For the final game, Li Yuan didn't plan to simply bet on the outcome. The odds for a straight win were only 1.4, which wouldn't earn much even if he won and held no appeal for him. Therefore, he was preparing to bet on the point spread.
He remembered vividly that the last game would be an inhumane, one-sided massacre, nearly setting an NBA record.
Li Yuan calmly spoke, "Boss, could you check the odds for the point spread for me?"
The sports lottery shop owner looked up the odds on the website. "Betting on the Celtics to win by a margin of 5 points or less, the odds are 1.3. For 6-10 points, it's 2.4. For 11-15 points, it's 5.6. For 16-20 points, it's 10.2. For 21-30 points, it's 24.8. And for over 30 points, it's 42.5..."
"Master, which one are you planning to bet on?" the owner asked, waiting expectantly for Li Yuan's response.
Li Yuan scrutinized the various odds. This was a huge gamble. A win would make him a millionaire, while a loss would wipe him out completely. Acting on the principle that fortune favors the bold, and aiming to make his first pot of gold, Li Yuan decided to go all in.
"Boss, I'll take the last one: a winning margin of over 30 points, with odds of 42.5," he said.
Hearing Li Yuan's decision, the shop owner's expression changed dramatically. He stared at Li Yuan in shock. "Young man, do you really want to bet that big? Wouldn't it be better to stick with betting on a straight win?
"The Lakers and the Celtics are evenly matched. The point difference in the first five games has been within 10 points... To make money and boost ratings, the league will definitely want the series to go to a Game 7. The Celtics are highly likely to lose the sixth game...
"No matter how you analyze it, there's no way the Celtics can beat the Lakers by more than 30 points. The sixth game is bound to be a close-fought, bloody battle."
The shop owner's analysis was quite popular at the time and seemed perfectly reasonable. After all, each additional game in the 'Battle of Green and Gold' meant hundreds of millions in revenue. The NBA was a business league; to think they would pass up that kind of money was unbelievable.
Li Yuan couldn't be bothered to explain and said firmly, "Just place the bet as I said. The one with the highest odds. Put all of this 24,900 yuan on it."
The shop owner looked at Li Yuan with utter perplexity, mumbling to himself, "He's a madman. How could the Celtics possibly beat the Lakers by more than 30 points?"
At first, he had thought Li Yuan was a basketball betting genius, but now it seemed he was just lucky. He had intended to follow Li Yuan's bet again today, but seeing such a reckless move, he began to hesitate...
After handing the betting slip to Li Yuan, he added a kind reminder, "Young man, it's not easy to earn money. Even if you lose, don't do anything impulsive or take it too hard."
Li Yuan solemnly took the slip, gave a detached smile, and rode away on his bike.
He then went to five other sports lottery shops, cashing in his previous winnings before placing the same bet at each one. To prevent any unforeseen issues, he placed his bets with two different betting companies, both offering odds over 40.
***
Back in his rented room, Li Yuan felt a pang of nervousness.
Even if I win, it's only five or six million yuan. Converted to US dollars, that's just six or seven hundred thousand. That shouldn't be enough to affect the NBA Finals thousands of miles away, right?
Upon reflection, Li Yuan felt he was worrying for nothing. The betting pool for the NBA Finals is in the hundreds of millions of dollars; my principal of 149,400 yuan is a mere drop in the bucket.
Li Yuan turned on his Nokia phone. The mobile phones of this era were quite clunky.
There were several messages, all sent from Bai Weixi over the past few days:
June 13, 22:30: Li Yuan, don't you think you went too far today?
June 14, 22:30: What right do you have to treat me like this? What did I do wrong?
June 15, 22:30: Fine, let's just end it then. I see you clearly now. It turns out all the kindness you showed me before was fake. I was just fooling myself.
June 15, 23:30: During these three years of high school, you flew kites with me in the fields, made me heart-shaped bento boxes, braved the pouring rain to bring me an umbrella, watched the sunrise with me, and celebrated my birthdays… Thank you for all the kindness you've shown me. I am grateful and will treasure those memories in my heart forever. I hope you find your other half… One last thing: Goodnight, brother.
