9 Banquet Hall

Owen walked up to them and said. "Terrence, you lost. You shouldn't go back on your words." It was the first time he had defeated Terrence in a basketball match and it made him so happy.

Terrence glanced at the smiling Owen and snorted. "If not for Arlan, you guys would have been decimated by my team, but since you won, I'll acknowledge my defeat. However, are you shameless enough to swallow the 100,000$ by yourself?" He admired Arlan, but this did not mean that his impression of Owen and others has improved.

Arlan stood in between them and muttered. "Stop it you two. Let's just forget about the bet. We won't take your money, but you have to stay away from Owen's girlfriend, Terrence."

Hearing this, Terrence sighed and shook his head. "Fine. I won't pester her anymore. As for the money, I'll give it to you, Arlan. This little bit of money is nothing to me. I would be ashamed if you don't take it. Just tell me your room number and I'll have someone deliver it to your door." He then looked at Owen and said. "I believe that you aren't against Arlan getting all the money."

"Of course! We couldn't have won that match if not for him. Take it, Arlan." Owen smiled. His family was also rich so he didn't feel much of a heartache after losing this money.

Arlan wanted to decline his offer, but when he saw Terrence's expression, he could only nod his head. "Alright. Just send it to room 25. That's where I'm staying."

"Alright. I'll send someone later. By the way, are you guys planning to go to the banquet hall tonight?" Terrence asked with a smile.

Hearing this, Arlan nodded his head. "Yes, I will be there. I want to see the CEO of my favorite fast-food restaurant. What about you, Owen?"

Owen thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Unfortunately, I still have some matters to do at home. I'm sorry, I can't go with you guys."

"Too bad..." Arlan muttered.

"Let's go. I'll take you somewhere nice!" Terrence grabbed Arlan by the shoulder and dragged him out of the court. Only Owen and another young man remained, looking at them as they walked away.

"Wait... My things are still in the locker room..."

"Alright. We'll take your things first..."

"Arlan... I haven't heard of this guy since I went to college. I should report this to the coach and see if we could invite him to join our team." Owen muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, Terrence brought Arlan to the cocktail lounge of the hotel. He then ordered a bunch of drinks for Arlan and the others.

"Don't worry. It's my treat." Terrence smiled at them.

"Great! Then we won't stand on ceremony!"

"Thanks." Arlan muttered before checking his phone.

[You won a basketball match! You can now claim a reward!]

[Do you want to claim your reward?]

[Yes]

Arlan was stunned when he saw the prompts on his device. He thought that he would only get one reward daily, but it seemed like he could also get rewards by completing a certain task.

Arlan quickly clicked [Yes].

[Congratulations! You claimed English Proficiency!]

When he saw the reward, Arlan smiled happily. English was his weakness and because of this, he was sometimes exploited by his former Supervisor, Jackson. Now that he has this, he wouldn't have to worry about being exploited again.

"Hey, Arlan! What are you looking at on your phone?" Terrence's curious voice startled him and he immediately kept his phone as he replied. "Nothing. Just looking at the messages."

"Come on. Try this." Terrence handed him a glass of martini cocktail.

Arlan haven't tried drinking this kind of expensive cocktail so he was also eager to try it. He gently grabbed the glass and took a small sip. "Nice!" He exclaimed. He could taste the gin in the mixture, but it was definitely not the cheap gin that he had tried before. The explosion of different flavors made his mouth look for more.

Terrence laughed when he saw Arlan's reaction. "Not bad, right?"

"It's good." Arlan nodded his head.

The group drank and chatted happily. They only stopped when it was just two hours before the birthday party.

"You should go back and prepare, Arlan. The money is already inside your room. Let's meet again later." Terrence left after saying these words.

Arlan went back to his room and discovered a black briefcase on the table. He opened it up and saw stacks of cash inside.

"5 million pesos! Those guys didn't even blink when they wagered this amount of money. The world of the rich is truly different from us poor folks. Wait... I'm also a millionaire now. Well, only in pesos..." Arlan sighed as he kept the briefcase.

Arlan showered before changing into the clothes he chose to wear earlier. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and smiled in satisfaction. "Not bad." He muttered.

He then checked the time on his watch.

5:30 P.M.

"I should head to the banquet hall now." He said before going out of his room. He headed straight to the banquet hall and saw that Terrence and the others were already there.

"You're finally here. Come. I'll introduce you to some of our friends." Terrence and the others dragged him away and introduced him to a few rich young children. Because Terrence was a great talker, they never ran out of topics and even Arlan who was still new to the group occasionally joined their conversation.

Arlan stared at the people dressed in expensive clothes and then at the banquet hall that was filled with all sorts of delicacies. This was a new sight to him and he never even dared to wish for this kind of life before.

However, life is very unpredictable sometimes.