This time, Zhang Rongtian demanded to shuffle the cards himself. After doing so, he passed the deck to the Beta behind him to shuffle once more, before finally asking symbolically, “Does Mr. Chu want to shuffle here as well?”
Chu Yanyi raised an eyebrow: “Sure, I’ll give it a try. Just a casual shuffle is fine, right?”
No one had ever seen Chu Yanyi play cards in public, and his performance after taking the deck showed that he was genuinely not adept at it—merely performing a few simple cuts to pass as shuffling, with several cards even dropping straight onto the table.
Yet no one present dared to show a trace of mockery. Someone even stepped in to smooth things over: “To each their own expertise. If Mr. Chu were capable of everything, how would people like us manage to survive?”
Chu Yanyi offered an unbothered smile: “It can’t be helped; I’m truly no good at these things.”
Zhang Rongtian pulled the Beta named Ah Ying into his embrace: “Next time Mr. Chu comes to the First District for fun, I can teach Mr. Chu a thing or two.”
“We’ll see when the opportunity arises next time,” Chu Yanyi looked toward Zhou Yi. “Are you sure you won’t give it a try? They say trying it brings better luck. Is it fine without using your right hand?”
Without hesitation, Zhou Yi accepted the messy deck, using his left hand to tidy it casually.
The dealer was about to take the cards back, only to watch Zhou Yi use a few fingers to divide the deck in two, rusty as he tried a shuffle attempt—and actually succeeding.
“Not bad at all,” the surrounding crowd chuckled in surprise.
One of them, who had long been unable to stomach Zhang Rongtian’s clique, remarked with subtle sarcasm: “Zhang Rongtian, I believe Mr. Chu has no need for your teaching.”
Zhang Rongtian frowned. As a veteran player, he looked down on such showy antics, yet it was awkward to fly into a rage on the spot, so he picked a random topic: “So why not use the right hand?”
Chu Yanyi’s face maintained a gentle smile, as if failing to sense the subtle tension in the air: “His right hand was shattered by someone in the past, missing the optimal window for medical treatment.”
All eyes in the room converged on Zhou Yi’s right hand, which remained tucked under the table.
“No wonder he keeps it down there even while wearing a glove. Is it severe? Has it affected his daily life?” The Beta sitting in Zhang Rongtian’s lap interjected, a touch of pity gracing his exquisitely made-up face.
“Mm, a few fingers are basically immobile, though he manages quite well with his left hand for certain tasks.”
As Chu Yanyi spoke, Zhou Yi raised his right hand, cooperated by removing his glove, and tossed it straight onto the table.
The leather collided softly with the piled-high chips. The gruesome, raised scar tissue and twisted, deformed fingers caused those sitting close to Chu Yanyi to gasp in unison, with someone even subconsciously tucking their own right hand behind their back.
Though those present were no ordinary citizens, most of the younger generation rarely came into direct contact with such bloody sights in their daily lives. Imagining what this hand had once gone through, they couldn’t help but feel a pang of vicarious pain.
Would that really not hurt to death?
“Who did it?” a nearby scion pressed. “How dare they touch your person…”
Halfway through his sentence, he shut his mouth. Who could touch Chu Yanyi’s person if not Chu Yanyi himself…? Rumor had it that Chu Yanyi’s treatment of his bed partners was notoriously rough, but no one expected it had reached such a severe degree.
He wasn’t the only one thinking this; the gazes cast toward Chu Yanyi by others instantly turned somewhat subtle.
Those who had already harbored suspicions grew even more convinced that Chu Yanyi was tormenting this slave as a stand-in for that somewhat similar-looking man.
Ying Yu had never shown his face, yet his lover had been photographed more than once. Every few days, there were eyewitness reports of him entering entertainment venues or appearing at the headquarters of Ying Yu Group.
Even among the few existing photos showing Ying Yu’s back, this lover was always present by his side.
