Damn, How could my family be so wealthy?!-Chapter 406 - 405: The Greatest Punishment

"I can’t afford to lose?"

"Hahaha..."

It was as if Zhou Haoming had heard the joke of the century; he burst into laughter.

Zhou Haoming felt that because of Su Mu’s words, his long-repressed mood suddenly eased.

Zhou Haoming had been skateboarding even longer than he had been playing basketball.

To compete with someone who probably couldn’t skateboard, not to mention not being able to afford to lose,

Zhou Haoming was certain that he would be the winner.

If he was sure to win, how could there be any possibility of not being able to afford to lose?

"Hope so, but if you do renegade in the end, these teammates of yours will be watching."

"After all, I think they are people of their word and probably won’t cover for you on purpose, right?"

Su Mu didn’t have that much confidence in Zhou Haoming.

In Su Mu’s eyes, Zhou Haoming wasn’t exactly an upright gentleman, so how could he be expected to keep his word?

Thus, Su Mu naturally had to find some witnesses.

Zhou Haoming didn’t think there was much chance of seeing Su Mu again in the future, so he dared to make such a heavy bet.

Keep in mind, if Zhou Haoming lost, seeing Su Mu in the future would mean having to sidestep him and not come within three meters.

Basically, Zhou Haoming would become a laughingstock.

Wasn’t it clear that, in front of Su Mu, Zhou Haoming would be like a rat crossing the street?

It’s just that Zhou Haoming didn’t realize that what he was so sure of, actually fell outside of his calculations.

Thought he would definitely win against Su Mu on the skateboard?

Because of the mysterious "system," Zhou Haoming was doomed to a crushing defeat.

Thought he wouldn’t see Su Mu again?

Unfortunately for him, the admissions directors from Z University and S University personally came to Huadong International Middle School to recruit.

Su Mu graciously chose Z University.

So Zhou Haoming’s calculations were destined to backfire.

"Student Su, don’t worry, we are all witnesses here."

"If Zhou Haoming loses, we will definitely help you ensure he honors his promise."

Wang Yibo took a step forward after seeing Su Mu looking at him and his teammates.

Wang Yibo’s heart was actually more inclined towards Su Mu.

Since Wang Yibo had too many things to consider, he hadn’t come forward to stop Zhou Haoming’s foolish behavior with a strong attitude.

Now seeing that Su Mu needed his basketball team members to act as witnesses,

Wang Yibo expressed that he was definitely the man for the job.

Anyway, even if Su Mu lost the contest, nobody would really think anything of it.

On the other hand, if the outcome was unexpected and Zhou Haoming lost,

Wang Yibo felt he and his teammates would certainly act as witnesses.

As long as Su Mu showed up in front of Zhou Haoming, Wang Yibo and his teammates would ensure Zhou Haoming kept his distance.

"Right, Student Su, don’t worry, we are all witnesses here."

"This is a challenge Zhou Haoming brought up himself; I believe he wouldn’t go back on his word, or else he’d just lose face in front of us, his teammates."

...

The other teammates also expressed their positions one after another.

Some even used reverse psychology on Zhou Haoming, forcing him to face the bitter consequences of his own choices.

Seeing his teammates siding with Su Mu, Zhou Haoming’s face changed colors repeatedly.

Zhou Haoming knew he had actually lost to Su Mu.

Putting everything else aside, how long had these basketball team members known Su Mu to be so on his side?

If it were a matter of friendship, Zhou Haoming’s relationship with these players should have been much deeper.

Realizing this was one thing, but whether he could accept it was another matter entirely.

Zhou Haoming’s eyes could no longer focus on these things now.

Defeating Su Mu just once had become an obsession for Zhou Haoming.

Zhou Haoming felt sure he was going to win and didn’t take his team members’ words to heart.

So what if all of you are biased towards Su Mu in your hearts?

As long as Zhou Haoming won, it would be impossible for his team members to act as witnesses to make him keep his promise.

After all, everything depended on the premise that Zhou Haoming would lose to Su Mu, didn’t it?

For Zhou Haoming, that was absolutely impossible.

"Of course, I won’t go back on my word, but that’s provided you can also beat me, isn’t it?"

"And all of you, stop chiming in with this nonsense, are you that close with him?"

Zhou Haoming had been holding back from losing his temper.

