Chapter 715: Game Starts

Translator: Henyee Translations | Editor: Henyee Translations

However, when Zhao Ping was explaining the rules of the game to Mei Shu, he deliberately made a crucial mistake.

“The points of the other cards are all calculated according to the numbers on the face of the cards, but K, Q, J are counted as one point each. So, if you’re dealt these cards, be careful not to miscalculate the points.”

His tone was extremely gentle as he spoke, and no one could detect the hidden malice within him.

Mei Shu nodded to indicate that she remembered.

The others, upon hearing this, all revealed a wicked smile.

Just then, Li Zhen returned, and everyone quickly restrained their smile, pretending they hadn’t heard anything.

“Are you done?” Li Zhen placed the deck of cards on the table and casually took a sip from his glass.

Zhao Ping said, “We’re done. So, we’ll see who has the lowest score in each round. That person will drink a whole glass of wine, while the rest, except the winner, will only have to take a sip of wine. How about it?”

“Okay.” Li Zhen reached into his pocket, obviously intending to take out a cigarette, but for some reason, as soon as his fingertips touched the cigarette case, he recoiled as if shocked.

Several people who wanted to join the game quickly gathered around the table, and the waiter who happened to be delivering drinks to the private room became the dealer.

Seeing several large bottles of strong wine on the bar counter, Zhao Ping couldn’t help but smile maliciously. “Today, let’s open our eyes and see how much this classmate can drink!”

“Oh, we don’t even know the name of Li Zhen’s friend!” Kang Wei gestured with his eyes for Li Zhen to introduce her.

Mei Shu cut in before Li Zhen could speak, answering herself, “You can just call me Ah Shu. Li Zhen has been calling me that since school.”

“When did I ever call you…”

Li Zhen hadn’t finished speaking before Mei Shu interrupted him with a cold stare.

The rest of his words were swallowed back into his throat along with his saliva.

Just as Mei Shu’s gaze fell on him, he inexplicably felt a bone-chilling coldness, instinctively not daring to disobey Mei Shu’s meaning.

Kang Wei didn’t press further, mainly because he didn’t care about Mei Shu’s identity at all. The reason he asked was merely to make it easier to address her later.

“Alt Shu, let’s not wait for you!” Kang Wei said as he handed the cards to the waiter.

The game officially began, and since Mei Shu was sitting next to the waiter, she was the first to be dealt three playing cards.

After the first round of dealing, Mei Shu looked at the cards in her hand: a king, a three, and a seven.

According to Zhao Ping’s explanation of the rules, her score was only eleven, far from twenty-one. So, after everyone had seen their cards, she was the first to speak up, indicating that she needed the dealer to continue dealing.

This time, she received an eight, bringing her closer to twenty-one.

Mei Shu glanced around at the various expressions of joy and frustration, quietly placing her cards on the table.

Li Zhen cast a casual glance at her, “You’re not taking it? Looks like the total value of the cards in your hand isn’t small.”

Mei Shu smiled, “I should be able to win.”

This was her psychological tactic. With a high score, even if she didn’t reach twenty-one, when it came to revealing the cards at the end, it wouldn’t be her turn to drink a whole glass of wine.

And then Li Zhen’s wish to mess with her would remain unfulfilled.

With this in mind, Li Zhen took a risk and asked for another card. This time, he silently placed the card on the table without saying a word.

When the others had decided on their cards, the dealer announced that they could all reveal their cards at once.

Zhao Ping was the quickest to react. Holding his cards, he raised his hand and suggested, “How about we change the rules? Let the dealer personally check each of our hands, and then decide on a winner and a loser. We won’t be allowed to see each other’s cards, making it more exciting. What do you think?”

“Okay!” As soon as he spoke, someone immediately agreed.

Kang Wei almost immediately understood what he meant. With a mischievous smile, he said, “Let’s do as you say! During the process of the dealer checking the cards, we can also experience the feeling of our hearts racing!”

With the agreement of the others, Zhao Ping, with a smile full of meaning, looked at Mei Shu last. “Ah Shu, what do you think?”

Mei Shu said, “Okay.”

Li Zhen subtly furrowed his brow. He always felt that these two, Zhao Ping and Kang Wei, were up to something and hadn’t told him about it.

Seeing this, the waiter walked down the steps, going to check the cards held by everyone. Throughout the process, his expression remained calm. It wasn’t until he saw the cards in Mei Shu’s hand that he couldn’t help but twitch his mouth.

He looked up in surprise, meeting Mei Shu’s probing eyes. Suddenly, he understood what was going on, shook his head, and said, “The loser is determined, it’s this young lady, and the winner is the gentleman next to her.”

Mei Shu looked at Li Zhen in surprise, “Do you have twenty-one points?”

Li Zhen revealed a standard victorious smile, “Thanks to your stimulation just now, I dared to ask for one more card. It just happened to make up twenty-one points.”

Mei Shu nodded in understanding. She had a total of nineteen points in her hand, which, although not small, was indeed not enough to beat Li Zhen’s score. Losing was quite normal.