When Chu Yanyi claimed he didn’t touch gambling, he was telling the truth. He had encountered far too many gamblers in the first half of his life. The most recent one had drained all his family savings before kneeling at Chu Yanyi’s feet, weeping bitterly and claiming he was backed into a corner, needing just one more gamble to turn his desperate situation around.
At that moment, Chu Yanyi had opened the window for him, detached and indifferent.
As for the first gamblers Chu Yanyi ever met—or rather, the first pair—they were a violent man and woman. They rarely appeared before Chu Yanyi together, leaving him with only blurred impressions of alcohol, the stench of tobacco, hysterical roars, and the sound of terminals being smashed.
The very last time they met, Chu Yanyi was standing at the entrance of the orphanage, snow piled up to his ankles. In the biting cold, he looked up and asked in a small voice as they collected money from the director: “Mom, Dad, will you really come back to pick me up?”
They didn’t answer.
Thus, Chu Yanyi could never muster any interest in gambling, rarely touching cards even in casual settings. Still, he knew the general rules well enough to read hand rankings.
These wealthy scions harbored a degree of restraint here; rather than speaking of the value behind the chips, they framed it as everyone seeking a bit of fun together.
Interlocking his fingers, Chu Yanyi rested his chin on his hands in a composed posture, turning his head to look directly at Zhou Yi. The man possessed prominent brow bones and deep eye sockets; though his hair was dyed back to black, a closer look revealed he was noticeably more haggard than when they first met, and the high-spirited energy between his brows was nowhere to be seen.
When he wasn’t smiling, a touch of gloominess lingered on his features.
The well-trained dealer quickly dealt the cards to everyone at the table, scanning each person with a polite smile.
Zhang Rongtian cautiously peeked at a corner of his hole card, then glanced at the community cards on the table, grinning so widely his eyes narrowed into slits.
“Mr. Chu… if your prized treasure loses, please don’t start beating him in public,” he pushed a large stack of chips forward, gestured for the Beta beside him to fetch a drink, and teased while pointing at the wound on Zhou Yi’s forehead.
Zhou Yi inspected his hole cards expressionlessly, tossed them forward, and folded.
A scion playing alongside chuckled, pushing out a few chips of equivalent value: “Young Master Zhang, don’t say things like that—you’ve scared Mr. Chu’s treasure into running away.”
The crowd burst into laughter together.
These scions were notorious far and wide, never lacking people seeking entertainment around them under the guise of friendship. At this table, there were plenty of these “friends”—some brought along by themselves, others newly met today.
Chu Yanyi narrowed his eyes. The remaining players calling the bets were all these so-called “friends.” Sweeping his peripheral vision over Zhou Yi’s right hand, which remained under the table the entire time, he let out a chuckle as well.
“It’s just having fun together after all; winning or losing is secondary.”
Zhang Rongtian laughed exaggeratedly: “That’s good then. Let me see another card.”
The dealer’s slender fingers flipped the fourth community card. One person immediately slapped his thigh in frustration: “What terrible luck I have! Forget it, forget it.”
Taking a sip of wine, Zhang Rongtian’s face flushed with excitement: “Cutting losses in time isn’t a bad move. I’ll raise another fifty—anyone calling?”
The remaining players frowned, some bowing out with forced smiles, while others called the bet regardless.
In the end, Zhang Rongtian’s hand was indeed superior, naturally sweeping the board clean. Zhang Rongtian waved his hand boastfully at the Beta behind him, who adeptly gathered all the chips on the table toward him.
Someone immediately stepped forward to flatter him: “Young Master Zhang’s luck is truly impressive; one has to admit defeat. I heard you snagged that piece of land in the Second District just as casually.”
Zhang Rongtian chuckled dismissively: “I told you all along, with Ying Yu dead, what kind of waves could those people possibly stir up?”
The Beta beside him burst into a chuckle: “You shouldn’t be saying things like that out in public.”
“Well… it’s fine, Ah Ying, we’re all acquaintances here,” Zhang Rongtian winked at Chu Yanyi. “Mr. Chu is one of us too.”
