The Secretly Rich Man

Chapter 1741

“Your move, Mr. Crawford!” said Xanry as he turned to look at Gerald once he was done.

It was now the start of the second round, and Gerald knew that he couldn’t afford to obtain zero marks again or the gap between his score and Xanry’s would become too large for him to turn the game around later.

With that, Gerald picked a bowling ball up before slowly walking toward the lane.

The second he got into position, however, Gerald heard Xanry yell out from behind him, “Just make some bold toss, Mr. Crawford! It’s fine if you don’t hit anything, just take it as practice! After all, you need a lot more of it to even be able to take on me!”

As roars of laughter ensued, Gerald simply closed his eyes… Before slowly opening them again.

Taking a step forward, Gerald then tossed the bowling ball!

Rather than swerving to the side this time, the ball instead rolled straight for the pins, momentarily surprising Xanry and the others.

While the sound of bowling pins getting knocked over could be heard, Gerald only managed to hit five pins. With that in mind, he was now twelve marks behind Xanry.

Since there were six more rounds before the game ended—with the game consisting of eight rounds in total—Gerald felt that being twelve marks behind Xanry wasn’t really a particularly large difference. After all, he simply needed to get a higher final score than him to win.

“…Not bad, Mr. Crawford! I guess you really do have some talent to be able to hit five pins!” said Xanry as he insincerely praised Gerald. Truth be told, the fact that Gerald had managed to hit five pins in the first place was truly vexing him. How lucky!

While that hit was certainly surprising, Xanry quickly summarized that Gerald still wasn’t a threat to him. He’d definitely still be able to win and obtain that hundred and fifty dollars!

With that, their little contest resumed and the third round began.

Using his usual tactic, Xanry tossed the ball as easily as the first two rounds… and following the clattering of falling pins, only a single pin remained standing!

Since he had managed to gain nine points, Xanry now had a total of twenty-six points and this led those surrounding him to instantly cheer.

Even before Gerald made his move, however, he could already tell that that same crowd was going to jeer at him no matter what score he got. Still, it was clear to him that those spectators were simply fools fawning over Xanry. With that in mind, their jeers meant little to Gerald. Gerald hadn’t even displayed his true capabilities yet.

Whatever the case was, Gerald then retrieved his third ball and tossed it skillfully without the slightest hesitation, a clear contrast to how he tossed his ball in the previous two rounds.

This was all according to plan, of course. Gerald had applied perfect amounts of force to his throws to display increasing amounts of strength and skill in each passing round. That way, not only would Xanry not be too quick to be suspicious of him, but he would also be able to ensure that he was making progress in the game.

If everything went smoothly, everyone would surely have a vastly different opinion of him by the end of the bowling match.

Regardless, as the ball rolled seamlessly on the lane, the familiar clatter of bowling pins could be heard… Gerald had managed to hit seven pins this time, and he now had twelve points, which meant that he was now only fourteen marks behind Xanry!

Seeing that Gerald had managed to hit even more pins this time, Xanry’s expression turned even more unpleasant. To think that Gerald would be able to progress so quickly! He knew he couldn’t afford to go easy on the youth anymore or their scores would just keep getting closer!

“…It appears that you’re getting the hang of the game extremely quickly, Mr. Crawford! I guess I can’t go easy on you anymore!” declared Xanry, making sure to make it obvious that he had been going easy on Gerald this entire time.

Upon hearing that, Gerald couldn’t help but chuckle in his mind as he thought, ‘I wonder who’s truly going easy on who now…’

Whatever the case was, the fourth round soon began…

Since Xanry was up first, he got his ball before concentrating hard on the pins before him…

Once he was ready, he tossed the bowling ball toward the pins extremely swiftly!

Chapter 1742

Xanry realized that he had made a miscalculation the second the ball hit the lane with a loud ‘thud’ before swerving right into the gutter! With that in mind, Xanry ended up getting no points for that round.

