Chapter 33 - 2#
Jing Shun answered truthfully, “No, but I think I’m lucky today. Maybe I can make my wish come true.”
“Then…”
Chi Gui leaned in and whispered a few words.
Jing Shun didn’t respond. Instead, he carefully examined the two cards in front of him.
Across the table, Zhang Aode flipped over a face-up card: the 5 of Spades.
Jing Shun, without a word, flipped over one of his own: the Jack of Diamonds, worth 10 points.
The difference between the two face-up cards was a full five points!
Zhang Aode’s heart steadied. The remaining card in his hand was the 5 of Clubs. That gave him a total of 10 points with his two cards—still far from busting at 21.
Zhang Aode rapidly calculated the remaining deck in his mind. A plan formed. “Are you two going to draw another card?”
“…”
Jing Shun met Zhang Aode’s shrewd, calculating gaze but didn’t respond.
He hesitated, then cast a look of helplessness toward Chi Gui, as if he couldn’t make up his mind. The way he acted, it seemed the total of his two current cards was dangerously close to busting.
Chi Gui showed a flicker of hesitation, losing the calm he’d had the previous two rounds.
Zhang Aode took in both their expressions. Suddenly, he raised the stakes. “Chairman Chi, this is the last round. How about we add some spice?”
At this critical juncture, he wanted to add spice?
Chi Gui steadied his breathing. “What else does Chairman Zhang want?”
“The 0202 Deepwater Bay project.”
That one sentence shocked the gathered guests into exchanging glances.
Zhang Aode’s intoxication grew heavier, and his schemes clanged like thunder. “I hear that the Chi Corporation is very interested in this project. But as luck would have it, so am I.”
“The winner of this round not only takes all the chips on the table but also forfeits the right to compete for the 0202 Deepwater project. What do you think?”
Ji Tianheng asked, “Uncle Zhang, isn’t this… isn’t this going too far?”
Zhang Aode raised his hand, only goading Chi Gui. “Chairman Chi, do you dare to play?”
Chi Gui hadn’t expected the other party to push it this far. “Chairman Zhang won’t regret it?”
“Of course not.”
Zhang Aode clutched his hidden card tighter, as if drawing confidence from some unknown source. “Everyone here is a witness. As I said before, as long as Chairman Chi can afford to lose.”
Chi Gui replied, “Alright.”
Their brief exchange left the guests barely daring to breathe.
Everyone knew Zhang Aode was a gambling addict with a heavy habit, but no one expected Chi Gui to actually go along with him!
This wasn’t just a matter of throwing gold around casually anymore!
Zhang Aode drew an additional card but didn’t flip it over immediately.
He gathered his sleeves, almost superstitiously cupping the card in his palm, bowed toward the heavens, and then threw it heavily onto the table.
In an instant, Deng Ying, sitting beside him, cried out in surprise, “Oh my god! The Ace of Clubs!”
Gasps erupted throughout the room.
The Ace of Clubs could count as either 1 or 11!
Combined with his previous two cards—the 5 of Hearts and the 5 of Clubs—he would naturally choose the Ace to count as 11 points, giving him a total of 21!
That total locked in a guaranteed victory!
Zhang Aode laughed out loud, unrestrained. “Stand!”
“…”
Ji Tianheng hadn’t expected Zhang Aode to actually have the wind at his back tonight and quickly looked toward Qin Ye.
Qin Ye’s expression shifted abruptly as he saw through it:
No way!
Something was wrong!
To outsiders, the shuffling had seemed random, but for Qin Ye, who had been playing cards for years, he could precisely place every face card. In the final round, Qin Ye had deliberately arranged positions for the four Aces.
And the position where Zhang Aode had just drawn his card—it was impossible for that Ace of Clubs to have appeared there.
That meant the other party had cheated!
Qin Ye suspected this possibility, but since the card game wasn’t over yet, he could only watch and wait.
