Super Rich by Doing as You Please

Hong Kong Island is a city obsessed with social strata, where the gap between the rich and the poor is starkly evident.

And just as Yu Jiale had said, the Horse Club was one of the most exclusive places around.

But difficult to enter didn’t mean impossible!

Young Master Ruan’s family, for instance, had managed to get in. While they weren’t top-tier members, their status was respectable enough.

The Horse Club has two entrances: one for the general public and another, exclusive entrance for its members.

These led to completely different areas.

The members’ area was clean and tidy, complete with restaurants, private betting windows, lounges, and exclusive VIP boxes.

In contrast, the general public was confined to the ground level, seated in an open-air plaza.

Led by Young Master Ruan, Xu Yun and his group used the membership badge in his hand to pass through without any obstruction.

Yu Jiale was very familiar with the racecourse scene.

He enjoyed coming to bet on the horses and try his luck when he had free time. It was a twice-a-week affair: Wednesday nights at Happy Valley Racecourse and Sunday afternoons at Shatian Racecourse.

Right now, they were at the Shatian Racecourse.

Normally, he’d have to line up at the public entrance and place his bets in the crowded, noisy main hall. He’d never had the chance to come to this side.

If it weren’t for Xu Yun, he figured he would never have gotten in here in his entire life.

Experiencing the stark contrast between the two worlds, he could only sigh. ’It really is great to be rich!’

As they walked through the betting hall, Young Master Ruan chatted with Xu Yun, telling him a few things about the races.

He knew far more than an outsider like Yu Jiale.

They headed for the viewing boxes, which were essentially glass-walled rooms.

Young Master Ruan pressed the button for the upstairs elevator. "The members’ private box area has four floors in total: 1, 2, 3, and 5.

They skipped the number 4 because it’s considered unlucky, so there are still four floors in total.

Access to each floor depends on your membership level.

And I can only take you up to the 3rd floor."

Xu Yun teased, "Why not the 5th floor?"

"Brother Xu, don’t tease me. You think I don’t want to take you to the 5th floor?"

Young Master Ruan said dejectedly, "The 5th floor is reserved for honorary members. There are only about 200 of them in all of Hong Kong.

They’re basically all high-ranking officials, top-tier tycoons, international celebrities, and so on."

"Looks like you still have some work to do, then."

"Brother Xu, I don’t stand a chance."

Ruan Qingnian laughed. "How about this? I’ll pull some strings to get you in, and once you become an honorary member, you can take me up there to see what it’s like."

"Forget it. I’m not interested."

Xu Yun scoffed inwardly. ’What membership badge? Wearing it is like hanging a dog tag around your neck!’

’He refused to believe that if someone like Leibus showed up, they wouldn’t be allowed up to the 5th floor just because they weren’t a member.’

’Ultimately, it came down to one thing: if you can’t get up there, it’s because you lack the clout. It has nothing to do with whether you’re a member or not.’

’A true tycoon is someone they beg to join, not someone who has to shamelessly pull strings and then feels proud just for getting in.’

Seeing Xu Yun’s refusal, Young Master Ruan didn’t press the matter.

The group of five arrived at the VIP box he had reserved. The room was lavishly decorated. In addition to exclusive betting machines and dedicated service staff, it had a dining table and a lounge area with sofas.

Most impressively, the side facing the track was a single, massive pane of glass.

Beyond the glass was a spacious terrace, about ten meters long.

From the terrace, one could overlook the entire Shatian Racecourse, and the spot directly in front was precisely where the horses made their final sprint to the finish line.

"Brother Xu."

Young Master Ruan asked curiously, "How come you didn’t bring Michelle with you today?"

For a guy like him, going out without a woman or two in tow was just plain weird.

"She was tired from last night and wasn’t feeling well, so I had her rest at the hotel."

"Damn."

Hearing this, Ruan Qingnian couldn’t help but say admiringly, "You’re the man, Brother Xu. A total beast."

"You think everyone’s like you?"

Xu Yun joked, "It’s nothing. Just practice that Cultivation Technique I taught you more. Give it some time, and you’ll get there too."

"Haha..."

Ruan Qingnian chuckled slyly.

BANG!

At that moment, a gunshot rang out, and a race began down below.

The races at Shatian Racecourse started in the afternoon. There were a total of nine races, each lasting half an hour, continuing well into the evening.

It was already past 3:00 PM when Xu Yun’s group arrived, and the races were already underway.

In the sea of people below, everyone clutched their betting slips, screaming themselves hoarse as they cheered for the horses they’d bet on, hoping to win the race and take home the prize money.

Young Master Ruan asked, "Brother Xu, want to try your luck?"

"We came all this way. It’d be a waste not to give it a try."

Xu Yun asked, "So how do you bet on these races?"

"There are a lot of ways to bet, all kinds of them. I haven’t even figured them all out myself."

Young Master Ruan chuckled. "But since this is your first time, Brother Xu, I’ll just introduce you to two of the simpler bets. They’re the ones I usually play, since they don’t require much brainpower."

"Alright, let’s hear them."

"The first is a ’Win’ bet. That just means you win if the horse you pick comes in first place. The payout is the highest, but it’s not easy to hit.

The second is a ’Place’ bet. As long as the horse you pick finishes in the top three, you win."

"Alright, I’ll give it a shot."

With that, Xu Yun walked over to the betting machine in the room, ready to place a bet on the upcoming races.

"Brother Xu, not so fast! If you just bet like that, your chances of losing are high."

Young Master Ruan quickly added, "Before you bet, we should look at the information on the horses and head down to the paddock to check on the condition of the horses and jockeys. Then we can make a decision."