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nEarly morning.

n1 am.

nEveryone sat inside the VIP room.

nDices were rolled, and Ms. Leng was the banker for the first round. Zhang Longjuan was the player before she and the round started. The automatic mahjong table shuffled the tiles, and the players started taking them.

n“Six Wan”

n“East”

n“Nine Bamboos”

nThe players chatted while playing.

nSong Yuhu smiled. “How’s business, Ms. Zhang?”

nZhang Longjuan grabbed a tile and replied. “It’s hard to earn money now.”

nMr. Wei laughed. “What about us if you think it is hard to make money? Your business is the biggest among us. Oh, Old Song. What business are you doing now?”

nSong Yuhu replied. “It’s nothing worth mentioning.”

nMs. Leng looked at him. “I don’t think so. The more successful your business is, the humbler you are. Mr. Wei and I kept talking about our businesses because we are not as successful as you.”

nSong Yuhu replied. “You all are modest.”

nZhang Longjuan smiled. “Stop pretending to be poor.”

nMs. Leng laughed. “We are not wealthy compared to you.”

nDong Xuebing, who had been looking at Zhang Longjuan’s tiles behind her, could tell her business was one of the biggest among all the guests on the ship. Even when her company is in trouble now, it is still more significant than others.

n“Three Wan.”

n“Three Circles.”

n“Three Circles.”

nThe game continued.

nAfter taking one from the table, Zhang Longjuan did not need to look at her tile. She felt it with her finger and flipped all her tiles over. “Sorry, I won.”

nZhang Longjuan won the first round.

nThe staff started counting her points and recorded them.

nMs. Leng said. “You are lucky today, Sis Zhang.”

nZhang Longjuan smiled as she pushed her tiles forward. “It’s a small win.”

nSong Yuhu said. “Are we settling after every round or settling after each game?”

n“Let’s settle after each round.” Mr. Wei said. “I feel better knowing how much I won or lost.”

n“All right. We will settle the winnings after each round.” Ms. Leng signaled to her bodyguard, and he passed the chips to Zhang Longjuan.

nSong Yuhu and Mr. Wei pushed their chips to Zhang Longjuan. But they lost lesser compared to Ms. Leng because she was the banker.

nAlthough Zhang Longjuan said it was a small win, the amount was not small to Dong Xuebing. Maybe their bets were too high, or it was a big win. She won at least 10,000 USD in this round.

nMr. Wei was the banker for the next round.

nSong Yuhu won the round a few minutes later.

nSong Yuhu was the banker for the third round, and Zhang Longjuan won. It was a big win this time.

nIt was Zhang Longjuan’s turn to be the banker, and she won again. It was Mr. Wei who threw the winning tile.

nZhang Longjuan was still the banker for the fifth round, and Ms. Leng broke her winning streak with a small win.

nThe game was over, and Zhang Longjuan had won many chips. She was the winner.

n“Are we continuing?”

n“Let’s continue.”

n“Ok. Let me use the restroom first.”

nSong Yuhu went to the restroom in the VIP room. Ms. Leng went to drink water, and Mr. Wei lit a cigarette. He saw Zhang Longjuan lighting a cigarette and smiled.

nZhang Longjuan walked over to Dong Xuebing and Shen Xiaomei and sat beside them.

nDong Xuebing asked. “Did you win a lot?”

nZhang Longjuan replied. “Not bad. This is only the start, and mahjong is only the appetizer. The highlight is the card games later.”

nDong Xuebing nodded. “Then you carry on. I will go out for a walk.”

n“Go on. Take some chips and have fun.”

n“No need. I am only looking around and not going to gamble.”

nThe bets in the VIP room are too big, and Dong Xuebing felt tense watching them. He had been sweating for half an hour and worried for Zhang Longjuan. He does not mind if he is playing with his own money as the money was won from lotteries. He does not feel anything, even if he lost it. But Zhang Longjuan had sold everything to gamble. These were her last chance. He did not want to see her lose.

nIt makes no difference whether he was around.

nDong Xuebing left the VIP room as it was too tense inside.

nDong Xuebing returned to the main lobby and stood at the tables to learn the rules.

nThe casino was getting hot.

nAll the guests were engrossed in the games. Many lost and went to change more chips. Dong Xuebing saw someone left with his head bowed down.

nThis is a casino.

nThis is a bottomless pit.

nDb shook his head and walked to the smoking area for a smoke. He wished Zhang Longjuan would win.

