Is Xiao Luo going for the same bluff again? This guy really has the guts!
Su Li and Shen Qingyan glanced anxiously at Xiao Luo. He was lucky enough to fool Leon in the previous round, but wasn't he just kidding himself if he tried it again? Leon was not that dumb and would undoubtedly not fall for the same trick twice.
"I have an Ace and a pair of Sevens. For you to beat me, your face down card has to be an Eight," Leon said.
Then he eyed Xiao Luo confidently as he flipped his face down card over and shouted, "Show me your card! I refuse to believe that you have an eight!"
Xiao Luo shook his head and responded, "Mr. Leon, the odds of the final Eight being in my possession might be very low, but it doesn't mean that it's entirely impossible."
After saying that, he slowly turned over the face down card that he had.
And, there it was—he actually had an Eight of Clubs!
At the sight of Xiao Luo's face down card, Leon's eyes opened wide in bewilderment. He could not believe what he saw and literally sprang up from his seat bolt upright.
Su Li and Shen Qingyan were equally shocked by the looks of disbelief on their faces.
"How is this possible?"
Shen Qingyan muttered to herself as a wry smile formed on her face. She could never have imagined that Xiao Luo actually had the card and was not playing a bluff. An opponent who could effortlessly shift between being real and fake was always the toughest customer. Xiao Luo was just amazing, no matter what he did.
BAM!
Leon slammed the table, pointed at Xiao Luo, and shouted, "Out with it, did you cheat?"
"I can assure you that this gentleman here did not cheat!" the dealer intervened.
"Are you a senior here? Who are you to guarantee he didn't cheat?" Leon sneered.
The dealer took out his certificate, "Mister, you can insult me, but don't insult my professional ethics. I'm a gold-tier dealer. No one can cheat, and nothing escapes my eyes."
"You little sh*t, you better..."
"Leon, if you're nothing but a sore loser, then I'll have my husband return you all that money."
Annoyed, Su Li bluntly delivered her scathing remarks to Leon.
Leon suddenly laughed as he came to his sense and calmed down. "Sabrina, are you mocking me on purpose here? It's just twenty million. This small amount of money is nothing to me at all," he said, "Since I'm ready to gamble, then I'm ready to accept my losses as well. There's nothing more I can say."
But in reality, he was fuming deep down. In just ten minutes, he had already lost twenty million, and he had lost it to a nameless brat from some godforsaken countryside. If the people back in America were to find out, they would surely be laughing their *sses off.
"Mr. Leon is wealthy enough. Twenty million to him is insignificant and just small change. It's just like a strand of hair on a cow's back, am I right?" Xiao Luo chimed in.
"Right, right, right. It's a small bet, just a small bet. A little bit of gambling is good for the spirits."
Leon outwardly agreed with everything Xiao Luo said, but deep down, he was crying his pain, and it was a wonder that he was still able to say something like that.
Xiao Luo raised his eyebrows and smiled at Leon's response. "Mr. Leon, you are really good at conversing in Mandarin. That being the case, why don't you raise your spirits a little bit more?" he asked.
"We've only played two rounds. This is nothing at all. Let us continue."
Leon handed his black card over to one of his subordinates and told him, "Go, exchange a hundred million dollars' worth of chips for me."
One hundred million?
Su Li furrowed her eyebrows a little. One hundred million was no longer just "a little gambling." Was Leon trying to make Xiao Luo lose everything he had right here and now?
When that thought occurred to her, Su Li glared coldly at Leon.
"Mr. Leon, you said 'small gambling,' but the amount that you're throwing in is becoming a lot bigger now," Shen Qingyan teased.
"Hehehe... Nah, just small gambling. This is really just small gambling to me."
Leon looked at Xiao Luo with a devious smile on his face and said, "Mr. Xiao, I'm betting a hundred million here, but at most, you would only have forty-five million in your hands at most right now. You're still short of fifty-five million in order to have the same amount as me. I wonder if you have that much money with you?"
He was obviously mocking his opponent in the way he spoke. He wanted to show Xiao Luo and remind him of his position and where he stood—and that he had no right to be arrogant in his presence.
