Chapter 16: Gambling (Part 2)

Tang Xin was momentarily stunned. Although she attributed her victory to luck, it was merely a modest expression, a strategy to avoid arousing suspicion from her opponents.

She employed a flawless shuffling technique, knowing that the card was a 13; she knew she would win.

She never believed that gambling relied on luck. Calculating against opponents with strategies difficult to discern to increase the likelihood of greater victories was the true essence of gambling.

“How did Boss Wang do it?” Tang Xin pondered, her chin resting on her hand. She had already won the first round, and in the second round, she revealed an 11 as the first card. Only 12 and 13 could beat her. It could be said that her chances of winning were very high.

But Manager Wang remained calm, even appearing as if victory were assured. It seemed that before flipping the card, he knew that his card was greater than 11.

How did he do it? It definitely wasn’t through shuffling.

To prevent her from having any chance of memorization, Boss Wang cut the deck, and the speed of his interspersed shuffling was too fast. She couldn’t remember the order, and Boss Wang himself shouldn’t remember unless he had an exceptional memory.

There was only one explanation: Boss Wang judged the card’s value without shuffling. Perhaps he could even determine the size just by looking at the back of the card.

As long as he could disturb her line of sight and select a card larger than hers after she made her choice, he could easily win.

Unless she could pick 13 first, she was destined to lose.

Tang Xin lowered her eyelids, her long eyelashes casting shadows, making it impossible to read her thoughts.

“You just lost once, and you’re already scared?” Boss Wang laughed, seemingly nostalgic. “I was lucky too. Just a little bit more, and the young lady would have won outright.”

It was provocation again, tempting her, all just to start the third round as soon as possible.

Tang Xin collected the cards on the table and held them in her hands, carefully examining them for the second time. Whether it was the front, back, or side of the cards, there were no traces.

Manager Wang didn’t rush her; he let her inspect at her own pace.

Yan Hao remained calm, arms crossed, standing behind Tang Xin, showing no impatience.

Upon entering the room, he quickly assessed everyone. The highest was only a third-level martial artist, completely not his match. If he lost, he could still escape. If he won, he wasn’t afraid they wouldn’t acknowledge it.

After a while, Tang Xin had seen enough and put the cards back, neatly stacked on the side. “The third round is the deciding round. I request to use a different deck of cards.”

“Sure.” Boss Wang waved his hand, and immediately, one of his subordinates brought out another deck, handing it to Tang Xin.

Tang Xin inspected it once. “Alright, this deck will do.” Then she began the perfect shuffle.

When it was Boss Wang’s turn, he repeated the shuffling style from the previous round. In fact, this time, the shuffling was more exaggerated and carefree.

Tang Xin focused all her attention on the cards.

Finally, after shuffling the cards, Tang Xin thought for a moment and picked one, placing it in front of herself.

With a slight smile, Boss Wang casually picked up a card and flipped it open.

The card revealed was a 6.

Boss Wang shook his head regretfully. “Luck isn’t on my side this time. It looks like I’m going to lose.”

Tang Xin remained expressionless. She covered the cards entirely with both hands, silent, as if this could bring her good luck.

Boss Wang, with an anxious look on his face, waited for the card to be revealed. In reality, he sneered inwardly. Could covering the card with her hands change the fact that she got a 4?

Women, indeed. What if she mastered the perfect shuffling technique? In critical moments, she entrusted her fate to elusive luck, unaware that she had long been calculated.

Yes, from the beginning, he knew the numbers beneath the cards.

Special paint marked the back of the cards, making them invisible to the naked eye and appearing just like regular cards. However, he had a thin film attached to his eyes, similar to almost invisible contact lenses but with a softer texture.

Through the film, he could see the markings on the backs of the cards, knowing exactly what number each card represented.

Letting the customer choose first wasn’t just about hospitality; it was to make the gambling more natural. After the opponent selected a card, he could then freely adapt to various situations.

Occasionally, he would intentionally let the customer win a round.

For every round the customer lost, he tried to make them feel that if luck were a bit better, they could have won. Just a tiny bit more.

The first gambling round was only the beginning.

Customers who lose until they see red rarely admit defeat and stop, honestly paying their losses. Most people choose to start the second or third round of gambling, continuing until they lose everything, even accumulating debts.

The money he earned from gambling far exceeded what he made as a real estate agent.

For example, in this round, the first game was difficult because 13 had already been chosen, so he picked a smaller card.

In the second round, the opponent had an 11, and to win, he had to choose a 12 or 13, making him very passive.

So, in the third round, after seeing the opponent’s face-down card, he directly chose a card and revealed it. The goal was to create a false appearance: “I’m quite unlucky. I chose a pretty small card. Looks like I can’t win. Oh, your card is even smaller than mine; you’re losing because you’re a bit more unlucky than me.”

Customers who lose like this, especially those who are unwilling to accept defeat, are difficult to deal with.

Boss Wang couldn’t help but think that this customer was a rare expert this time, skilled in tricks. He needed to be cautious; even in the third round, they wanted to change cards. Unfortunately, she didn’t know there were seven or eight special decks like this here, so changing cards wouldn’t help.

She certainly wouldn’t give up easily. How many rounds would she play? Although she had little money, after losing it all, he could offer loans to help her recover.

Boss Wang had a myriad of thoughts in his mind. When he snapped out of it, he found Tang Xin still covering her cards and couldn’t help but find it amusing. “Miss, are you performing a specific ritual or something?”

