Li Wenjing smiled as he looked at everyone. I wasn't particularly interested in showing off like this, and earlier outside, Eighth Master had made it clear to me to keep a low profile. His plan was to lose a few tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan, have some fun, and then leave.
“Li Wenjing.” I looked at him and smiled bitterly: “Do you know that in China, your actions are called ‘stirring up trouble’?”
Anyway, I have a good relationship with this guy, so I'm not afraid of offending him if I speak carelessly. But the Eighth Master next to me has already narrowed his eyes.
This old fellow probably never imagined that I would know so many important figures from the upper class.
“I’ll bet with you.” The Frenchman was the first to accept the challenge. He laughed and said, “Tony, I may not be able to beat you at the gambling table, but I’m good at judging people. This young man, just by looking at the way he sits at the gambling table, doesn’t seem like a gambling expert. I don’t believe you! One to six, is that right? I’ll bet with you!”
Since it was just a game, everyone placed their bets casually. Yang Wei, however, bet on me to win without hesitation. The others, including Solin, hesitated, not believing Li Wenjing's words. The Frenchman sighed, "Miss Yang Wei, are you really running a casino? You're at this table, yet you've bet on your opponent to win. The game hasn't even started, and you've already lost in terms of momentum…sigh…"
Yang smiled gently, glanced at me, and deliberately put on a tender and affectionate look, saying slowly, "It's okay, I'll only be happy if he wins."
I saw the princess's face instantly fall. And unexpectedly, I felt Li Wenjing behind me suddenly breathe more rapidly…
Um?
Before I could think, the princess had already angrily dealt the cards.
Then, unsurprisingly, I lost $10,000 in less than ten minutes.
Li Wenjing sighed, then forced a wry smile and said, "Chen Yang, you don't have to be like this..."
I glanced back at him and said, "You saw my cards too. They're really bad. I have no chance of winning."
The Frenchman remained silent, as did the Japanese man, but the Canadian local councilor spoke up: "Tony, you've really misjudged this time. This young man clearly doesn't know how to play cards. Although his hand wasn't great, he had two decent hands. If he were a seasoned gambler, he would at least bluff or test the waters, but he quickly gave up. He's obviously a novice."
Sorin was silent for a moment. He had just won two hands in a row, but his face remained expressionless. Then he suddenly spoke, his tone very calm: "Chen Yang, this is gambling, you don't need to be polite. I genuinely hope you can surprise us. If you deliberately lose, then you lose the fun and meaning of gambling." After saying that, he gave me a friendly smile, and then half-jokingly said, "I know that you Chinese people value humility, but at the gambling table, if you don't show your true skills, I think that's disrespectful to the other gamblers."
I glanced at Eighth Master, who looked somewhat helpless. He had only intended to casually participate, but things had escalated to this point. Eighth Master's plan was to simply exit the gambling table unscathed today; I didn't know what his motivations were… Hadn't he always wanted to leverage Thorin's connections to get closer to the mainstream? Now, with an American congressman, a Canadian local councilor, and a member of a French-American family at the table, it was a perfect opportunity. Why was he deliberately playing it safe?
I am completely innocent.
Did you think I didn't want to win? Damn it! Since I'm already at the table, that was $10,000, not just toilet paper.
But I wasn't wearing a ring. I wanted to win, but I didn't have the skill.
"Alright, Chen Yang, show us what you've got." It was Yang Wei who spoke, she smiled and said, "Now is not the time to be modest... Besides, being such a good friend will make the master unhappy."
I thought for a moment, glanced at Eighth Master, and stood up: "I'm going to the restroom. I'll be back in two minutes."
I didn't make them wait two minutes; I was back in less than thirty seconds. I simply went to the bathroom to wipe my hands, then took the ring off my neck and put it back on. I quickly pulled a measuring device from my underwear pocket and took a quick measurement of my luck.
Not bad, looks like my luck is pretty good. My fortune index isn't very high today, but it's still the highest among all the indices...
That's strange. Logically speaking, since the princess was being so deliberately affectionate towards me today, I should be very lucky in love, right?
Never mind, I believe the measuring instrument won't make a mistake.
When I returned to the gambling table, I smiled faintly and said, "Sorry, I kept losing. I just went to wash my hands to get rid of the bad luck."
