Chapter 623: One More Bet

“I’m not betting. It’s not like I can’t afford your car. If I wanted one, I’d just go to a dealership and buy it myself. On the other hand, you can’t be so sure you’ll be able to get your hands on my tea.” Shen Yibin picked up the remote and started tinkering with it. Xu Ye’s Mercedes SUV wasn’t a huge expense for him. Setting aside the dividends Hah’Er earned, just saving up the shop’s revenue for a month or two would be enough to buy one. He was just used to his current car and couldn’t be bothered to switch for the time being.

As for the tea, if Shen Yibin hadn’t been a loyal customer of that particular hotel—which helped him find the seller with the rare collection—he wouldn’t have been able to buy it no matter how much money he had. At least, not tea this authentic.

“Getting cold feet, are we? How about this—aren’t you supposed to teach me how to work out? If you agree to the bet and win, I’ll do whatever you tell me to!” Seeing his car wasn’t enough to tempt Shen Yibin, Xu Ye had to try another tactic and raised the stakes.

“Are you serious?” Shen Yibin had been worried that the movements of the Turtle Breathing Technique were too ridiculous for Xu Ye to be willing to learn. Now, hearing this offer, he was immediately tempted. ‘If I win, he’ll have to listen to me.’

“Of course I’m serious. Tell you what, I’ll even give you a handicap—you can pick your team first!” Xu Ye said, feigning magnanimity. Inwardly, he was a little hesitant. ‘If Shen Yibin picks the team I think is going to win, this could get awkward.’ But for the sake of more tea, it was a risk worth taking.

“Alright then, let me think about which team to pick!” Shen Yibin had finished with the settings by now. He set the remote down, settled into a comfortable position on the couch, and started mulling over which team would be the better choice. ‘I don’t really follow the NBA, so this is actually a tough decision.’

“Mmm!” Hah’Er comfortably climbed onto the chair to Shen Yibin’s right and sat down, preparing to pull the Turtle Immortal into its lap. However, the Turtle Immortal paid it no mind, instead slowly crawling to the base of the projector screen. It retracted its limbs into its shell, gave Shen Yibin a look, then closed its eyes to rest.

“Hurry up! The game’s about to start. If you don’t pick soon, I’m going to!” On the screen, the starting lineups for both teams were on the court. The referee, basketball in hand, was walking to the center circle for the tip-off. Xu Ye couldn’t help but rush him.

“Uh, in that case, I’ll pick… I’ll pick the Warriors!” Shen Yibin had spotted the Turtle Immortal lying right below the Warriors’ team name and instinctively made his choice.

“Great, then I’ll take the Cavaliers!” Xu Ye gave Shen Yibin no chance to back out, immediately sealing the bet with a clap of his hands. He then made sure to ask, “Say, Bin, why’d you pick the Warriors?”

“Weren’t the Warriors last year’s champions? They should be the better team, right?” Even though Shen Yibin didn’t follow basketball, he’d still see news about the Warriors winning the title while scrolling through social media. ‘Logically, the defending champions should be the stronger team, right?’ That, combined with seeing the Turtle Immortal lying under the Warriors’ name, was why he had made his choice.

“Haha, that’s where you’ve miscalculated! You can’t compare these two teams to how they were during last year’s finals.” Xu Ye smirked. The Warriors’ championship was old news. If this game had been played last year, he would have definitely picked the Warriors to win, too. But after last season, the Cavaliers had massively reinforced their roster, bringing in several superstars to form an unprecedentedly stacked lineup. Their power level was far beyond what it was last year. After a breaking-in period at the start of the season, the new lineup had already developed good chemistry and was now every bit as strong as the Warriors.

The Warriors, on the other hand, hadn’t made any major moves during the offseason. They kept the core of last season’s roster, only adding some rookies and swapping out a few bench players who didn’t have much impact. Their strength hadn’t really increased, and to make matters worse, they had lost a key starter to injury. Facing a powerhouse like the Cavaliers under these conditions—and on the Cavaliers’ home court, no less—the Warriors’ chances of winning were slim.

The pre-game betting lines from all the major sportsbooks confirmed it. They all had the Cavaliers favored by 7.5 to 8.5 points, a clear sign they didn’t fancy the Warriors’ chances. Xu Ye felt the tea was pretty much in the bag.

“Whatever. Let’s just watch and see. Maybe I’ll get lucky and win.” Seeing Xu Ye’s smug expression, Shen Yibin’s heart sank. Losing some more tea would sting, but it wasn’t the end of the world. The real loss would be if Xu Ye refused to practice the Turtle Breathing Technique with him. Despite his worries, he wasn’t about to admit defeat.

While they were talking, the game officially began. The Cavaliers immediately hit the Warriors with a show of force. James made several explosive drives to the basket for powerful dunks, firing up his team and the entire arena. Just as the Warriors attempted to counter, the referee stepped in, disrupting their rhythm with his whistle. The Warriors’ momentum was completely stifled by the Cavaliers.

By the end of the first quarter, the Warriors were trailing by more than ten points. Xu Ye’s initial sliver of doubt had completely vanished. “Haha, what did I tell you, Bin? Where do you keep that tea? Don’t trouble yourself later, I’ll go get it myself!”

“What’s the rush? The game isn’t over yet, is it?” Even Shen Yibin, a total novice, could see the Warriors were in an unfavorable position, but he stubbornly refused to admit it.

The two continued to watch the game, bickering all the while. In the second quarter, the Cavaliers’ bench also outplayed the Warriors’ second unit. The point gap gradually widened until, by halftime, the Warriors were trailing by more than twenty points.

“Don’t worry, I’ll still leave you enough for drinking. The portion for your cooking is probably gone, though. Sigh, using such fine tea for cooking… it’s a criminal waste!” Xu Ye felt that victory was firmly in his grasp.

Shen Yibin no longer had the energy to argue, just forcing a laugh as he waited for the game to resume. As the third quarter began, the Cavaliers continued to widen their lead. The smile on Xu Ye’s face grew broader while Shen Yibin’s vanished completely. ‘It looks like I’m really going to lose!’

But who could have predicted that in the latter half of the third quarter, the tables would suddenly turn? The Warriors kicked off a counterattack with a deep three-pointer, and a brief scoring run brought the deficit back to under twenty points.

As the fourth quarter went on, the Warriors seemed to have found their touch completely. They were scoring from all over the court, steadily closing the gap. Not even the referee’s whistles could break their hot streak. With twenty seconds left in the game, the Warriors were only down by one, and they had possession.

Just as the final buzzer sounded, the basketball swished through the net. The Warriors had won with a buzzer-beater against the Cavaliers.

“Bin, how about we bet again?” Xu Ye asked, completely dejected.