CHAPTER 57
57 The bet is on
57 The bet is on
“That other big brother also looks smart!”
Everyone intuitively shifted their eyes in Atlas’s direction where
Penny was pointing.
“I bet he’ll make it to the eighth place!” Penny cheerfully
announced. “I put my bet on him and that other brother beside him! They look smart!”
Keith glared at Penny but quickly found this as an opportunity to salvage their situation. “You said Theo looks smart and roped him in challenging the 10th place!”
“The big brother looks smart, but I wasn’t the one who said he could beat the tenth place,” Penny pouted, making Keith almost choke. “Moreover, I was told not to put all my eggs in one basket! So, I’ll root for the other brothers too!”
“She does make sense, though.” One student nodded, reminded of his grandfather’s warning about putting all his eggs in one basket.
Most students were elite, both from old money and new money. Hence, most of them heard about this saying since adults would
often take this route.
“But Atlas fell back in the ranking-
“Even so, he held the rank for years without fail and even almost became a part of the star section at one point.”
“Compared to someone who just cinched first, it’s not bad to also root for Atlas, who proved himself many times.”
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57 The bet is on
Hearing this, Theo’s face darkened. Although he disliked the impossible pressure on him just now, he deeply despised being compared with Atlas. All these years, Theo was stuck with Atlas. The latter sat in first place while the second and third fought fiercely. It was the reason Theo preferred to be third rather than second, just to avoid being compared to or pitied.
“Hah!” Keith, who felt like they were losing favors, knew he had to open his big mouth. “Even if that’s the case, eighth place is too high!”
“Too high?” Penny cocked her head to the side. “I think that’s him being lazy!”
Keith snorted while the students frowned at her obliviousness.
However, since she was a kid, they tried to understand she didn’t know what she was talking about.
“Fine! If Atlas is that smart, then let’s make a bet!” Keith
harrumphed, shifting the attention to Atlas instead of Theo. “If he can make it to the top ten, then I’ll grovel to his feet and apologize for not seeing his intellectual prowess. But if he can’t make it to the top ten, then he will have to voluntarily drop out!”
Voluntarily drop out?
The students were all taken aback by the consequences.
“Drop out? Is he being serious?”
“Isn’t that a little too much for a bet?”
“Keith, that’s too much,” Theo spoke, acting as the peacemaker. “Although this challenge is a little too much, even for myself, dropping out of school is crossing the line. It is not the first time
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someone challenged someone in the star section, but no one dropped out after their loss.
Keith smirked inwardly as he held his chin high. He only said those conditions because there was no way Atlas would agree. The little girl might have unbelievable strength, but she was not smart enough to decide on this matter. Even if Atlas didn’t want to, if the little girl agreed, it would put Atlain a tight spot
“Okay” ynny nodded and raised both her hands to show her
thumbs up. “That’s good!” as
Good
The students looked at the little gift in disbelief. What was good in that bet? Not only was the prize of winning not tempting enough. but losing meant giving up this school for the second best!
“But it should be the same for that other brother too since he’s the first to challenge the star section!” Penny added with a grin, not forgetting to drag Theo back into this mess. “If he gets in the star section, then Big Brother Atlas will apologize. But if he didn’t, then he’ll leave the school permanently!
Atlas’s and Slater’s faces contorted. Why was she the one deciding
on their fates?
“Not only that, but I’ll also make another bet! If that other big brother didn’t end up at the bottom of his class, then you will apologize to him for belittling him! Penny added in the same cheerful tone. “But if he did, he’ll be your slave for the entire
school year!” a
“What?” Slater’s face drained of color when he was also roped in to
this.
67 That is
Meanwhile, the students who heard this bet looked at Slater and
then at the little girl.
“Little girl, how can you make a bet on their lives?” one of the students remarked. “You might be young, but it’s still not right to play with other people’s lives.”
The girl near Penny moved to her and said, “Little sister, the bet between Atlas and Theo sounds reasonable, but to drag Slater and
decide for him to be a slave…”
“It’s alright, big sister! Many people said that I have a special eye for people!” Penny grinned. “And I think that pretty brother is
smart!”
What a naive girl. Atlas is one thing, but Slater? Hah! Even I am
smarter than him!
Keith snorted. “Deal!” he quickly agreed.
“Wait.” Theo cleared his throat as he felt a little uneasy about this
deal.
Although he knew he might not make it to the star section, he also knew Atlas wouldn’t. If they both failed, they could just agree not to drop out. No one would blame them for it if they did. All he had to do was make sure he scored so high normal students would just have to dream about it.
Even so, the uneasiness in his heart remained.
“I know you already agreed on the bet, but you hadn’t asked the people who are actually involved,” Theo pointed out, and only then
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57 The bet is on
did everyone realize that the bet was reaching its conclusion without Atlas, Theo, or even Slater agreeing on it.
Atlas glanced at Penny while the eyes were cast on him. He sighed at her mischievous little sister, who put him in this situation. However, it wasn’t like that wasn’t Atlas’s goal. Perhaps dropping out as a consequence would give him a more motivational boost. O
It didn’t sound bad at all.
“I don’t mind,” Atlas casually agreed, without showing any other
kind of reaction. “Good luck to us, Theo.”
Slater opened and closed his mouth, but then he saw Penny cast him a death glare. “I — I agree! Hah! I’m just lazy but if I study, I won’t be at the bottom of my class,” he said with a weeping heart.
Seeing that the Bennet Brothers agreed to it without a problem, the students looked at them with admiration. There wasn’t any trace of arrogance from Atlas, but he exuded this undeniable
confidence. Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.
“And you, big brother?” Penny asked, making everyone turn their heads toward Theo.
Theo mentioned asking permission, but he was also involved in it.
Theo gulped as he felt the confidence in Atlas’s tone. “Of–of course. Good luck to us, Atlas.”
With that, the bet was on.
When the school bell rang, the students briskly dispersed. They went back to their classes with this newfound excitement. Soon, word about the bet spread all across the campus like wildfire.
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57 The bet is on
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