Today's birthday party was organized by Qian Haoming, and all the guests were his friends. Some of them were locals from Yun City and came from well-off families.
The birthday party had already ended, and a group of people was playing cards for fun. Seeing Lin Tiancheng's bold attitude, everyone felt unconvinced and wanted to put him in his place at the card table.
In the past, Lin Tiancheng would have left quietly, but now...
To be safe, Lin Tiancheng activated his flashlight ability, his gaze falling on Qian Haoming. Soon, Qian Haoming's suit turned transparent, revealing red boxer shorts underneath, and even his private parts, which were surprisingly smaller than Lin Tiancheng's thumb.
"How do you want to play?" Lin Tiancheng approached one of the guys who was the most vocal.
This was Huang Zhiguo, one of Qian Haoming's friends. His family had some money, and he was quite irritated by Lin Tiancheng's provocation. He countered, "How do you want to play?"
Lin Tiancheng took out the one thousand yuan Wang Mengxin had given him and slapped it onto the table. "Each of us draws a card. Ace is the lowest, Joker is the highest. Want to bet?"
"That's all the money you've got?" Huang Zhiguo gave Lin Tiancheng a disdainful look.
"With this much, I can still win enough to make you lose your pants!"
With so many people watching, Huang Zhiguo couldn't afford to back down. He immediately pulled out his wallet, took out one thousand yuan, and slapped it on the table before casually drawing a card.
A ten of hearts.
Drawing a ten of hearts from a deck of cards meant he had a more than 70% chance of winning. Huang Zhiguo was satisfied and gave Lin Tiancheng a sideways glance.
With his flashlight ability still activated, Lin Tiancheng scanned the deck and casually drew a jack of diamonds.
Without saying a word, Huang Zhiguo took out another two thousand yuan from his wallet, placed it on the table, and eyed Lin Tiancheng. "Continue?"
"Sure."
Huang Zhiguo drew another card—a queen of spades.
That was a pretty high card, but Lin Tiancheng casually flipped over a king of clubs.
"Lucky!" Huang Zhiguo mocked, then took out a stack of cash from his wallet, counting out four thousand yuan. "Wanna keep playing?"
"Heh. I don't mind." It was Lin Tiancheng's first time using his flashlight ability to make money, and if someone wanted to hand him cash, he wouldn't refuse.
This amount of money wasn't much to Huang Zhiguo. He casually drew a card, and it was an ace of diamonds. Lin Tiancheng didn't even need to flip a card to win that round.
After losing three rounds in a row, although it wasn't a lot of money for Huang Zhiguo, the embarrassment was unbearable.
He looked into his wallet and realized he didn't have enough cash.
Everyone present knew Huang Zhiguo, and without him needing to ask, they threw money in front of him. Huang Zhiguo counted out eight thousand yuan.
Lin Tiancheng gestured for Huang Zhiguo to draw a card.
Huang Zhiguo drew a seven of clubs. Lin Tiancheng drew a nine of clubs.
Huang Zhiguo drew a four of hearts. Lin Tiancheng drew a five of spades.
Huang Zhiguo drew a jack of spades. Lin Tiancheng drew a king of spades.
After six rounds, Lin Tiancheng had accumulated sixty-four thousand yuan in cash in front of him.
Huang Zhiguo was starting to feel uneasy. It wasn't about the money; losing six rounds in front of so many people, even in a game, was embarrassing.
Moreover, Lin Tiancheng had turned his initial one thousand yuan into sixty-three thousand, which made Huang Zhiguo feel a bit regretful about his recklessness.
If they kept playing, he would have to bet one hundred and twenty-three thousand yuan against Lin Tiancheng's one thousand. Even if he won, it wouldn't matter to Lin Tiancheng.
No matter what, Huang Zhiguo wasn't willing to admit defeat.
Huang Zhiguo scanned his friends around him. "Who else has money? Bring it all out."
While both Qian Haoming and Huang Zhiguo came from relatively wealthy families, the others were more average. Besides, they were all students and didn't have much money on them.
They had already contributed tens of thousands, and after pooling everything, they barely managed to gather a bit over twenty thousand.
Seeing the thick stack of money on the table and feeling the increasingly heavy atmosphere around him, Lin Tiancheng felt a chill in his heart.
These people all had wealthy backgrounds, and if Huang Zhiguo refused to give up, there was no way Lin Tiancheng could keep winning forever. If he lost, he'd be out of money.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Tiancheng said, "Hey, there's no point in just throwing money at me. If we keep playing, you'll definitely win eventually. Let's make it interesting—how about just one last round?"
Huang Zhiguo, somewhat angered and humiliated, said, "You think you can just say one round and that's it?"