Chu Yanyi offered a subtle smile, remaining silent.
Shifting into a more comfortable sitting position with his long legs crossed, he moved his other hand under the table, gripping Zhou Yi’s right hand through his glove and casually massaging the twisted joints of Zhou Yi’s right hand.
Zhou Yi looked straight over at him.
Chu Yanyi beckoned with his hand: “Keep me company for a smoke.”
Smoking was strictly for smoking.
Dangling a cigarette between his lips, Chu Yanyi stood by the window as white puffs of smoke blew from his nose. With an unreadable smile, he looked down at the skyscrapers below. The drone performance had yet to end, as emblems of ancient families were pieced together time and again by points of light. In the distance, brilliant lights illuminated a city that never slept.
Zhou Yi followed his gaze, failing to make sense of what he was looking at.
“Do you think Ying Yu is really dead?” Chu Yanyi asked out of nowhere.
Zhou Yi froze. Aside from that initial inquiry, Chu Yanyi had never asked another question concerning Ying Yu. He had assumed Chu Yanyi, like everyone else, believed Ying Yu was already dead.
Though he hadn’t told Mr. Chu… that it might have been himself who killed Ying Yu alongside someone else.
After all, his head wasn’t quite clear, so it might well be a delusion of his own making.
Besides, he didn’t want to have any connection with Ying Yu ever again.
Within his limited understanding, deep hatred existed between Chu Yanyi and Ying Yu… He wished he could strip away any label tying himself to Ying Yu.
“Forget it, what would you know anyway?” Chu Yanyi stubbed out his cigarette decisively. “Hand.”
Though puzzled, Zhou Yi obediently held out his left hand.
A piece of chewing gum dropped into his palm.
Zhou Yi stood dazed, his mouth slightly agape.
“Chewing gum, don’t go swallowing it,” Chu Yanyi lowered his head and chewed a piece himself. “Let’s head back; don’t keep them waiting too long.”
Upon their return, that topic had yet to conclude.
Another scion remarked enthusiastically: “I also heard from my family that the young guy who took over Ying Yu’s company is incompetent, making consecutive losing deals. If Ying Yu knew the enterprise handed down by his family was being squandered like this, he’d be angered right back to life.”
“Ah, their minds are definitely set on digging out Ying Yu’s inheritance. Ying Yu had so many people around him before; how did they vanish into thin air?”
“Could it be in the Imperial Royal Savings Account…”
“Haha, speaking of which, who do you think the Empire will designate as the crown prince? It won’t end up being Qin Jiangyue as emperor, will it? It’s not as if an Imperial Marshal rebelling hasn’t happened before.”
“Now that would be interesting, Hahaha…”
The conversation then shifted to the recent interstellar situation. However, these scions were unlearned and ignorant, knowing mostly superficial details while putting on airs of grand commentary, drawing the attention of many onlookers around them.
Chu Yanyi acted as if he heard nothing, refraining from joining the topic.
He nodded in greeting to a few people, sat back in his original seat, supported his chin on one hand, and admired the combination of Zhou Yi’s green eyes paired with the emerald on his collar for a moment.
When those speculations grew increasingly absurd, he casually tapped his earpiece as if by accident.
Zhou Yi went still for a brief second, then tapped a chip lightly against the table.
The sound wasn’t loud, yet it was sufficient to catch the attention of everyone at the table.
“So eager to play, are we?” Chu Yanyi deliberately flicked Zhou Yi’s forehead with his finger, teasingly remarking, “Don’t rush, there’ll be plenty for you to play in a moment.”
Zhou Yi lowered his eyes slightly, pursing his lips as if feeling somewhat wronged.
“Since Mr. Chu’s treasure says so, we ought to continue as well,” a scion who knew how to read the room offered a graceful way out with a smile.
The Beta beside Zhang Rongtian also pressed Zhang Rongtian’s shoulder, reining in Zhang Rongtian’s temper in time.
