Chapter 6

Liu Hao was completely preoccupied, not thinking about his in-laws' house at all. At this moment, he lay on the sofa, lost in thought, still brooding over his poor performance in today's afternoon match.

From time to time, he sighed.

"Ah, how could this happen!"

"Liu Hao, can you turn down the TV a bit? The child is sleeping." Zhang Yu had just come out of Liu Bao's room.

Liu Hao didn't react at all...

"Is he in a trance?" Zhang Yu had to come over and turn down the volume herself.

"Is there any hope for Chinese football? The media keeps reporting, but I don't think Ma Mingyu can do much. A few days ago, there was a friendly match, right? A colleague at my workplace bet on China's win, but lost badly and even secretly asked me for money."

"You lent him money? Do you know what kind of Chinese people are the richest? Those who bet on Chinese football to win. You actually lent him money! I'm not mad that you lent money to others, but that you lent it to someone who bets on China..."

When it came to money, Liu Hao immediately snapped out of it and started lecturing Zhang Yu.

In recent years, whenever China's team played, it was incredibly difficult for them to win, even at home. Those who still had illusions about Chinese football always thought that China could win against minor teams, so they bet on China. But China wasn't even a minor team; they lost terribly.

Once or twice was one thing, but ten or eight times in a row, so those who bet on China to win were truly rich, not afraid of losing.

"Our mom also buys lottery tickets, but she doesn't win often. Don't you always give her money to buy them?" Zhang Yu pouted,不服气 (unconvinced).

"That's different. I give her small amounts, just for entertainment. She spends only a few dozen yuan each time. Your colleague, on the other hand, bets hundreds or even thousands, which could bankrupt a family." Liu Hao sat up, crossed his arms, and prepared to give a long lecture.

"Ha, you haven't noticed, but when we have dinner, if there are many dishes on the table, it means Mom won money. If there's only one dish or none, it means she lost. Dad told me this."

Zhang Yu's reminder made Liu Hao think. It seemed that this was indeed the case when he came home for dinner before.

"Hmm, that makes sense... But, I feel like your style is similar to Mom's? Last week, I remember at least three days when we only had green pepper and meat, and the meat was like toothpicks... Wait, I think you're not lending money to your colleague for gambling, but you're gambling yourself? Come clean!"

Zhang Yu rolled her eyes and didn't say anything.

"But there were no matches last week... It doesn't make sense." Liu Hao negated himself.

"Are you a seasoned fan? Besides the top five leagues, are there no other leagues? What about the Singapore League, Vietnam League, Swiss League, and so on? Are they not leagues?" Zhang Yu couldn't hold back and decided to enlighten her husband.

Last week, many European leagues were playing cup matches, and due to heavy snow, many matches were canceled. So Liu Hao wasn't sure. Now that Zhang Yu mentioned it, his face turned dark.

"You... You're not betting on these leagues too, are you! Ah) (*￥+…" He glared at Zhang Yu, his hands spread out, ready to pounce.

If he was betting on these matches, it was terrifying.

There were dozens of such matches each week, and he didn't know the teams well, so he could only guess based on online odds...

Could he win by guessing? Impossible.

Many of Liu Hao's friends liked to play this way, but they lost terribly.

He never thought his wife would also play this game?!

This was a major shock.

"Who taught you to play this?" Liu Hao felt like killing someone. "You're a teacher, a teacher, and you're betting on football? And on such a large scale? Are you a math teacher? Haven't you studied probability theory? Haven't you studied statistics?"

Is this the gentle and virtuous wife he knew? Is this the smart and capable wife he knew?

"Oh, I'm not that bad. I only played once. A colleague said it was a quick way to make money, and I thought it was fun, so I played once. I lost, so I decided to play one last time to win back the money, but the results haven't come out yet..." Zhang Yu gently pushed away Liu Hao's "claws," leaned forward, and snuggled into his arms, coquettishly.

"My colleague said to bet against the high odds, so I decided to try again. I didn't bet much, just six thousand on three matches."