"Real gamblers know there's no honor in just out-betting someone," came a cold female voice.
She had eyebrows like distant mountains, eyes like a gentle autumn lake, skin as fair as snow, and long, shapely legs, with a curvaceous figure to match. Anyone seeing this girl for the first time would barely have time to admire her body, because her features alone were so stunning that it was impossible to look away.
This was Ling Moxin, the campus belle of Yun City University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, widely recognized as a goddess by all students. Like Qian Haoming, she was also a student council member and was rumored to have an influential background.
Huang Zhiguo didn't understand why Ling Moxin would speak up for Lin Tiancheng, but he didn't dare ignore her, so he smiled and said, "I was just kidding. We'll play one more round."
Lin Tiancheng glanced at the money on the table.
It wasn't enough!
Qian Haoming's expression wasn't great either. Huang Zhiguo's background was more powerful than his, and they were close. He had hoped to use Huang Zhiguo's influence for his own gain. If Huang Zhiguo lost today, it might affect their relationship.
Wang Xiaomin, being smart and perceptive, looked at Lin Tiancheng and said, "Didn't you always want a kiss from me? Play this round with Huang Zhiguo. If you win, I'll kiss you."
Lin Tiancheng found Wang Xiaomin's behavior somewhat annoying, but after a moment's thought, he nodded. "Alright. Just one last round."
With both parties agreeing to the final round, Huang Zhiguo was about to draw a card when Lin Tiancheng spoke up, "Isn't it a bit unfair that you always get to draw first?"
Lin Tiancheng was worried. If Huang Zhiguo got incredibly lucky and drew a Joker, he wouldn't be able to win. For the last round, he didn't want to leave anything to chance.
Lin Tiancheng's reasoning made sense, and with Ling Moxin seeming to side with him, Huang Zhiguo didn't object.
Since it was the final round, Lin Tiancheng wasn't going to give Huang Zhiguo any chances. He pretended to choose a few cards before casually flipping over a Joker.
"Damn! What luck!"
"Zhiguo, just admit defeat this time."
Everyone had already run out of money, and with the agreement that this would be the last round, there was no choice but to concede. Huang Zhiguo nodded at Lin Tiancheng and said, "Alright, the money is all yours. You can leave now."
Lin Tiancheng didn't hurry to collect the money but instead looked at Wang Xiaomin. "Wasn't that not the deal just now?"
Wang Xiaomin hesitated. Qian Haoming squeezed her hand tightly, his gaze filled with tenderness, encouragement, and understanding.
Wang Xiaomin took a deep breath, her expression showing reluctance. "You can kiss me, but not on the lips." She closed her eyes after saying this.
Lin Tiancheng smiled and said, "I never said I wanted to kiss you; you're the one who said you'd kiss me, remember?"
Wang Xiaomin looked embarrassed but forced herself to step forward to kiss Lin Tiancheng on the cheek.
"I didn't say you could kiss my face." Lin Tiancheng extended his hand, offering the back of it to Wang Xiaomin.
Despite her discomfort, Wang Xiaomin kissed the back of his hand.
Looking into Lin Tiancheng's intense eyes, Wang Xiaomin's heart skipped a beat, as if she had lost something she would never regain.
However, she quickly brushed it off. No one knew Lin Tiancheng's situation better than she did. Although he'd been lucky today and earned tens of thousands, it was barely enough to buy a restroom in a decent place in Yun City.
"Qian Haoming, do you know him?" Ling Moxin asked as she approached Qian Haoming.
"He's from our school, and you heard just now—he's Xiaomin's shield. I thought you knew him," Qian Haoming replied, glancing at Ling Moxin, his gaze a mixture of desire and inferiority.
Although Qian Haoming considered himself well-off, he couldn't compare to Ling Moxin. He didn't even know how deep her background was, which was what made her so intimidating.
"Perhaps only someone like Ouyang Yu, a true dragon among men, is worthy of Ling Moxin," he thought to himself.
Seeing that Ling Moxin didn't know Lin Tiancheng, Qian Haoming pondered and said, "You don't actually think he won against Huang Zhiguo by skill, do you?"
Ling Moxin smiled faintly, watching Lin Tiancheng's departing figure thoughtfully.
Lin Tiancheng winning seven rounds in a row purely by luck wasn't impossible, but it was highly unlikely. Especially in the final round, when Lin Tiancheng insisted on drawing first and ended up with a Joker.
More importantly, Ling Moxin had seen many different gamblers, and while Lin Tiancheng was playing against Huang Zhiguo, she hadn't seen a trace of nervousness in him. All she saw was his confidence and dominance over the entire game.
...