Wen Xinya bowed to Duke Moville courteously. When she was rising from her seat, she sensed that Mr. Wei, who had been focusing on the chessboard, glanced at her with a curious look in his eyes, making her feel a little bewildered.
By the time she looked up, Mr. Wei was already staring at the chessboard and fiddling with the chess pieces. It was as if she had hallucinated and imagined it. Wen Xinya’s guard went up.
People who can hide their intentions are the most terrifying ones.
Wen Xinya drew the bead curtains open and walked away, the crisp and clear sounds of the beads ringing in her ears.
As soon as she exited, she ran into Avrora.
She glanced at Avrora calmly before looking away.
An icy cold gaze formed in Wen Xinya’s eyes. Avrora was never one to hide her emotions, and her jealousy towards Wen Xinya knew no bounds. Yet, she was being so mysterious today. What was the reason?
She definitely can’t be acting appropriately just because I taught her a lesson last time.
Wen Xinya decided to keep her guard up.
After speaking to Duke Moville’s other granddaughters for a while, Wen Xinya exited the room.
Liu Yanhua was indeed standing outside the room.
Si Yiyan had indeed thought about it carefully.
Liu Yanhua led Wen Xinya downstairs. Wen Xinya scanned the entire compound and discovered that the layout of the entire place was rather efficient. There was only one exit in every room, and if someone were to stir trouble, they would not be able to escape so long as someone watched the door. Such a layout was rather fear-inducing.
However, if a major disaster occurred, they would be able to evacuate rapidly since there was an exit in every room. That was the beauty of Chinese architecture.
Liu Yanhua brought her to the casino.
Liu Yanhua stopped in her tracks and asked softly, “Missy, would you like to try your hand at gambling?”
Rather interested, Wen Xinya said, “A little gambling is fun sometimes. Let’s see how my luck is today!”
She then drew the bead curtains open and entered the casino.
Liu Yanhua frantically chased after her. “Missy, if you’d like to play, why don’t we go to the third floor? I’ll get someone to open a table just for you. It’s too chaotic in here, it won’t be good if someone offends you.”
It was a complicated place where power and lust prevailed. It was full of lecherous men and it would not be appropriate for Wen Xinya to stay there.
Wen Xinya smiled and said, “It’s alright, I’m just going to have a game or two for an eyeopener.”
Wen Xinya knew that it was different from the casino on the cruise that she had visited previously. It was the place in Russia where power and lust intertwined.
Wen Xinya did not know much about gambling and she was best at deuces, though she had spent three years learning from Si Yiyan and paying him using her body.
Despite feeling a little hesitant, Liu Yanhua did not stop her. Instead, she simply kept her guard up.
The entire place was full of elegance except for the chaotic casino, where sounds of dices and chips knocking against each other could be heard, as well as the screams and cheering from the guests. It was rather uncouth, and the ugliest sides of humanity were on display.
It was much rowdier than the casino she went to three years ago.
Those so-called tycoons who drove luxury cars and frequented upscale venues with class, showed their true colors the moment they stepped inside the casino.
Wen Xinya said in awe, “This casino is huge.”
She had once visited Macao in her previous lifetime, the only place in China where casinos were legal. The main source of revenue for Macao were casinos and various entertainment hubs. Although she had seen casinos that were larger than this one, she felt that they were nowhere as opulent or extravagant as this.
Liu Yanhua explained, “Out of the 150 hectares that this place occupies, almost 100 hectares are used for developing the casino. Although it can’t be compared to the other major casinos in the nation as well as overseas, Chinese men love patronizing this place because it allows them to indulge in gambling and lust. The profits of this casino are at least 20% higher than the others.”
Wen Xinya could not help but gasp in shock. It was no wonder that Si Yiyan could splurge on her so effortlessly. His wealth was practically immeasurable.
Liu Yanhua continued, “Ninth Young Master also has two large casinos in Siberia and Kaliningrad that are much larger than this.”
“A casino is so lucrative! It’s guaranteed that it will be a profitable business.” The Russian government had implemented a ban on gambling, and it was allowed in only four areas in Russia, namely the Far East region, Siberia, Kaliningrad, and Moscow. The majority of people who frequented the casinos in the Far East Region were the Chinese.
It was little wonder that Si Yiyan had chosen not to open a casino in the Far East region. Although he was prideful, arrogant and never hesitated to earn the money of foreigners, he was a huge patriot and would never hurt his fellow countrymen. He would often exhibit his strong sense of belonging to China.
How pretentious.
Liu Yanhua laughed and said, “It’s very lucrative, but the risks are high too. You’d need some power to open a casino.”
In order to thrive in the gambling industry, one would have to possess wealth, power, competence and status. Without true power, it would be impossible to manage such a business, especially since gambling was a vice.
Wen Xinya agreed. “I remember there being a purge in Korea because of the gambling industry in Jeju Island.” She paused for a moment before continuing, “Whoever has more power is the boss.”
Wen Xinya stopped in front of a long gambling table. The sounds of dices being knocked against the porcelain bowl caught her attention. After some thought, she grabbed some chips from the waiter’s tray and placed them on top of “Big”.
Soon, the banker exclaimed, “Three, five, six, Big!”
Upon seeing the pile of chips being pushed towards her and hearing the sounds of the other guests cursing and hurling vulgarities, Wen Xinya burst into laughter and thought to herself, Seems like I’m in luck today. I won right after I started.
Giving her a thumbs up, Liu Yanhua remarked, “Impressive.”
For the rest of the rounds, Wen Xinya won some and lost some. However, her overall luck was not too bad and she won more than she lost. She had already accumulated a small pile of chips.
After ten rounds, Wen Xinya began to get a little bored of deuces. She had no idea why she was so interested back then in Nantong, and even ended up losing terribly to Si Yiyan.
Just as she was about to leave, she heard the ceasing of the rowdy noises as a sudden silence filled the air. The sounds of cursing seemed to have become clearer too. Wen Xinya looked up.