Seeing his friends one by one side with Su Mu, Zhou Haoming felt utterly betrayed.

This might be considered a small outburst, and Zhou Haoming didn’t sound very nice.

"Haoming, you insisted on this competition, and you proposed the wager yourself. We are just mediators, acting as witnesses. What’s wrong with that?"

"Exactly, Haoming, are you implying that you can compete, but you can’t accept defeat? If that’s the case, why not just avoid the competition altogether?"

"Yeah, Haoming, you insisted on challenging Student Su. You’ve wasted his time, not to mention you’re also cutting into our rest time."

"I think we should just drop it and not compete, so you don’t end up taking your anger out on us."

"That’s right, if you lose, it could even affect tomorrow’s game. I think it’s better not to compete at all."

...

Because of Zhou Haoming’s words, the basketball players began to persuade him again.

Of course, their goal was very much aligned: they wanted to convince Zhou Haoming to give up the challenge.

But the way everyone spoke made Zhou Haoming feel incredibly uncomfortable.

Zhou Haoming’s skateboarding skills were well known to the team members.

Now everyone spoke as though Zhou Haoming was going to lose the competition for sure.

Zhou Haoming’s anger swelled even more than before.

"Enough, don’t talk about it anymore, I said I won’t go back on my word and I won’t."

"If I lose, I will definitely avoid Su Mu, and I absolutely won’t appear within three meters of Su Mu."

Pledging his pride, Zhou Haoming reaffirmed his bet once more.

However, this wager seemed to bind only Zhou Haoming himself.

It was mainly because, from the beginning, Zhou Haoming feared Su Mu wouldn’t agree to compete with him.

So, from start to finish, Zhou Haoming never mentioned what punishment Su Mu would have to accept if he lost the competition.

In Zhou Haoming’s heart, if Su Mu lost to him in front of Xuanxuan,

it would be the greatest punishment for Su Mu.

Zhou Haoming’s initial goal was to decisively defeat Su Mu in front of Xuanxuan.

Zhou Haoming believed that as long as he could prove to Xuanxuan that Su Mu was inferior to him, it would be the best punishment for Su Mu.

Everything else was, in Zhou Haoming’s view, irrelevant.

Hearing Zhou Haoming repeat the bet in a fit of pique, Su Mu quietly smiled to himself.

What Su Mu wanted was exactly the statement from Zhou Haoming.

Zhou Haoming didn’t know that Su Mu would soon be a student at Z University.

That’s why he dared to put such a heavy bet on the line.

Although this bet didn’t require any actual payout, if Zhou Haoming lost and really had to avoid Su Mu from then on,

it would be more than just a minor embarrassment.

It would be a humiliation all the way to his grandmother’s house.

What Zhou Haoming didn’t know, Su Mu knew.

In the end, Su Mu chose Z University, making the admissions office director as happy as if he had hit the jackpot.

So to say, they would indeed have many opportunities to meet in the future.

Su Mu certainly didn’t want Zhou Haoming to play dumb when the time came; otherwise, wouldn’t today’s effort be entirely meaningless?

"Compete in what?"

Everything had already been made very clear, and Su Mu thought it best to settle it quickly.

If they kept dawdling like this, not to mention not having time to take his girlfriend to Jewelry City,

they might not even make it to the fireworks banquet later.

Deep down, Su Mu felt Zhou Haoming was extremely annoying.

Despite being so unwelcome, he still had the audacity to linger here shamelessly.

But since Zhou Haoming was so eager to seek punishment, of course, Su Mu didn’t need to be polite in return.

"Let’s see who can slide from this end to the fountain at the other end the fastest."

Zhou Haoming looked around and found no suitable props that could be used for the competition.

Pointing to the sides of the pedestrian street, Zhou Haoming declared that a speed contest would suffice.

Of course, the "speed" Zhou Haoming referred to wasn’t just about racing Su Mu on flat ground from one end to the other.

Zhou Haoming was quite confident in his skateboarding skills and naturally wanted to include some challenges to prove his strength.

"Both sides of the pedestrian street are symmetrical, so wherever there’s a bench, you have to go over it."

"Where there are round tables, you must jump over them without leaning on the tables."

"Lastly, when you reach the steps at the fountain, you can’t go down via the ramps on either side."

"These are the rules of the competition, can you do it?"

Zhou Haoming was quite pleased with the conditions he proposed.

