“Mr. Leon is indeed proficient in Mandarin Chinese. You can even apply our popular internet slang appropriately, impressive!” Xiao Luo said, giving a thumbs up to Leon to provoke him.
Leon was so outraged that his face turned blue, but he forced a smile and replied, “You are speaking too highly of me, for the cultural roots of Hua nation are profound and fascinating. I am so mesmerized by them—it is such a waste that I wasn’t born in this country.”
“You can always consider migrating here. The Hua nation would always welcome an outstanding talent like Mr. Leon with open arms,” Xiao Luo said, still trying to get under his skin.
“With open arms?”—oh, for gods’ sake!
Leon was infuriated to the point that fumes of anger were steaming out of his body. He had prestigious social and financial status in the States and a significant influence on shaping their society. Even the election of the current president was determined through a relationship with his family. To ask him to migrate to Hua nation was downright insulting—did Xiao Luo think that he was that foolish?
Leon hit back immediately and said to Su Li, “Well, if Sabrina decides to divorce Mr. Xiao and marry me, I will gladly migrate to Hua nation without any hesitation.”
“Then you might as well keep staying in the States,” Su Li replied.
Shen Qingyan chuckled. “Mr. Leon is very humorous; how could Li and Mr. Xiao divorce when they already have a child,” she said.
Already have a child?
Leon widened his eyes in disbelief. It struck him like a bolt from the blue; the goddess he admired had married another, and she even conceived a child—this was too much for him to accept!
Then, the gambling chips they exchanged were brought in on two gigantic trolleys and were stacked before the two players, forming pyramids of impressive size. The two piles consisted of tokens of various denominations—fifty thousand, a million, and five million.
“Deal the cards!”
Leon yelled at the dealer. He had a dark scowl on his face and was clenching his teeth as he stared at Xiao Luo, clearly seething with anger.
On the other hand, Xiao Luo was taking little sips from his teacup in a relaxed manner, ignoring Leon altogether.
The dealer continued dealing out cards. Leon got a Jack of Hearts while Xiao Luo got the Ace of Spade for the third card; then, Leon got Ten of Hearts while Xiao Luo got Three of Diamonds for the fourth card.
What?!
Leon confidently pushed out all the chips stacked before him—it was a two million bet! He then stared at Xiao Luo and said, “Mr. Xiao, are you raising?”
Leon had a sinister smile on his face and coupled with his ever-present scowl, and he wore a savage and terrifying expression.
Combining the previous hundred million with this two hundred million, he had now placed a total of three hundred million on the bet. The atmosphere in the room was thick with anxiety and apprehension. Everyone, including the dealer, the casino staff, Su Li, and Shen Qingyan, felt slightly breathless as they followed the game.
“Mr.Leon’s pocket card should be King of Hearts, and if you get another Nine of Hearts, you would have gathered a straight flush. Then, I wouldn’t be able to match up to you even with four aces,” Xiao Luo said.
Leon couldn’t help smiling. “Good analysis, but it’s all bullshit. I am asking if you dare to raise the bet?” he responded.
Xiao Luo smiled calmly and said, “Why not?”
After Xiao Luo finished speaking, he too pushed out his the chips into the pool, and the stacks of tokens came crashing down like collapsing towers.
Both Su Li and Shen Qingyan were petrified as the probability of Xiao Luo getting four aces was very low. As for Leon, even if he didn’t manage to get a straight flush, he would still beat Xiao Luo’s “three of a kind” with any regular flush. With a quarter of the deck having the suite of Hearts, Leon’s probability of getting a flush was significantly higher. Logically speaking, Xiao Luo was in a relatively disadvantaged position this round.
Seeing that Xiao Luo had called him on his bet, Leon felt a little insecure as three hundred million was no small amount. His subordinate had already cautioned him that if he were to lose that sum, the higher-ups in his family would be extremely disappointed in him. It would undoubtedly prevent him from inheriting the enormous family estate consisting of properties and businesses.
