Centipede!

Last time, he tied me up.

In Old Qian’s office, I served him a teapot.

Since then, I’ve never seen him again.

As I stepped out,

Centipede gave me a sidelong glance, his voice cold:

“Eighth Brother is looking for you!”

Centipede’s hatred for me hadn’t diminished in the slightest.

I knew Eighth Brother would come for me sooner or later.

Moreover, the woman skilled in The Swindler techniques by Eighth Brother’s side, He Huan, had also talked to me once.

She wanted to partner with me to cheat Eighth Brother.

But I didn’t agree.

“Lead the way!”

I didn’t waste words, speaking coldly.

Although I despised Old Qian,

I also knew

that with my abilities, I had no way to refuse.

However, if he thought he could lead me by the nose,

that was absolutely impossible.

A black BMW was parked by the roadside.

I followed Centipede over.

Centipede opened the back door,

and there was Old Qian, playing with a Huali wood bracelet in his hand,

his eyes squinted, leaning back in the seat.

As soon as the door opened, his eyes snapped open.

Seeing me, he immediately waved enthusiastically.

“Come on, brother, get in the car…”

If someone didn’t know better, seeing Old Qian’s enthusiasm,

they would think we were good friends.

But in reality,

being anything but enemies was probably the best description of our relationship.

I sat in the back of the car with Old Qian.

In the front passenger seat, He Huan was looking down at her phone.

Seeing me get in, she turned and nodded at me as a greeting.

“Brother, how have you been lately?”

Old Qian put on a concerned face.

I kept my expression neutral, replying indifferently:

“Same as usual!”

“That’s good, that’s good!”

Saying this, Old Qian suddenly looked at me and spoke again:

“I heard that recently, you played a dice game with Nine-fingered heavenly cripple?”

I wasn’t surprised that Old Qian knew about this.

After all, he was the one who had me tied up last time.

Because he knew about the casino dealer I cheated.

There must be his people in Zou Xiaoxian’s gambling den.

To be precise,

it must be the people behind Old Qian.

I nodded.

“Yes, I lost!”

Old Qian laughed heartily.

“Hahaha, losing is normal. Across the whole of Harbin North, who dares to say they can outplay Uncle Tian with dice?”

Uncle Tian?

Old Qian’s way of addressing him was quite polite.

I remained silent.

I knew Old Qian hadn’t gotten to the point yet.

I wasn’t in a hurry, just waiting for him.

Sure enough, after he finished speaking,

he patted my shoulder and said:

“I’ve said before, Old Qian and you, Chu Liu, are brothers. I came to you today because I want you to do me a favor…”

Brothers?

Ha!

Since when did the term ‘brother’ become so cheap?

“Speak!”

“A month ago, I made a bet with a few big shots from Fengtian, and the game is in three days. You and He Huan will join in. We’ll take those Fengtian guys for all they’ve got!”

As he spoke, Old Qian handed me a cigarette.

He also lit one, took a deep drag, and continued:

“Don’t worry, Old Qian is not an ungrateful person. If we win, you and He Huan will each get a bonus of fifty thousand!”

Fifty thousand?

For some reason,

at that moment, I felt like laughing.

Of course, it was a laugh of derision.

The big shots from Fengtian.

A bonus of fifty thousand.

It’s laughable that Old Qian could even say it.

In such a game, I’d rather accompany Tao Hua.

This Old Qian, really isn’t just a little stingy.

No wonder He Huan wanted to partner with me to cheat him.

“Can I refuse?”

I asked Old Qian, my tone flat.

Old Qian chuckled and slowly shook his head.

“I’ve said it, we’re brothers. How could you refuse to help a brother?”

A smile that hid a knife.

A silent threat.

But, other than agreeing,

it seemed I had no other choice.

At that moment, I looked at the rearview mirror in front.

He Huan in the mirror was also looking at me.

…

After dinner,

I quietly waited at home for Old Hei’s call.

According to the previous plan,

I wouldn’t show up tonight.

Old Hei would play first.

When the time was right, I would go over.

Around eight o’clock, my phone rang.

Old Hei’s hearty voice came through:

“Is the car washed? If it’s done, bring the keys to the old street card room…”

I agreed and hung up.

I got dressed, went downstairs, and took a taxi straight to the card room.

Inside the card room, the smoky atmosphere was the same as always.

At the entrance of the restaurant,

the chubby chef, wearing an apron,

was chopping ribs with a cleaver.

Seeing me enter, he wiped the sweat from his forehead,

pointed upstairs with the cleaver, and said cheerfully:

“Looking for Xiao Hei? He’s in the private room at the far end of the fourth floor…”

I thanked him and prepared to go upstairs.

Then I heard the chef mutter behind me.

“This Xiao Hei, don’t know who he made money from. He’s hit it big, even daring to gamble in a private room…”

I knew that today’s card game

was a one-on-one match between Old Hei and Li Dabiao.

To avoid disturbances,

they specifically chose a private room with higher rake.

Upon reaching the fourth floor,

as I entered,

I saw Old Hei standing by the table,

leaning on it with both hands,

his eyes fixated on the money on the card table.

He looked like a gambler who was hooked.

Li Dabiao was sitting opposite Old Hei.

Next to him was the flamboyantly dressed Chen Xiaoxue.

Chen Xiaoxue was clinging tightly to Li Dabiao’s arm,

smiling seductively as she watched the cards with him.

The two of them looked very much like a couple.

It seemed Li Dabiao had won again.

The money on the table was stacked high,

looking to be about thirteen or fourteen thousand.

On the other side of the card table, a staff member responsible for the rake

was yawning, waiting to collect.

Seeing me come in, Old Hei turned his head, pretending to be dissatisfied, and said:

“Why are you taking so long to wash a car? How much time has passed?”

I handed the car keys to Old Hei.

Although the car was mortgaged,

I still had a spare key.At the same time, I pulled out fifty thousand yuan from a brown paper bag.

“This is from Sister Hua for you. She didn’t specify what for, just said you’d understand…”

I also took out the fifty thousand Sister Hua gave me yesterday.

Upon seeing the money, Li Dabiao’s eyes suddenly sparkled with greed.

In his eyes, the money seemed to already belong to him.

Taking the cash, Old Hei grumbled:

“Damn it, lost thirty to forty thousand in just a short while. Chu Liu, come on, play a couple of hands for me!”

“I’ve never played before…”

“Never played means better luck, don’t worry about it, just do it for me. I won’t blame you if you lose, what are you afraid of?”

Old Hei and I were putting on a show.

Li Dabiao, on the other hand, snickered maliciously, looking at me:

“Chu Liu, I could handle you when we were kids, and I can still handle you now! Dare to play or not?”

The cards on the table had already been dealt by Li Dabiao.

For him, it didn’t matter whether it was me or Old Hei playing.

The outcome would be the same.

And what I was waiting for was exactly these words from him.

Of course, even if he hadn’t said it, I would have played anyway.

They were indeed playing big today.

Three thousand yuan as the base bet.

The minimum raise was a thousand.

To put it simply, before revealing cards, each person places a three thousand yuan base bet.

After the cards are revealed, two face-up cards are dealt.

If you think the gap between your two cards is too small,

for example, if you have a 2 and a 4,

you can only win if you draw the 3 in between.

With such cards, you could place a thousand.

Of course, if you want to go all-in, that’s also an option.

However, those who play like that are either The Swindler or fools.