Chapter 101 A Bet
Chapter 101 A Bet
Knock knock knock.
As the two men confronted each other, there was a sudden knock on the door.
"Young lord, are you there?" Dixon's voice came from outside.
"Just a minute." Lying on the bed, Corbett shouted at the door before slowly getting on his feet.
He then patted himself to remove the wrinkles from his clothes and suggested to the other man in the room, "You'd better fix yourself up, or people will think there's something between us when they see us like this!"
"Damn it!" Frank cursed, staring at him fiercely as he reached out to straighten his clothes, too.
With a smile on his face, Corbett checked up on Frank and said, "Come in!"
"Yes, sir!" Dixon's voice sounded muffled from the other side of the door. Pushing it open, he came in and said respectfully, "Young lord!"
"Um," muttered Corbett before taking a seat at the table. "What's the matter?"
"Well..." After hesitating for a while, the scarred man glanced at Frank. "Just say it."
"Yes, young lord!" Dixon nodded and said, "There is a man called William Lan outside the villa. He wants to see Frank and take him back."
"William!"
As soon as the words left Dixon's mouth, Frank cried out in surprise.
"Where is he? Take me to see him!" Frank walked anxiously to the scarred man.
Corbett looked at the food on the table and seemed to have suddenly lost his appetite. Throwing the chopsticks aside, he stood up.
"You look so happy." Corbett glanced at Frank.
"Of course." Frank narrowed his eyes.
"Aren't you afraid that I will shoot him?"
"If you dare, I promise you won't live long either. " Frank stared at him fearlessly.
"Let's go," Corbett said with an indifferent look on his face. "I'll take you to him."
Without saying a word, Frank looked at him intently. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
Afterward, the two of them left the room and walked through a long path before reaching the villa's gate. At first glance, they could see a tall man standing outside. With his hands in his pockets, William had his back to the gate. His long coat seemed to protect him from the cold blow of the wind.
"William!" Frank quickly ran to William as soon as he saw him.
"Frank!" At the sound of his voice, William immediately turned around.
"William..." Frank was speechless.
"Thank God. You are fine!" Relieved to see him, William stretched out his hand and touched the hair scattered over Frank's forehead with a smile.
Corbett remained at the door, watching as Frank ran to William without saying a word.
"William, how did you find this place?"
"Long story." William forced a smile and asked, "Have you suffered any harm these days?"
"Of course not." Frank smiled, waving his hand.
"You two!" Corbett finally opened his mouth after a long time and said, "The villa's gate is not the place for you to show your concern for each other's well-being, don't you think?"
As soon as he heard Corbett's voice, William raised his head and unconsciously pulled Frank behind him in a protective way as he stared at the other man. A trace of malice flashed through Corbett's eyes, but it quickly disappeared. As he walked out of the villa, he looked between the two men with a smile. However, whenever he focused on William, his eyes were filled with hostility.
William also looked him up and down. In fact, he didn't expect to find such an outstanding person living there.
"May I ask you something, sir?" William asked in fluent Japanese. "Why did you capture Frank? You know you made a mistake, right?"
Corbett laughed and said, "No one has ever asked me why I do anything."
"It's my honor to be the first one." William answered expressionlessly.
"You must be William," he assumed, stretching out his hand. "I'm Corbett, and I've heard a lot about you."
"Nice to meet you." William reached out to him, unimpressed that Corbett knew who he was.
While they shook each other's hands, both men managed to look friendly from outside, but in reality, there was a competition taking place between them.
"Since you're here," Corbett said, letting go of William's hand. "How about you visit the villa and stay with us for a few days?"
"No, thanks." William stared at him and explained, "We don't have much time now. I'm only here to take Frank back, but we can come to see you again in the future."
"Mr. Lan, are you rejecting me?" Corbett suddenly frowned as he turned his gaze towards Frank.
"What will it take for you to let us go?" William said unaffected.
"I'm not stopping you, Mr. Lan, from leaving," Corbett stated with a smile. "But, I'm afraid that Mr. Liang by your side will be staying here for a little longer!"
"How dare you!" Frank scolded him.
William patted on Frank's shoulder, implying that he shouldn't stress over it. Next, he turned to Corbett and said, "I'm not leaving without him. Now tell me, what do you want to let us go?"
Corbett chuckled and said, "I like straightforward people like you, Mr. Lan. How about we make a bet? If you win, you can both leave. But if you don't, I should keep Frank and your arm. What do you say?"
"Okay," William agreed without blinking.
"William!" Frank shouted in a mix of anger and anxiety, "Are you crazy? He's tricking you. Even if we win, do you think he will simply let us go?"
"If we don't give it a try, we won't have another chance to leave," William explained with a soothing smile. "Moreover, I believe that he is a man of his word and will never break his promise."
Corbett nodded with a chuckle, "Of course."
"Tell me, what do you want to bet on?" William asked.
"I suggest that we both hold a gun, with our backs to each other," Corbett said slowly. "After Frank does the counting, we turn around at the same time and see whose finger is the fastest to pull the trigger. What do you say?"
"Fine."
"No!" Frank shook his head. "William, you'll die!"
"I'll be fine." William looked at Frank with an assuring smile before taking the gun thrown at him by the scarred man.
Corbett couldn't help feeling annoyed as he watched the two of them. He uttered fiercely, "Well, let's start quickly. I don't have time to waste with you!"
"Okay," William agreed, turning around. Then he nodded at Frank and said, "Frank, let's start. Don't be afraid."
Standing beside William, Frank took two steps back and looked at him nervously.
Corbett, on the other hand, didn't turn as he kept staring at Frank, who didn't seem to see anything else but William.
At the edge of his annoyance, Corbett suddenly realized the absurdity of the situation.
"Three..." Frank called out the first number but was soon interrupted by Corbett.
"Enough!" Corbett stated coldly, "I call off the bet. You may leave now!"
Upon hearing this, William and Frank exchanged surprised looks.
"What? Didn't you want to leave?" Corbett frowned and added, "Just go and get out of my sight before I change my mind!"
"Then we'll leave!" Frank immediately said as he pulled an absent-minded William towards the road.
Corbett watched the two receding figures, and for a long time after they left, he remained motionless on the same spot.