Fifth Master waved his hand, and two waiters immediately came over. They seemed extremely skilled at this, quickly placing a row of wine glasses on the table, then opening several bottles and filling all the glasses with gulps. Zhou Xiaowan picked up a glass, gestured to Zhao Qiang, tilted her head back and drank it all, then placed the glass on the table and gestured for Zhao Qiang to join her. The audience that had gathered to watch cheered and even applauded, obviously flattering Zhou Xiaowan.
Even if Zhao Qiang wasn't a busybody, he couldn't let the women suppress him, otherwise they would continue to be aggressive towards him. So he decided to teach them a lesson tonight. Zhao Qiang picked up a glass, tilted his head back and gulped it down, then smiled and put the glass on the table. No one applauded; everyone's eyes were fixed on Zhou Xiaowan. Besides being the main character, her school uniform was also very eye-catching, and her unmade-up appearance made her look even more feminine.
Glug, glug, Zhou Xiaowan downed her second glass of baijiu, her face remaining unchanged, seemingly possessing a high alcohol tolerance. The moment she put down her glass, she drew another round of cheers. Zhao Qiang followed suit, and the two of them drank one glass after another. Soon, a row of empty glasses sat on the table. Although these glasses weren't large, in such a short time, they each had drunk more than a bottle of baijiu. An ordinary person would have been knocked out long ago, and even Zhou Xiaowan, who considered herself to have an exceptionally high alcohol tolerance, was starting to feel dizzy.
Li Qingqing whispered in Zhou Xiaowan's ear, "Is it okay? That guy seems to have a pretty good alcohol tolerance. We should have asked my cousin about his ability beforehand. You absolutely mustn't embarrass us."
Zhou Xiaowan gritted her teeth and said, "No problem, I won't get drunk even if you keep adding wine and drink two more bottles."
In reality, three bottles of wine was Zhou Xiaowan's limit. She had never met anyone who could outdrink her before, which is why she was so confident at the beginning. However, Zhao Qiang's calm demeanor was beyond what those drinkers had shown before, so it would be a lie to say that she wasn't a little nervous.
The drinking contest continued, and soon the third bottle was almost finished. Zhou Xiaowan's face was flushed because she was quite drunk. Although drinking three bottles was fine, it didn't mean she wouldn't get drunk. On the other hand, Zhao Qiang was still smiling, but his belly looked more bulging than Zhou Xiaowan's.
"Go Xiao Wan! Go Xiao Wan!" Fifth Master's men shouted slogans to cheer Zhou Xiao Wan on from behind.
Li Qingqing became even more worried and asked Zhou Xiaowan, "Is it okay? Should I go?"
Zhou Xiaowan said, "I've never used a 'relay race' approach before. I don't want to give anyone cause for criticism, so I'll keep drinking. I'm going to drink him under the table today."
After another bottle of wine, Zhou Xiaowan started to sway and lose her balance. When she put down her glass, it knocked over a bunch of empty glasses, scattering shards of glass all over the floor. But she seemed not to hear it, pointing at Zhao Qiang and saying, "Your turn."
Zhao Qiang didn't hesitate. Thinking he might as well break down her mental defenses directly, he picked up a glass of wine with both hands at the same time and gulped down both glasses in one go. Then he steadily placed the glasses on the table. Zhou Xiaowan never expected Zhao Qiang to have such a strong alcohol tolerance. She couldn't hold on any longer and slumped against Li Qingqing, completely paralyzed. No matter how much she was called, she didn't respond. This time she was extremely drunk.
Li Qingqing was humiliated because she had initiated the challenge. Zhou Xiaowan had rushed to attack but was soundly defeated by Zhao Qiang. Fortunately, Zhao Qiang did not press his advantage. He stood up and said, "I need to use the restroom. My stomach is bloated from drinking so much."
Although Zhao Qiang might have gone to the toilet to vomit, the drinking contest was over, and Zhou Xiaowan had failed to get drunk. At this point, no one could interfere if Zhao Qiang went to vomit, so no one said anything.
Watching Zhao Qiang leave, Fifth Master whispered to Li Qingqing, "What's that guy's background?"
Li Qingqing said, "He is Xiaowan's enemy, but we need his help for the time being, so we can only secretly mess with him to embarrass him and make him obedient to us in the future. Otherwise, how can he work for me with peace of mind?"
Fifth Master said, "No problem, you'll see when I get back."
Zhao Qiang ran to the toilet and vomited out the several kilograms of liquor that had been enveloped in the energy ball. Only then did his stomach feel a little better. To be honest, he admired Zhou Xiaowan's drinking capacity. He figured even Xu Xiaoya, who was known for her ability to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, couldn't compete with her. He definitely wanted to get the two of them together sometime.
