Chapter Forty-Three: The Beauty Disrobes (1)

“Bring... a bottle of wine...” Xiao Tianci pretended to reach for a drink from Chief Steward Lin Jian, quickly removing his hand from the man’s neck.

Chief Steward Lin Jian, of course, didn’t have any wine on him, and was just about to order someone to fetch it when Jerrison hurriedly interjected, “I’m not sure what kind of wine you’d like, but our casino can offer you any famous wine in the world.” Though his tone was exceedingly respectful, there was a hint of pride in his expression, especially when he emphasized the word “any.”

Xiao Tianci was only speaking offhand. “Anything will do... anything...” he replied.

Jerrison smiled and nodded, motioning for the group to follow him through the VIP passage into the heart of the casino, arriving at the VIP lounge. There, two beautiful women stood by the door, opening it with a welcoming gesture.

“Please, this way, sir...” Jerrison bowed deeply. The casino had a rule: unless a guest was a regular, or introduced themselves, no one would ask for a name. Of course, an establishment of this scale had its own means of uncovering a guest’s background.

As the luxurious doors swung open, the space beyond suddenly expanded—a hall of at least five hundred square meters. At the center table, two men and a woman were playing stud poker. The hall’s decor was refined and elegant, even featuring an artificial mountain crafted from Taihu stone, with trickling springs and streams winding through it. The ambience was tasteful and unmistakably the work of a master.

“Oh...” The two men—one, an American in his twenties, had the unmistakable look of a young aristocrat. The other, an Asian man in his fifties or sixties with only a few tufts of hair on his head, was clearly a delegate from the provinces to the capital, but in Xiao Tianci’s eyes, he was unmistakably Japanese.

Xiao Tianci wasn’t exactly a nationalist, but he harbored no goodwill toward the Japanese. As his best friend in college, Fatty, once put it, “It’s hard enough to feel affection for a beast, let alone one with the ambition of a wolf. Maybe once they’ve been domesticated like livestock, we can talk about goodwill.”

What surprised him most was the woman—unmistakably a beauty of mixed heritage. She had the jet-black hair of the East, but her eyes were blue, her delicate face serious and focused. Of the three, only the young American glanced up at their arrival; the Japanese man and the beautiful woman remained absorbed in their game.

Jerrison led the way, and because the current round was still in progress, he suggested that Xiao Tianci have a seat and wait for the game to finish before introducing him to the table. From what could be seen, all three players had considerable stacks of chips—the Japanese man had the most, followed by the woman, then the young American. Judging by the piles in front of them, each had more than ten million dollars in chips. In the past, Xiao Tianci wouldn’t even have had a chance to stand nearby, let alone sit at such a table.

But now, this game seemed almost childish to him. He watched as the Japanese man sat with a stony expression, the young man appeared utterly indifferent—clearly, the stakes didn’t matter to him. His attention was fixed mainly on the beautiful woman, who played as if her life depended on it.

Xiao Tianci thought to himself, “Is it really that serious? Surely none of these people are ordinary. Isn’t this a bit dramatic?”

The round ended quickly, with the Japanese man winning with a straight. The attendants immediately organized his chips, preparing for the next round.

Jerrison announced, “Gentlemen and lady, this gentleman would also like to join.” He glanced at the three, and seeing no objections, smiled and nodded at Xiao Tianci—no introductions or explanations necessary. Gambling was gambling.

With a new player at the table, the dealer repeated the rules: the minimum bet was ten thousand dollars, with no upper limit. All other rules followed the casino’s standard; should anyone have questions, staff were on hand to explain.

Dong... dong... Xiao Tianci drummed on the table. “Enough with the nonsense... just... get started!”

“Sir, you’ll need to exchange for chips first. How much would you like to start with?” Jerrison inquired.

The young American opposite Xiao Tianci frowned, his lips quirking in disdain at the drunken newcomer. The Japanese man glanced up briefly, then closed his eyes again as if meditating. The beautiful woman, however, didn’t even look at Xiao Tianci; her gaze was fixed on Fang Meng.

Xiao Tianci was somewhat annoyed. He thought he was being quite attention-grabbing—why wasn’t she looking at him?

“How much do they each have?” Xiao Tianci pointed arrogantly at the three, especially the beautiful woman, determined to get her attention. Sure enough, she finally looked at him, though her gaze was cold and contemptuous. The reaction didn’t matter to Xiao Tianci; what mattered was that he’d achieved his aim.

“They each have twenty million in chips. And you, sir?”

Xiao Tianci sneered at the beautiful woman, “Give... me sixty million...”

She snorted, rolling her eyes and turning away. The young American muttered under his breath, “Upstart...” The Japanese man lifted his eyes slightly, a glimmer of delight in them.

The game quickly resumed, but Xiao Tianci didn’t change the flow—bald Japanese kept winning, the young scion was too busy ogling the beautiful woman to play seriously and lost only the minimum. Xiao Tianci, unconcerned, played casually; soon, his sixty million was halved. The beautiful woman, too, was left with less than two million, her cheeks puffed with frustration—making her even more attractive and nearly causing the young American to drool.

Chief Steward Lin Jian remained at Xiao Tianci’s side. He leaned in and whispered, “Boss, that Japanese fellow is a professional gambler.”

“Oh? A professional gambler? Interesting.” Xiao Tianci had been playing idly, unconcerned about losing money that wasn’t hard-earned. But now, realizing the unremarkable man was a professional, and seeing the beautiful woman’s earnest, fiery attitude, he began to devise a new game for himself.

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