"I'll give you mine!" Su Li pushed all the gambling chips she had toward Xiao Luo.
Shen Qingyan smiled when she saw Su Li do that and said, "Since I've already exchanged so much but am not playing, then I shall also lend you all of mine. I think highly of you."
Saying that she handed all her gambling chips over to Xiao Luo.
With their contributions, Xiao Luo now had a total of eighty million!
Leon's face turned bluish purple. He could accept Shen Qingyan helping Xiao Luo out, but he found it difficult to swallow when Su Li actually sided with Xiao Luo as well. She was the goddess that was deep within his heart, and it hurt him deeply. He initially thought that the marriage between them was fake, to begin with, they were doing it for others to see, but looking at it now, Su Li seemed to really like this piece of trash!
He raised his voice on purpose and said, "You're still short of twenty million."
"That's alright. I have that amount here with me."
Xiao Luo handed his card over to one of the wait staff in the room and said, "May I trouble you to go and exchange twenty million dollars' worth of chips for me."
"Yes, Sir," the staff responded, nodding his head and bowing respectfully before he turned around and left.
"How come even I didn't know you had that much money?" Su Li said, staring at Xiao Luo suspiciously.
Xiao Luo laughed and said, "You've never asked me about it before."
Su Li repeated herself. "So, where is it from?"
"I earned it when I was in Jiangcheng," Xiao Luo replied.
Jiangcheng?
Su Li was stunned and wondered to herself, why was he living in a shanty area then if he was that rich?
"Xiao Luo, you're becoming more and more mysterious. Now I'm really curious to know what you did when you were in Jiangcheng," Shen Qingyan said.
From the first time she saw Xiao Luo, she knew something different about this guy. When he first met Yang Hongzhi and her, he was neither humble nor arrogant and was always calm and steady. This was not a trait many people out there had. If it wasn't because he had experienced many things in life, then it had to be because he was of equal status. But it was quite evident that it was most probably the former. She was really interested and curious to find out just what in the world Xiao Luo had been through in Jiangcheng.
Xiao Luo laughed a little but didn't say anything else.
Not too long after, his gambling chips were brought in.
A hundred million dollars' worth of gambling chips was sitting right in front of each player. They were neatly stacked, looking just like two pyramids.
"Deal the cards!" Leon said. He couldn't wait to win all of Xiao Luo's money and was steadily staring at Xiao Luo.
The dealer raised both of his hands, "May the two players here, please place your bets first."
Leon smiled broadly and winked. "Since I have a hundred million, let's raise the bet a little bit. One million. I don't think Mr. Xiao has any problem with that," he said.
"It's up to you."
Xiao Luo casually threw one million dollars' worth of chips out.
This piece of trash! I shall see how much longer you can act so cockily like this!
Leon gritted his teeth and threw a million dollars' worth of gambling chips out as well.
The dealer started giving out the cards. He dealt the first card face down card to both of them, and then the second card. Leon had a Nine of Diamonds, while Xiao Luo had an Eight of Diamonds. According to the rules of poker, the one with the bigger card would start first.
Leon took a look at his face down card and realized that it was a two of clubs, and then with a smile that no one could read, he said, "Five million!"
As he said that, he threw five million dollars' worth of gambling chips out.
"I'll call—five million as well."
Xiao Luo pushed out five million dollars' worth of chips, and then added, "I'll raise ninety-five million as well."
What?!
Like a mountain, multiple stacks of gambling chips were pushed out without any hesitation at all.
What the f*ck!
The dealer and everyone watching in the room was stunned. This was the first time they were witnessing such an aggressive approach to gambling. The way he was playing this was unbelievably high-risk.
Leon twitched his lips. Xiao Luo's action had really shocked him for sure.
Su Li and Shen Qingyan were in a stupor. Only two cards had been dealt, and Xiao Luo had the smaller face up card. Where did this guy find the kind of courage to go all in like that? This was not only one or two dollars—it was one hundred million. If he lost this, then one hundred million would be gone just like that!
.....
As they watched anxiously, Su Li and Shen Qingyan couldn't help thinking that Xiao Luo was only pushing his luck and trying to gain a psychological edge against Leon. They remained silent and did not want to distract Xiao Luo in any way, so they just stood there and watched.