"Ah*￥#@...+ Only six thousand? That's how many bottles of milk for the child? Which damn colleague, I'll beat him up, you should have bet six hundred and stopped!" Liu Hao was furious. He wondered if this woman could think logically. How could she bet like this?

"Which three matches did you bet on?" He was both angry and curious about which matches.

"My colleague said that in the upcoming second-tier league promotion match, Xiguang Super Team will definitely win at least two matches and get promoted. The reasons are: one, the odds are low; two, the coach is Li Tie, who has good relations with other teams; three, Xiguang Super Team has money!"

... After listening to Zhang Yu's analysis, Liu Hao fell back onto the sofa, completely drained.

He rubbed his temples with his thumbs, trying to relieve the sudden pressure.

"I'm speechless. After watching football for so many years, I realize I'm behind the times..."

He had another thought. How could it be so coincidental? Why did she have to bet on Xiguang Super Team?

"I'm telling you, before the match starts, get your money back. Chinese football, we can't afford to play with it!"

"It wasn't me who gave the money..." Zhang Yu mumbled, then continued, "Actually, it's like this. My colleague's husband is a driving instructor at Longwan Driving School. He was caught working without a license last time."

There was a reason! Liu Hao perked up. The situation wasn't so simple. Now he understood.

"Last time, when he lost money, he made up for it and even gave me a red envelope. I didn't want it, but he only asked for a small favor, a trivial matter, and I couldn't resist. After all, we are colleagues."

"That small favor didn't violate any work principles. It was just to notify him in advance when you inspect the driving school, so he won't get caught again."

I knew it! Liu Hao sighed deeply.

Women, when smart, are like fox spirits; when stupid, they are dumber than any animal in the world!

She was thinking about others but didn't consider her husband's dilemma. Usually, she was reasonable, but this time, she made a mistake because of the loss.

"If your colleague's husband gets the news, what's the difference from all the instructors at Longwan Driving School getting the news? Then he will brag at the driving school, saying my wife told his wife, and then... Think about it, you're a teacher, and I'm in transportation management. Do you think men are more discreet than women? You also accepted a bribe... Think deeper, the daughter of the education bureau chief, the daughter of the traffic police captain..."

Liu Hao's words indeed made Zhang Yu shudder and freeze in fear.

"What should I do? Husband, I didn't mean to, I didn't think it would turn out like this, oh, what should I do!" Zhang Yu, flustered, looked even more charming. Liu Hao liked seeing her so anxious; it gave him a sense of accomplishment.

"Don't worry, we'll return the money we should. It's just one bet... Besides, we need the money for the child's milk. If we bet, we bet." Liu Hao couldn't help but laugh, extremely satisfied.

"You can still laugh? This isn't the time to joke! No, I have to call my colleague immediately and return the money tomorrow. I can't harm everyone." When she was anxious, she couldn't calm down. Zhang Yu was really worried now.

"Don't worry, let's talk about it tomorrow. Now, let me tell you why we can win this time." Liu Hao pulled Zhang Yu back onto the sofa and comforted her.

"Xiguang Super Team can get promoted because of the three reasons you mentioned, but more importantly, they have a superstar. This superstar will personally lead the team to the second-tier league..."

As he spoke, Liu Hao crossed his legs and smiled proudly, as if he had already accomplished his mission.

"Are you talking about that guy who just entered the national team? Ling something? He's just a rookie, how can he be a superstar?"

"Ah? Not him, no, not him, who else?" He almost slipped up, so he quickly stopped, "It's that guy. There aren't many Chinese players with real talent, but he's pretty good. Of course, there are other good players too. Based on my observations, this team will definitely get promoted. The club is well-prepared, the team is in good form, and the competition environment is clean..."

"You sound so sure, but it's not your team!"

"Then should I not comfort you and say the team is terrible, and our six thousand will be lost? No, we can't let six thousand go to waste. We have to win the match..." Liu Hao silently thought.

"But, how many times have you really bet? Only twice? Did you bet on China's loss last time? And, where is my salary card? I'll check the account tomorrow..."

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