Book 1: A Man in the Jianghu, Forced to His Own Destiny, Chapter 40: God of Gamblers? God of Misfortune?
I took a deep breath, trying my best to hide my excitement!
The ring really worked!
If I had always been somewhat skeptical about the ring's effects, as I experienced more and more things, I no longer had any doubts about this magical ring.
But... what if I encounter some bad luck because of this?
Could my house have been engulfed in fire again? Uh... should I call 119 first?
Trying to clear my mind of these distractions, I bent down to hit the ball...
This time, with my calm control, I finally played to my normal level, sinking three balls into the pockets in one go, but I made a mistake on the fourth shot.
Minister Kim had been feeling frustrated for a long time, his face showing some helplessness. In his opinion, it was impossible for a beginner like him to make such a mistake as pocketing the cue ball.
I stepped back two paces and watched him hit the ball quietly.
A graceful and steady stride! A textbook grip! A gaze as sharp as an eagle's! And then, a magnificent strike...
Bang!
Such a crisp and pleasant sound...
Then a beautiful black arc was seen drawing in mid-air, like a crescent moon! The arc subtly echoed the profound mysteries of heaven and earth!
Bang! A ball bounced off the pool table and landed on the floor, rolling slowly to my feet before coming to a stop.
I was stunned.
Minister Kim was stunned.
The woman in red was stunned.
The ball flew off the table!
Moreover, it's a black number eight ball!
(8-ball rule in pool: If the black 8 ball flies off the table, the game is lost!)
"I...I'm so horrible!" Minister Kim's mouth gaped open, his eyes widened, and his expression was as if he had just seen his wife cheating on him. He didn't even notice the cigar he was holding falling to the ground...
The way that woman in red looked at me was like she'd seen a ghost!
I immediately composed myself, put on a sincere expression, walked over and gently patted Minister Kim on the shoulder, sighed and said, "Minister Kim, everyone makes mistakes, there's no need to take it so seriously."
Then the third game begins.
This time it's even stranger!
I hit the ball smoothly with my first shot, but I missed on my second shot, so it was Minister Kim's turn.
Minister Kim potted three colored balls on his first shot... This time the cue ball didn't go into the pocket, and the black 8 ball was also safe.
But the problem is...
The three balls he pocketed on his first shot were all my striped balls!
...
…………
Half an hour later, Minister Kim was finally on the verge of collapse.
He yelled angrily, grabbed the golf club, and snapped it in two with a crack on his thigh. He then threw it to the floor, cursing, "Damn it! I'm totally possessed today!"
To be honest.
I think what he did was perfectly normal, and it doesn't mean he had bad sportsmanship.
To be honest, his patience is really, really good...
Anyone else, within that timeframe, would have potted the cue ball three times, the black 8 three times, missed the black 8 three times, and potted the opponent's suit six times...
Even the most good-tempered person will inevitably lose their temper sometimes, right?
Even if you're Ding Junhui or Hendry... encountering this kind of possession...
In this situation, even a saint would be so angry that he would flip the table, right?
The woman in red next to me saw it most clearly. She could tell that my ball skills were only average, but I had such incredible luck. Now she was so scared that she didn't dare to say a word.
"I'm not fighting anymore!" Minister Kim muttered a few curses under his breath.
I sighed, put my hands behind my back, and carefully and quietly took off the ring and put it in my pocket. I went up to Minister Kim and said a few words of comfort and some compliments, which were nothing more than sincere praise for his ball skills. At the same time, I also thought that he was actually affected by this strange bad luck today and was unable to perform normally.
Next, I tried to adopt a calm and even tone, being careful not to provoke him, and then invited him to play cards together.
"Fine, playing cards is fine, but this damn ball game is impossible to play today." Minister Jin shook his head, looking utterly dejected. Then he pulled out his wallet, casually took out a stack of pink bills, beckoned the woman in red to him, and without even looking at them, shoved them into her hand, whispering, "Beautiful lady, did you see what happened today clearly?"
The woman in red immediately replied in an extremely sincere tone, "No, I was just daydreaming. But it seems Minister Kim had a great time today. He must have played a few good games, right?" She then gave a sweet smile.
"Hmm, smart!" Minister Jin smiled with satisfaction, casually patted the girl's round buttocks covered by her dress, and then pulled me out of the billiard room.
No wonder he gave such a large tip; it seems he didn't want word to get out about his embarrassing moment today.
The clubhouse had a high-end card and mahjong room, and we booked a small private room. The two of us sat down to play cards. A beautiful woman in a uniform stood beside us, serving us tea and water, and shuffling and dealing the cards.
If the game just now was a nightmare for Minister Kim...
What followed was worse than a nightmare for me!
I had a plan in mind: I'd utterly humiliated Minister Jin during the pool game, so to save face for him, I should deliberately lose to him in cards. After all, Fang Nan's task for me was to keep Minister Jin entertained while simultaneously losing to him. I won at pool, so I should lose a lot more games at cards.