Under this complex, unutterable gaze, Chu Yanyi shook his head unhurriedly: “I don’t know; he didn’t tell me.”
Zhou Yi handed the deck to the dealer, who was similarly staring off in a daze. Letting out a light cough, the dealer finally drew everyone’s focus back to the game.
“Let’s not discuss this for now. Hurry, let me see the cards,” Zhang Rongtian waved his hand impatiently, tossing a chip onto the table. After Zhou Yi called the bet, Zhang Rongtian’s entire upper body leaned almost flat against the table as he cautiously peeled back a corner of his hole cards, checking them against the three community cards flipped face up.
Zhou Yi took a glance at his cards, chewed his gum, and calmly placed his hole cards face down beneath his right hand.
Three community cards lay on the board: a 3 of Diamonds, a Jack of Diamonds, and a King of Spades.
“Let’s raise twenty first,” Zhang Rongtian pondered for a moment, pushing his chips forward with slight hesitation.
Zhou Yi blinked and pushed twenty chips out as well.
“Looks like your hand is decent?” Zhang Rongtian crossed his arms, gesturing to the dealer. “Then let’s continue.”
The dealer slowly flipped the fourth card—a Jack of Spades. Zhang Rongtian let out a heavy breath, raising the bet by fifty chips: “Mr. Chu, you were the one who shuffled this deck.”
Chu Yanyi hadn’t seen the cards in Zhou Yi’s hand. He chuckled softly: “Indeed. I wonder if it will bring Young Master Zhang some luck tonight.”
Zhou Yi maintained his calm demeanor, following the bet right after.
With such a large stake on the line, most of the remaining people in the venue developed a keen interest in spectating.
“You’d better save that luck for your prized treasure, though I’m afraid you didn’t leave him much luck this time,” Zhang Rongtian tapped the table triumphantly. “The final card now.”
Zhou Yi lowered his eyes, his left fingers reaching out to grab Chu Yanyi’s wine glass nearby, gripping it tightly.
The final card was flipped—a 10 of Spades.
“What do you say? Raise another fifty—are you calling?” Zhang Rongtian stood up provocatively, slamming the table with a fierce expression.
Zhou Yi nodded and extended his left hand. Rather than adding chips, he gave a casual push, sending the mountain of chips cascading forward. The “mountain” collapsed directly, with several chips rolling onto the floor, spinning a few turns before coming to a rest.
Another ALL IN.
After the previous round, his stack of chips had already exceeded Zhang Rongtian’s. If Zhang Rongtian chose to call and lost, every chip on the table would belong to Zhou Yi, including everything Zhang Rongtian had won earlier.
Chu Yanyi raised his eyebrows slowly, observing the expression on Zhou Yi’s face just like everyone else.
Zhou Yi remained entirely unmoved, his gaze fixed steadily on the table.
Zhang Rongtian frowned, checked the community cards, and sneered through gritted teeth: “Ha, don’t tell me you have a Royal Flush in your hand?”
Zhou Yi nodded lightly, drawing a chorus of heckling and boos from around the room.
Zhang Rongtian couldn’t keep his composure: “You aren’t trying to bluff like last round, are you?”
Zhou Yi spread his hands in an utterly innocent gesture, yet his eyes held an arrogant contempt, provocative to the extreme, sparking another wave of laughter.
Chu Yanyi couldn’t help but laugh as well: “Play properly; who plays so wildly like you?”
“Do you think I’m afraid of you?” Slamming his chips heavily onto the table, Zhang Rongtian’s face flushed bright red. “I’ll bet that piece of land in the Second District that you definitely don’t have a Royal Flush. If you do, I’ll gift that land to you directly.”
After all, he had shuffled this deck himself.
That Ace of Spades was currently sitting in his pocket.
And he held the two Jacks he needed, which combined with the community cards on the table to make a formidable Four of a Kind.
