Xue Xiaodie stared at her phone screen, her gaze rather serious.
She's finally taking this step.
As a reborn individual, she had accomplished nothing these past few days. The price of Bitcoin was already high, and she wasn't quite sure how to buy it; she hadn't paid any attention to the stock market either, not even knowing about the major cycles, let alone individual stock trends... After much thought, it seemed that only betting on sports was barely a viable option.
These past few days, besides drawing, she's been watching football news, and she finally remembered. As far as I can recall, Argentina won the Copa America, right? And the European Championship, I think Italy won?
Xue Xiaodie wasn't entirely sure, but she still wanted to take the gamble.
After making up her mind, the girl tapped the "Confirm" button on her phone screen. And just like that, a large portion of the several thousand yuan she had recently earned from drawing was invested.
"It should be fine... that's all the money we have. Messi, you'd better do your best."
Xue Xiaodie muttered to herself as she exited the football betting interface and switched her phone back to the KFC ordering app.
Suddenly, she heard that familiar voice: "Xue Xiaodie, you're here even earlier than me?"
The girl raised her head, the unease and seriousness on her face had disappeared, replaced by a sweet smile.
She patted the empty seat next to her: "Sit down, see what you want to eat."
Lu Zhe walked to the other side of the table and sat down.
Xue Xiaodie added, "I've already scanned the code with my phone, so you can use mine. Besides, we're going to watch the game later, why don't you come sit here?"
The reason was so valid that it was impossible to refute, so Lu Zhe sat down next to her.
"I've already made my selection. Just pick yours and click 'confirm'," Xue Xiaodie said, handing him her phone.
After Lu Zhe made his choice, he handed the phone back to her and couldn't help but yawn.
Xue Xiaodie asked, "Do you feel listless?"
Lu Zhe said with a wry smile, "It's been so long since I've gotten up at 7 a.m.... I usually wake up around 8 a.m. for work. Last night was the same; I went to bed before midnight and didn't fall asleep until after 1 a.m.
Xue Xiaodie smiled but remained silent.
Of course, she wouldn't reveal that she was actually more excited last night, and thankfully she had melatonin, otherwise she would definitely have come in this morning with terrible dark circles under her eyes.
Lu Zhe then said, "You're wearing an Argentina jersey today too."
“Not only that,” Xue Xiaodie twisted her body so he could see her back, “Look at this.”
Lu Zhe: "Number 10 Messi, that's good... By the way, why are you a Messi fan?"
Xue Xiaodie sat up straight again and answered seriously, "At first, it was because he was so famous that I watched some of his highlight videos and found that he was really good. After watching more of them, I subconsciously started to support him."
Lu Zhe asked with some curiosity, "Then why don't you support Ronaldo? Ronaldo is also very famous, and he has a muscular physique, and his appearance seems to fit the aesthetic of many girls."
Xue Xiaodie remained silent for a few seconds.
At first, it was just that this guy dragged her to watch football, but later it even developed into him dragging her to watch him play. In Xue Xiaodie's eyes, Lu Zhe was the agile type on the field, more like Messi than Ronaldo, so it was clear which star she should support. Of course, this 'similarity' was only a slight resemblance in dribbling style; Lu Zhe's on-field ability was only at the college team level, neither the best nor the worst.
The girl smiled and said, "But I prefer boys who are more refined and handsome. The kind of quiet, reserved, and modest boys are more in line with my aesthetic."
Lu Zhe laughed and said, "Like Messi?"
Xue Xiaodie thought for a moment and said, "I only like Messi on the field. In reality... how should I put it? Many girls get very invested in a celebrity, but I'm not like that. I only watch his performance on the field and don't get too involved."
Lu Zhe couldn't help but exclaim, "You're more rational than many male fans."
Xue Xiaodie countered, "Should fans be divided into men and women?"
"Well said!" Lu Zhe couldn't help but applaud her.
————
The competition officially began after Xue Xiaodie and Lu Zhe finished breakfast.
The girl held her phone between them so they could look at it together. They each wore one earphone and listened together.
However, not long after the match started, Xue Xiaodie's face turned pale.
The ball was passed to Messi, and immediately three Brazilian players surrounded him, one of whom tackled Messi to the ground.
In the blink of an eye, Neymar on the other side got the ball and tried to break through, but was immediately tackled by an Argentine defender.
Xue Xiaodie instinctively shrank her neck: "Is it that scary...?"
Lu Zhe: "The actions in the Copa America are indeed more aggressive, and the referees' standards are probably more lenient than in La Liga and the Champions League."
However, Xue Xiaodie hadn't watched all the La Liga and Champions League matches in their entirety; she'd only seen highlights. The only matches she'd actually watched were the amateur games Lu Zhe played, and those couldn't compare to the real, hard-fought battles of this kind.
The aerial collisions, the high-speed sprints and bumps... in her eyes, these men weren't playing football; it was clearly a brawl!
Lu Zhe took a sip of iced soy milk and laughed, "It's a pity, Messi seems unable to hold onto the ball, and Neymar is the same. Both sides' defenses are very targeted, focusing on these two big men."
Seeing Messi being pulled down again, Xue Xiaodie murmured, "What should we do?"
Lu Zhe patted the girl on the shoulder like a friend, and was about to say something when he suddenly froze.
On the screen, the football arced through the air and landed behind Brazil's defense. Just then, Argentina's Di Maria rushed in.
Xue Xiaodie also held her breath.
He controlled the ball, chipped it over the Brazilian goalkeeper, and the ball went into the goal.
Lu Zhe slapped his thigh: "Well done!"
Immediately afterwards, he felt a loud pain in his other thigh as well.
Xue Xiaodie patted his leg and exclaimed happily, "Argentina scored!"
Lu Zhe looked at her and said, "You really are a die-hard fan, so engrossed."
Xue Xiaodie touched the strands of hair by her ear, secretly thinking—as long as you throw real money into it, even a complete novice can become more invested than a seasoned fan.
She bet on Argentina winning within the last 90 minutes, with odds of just over 3. If it works out, imagine what it would be like to go from 4,000 to 14,000?
Lu Zhe added, "But don't get too excited yet, the match still has more than an hour to go."
Upon hearing this, Xue Xiaodie couldn't help but tense up again. Out of habit from over the years, she squeezed Lu Zhe's hand, took a few deep breaths, and calmed herself down.
But Lu Zhe, who was being led by the girl, was completely dumbfounded.
————
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