Forced Me to Regress, Huh? - Chapter 7: All-In

At the entrance of Hidden, a big Mercedes-Benz was struggling to parallel park.

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class was already long, and Li Rui, sitting in the driver’s seat, had just gotten his driver’s license not long ago. He had already attempted to back in several times without success.

In the back seat were Li Xinyue and her best friend, Chen Rongrong, which made Li Rui’s face turn red with embarrassment and anxiety.

But the more anxious he became, the more he struggled to park properly.

Unfortunately, there was only one parking space around him, and he didn’t dare to park anywhere else. After all, it wasn’t easy for him to take his father’s car out. If the police gave him a ticket, he would surely get an earful.

After several awkward maneuvers, Li Rui finally managed to park the car crookedly. He immediately got out of the car and went to open the door for Li Xinyue to show his gentlemanly demeanor and warm-heartedness.

He was in a really good mood today because Li Xinyue and Cheng Zhu had broken up and even deleted each other from their contacts.

They definitely won’t get back together this time!

Therefore, he immediately approached Chen Rongrong and asked her to invite Li Xinyue to a bar tonight.

In high school, Chen Rongrong had secretly gone to bars and had even dated someone in a bar’s marketing staff.

How else would she get pregnant so early?

Li Xinyue had never been to a bar before.

For some students at this stage, bars were a forbidden place, but they were curious about them.

Li Rui specially chose a quiet bar rather than a nightclub because he knew that Li Xinyue would definitely refuse that.

On the way here, he had been trying to impress her. “This bar is called Hidden. I’m pretty familiar with the owner.”

In fact, it was his cousin who knew Shen Minglang. When the bar first opened, his cousin had helped promote it on social media. Li Rui didn’t know Shen Minglang at all.

When it came time to pay, he planned to use his cousin’s membership card and pretend it was his own, thinking this would make him look cooler.

Before setting off, he had already told his cousin that he would transfer the money to him later.

It was rather childish behavior, but some boys went through phases like this. Moreover, some guys liked to act in ridiculous and low-level ways even when they were twenty-eight, let alone eighteen.

On the way here, Li Xinyue and Chen Rongrong had chatted about Cheng Zhu in the back seat.

Li Xinyue even recounted their conversation, making Chen Rongrong angry and amused.

Yueyue told him it was really over this time, and he replied, “OK.”

Where the hell did this peerless talent come from?!

“How could he be like that?!” Chen Rongrong complained.

Li Rui chimed in, “The other day, when I heard him say warm-hearted guys line up behind dogs, I felt his mentality was wrong. Men should treat women unconditionally well. Women are meant to be pampered unconditionally.”

This guy was still insisting on being a warm-hearted guy.

Li Rui felt he must have a stark contrast with Cheng Zhu in Li Xinyue’s mind.

“That’s right!” Chen Rongrong agreed.

Like Li Xinyue, she was also the kind of girl who could be very demanding during a relationship. Birds of a feather flocked together, so she agreed with Li Rui’s point of view and felt that Cheng Zhu was completely in the wrong.

Little did they know that Cheng Zhu believed a true princess throwing a fit was what real princess syndrome was. What they had was more like chicken emotional outburst syndrome.

At this moment, the three of them walked into Hidden together and felt that this place was a little novel.

The bar was relatively dark. After they sat down, they found that the person sitting across from them seemed to be Cheng Zhu!

“It’s Cheng Zhu!” Chen Rongrong whispered.

Li Rui cursed his bad luck and suggested, “Should we go to another bar?”

Li Xinyue shook her head, her gaze fixed on Shen Qingning.

Although they could only see her side profile, Shen Qingning’s temperament, appearance, and undeniably long legs were on a whole different level compared to Li Xinyue’s.

Moreover, she exuded an indescribable noble aura, like a cold and aloof eldest young lady.

Some girls just had that vibe. You could tell at a glance that they came from a well-off family.

Shen Qingning was one of them.

“No, let’s stay here,” Li Xinyue suddenly said.

“Ah? Okay… that’s fine.” Li Rui and Chen Rongrong looked at each other.

Chen Rongrong asked quietly, “Do you know those people sitting next to Cheng Zhu?”

Li Xinyue shook her head. “I only recognize Jiang Wanzhou. He’s Cheng Zhu’s good friend, but I don’t like him. He’s too effeminate.”

Meanwhile, Cheng Zhu and Jiang Wanzhou also noticed Li Xinyue and her group sitting not far across from them.

Jiang Wanzhou smiled. “Hey, your ex-girlfriend is over there.”