He had intentionally put on this show just now, never expecting Chu Yanyi’s treasure to actually fall into the trap.
Ignoring the subtle pulls on his arm from the Beta in his lap, Zhang Rongtian pulled his hand free and slammed the table with force, shouting with absolute confidence: “I call! ALL IN.”
“Wow.”
“Young Master Zhang is so imposing.”
“As expected of Young Master Zhang.”
Several people egged him on, loving the drama. Amidst the commotion, Zhou Yi’s expression remained unchanged. He slowly slid out the hole cards resting beneath his right hand and turned them over unhurriedly.
An Ace of Spades and a Queen of Spades.
It truly was a Royal Flush—the highest-ranking hand in the game.
Chu Yanyi narrowed his eyes slightly.
How could it possibly be a Royal Flush?
The smile on Zhang Rongtian’s face froze in an instant. He stood blankly on the spot, his mouth agape, lips trembling, unable to utter a word.
How could there be two identical cards in a single deck?
Subconsciously, he reached for the card he had swapped into his pocket, only for his hand to be firmly gripped by his “capable assistant.”
The Beta shook his head once more, mouthing the words: “Don’t be impulsive.”
Zhang Rongtian remained frozen for a long moment. Under everyone’s gazes, he could only squeeze out a strained smile: “Mr. Chu, this treasure of yours is truly unpredictable… That land… uh… I have to…”
“Young Master Zhang, one can’t go back on their word.”
“Young Master Zhang probably doesn’t know how to explain this to his father…”
“Ah, this is tricky now.”
Choruses of jeers erupted around them. Chu Yanyi raised his hand, cutting off the noise, his tone exceptionally flat: “What would he want that piece of land for? Everyone was just playing casually; why take it seriously?”
It was only when his gaze shifted onto Zhou Yi that his voice carried a touch of warmth: “Hurry up and thank Young Master Zhang for letting you win.”
Zhou Yi’s green eyes remained completely unruffled. He stood up composedly, offering a polite smile toward Zhang Rongtian. A beam of smart-adjusted white light happened to strike his face, rendering that smile dangerous, unreserved, and high-spirited.
For a split second, many present felt as though they were seeing the triumphant man their elders occasionally mentioned in casual chatter—the man who once stood atop the tallest skyscraper in the Second District, holding a gun as he looked down upon the world.
Back then, rumors swirled of internal strife breaking out in the Second District, with one of the family heads acting on Ying Yu’s behalf suddenly vanishing, leaving plenty of people eager to claim a piece of the pie.
The man had stood alone at the edge of the railing, with no one behind him.
His face still carried a touch of youthful greenness as he let out a contemptuous laugh at the people before him: “I stand here by the courage Ying Yu gave me. What about you all? Ying Yu didn’t order you to come over—so who gave you the courage?”
Gilded glory, heroic years.
Only later did people come to realize that he was merely a lover kept by Ying Yu’s side.
When describing that scene, even the sternest elder would exhale a puff of smoke, sighing with contempt: “So what good comes from serving others with mere beauty? He was nothing more than a scapegoat pushed to the front. Ying Yu was ruthless too; had anyone been willing to step up back then, would this lover of his have survived until now?”
And all the past seemed to collapse along with Ying Yu’s sudden death, just as no one knew where this man—who had been kept by Ying Yu’s side continuously—had vanished to, or whether he was still alive.
Looking closely now, he was far more than just seventy percent similar.
The lighting gradually retreated to the other side, leaving the chips on the table devoid of luster, alongside a pile of cards curled at the edges from excessive force.
Zhou Yi lowered his head slightly, stepping back behind Chu Yanyi.
“It seems luck will have to wait for another time to visit Young Master Zhang. If anything comes up, feel free to contact me later,” Chu Yanyi stood up supported by Zhou Yi’s arm.
He casually tossed the glove into Zhou Yi’s embrace: “Let’s go, it’s time to head back for real.”