[“I did it on purpose.”]

Now, not just Xiao Kesong, but even Ye Chen’s expression faltered.

“You startled him.” Ye Chen couldn’t help but say, “It was too fast.”

Xiao Kesong was confused: “What was too fast?”

Lu and Ye both ignored Xiao Kesong’s question, simply exchanging a look and quickly conveying some unspoken information. Who knew what riddle they were playing at. Xiao Kesong was utterly bewildered.

Chen Zemian walked over and returned the keys to Lu Zhuonian: “Young Master Lu, don’t tease me. This car is too expensive; if I even scratch it, selling me wouldn’t cover the cost.”

Lu Zhuonian didn’t speak, but he let out a soft laugh as he took the keys, as if something amusing had crossed his mind. Chen Zemian was completely puzzled.

Xiao Kesong thought Lu Zhuonian was a bit moody and suspected he might not have taken his medication recently. Ye Chen was certain Lu Zhuonian had taken his medication, but it didn’t prevent his condition from worsening. After Lu Zhuonian’s illness was triggered by Chen Zhe’s influence, he not only failed to isolate the ‘allergen’ but instead deliberately sought him out, with an intent so obvious it was hard to ignore. Unfortunately, among the four present, Xiao Kesong was clueless, and Chen Zhe was unaware of the danger. The only one who saw through it, Ye Chen, chose to remain silent.

The four of them ate together. The meal was prepared by the chef in advance, consisting of home-style dishes, but excelling in the freshness of the ingredients. After eating, Xiao Kesong once again arranged for them to play cards.

“We didn’t even get a winner that night,” Recalling his birthday night, Xiao Kesong couldn’t help but remember those thrilling three minutes: “Chen Zhe, you’re so good at fighting! You just reached out and pulled, and a two-hundred-pound fat guy just whoosh flew out. The two who got kicked flew even farther.”

Hearing this, Lu Zhuonian glanced at Chen Zhe.

Chen Zemian’s spine tingled. He softly explained to Lu Zhuonian: “That fat guy wasn’t over two hundred pounds, and he didn’t fly out.”

Lu Zhuonian’s gaze lowered slightly, falling onto Chen Zhe’s distinctly jointed wrist: “So the one who got kicked really did fly out?”

Chen Zemian’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He realized he seemed to be constantly interrogated by Lu Zhuonian, and he often couldn’t answer most of the questions the other person asked. This led to him habitually feeling guilty in front of Lu Zhuonian, especially when hearing interrogative sentences. Lu Zhuonian asked far too many questions; Xiao Kesong never interrogated him like that.

Chen Zemian was distracted and kept losing cards. Lu Zhuonian, who was on his team, struggled alone and played exceptionally hard.

Coincidentally, Ye Chen also found Xiao Kesong too much of a liability, so he suggested they switch to Texas Hold’em. Thus, the four of them took turns as dealer, each fighting for themselves.

After dealing four stacks of cards, according to their positions, Chen Zemian should have taken his cards first. Chen Zemian wasn’t familiar with Lu Zhuonian’s group’s usual order and was still waiting for others to take theirs first. Lu Zhuonian backhanded the card table, skillfully rousing the distracted Chen Zemian: “Focus, take your cards.”

Chen Zemian’s mind was still blank. Without looking, he reached out for the closest stack of cards. He didn’t grab the cards, but instead touched a hand. Lu Zhuonian pressed down on those two cards, his tone calm: “These are mine.” Chen Zemian looked up, his eyes a little bewildered: “Then where are my cards?”

Lu Zhuonian pulled his hand free from under the cards, then took Chen Zemian’s wrist and placed Chen Zemian’s hand onto another stack of cards: “These are yours.”

Chen Zemian was completely insensitive to physical contact and didn’t find Lu Zhuonian’s actions unusual. He casually picked up the two hole cards under his hand and said indifferently, “Thank you.”

However, the onlookers, especially Xiao Kesong, widened his eyes as if he had witnessed a rare miracle. Xiao Kesong let out a silent gasp and fiercely pinched Ye Chen’s thigh under the card table.

Ye Chen: “…”

Xiao Kesong didn’t want to wait another second. He gave Ye Chen a look, then feigned bad luck and folded his hand directly: “My luck is terrible these last two rounds. I’m going to the patio for a smoke.”

Ye Chen really didn’t want to go; his hand was quite good. But Xiao Kesong was practically twisting his arm off, so he reluctantly threw in his cards and got up to leave the card room with Xiao Kesong.

Once they reached the third-floor patio, Xiao Kesong immediately locked the door and shrieked wildly: “Did you see it, did you see it?! Zhuonian actually actively touched Chen Zhe’s hand!!!!!”

Ye Chen pinched Xiao Kesong’s mouth, manually silencing him: “Quiet down.”

Xiao Kesong barely managed to calm down a little: “He doesn’t reject physical contact anymore? Is his illness cured?”

