The jar is empty?
Hearing this, Miharu Taki Sakura was stunned.
Meari, who thought she had won and was already "popping champagne at halftime," was also stunned.
"Impossible!" Meari stated definitively, "There should still be one piece in the jar right now!"
Hanatemari's face turned pale, and she whispered, "Meari, there's really nothing left in the jar…"
Meari didn't believe it, stood up, grabbed the jar, and looked inside; it was indeed empty, nothing was there.
No, it absolutely wasn't like this! Meari shook her head vigorously.
According to her calculations, a total of 180 pieces had been taken out, and these were black pieces, 181 in total, so there should still be one left in the jar!
What on earth happened!?
Meari realized something, suddenly looked up at Miharu Taki sitting across from her, and angrily slammed the table: "Miharu Taki Sakura, you cheated! Did you hide the last piece!?"
Facing Meari's furious questioning, Miharu Taki Sakura did not get angry, because she also had the same doubt in her heart at that moment.
She calculated the same as Meari; there should still be one last black piece in the jar.
She had thought she had already lost, but the situation took an unexpected turn.
This jar of pieces was a newly unsealed set for competition, with a total of 181 pieces. Why was one missing? It couldn't be that the manufacturer of the Go pieces had a problem and only put 180 pieces in this jar, could it?
Could it be that… Miharu Taki Sakura glanced at her assistant Yagyu Ine, seeing her lower her head at some point, making her expression unclear, and she roughly understood.
Miharu Taki Sakura calmly began, "Meari, neither of us had the chance to tamper with the pieces, you should know that. You also didn't check the number of pieces beforehand, so you can't say for sure that there were 181 black pieces in the jar, can you?"
Meari couldn't accept this result and angrily said, "You also said this is Go for competition, isn't it common sense that there are 181 pieces? You definitely tampered with it!"
Miharu Taki Sakura was silent for a moment, then slowly explained to Meari.
"...Meari, even if I cheated, you didn't catch me in the act during the gambling process, did you? You should know that in this school, as long as you're not caught in the act, it won't affect the outcome of the gamble."
It was this person who tampered with it after all! Meari gritted her teeth.
Meari had been watching Miharu Taki Sakura throughout the game; she hadn't even touched the piece jar once.
Either she secretly took out a piece before the gambling started, or she instructed her assistant to secretly cheat during the gambling process!
But Meari was only guessing now and didn't know exactly how the other party cheated.
The rules were just as Miharu Taki Sakura said; if you don't catch them in the act, even if the opponent proudly admits to cheating, it doesn't affect the gambling outcome.
Seeing Meari looking at her with eyes full of anger, Miharu Taki Sakura felt apologetic and sighed softly.
She had no intention of cheating, who knew the outcome would be like this...
Miharu Taki Sakura wanted to compensate Meari, so she spoke with an apologetic tone.
"Meari, I understand you feel resentful and don't accept the result of this gamble. How about this? We'll decide the winner with a best-of-three, and this round will count as my win for now. As long as you win the next round, we can return to the starting line."
Meari hesitated.
Suddenly going from BO1 to BO3 was indeed a good opportunity for Meari; if she accepted Miharu Taki's suggestion, she would have a second chance to challenge Miharu Taki Sakura.
But, Miharu Taki Sakura clearly won, so why would she do this? Didn't she gamble with herself because she wanted to get those eighty million?
Meari didn't know how familiar Miharu Taki was with Ayanokoji, but she did know one thing: Miharu Taki Sakura was Mibuomi Aoi's fiancée, so she must be in the "enemy" camp.
Could it be that she really didn't cheat and wanted to prove her innocence?
No, there was another possibility.
She did cheat, but she didn't want to be criticized, so she pretended to be generous and gave herself a second chance to challenge, but in reality, she would still win this gamble by cheating.
She gave herself two chances and she still lost, in which case she would have a reason to openly mock herself for being useless, for not seizing the opportunity, and for rightfully receiving the eighty million Japanese Yen...
Meari cautiously did not reply immediately, and Miharu Taki Sakura also noticed Meari's apprehension.
To ease Meari's guard, she even said, "Meari, I won't cheat this round.
If you find anything abnormal about me during or after the gambling, or anything Something is wrong with this gamble, I'm willing to concede directly."
Miharu Taki Sakura's statement truly surprised Meari; she was actually so generous?
Only someone with such confidence in themselves could say something like that?
....Did she really misunderstand her?
"Miharu Taki!" Yagyu Ine panicked and quickly called out, hoping she would change her mind.
"Liu Sheng, don't worry, I'll win."
Miharu Taki Sakura glanced at her, her gaze still fixed on Meari, and said patiently, "Meari, how is it? Have you thought about it? I've given you a second chance."
Meari thought for a moment, then suddenly stood up.
"...No, I won't gamble with you. I don't accept the result of this gamble, and I won't gamble with you again."
"What do you mean?" Miharu Taki frowned.
Meari smiled cunningly.
"I suddenly remembered that I didn't get Ayanokoji's permission before gambling with you, and we didn't sign any written contract. So, this gamble of ours is actually invalid, and even if I lost, it doesn't prove anything."
"Saotome Meari, are you being a sore loser?!" Yagyu Ine stepped forward, letting out a soft cry. She never expected Meari to be such a sore loser and refuse to accept the outcome of the gamble.
"Don't forget that Miharu Taki is a member of the Student Council! As long as Miharu Taki approves of the match, this gamble is meaningful!"
"You're right, my approval isn't important."
Meari pouted, and said meaningfully, "After all… this money is already in Miharu Taki's hands anyway, and I have no right to interfere with how she handles it."
"Farewell."
Meari smiled slightly, took Hanatemari Kazura's hand, and left directly.
Meari played a trick.
She couldn't really figure out Miharu Taki Sakura's thoughts now, and even if she continued to gamble with her, she might not win according to her own wishes. It was better to leave her hanging and return the choice to her hands.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had already admitted defeat and given her his bank card, so even if she won, if Miharu Taki Sakura insisted on not acknowledging the legitimacy of the gamble, she wouldn't be able to get the money from her.
Since the situation was impossible now, it was wisest to withdraw in time.
To put it nicely, Meari was making a strategic retreat.
To put it bluntly, Meari chickened out.
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