Seeing that, Xanry couldn’t help but frown. To think that he would actually make such a mistake at the worst possible time! How dissatisfactory!

Gerald himself wasn’t about to miss the chance to ridicule Xanry. Laughing aloud, Gerald then scoffed, “I guess you made a mistake just in time for me to catch up to you, Monitor! You have my thanks!”

Hearing that, Xanry grew immensely annoyed, though he didn’t really have anything to retort. After all, he was the one who had been careless.

Laughing bitterly in response, Xanry then replied, “…That’s right! I guess you do have a chance now!”

While Gerald didn’t say it out, in his mind, he was thinking, ‘Go on pretending! You’re still trying hard to put up an act even after I’ve given you a platform, huh?’

Now that it was Gerald’s turn again, he figured that it was high time he started closing the gap between their scores even more. As long as he remained a few points behind Xanry, he wouldn’t make his capabilities too obvious, and Xanry would surely continue being smug about it till the very last moment.

With that in mind, Gerald then got up and took yet another ball. Tossing it in one fluid motion, the ball rolled so steadily that by the time it got to the bowling pins, all ten of them ended up falling!

While gasps could be heard from the audience, Xanry’s frown only deepened. Now that Gerald had twenty-two points, he was only four marks behind Xanry. If he wasn’t careful, Gerald was surely going to surpass his score in the next round!

“Looks like I’m about to catch up to you, monitor!” said Gerald with a chuckle.

Forcing a laugh, the awkward Xanry then moved to take his fifth ball.

He now understood that due to him wanting to win so much in the previous round, he had gotten impatient, which led to his terrible performance. As the saying went, ‘slow and steady wins the race’. With that in mind, Xanry made sure to calm himself before tossing his next shot.

Naturally, now that he was much more focused, Xanry was able to get a strike as well!

Seeing that, his classmates instantly began cheering once more!

“Hell yeah!”

“Awesome, monitor! You got a strike again!”

Now that he had returned to his normal performance, Xanry couldn’t help but flash a smile. He was going to triumph over Gerald if it was the last thing he did!

Gerald, on the other hand, simply retained his poker face. Standing there calmly, it almost seemed like he didn’t even care about Xanry’s performance…

The truth was, however, that Gerald was cooking up a plan in his head. In his mind, he was thinking that instead of simply winning the competition by a landslide, wouldn’t it annoy Xanry even more if he won with only a single point higher than Xanry?

Just as Gerald was thinking how interesting that outcome would be, his train of thought was cut short when Xanry scoffed, “It’s your turn now, Mr. Crawford! Could it be that you’re getting frightened of me?”

The fact that Gerald still hadn’t made his move made Xanry delighted to no end. His humiliation earlier was definitely being redeemed now!

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Nodding slightly, Gerald then picked up another bowling ball before tossing it almost nonchalantly. Even so, he ended up getting yet another strike! How astonishing!

“I’m sorry, monitor! It appears that I’ve hit all of them again! I guess I’ve already mastered bowling!” replied Gerald as he smiled while looking at Xanry.

Currently, while Xanry was still ahead with thirty-six points, Gerald was only four points behind him. With only three rounds left, the competition was going to end soon. Who was going to be the victor?

“…A bit too early to celebrate, wouldn’t you say, Mr. Crawford? After all, we still have three rounds to decide the victor!” scoffed Xanry as he picked yet another bowling ball to start the fifth round.

After positioning himself, Xanry then aimed for the pins before swiftly tossing the ball toward them!

When tossing a bowling ball, the route the ball ended up landing in would alter the ball’s strength as well as the number of pins it could hit. With that in mind, not everyone could just hit a strike as they pleased. If they were really unlucky, then the bowling ball would even end up rolling into the gutter!

Even so, Xanry had made use of this knowledge—as well as his aiming skills—to perfectly calculate the direction and strength of the ball. With how straight the ball was now rolling, Xanry was more than certain that he had secured himself another strike!