"It shouldn't be too difficult, right?" I thought to myself.
Minister Kim doesn't play games like Texas Hold'em; he probably plays more at legitimate casinos. So, the first game we played was Blackjack.
This kind of game is quite suitable for two-player matches.
Unfortunately, my nightmare began...
The first hand I was dealt was an Ace of Spades and a Jack of Hearts!
BLACK JACK! The biggest name!
As for the cards that poor Minister Kim got... well, I don't even need to look at them!
After playing three AJs in a row, I was sweating profusely... so I quickly asked to change my hair.
Then we played Texas Hold'em...
After I got two hands with four Aces, three hands with four Kings, and four hands with a straight flush...
Minister Kim is about to faint!
I noticed that the beautiful woman next to me, who was shuffling and dealing the cards, was trembling...
I felt my back was soaked with cold sweat. Every time the pretty girl next to me dealt me the cards, I looked like I was about to be executed.
We started with Blackjack, then switched to Texas Hold'em, then Baccarat, Big Two... Big Two... I was incredibly lucky, absolutely unstoppable, as if all the gods and demons were on my side, and my hands were blessed by the gods...
Finally, we played the very, very simplest game, one that even beginners could play: "Run Fast"...
When the beautiful dealer was dealing the cards, I didn't dare look at a single one. It wasn't until I picked up the cards at the end that I realized...
Big devil, little devil, four 2s, four Aces, four Kings, four Queens...
...＃...％￥※...￥％...
Minister Kim, on the other hand, looked ashen-faced, holding a handful of "phone numbers" (not a single bad card higher than 10).
Looking at his almost frantic expression... actually, I have even more reason to go crazy!
I desperately thought to myself: I must lose! I must lose!! I must lose!!
But sometimes things are just that weird; the more you want to lose, the more damn good cards you get!
The strange thing is, I didn't use that ring! I've already put it away!
The only explanation is that the ring brought me good luck while I was playing ball.
But at the same time, I have to lose now, otherwise my career will be affected... But because of my misuse of the ring, I'm now experiencing bad luck! And the way this bad luck manifests is that when I should lose, I somehow manage to win, and then...
The likely outcome is that I messed up the task Fang Nan gave me, and then I got fired...
"Sigh!" Minister Jin threw down the cards in his hand, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and looked at me with a cold and gloomy gaze: "Young man, you're not pretending to be weak to fool me, are you? I've been playing cards for half my life, and I've never seen such a skilled player as you."
God is my witness... I feel like crying right now!
"I'm done playing." Minister Jin shook his head, stood up abruptly, and gave me a deep look.
I couldn't decipher the intense resentment hidden in his eyes; it was simply very complex. He left the card room without a word, leaving me sitting there alone, holding a hand of cards even the God of Gamblers would envy…
When I finally came to my senses, threw down the cards, and walked out of the room, the beautiful waitress behind me stared at my imposing figure with a dazed, adoring gaze, muttering, "Wow, the God of Gamblers..."
Long, long afterward, an enduring legend circulated in this club:
"The cards have been dealt! The cards have been dealt!... The great, mysterious man, he has inherited the fine traditions of countless gambling masters! The God of Gamblers! The Knight of Gamblers! The Saint of Gamblers! His spirit has possessed him at this moment!... He is not alone! He is not alone!!..."
When I walked out of the room, I saw Fang Nan and the others standing in the corridor from afar. Minister Jin and Fang Nan seemed to be exchanging a few words, but I couldn't hear what they were saying because of the distance. However, judging from Minister Jin's expression... it probably wasn't anything nice.
Minister Jin then left with the female celebrity, leaving Fang Nan alone. She turned to look at me.
I was at a loss, and I knew in my heart that I had messed up the task Fang Nan had given me.
Fang Nan's face was calm, like the surface of still water. I walked up to her, and Fang Nan suddenly sighed heavily. Then, ignoring me, she gave me a deep look and turned to leave.
I gave a wry smile and followed behind her. The two of us went down the elevator to the parking lot.
After we all got into the car, I started the engine, trying to find the right words to say. Suddenly, Fang Nan behind me said in a low, murmured voice, "Chen Yang...you...how did you do that?"
"...Uh?" I didn't know how to answer.
Fang Nan sighed again, then suddenly stretched out a slender hand from behind to my face, holding a thick envelope.
What are you doing? Is this my severance pay for being laid off?
But the next sentence I heard stunned me!
"Chen Yang! Thank you so much... You did a fantastic job today! Minister Jin said he really likes you and strongly hopes to have another match with you sometime." Fang Nan's tone suddenly became lively, filled with boundless joy: "He has already made a commitment to me regarding the company's business! Chen Yang, you've done me a huge favor! This is a reward for you, although it's not much, only ten thousand, but I'll thank you properly once the business is completed!"
To be honest, I'm completely dazed!
I felt like I'd been struck in a pressure point by a master; my whole body froze.