Zhang Aode raised his glass in preemptive celebration. “Sorry, Chairman Chi. Lady Luck is definitely on my side today. Are you two still going to draw more cards?”
Jing Shun met his almost arrogant, overbearing expression and suddenly curled his lips, casually sharing, “I was up early today chasing whales. The guide told me that the first person to see a pod of whales often brings good luck.”
Zhang Aode was baffled. “That’s just talk to fool three-year-olds. What are you saying here for?”
“I’m just saying, I believe my own luck is pretty good today.”
Jing Shun tapped the hidden card meaningfully, completely shedding his earlier hesitation, uncertainty, and confusion. “Chi Gui, you said you wanted what card earlier?”
“I said.”
Chi Gui no longer bothered to disguise his voice. “I wanted a blackjack.”
“Oh~”
Jing Shun tilted his head in feigned confusion. “Chairman Zhang, I’m a newbie. Do you know what blackjack means?”
Qin Ye was the first to catch on, speaking with amusement. “Anyone who plays 21 knows what blackjack means.”
If a player’s initial two cards are an Ace plus any J, Q, or K, that’s a blackjack.
A blackjack is the highest hand, far superior to an ordinary 21 made of other cards.
It’s the first lesson every beginner learns.
“Well then, here you go.”
Jing Shun flipped open his hidden card with his fingertips, revealing the Ace of Spades in front of everyone.
“Impossible!”
Zhang Aode’s smile froze solid on his face. He shot up in disbelief, his chair toppling backward, landing with a dull thud against the thick carpet.
“Chairman Zhang, sorry, but the lucky one tonight—”
Chi Gui glanced at the person in his arms and stated calmly, “Has been on my side from the very start. May I ask everyone here to bear witness? This round is mine.”
“…”
Zhang Aode leaned forward against the table, staring at those two cards with eyes wide and bloodshot. The alcohol in him seemed to freeze over his face, and even his brain grew sluggish.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this!
Since they had drawn that winning combination from the start, why had those two shown that kind of expression!
Zhang Aode refused to accept the truth, his face turning red. “Qin Ye! Was it you? Did you help them cheat?”
Qin Ye sneered. “Chairman Zhang, are you drunk out of your mind?”
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!
Qin Ye remained expressionless. “Everyone here saw it clearly. The last round, I shuffled cleanly and spread the cards out flat for both sides to choose freely.”
“In the first two rounds, I dealt the cards, and you won. I haven’t even suspected Chairman Chi and them yet, and now you suspect me?”
“…”
Zhang Aode was still drowning in the extreme bewilderment of losing. He stared hard at Jing Shun across from him, gritting his back teeth. “It’s you! You were acting from the very beginning!”
Jing Shun gave a light smile, playing innocent. “Chairman Zhang, I’m just a ‘third-rate performer’ in your eyes. How could my acting possibly fool you? I really don’t know how to play. I was just luckier than usual—honestly.”
Chi Gui listened to his infuriating reply with indulgence.
Qin Ye, who had been observing the whole process, lowered his voice and confided to Ji Tianheng, “I really underestimated this Jing Shun.”
Ji Tianheng asked, “What?”
Qin Ye said, “I’ll explain later.”
In the first two rounds, he had indeed used some minor card tricks.
In the first round, Qin Ye had deliberately dealt both sides a draw, each holding three cards for 21. Jing Shun had held the 9 of Hearts, 7 of Diamonds, and 5 of Clubs. He could have stood and forced a mutual tie, but he didn’t call it. Instead, he deliberately drew another card, ending up with the 2 of Spades.
Then, while everyone was distracted, he sneaked in and swapped the positions of three or four of the cards to be drawn, creating the illusion of a drawing mistake that led to a bust.
In the second round, Jing Shun had a chance to draw another card to add points, but suddenly turned cautious and conservatively stood, losing that round.
That was when Qin Ye had seen through it—
Chi Gui and Jing Shun had been acting from the very beginning. One step of acting, every step of acting!
