Unedited
….
Meanwhile, Lily stared at the ceiling, face grim. She had been away since Zhou Jingren called him. For some reason, she could not sleep again. She had been tossing and turning, thinking about everything that had been going on lately. From Mrs. Brooke’s words to her grandmother and grandfather’s photograph. It seems that she really needed to visit the mansion again, she thought before she sighed. She then sat on her bed and started reading Grandma Ye’s diary. At this point, Lily was positive that she had memorized most of its content.
Another sigh left her lips as she got out of her bed and walked towards her walked-in closet. Zhou Jingren must be really busy right now, she thought. Marrying someone that was associated with the Yakuza surely had its bad times.
Lily had been expecting something like this to happen. After all, she married someone dangerous like Zhou Jingren. This was her choice. It’s just that sometimes, the feeling of worry overwhelms her logic.
She wanted him safe.
That is the only thing that she could think of right now. However, going with him in China is too risky — this is something that she understood. Still, she could not help but think about him. She immediately wondered if she should just call him. However, what if this action would disturb his planning with Bei Tian?
In the end, Lily decided against calling Zhou Jingren. Instead, she got her violin out of its case and started playing.
…………
“Fifty million.” Zhou Jingren’s words woke him up from his stupor. He grunted and lifted his eyebrow.
“Fifty?” Harringfort asked. “You are raising fifty million? Hah!” He then started laughing again. “Then… let’s make it a hundred. Hundred million!”
“Hundred and one.” Zhou Jingren answered almost immediately.
“Are you sure about that? You probably know that I would raise it to a hundred and fifty, right?” Seeing Zhou Jingren just stare at him, Harringfort let out a burst of mocking laughter. “President Zhou… to be honest, I never liked you. If given a chance, I would ask my men to kill you as painfully as possible.”
“And yet, you are here. Ah…” Zhou Jingren nodded. “Let me guess… The Spectre would not want to see me dead.”
Harringfort did not respond. This was true. The council even said that Zhou Jingren dying would have a devastating effect on Lily. However, this could also strengthen her. Still, they did not believe that killing Zhou Jingren would give them more benefits than disadvantages. He eyed his cards once again.
After exchanging two cards, his initial plan still applied. This time, she is planning to choose, ‘Higher’. With his ace, we still bound him to win this round. Harringfort thought about Zhou Jingren exchanging pairs of three’s. The man must have thought that this would fool him. “Hundred and fifty million,” Harringfort said. “Are you going to raise?”
“No.” Zhou Jingren shook his head. “I call.”
This action only made Harringfort smile. “Then… I chose ‘higher'” This Zhou Jingren does not know how to play poker! This could be the easiest win that he could have while playing this game!
“Reveal your cards now.” The dealer said. Without any hesitation, Zhou Jingren revealed the card. Just like Harringfort, he too had an ace with him. However, this time, he still lost.
Harringfort had an ace, then followed by a jack while Zhou Jingren had an ace and a ten of spades. This made Harringfort laugh in glee. “How close!” He beamed, amusement apparent in his eyes as he ignored the fact that his initial suspicion about Zhou Jingren’s moves had been wrong. “However…. I won again! President Zhou… you should tell me — I mean… be honest. If you don’t know how to play the game. We can always choose another one! After all, I am a very kind gambler! I might just even let you choose the game!”
Instead of answering him, Zhou Jingren gestured at the dealer, telling him to open another box of cards for the next game. He had spent a lot of time dealing with this lunatic. “Mr. Harringfort… how about we bet something extravagant?”
“Like what?”
“Well… it seems that this organization is really important to you. Why don’t we bet about our seats instead? The person who will lose will leave the organization. How about that?”
“Hah?” Harringfort said, making sure that he dragged the syllable to emphasize his surprise. “Are you kidding? Did you think… did you think there is such a thing as leaving your seat? President Zhou… the only time that your seat will become vacant is if you die. There is no other way.”
“Well then… let’s bet on something else.”
“Whatever you say…” Harringfort beamed. “As long as it’s reasonable then, I have no problems with it.”
“Then… how about this.” Zhou Jingren leaned towards Harringfort as the dealer started giving them their new set of cards. “If I win… you will give me some time to think about this.”
“How much time are we talking about?”
“Half a year.” That should be enough for him to do his research about these people.
Harringfort narrowed his eyes. “Was this because of your wife’s pregnancy?” Zhou Jingren nodded in response. This was indeed part of the reason why he chose six months. “Hah! And you really think you would win against me?”
“To be honest… I am not very good at gambling. But I am very confident that I could beat a seasoned player like you.”
As expected, his statement made Harringfort laugh. “You? Beat me? Are you — are you perhaps hallucinating?” he laughed for a few seconds before he continued. “And if I win?”
“I do anything that you say.”
“Anything?”
“Anything.” Zhou Jingren nodded. “As long as it’s reasonable.”
Harringfort chuckled. This bet is quite tempting, ah. After all… having a divorce is one of those reasonable requests, right? He gave another chuckle. “Alright… let’s bet everything that we have. Money and the deal that we had just now. Let’s end it all in one round!” he declared as he raised his chin, excitement shrouded his gaze.
….
Sorry for the late release, today I made party favors for my sons bday this Saturday! Yey!
Mass release: Monday and Tuesday
Please dont forget to vote for the novel. Thank you!
