Chapter 177 - Losing With Only His Underwear Left

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Everyone in First Pavilion was shocked.

The Murphy family looked at Clarence as if they were in a dream.

Miranda had mixed emotions in her eyes. She realized that Clarence had been surprising her more and more ever since the divorce.

Why had she not realized more things about him when they were still married?

Clarence looked at Mr. Cooke indifferently. “What are you doing standing there?”

“The money…”

Clarence held out a hand. “Are you trying to repudiate the debt?

“You can repudiate your debt if you want. Just admit that you can’t pay back your debts, and you won’t have to pay me one hundred billion dollars.”

Clarence was beating him at his own game.

Mr. Cooke’s face turned red, and he did not know what to do with himself. “Clarence, don’t go too far.”

Clarence smiled. “So what if I do?

“Don’t you owe me money? Are you going to deny it? There are so many people watching us!”

“You…” Mr. Cooke was so mad he was close to fainting.

A young man standing next to Mr. Cooke stepped forward and criticized Clarence. “You cheated!

“No one can cut more than five hundred pieces of jade in one go and find jade in every single piece.

“Do you think your eyes are scanners? Even if they are, they wouldn’t be able to detect the jade inside the stones.

“You definitely cheated!”

Mr. Cooke’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, you must have cheated.

“Were you colluding with First Pavilion?

“To set a trap for me?”

However, before Clarence could refute, Astral spoke first. “He didn’t cheat.

“The raw jade stones were cut on the spot. There’s no way he cheated. He has real talent!”

Everyone looked at Astral in shock.

No one expected Astral to speak up for Clarence.

Mr. Cooke stomped his feet in anger. “Astral, whose side are you on?”

Astral looked solemn. “You invited me here to bet on the stones for you, so I’m on your side, of course. However, I have to admit defeat because I’m not as good as him.”

“Pfft…”

Mr. Cooke was so mad he was close to fainting again.

‘You don’t care!

‘You can easily say you’re not as good as him, but what about me?

‘That’s one hundred billion dollars!’

His father and grandfather would break his legs if they found out.

Clarence was beaming. “I told you. If you just admit that you can’t pay your debt and that you’re a scoundrel, I’ll forget about the one hundred billion dollars.”

Clarence did not actually think he would get his one hundred billion dollars.

It had been a verbal bet, and Mr. Cooke was from Beth City. He was rich and powerful. Clarence dared not force him to pay up.

Mr. Cooke was now up a tree.

If he admitted that he was a scoundrel who could not pay his debts, how was he going to stay in Beth City if word got back there about this?

People would make fun of him!

“Who says I won’t?” Mr. Cooke’s eyes were red.

Clarence smiled playfully. “Then bring me the money.”

The young man next to Mr. Cooke leaned over and whispered a few words in his ear.

Mr. Cooke froze but soon calmed down. He looked at Clarence coldly. “I don’t have that much money right now, but I can write you an IOU.”

“IOU?”

Clarence frowned.

Mr. Cooke said flatly, “Yes, an IOU.

“The Cooke family of Beth City keeps their word, but no one in the country has one hundred billion dollars in cash.

“I’ll write you an IOU and go back to raise the money.”

Clarence’s eyes gleamed with disbelief. “I don’t believe you.”

“Haha, Clarence, do you think the Cooke family’s going to repudiate the debt?

“I have no money right now. As for the IOU, take it or leave it!” Mr. Cooke sat back in the old-fashioned wooden armchair, leaned back in it, and drank a cup of tea.

He was undaunted.

Did it matter if he wrote an IOU or not?

Would Clarence have the balls to go to Beth City and ask the Cooke family to pay?

No, unless he was really out of his mind.

Bill came over. “Brother Howard, stop while you can.

“Mr. Cooke won’t pay, and we have no way to force him to. At least no one in Mediterranean City can touch him.

“The jades you cut out already net you ten billion dollars. Being too greedy will only get you into more trouble.

“Even if you insist on getting the one hundred billion dollars and go to the Cooke family in Beth City, a word from their elders could easily make you leave.”

Kate nodded and advised, “My brother’s right. Mr. Cooke’s a tough guy.

“I’ve heard that he’s called ‘one of the big four crown princes of Beth City’. We can hold our own against him while he’s in Mediterranean City, but once he goes back to Beth City, there’s nothing we can do.”

Clarence narrowed his eyes. “Write your IOU.”

Mr. Cooke had someone bring him a pen and paper. He wrote a ‘one hundred billion dollars IOU’ and stamped his fingerprint on the paper before tossing it to Clarence.

Then, he turned around and walked away with his crew.

However, Clarence stopped Mr. Cooke. “Wait.”

Mr. Cooke looked livid. “What more do you want, boy?

“If it weren’t for the crowd here, I could crush you with a single hand.”

Clarence looked calm. “Mr. Cooke, shouldn’t you be giving me some interest on that one hundred billion dollars?”

“What do you mean?” Mr. Cooke froze.

Clarence smiled and said, “Do you know how much money one hundred billion dollars is?

“Even if I put it in the bank and get the lowest interest rate possible, I can still earn tens of millions of dollars every day.

“Mr. Cooke, you owe me one hundred billion dollars, yet you’re just going to leave me an IOU?

“You’re being a bully.”

Everyone around them looked over.

“You…”

Mr. Cooke blushed as he removed his expensive watch from his wrist. “This is a limited-edition Patek Philippe with diamond glass and a quartz dial. It’s worth over six million dollars.

“Is it enough?”

He tossed the watch at Clarence.

Clarence caught it. “No!”

Mr. Cooke took out his wallet and a car key, and he threw the wallet at Clarence. “There are only ten of my Lamborghini Venenos in the world and only three in this country. It’s worth nearly one hundred million!

“Is this enough?”

He tossed his car keys over.

Clarence grabbed the car keys. “It’s still not enough!”

Mr. Cooke undid his belt. “A limited-edition Givenchy belt, autographed by the late King of Pop—Michael Jackson. You can auction it off for at least twenty million dollars.

“Is this enough?”

He threw the belt over too.

Clarence held the belt with a look of disgust on his face. “Mr. Cooke, these things only amount to interest for ten days or half a month at most. Will you be able to get one hundred billion dollars in about half a month?

“Shouldn’t you pay an interest of two or three months first?

“Or can you not even pay that amount of interest?”

Mr. Cooke was furious. “Clarence, don’t push it!”

Clarence looked innocent. “Mr. Cooke, how am I pushing it?”

“You’re bullying me. You won’t even pay me interest when you owe me one hundred billion dollars. How can I trust you to pay me the one hundred billion dollars?

“Everyone’s watching.”

Mr. Cooke was so furious his lungs were fit to burst. He stripped down to his underwear. “My blazer has Marilyn Monroe’s autograph, and my pants belonged to Audrey Hepburn herself.

“There are only thirty of these shirts in the world. It’s been woven with gold thread and can never wrinkle.

“All this stuff, including my sports car, watch, and belt, are worth at least three hundred million dollars.

“Are these enough?”

Clarence looked at Mr. Cooke. “You still have a pair of underwear….”