Chapter 115: Is That As High As It Gets?

Che Peiqing was somewhat surprised to see Hua Tianyu readily admit to being a chauffeur, though an arrogant expression could not help but surface on his face.

After a perfunctory handshake, he didn't even bother to greet Hua Tianyu, preoccupied with getting Jia Wenle ready for the race. He didn't even acknowledge Tian Li, turning directly to Bei Zhenping to say, "My little brother here, Jia Wenle, is going to race today as well. Please do me a favor and add him to the betting odds."

"Very well," Bei Zhenping replied, signaling his assistant to inspect Jia Wenle's motorcycle. They were quite familiar with the bikes belonging to the Chechi Club members; as long as there were no major modifications, one person was sufficient for the inspection. The reason they had two people inspect Tian Li’s bike earlier was that she had been away from the club for a while, and no one could be sure what changes might have been made to her Jialing in the interim.

"Tian Li!" Jia Wenle called out as she drew closer, his heart already beginning to burn with desire. He shot a look of disdain at Hua Tianyu before focusing his entire attention on her. As he stared, he developed a delusion that Tian Li had been forcibly abducted by this Hua Tianyu and was waiting for him to rescue her.

"Tian Li, don't worry! I'm coming to save you!" he shouted in a trance.

"You're a lunatic, drop dead!" Tian Li’s reply was simple and direct.

Jia Wenle faltered, his voice cut short. Only then did he notice that Tian Li was hooked onto Hua Tianyu’s arm, leaning her entire body against him. She hadn't even spared him a glance while hurling the insult.

Jia Wenle’s face darkened, the fire of hatred in his eyes growing more intense. He thought to himself, *Even if Young Master Qiu hadn't told me to do this today, I wouldn't let you off. Hua Tianyu, you dare to put your hands on my woman? Just you wait! I’ll show you what’s coming to you. You might have been planning to skip the race, but once you're on that track, I’ll make sure you never come back.* He sneered internally, looking at Hua Tianyu as if he were already a dead man.

When Hua Tianyu heard Che Peiqing mention that Jia Wenle would be racing, he had already guessed what was going on. He treated Jia Wenle’s words and glare with utter indifference. *A piece of trash like this wants to pursue Tian Li?* Hua Tianyu couldn't even be bothered to look at him; if the man dared to pull any tricks during the race, he would simply crush him.

He had come over for another matter. "Can I bet on myself to win?" Hua Tianyu asked Bei Zhenping.

"Of course," Bei Zhenping replied.

"What are the odds?"

"One to three," said Bei Zhenping. These odds were quite high, implying a near-certainty that Hua Tianyu would lose. He wasn't afraid of offending this driver; if he dared to set such odds, he didn't care what a mere chauffeur thought.

"These odds are a bit low. Are you that confident in me?" Hua Tianyu asked with a smile.

*These odds are low?* Bei Zhenping curled his lip, thinking, *You bumpkin, do you think one to three is a compliment? If you brought a kindergartner to drive, I’d give you one to ten!*

"Can't you go any higher?" Hua Tianyu pressed.

"No," Bei Zhenping refused flatly. He felt there was no point in explaining things to a rube like this; he probably didn't even understand what "odds" meant.

"What a pity," Hua Tianyu clicked his tongue, looking genuinely regretful. He pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to Bei Zhenping. "There is ten million here. Help me place a bet—I’m betting on myself to win."

"You're playing with a thousand? Ha, poor wretch!" Jia Wenle mocked from the side, full of contempt.

Jia Wenle had misheard, but Bei Zhenping had not. Due to his profession, he was extremely sensitive to numbers, and the amount Hua Tianyu mentioned made his heart skip a beat. "Ten million... betting on yourself to win?" Bei Zhenping’s voice wavered.

"Yes, ten million on myself to win," Hua Tianyu nodded slightly.

Bei Zhenping swallowed hard. At one to three, a ten-million-dollar bet would pay out thirty million. He had just been asked to raise the odds; if he had raised them to one to five, a win would have meant fifty million. *How could someone capable of pulling out ten million to bet on themselves be a bumpkin? How could he not know what odds are? How could he be a mere chauffeur? How could he be racing a domestic 600cc Jialing against a 1000cc Yamaha? My head is spinning. Someone wants to bet ten million that a 600cc Jialing can beat a 1000cc Yamaha—should I take the bet or not? Seeking advice, waiting online, it’s urgent...*

"Brother Tian, well... we are a small operation, we have a betting limit," Bei Zhenping said, now using an honorific.

"What's the limit?" Hua Tianyu asked.

"One million," Bei Zhenping replied, holding up a finger. This was the conclusion he had reached after a quick mental calculation. If Hua Tianyu lost, he would make a killing and be set for a year. If Hua Tianyu won, he would lose everything he owned, effectively having to start from scratch. Of course, deep down, he didn't believe Hua Tianyu could possibly win, but as a small-time bookie, he didn't dare accept a ten-million-dollar bet. So, he would take one million—he was gambling on this round.

"Sigh, one million it is, then. I'll just treat it as pocket money," Hua Tianyu said with a sigh.

"One million in pocket money?!" Bei Zhenping’s face twitched.

With a wave of his hand, Hua Tianyu handed the card to Bei Zhenping and turned to leave with Tian Li and Lin Lin. Before walking away, he glanced back toward the crowd where Qiu Jinghao was standing and called out with a smile, "Young Master Qiu, have you had your braised pork today?"

With that, he walked toward Tian Li’s motorcycle, leaving behind a bewildered Che Peiqing and a horrified Jia Wenle.

Che Peiqing thought Hua Tianyu was an idiot—a wealthy idiot. *If you have that million, why not buy a better bike and then come race me? Racing me on Tian Li’s bike and then throwing a million away betting on yourself—what else could that be but idiocy? And what was that about ten million earlier? Using this bike to race me, isn't that just throwing ten million into the water without even a splash?* The phrase "stupid, rich, come quickly" suddenly crossed his mind.

Jia Wenle, on the other hand, was stunned by the scale of Hua Tianyu’s bet. *One million?! He threw it out without even blinking? Aren't you just a chauffeur? How do you have ten million? If you're that rich, why be a chauffeur? Why not be a CEO yourself? Do women these days prefer chauffeurs over CEOs? Damn it, what kind of person is this?* Jia Wenle cast a desperate look toward Qiu Jinghao: *Young Master Qiu, is he really just a chauffeur?*