Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 20

Xia Tian and Fang Yu set up their fruit platter stand right outside the basketball court in Qingshui Park.

This was one of the busiest spots in the park.

After setting up the stand, Xia Tian placed some of the fruit platters into the bucket filled with ice, keeping them chilled.

Since the area was filled with basketball players, who would get hot and sweaty after their games, selling chilled fruit platters would attract more customers.

To kickstart sales, Xia Tian came up with another idea.

“Go grab a few bottles of water,” Xia Tian told Fang Yu. “There’s bound to be someone who’ll come over to buy water after playing basketball. That’ll give them a chance to see the sign.”

“Got it!” Fang Yu, now completely trusting of Xia Tian, promptly went to buy a few bottles of water from a convenient store outside the park and placed them on the table.

Sure enough, not long after, a thirsty college student who had just finished playing basketball noticed their stand.

“Hey, are you guys selling water? Do you have any chilled water?”

“We only have room temperature water, but we do have chilled fruit platters,” Xia Tian replied.

The college student hadn’t noticed the board yet and waved it off. “I’ll just take two bottles of water. Room temperature is fine.”

Xia Tian handed him the water, but not before casually pointing at the chalkboard next to the stand.

“Here’s your water, big brother. Also, we’re running a promotion—if you join the game, you could win a fruit platter for free.”

As soon as the student heard the word “free,” his eyes lit up.

He immediately leaned forward to look at the small chalkboard.

[Fruit Platters: Play dice with the boss. Win, and it’s free. Lose, and you buy a box (5 yuan/box).]

After reading it, the student asked eagerly, “So, if I win a round of dice, I get a free box? We’re just playing to see who rolls the higher number, right?”

“That’s right. But if you lose, you’ll have to buy a box for 5 yuan,” Xia Tian explained with a grin.

The first fish had taken the bait.

The college student rolled up his sleeves excitedly. “This is awesome! I’m good at dice! Just one question—if I win, you won’t stop me from playing more, right?”

“Of course not. You can keep playing as long as you want, even if you win all the fruit platters I have.”

Hearing this, the student’s excitement grew even further.

“Alright! But don’t worry, I won’t be greedy. I’ll just win a few boxes and call it a day. Let’s go! Hand me the dice!”

Xia Tian smiled and shook his head. “You’ve got to pay first. When you win, I’ll give you the fruit platter along with your money.”

The student hesitated for a moment before pulling out a 5-yuan bill and handing it to Xia Tian.

“Alright, let’s see what you’ve got.”

Xia Tian took the money and handed the student a pair of dice.

They both shook their dice and lifted the covers.

“Three points!”

“Six points! Ha! I won!”

The student leaned forward to look at Xia Tian’s dice with a huge grin on his face.

He couldn’t believe how easy it was to win! His luck was incredible!

Without saying anything, Xia Tian handed over one chilled fruit platter along with the 5-yuan bill.

“Big brother, you won. Here’s your fruit and your money.”

“Hold on, keep the money. Let’s go for two more rounds!”

Seeing the student’s enthusiasm, Xia Tian chuckled inwardly.

The fish was hooked.

Over the next two rounds, the college student won both games.

Xia Tian put on a mock disappointed face.

“Wow… Big brother, your luck is really good. You’ve won three fruit platters already.”

Gleefully, the student took his three chilled fruit platters and pocketed his 5-yuan bill, his face beaming with pride.

“See, little bro, I told you I was unbeatable. Dice games are my specialty, haha!”

With a triumphant smile, the student walked away, holding all three fruit platters.

As soon as the student left, Fang Yu, who had been holding back his confusion, couldn’t stay quiet any longer.

At first, when Xia Tian purposely lost the first game, Fang Yu didn’t think much of it.

He assumed it was part of Xia Tian’s plan, giving the student a taste of victory to reel him in.

But after Xia Tian lost three games in a row, Fang Yu began to worry.

“Little Tian, what are you doing? You just lost three games in a row! That’s three fruit platters gone! You beat me so easily when we played, so why are you losing now?”

Seeing Fang Yu’s anxious face, Xia Tian remained as calm as ever.

He casually sat down on a nearby marble bench, crossing his legs.

“What’s the rush? I lost on purpose. You’ll see why soon enough.”

“Let the bullet fly for a while.”

With a slight smirk, Xia Tian glanced in the direction the student had gone.

At that moment, the student—Zhao Yang—had already returned to the basketball court, holding the three fruit platters.

—

“Hey brothers, come get some fruit! It’s ice-cold!”

Zhao Yang called out to his friends, who were taking a break from their basketball game, offering them the fruit platters he had just won.

His friends gathered around, grinning.

“Whoa, the notorious cheapskate Brother Yang bought us food? Is the sun rising in the west today?”

“Holy crap! If Zhao Yang’s treating us, I’m suspicious. Did you poison the fruit?”

“Man, this is a rare occasion. Brother Yang never buys stuff for anyone!”

