DTTM 6

Chapter 6: Small Bets, Big Wins

“Achoo!” Perhaps because I had just been caught in the rain and the cold wind, my nose suddenly felt itchy. I turned my head and sneezed at an inopportune time. When I turned my head again, Zong Yanlei had already looked away, and Xu Chengye had straightened up and was walking towards me.

“Mr. Zong said he can’t leave right now, so he asked you to wait over there for a while, otherwise you…” He hesitated before continuing.

I guessed he wanted to persuade me to leave, so I quickly said that I wasn’t in a hurry and could wait, and then stepped aside, gesturing for him to go ahead.

Xu Chengye’s last words caught in his throat. He looked at me, then at Zong Yanlei, and finally patted my shoulder with a “take care” expression before leaving without saying anything more.

Six people sat at the large green gambling table. Except for Zong Yanlei, the others all had considerable chips in front of them. Zong Yanlei wasn’t having much luck and was the biggest loser at the table.

I stood there for an hour, my clothes drying from my body heat, watching them play four rounds. In those four rounds, Zong Yanlei lost almost half of his chips.

I glanced at my terminal; it was already past 2 am If I delayed any longer, I wouldn’t be able to get back before Aunt Kou got up.

After hesitating for a moment, I walked over to Zong Yanlei as another round ended.

“No matter what two cards you start with in the next round, I can make you win,” I whispered in his ear.

Zong Yanlei glanced at me, flipping a red chip between his fingers, but didn’t immediately express his opinion.

I continued, “Ten minutes. If I win, you only need to give me ten minutes.”

A few seconds that felt like several years passed, before the chips finally stopped, held between Zong Yanlei’s middle and ring fingers.

His gaze swept across my face like a blade, and he said coldly, “You only have one chance.” With that, he gripped the red chips tightly in his hand, turned to the other five people at the table, and announced that I would make the decision for him in the next round.

“You’ve lost the most tonight, so even if you want a dog to take your place, we can’t really say anything.” Sitting to the left of the dealer, the curly-haired fat man wearing a black bear mask laughed heartily as he raised his cocktail glass.

Six of his ten short, thick fingers were adorned with dazzling gemstone rings, making it immediately apparent how wealthy he was.

“Things always turn around when they reach their extreme. Let the lowly commoner touch your cards; who knows, your luck might improve.” To the right of the dealer, a middle-aged woman wearing a cheetah mask and fanning herself with an ornate feather fan chimed in.

Beside her stood a gaunt man wearing a wild boar mask, who held the most bargaining chips: “Whatever. This little thing has been standing here all night; I thought it was some impromptu little show you prepared again.”

“I thought it was tonight’s prize.” Sitting between black bear man and Zong Yanlei was a young man wearing a fox mask. His eyes were a beautiful sky blue, even among nobles, but his words were vulgar and obscene. “I haven’t tasted the flavor of the Wo people yet. I’ve heard that if they are trained well, they are delights in bed.”

“Stop talking nonsense.” On Zong Yanlei’s other side sat the oldest man present, wearing a goat mask. He looked like a typical Penglai nobleman: conservative, arrogant, and disliking the Wo people. “Only one round, and this will not happen again.”

The servants who were attending to him were very perceptive and brought a new chair, placing it right next to Zong Yanlei.

“A prize?” Zong Yanlei chuckled. “If I were to give one, I would choose a nice one. There’s no reason to give a flawed item as a reward.”

“How about this,” the wild boar man suggested, “if the little thing wins this round, I’ll reconsider the previously stalled cooperation with the Sun God Group. What do you say?”

“That would naturally be the best,” Zong Yanlei said.

I sat down silently, not presumptuously joining their conversation. After all, in their eyes, I was nothing more than a dog in human form.

In Texas Hold’em, after each game, the positions from the previous game are passed clockwise: the big blind becomes the small blind, and the small blind becomes the dealer.

In this round, Zong Yanlei was the dealer, which meant he was the last player to make a decision, giving me a significant advantage.

Before the community cards were revealed, an initial pot needed to be deposited. The small blind to the left of the dealer placed his bet, and the old man in the goat mask threw in ten red chips. It was a perfectly reasonable amount, neither too much nor too little.

It was the big blind’s turn to bet. The wild boar man pondered for a moment, then threw fifty red chips into the pot. The big blind is usually twice the small blind, and the wild boar man had clearly bet too much. It was unclear whether he was overconfident in his luck that night or simply wanted a thrill.

