“Don’t take me for a fool. I know what’s love,” Quinn complained. Will looked at Julian, then Quinn, who clearly had no idea about love. He chose not to expose the tension between them. Hang on. He had just revealed that Julian was preparing his sister for something. Yet, Quinn did not seem to get the hint that Julian was worried for her. “You must hold back during the match later, Will. Don’t go all out,” Quinn reminded him as her way to change the subject.Will said, “We’re not having a death match. Don’t worry. I’ll go easy on him.”Julian thanked Will. Soon, they arrived at Power Fitness. A few coaches were still around, watching their students train at night. When they saw Quinn and the rest walking in, they stopped. “Everyone take a rest and clear some space for me. I’m going up against Mr. Bucham here and have you all witness a match between professionals,” Will spoke with a smile, and everyone complied. A coach eyed Julian and asked, “Which gym is he from, Wil
“If Julian loses, that pool of money would be for all the bettors' supper. If he wins, all of your money will be mine.”Quinn did not want Julian to be embarrassed as everyone here would surely place their bets on Will. No one knew how skilled Julian was. However, based on his refined appearance and how Will addressed him as Mr. Bucham, some of them guessed that Julian was probably a CEO.For someone like that to be trained in martial arts, they would at most learn the foundation. How could he possibly defeat the future owner of the gym?The coaches took their cash and bet on Will’s victory. While the students were not little kids, they were still teenagers and did not have much money. However, they still joined in on the bet in small amounts.“I’ll follow Quinn and bet on Mr. Bucham.”One of the students gave Quinn his money after some thought. He said, “I’ll follow your lead, Quinn. We’ll be rich if Mr. Bucham wins.”Since everyone placed their bets on Will, the money he co
“Nevertheless, Mr. Bucham is our guest. You should give him an advantage.”Mark was as confident as Will that they could win. Although Quinn’s bet was not much, it was better than nothing. Julian smiled. “There’s no need for that. This is a friendly match between Will and I. We don’t have to exert our full strength. Will doesn’t have to give me an advantage.“How much did you two bet, Quinn?”Quinn opened her palm that held nine hundred dollars. She grinned. “Just this much. It’s all the cash Kai and I have. You must give everything you’ve got and beat my brother, Julian. Let Kai and I win.“Everyone always bets on my brother winning whenever someone challenges him. It’s no fun without an element of surprise. Why don’t you surprise us for once? If you beat Will, I’ll cook for you every day while you’re in Summervale. You’ll be a few pounds heavier when you return.”Julian laughed. “I don’t know if this promise is a good one. The extra weight won’t look good on me.”“It won’t be
The crowd felt that Julian was not confident. Even Kai nudged Quinn and asked, “Did you place your bet because you trust Mr. Bucham? I’ve been training here for six years but have yet to see someone who can defeat Coach Will. I want to witness something new.”Quinn replied, “I’m not certain. I just thought he was my friend, and it’d be awkward if no one bet on him. That’s why I chose him. I only have this much money on me anyway. I just have to treat everyone to supper if I were to lose, nothing new to me.”Kai was speechless. Quinn glanced at him and laughed. “It’s too late for regrets. They’re in the ring already.”Kai’s face fell. He said, “It’s okay. My mom gave me the money to get a week’s supper.”He could simply skip supper after training every night.Quinn consoled him. “Don’t be too upset. Maybe Julian will win. I’ve seen him in action, and I think he’s incredible. He may even be on par with my dad and stronger than my brother. They’re starting now. Keep an open mind
Everyone turned to look at Kai. He chuckled and said, “Quinn doesn’t have a boyfriend anyway. If Mr. Bucham defeats Coach Will, I’ll bring them together without anyone asking me.”To the children, Quinn and Julian were a match made in heaven; both were very good-looking individuals.It was Kai’s first time seeing such a handsome man. Julian looked better than those idols that the girls in his class admired. He also had a noble charisma. Essentially, Kai thought Julian was great. His impression of Julian would improve if he could beat Coach Will and let him split ten thousand dollars between himself and Quinn. Mark said, “This kid. You should work harder, Julian. Kai said he’d help to get you and Quinn together for free if he could win the bet.”“Don’t add on to Kai’s nonsense, Mark.”Quinn was about to die from laughter. She kicked Kai lightly and scolded, “You made me laugh so hard.”Kai giggled and even Will smiled. He asked Julian, “Should I lose on purpose?”“You’ll
Mark and all the other coaches knew that Julian narrowly won with that trick move of his. A narrow victory was still a win. Will did not lose to Julian on purpose. Julian had defeated Will with his own abilities. Julian pulled Will up and bowed slightly. “It was a great match.”Will smiled. “I didn’t go easy on you. You found my weakness and caught me off guard. I admit my defeat, Julian.”Julian returned with humble remarks. The venue was silent, save for their post-match exchange. It snapped everyone back to their senses. “Ahhh!”Kai jumped in excitement. He patted Quinn’s shoulder and shouted, “We won, Quinn! Mr. Bucham defeated Coach Will. We won! The ten thousand dollars are ours. It’ll be enough to pay for my supper for half a year.”All the other students turned to look at him simultaneously. Their gazes were filled with envy as they listened to his cheers. Quinn was stunned too. She briefly saw Julian’s moves that one time and discovered he was trained in martia
Will grinned and said, “If I lose, I lose, no excuses. Don’t be sore losers alright? In the past, you guys have always won the bets, so have a taste of defeat for once. Gambling always involves winning and losing. If you can’t handle losing, then maybe you should quit.”Mark did not utter a word.Quinn went to the side, sat down, and started counting the money. When she was done, she handed half of the money to the boy, saying, “Kai, this is your share.”Kai took the money but quickly returned half of it. He said, “Quinn, I only contributed a hundred bucks. I can’t take half. This is more than enough to cover my late-night snacks for half a year.”“It’s for you. Just keep it. Save it for yourself and don’t let your stepmother find out.”Kai had a tough childhood. His parents divorced when he was very young and he ended up with his father, who was a quiet and reserved man. The divorce made his father even more distant, and Kai was largely left to be raised by his grandparents.Lat
“I’ll help myself then.”Quinn put the money in her pocket. She then took out her phone and ordered stir-fried noodles from a Chinese takeout shop to treat everyone at Power Fitness.“We’ll have it later.”Julian smiled. “I usually don’t eat late-night supper.”“In that case, we can skip it. Sometimes I skip it too. But maybe because we do a lot of physical activities, skipping late-night snacks makes me feel hungry, and I can’t sleep when I’m hungry. Most of the time though, I have them at home. My mom makes them for us.”After ordering the food, Quinn got up and said to Julian, “Let’s go. We shouldn’t disturb them while they’re in class.”Julian had just won a competition against Will. It left the students in shock, doubting if it was a dream.“Alright.”Julian followed Quinn as she told her brothers, “Will, Mark, I’m taking Julian out for a walk. You guys don’t need to wait for us when you guys go home later.”Will replied, “Got it. Take Julian for a stroll, and you can hel