Chapter 282: Prince of Tennis (2)
- Quit the show? What the heck are they talking about?
- What kind of crazy bet is this?
- Is this even allowed?
Although he could hear the whispers of the people around them, William paid them no mind.
All of his attention was strictly on the yawning boy standing across from him, who had just given him a preposterous proposition.
"You want me to quit the show if you win?"
"Yep."
"And if I win, you’ll give me what I want?"
"That’s what I said. Wanna bet or are you chicken?"
The question was asked with a cocky smile, and William honestly began considering the offer.
Could he beat Ariel within 5 tennis games?
Of course.
Despite Ariel’s bravado, William was highly confident in his own tennis-playing skills.
The basic background check that he had done showed that Ari had never been on any sports team, and from watching him play today, apart from the gimmicky serve, which was easy to handle once you knew the trick, all of his returns had been lacking strength, energy, and finesse, showing that he couldn’t really play at all.
Even against these unskilled amateurs.
William thought his skills were much better than his, especially because he usually spent his weekends playing tennis or golf with other wealthy individuals who had been getting lessons since they were young, like himself.
This bet might be worth it because things were taking too long.
Although his uncle had assured him that he would deliver Ari to him, until now, there had been no movement, and he was getting impatient.
If he could get what he wanted out of a simple bet, then that would be best.
Whatever his uncle had in store for him would be a bonus.
"You hand it over immediately once I win."
Aware of the cameras, Wiliam kept his words vague.
"And you will quit immediately once I win. Oh, and apologize to Rei for constantly hitting him with the ball," Ari replied.
"You’ll win only in my dreams, and as I said earlier, I tried to be careful and couldn’t control my own strength. You know how it is. Accidents happen."
"Is that right?"
Ari stared at William’s soulless blue eyes before turning away, "Miss Areum, you heard his words, right? He plans on quitting if I win the match. Do you mind being used as a witness?"
"I’m sorry, I don’t know what is going on."
For the first time in her over 3 decades of life, Kim Areum was completely confused.
What was supposed to be a cute sports battle among contestants had suddenly turned into a strange bet where one contestant wanted the other to quit, while the other wanted an item.
And these discussions were happening openly, in front of the cameras and PDs, as if they didn’t care who heard them.
Unsure of how to even navigate the current situation, she turned to the PD, who was recording everything with an expression that said that he had no intention of stepping in.
"Uhm, Contestant Ariel, I don’t think you should be making statements like that, even as a joke. And you, Contestant William, don’t play along and take it too far. This is a serious matter. Please just start the match."
"I’m not joking at all," Ari replied seriously, but seeing that she looked a bit nervous, he pointed his racket at William.
"It’s between me and you. Don’t renege on it now. You seem like the type to be a sore loser."
At the insult, William sneered as he replied mockingly.
"Based on your upbringing, I should tell you not to renege. You’ll shake my hand after you eat this loss and hand the goods over."
"Sure."
[Hey!]
[Are you actually betting with me on the line?]
[I hope you know what you’re doing!]
Completely at ease despite NOVA’s complaints, Ari took his time walking to the baseline and bounced the ball with his racket while staring at Areum.
Whistle!
"Both of you feel free to start."
As Areum blew her whistle, Ari threw the ball into the air with a slight spin, then jumped up before it began falling again.
He swung his arm and, by extension, the racket at a slight angle, launching it across the net.
It was a perfect serve, same as all his previous ones, but the only difference was that as the ball bounced and began flying in the opposite direction-
THWACK!
"I told you, that’s not going to work on me!"
William was there to receive it with a double-handed swing that shot it precisely at the opposite corner from where Ari stood.
Bang!
The ball bounced right inside the white lines, then flew out before Ari could move, and the area was silent for several seconds before the red team burst out into cheers.
Since it was the first time somebody had scored a point against Ariel, quite a few people were shocked, while Williams’ team was energized.
- Whoa!
- Go, William!
- I don’t get what the bet was about, but go red team!
"Idol Areum? Where’s my point?" William called out to the idol umpire in his smug, arrogant tone, and the open-mouthed idol quickly composed herself before responding.
"My apologies. The point goes to Contestant William. The score is 15 - Love"
"Good. Prepare yourself, fish boy. This is what the rest of the match will be like."
"Sure."
Bounce bounce bounce.
THWACK
Without switching arms like he usually did, Ari performed the same slice serve, and just like earlier, William hit it with a double-handed return straight to the opposite corner before Ari could move.
"The point goes to Contestant William. The score is 30 - Love."
Bounce bounce bounce.
THWACK
"The point goes to Contestant William. The score is 40 - Love."
Bounce bounce bounce.
THWACK
"The first game goes to Contestant William. Service goes to Contestant William."
- Oh my gosh, no way.
- He didn’t even score once.
- Was William right? It’s just the trick serve?
- No, maybe he’s just testing William’s skill?
"I told you not to get cocky. Now you’ll really feel the pain." Smirking at Ariel, who was playing as pathetically as he thought he would once his serve was figured out, William prepared to serve.
Bounce bounce bounce.
After bouncing the ball several times, William threw it into the air and-
Thoooom!
A fast-paced serve, faster than anything that had been shown so far, flew across the net, landing accurately in the interior square before bouncing toward Ari’s face.
- What the?
- Wow, that’s powerful.
- Can he return that?
Surprisingly, Ari got his racket up in time, but as he tried to hit the ball with an awkward backhand, the racket flew out of his right hand and clattered onto the ground.
"The point goes to Contestant William. The score is 15 - Love."
Shaking out his aching hand, Ari retrieved the fallen racket before getting back into position.
"Pathetic. Is that the best you can do?"
"I guess?"
Bounce bounce bounce.
THWACK!
With the same powerful motion, William sent the ball flying across the net at high speed.
Still sticking to the baseline, Ari successfully lobbed the ball back, and as if waiting, William jumped and smashed the ball directly at Ari’s face.
Rather than try to hit it back, Ari ducked out of the way, letting the ball bounce out of the court.
Whistle!
Areum immediately blew her whistle in anger.
"The point goes to Contestant William. The score is 30 - Love. Contestant William, I’ve warned you about aiming for contestants’ faces. Control yourself or you’ll be disqualified."
"Ah, I’m sorry. I tried to control my strength, really. I’ll try to do better, but he should just get out of the way next time. He has eyes, doesn’t he?"
Not sounding sorry at all, William began bouncing the ball while smirking at Ari.
Victory was right in his grasp.