"Just what kind of gambling style is this?" Leon asked, staring at Xiao Luo.
Xiao Luo laughed and said, "The kind of gambling style where you burn your bridge! We'll decide this in a single round. If you've never tried this before, then I shall let you have a taste of it."
Leon clenched his fists tightly. A hundred million was definitely something to him, especially since it was gambling. He would definitely not sleep in peace for a good three days and nights if he were to lose a hundred million just like this.
As he took another look at his face down card, he relaxed his clenched fists—it was a Two of Clubs. With a smile, he said, "Mr. Xiao, you are really daring. I'll let you have this round. I shall not call."
After he said that, he folded his cards.
The next round began, and the dealer gave each of them a face down card. For the second card, Leon had a Seven of Clubs while Xiao Luo had a King of Spades.
As Xiao Luo had the bigger face up card, the dealer raised his hand and said, "Mr. Xiao, you shall go first!"
"There's no need to say anything else, all in," Xiao Luo said. He once again pushed out the whole heap of gambling chips that were as tall as a mountain without any expression on his face.
What the f*ck!
The dealer and all the other staff in the room stared at Xiao Luo with their eyes opened wide. Just who in the world was this guy? Even the world's richest man wouldn't play like that. Only two cards had been dealt, and he was ready to throw money away so recklessly?
Leon was perplexed. The psychological warfare that he took pride in had suffered a considerable blow. Xiao Luo was not giving him any chance to show himself at all by forcing him to bet. He really wanted to go all out against Xiao Luo, but looking at his face down card, a three of diamonds, he realized it couldn't get any smaller than that. There was no way he was bold enough to do this.
"I'll let you have another round," he said, reluctantly folding his cards again.
All the betting chips went to Xiao Luo, and the staff in the private room once again neatly stacked up all the gambling chips that Xiao Luo had.
The trend continued for the third, fourth, fifth, all the way up to the tenth round—Xiao Luo, without even bothering to look at his face down card, continued to push his entire pile of gambling chips out o the middle. His stacks of chips had grown even higher, and his mountain of cash ever more imposing. And he repeated the same move every time—he would always open the bet right after the second card had been dealt. Sometimes, Leon would not even have the time to properly look at his face down card before Xiao Luo made his bet.
Leon was furious, and he could barely take it anymore. But unfortunately for Leon, right through all these rounds, the value of his two cards had been lower than Xiao Luo's, and he just couldn't get a pair, so he ended up folding all his cards in successive rounds.
Frustrated, Leon laughed mockingly and said, "Mr. Xiao, are you trying to see who's luckier here? Are you just not afraid that in the end, your cards will end up being smaller than mine?"
"If that's the case, then why don't you just call?" Xiao Luo retorted.
"I..."
Leon was stumped for words. All he felt was only frustration and depression. To think that he was a master gambler from North America, and yet here he was being treated roughshod by a nameless country bumpkin. It was simply too insulting.
Su Li and Shen Qingyan also realized what Xiao Luo's aim was. Though it might be hard to believe, Xiao Luo had indeed completely thrown Leon right off his rhythm at the moment.
When it came to playing poker, gamblers were competing with both luck and courage!
After ten rounds, Leon had already lost ten million as he had to fold every single round.
The eleventh round began, and the dealer dealt out the cards. This time around, Xiao Luo once again pushed out his whole heap of gambling chips out as usual.
Leon looked at Xiao Luo's card—he had an Ace. Leon had a Queen of Hearts and proceeded to peek at his face down card. It was a King of Hearts. Thankfully, his cards were much better—there was a chance for a flush here, and there was also a possibility that he might get a straight flush. This round, he chose to call. It was unacceptable that a nameless guy like Xiao Luo could get away with such arrogance.
RATTLE~
He pushed out the entire heap of gambling chips in front of him. This time around, he was found his confidence back, and it felt satisfying.
"Looks like we'll decide the winner in this round!" Leon roared.
"Sure, but I have a hundred and ten million. You're still short of a bit there," Xiao Luo reminded him.