Back at the bar, Zhao Qiang noticed that people were looking at him differently, probably thanks to his inability to get drunk.
Fifth Master cleared his throat and called over the waiter behind him: "How much did you spend on drinks just now?"
The waiter said, "The wine we just poured was all vintage wine imported from France, with a total value of a few hundred thousand, which is now discounted to ten thousand."
Li Qingqing opened her mouth wide and said, "Ah, so much? I don't have the habit of paying for other people's drinks."
Fifth Master said, "Why not just split the bill? It's about half the wine each person drank, so it's 80,000 per person."
Li Qingqing said, "That's more like it. Here, go swipe your card." Li Qingqing took out her card and threw it to the waiter. The waiter looked at Zhao Qiang. Since it was a split bill, and Zhao Qiang had drunk the other half of the wine, the remaining 80,000 yuan would naturally be paid by Zhao Qiang.
Zhao Qiang scratched his head. He wasn't stupid; he could definitely tell that Li Qingqing wanted to embarrass him because she thought he couldn't afford 80,000 yuan. If Chen Xinyu had to pay the bill for this drinking session, Zhao Qiang would lose face big time.
To be honest, Zhao Qiang used to like carrying cash, but since Xiao Wei left, he usually doesn't carry a bag anymore. However, he still carries two credit cards with him. Having come from a poor background, Zhao Qiang knows that he can't get by without some money for self-defense, so he took out his credit cards and threw them to the waiter.
Fifth Master chimed in with a sarcastic remark, "Are you planning to overdraft? Remember to pay back such a large amount on time. But I don't even know if this card supports such a large overdraft." On the surface, Zhao Qiang's card did seem quite ordinary, unlike those high-society figures with their silver or gold cards. However, Zhao Qiang believed that the money in his card was far beyond what any other young master in Beijing could compare to.
Zhao Qiang smiled without explaining. The waiter took the card and left, then returned it a short while later. Fifth Master glanced at the waiter, who nodded, indicating that swiping the card was definitely no problem. Now Li Qingqing and Fifth Master were helpless.
Fifth Master thought for a moment and then came up with a good idea. He said to Li Qingqing, "Shall we go up and play a couple of rounds?"
Li Qingqing said, "Okay, by the way, Zhao Qiang, do you dare to go up and play? If you're afraid of losing all your money and getting scolded by my cousin, then you can stay here."
Zhao Qiang said, "If you dare to play, I dare to play along."
Li Qingqing jumped up: "Let's go!"
Volume Two [569] Winning and Losing
69】Winning or Losing
The New Heaven on Earth has a casino inside, but it is not open to the general public. Only "insiders" can gamble there, so there is no fear of anyone leaking secrets. The stakes in the casino are extremely high, and losing tens of thousands of dollars in a few minutes is nothing unusual.
"What games do you play?" Li Qingqing asked Zhao Qiang, intending to let him choose as the host.
Zhao Qiang shook his head, pretending not to understand anything. Li Qingqing said, "Okay, let's do something simple and flip the cards to see who's bigger."
This game is so simple it's almost unbelievable, it's not even suitable for a gambling table, but even a three-year-old could do it. Just take a deck of cards (without the jokers), shuffle it, and place it face down on the table. Whoever has the highest card wins. It's agreed beforehand that the King is the highest, followed by the Queen, Jack, and then the Ace. It's so simple that you don't even need to explain the rules.
Zhao Qiang rubbed his nose: "Okay, this game is indeed simple, but you're not allowed to cry if you lose."
Li Qingqing was furious: "You're the one crying! Whoever loses decides the betting amount for the next round, with no upper limit. I'll decide whether the ladies go first in the first round. You'd better come up with the money first. Don't gamble with me if you don't have any. I can't afford to lose face like that."
Zhao Qiang handed his bank card to the waiter behind him and said, "Let's swipe 100,000 yuan for chips to play first."
Li Qingqing also took out her card and said, "Swipe one million chips for me."
Zhao Qiang could only change his mind and say to the waiter, "I'll also spend a million, otherwise I'll get scolded again if I can't keep up with her."
Fifth Master started making sarcastic remarks again: "Do you have a million in your account?"
Zhao Qiang remained noncommittal: "Let's just swipe and see."
Soon the waiter returned carrying two large trays of chips, placing one tray in front of Zhao Qiang and Li Qingqing respectively. It seemed that the card swipes had been successful. It was not surprising that Li Qingqing had a million; her family had enormous assets, and giving her a hundred or so for pocket money was not unexpected. However, the fact that Zhao Qiang could swipe a million from an ordinary card made Li Qingqing and Fifth Master feel strange.