They had fooled the vast majority of the guests, and they had fooled Zhang Aode himself in the duel!
Especially in that final round.
If anyone else had drawn a blackjack, they wouldn’t have been able to hide their expression, but Jing Shun still managed to act like he was losing and hesitating.
Zhang Aode, already a bit tipsy with pride, had believed it. With the added crutch of cheating, he mistakenly thought victory was within his grasp, and dared to double down by offering the 0202 Deepwater Bay project as extra stakes!
And look now!
Not only had Zhang Aode lost all the chips on the table, but he had also forfeited the 0202 Deepwater project.
What did you call this?
History always repeats itself in striking ways.
Twenty years ago, Zhang Aode had managed to lose one of his own docks. Now, twenty years later, he had gone and lost a project worth tens of billions!
Jing Shun looked at Zhang Aode, who had only himself to blame, and raised the original demand. “Chairman Zhang, with everyone as witnesses, according to the agreement at the start, you owe me an apology.”
“…”
Zhang Aode was red-eyed from losing. He wished he could tear Jing Shun and Chi Gui, who had set up the entire scheme, limb from limb.
Letting his drunken rage run rampant, he tore off his own face-up cards and hurled the glass in his hand with all his strength. “Bah!”
Chi Gui’s expression changed instantly. He instinctively turned sideways to shield Jing Shun. “Watch out!”
Clang!
The water glass hit Chi Gui’s back shoulder and fell to the floor.
Gasps rose one after another. Ji Tianheng and Qin Ye’s eyes showed contempt as they each issued warnings:
“Uncle Zhang!”
“Chairman Zhang! Is this really the way to handle a loss?”
“…”
Jing Shun felt the tea fragrance enveloping him, and his heart tightened. “Chi Gui, are you?”
Chi Gui suppressed the malice deep in his eyes and raised his head. “I’m fine. And you?”
Jing Shun shook his head. “I’m fine.”
Chi Gui got up and helped the person in his arms back into the wheelchair. “Take care of yourself.”
After that gentle instruction, he walked straight toward Zhang Aode, who was thrashing in impotent rage. “Chairman Zhang, it seems you still haven’t understood what I meant.”
Zhang Aode choked. “What do you want?”
Chi Gui seized his right wrist and bent it back with force. “In that final round, do you really think no one saw you cheating?”
Suddenly, a slightly curved face-up card slipped out of his sleeve—it was the 7 of Diamonds.
“…”
Zhang Aode hadn’t expected Chi Gui’s eyes to be so sharp. He tried to struggle free a couple of times but couldn’t overcome the other’s grip.
The whole room erupted into murmurs:
“Ch-cheating?”
“So what Mr. Chi means is that the last card Chairman Zhang drew was the 7 of Diamonds?”
“He must have hidden an Ace card on himself beforehand, waiting for the critical moment to use it?”
“No wonder he dared to bet with such a big mouthful. He had it all planned out, hadn’t he?”
“What kind of status does he think he has, doing something so degrading? Wasn’t he just accusing someone else of cheating a moment ago?”
Once the cruise ended and they returned to shore, this incident would surely become the new topic of conversation among the wealthy circles over tea and idle talk!
Zhang Aode lost face, and through gritted teeth, he threatened in desperation, “Chi Gui! I’m warning you, you better know your place. Even if I withdraw from 0202 Deepwater Bay, I won’t let you have your way!”
“Is that so?”
Chi Gui tightened his grip on the wrist. “Apologize to my lover in public, or I guarantee your position as chairman is over.”
Zhang Aode’s face shifted, but he remained stubborn. “Dream on! Jing Shun is a lowlife performer, and what kind of background do you come from? You dare threaten me?”
Chi Gui didn’t waste words. He kicked him in the knee in front of everyone. “Fine, then kneel.”
Zhang Aode winced in pain, his legs giving way.
He fell to his knees, facing the direction of Jing Shun!