"What? Ye Chuan bet five thousand on himself?"
Upon hearing this, An Shiyu couldn't hide her surprise. Her delicate eyebrows arched slightly.
"You mean he actually thinks he’ll win?"
Where on earth did he get such confidence? This was a fight against over a dozen trained opponents. Even if taekwondo leaned more toward performance, these people were still stronger than the average person.
If he really thought he was some hot-blooded shounen protagonist who could just shout "Amataras" and win, he was in for a rude awakening.
That guy, Ye Chuan—how could he be so sure of himself? Shouldn’t he be more worried about whether his legs would get broken?
Luo Xi understood An Shiyu’s confusion, but she pulled out her phone anyway. "Xiao Yu, I’m betting on Ye Chuan too. Three thousand."
An Shiyu stared at her. "You don’t actually think he’ll win, do you? You saved up that money for ages."
Luo Xi had been the least confident in Ye Chuan before. Why were they all suddenly jumping on the bandwagon?
Well, if they were just handing her free money, An Shiyu wasn’t about to complain.
Luo Xi shook her head, her high ponytail swaying. "Ye Chuan believes in himself so much. I want to support him too—to believe in him."
As she spoke, her bright eyes curved into adorable crescents.
Wow, talk about a devoted couple.
An Shiyu kept that thought to herself. Feeling the reverberations of pure love, she sighed. "Fine~ I’ll take your bet."
If Ye Chuan really got beaten up later, she’d just return Luo Xi’s money.
As for Ye Chuan’s five thousand?
Confiscated!
Serves him right for corrupting Luo Xi.
"Hehe." Luo Xi giggled cheerfully.
Meanwhile, on the stage, Ye Chuan’s arrival had drawn nearly everyone’s attention. Many were surprised he’d actually shown up.
If his weekend forum posts had been all talk, his appearance now earned him some grudging respect. At least he had the guts to come, unlike the keyboard warriors who turned cowardly in real life.
"You actually dared to come? Figured out how many bones you’re breaking today?" Huang Haotian sneered, stepping forward when he spotted Ye Chuan.
Ye Chuan gave him a weird look—so intense it made Huang Haotian uneasy. After a few seconds, Ye Chuan suddenly grinned.
"You’re such a joke. Wasn’t it you who got wrecked last time? What’s with the act?"
He mimed a crab claw. "If you’re bad, just practice more. If you can’t handle losing, don’t play."
"Seriously, barking after getting knocked flat? Pathetic, Huang Rat."
The crowd erupted. Many had forgotten that Huang Haotian was the one who’d been humiliated days ago. How was he acting all high and mighty now?
Even if Ye Chuan lost to the entire taekwondo club, it wouldn’t be shameful. At the very least, their captain was no match for him.
Huang Haotian stiffened, his face flushing red. "Damn you—"
"Just wait. I’ll make you kneel and call me ‘Daddy’!" Ye Chuan’s taunts shattered his composure. Veins bulged on his forehead.
Other club members quickly restrained him. "Haotian, calm down! The match is about to start. If you fight now, people will talk."
Once pulled back, Huang Haotian regained some control. He shot Ye Chuan a venomous glare. "Just wait."
"Wait for what? For me to beat you up?" Ye Chuan laughed. "Didn’t know you were into that."
"You—!"
"Haotian! Chill!"
As Huang Haotian was dragged away, still roaring, Ye Chuan shook his head. Shortly after, a group of people entered and took seats resembling judges’ positions.
A host-like guy stepped forward, smiling.
"Didn’t expect such a turnout! Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to our taekwondo club’s exhibition match."
"Today’s participants include club captain Huang Haotian and over a dozen members."
"And—"
"The challenger, Ye Chuan."
"Hold up." Ye Chuan cut in before the host could finish.
"Ye Chuan, is there a problem?" The host blinked, confused.
"You got it wrong." Ye Chuan pointed at the taekwondo team. "They’re the ones who lost to me."
Pausing, he smirked.
"You’re the challengers here."
The Taekwondo Club members were stunned, and even the audience fell silent for a few seconds before erupting into an uproar again.
"Holy crap, this guy is seriously arrogant. I thought he was just talking big online, but he’s the same in person."
"Damn, Ye Chuan, if you can take down more than three of them, I’ll crown you the number one in Yinshan from now on!"
"Hey, is it just me, or is Ye Chuan kinda good-looking?"
"Now that you mention it, he’s got that clean, fair-skinned vibe. Even a single-for-twenty-years tough guy like me is feeling a little flutter."
The audience below buzzed with chatter, while the Taekwondo Club members were practically itching to rush the stage and tear Ye Chuan apart, hurling curses at him from below.
Seriously, what gives him the right to be so cocky?
Seeing how worked up the Taekwondo Club was, the host wiped the sweat from his forehead.
This kid really has no fear of death, daring to provoke them like that.
"Alright, the challenger—Taekwondo Club."
"Now, let me introduce our distinguished guests below…" The so-called guests were actually the presidents of other clubs like the Judo Club and the Sanda Club. Naturally, as frontline spectators of the drama, they wouldn’t miss this match.
"Alright, the match is about to begin. Any issues from either side?" the host asked.
"None!" Huang Haotian gritted his teeth, practically itching to tear Ye Chuan apart on the spot.
"I have one." Ye Chuan raised his hand again.
What now?
The host had only asked out of routine, but seeing Ye Chuan speak up once more, he couldn’t hide his impatience.
Was this guy chickening out?
"The registration fee—one thousand per person. You didn’t forget, did you?" Ye Chuan glanced at Huang Haotian’s side.
Registration fee?
Huang Haotian froze for a second but quickly remembered—yeah, there was something like that.
Back when Ye Chuan was trash-talking on the forum, he did say anyone who wanted to challenge him had to cough up a thousand.