Stiff!
Qi Sui had never felt so embarrassed and guilty in her heart.
She stood still for a few seconds, then was pushed out by a hand from behind, like a penguin forced to leave the group.
What verifying cards, what checking clearly—she understood none of it.
All she knew was that the eyes of the crowd were like a furnace, about to roast her into oil.
Huang Zhentian frowned deeply, his face filled with a hint of angry and viciousness from humiliation. He slapped the table with his thick hand.
"What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and verify the cards!"
Qi Sui flinched reflexively, reached out to take the six cards in her hand, and immediately turned her gaze to the opposite side.
Out of instinct, the only person she recognized at this table was Lin Shanghuai. Her eyes, wet like a newborn kitten's, looked quite pitiful.
Lin Shanghuai propped his arm on the table, resting his head on his hand, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, looking at her leisurely. When he saw her looking over, he deliberately curled the corner of his mouth, revealing a sharp silver canine tooth that looked very mischievous.
"Touch them, look them over, match the numbers. Who knows if there might be four jokers in there?"
"You don't know how?" Lin Shanghuai asked softly, his tone seemingly friendly at first, but on closer inspection, it was unclear how much goodwill there really was.
How could a waitress from Wan Zi Qian Hong not know these things?
She didn't think this "Young Master Lin" would remember a country bumpkin who blocked his way at the door.
Hearing this, Huang Zhentian slapped the whole deck of cards into Qi Sui's hand with a "smack," grinding his teeth.
"You better check—carefully—for our Young Master Lin!"
What else could Qi Sui say?
The best time to escape had passed. Now she had to muddle through this.
She looked at the three cards on the table in front of Lin Shanghuai, gritted her teeth, walked over, picked up those three cards, and slipped them back into the deck. She dutifully examined each one, touching them one by one.
Qi Sui stood obediently beside Lin Shanghuai like a little wife, lowering her head to go through the cards again. No matter how she looked, the cards were fine. Each one was uniform in thickness, no markings on the back, no missing or extra cards.
A hand reached over. The knuckles were well-proportioned and round, faintly pink, the fingertips seemed carved from white jade, with healthy moons on the nails. Lin Shanghuai's fingers lightly plucked a card from Qi Sui's palm, held it between two fingers, flipped it nimbly in the air, his face expressionless, making people feel uneasy.
"Good cards, really clean."
His words had a double meaning.
"It's just—"
Across from them, Huang Zhentian picked a betel nut from the plate on his arm and chewed it, his face wearing an unabashedly provocative expression.
Yes, so what if Lin Shanghuai was from the provincial capital?
A strong dragon can't overpower a local snake.
His father said the Lin family would only be rich for a few more years. Once their old master passed away, which of the remaining descendants was any good?
Lin Shanghuai was passable, but—
Huang Zhentian remembered the rumors he'd heard, snorted, a rootless thing like him still trying to compete? Let's see in ten years.
Across the table, a flash of dark gloom passed through Lin Shanghuai's eyes. He lightly tossed the card back into Qi Sui's palm, watched her arrange the cards one by one, then snatched them back directly from her hand.
His fingertips brushed lightly across Qi Sui's palm, as if she were something dirty. He didn't want even unnecessary contact. He took the cards and reshuffled them himself, as if Qi Sui were a virus.
As he shuffled, he said thoughtfully, "What's that smell? Really fragrant..."
Before he finished, Huang Zhentian across the table laughed, showing his yellow teeth. "Isn't it the chick next to you? Young Master Lin, take a good whiff. Who knows how fragrant she is~"
His tone was oily and slippery, making people feel nauseous.
In this day and age, especially in a club like this, "chick" wasn't a good term, nor was it used for proper girls.
It was true that few decent people came to this club, but the blatant belittling and mockery in his words were obvious to everyone.
To pair a hostess with Young Master Lin—what an insult?
Qi Sui stood beside this "Young Master Lin," clearly seeing him clench his jaw, his jawline becoming sharp and clear, even protruding a bit of pointed cheekbone. His single eyelids and this protrusion made him look like a venomous snake hissing in the corner.
Instead of getting angry, he laughed. He stood up, handling the deck of cards nimbly. He casually pulled out an ace of diamonds from the deck, gently sniffed it, and sighed, "So fragrant. I remember the perfume in your private room, Huang San'er, is also this scent. Smell it, won't you?"
As soon as he said this, Huang Zhentian knew his trick had been exposed.
But he wasn't afraid.
The reason was simple: this was his own club. The license was under his father's name. As long as he didn't make a big mistake, no one could overpower him.
Instead, he relaxed, sinking his fat body into the chair, looking like a comical local tyrant.
"That's no fun, Young Master Lin."
Huang Zhentian laughed, watching Lin Shanghuai walk toward him.
He thought Lin Shanghuai was respectfully handing him the card. But who would have thought he had no intention of being friendly with someone like him.
Lin Shanghuai, holding the ace of diamonds, suddenly lunged, pressing it against Huang Zhentian's nose, forcing him to smell it. He grabbed Huang Zhentian by the collar, nearly choking him.
Lin Shanghuai pressed his hand firmly over Huang Zhentian's nose and mouth, forcing him to properly smell the perfume. Looking down from above, he watched Huang Zhentian's face and neck turn red from suffocation. While forcing him to smell, he laughed and asked, "How is it? Huang San'er, does it smell good? Fragrant?"
He moved too fast. By the time the surrounding waitstaff reacted and tried to pull him away, he had already lowered his hand, smiling, as if he didn't think he had almost killed someone in public. Instead, he lifted his leg, sat down on the table on Huang Zhentian's side, and asked with a chilly tone, "Smells good? Want another sniff?"