Chapter Forty-Five: The Beauty Disrobes (3)

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Listening to her words, Xiao Tianci took no notice at all and took two more sips of wine. “Hmm... ha ha, business... what's the rush? Isn't there an old saying... even if the deal fails, friendship remains...”

Seeing the mixed-blood beauty slowly rise to her feet, Jerrison, afraid that real trouble was about to break out, hurried over and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Mr. Camilo’s casino. I hope you all have fun and enjoy yourselves. If there are any other grievances, please resolve them elsewhere.”

The mixed-blood beauty, who had just been about to do something, stood still at Jerrison’s words. He had made it very clear: if she acted now, it would be tantamount to opposing Camilo, or even his entire family. Though she wasn't afraid herself, her brother had a close relationship with Camilo, and she could only glare angrily at the drunken young man before slowly sitting down again.

The Japanese gambler narrowed his eyes. At this moment, the young gentleman stepped forward again, offering to help her in a most chivalrous manner—perhaps Xiao Tianci had truly gotten under her skin. Gazing at the seated Japanese gambler and the insufferably drunk Xiao Tianci, she had already decided that, no matter what, she would see this game through to the end.

“Lend me your chips. I’ll write you a promissory note, and return both the principal and interest in due time.”

The gentleman beamed, “Miss, just take them! No need to talk of borrowing—as long as you’re happy...”

She replied coldly, “I’m only borrowing them. Will you lend them or not?”

Crestfallen, the gentleman forced a smile and agreed. Jerrison immediately ordered someone to bring pen and paper for the note. Xiao Tianci chuckled to himself, “This fool thinks a painted filly is so easy to ride? Dream on. Still, judging by how she gambles, she’ll probably pay back the money.”

With the note exchanged for chips, she showed no hesitation. “All in...” With a sweeping motion, she pushed all the chips to the center of the table. This time, however, the Japanese gambler merely smiled and folded his cards.

Of course, Xiao Tianci stayed in. Now the two of them reached the fifth card. Xiao Tianci had not gotten what he wanted, meaning that at best he could only have three of a kind. But the beauty had a royal flush—ten, jack, queen, king. If her hole card was an ace, she was certain to win. Since she had called, it was nearly certain her final card was an ace.

Letting out a long breath, she turned to Xiao Tianci and, feeling thoroughly avenged, said, “You brought this on yourself. And listen well—this matter isn’t over between us. I’ll make sure you understand that your mother gave you a mouth not to spout nonsense with.”

Xiao Tianci had been indifferent the whole time, drinking and half-dazed, teasing this fiery mixed-blood beauty, caring little for winning or losing. But as soon as she said this, his expression darkened; there was no longer any trace of jest in his eyes.

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If the beauty had merely pointed at his nose and cursed him, he wouldn’t have minded, would even have laughed—there’s no greater skill than being able to laugh when others are angry. But he would never allow anyone to insult his mother, not even vaguely. What had been a game was now serious—he was truly angry.

“Hmph... Fine, if it’s not over, then let’s keep... playing...” Xiao Tianci said, “I’m raising the stakes now. Do you dare to call?”

Her hand was plain for all to see. Did he really think he could bluff her, or was he truly drunk? But things had reached this point, and with victory in sight, she would call any raise; if necessary, she’d call her brother, have him speak to Camilo, but she would not back down.

“If you want to die so badly, go ahead—however much you raise, I’ll match it.”

Xiao Tianci clapped. “Good... good... such... spirit... truly a heroine among women... but if you lose, you’ll have to... give me a... striptease... right here at the table.”

“You—!”

Xiao Tianci raised an eyebrow and scoffed, “What? Afraid to play? Didn’t you say... you’d call anything?”

Her eyes flashed with murderous intent as she snarled, “Fine. If you lose, I’ll cut out your tongue and see if your foul mouth can still run wild.”

Xiao Tianci shrugged. “No... problem...”

With that, he waved for his chief steward, Lin Jian, to come closer. Jerrison hadn’t expected things to escalate so quickly, but as long as there was no real trouble, he wasn’t about to interfere—the bigger the stakes, the better. That annoying Japanese gambler was truly a professional.

Xiao Tianci lowered his voice, “I want to raise so much that she can't possibly match it—not even if she sold herself. Do you understand?”

The chief steward, Lin Jian, nodded and pulled a card from his pocket, handing it to Xiao Tianci. “Boss, here’s your gold card. It just needs your fingerprint and code.”

“Oh...” Xiao Tianci had meant to have Lin Jian call the bank or get someone from the Xiao family to guarantee his bet, but when Lin Jian handed him the card, he remembered—when he’d settled the inheritance, all those cards and such had been left in the chief steward’s care.

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With a snap, Xiao Tianci tossed the card onto the pile of chips on the table. “I’m betting the maximum that can be charged to this card.”

Jerrison hurried over, picked up the card, and signaled for someone to bring the card reader, confirming again, “You’re wagering all the funds on this card?”

Xiao Tianci cast a wicked smile at the mixed-blood beauty, his gaze running appreciatively over her beautiful, slender, voluptuous figure. “Yes, charge it for as much as it will take—I’m sick of everything except money these days.”

The young gentleman snorted disdainfully, though he had enough sense to sense something was amiss. In his heart, he cursed and fretted.

The mixed-blood beauty had already taken out her phone to call her brother. Just then, a server brought the latest card reader. Jerrison inserted the card and, holding it with both hands, had Xiao Tianci confirm his fingerprint. The chief steward, Lin Jian, entered the password.

Jerrison turned with a smile to the card reader’s display. Naturally, he was delighted—never mind who this Chinese man really was. Anyone who could use a card like this, gambling at these stakes, had to be wagering in the hundreds of millions. Ha, he could buy a new car, and certainly would gain more standing with the boss—maybe even become the next general manager...

Jerrison was still basking in these happy thoughts when he froze. In all his years on the job, he had never seen such a thing: the card reader displayed just four words—“No limit amount.”

(The author admits fault here—these should all have been released as a single chapter or in one update, but due to the new book rankings, the word count had to be limited, making for a less satisfying read. Please bear with me a few more days and continue to support me. Once out of the new book rankings, I’ll speed up, and once on the shelf, I’ll return to updates of 9,500 words a day. Around 20,000 words updated daily so everyone can read happily and comfortably. If you have votes, please throw them my way—they’re my motivation!)

(The new mobile vote system at Qidian: send tpf57583 to 8828 by SMS—each message costs 0.2 yuan and counts as one vote for me. If you’re a China Mobile user and it’s convenient, please support me—up to ten votes a day. Thank you, even one or two is greatly appreciated.)

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Recommended: Xiao Feng’s “The Perfect Lover”
and Crown Prince Liu’s “Pirate Hunter.”