“Deal!” Harringfort mumbled. “Deal!” His voice thundered inside the living room. “I really hope you won’t regret this decision soon!”
Zhou Jingren sneered inwardly. How stupid, he thought. “Alright.” He had already learned enough information about this organization. He needed to end this game as fast as he could. “All in.” He added without even checking his cards.
“From the start?”
“From the start.” Zhou Jingren confirmed. “What is the use of gambling if… we play it by the rules?”
“Hahaha…” Harringfort started laughing. “True… that is true. Where is the fun in gambling without the risks?” Just like Zhou Jingren, he pushed all of his chips to the middle. He had more chips than Zhou Jingren. This meant he would decide who would win. He then checked his cards and once again started beaming.
There was no need to even think about this game. He really should start thinking about his request. He laid two of his cards in front of him. “I will change these.” This time he wanted to change a pair of fives. Beaming, he eyed Zhou Jingren. “What? Regretting your decision now?” he taunted as he leaned back.
As usual Zhou Jingren ignored his words. He showed two of his cards. “I am changing these two.” A smirk slithered onto his face when he laid another pair of fives.
“Good! I like it.” Harringfort uttered. “Now…” Slowly, he showed Zhou Jingren all of his cards. “I mean… I will decide what will win, right?” It was a full house. Three Jacks and a pair of sevens. Despite changing the five earlier, Harringfort still got a pair of sevens. It was unexpected but it immediately made him elated.
This only boosted his confidence. He eyed the surprise in Zhou Jingren’s face. Enjoying his reaction, Harringfort leaned closer, making sure that he would not miss a fraction of Zhou Jingren’s micro expression.
It was the expression of losing.
The expression that Harringfort loved to see in his opponents. “Please don’t tell me that I didn’t warn you.” He smiled. “I mean… I know… I know… I sound like a bully right now. I should have maybe allowed myself to lose once. But you should take into consideration that I am a pro at this. I have been playing this game since I became one of them. So you— “
“So… what will you choose?”
“Excuse me?” Irritation flashed in Harringfort’s eyes. How dare Zhou Jingren interrupt him? He frowned.
“What will you choose? You haven’t said if you wanted to choose higher or lower, yet.” Zhou Jingren said, his face serious.
“Isn’t that obvious? I want ‘Higher’!” Harringfort roared. Was this man dumb? However, the thought of Zhou Jingren growing up in an orphanage made him smile. Of course, the man grew up on the streets. There was no way that he could have proper training in etiquette. That should be the reason why Zhou Jingren kept on interrupting him! His own thoughts slowly made him calm. “I choose higher,” he repeated when he saw Zhou Jingren just stare at the card. “Now… let me continue.”
“Continue what?” Zhou Jingren slowly showed three of his cards. Three cards with number two. This was enough to make Harringfort pause before he once again fell into a puddle of laughter.
“Are you a fool? Despite you having—” he did not continue his words as Zhou Jingren slowly laid his fourth card. It was— another two. Four of a kind!
Harringfort gulped. His eyes went wide, he could feel it popping in its sockets. He shook his head, trying to see if he was hallucinating. He didn’t have enough sleep in the jet last night. That must be it. He must be—
No, he wasn’t.
In front of him were four cards with the number, two’s.
Zhou Jingren won.
His mouth fell as his gaze turned towards Zhou Jingren’s smirk. He tricked him! The man tricked him into thinking that he did not understand the game. Harringfort thought that Zhou Jingren only accepted the game because he didn’t have the choice, thus forcing him to play a game that he doesn’t know.
Then he let him win. He pretended not to understand the game, changing cards, following his moves, betting nonchalantly. Slowly, Harringfort thought that Zhou Jingren was only pretending to be calm on the outside. That he was already panicking, shaking inwardly.
“You—” Harringfort felt as if someone had ripped the air inside his lungs. He struggled to breathe. He actually lost? He lost to someone like Zhou Jingren! Gradually, his hands below the table balled into two tight fists. This man fooled him. “LEAVE US!” he bellowed. “LEAVE US ALONE!” he glared at the dealer as well as some of his men who watched as Zhou Jingren made him into a fucking clown!
“YOU FOOLED ME!” Rising from his seat, Harringfort pointed at Zhou Jingren. “You fucking made me look like a fucking clown in front of my people!”
“Did I?” the mockery in Zhou Jingren’s tone was so thick he could almost feel it suffocate him. Seeing Zhou Jingren smirk only made him rage. Harringfort’s chest rose and fell into rapid breaths. Unable to control himself, Harringfort raised his hands and slammed it on the table, causing some of the cards to fall on the tiled floor.
“YOU REALLY DARE FOOL ME!” he yelled. “You—”
“Did I tell you to bet higher?” Zhou Jingren interrupted him. Harringfort immediately opened his mouth to rebut only to realize the reason behind Zhou Jingren’s words. The choice was his! Harringfort was bound to win as he had the option which cards would win. He could have said lower! But instead, he chose higher because of his fucking full house! “I didn’t fool you Mr. Harringfort. It was you who fooled yourself.”
Harringfort felt his blood boil. For the second time, he pounded his fist into the table. “We are not done. I will remember this.”
“And the bet?”
“I will honor it!” A gamble is a gamble. Win or lose, he was bound to honor his words.
“If my guess is right… ” Zhou Jingren slowly rose from his own seat. “You have never lost a game before.” he chuckled, making the man opposite him more irritated. “Then… you should probably start getting used to losing. After all… I will be a member of your organization after six months. We would be seeing each other again, no?”