"You think you have that much more than me?"
Leon handed his black card to his subordinate and said, "Go now. Go and exchange another two hundred million."
Two hundred million?
Everyone in the room was stunned, especially the dealer and all the staff in the room. It was as if they were destined to be here today only to witness this shocking duel of cards. It was true that the more you compare yourself to others, the more you would be killing yourself, for they probably wouldn't be able to earn this much money even in two lifetimes.
"Young master, this..."
The subordinate was troubled. Adding the hundred and twenty million earlier on, the total now added up to three hundred and twenty million. This was still a really huge sum of money, even if it was not in USD.
"What's the problem here?" Leon said coldly.
"The family is keeping a close watch on all the young masters. Now is the most crucial period. If young master Leon loses three hundred million, the family will be very disappointed with you. Then, they most probably won't hand over the family business to you in the future," the subordinate explained, appealing for Leon to err towards caution.
Although he spoke in English, everyone could understand what he just said.
"You shut your mouth!"
Leon bellowed and silenced his subordinate with a ferocious scowl on his face. "My words are orders. Just do as you're told. Otherwise, I'll have you disappear from this world for good," he snarled.
"Yes."
That subordinate trembled and no longer dared to say anything else. He quickly took the black card and went to exchange for more gambling chips.
Leon turned around and faced Su Li. He changed his expression and put on a smile on his face. "Sabrina, actually, I have absolutely no idea what he was saying," he said.
"Leon, I think it's better to give up. We were schoolmates; I don't want this to end up in conflict because of small things like this," Su Li said, making a compelling point.
"No, no, no. I've already said it before. This is just 'small gambling.' It's good for the spirits. Even if I lose all my money, it will not affect the friendship between you and me, and all the more won't affect the partnership that we have already established," Leon replied. He was doing all he could to hold on. He had the advantage in this round, and there was no way he would give up and let Xiao Luo off that easily.
Xiao Luo laughed and said, "Well said, Mr. Leon! A little bit of gambling is good for the spirits!"
He had already learned a secret gambling trick when he was in Jiangcheng and had the ability to memorize all the cards in a poker deck. No matter how the dealer shuffled the cards earlier on, he never looked away from this deck of cards. He had perfectly memorized the cards' order in this deck and already knew what card Leon had. Xiao Luo also knew what card he would be receiving next. It was as if he had X-Ray eyes. He had already seen through it all and knew how this round was going to end.
"Mr. Xiao, I've already asked my man to exchange two hundred million, shouldn't you go and exchange a little bit more as well?" Leon said, insinuating with a cheeky smile on his face.
"I'm not like you, Mr. Leon, I'm not that wealthy. I don't have that much money."
What Xiao Luo just said was true. While Luo Workshop might have the money, and it was possible to transfer billions of dollars over, the amount of money he had from in his own savings wasn't a lot. Besides, he was also currently investing in the farm back at home.
Su Li took out her gold card without any hesitation and handed it over to the staff. "Please do exchange two hundred million for me, thank you," she said.
"Alright, please give me a moment, Ma'am."
The staff took the card, turned around, and left. All of them recognized Su Li, but there was a rule in this casino, and that was to pretend you didn't know who they were, even if that person was a national leader. Only people with money and status would come to this casino. Poor people would never come to an exclusive place like this.
"What are you doing?"
Xiao Luo stared at Su Li blankly. Xiao Luo still could not consider themselves as husband and wife, yet this woman was so supportive of him right now, and it felt unreal.
"I'm lending it to you. If you lose it, you will have to somehow or rather find a way to return it for the rest of your life," Su Li said. She had an awkward look on her face.
Shen Qingyan laughed and said, "What do you mean by return? You're one family; after all, what's yours is his as well."
"What kind of rubbish are you saying..."
Su Li rebuked her friend for those remarks, but after listening to what Shen Qingyan had said, her face started turning red.
# (*...
"Oh f*ck!"
Leon's lungs were about to explode. After holding back all this while he finally cursed using a slang word on the internet. It felt like he was being forced to consume a bowl of dog food, except that the dog food he ate belonged to the girl he liked. The taste of it was horribly wrong.