Chapter 624: A Losing Streak

“You’re not going to back out, are you?” Shen Yibin turned and looked at Xu Ye with a teasing smirk. ‘This guy might have a lot of flaws, but he’s never gone back on his word with me.’

“Of course not! A loss is a loss. I’ll leave the car with you. You can just drop me off at my company later. And I’ll do that workout routine you mentioned.” Xu Ye conceded, just as expected. “But you have to give me a chance to win it back, right? Let’s go again. If you win this time, I won’t take even an ounce of the tea. I’ll even give you some of the Dahongpao my dad gave me.”

“Dahongpao? Is it the real deal?” Shen Yibin’s interest was piqued again. ‘I wonder if tea eggs made with Dahongpao would be any good? I really want to try it.’

“Of course it is! A local business owner gave it to my dad. It’s not from those few mother trees, but it’s from first-generation descendant trees. The flavor is almost as good as the stuff from the mother trees. I usually can’t even bear to drink it myself,” Xu Ye swore, afraid Shen Yibin would refuse.

“Alright, but I have one more condition. If you agree, we’ll continue,” Shen Yibin said with a grin.

“What condition? Name it.” Xu Ye wasn’t just doing this for the tea. More than that, he, a veteran fan who watched games every day, was unwilling to admit he’d lost to a total novice like Shen Yibin.

“I’m planning a trip to Wuyi Mountain soon. Have your business partner find someone to take me to see those mother trees.” ‘Hmm, since the Junshan Silver Needle Tea is already planted, maybe it’s time to think about Wuyi Mountain’s Dahongpao?’

“That’s no problem. He’s in the tea business. He might not be able to buy tea from the mother trees, but taking you to see them won’t be an issue,” Xu Ye immediately agreed.

‘Looks like I’ll be getting my hands on the Wuyi Mountain Dahongpao seeds soon. I wonder if there’s a way to get West Lake Longjing Tea seeds?’ Shen Yibin drained the Monkey Wine from his glass. “Alright then, which game are we betting on next?”

“Let me check the schedule.” Xu Ye took out his phone and started scrolling. “Oh, the next game is the Timberwolves against the Celtics. It starts in forty-five minutes. Which team do you want?”

“Let’s decide when the game starts. It’s getting late and I’m a little hungry. I’ll go make some food, and we can eat before we continue watching.” With that, Shen Yibin left a gloomy-looking Xu Ye in the media room and went to the kitchen with Hah’Er. The Turtle Immortal remained under the projector screen, resting with its eyes closed. Xu Ye put down his phone, picked up the remote, and started changing the channel.

“Come and eat! Try this dish I stir-fried with Junshan Silver Needle Tea and see if you like it.” About twenty minutes later, Shen Yibin called Xu Ye to dinner. He had already set the medicinal-herb porridge to simmer, so it was just ready. Making a few stir-fried dishes had been a quick job.

“Huh, this actually tastes pretty good! But I still think it’s a bit of a waste to cook with such fine tea.” Though he said it was a waste, his hands didn’t slow down one bit. More than half of the plate of Junshan Silver Needle Chicken Slices ended up in Xu Ye’s stomach, leaving Shen Yibin speechless.

“Mhm, this porridge is great too. It’s so warm and comforting. I think we can turn off the AC in the room while we watch the game later!” Xu Ye was full of praise for the medicinal-herb porridge as well.

“That’s not the only benefit. You’ll understand in a couple of days.” ‘As soon as this guy leaves my place, he’s definitely going to go hit on some girls. He’ll experience the benefits of my medicinal-herb porridge then. I bet he’ll be over here freeloading for dinner every day after that.’

“Then make some more tonight! The game’s about to start. Let’s hurry up and go watch!” After scarfing down the last few bites of his porridge, Xu Ye put down his bowl and started dragging Shen Yibin toward the media room.

“What’s the rush? I haven’t cleared the table yet!” Shen Yibin insisted on cleaning up before he would go. This made Eldest Young Master Xu, who never did chores at home, so afraid of missing the game that he had no choice but to help, carrying the dishes into the kitchen. Only then did he manage to drag Shen Yibin into the media room.

When they got there, Hah’Er was already seated off to the side. The projector screen showed the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Celtics warming up. It looked pretty much the same as that morning. Er, no, wait, something had changed. For some reason, while the Turtle Immortal had been on this side in the morning, after dinner it had crawled over to the other side and was now lying under the Celtics’ logo.

“Same as this morning. You pick first!” Xu Ye said, pretending to be generous.

Shen Yibin glanced at the Turtle Immortal and said casually, “Hm? I seem to remember Garnett just got traded from the Timberwolves to the Celtics, right? In that case, the Timberwolves don’t have any big stars left, do they? I’ll bet on the Celtics to win, then!”

“PFFT!” Xu Ye spat out a mouthful of tea. “What year do you think it is? Garnett going to the Celtics was ages ago! He’s been retired for a while now, okay?” ‘Dammit, I can’t believe I just lost to a complete basketball illiterate. This is so frustrating!’

“Then I’ll take the Timberwolves!” Xu Ye quickly locked in his bet after his outburst. In his opinion, the Timberwolves now had incredible rookies like Wiggins and Towns, plus a solid group of players. They weren’t much weaker than the Celtics. The Celtics had just lost their top scorer in the new season, and their new acquisition, Kyrie Irving, was still building chemistry with his teammates. The Timberwolves clearly had a much better chance of winning this game.

However, the result of the game disappointed Xu Ye once again. Wiggins and Towns were completely off their game, constantly clanking shots and making turnovers, squandering the Timberwolves’ scoring opportunities one after another. In contrast, Kyrie Irving’s drives for the Celtics were like lightning, letting him get to the basket as if no one was there. His three-pointers were unbelievably accurate, one after another finding their mark with a SWISH. Before the third quarter was even over, the Timberwolves had given up.

“Let’s go again!” Having lost two in a row, Xu Ye was beyond frustrated.

“Uh, but I think all the NBA games for today are over, aren’t they? What’ll we bet on?” Shen Yibin said with an innocent shrug.

“The J League is about to start! We’ll bet on soccer. The next match is the Urawa Red Diamonds versus the Kashima Antlers. We’ll bet on this one!” Xu Ye immediately switched the channel to the game. The players from both teams were just walking onto the field.

“I’ll bet on the Urawa Red Diamonds this time, then.” Shen Yibin glanced at the Turtle Immortal and instantly made his choice.

“Then I have no choice but to bet on the Kashima Antlers!” Xu Ye followed.

The result: less than eighty minutes into the game, the Kashima Antlers were already down by three goals. Xu Ye had lost again.