Li Qingqing asked Zhao Qiang, "Is the card my cousin's?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Why don't you ask the waiter?"
The waiter standing behind Li Qingqing said, "No, the cardholder's name is Zhao Qiang."
Li Qingqing then stopped doubting and threw her cards on the table: "Let's finish this quickly. I'm betting 500,000. You can draw your cards first."
Zhao Qiang said, "That's not a good idea. Since ladies have priority, you should draw the cards first."
Li Qingqing gritted her teeth and said, "Fine, I'll draw it then." With that, she began to spread the cards out on the table, staring at the back of the cards, her eyes blinking incessantly. Finally, she selected a card and slammed it over. It was the King of Hearts, the highest-ranking card in the rules. Unless Zhao Qiang also drew a King and tied, he would lose over 500,000 in the first round. It was indeed a fast-paced game, winning and losing quickly, without any skill involved.
Fifth Master secretly breathed a sigh of relief and gave Li Qingqing a thumbs-up. Li Qingqing nodded and said to Zhao Qiang, "Go ahead and touch it."
Zhao Qiang sighed, not because his hand was so weak, but because of Li Qingqing and Fifth Master's clumsy cheating. Even without scanning, Zhao Qiang could tell that Li Qingqing was wearing contact lenses, and that the so-called new deck had hidden marks on the back that could be detected by those wearing special contact lenses. That's why Li Qingqing was so confident.
Since that was the case, Zhao Zhong felt at ease scanning the cards. He pulled out the King of Hearts, revealing it face up. Everyone exclaimed in surprise. Fifth Master said, "Tie and flip it over again."
Li Qingqing said to Zhao Qiang, "You better not let me find out you cheated, or you're in big trouble."
Zhao Qiang said, "No way, you chose the cards and the method, how could I cheat?"
Li Qingqing said, "That's true. Then let's keep flipping cards. Just pray that good luck continues to follow you." As she spoke, Li Qingqing flipped over another card, which was the King of Clubs. Li Qingqing chuckled at Zhao Qiang.
Zhao Qiang, not to be outdone, flipped over the King of Diamonds, making Li Qingqing's chest heave with anger. Fifth Master hurriedly fanned her from behind. Li Qingqing said, "If I flip over a Queen and you flip over a Queen too, what's the point? Let's remove some cards so we can't continue to tie." As she spoke, Li Qingqing casually threw away nearly twenty cards, making the remaining cards asymmetrical, and whoever flipped their card first had a greater chance of winning.
Li Qingqing chuckled: "Since it's a fresh start, ladies first. I'm betting a million. Zhao Qiang, are you in?"
Zhao Qiang glanced at the cards on the table and cursed under his breath. All four Kings had been taken away, and Li Qingqing had taken nearly half of the cards at once. Now the highest card on the table was a Jack, and there were three cards left. If Li Qingqing really saw through the cards, she would definitely draw that Jack. Even if Zhao Qiang had X-ray glasses to cheat, it wouldn't work because there were no cards higher than the Jack. Zhao Qiang decided to lose the first round and let them be smug for a while.
Li Qingqing pretended to be nervous as she flipped over the cards, then feigned surprise and said, "It's a Jack. Although the odds aren't high, it's enough to deal with small fry like you." Li Qingqing also pretended to be a little disappointed, since everyone was pretending not to know what cards were in the draw, so they also had to pretend not to know which card was the highest among the remaining cards.
Zhao Qiang casually flipped over a card, and it turned out to be an eight of clubs, so he lost without any suspense. The waiter swiped the million to Li Qingqing's side, and Zhao Qiang was left penniless. Li Qingqing said, "You can afford to lose, right? Don't cry."
Zhao Qiang smiled faintly and handed the card to the waiter: "Please swipe another two million in chips for me."
The waiter did as instructed. This time it was Zhao Qiang's turn to decide the bet and draw the cards first. He pushed all the two million chips, which he hadn't even warmed up yet, to the center of the table and said, "Two million, you dare to call?"
Without a second thought, Li Qingqing pushed over the two million chips in front of her: "Of course I dare!"
Zhao Qiang said, "Then I'll draw first." He flipped over a ten of hearts, and Li Qingqing, not wanting to be outdone, flipped over a ten of spades. The two were now tied. According to the previous rules, Zhao Qiang still had to draw first after a tie, so he chuckled and flipped over the remaining ten. Li Qingqing was dumbfounded. She hadn't looked at all the cards before, and now she couldn't find a card higher than a ten.
Beads of sweat appeared on Li Qingqing's face, and her eyes blinked incessantly. Fifth Master, of course, noticed something was wrong and asked in a low voice, "What's going on?"