nFive minutes…

nTen minutes…

nHalf an hour…

nAn hour passed.

n“F**k!” Someone shouted from the slot machines zone.

nDong Xuebing woke up. He had fallen asleep while smoking. He moved his sore shoulders and threw the cigarette butt between his fingers away. He looked at the guest, who cursed loudly at the slot machines. He had lost a lot and was cursing at the machine. Two security guards in suits walked over and reminded him to keep it down.

nDong Xuebing looked at the time. It was 2 am.

nThe casino will open until morning, and it’s still early.

nDong Xuebing was worried for Sis Zhang and quickly returned to the VIP room. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

nInside the room.

nIt was the croupier who opened the door. He saw it was Dong Xuebing and allowed him to enter.

nDong Xuebing saw Shen Xiaomei’s face and was shocked. Shen Xiaoyan had returned and was sitting beside her sister. They were looking terrible.

nDong Xuebing went over and asked softly. “How is it?”

nShen Xiaomei shook the suitcase. It was empty.

nDong Xuebing was stunned. “Where are the chips?”

nShen Xiaomei pursed her lips. “On the table.”

nDong Xuebing looked at the table where Zhang Longjuan placed her chips. She had lost a lot. “What happened? She had won a lot before I left.”

n“There’s less than two million USD now.”

n“Eh? When did they switch from mahjong to cards?”

nThe mahjong table was replaced with a poker table.

nSong Yuhu was smiling brightly, and Mr. Zhang looked the worst. Ms. Leng was still the same, and Zhang Longjuan stopped smiling. She was touching her cards lightly.

nDong Xuebing asked. “How come she is left with less than two million USD?”

nShen Xiaomei sighed. “Ms. Zhang won a lot at mahjong and lost some to Song Yuhu later. But she was doing well overall. They switched to poker, and Ms. Zhang lost 1 million USD to Ms. Leng in the first round.”

n“She lost so much in one round?”

n“They could up the stakes, and Ms. Zhang had bet a lot.”

n“Ms. Zhang is unlucky today.”

n“Yes. She is unlucky at poker. I don’t know about poker. But Ms. Zhang had gotten good hands in a few rounds, but the others got better cards. Song Yuhu and Ms. Leng won a lot, and Ms. Zhang only won a few rounds.”

nLuck is unpredictable, but Dong Xuebing did not expect Sis Zhang to lose so much within an hour. She had almost lost all her money.

nOn the table.

nThe dealer had dealt the third card.

nSong Yuhu looked at his card and said. “Call two hundred thousand USD.”

nMr. Wei folded.

nMs. Leng folded too.

nZhang Longjuan thought for a while and folded.

nSong Yuhu took all the chips on the table and laughed. “Let’s continue.”

nThe next round started. Song Yuhu folded. Mr. Wei had gotten good cards. Zhang Longjuan’s cards were not bad too.

nMr. Wei said. “Thirty hundred thousand.”

nZhang Longjuan frowned and hesitated. But she folded in the end.

nAlthough Zhang Longjuan folded, she lost a lot on the antes. She will lose all her money. Song Yuhu, Mr. Wei, and Ms. Leng seemed to know she got less than two million USD worth of chips left. They purposely raised the bets by a few hundred thousand USD to force her to fold. The stakes were raised to over five hundred thousand USD before the fifth card.

nMahjong was only the appetizer.

nMahjong’s winnings were nothing compared to poker.

nZhang Longjuan yawned after a few rounds. “I am taking a smoke break.”

nSong Yuhu laughed. “Your luck is not so good today, Ms. Zhang. Take a break, and your luck might return.” He sounded sarcastic.

nMr. Wei sighed. “I lost a lot too.”

nHe lost a lot, but he brought more chips with him. He dares to call and follow higher bets.

nZhang Longjuan could not do that. She only has around 1 million USD left.

nZhang Longjuan saw Dong Xuebing and sat beside him with a smile. “I am tired. Light a cigarette for me.”

nDong Xuebing lit a cigarette and passed it to her. “Your bets are too high.”

n“How am I going to win big if the bets are small? Of course, I will lose fast too. Haha…” Zhang Longjuan was composed. She took a puff. “I got bad hands.”

nShen Xiaoyan looked at her. “How about you stop playing?”

nZhang Longjuan shook her head and did not say anything.

nDong Xuebing knew Sis Zhang would not stop playing. Her company needs money urgently, and she cannot back out.

nDong Xuebing thought for a while and said. “Let me play, Sis Zhang.”

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