The requirements Zhou Haoming laid out couldn’t be met without a fairly high level of skill.

Zhou Haoming believed Su Mu wouldn’t be able to meet the challenges he had set.

Maybe Su Mu would even get scared off after hearing these competition rules, which was quite possible.

Of course, there was another scenario.

Su Mu might stubbornly push through it.

If that were the case, Zhou Haoming felt Su Mu would not only fail to complete this competition,

but he might also make a fool of himself halfway through.

That would be far more interesting than if Su Mu simply conceded defeat.

With a cunning smile on his face, Zhou Haoming’s mood was no longer dampened by the "betrayal" of his teammate.

Zhou Haoming felt that this competition wasn’t just about proving himself to Xuanxuan.

Zhou Haoming also wanted to show his teammates through this contest that there were aspects where Su Mu was inferior to him.

In Zhou Haoming’s view, his teammates’ enthusiasm towards Su Mu was purely because Su Mu showed off his basketball skills in front of everyone.

Now, Zhou Haoming was anxious for everyone to realize that Su Mu also had his shortcomings.

Su Mu glanced at the distance from his feet to the fountain Zhou Haoming mentioned.

It wasn’t very far, nor was it too close.

The distance was probably around two hundred meters.

If it were just a skateboarding contest on flat ground, it would definitely be over within a minute or two.

But now, with the special requirements that Zhou Haoming had added, the difficulty had increased quite a bit.

Correspondingly, it was going to waste a bit more time.

However, these weren’t an issue for Su Mu, who had just acquired the Champion Skateboarding Skill.

One could say that the challenging moves Zhou Haoming considered difficult were, for Su Mu, almost insignificant.

With the Champion Skateboarding Skill, the obstacles on the pedestrian street were mere child’s play for Su Mu.

It was as simple as children playing house.

Su Mu had originally thought that Zhou Haoming, who proposed the skateboarding contest, must be an expert.

Turns out, that wasn’t the case.

Su Mu felt he might have overestimated Zhou Haoming.

Looking at Zhou Haoming, who was still flashing a mysterious smile, Su Mu felt Zhou Haoming was truly like an incompetent man who couldn’t stand up straight.

Having no remarkable abilities and still daring to challenge others to a contest?

He must either be missing a screw or be an idiot.

"Let’s start."

Su Mu didn’t want to waste another word.

Let Zhou Haoming enjoy himself for a moment then.

Su Mu was sure that Zhou Haoming would regret initiating this contest today for the rest of his life.

Perhaps in Zhou Haoming’s future university life, his days would indeed become as miserable as a rat that despised the light.

"Are you sure? The danger level here is quite high, and if any accidents happen midway through, you will have to bear all the consequences yourself."

To ensure he wouldn’t be implicated, Zhou Haoming even took out his phone and filmed a video of this statement.

Zhou Haoming felt he needed to be fully prepared.

In Zhou Haoming’s eyes, Su Mu, who didn’t seem proficient in skateboarding, was insisting on competing without admitting defeat.

If anything unexpected happened, Zhou Haoming certainly didn’t want to be blamed by Su Mu later on.

Zhou Haoming considered himself very clever.

Never fight a battle without certainty, and always protect your own interests at the highest level.

"What about you, what if you have an accident during the contest?"

Since Zhou Haoming had resorted to filming a video, Su Mu naturally responded to Zhou Haoming in the same way.

Su Mu knew that Zhou Haoming was so confident now because Zhou Haoming believed in his heart that Su Mu was simply not good at skateboarding.

But when the contest began, Zhou Haoming would realize things were quite different from what he had imagined.

If Zhou Haoming panicked and made a mistake or encountered an accident,

Su Mu stated that he wouldn’t take responsibility for that either.

Zhou Haoming’s despicable tactics served as a good reminder to Su Mu.

Let Zhou Haoming record it himself; it would save Su Mu the hassle.

"Of course, if I encounter an accident during the skateboarding contest, I will obviously bear the responsibility myself."

"So it’s clear now, each of us is responsible for our own safety during the skateboarding contest."

"No matter what happens, there is no need for the other party to take responsibility."

"Is that acceptable?"

While saying this, Zhou Haoming aimed the camera at himself.

Even when summarizing, Zhou Haoming still had a spirited expression, as if what Su Mu had said would never happen.