“Then let’s go again,” Zhang Rongtian shrugged. “Mr. Chu, he can’t just directly fold his hand this time, can he?”
Chu Yanyi smiled: “That’s not for me to decide.”
After several rounds, the atmosphere at the table grew increasingly heated, and the dealer’s card-shuffling speed picked up. Chu Yanyi looked back to find quite a crowd had gathered.
Meeting eyes with an Omega, the Omega stepped behind him, offering a glass of wine with a flattering smile: “The person beside Mr. Chu has quite the lucky hand.”
Chu Yanyi took a sip of wine without confirming or denying. Zhou Yi’s style was far steadier than he had anticipated—neither anxious nor greedy, effortlessly winning a sizable stack of chips.
As the person sitting diagonally across from Zhou Yi exited the game, only Zhou Yi and Zhang Rongtian remained at the table.
A new hand was dealt to both of them. Zhou Yi took a single glance at his cards, set them aside, and didn’t touch them again. From Chu Yanyi’s angle, he could see clearly that they couldn’t form a hand with the community cards flipped so far.
Zhang Rongtian’s expression looked somewhat sour as he casually tossed a chip in.
Zhou Yi calmly added an extra chip. Zhang Rongtian hesitated for a second before calling: “Mr. Chu, even without entering the game yourself, you’ve earned quite a bit.”
“Everything he earns belongs to him,” Chu Yanyi toyed with a chip on the table. “What does it have to do with me?”
Another card was flipped. Chu Yanyi drank his wine in silence; Zhou Yi likely couldn’t even form the smallest pair.
Zhang Rongtian’s expression relaxed slightly. Rubbing his chin, he nodded and added several more chips.
Zhou Yi raised his eyes—this was his first time looking directly at the opponent since sitting down at the table. He offered a smile that seemed to break through glaciers.
With a loud clatter, the spectating guests let out a collective “Oh?”, as all the chips by Zhou Yi’s hand were pushed forward, merging into a multicolored wave.
It meant an ALL IN.
Chu Yanyi kept his composure, concealing the corners of his mouth with his wine glass.
In truth, the chips Zhou Yi pushed out didn’t exceed the total in Zhang Rongtian’s hand. Even if Zhang Rongtian lost, he wouldn’t suffer a complete wipeout and would still have some left over.
Zhang Rongtian hesitated for a moment, dropping his cards: “Forget it, consider these a gift to you.”
Zhou Yi nodded in gratitude, sweeping up the chips on the table directly. As the dealer collected the cards, the Beta who had been sitting beside Zhang Rongtian rose slightly, glanced at Zhou Yi’s cards, and leaned into Zhang Rongtian’s ear to whisper.
Zhang Rongtian let out a cold snort: “Quite the actor.”
“It’s getting late, let me call it a day here,” Chu Yanyi stood up leaning on his cane. Zhou Yi immediately stood up as well, his eyes filled entirely with Chu Yanyi.
A noticeable commotion broke out among the crowd.
“You can’t just leave after winning, Mr. Chu,” Zhang Rongtian remarked half-seriously and half-jokingly. “By rule, a game ends only when one side is completely cleaned out.”
Turning his body slightly, the corners of Chu Yanyi’s lips held a smile as he looked at Zhou Yi, his voice gentle: “Want to keep playing?”
Those inorganic blue eyes carried a touch of drunkenness, seeming to harbor something that made Zhou Yi’s heart skip a beat. Zhou Yi considered himself not clever enough to see through Chu Yanyi’s thoughts, and the same held true right now.
Did Mr. Chu want him to continue playing?
“Alright then, if you want to play, play to your heart’s content. It’s rare for us to make a trip out anyway,” Chu Yanyi patted Zhou Yi’s shoulder, taking the lead to sit back down.
The moment Zhou Yi stood up earlier, his face was exposed clearly under everyone’s gaze. Chu Yanyi noticed the expressions of several people—identical to Zheng Qiaoya’s from earlier.
Confusion, shock, self-doubt.
Acting as if he had seen nothing, Chu Yanyi rubbed the chips between his fingers back and forth.