightly betrayed her inner nervousness.
The eighth race, the last one of the evening, finally began as scheduled.
In this race, only eight horses were competing. For the first third of the track, they were neck and neck, with occasionally one horse taking a slight lead, only to be quickly chased down by the others.
After the midway point, three horses finally stood out, maintaining their lead.
Surprisingly, the ’Horse God’ Suming and the seasoned Horse Club member Jacky had chosen horses that were lagging behind, while Nangong, the complete novice, and newbie Long Wu had chosen two horses, Pink Rose and Da Kuai Le, that made it into the top three.
In the midst of the audience’s cheering, the broadcast was filled with the astonished commentary of two hosts.
"Wow, Da Kuai Le, the eternal runner-up, is taking charge! He’s ahead of second place by a full body length!"
"There’s less than eighty yards left. Pink Rose is still behind. It seems that, as long as Da Kuai Le maintains the lead after the last turn, there’s a ninety-nine percent chance he’ll win against all odds!"
Watching the leading horses speed past the final turn, the positions of the first two remained unchanged. Pink Rose visibly exerted more effort, chasing to within about a head’s distance, but Da Kuai Le still easily held onto the lead. Experience tales at freewebnovel
As for the horses chosen by Jacky and Suming, they were far behind in the second group, not even contending for first place, let alone the top three, unless they suddenly activated nitrous oxide injection mode; the outcome was already decided.
Jacky clapped his hands together, "Wow, Horse God, you’ve misjudged this time; looks like we’re going to lose our liquor."
With the win nearly in the bag, the rest of the race seemed devoid of suspense, and Long Wu shrugged it off with ease.
"Come on! Come on! Pink Rose has to win!" Nangong stared intently out the window at the race track.
Unfortunately for her, although Pink Rose was still trying desperately to catch up, the inherent strength of Da Kuai Le seemed to edge out Pink Rose by a bit; the gap had not only failed to close but was stretched to half a horse’s length.
Pink Rose’s poor initial odds were not without reason; the horse had mediocre endurance, and its burst of speed could only last a few seconds. If it couldn’t overtake in those few seconds, there was no hope afterwards. Now, approaching the finish line, the gap between them continued to widen before our eyes.
"Don’t worry, beauty. I’ve never gone back on my word. Your bet’s on me; it’s for you to buy clothes with later on..."
Before Long Wu could finish speaking, a sudden turn of events occurred on the racetrack below!
Just as the finish line was less than twenty meters away, the leading Da Kuai Le, as if having lost its target, actually looked back, and its pace visibly slowed.
Seizing the opportunity, Pink Rose quickly overtook it!
The crowd erupted into shock! Many bettors jumped up from their seats and rushed towards the railing closest to the race track!
If it weren’t for Da Kuai Le’s jockey desperately urging his mount, this incident would have looked like a clumsy attempt at cheating—as if the sure winner Da Kuai Le deliberately slowed down to wait for Pink Rose!
After Pink Rose took the lead, Da Kuai Le seemed to regain its focus and hurriedly chased after it, swiftly closing the gap.
Unfortunately for the two horses, they were only a dozen meters from the finish line, and it was already too late to exert more effort.
Pink Rose was the first to cross the finish line, followed closely by another horse. Da Kuai Le, originally destined to win, ended up in third place.
Seeing this outcome, the spectator stands were in an uproar, with the audience shouting wildly into the racetrack, some with excitement, others swinging their betting slips in anger.
"Wow, unbelievable! Can someone tell me if I’m seeing things?" one of the hosts said in shock.
The other host laughed nonchalantly, "The jockey of Da Kuai Le is in big trouble now. A sure win turned into a third place just like that; I bet those who wagered on Da Kuai Le want to curse him right now!"
"Those who bet on Pink Rose must be praying for his long life by now."
