“Dong Yue, must you force me to this point? How could you despise a princess like me so?” Long Chuyao cursed bitterly in her heart.
Just as Dong Yue was about to open the door to let Ni Manxin in, Fang Yi suddenly threw herself against him, crashing into his embrace.
She then swiftly brushed her lips against his in a fleeting kiss.
Ni Manxin stood dumbfounded outside the door, watching the embracing pair with a faint sourness in her heart.
Fang Yi shot a hostile glare at Ni Manxin. “Ni Chang, you’ll never be able to defeat me.”
Seeing Ni Manxin’s complete lack of reaction, Dong Yue felt a pang of disappointment. But there would be other days – he believed that once Ni Chang’s heart fully returned, she would remember all the love and hatred between them. Then he would find a way to earn her forgiveness.
Ni Manxin walked past them without knowing their thoughts, only feeling strangely unsettled today for reasons she couldn’t quite articulate.
At the casino, Ni Yuan had been enjoying substantial wins recently. After gambling for nearly a month, he finally turned on his phone.
Seeing all the missed messages from his daughter and hundreds of unanswered calls, he realized how worried she must be about his safety.
His daughter was perfect in every way, except for her tendency to worry unnecessarily. “I’ll go check on her after this last game,” he thought, “to stop her from nagging.”
“Young master, should we…?”
Tang Yubo nodded, whispered some instructions to his subordinate, then retreated to a private booth to await the unfolding drama.
Soon enough, the previously triumphant Ni Yuan suddenly overturned a gambling table, standing atop it while shouting angrily, “You filthy scoundrels! Can’t stand seeing me win so much, so you scheme to take it all back? Dream on! If you push me too far, I’ll call the police and let them settle this!” He clutched tightly to his earlier winnings.
Over a dozen enforcers emerged from all directions, surrounding him completely. Ni Yuan grew fearful – this wasn’t the first time he’d found himself in such a situation.
He had planned to play one last game before going home, but unexpectedly, his lucky streak vanished and he lost every bit of his previous winnings. The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became – the Dealer must have cheated to cause such a devastating loss.
“Call the police? Are you joking? Look around – do you think you can cause trouble here? How dare you spread lies and slander our Dealer’s reputation? Seize him!”
The surrounding gamblers cheered in agreement. Someone shouted, “Hurry up and take him away! Don’t let his scheme succeed. If the police come, none of us will survive!”
All the gamblers sided with the casino. Though many spectators watched the scene unfold, no one spoke up for Ni Yuan.
If the police really came, could any of them escape legal consequences? Wouldn’t that be like walking right into a trap?
Besides, the casino Boss had always been at odds with the police – Ni Yuan’s behavior today was nothing short of suicidal.
A man emerged from the group of enforcers. It was Jing Yushu, who always stayed by Tang Yubo’s side. Acting on Tang Yubo’s orders, he had come specifically for Ni Yuan.
Seeing the fierce-looking enforcers approaching, Ni Yuan turned pale and forced a smile: “Let’s talk this over, please! I wasn’t thinking clearly earlier – I was just talking nonsense. Please be merciful and let this go!””Forget it? You’re making a huge scene here and you think it can just be forgotten?” Jing Yushu stepped closer to him.
Ni Yuan now realized this was no ordinary person—likely the Boss.
Jing Yushu held the dice in his hand and said, “Let’s play one round. If you win, not only can you take all the money you’ve won so far, but I’ll also give you an extra million. If you lose, you must return all your winnings and pay an additional two million as compensation for damaging our reputation. What do you say?”
Seeing the situation, Ni Yuan knew that whether he gambled or not was beyond his control if he wanted to survive today.
He rushed up to Jing Yushu, pounding his chest and shouting, “Bring it on! I don’t believe in your tricks!”
They moved toward a gambling table, and the gamblers crowded around. In no time, the table was completely surrounded.
After one round, the gamblers dispersed in an instant.
Ni Yuan sat slumped on the ground, disoriented, his eyes blankly fixed on the million-dollar IOU thrown in front of him.
It’s over, it’s all over. Darkness clouded Ni Yuan’s vision.
That morning, he had hoped to bring the money home to make his daughter happy. Now, not only had he failed to bring back the money, but he also owed a million-dollar debt. How could he possibly explain this?
He had barely managed to repay the previous ten million by selling his house, and now another two million had appeared. His daughter would surely cry and fuss endlessly.
Tang Yubo stood in the private booth, coldly observing the scene. Now it was his turn to make an appearance.
“Oh! Uncle Ni, what are you doing here?” Tang Yubo feigned surprise.
Ni Yuan felt an inexplicable familiarity with Tang Yubo. “You are…?”
“Uncle Ni, don’t you remember me? We lived together in S City.”
Ni Yuan thought for a moment, then slapped his forehead. “I remember now! You’re that brat who used to follow my daughter around all day, clamoring to marry her!”
Tang Yubo laughed awkwardly and nodded repeatedly.
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Jing Yushu, taking a cue from his boss, rushed forward and grabbed Ni Yuan by the collar. “When are you going to repay the money?”
Tang Yubo looked at Ni Yuan in feigned shock. “Uncle Ni, how could you owe them money? They’re ruthless killers! How much do you owe? Does Ni Manxin know about this?”
Ni Yuan stamped his feet in frustration, weeping bitterly with regret.
Jing Yushu interjected, “He owes us exactly two million.”
Tang Yubo exclaimed, “What? Two million? That much? Uncle Ni, do you have that kind of money?”
Ni Yuan hung his head and shook it dejectedly.
Tang Yubo’s lips curled into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. The fish was about to take the bait.
“Uncle Ni, I happen to have two million with me. I brought it to rely on relatives here, but they’ve moved away. I don’t have any use for the money right now. How about this—take it to repay your debt! You can pay me back whenever you have the money. What do you think?”
Ni Yuan was overjoyed. How could such good fortune exist? It must be heaven taking pity on his misery and innocence, sending an angel to deliver money to him.
How could he let such an opportunity slip away? Ni Yuan said, “Good lad, you’re helping your uncle repay the debt today, but I won’t be able to pay you back anytime soon!”
“It’s fine, Uncle Ni. You can repay me whenever you have the money, or even little by little.”
Ni Yuan nodded. This child was truly wonderful! Although he had been foolish as a child, it was rare to see him grow into such a man of character!
Today’s actions pleased Ni Yuan greatly. Since the young man had nowhere else to turn, he might as well let him stay in his home for good—this would also serve as repayment for solving his own urgent problem.