"Strange habits of the Chinese," the Frenchman next to me muttered.
In this round, I didn't even bother to look at the hole card the princess had given me; instead, I quietly waited for the last card.
"Show Hand." My hand was a straight, and I pushed all my chips out without hesitation.
The princess hesitated for a moment: "You... didn't see the cards?"
"It's fine, it doesn't matter whether you see it or not." I shrugged indifferently. Since I've already revealed it, I might as well be more flamboyant.
As expected, I won this round without any surprises. Only the Frenchman had two pairs, but he refused to believe it and went all in, throwing out 50,000 at once.
Just as the Frenchman was speaking, Li Wenjing, who was behind me, sighed, seemingly feeling some sympathy for him.
I won the next three hands in a row, and they were so easy to win. One was a straight, one was a flush, and the last one was four aces!
This outburst was perhaps a bit too astonishing; I noticed that the way several people in the room were looking at me had changed. Yang Wei's eyes, however, clearly revealed…excitement and astonishment!
What made me even more uneasy was that Yang Wei's eyes clearly swept over my hand a few times...
Will she notice something wrong with my ring?
I immediately dismissed the idea. Impossible; no one would notice the inconspicuous ring on my finger. Perhaps Yang Wei would think I was cheating, which is why she noticed my hand movements.
In the final hand, the Japanese player folded after receiving his second card. He hadn't really played much in the previous rounds, just maintaining a 0-0 record. The Frenchman, on the other hand, seemed somewhat helpless. He'd been going at it with me for three hands, already throwing away over ten thousand. He was a bit impulsive, but had excellent sportsmanship, and lost with gusto.
However, the Canadian local councilor had a somewhat gloomy look in his eyes, with a glint of shrewdness flashing in them from time to time.
The fifth card was dealt, and I still had a straight. Sorin folded, the Frenchman folded too, and when it was the Canadian councilor's turn, he slowly put down his fifth card. Clearly, he had a very good hand—two pairs. He took a deep breath and looked at me: "Show hand every single hand? Are you really a gambling god?"
I smiled and said, "You've seen Hong Kong movies too?"
He didn't answer, but said calmly, "You've already gotten two straights in a row. I don't believe you can get three straights in a row! I'll play with you to the end this time."
He glanced at the table and said calmly, "You've thrown out 100,000 on the table, haven't you? I don't have that much cash on me, but I'm going to see your hand this time!" He pulled out a key and smiled, "This is a car I just bought yesterday, it's probably still worth over 100,000 US dollars."
He casually tossed the keys onto the table.
I frowned slightly. Thorin and the others also seemed somewhat surprised.
After all, these kinds of card games are private, mostly involving gambling. Are they really going to gamble away houses and cars?
The Canadian local councilor chuckled. "Hey, don't look at me like that. I just don't have that much cash on me. A few hundred thousand dollars is nothing to me. If I lose this hand, I'll take Tony's example and never play cards with this guy again."
I felt the Eighth Master next to me give me a meaningful look, probably hoping I'd back down and give up. I was thinking the same thing. It wasn't my money anyway, so there was no need to be so aggressive.
Just as I was about to speak, Yang Wei, who was the last to speak, suddenly smiled and said, "Alright, since someone has already followed along, I'll follow along this time too."
Her hand consisted of three neat nines and an eight.
Yang Wei sighed, her hand disappearing under the table. Leaning back in her chair, she chuckled, "Chen Yang, your best hand right now is a straight. As for me, it might be four nines, or three nines plus a pair of eights! Of course, I could also be bluffing... but you haven't looked at your own cards from the beginning until now... I don't believe you're really that confident? Is your luck really that good?"
I was stunned.
Yang Wei actually followed along?
That shouldn't be the case.
Even if she doesn't believe I can win, she's my ally today. Surely she wouldn't go against me like this? But I clearly saw a hint of excitement... and anticipation in her eyes?!
The princess paused for a moment, a hint of joy appearing on her face. She understood that she was implying I should give up. Although I didn't understand why Eighth Master was being so low-key today... after all, she wasn't the rigid type; perhaps she was enjoying watching me and Yang Wei go against each other.