Gamblers often have superstitions. They believe that specific actions can bring good luck in subsequent gambling, leading to the creation of numerous personal rituals.

Tang Xin spoke earnestly, “Haven’t you heard? There’s a saying that if the lucky star kisses you during gambling, the chances of winning are greater.” As she said this, she lowered her head and kissed the back of her own hand.

Boss Wang was left speechless. He had witnessed many people’s rituals, but it was the first time he heard someone claiming to be their own lucky goddess, kissing their own hand.

“Enough time has passed; let’s reveal the cards.”

Tang Xin had had her fun and, with a smiling expression, revealed her face-down card.

When the card was flipped, it was a surprising 13.

Boss Wang, confident of victory, casually glanced at it. But as soon as he saw it, he stood up in shock, unable to believe his eyes. “This is impossible; you clearly have a 4 in your hand.”

Tang Xin looked puzzled. “What 4 is Boss Wang talking about? I drew a 13.”

How could this be possible? He clearly saw her draw a 4!

Boss Wang’s expression darkened. “Are you cheating?” He quickly scanned the other cards on the table. 13 was clearly there, but the 4 was missing.

Tang Xin sighed, “Before the match, we agreed that after shuffling, we each draw a card, and the one with the higher card wins. Now I have a 13, and you have a 6, so naturally, I win.”

A hint of coldness flashed in her eyes, and her tone turned icy. “Isn’t gambling about relying on one’s abilities and ultimately betting on size? Whether it’s cheating or drawing a marked card, the one with greater skill wins the game. Isn’t that the rule of the game?”

“If it weren’t for cheating in secret, knowing my face-down card, on what basis does Boss Wang assume that the card in my hand must be a 4, not the 13 that was revealed?”

A series of questions left Boss Wang bewildered. His face turned from blue to purple, finally ending with a sinister smile. “You make a reasonable point. Unfortunately, you’re too naive, thinking that winning the game guarantees a safe exit.”

He signaled to his subordinates, “Take them down together, tie them up.”

“Ganging up in a gambling dispute; the stakes are really low,” Tang Xin muttered, then turned to Yan Hao. “Knock them down.”

As a figure moved through the crowd, Boss Wang felt his eyes couldn’t keep up with the movement.

When the person settled on the side again, everyone except him was lying on the ground, groaning. It seemed they had lost their ability to move.

Boss Wang shivered suddenly. He finally realized that not only was the woman a master of tricks, but the man was also a martial arts expert.

Damn it, can’t win at gambling, can’t win in a fight, what’s the point of playing?

Boss Wang inwardly cursed, forcing a smile on his face that looked worse than crying. “It’s just a misunderstanding.”

Tang Xin sat comfortably in her chair, nodding at this moment. “I understand. Everyone who can’t beat me and can’t beat my guards says the same; it’s a misunderstanding.”

“It’s great that we can understand each other,” Boss Wang dryly replied. If he had known they were formidable opponents, he wouldn’t have dared to mess around.

“To make me forgive you, how do you plan to show your sincerity?” Tang Xin looked at him with piercing eyes. “I knew it; a direct fight when you entered would have been better. Instead, we played a game, and the game doesn’t count. I’m not happy about it.”

When you can’t beat them, you have to admit defeat.

Boss Wang humbly asked, “How can I express my apologies?”

Tang Xin pondered briefly and reluctantly said, “Sell me the house for 10,000 credit points. I’ll overlook your rudeness as if this never happened.”

10,000! Boss Wang felt like his heart was bleeding. That house was really good, and its market value should be around 550,000. Now, with her bargaining, it was like giving the house away for free, and it was downright painful.

“Any problem that can be solved with money is not a problem,” Tang Xin said meaningfully. “Life goes on, and there are still opportunities to make money. If you lose your life, what’s the use of money?”

Seemingly consoling words didn’t bring any peace of mind to Boss Wang. Instead, he became more horrified. If he didn’t agree, what would this lady do to him?

“Fine, I’ll sell,” Boss Wang gritted his teeth. Although he suffered a huge loss this time, he still had something left. But if he died, his wife, his mistress, his assets… everything would be gone.

Tang Xin smiled, satisfied, and remarked, “That’s why I love playing with bullies.” In normal circumstances, how could things turn out so well?

Boss Wang endured it, quickly completed the transfer procedures, and transferred the house to Tang Xin’s name.

Transferring a house incurred high fees, around 30,000 credit points, which Boss Wang didn’t mention and paid out of his own pocket.

He lost nearly 500,000 in one go, but he didn’t care about these paltry amounts now. As long as he could get rid of this jinx, he still had a chance for a comeback.

Tang Xin went out for a while, took advantage of a big opportunity, completed the mission successfully, and couldn’t wait to see her new home.

Before leaving, boss Wang stopped her with a sinister expression: “Hold on. Losing is not a big deal, but I want to know how you did it. I clearly saw you draw a 4.”

As he said that, Tang Xin suddenly remembered something. She took out a card from her spatial ring and tossed it to Boss Wang. “This is the 4  you saw. Before the start of the third round, when I was inspecting the previous deck, I stored the 13 from the first deck in my spatial ring. No matter which card you drew, I had already won.”

Picking other cards, 13 was big, so she won. Choosing 13, she would preemptively accuse the opponent of cheating, leading to the same outcome—a fight, just like now.

She had everything calculated very clearly.

A spatial ring? That mythical thing…

Boss Wang couldn’t help but have tears streaming down his face. He couldn’t compete with such a RMB player.