Early the next morning, before I was fully awake, my phone by the pillow began to buzz insistently.

Picking it up, I heard a familiar voice on the other end.

“Little Swindler, still not out of bed?”

“Mm!”

I grunted in response.

It was Old Wu calling.

After knowing him for so long, this was the first time he had ever called me.

“You claim you want to learn the tricks of the trade, yet you’re slacking off. Without the dedication to rise at midnight and forgo sleep, how can you ever master card throwing?”

Old Wu prattled on and on.

I knew he was just spouting nonsense.

During my practice sessions, he’d often interrupt, demanding I make tea or fetch water for him.

Back then, he’d say that card throwing was a skill, a talent even, and didn’t require such hard work.

Seeing that I didn’t respond, Old Wu quickly added:

“I’m having breakfast in Hui Chun Alley on Zhong Street, come over and I’ll show you a few more moves…”

The moment I heard he’d show me some moves, I immediately agreed and hung up.

I quickly got ready and took a taxi to Hui Chun Alley.

When I arrived, Old Wu was at a breakfast stall on the street, enjoying steamed buns and soybean milk pudding.

Seeing me, he waved me over.

“Over here…”

Having not seen him for a day, Old Wu looked somewhat haggard.

His silver hair was disheveled and his complexion was sallow.

Even the sleep in the corners of his eyes went unnoticed.

It was clear he had pulled an all-nighter.

I sat down opposite Old Wu, about to order some food, when he abruptly cut me off:

“Don’t eat just yet…”

“Why not?”

“You’re not hungry!”

“I am hungry!”

“If I say you’re not hungry, then you’re not hungry!”

Old Wu kept on talking while fumbling in his pocket, pulling out a one-yuan coin.

He flicked the coin towards me and said:

“Guess, head or tail?”

The one-yuan coin had the numeral ‘1’ on one side and a chrysanthemum on the other.

As he spoke, he flicked the coin into the air.

It soared up, then landed on the back of his left hand.

Covering it with his right hand, he asked me:

“Head or tail?”

To me, this was child’s play.

I couldn’t understand why Old Wu would want to play such a pointless game with me so early in the morning.

But I answered anyway:

“Head!”

Old Wu lifted his hand, and sure enough, the ‘1’ was facing up.

“Let’s try another way!”

He picked up a bowl and tossed the coin inside, covering it with his hand.

“Head or tail?”

“Still head!”

Old Wu removed his hand, and the coin in the bowl was indeed showing the head.

Looking up at me, Old Wu asked:

“How did you do that?”

I didn’t hide anything from Old Wu and said directly:

“It’s all about visual acuity. Ordinary people can’t do it, but I’ve been training since I was young, so I can clearly see…”

Old Wu nodded slightly.

“Alright, let’s try another method!”

He first threw the coin into the bowl, then covered the mouth of the bowl with his hand, shaking it like dice.

After a while, he placed the bowl upside down on the table.

Looking at me intently, he asked:

“Head or tail?”

I shook my head.

“I don’t know!”

“Aren’t you a little Swindler? How could you not know?”

I was speechless.

I might be a Swindler, but I’m not a god, nor do I have x-ray vision.

How could I possibly know what was inside?

I can hear the points of dice because each side makes a different sound when it hits the table.

But with a coin, I couldn’t make out anything.

Old Wu pondered thoughtfully for a moment before saying to me:

“It’s really strange. That little bastard running the bank, it’s as if he can see the coin’s sides. Little Swindler, do you think it’s possible to cheat with this coin?”

“Yes!”

As soon as I spoke, Master Liu had said:

Anything that can be gambled on can be cheated on, without exception.

Listening to me, Old Wu immediately took out five yuan from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Then he stood up and shouted to the owner inside:

“Keep the change, no need for change!”

With that, he grabbed the purple clay teapot and dragged me away.

We hadn’t gone far when the landlady’s voice came from behind:

“Old Wu, you scoundrel, you haven’t paid for this week’s breakfast yet…”

“Put it on my tab!”

Old Wu shouted back without turning his head.

Once out of the alley, I asked Old Wu:

“Weren’t you supposed to teach me a few tricks?”

“I’ve taught you everything I know. Now it’s your turn to teach me how to spot that guy’s cheating…”

“Don’t you know The Swindler techniques?”

“I know jack squat!”

“Then how could you tell there was something wrong with those gambling tables at Sky Like?”

“It was all that Bastard who told me!”

That Bastard?

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

This old guy, his words were always a mix of truth and lies.

Early in the morning, still half asleep, I was lured here by his bluffs.

I hadn’t even had breakfast, and now he was dragging me to catch a cheater.

It was a bitter feeling.

As we neared our destination, I asked Old Wu again:

“How much did you lose in total?”

Old Wu’s face soured.

“I’ve lost my coffin money!”

“How much is that?”

“A thousand!”

I was stunned!

His coffin money was indeed meager.

Old Wu was actually someone who honored his bets.

But there was a condition: the other party couldn’t cheat.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come to me.

The place Old Wu took me to turned out to be an arcade.

Since it was morning, there weren’t many people playing games.

Only a few were at the machines for ’98 and Street Fighter.

Inside the arcade, there was a separate small room.

Upon entering, I saw a smoky, dingy room.

Seven or eight disheveled gamblers were gathered around a worn-out table, shouting loudly.

A man in his thirties, with a cigarette in his mouth, was running the bank.

Beside him was a small steel basin filled with one-yuan coins.

Their game was simple.

They would put a coin into a black plastic cup, shake it a few times, place it on the table, and guess head or tail.

Seeing Old Wu and me come in, the Banker made a point to greet him:

“Old Wu, can your body handle this? You’ve been playing all night, and now you’re here so early. And who’s this with you?”

“My Grandson!”

Huh?

By age, Old Wu could indeed be considered my grandfather’s generation.

But the way he said it, it sounded more like an insult.

“Ha ha ha, you two don’t look alike at all, do you?”

“What’s it to you whether we look alike or not, quit your yapping!”

With that, Old Wu turned to me and said:

“Come on, lend me some money!”

I took out two thousand yuan, gave him one thousand, and kept one thousand for myself.

Holding the money, I stood by and watched, in no hurry to bet.

This was my first time seeing such a game.

It seemed very fair, with only two options to bet on: head or tail.

Each had a fifty percent chance of winning, and the Banker didn’t take a cut.

After watching for a while, the game seemed quite clean, with no tricks.

After each round, the Banker would throw the coin back into the basin and take out a new one to shake.

If anyone felt there was something wrong with the cup used to shake the coin, they could ask to change it.

You could even go out and buy your own cup for the Banker to use.

The table was just an ordinary wooden one, without even a mat on top.

Such a simple setup, it seemed there was no issue at all.

But I didn’t believe the Banker wasn’t cheating.

Because in gambling, deceit is the norm.