I sensed that Eighth Master sighed slightly. Given my personality, there's no need to be so blatant about gambling in this kind of situation.
But since Eighth Master is my boss, I thought about it and was about to raise my hand to fold when I suddenly saw Yang Wei give me a look!
There was something subtly different in her eyes, and Yang Wei seemed to be gently biting her lip. She shook her head…
Her eyes held encouragement and expectation; in any case, it was clear she hoped I would continue.
I made up my mind and went with her! Although I didn't know Yang Wei's intentions, I believed that Yang Wei wouldn't harm me.
"Okay." I took a deep breath. "I'll go with it."
I gently pushed the chips out without looking at Eighth Master's expression. I knew that even if Eighth Master was unhappy, he wouldn't show it on his face.
Then I turned over the hole card first.
After I flipped it over, the Canadian MP across from me immediately looked dejected and gave a helpless smile: "God... Tony, you were right, I'm never playing cards with this guy again!"
He didn't even bother to reveal his hand. Because when I did reveal mine, it was another straight!
I glanced at Yang Wei, as if to say, "Are you satisfied with what I've done?"
Yang Wei smiled, her smile tinged with surprise and a hint of amusement. At that moment, Yang Wei seemed like someone who had just won a five million lottery prize… Of course, Yang Wei couldn't possibly have won a five million lottery prize; given her wealth, even if she did, she wouldn't be this happy.
But her face genuinely screamed "excitement!"
Then, Yang Wei revealed her trump card...
"ah……"
Everyone present gasped in surprise! Even Li Wenjing, who was sitting behind me, couldn't help but stand up.
And I stared wide-eyed!
impossible!!
Absolutely impossible!!!
Hallucination! This must be a hallucination!!
I strained my eyes to see it, but I still managed to spot Yang Wei's trump card: a nine of hearts!
Four nines!
Yang Wei actually beat me! I actually lost!!
I was wearing a ring while playing cards, and I still lost?!
Part Two: The Road to Success, Chapter Fifteen: Attempt Failed
Mountains may crumble, heaven and earth may unite... Damn it, snow in June, thunder rumbles in winter...
All of these are possible, but I was wearing a luck ring and gambling with someone, and I still lost!
How could such a thing happen?
How is that possible?
Amidst everyone's sighs, I instantly calmed down!
Yes, to outsiders, it seemed as if I, who had been so impressive just moments before, had been defeated by the even more formidable Yang Wei. After all, winning and losing are normal at the gambling table. Four nines beating a straight—this happens countless times every day in every casino around the world.
It seemed no one was surprised by my expression of surprise. After all, it wasn't unusual for me to react when someone who had been winning all along suddenly lost.
But the shock I felt at that moment was indescribable!
Yang Wei looked at me with a strange look in her eyes, which seemed to carry a complex feeling. Then she gave me a look that seemed to be a hint or a comfort... I felt that she had something to say to me.
I lost all the chips I had won earlier, and Eighth Master took the opportunity to slip away, pulling me to my feet to say goodbye. The others didn't insist, and Solin just smiled faintly. Then Li Wenjing went on stage and took my place.
Eighth Master and I came out. Eighth Master let out a long sigh and looked at me with a smile: "Little Fifth, I was a little confused earlier as to why you didn't listen to me and made your own decisions. So you knew you were going to lose all along... Oh. But how come you played your cards so well? Hehe..." He chuckled: "And your expression at the end was perfect too. They probably couldn't tell anything, right?"
I have unspeakable suffering in my heart.
Eighth Master actually thought I lost on purpose... Whatever, if that's what he thinks, it saves me a lot of trouble explaining.
Before I left, Yang Wei's gaze lingered on me, her eyes seeming to hold a myriad of meanings, which made me somewhat suspicious.
I had been quite suspicious of Eighth Master's intentions these past few days and wanted to ask him why he was being so low-key and submissive. But at that moment, my mind was in a bit of turmoil, and I actually forgot about it. As Eighth Master casually exchanged a few words with a few guests who hadn't left yet, he glanced at me and suddenly said, "The princess will come looking for you again in a little while, Little Fifth. No matter what you think in your heart, you still have to put up with dealing with that woman for now."
My strange expression couldn't be hidden: "Eighth Master, you don't want me to be a gigolo, do you?"