The man on the other end of the line was obviously shocked when he suddenly heard this name. He was silent for a few seconds before he finally reacted.
“No.”
Lu Huaiyu’s eyebrows raised.
“Is that so?”
Hearing the half-smile in his voice, the person on the other end of the line tried to think quickly, but he still could not figure out his thoughts.
In the end, he could only ask carefully, “This… Gambler hasn’t been here since he lost to you three years ago. Why did you… suddenly think of him today?”
Although it had already been a few years, whenever the name was mentioned, all the people who had experienced that night together could not help but feel their hearts tremble.
This moment seemed particularly surprising, since this sentence came from Lu Huaiyu’s mouth.
“It’s nothing, I just suddenly remembered,” Lu Huaiyu said casually.
This answer made the other party heave a sigh of relief and said, “Don’t worry, Gambler has been blacklisted since that match three years ago. The moment he reappears in Paradise, our people will immediately monitor him and report it as soon as possible.”
Paradise was the largest underground casino in Leland, and all gamblers were welcome. However, Gambler was not in the scope of their welcome, and could even be considered as the customer they were least willing to receive.
That was because he knew how to count cards.
When Gambler had entered the casino with 10,000 US dollars, he had only played blackjack. That whole night, he had won all the bets, and every time, he had bet all of the money he had won in the previous round again. He forcefully increased the initial 10,000 US dollars by a thousand times, which had shocked the whole of Paradise.
If it had not been for the last game…
Gambler would have really become rich overnight, since he had easily been sitting on tens of millions of US dollars in assets.
Although it had not worked out in the end, he had still been dragged into Paradise’s blacklist. Once he entered Paradise’s territory, his every move would be paid special attention.
Paradise had its own set of rules. Gambler had broken the rules, so of course, he was not welcome.
In fact, at that time, he had been able to leave safely, which meant that Paradise had given him enough face.
As long as Gambler was tactful, he should not ever step into Paradise again.
Lu Huaiyu replied with an “Hmm.” After hanging up the phone, he leaned against his seat once again with his long legs slightly bent.
The bottle of ice water was left outside for a while. The bottle’s body was already covered with cold water droplets that silently slid down, leaving a small water stain on the marble table.
Of course, he had not asked because it had just come to his mind.
Previously, in Hong Kong City, the other party had clearly still not been convinced of his defeat.
The fact that Gambler had paid back his debt in advance that day was the best proof.
According to his understanding of the other party, he would not just let it go.
He picked up the bottle of water to drink, and let the cold liquid flowed down his throat. The frost almost spread throughout his body.
He tilted his head slightly and raised his eyebrows slightly.
Gambler would come again, but he did not know when exactly he would come.
…
In the next three days, LY and the other eleven teams took turns to train on the racetrack according to the arrangements of the Championship Committee.
During these few days, the teams got to know each other a lot better.
Of course, many of them already knew each other.
LY was the only one who received a cold reception.
The best training time was in the morning, followed by the evening because the temperature and light conditions were good.
However, LY’s training times were always arranged to be at noon.
It was still very hot in September in Leland. It was a test for the drivers to wear the driver’s uniform and helmet to train at this time.
Yang Tao went to complain once, but was ultimately rejected.
LY was ranked last among the twelve teams, and it had been too many years since the Chinese region had shown any results. Everyone thought that they were the same as the Chinese representatives who had come to participate in the competition before. They came here only to “focus on their participation.”
In the end, it was still Wen Xiao who said that since this was the arrangement, they would practice like this. After all, it was not like they had never practiced in this kind of environment before.
Wen Xiao did this not because he was afraid of getting into trouble, but because he could not be bothered.
He had always followed one principle: in the competition, as long as you were outstanding, the first place that belonged to you would still belong to you, and vice versa.
Of course, he knew what was going on, but he did not want to care.
In fact, after he came to Leland, he did not even show much care for his team members.
Every time he trained, he would stand outside the track and watch them do their runs on their own with his arms crossed.
After they finished, he would just give a few cursory notes, then lead the team back to the hotel to allow them to rest.
There was no meeting, either big or small.
Just like that, three days passed. On the fourth day, everything went along as usual.
Looking at the number of cars speeding past on the track, Yang Tao thought for a long time before finally speaking.
“Coach Wen, the official competition is tomorrow. Today is their last training. Don’t you have anything to say to them?”
Wen Xiao’s behavior seemed a little strange.
“What should I say?”
Yang Tao choked for a while. Sorting out his thoughts, he said, “Just… for example, technical advice, track arrangements, or even just a few words of encouragement?”
He was going to go on the track tomorrow. As the chief coach, why was he not nervous at all?
This was the team he had brought here.
When Wen Xiao heard this, he snorted and raised his chin.
“We’ve already said what we should have said during the training. There’s no need to waste our breath now. Just let them adjust themselves. Anyway, this competition is their competition. Whether they perform well or not, the outcome will be their own responsibility.”
Yang Tao was stunned, but he gave a helpless smile.
Wen Xiao was still the same as sever.
Although it had been ten years, he was still extremely proud and aloof.
Even at such a critical moment, he was still able to behave in such a carefree manner.
His temperament was really not something that few people could compare to.
“What Coach Wen said is true.”
He nodded in agreement and did not continue to persuade him.
As they were talking, Shen Li and the others had already completed the race and reached the finish line.
Shen Li walked over with her helmet in her arms. Ji Shu and the others followed behind her.
Wen Xiao snapped his fingers.
“That’s enough. Today’s training is over. Now, go back to the hotel and have a good rest. The race will officially start at 10 a.m. tomorrow. Everyone will gather at the race track at 9 a.m. Don’t be late!”
Everyone was stunned.
Speaking out of the corner of his mouth, Ji Shu said,”Coach, tomorrow is the race day. Who would be so stupid to be late at such an important time?”
He had not given any advice, and the only thing he said was… Don’t be late?
Wen Xiao stared at him coldly.
Ji Shu felt a chill run down his spine as he stayed silent.
Shen Li calmly added,”Back then, Uncle Wen was late. Fortunately, it didn’t affect the race in the end.”
Everyone was speechless.
As expected of him.
Sensibly, Ji Shu immediately changed the topic.
“Sister Li, after the competition ends tomorrow, shall we go out for a meal together?”
After the competition ended, of course, they had to relax.
Moreover, many of them were here for the first time. It was a rare opportunity, and they could not miss it.
In any case, they had already agreed that no matter what the result was, they had to go out for a good gathering!
The corners of Shen Li’s lips curled up in a smile.
“We’ll see.”