As the ball crashed into the pins, everyone held their breath as they watched the ones at the sides wobble to and fro… Until eventually, only one pin remained standing! With nine pins knocked over, Xanry now had forty-five points in the bag!

Even so, Xanry felt that the results weren’t ideal. After all, now that he had missed one pin, Gerald was one point closer to catching up to him!

Regardless, it was now Gerald’s turn. As long as he managed to hit all the pins, there would only be a three-point difference between their scores!

Picking the ball up before Xanry even had a chance to taunt him, Gerald then casually tossed it down the lane… only to end up getting another strike! How stupefying!

Due to that, there was now only a three-point difference between the two. With only two rounds left in the game, the winner of the competition was soon to be announced…

Looking dead serious now, Xanry was worried out of his mind. After all, if he didn’t perform well in the final two rounds, missing a single pin would result in Gerald winning the competition!

“Ah… Sorry monitor, but it seems that I got another strike! Lucky me!” said Gerald in an apologetic tone as he put on an innocent façade.

Hearing that, Xanry was so infuriated that he wanted to pummel Gerald to bits! However, he knew better than to do that. After all, that would surely make him look like a sore loser!

the sixth

but quiver slightly. He knew that being defeated by Gerald would surely bring him

then tossed the ball

he still ended up hitting four pins. With that, he now had a

mistake, monitor!” said Gerald who wasn’t going to miss the chance

mad, Xanry thought to himself, ‘Like I’m blind… I can see that…! You don’t have to

Gerald would also make a mistake. If that

Chapter 1744

wasn’t about to grant him such a

bowling ball up, Gerald then walked toward the lane… Without even having to look where he was throwing, Gerald then confidently tossed

all, he was simply doing the same thing that Xanry

as expected, no pins remained standing, signifying yet another strike from Gerald. With the scores being fifty-two against forty-nine now,

start of the seventh and

point, Xanry knew that he couldn’t afford to mess up anymore. If he

that happened, then Xanry would still lose the competition, regardless of whether he managed to get that final

thought off, Xanry then picked his final bowling

in a deep breath, Xanry heard as his classmates began cheering

on, you can do

definitely win,

hearing that, Xanry felt his

he glared at the pins before tossing the ball forward in a fluid

in the end, all

instantly jumped in joy and excitement. At the very least his final throw wasn’t

over, it was

won the battle. If Gerald got another strike, then it would officially be Xanry’s

knew that he only had to hit eight pins in order to surpass Xanry by a single point. Of course, with how easily he had been getting strikes, hitting eight pins was

final bowling ball and adjusted the strength in his hands… before tossing

lane, the clattering of pins could soon be heard as the bowling

hit exactly eight pins, and with his score being sixty, he had managed to

think that he

no stranger to bowling, but Xanry didn’t know that, nor did he

too embarrassed. After all, in the end, he was still Juno’s monitor. With that said, Gerald knew he had to give Xanry

humble tone, “I guess I won, monitor! Sorry for that! However, I know how much of a pro you are in this game, so I’m pretty sure you deliberately lost

that, Xanry instantly caught on to what Gerald was trying to do. Since Gerald was granting him a chance to lessen his shame, Xanry was certainly not

Chapter 1745

wallet before fishing a hundred and fifty

Gerald wasn’t about to say no to that money. After all, he deserved it, and he wasn’t embarrassed to

game was over, Gerald then waved farewell

was prompted to ask, “What took you so

I just played around for a while. Regardless, I got a bit tired so I’m back now!” explained Gerald with

was no way she could’ve known about the incident between Gerald and Xanry. Then again, even if she was aware of it, she probably wouldn’t have thought much about it. Hell, she would probably feel that Gerald had done well

short while, both of them watched as Xanry walked over to them with a few bottles of wine and