Everyone laughed and teased Zhao Yang, making him a bit embarrassed.

He scratched his head and explained, “Actually, I didn’t buy these… There are two high school kids set up a stand outside the court. They’re running this dice game where, if you win, you get a free fruit platter. But if you lose, you have to pay 5 yuan. I tried it out and won three times in a row! Didn’t even spend a penny.”

His friends’ eyes lit up in understanding.

“Oh, so you didn’t actually buy them—got them for free, huh?”

“Damn, if Zhao Yang can win three, I’ll bet I can take the whole stand!”

“These fruit platters cost at least 9 yuan each at the supermarket. Even if you lose and have to pay 5 yuan, it’s still a bargain. Zhao Yang, where’s this stand? Let’s go check it out!”

“Yeah, let’s go!”

Unable to contain their excitement, Zhao Yang’s friends urged him to lead the way to the stand.

Meanwhile, Xia Tian had been keeping an eye on the basketball court.

When he saw Zhao Yang heading toward them with nearly ten friends in tow, a satisfied smile spread across his face.

He clapped Fang Yu on the shoulder. “Fang Yu, get ready to work. It’s time to start collecting money!”

—

Soon, Zhao Yang and his friends arrived at the stand.

“Hey, little bro, my friends all tried the fruit platters, and they think they taste great. They want to give the dice game a try—there’s no problem, right?”

“Of course not. Everyone’s welcome to play,” Xia Tian replied with a knowing smile.

Zhao Yang stepped up first, handing Xia Tian another 5-yuan bill. “Let me show them how it’s done!”

Xia Tian glanced at Fang Yu, signaling him to take the money.

As soon as Fang Yu grabbed the bill, Xia Tian handed Zhao Yang the dice.

They shook the dice and revealed their results.

Xia Tian rolled a six, Zhao Yang rolled a four.

“Tough luck, big brother. You lost.”

“Huh? I lost?”

Zhao Yang was a bit taken aback.

But he didn’t mind too much. After all, dice games were luck-based, and no one could win every time. He had already won three rounds earlier, so it wasn’t unreasonable to lose once.

Next time, he’d definitely win again!

“Let’s go again!”

Zhao Yang pulled out another 5-yuan bill and handed it to Fang Yu.

Then, he and Xia Tian shook the dice again.

But when the dice were revealed, Zhao Yang was stunned.

Xia Tian had won again by a slight margin!

Xia Tian feigned surprise. “Wow, I won again! Sorry, big brother, but that’s another fruit platter for you to buy. Thanks for your support.”

Zhao Yang’s friends burst out laughing.

“Pfft! Zhao Yang, you can’t beat a high school kid at a simple dice game?”

“Step aside and let me have a go… Little bro, I’m up next!”

One of Zhao Yang’s friends, wearing a “24” Kobe Bryant jersey, stepped forward and handed Fang Yu a 5-yuan bill, ready to take Zhao Yang’s spot.

Zhao Yang, feeling a bit frustrated, stepped aside.

He’d already lost 10 yuan. If he kept going, he might end up spending his lunch money for the next day.

But when he thought about it, even if he bought five fruit platters at another place, it would cost him at least 40 or 50 yuan.

Here, he’d only spent 10 yuan for five fruit platters.

Not so bad, right?

With that thought, Zhao Yang felt much better.

He watched as his friend Wang Yunfan played against Xia Tian.

“Open!”

The dice were revealed.

Wang Yunfan rolled a four.

Xia Tian rolled a five.

“Hehe, looks like I won,” Xia Tian said cheerfully, handing Wang Yunfan a fruit platter.

Wang Yunfan froze, while the rest of the group burst into laughter again.

They teased him, saying that Zhao Yang had at least won three rounds, while Wang Yunfan had lost his very first game.

Instantly, Wang Yunfan’s competitive spirit kicked in.

Gritting his teeth, he pulled another 5-yuan bill from his pocket.

“Little bro, let’s go again! You got lucky the first time, but I won’t hold back this time!”

“Alright,” Xia Tian replied, motioning for Fang Yu to take the money.

Then, they resumed shaking the dice.

At that moment, Fang Yu finally realized why Xia Tian had purposely lost to Zhao Yang earlier.

Xia Tian’s plan from the beginning had been to lure in Zhao Yang’s entire group of friends!

With a bunch of them playing together, there was no way they’d stop after just one round.

They were all friends, so with the teasing and banter going on, they’d keep pushing each other to play more and more rounds.

It was the classic gambler’s mentality!

Fang Yu couldn’t help but feel frustrated with himself for not seeing the bigger picture earlier.

He looked at Xia Tian in awe—everything that was just becoming clear to him had already been meticulously planned by Xia Tian from the start!

In a daze, Fang Yu felt as if Xia Tian was glowing with brilliance.

“Little Tian really is the light… He’s Ultraman Tiga!”

“Godfather never let me down!”