After the blinds were placed, there was already a small pile of chips in the pot, and the dealer began dealing each person’s starting hand.

Texas Hold’em uses a standard 52-card deck, resulting in 1326 pre-flop combinations. Each combination has a corresponding win rate, with AA having the highest win rate and 22 the lowest. Getting a high card is naturally good, but if you don’t get one… well, I’d have to rely on my masterful skills.

My fingertips were slightly sweaty as I pressed down on two cards and slowly turned them over, the 8 of spades and the 8 of clubs.

*Ha*, I silently gasped. A not-so-good starting hand, mediocre in strength, and with an even lower chance of winning.

I heard the soft clinking of ice cubes beside me. I turned to look at Zong Yanlei and found him watching me while drinking his whiskey. I quickly smiled at him, giving him a “Don’t worry about me” look, and then turned back away.

“Call.” The cheetah lady in the gun position made her decision without much hesitation when facing her starting hand. “But don’t you think Wo people’s red eyes are quite beautiful? Especially the one beside to the Crown Prince…” She covered her red lips with her feather fan, and her laughter was full of ambiguity.

She never chatted when she dealt weak hands cards in the past hour, but now she was so relaxed. It seemed she had high cards, like an Ace or a King?

“Fold. You dare to mess with that guy? You don’t want to live anymore.” The black bear man threw his starting hand back onto the table, face down.

This person was a player who liked to get into a winning hand. His folding indicated that his hand didn’t have the potential to get into a winning hand and was probably a mixed hand, with a 2 in it.

“Raise. The Crown Prince isn’t here anyway, let’s just chat.” The fox man smiled and pushed 80 chips into the pot.

Oh. That fox might smile like a smooth operator, but he was a pure conservative player. Betting big pre-flop meant he’s holding something strong… a big pair?

However, no matter what cards they had, I only had one strategy for now, which was to fight to the bitter end.

“Call,” I said, and pushed in 80 chips.

The fox man immediately whistled.

At this point, before the community cards were even revealed, the pot had already accumulated a very substantial amount of chips.

After everyone placed their bets, the dealer quickly dealt three community cards and revealed them one by one, the first was the 2 of spades, the second the Queen of hearts, and the third the 7 of diamonds.

Ha, none of the three community cards were useful. The best hand I could make right now was a pair of 8s. It seemed that Lady Luck didn’t want to favor Zong Yanlei or bother with me today.

“Want to fold?” A warm sound came from Zong Yanlei’s deep voice, which made me shudder.

Normally, folding would be the safest approach in this situation, but today I’m not looking for a safer strategy; I’m aiming for absolute victory.

Gambling, gambling, if you don’t fight for winning or losing, and don’t gamble on probability, then what exactly is “gambling”?

“No.” I looked at him with a smile and whispered the word.

Next, the old goat man exercised his check right on the flop. Judging from his slightly furrowed brow, he wasn’t very satisfied with the community cards. Most likely, like me, he only made a big pair but failed to make a straight.

“100,” the wild boar man said as he pushed a small pile of chips forward.

After placing his bet, he turned around and picked up a whiskey glass to drink, seemingly quite confident in his hand and no longer bothering to pay attention to others.

This guy was a master of pretense; the more he acted like that, the worse his hand was.

“You gamblers are playing way too far.” After much hesitation, the cheetah lady chose to fold.

The fox man kept fiddling with his chips, lost in thought. It seemed he hadn’t managed to get a winning hand.

“Fold.” In the end, he also chose to fold.

Finally, it was my turn. I pushed all my chips in: “All-in!”

Instantly, everyone’s eyes turned to them.

“Ha, that’s quite bold,” the wild boar man marked, raising his wine glass.

“It’s not his money anyway,” the old goat sneered, urging the dealer to deal the cards.

The fourth community card was revealed to be a 2 of hearts.

The old goat’s brow furrowed even more. He had already used his check on the flop, and now he only had two options left, fold or bet.

“Fold.” In the end, the cautious old man also left the poker table.

The wild boar man added another 100 chips.

I previously predicted that the black bear man would have a “2” in his starting hand. In other words, the combination of the wild boar man’s hand and the community cards at this moment could not possibly be four 2s. At most, it could be three 2s, or a full house of 2s, or… nothing. He was just bluffing.