As soon as he said it, Shen Minglang perked up and asked, “Where, where? Let me see what kind of taste you have.”

Cheng Zhu hadn’t expected to run into them, but it didn’t matter.

He had been through this kind of situation plenty of times.

After all, when he later started his business in Wucheng, despite the city being known worldwide for its small commodity market, it was still just a county-level city and pretty small.

And given his later personality—a prodigal who repented only to stray again—he often found himself running into women with whom he had a history or even accidents.

No need to panic! It was just a minor scene, a minor scene.

In his opinion, recent high school graduates were still in that phase where they would get nervous giving a public speech or be too embarrassed to sing in a KTV. In such a public place, nothing could possibly happen.

Seeing Li Rui looking over, he stared back, which immediately made Li Rui look away awkwardly.

Following Cheng Zhu’s line of sight, Shen Minglang glanced over and said with a smile, “Not bad. Both girls look pretty and lively. Are both of them your exes? Should I have Yezi send them a fruit platter?”

“No need, that’s not necessary.” Cheng Zhu smiled. “You’re very generous, Cousin.”

On Cheng Zhu’s side, the atmosphere remained light and casual. Meanwhile, on Li Xinyue’s, because Shen Minglang and Shen Qingning occasionally glanced over, she began to feel more and more uncomfortable, as if her entire body was tense.

She felt awkward, an awkwardness she had never experienced before.

The more awkward she felt, the angrier she became with Cheng Zhu. It’s all his fault!

At this moment, the bar’s large screen was showing a replay of a World Cup match.

Several patrons were still animatedly discussing the previous game.

Some were excited, while others were annoyed.

Chen Rongrong changed the topic and said, “I heard a lot of people have been betting on the games. Do you guys know anyone doing it?”

Li Xinyue shook her head absentmindedly.

Li Rui jumped in eagerly. “The World Cup finals is in just a few hours. Argentina versus Germany. I’m thinking of putting down a small bet of two thousand.”

He was trying to subtly flaunt his wealth, and his voice got a bit louder.

“Two thousand? That’s a lot,” Chen Rongrong said in surprise.

“Not really. It’s just a small bet for fun,” Li Rui said, raising his voice even more.

The bar’s background music was low, but the replayed game was loud. Even so, Li Rui’s raised voice could still be heard by the people on Cheng Zhu’s side.

“Tsk, two thousand? What a rich second-generation,” Shen Minglang remarked. It was unclear if he was impressed or mocking.

At this moment, Jiang Wanzhou got up to go to the restroom.

Cheng Zhu had been waiting for this chance.

He casually said, “Cousin, Jiang Wanzhou mentioned that you could help me place a bet and that your odds were pretty good.”

“Of course. If you trust me, it’s no trouble at all,” Shen Minglang replied with a smile.

He had already placed his own bet—50,000 on Germany to win the championship.

The odds were not bad, 2.3.

If Germany ended up winning, he’d make 65,000 in profit.

Shen Minglang asked, “Who do you think is going to win?”

“Germany,” Cheng Zhu replied without hesitation.

“Hmm? Sharp eye! I bet on Germany too! Just a small wager of fifty thousand.” Shen Minglang patted his shoulder.

Cheng Zhu chuckled. “Didn’t you just say you’re a die-hard Messi fan? Why didn’t you bet on Argentina?”

“Exactly, so in honor of my idol, I bet five hundred on Argentina to win.” Shen Minglang nodded with a grin.

You’re really something. You’re cracking me up. Cheng Zhu gave him a thumbs up. “Touching.”

“So, how much are you putting on Germany to win? My odds are 2.3,” Shen Minglang said.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Zhu shook his head. “Cousin, I’m not betting on the championship. I’m betting on the scoreline.”

“Woah! You’re quite ambitious. You’re actually going straight for the correct score. What is the scoreline you’re betting on?” Shen Minglang asked.

Betting on the outcome was one thing, but the odds of getting the exact scoreline right were much lower.

Of course, the odds would be much higher!

Cheng Zhu asked, “What are the odds of 0-0?”

Shen Minglang picked up his phone and looked at it. “Let me check. The odds are… seven-point-five.”

“Then please help me bet on this. I think it’ll be a 0-0 draw in regulation time and then enter extra time. Cousin, how should I transfer the money to you?” Cheng Zhu asked.

“Damn, you’re bold, going for a 0-0. I’m fine with however you want to transfer the money,” Shen Minglang said. “How much are you betting?”

“Twelve thousand,” Cheng Zhu replied without hesitation.

“Twelve thousand, huh? Sure… Wait, what? How much did you say?” Shen Minglang looked up in surprise.