Reading Bai Weixi's messages, Li Yuan fell into silence. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and exhaled smoke rings.
Do I still have feelings for Bai Weixi? To say no would be a lie. After all, she was the first love I'd cherished for seven years in my past life. A man never forgets his first love. It looks like I need to start a new relationship soon to erase her shadow from my heart. They say the only way to get over a woman is with another woman. But damn it, how are you supposed to forget your first love, the one you chased for seven years? Damn it. Maybe I should just find a chance, push her down, take her first time, and then kick her to the curb. That would be payback for being strung along in my last life. Which path should I take? Ah, whatever. I'll just take it one step at a time...
One cigarette burned down after another. Feeling irritated, Li Yuan headed straight to Sunny Internet Cafe, booked a private booth, and continued to write.
He opened the author's portal and saw many more recommendation tickets, comments, and monthly votes. The status of his work had also changed.
"Huh, the contract is already processed. That was quick," Li Yuan muttered, impressed by the speed of the EMS delivery.
He scrolled down to the comment section:
Warm Sun After the Storm: "Author, your talent is immense! I bow to you. Here's a tip of 10,000 points. Hope you can release some bonus chapters!"
The Fool Who Loves to Read: "Building a comment tower! I'll donate 100 points for every comment up to 100. If we hit 1,000 comments, I'll sponsor an Alliance Hierarch!"
Book-hungry Reader: "Xia Hua, could you create a QQ group so we fans can chat?"
Can't Stand It, Just Rant: "Another brainless, feel-good novel. Trash. Not even a dog would read this."
Damn, only 30,000 words in and I already have haters. Li Yuan first deleted the hater's negative review, then replied to the important comments one by one.
"Thank you for the tip, boss. I'm working hard on writing and will definitely do a mass release after the novel goes premium."
"The QQ group will be set up after the book goes premium. I'll post some side stories in the group then."
There was also a message from his editor, Starry Sky, "This Sunday, you'll get a featured category promotion. Make sure you don't miss an update, and feel free to release extra chapters if you can."
Li Yuan hurriedly replied, "Thank you so much, Starry Sky. I'll do my best to keep updating."
A moment later, Starry Sky replied again, "This book is trending very well right now and has the potential to become a huge hit. You need to pay more attention to the quality of your manuscripts. Revise them carefully before uploading to minimize typos."
Li Yuan felt a flush of embarrassment. He typed fast, but in his past life, he often wrote just to get the full attendance bonus, rarely revising his work before scheduling it for publication. This often led to typos.
Li Yuan replied, "Thanks for the reminder, Starry Sky. I'll be more careful from now on."
To build up a backlog of chapters, Li Yuan spent over ten hours at the internet cafe, finishing nearly 40,000 words.
Over this past week, I've been getting up early and staying up late, writing 30,000-40,000 words a day. I've already stockpiled 200,000 words. After the novel goes premium, I can do a huge chapter dump... Depending on how the promotion goes, getting over 10,000 first-time subscribers shouldn't be a problem.
Just then, a message popped up on QQ.
A message from Xu Zhi read, "Yuanzi, Yuchen told me that Bai Weixi has been acting a little strange these past few days. What exactly is going on between you two?"
Li Yuan was speechless. How am I supposed to know? It's not like I'm a mind reader.
He quickly typed back, "Don't ask me, I have no damn clue. Is it a crime to not want to be entangled with her anymore?"
Xu Zhi replied, "I think it would be better if you cleared things up with her. You've been classmates for three years, after all. Even if you can't be a couple, you could at least be regular friends."
Li Yuan typed, "Dazhi, do you really think people can be friends after they fail to become lovers?"
"Uh, I guess it should be possible," Xu Zhi sent back.
Li Yuan was incredulous. "Let me tell you, the best ending for two people who can't be lovers is to go their separate ways and never cross paths again."
"You've got a point," Xu Zhi conceded. "I won't get involved then. Just don't regret it if something really happens to Bai Weixi."
Li Yuan smirked and typed quickly, "You're overestimating my importance in her heart. Have you heard that song?"
"What song?" Xu Zhi asked.
"Actor," Li Yuan replied.