before saying, “I’d say we didn’t have that much of a good time earlier, Mr. Crawford. With that in mind, what say you

couldn’t help but frown slightly as she looked at

come back to look for more trouble after I defeated you earlier? How reluctant to lose are you? I guess the only way to drill it into

to play properly to show Xanry just how powerless he truly was against him. Xanry was about to learn the hard way that Gerald wasn’t someone who

you’re planning to play?” asked Gerald with a

before saying, “We’re playing a

Gerald then replied, “Just

be telling you the rules then. Regardless, what say we spice up the game by betting seventy-five dollars per round? I’m sure that that small amount won’t be an issue for you. Besides, you already gained a hundred and fifty dollars from me earlier!” suggested Xanry, a hint of annoyance in his tone. Since he had been humiliated so much earlier, he was surely going to get Gerald back for it

that he had been a bit too careless earlier. Whatever the case was, he was a veteran when it came to dice. With

problem! I accept!” replied

hearing that, Juno—who had been sitting at the side—couldn’t

whispered, “Hey, don’t go acting

capabilities!”

believe in

chose to remain silent. After all, she, of all people, trusted that Gerald

Xanry then pushed the dice toward

Gerald then began shaking the

he had a secret weapon that the others were unaware of, that being the

people could never hope to

was pretty much set in stone that Gerald was going to be the victor before the game

Chapter 1746

the duo then began shaking their dice around for

of them stopped, Xanry immediately smiled as he said, “After you,

Gerald then declared,

sixes then!” shouted Xanry in

been able to hear, he knew that Xanry definitely had two sixes.

for a few rounds. Allowing Xanry to be smug the first few rounds would definitely make Gerald’s

that in mind, Gerald then shouted, “Five

Xanry couldn’t help but

Xanry had chosen to open Gerald’s dice, Gerald naturally had to do

dice didn’t add up to five fives. Instead, there were only three

the loss was calculated, and Gerald was still perfectly

you’ve lost, Mr. Crawford!” said Xanry

himself didn’t really care about the loss. After all, it was only seventy-five dollars. In a way, he was simply returning Xanry’s own money to him, and it was a detail that Gerald honestly found both hilarious

from Gerald. It was almost as though he was worried that the money would disappear or

won some

me!” replied Gerald as both of them began shaking

Xanry instantly said, “Since you lost in the previous round, you’ll start first,

his keen hearing—that Xanry had two threes and three fives, Gerald deliberately answered wrongly to let Xanry

the exact opposite digits, with him having two

case was, Xanry

number that neither of

Xanry to lose that quickly. In order to make Xanry’s defeat really sting, Gerald was going to allow Xanry to wallow in victory for a few

Chapter 1747

in mind, after a brief pause, Gerald then

yelled Xanry almost

delighted. After all, he had been

Gerald then revealed his dice for

tone, “Apologies, Mr. Crawford, but it appears that you’ve lost again! Looks

know that Xanry was already drunk with power. Xanry clearly thought that Gerald was no

replied Gerald in a casual tone

fifty dollars, Juno quickly looked at

them, if Gerald continued losing, his monetary

said, “Don’t worry, Juno! The show has only begun! Besides, I haven’t lost a single cent! I won a hundred and fifty dollars from him earlier, so all I’ve

chose to remain silent as

money to him, it was high time Gerald revealed his true strength. It was

them began shaking their

second he saw Gerald stop shaking his dice, Xanry immediately

one three. As for his own

Gerald then declared,

Xanry yelled, “Three

no longer planning to allow Xanry to

stunned. To think that Gerald would choose

to do anything about it, Xanry then opened his dice at the same time

it seems you’ve lost!” said Gerald in a calm tone as he

the unwilling Xanry then fished out seventy-five dollars and handed it to Gerald

think that he had to return

way, Gerald was naturally not done with Xanry yet. He wasn’t going to let

about it,

Chapter 1748

anymore, Gerald