Li Qingqing lowered her voice: "Nothing can compare to the prestige of the top ten."
Fifth Master was quite a figure, and he said, "Losing one round to him first, then you can win the next round."
Li Qingqing said, "That's the only way." Then she casually flipped over a card, and Zhao Qiang won. He not only won back the million he had lost, but also made an extra million.
Li Qingqing had run out of chips; she didn't have enough money in her account to swipe out another two million like Zhao Qiang had. So she could only ask Fifth Master: "Give me four million chips in advance."
Zhao Qiang had sharp ears, and it would be a shame not to give Li Qingqing a good talking-to at this moment. Zhao Qiang said, "What? You're out of money? How about this, I'll lend you four million?"
Li Qingqing slammed her hand on the table and stood up angrily: "Don't brag, do you even have four million? I don't believe you have that much money in your account."
Zhao Qiang tossed the card to the waiter: "Give this lady four million in chips."
The waiter returned quickly, carrying a large tray of chips, which he then dumped in front of Li Qingqing. Li Qingqing's face turned ugly. She had initially thought it was a lesson for Zhao Qiang, but it turned out she had been tricked. Judging from the envious looks Zhao Qiang received from the audience, he hadn't been embarrassed at all; on the contrary, he was quite the star. Many people were wondering to themselves, "Just how much money is on that card?"
Li Qingqing sat down defiantly and said, "Fine, consider this four million a loan from me. I'll put it all up."
Zhao Qiang naturally followed suit, but Li Qingqing dared not be careless. She carefully examined every card on the table, confirming that the 9 of Hearts was the highest-ranking card, followed by the 8. No matter how Zhao Qiang flipped his cards, they couldn't possibly be higher than hers. So, Li Qingqing slammed the 9 of Hearts onto the table, saying, "Let's see how you beat me!"
Zhao Qiang casually picked up a card, a six of hearts. Actually, it wouldn't matter if Zhao Qiang lost another round, but since he had already started to kick someone when they were down, he had to keep going. Instead of flipping the card over on the table, Zhao Qiang held it between his palms, muttering to himself, and began to rub the card quickly between his hands.
Fifth Master's mouth dropped open: "No way, playing cards?" The surrounding audience also erupted in excitement. They had only ever seen this kind of scene in Hong Kong gambling movies, and they never expected to encounter it in real life. The cheers and jeers were loud and enthusiastic, which pushed Zhao Qiang's popularity to its peak, making Li Qingqing's face turn pale with anger.
In fact, Zhao Qiang didn't know how to play cards. He was simply using this well-known method to attract attention, secretly releasing a thin ball of energy, and changing the numbers and suits on the cards under the control of the energy. Of course, Zhao Qiang wasn't stupid enough to leave the discarded cards untouched, otherwise, who would be responsible for the extra cards played?
Suddenly, Zhao Qiang stopped shuffling his cards and slammed his hand on the table. A ten of clubs appeared, making it a pair of nines. Naturally, Zhao Qiang won, and the crowd cheered. Four million! In an instant, it was his.
Li Qingqing nearly fainted; she jumped to her feet and shouted, "You cheated!"
Zhao Qiang said, "Don't talk nonsense. Who saw me cheat? There are so many spectators here. Ask everyone, did I cheat?"
Immediately, someone nearby said, "I didn't realize that. I think this gentleman relied entirely on his own abilities."
Li Qingqing said, "You shouldn't be shuffling the cards; shuffling the cards is cheating."
Zhao Qiang asked Fifth Master, "Is there such a rule?"
Fifth Master blushed slightly: "No, there is no such rule."
Zhao Qiang said, "That makes things easier. I'm sorry, Miss Li Qingqing, you owe me four million. We don't need an IOU, as long as you don't renege on your debt."
Li Qingqing quickly flipped over all the remaining cards and said, "It's impossible to play another ten. Three have already been played, and one of the cards I drew was a ten. How could you possibly play an extra ten without cheating?"
Zhao Qiang pointed to the cards that had been drawn and said, "These cards were all face down, how did you know there was a ten among them?"
Li Qingqing shouted, "I know it! If you don't believe me, let's check. There will definitely be an extra ten, and that extra one is yours, so you must have cheated."
Zhao Qiang shrugged: "Fine, go ahead and investigate. If you can't find anything, you'll have to apologize to me. I can't let you suspect me for no reason."
As Li Qingqing flipped through the cards that had been drawn beforehand, she said, "Okay, I'll apologize if I can't find out."
Thank you for the Royal Ancient God Coins donation.
Volume 2 [570] Close Encounters