Leon stared at Xiao Luo coldly and said, “Well, Mr. Xiao, if you ever lose this three hundred million, you probably would have to work your *ss off the rest of your life to repay the debt.”
“Nah, it’s just a little money. It’s not a lot!” Xiao Luo quipped.
Both Su Li and Shen Qingyan almost faint when they heard that. If three hundred million was just a little, then what was considered a lot?
Leon smiled mirthlessly as he thought to himself—keep boasting… you can keep bragging, and we shall see what happens when your bubble bursts!
He then shouted at the dealer, “Cards!”
This was the last card, and it was as crucial as the pocket card; the dealer slid the players their cards across the table facing down.
Leon covered the fifth card with another card and peeked as he slowly rubbed the cards together, exposing the bottom one. As he did so, beads of sweat were rolling down his forehead, and he did not even dare to breathe. When Leon saw that the exposed corner of the card, he knew it was a Seven. His heart sank. But when he revealed the card further, he was somewhat elated as it turned out to be Seven of Hearts. He let out a sigh of relief and flipped the card over slowly.
“Although it’s not a straight flush, it’s still a flush. It’s more than enough to beat you. By the way, what’s your last card? Why don’t you flip it over?”
“I’m afraid you won’t like it.”
Having said that, Xiao Luo opened his card with a confident smile, and it was none other than Ace of Spades. He had now gathered three aces, and if his pocket card turned out to be the Ace of Diamonds, it would constitute a “four of a kind,” which was bigger than a flush.
Leon was stressed out, suddenly feeling thirsty, and he broke into a cold sweat. He wondered how this b*stard could be so lucky to have landed three aces. If his pocket card was also an ace, then… no, it couldn’t possibly be happening; there’s no way a man could be that lucky to gather four aces at one go, for the probability was too low. No, he wouldn’t have it.
He flipped his pocket card over. To cover up the fear in his mind, he shouted, “Stop being dodgy, show your hand! I don’t believe you have that ace!”
Both Su Li and Shen Qingyan stared at Xiao Luo with trepidation as the moment had come to show his hand. If it were really Ace of Diamonds, then it would be Xiao Luo’s victory. Otherwise, Leon would win in every other scenario. Although they were not the players, they felt more even nervous than anyone else!
“The probability of gathering four aces is indeed very low, but I stick to what I have said before—a low probability doesn’t mean an impossibility.”
Xiao Luo seemed like he knew what the result would be, and he flipped the pocket card with high confidence. Lo and behold, it was the Ace of Diamonds! “Four of a kind, and it happens to be bigger than your flush. Good game, Mr. Leon,” he said.
Impossible, how is this even possible!
Leon leaned back on the chair and looked utterly miserable, his eyes empty and forlorn. He gazed at Xiao Luo in disbelief like he was staring at a monster, and on his face, there was nothing but shock.
“Are you okay, Mr. Leon?” Shen Qingyan asked. Leon’s face had turned a dreadful pale, and she wanted to make sure that he did not collapse on the spot.
“I…I’m fine. Thanks for your concern, Ms. Demi…” Leon responded. He looked down with his eyes reddened as he realized the magnitude of his loss.
Xiao Luo felt very much at ease, and he did not forget to mock Leon for his predicament. “Mr. Leon is indeed from an affluent house. A mere three hundred million is like nothing to you. Yes, isn’t this so recreational, Mr. Leon?”
Recreational?
F*ck you $%@%^$…
Leon almost vomited blood from anger, for it had never crossed his mind that things would turn out this way. All he wanted to do was to win over Xiao Luo’s savings and give them to Su Li to fulfill his aim of belittling Xiao Luo and, at the same, elevating his own image to impress her. However, with the awkward situation he suddenly found himself in, he couldn’t help spewing out a barrage of expletives at Xiao Luo to vent his anger.