Since I was already all-in, the turn ended there, and the dealer immediately flipped over the last community card.

The river card was the Ace of Spades.

The wild boar man’s gaze fell on the Ace of Spades, and he made no further move for a long time.

I only have a pair of 8s. If I want to win, I should take the initiative instead of waiting to be defeated.

“Two pairs, AA22, and a small card?” With a confident and calm smile on my face, I directly exposed the wild boar man’s secrets.

I wanted him to think that my hand was definitely stronger than his, which was why I could still play so easily even though I knew his hand.

As expected, the wild boar man fell into my trap.

“Fold.” He frowned for a moment, his eyes fixed on me with a cold stare, as he threw out two hole cards.

In the end, I was the only player left at the table.

“Looks like I guessed right.” I smiled and turned over my starting hand in front of everyone.

“A 8? So small!” The cheetah lady leaned over to examine it, her surprise barely concealed in her eyes.

The dealer pushed all the chips in the pot to me. I didn’t care how much I won with this big bet, I just looked at Zong Yanlei next to me.

“Pretty impressive.” Zong Yanlei looked at the pile of chips, but there was no joy on his face. He stood up from his chair. “You only have ten minutes.” After saying that, he ignored me and walked towards the door without looking back.

I stood up and hurriedly chased after him, following him into the next room.

The huge, transparent glass cases were stacked with countless top-quality cigars, each box meticulously packaged and exquisitely crafted, like precious artifacts carefully displayed in a museum. The moment I stepped inside, I realized this must be a cigar room.

“Let’s begin.” Zong Yanlei walked to the bar and stopped, tossing the mask off his face. He then opened the cigar box on the counter and slowly began to trim a cigar.

The night was quiet, and the excellent soundproofing kept out all the noise from outside. For a moment, the crisp sound of the cigar cutter opening and closing became particularly noticeable.

“Eight minutes. Are you planning to keep staring at me like this?” Zong Yanlei said without looking up.

I pursed my lips, and at his urging, I started to move. My right knee landed on the ground first, followed by my left. I knelt three meters away from him, I looked at the tips of his shoes, and the words I said sounded shameless even to myself.

“Young master, could you lend me two million?”

Zong Yanlei paused for a moment, then coldly laughed as if he found it absurd: “No.”

That’s understandable.

Zong Yanlei fixed his cigar, then slowly strolled to the sofa area and sat down. My gaze followed him as he moved.

“Then can you hire me as your navigator? I can help you win the GTC championship, just like tonight.”

“What, have you already used up those two gold bars from back then?” He picked up the lighter on the coffee table, lit his cigar, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. “What if I don’t?”

The smoke spread out, like a soft veil, tightly wrapping me up.

I took a deep breath, looked up through the white mist and my gaze met Zong Yanlei’s not far away: “Then I think I can always find a media outlet willing to pay a high price for the exclusive secrets about you that I have. They will definitely be interested in who the real father of your two children is.”

“The father of my child…” Zong Yanlei held a cigar in his hand, his expression somewhat dazed.

I sighed inwardly and showed him the email on the terminal: “I’ve already set up the emails. As long as they’re not canceled, in another hour, the news that the princess’s two children are not related to you by blood and are her illegitimate children with her bodyguard will be sent to the country’s largest media company and the most famous gossip reporters. I think many people will be willing to pay me after that.”

Zong Yanlei had understood what I meant, and all expression vanished from his face: “You’re threatening me.”

“I just hope you’ll give my proposal a careful consideration.” I smiled at him, trying to make myself look less repulsive. “I need money, and you need a navigator. Isn’t it a win-win situation?”

“Win-win?” He softly repeated the two words, leaned over and stubbed out his half-smoked cigar in the ashtray, then stood up and walked towards me.

It’s over.

As he drew closer, I remembered Xu Chengye’s advices. I knew that the best thing I should do at that moment was to run away, but I also knew that if I really ran away, everything I had done tonight would be for nothing.

“It’s been six years. You seem to have changed, Jiang Man.” Zong Yanlei bent down, lifted my chin, and called my name again after six years.

“I…” I suddenly felt dazed, my lips trembled, but I couldn’t say a single coherent word.

His fingertips traced my skin, leaving a distinct sensation. The next second, intense pain shot through my chest. When I came to my senses, I was already being trampled under Zong Yanlei’s foot.

“You’ve become stupid.” He looked down at me, increasing the pressure on his foot as he spoke.