Ye Chen didn’t answer. He stood by the railing, looking down at the Pagani Huayra below: “Liu Yuebo just let Chen Zhe drive his Maserati, and then Zhuonian drove out his Huayra. What does that signify?”

Xiao Kesong mused: “It signifies that Zhuonian has a pretty strong competitive streak?”

“…”

Ye Chen felt a headache coming on: “With your intelligence, you’d better mind your own business.”

Xiao Kesong retorted, unconvinced: “Zhuonian has been our good brother for so many years. How can his affairs be ‘idle business’?”

Ye Chen’s face was expressionless: “Then go ask your brother.”

Xiao Kesong: “…”

“I find you a particularly boring person,” Xiao Kesong leaned against the wall, pulled a pack of cigarettes from Ye Chen’s pocket, and put one in his mouth: “You don’t care about your brother’s condition at all.”

“Zhuonian has his limits; there’s nothing for me to worry about,” Ye Chen reached out and took the cigarette from Xiao Kesong’s mouth: “I’m more concerned about your condition. Your brain reacts slowly to begin with, and your eyes are blind. Don’t smoke; you’ll get dumber the more you smoke.”

Xiao Kesong let out a dissatisfied ‘Hey’: “How am I slow? Besides, where am I blind? My vision is 5.3 in both eyes, okay?”

Ye Chen extinguished the cigarette: “What did you see with your 5.3 vision?”

Xiao Kesong said confidently: “I can see everything.”

Ye Chen truly didn’t know where this fool got his confidence: “Then did you see that the subordinate Chen Zhe, whom you brought to us, could easily choke the three of us to death one by one?”

Xiao Kesong’s confidence instantly wavered, and he said hesitantly: “As long as we all rush him, Chen Zhe might not be able to choke all of us to death.”

Ye Chen knew his childhood friend too well and instantly exposed the truth: “It’s ‘me and Zhuonian rush him, so you can take the opportunity to escape,’ right?”

Xiao Kesong recalled Chen Zhe’s unpredictable speed and agility, and didn’t hold much hope for his own escape.

“Chen Zhe wouldn’t hurt us.” Xiao Kesong stated with certainty, “He’s not that kind of person.”

Ye Chen: “…”

Between believing in Lu and Ye’s combat prowess and believing in his own escape speed, Xiao Kesong chose to believe in Chen Zhe’s character.

—-

Chen Zhe’s character was beyond doubt. Chen Zemian’s integrity, however, wavered.

In this round, both Xiao Kesong and Ye Chen folded their cards to go smoke, leaving only Lu Zhuonian and Chen Zemian in the room. The card game continued. Lu Zhuonian raised the bet, asking Chen Zemian to call or fold. The community cards were three spades: K, J, 10. Chen Zemian’s hand held the Queen of Spades and the Ace of Spades. His luck this round was ridiculously good; it was a Royal Flush, a rare sight in hundreds of games, and the largest hand in Texas Hold’em. No matter what cards Lu Zhuonian was hiding, Chen Zemian was guaranteed to win this round.

But the question now was, should he win?

They were playing cards merely to pass the time. The chips were stacks of game cards used for counting, with no cash value whatsoever. The ultimate grand prize was simply the privilege of choosing supper, with only one winner. The player with the most chips at the end won, while the other three lost and would take turns getting supper for the winner. Chen Zemian had lost a lot, destined to be last. Xiao Kesong, who called himself a ‘seed player,’ was consistently second to last. Now, it was Lu Zhuonian and Ye Chen vying for the championship.

If Ye Chen and Xiao Kesong hadn’t folded this round, and through several rounds of raising, Chen Zemian had ended up in a three-way pot with them, he could have won more. And from the perspective of the championship race, the simultaneous reduction of Lu Zhuonian and Ye Chen’s chips would not have affected the situation at all.

This hand, with three community cards being a flush, and Lu Zhuonian following with a raise, indicated that his hand wasn’t small; it could at least form a straight, and most likely a flush. These were relatively strong hands in Texas Hold’em. This was a game of probability, and with only four people playing, fewer cards were dealt, unlike when there were many players and any big hand could come up. Also, these community cards couldn’t form a four-of-a-kind or a full house, so having a straight or a flush would pretty much guarantee a win.

But fate loved to play tricks. It gave Lu Zhuonian a seemingly winning hand, and then gave Chen Zemian a truly unbeatable hand, the king of kings.

‘Could it not wait until I play in Las Vegas to give me this kind of luck?’

Giving him such a good hand now, aside from annoying the always-victorious male protagonist without anyone witnessing it, served no other purpose. While this victory wouldn’t earn the cheers of an audience, it could earn the male lead’s resentment.

Chen Zeming flipped his cards face down and pushed them toward the discarded pile. “I fold.”

Lu Zhuonian’s handsome brow subtly twitched. “You hesitated for a long time.”

Chen Zemian carelessly crumpled all the cards together and pulled them towards himself. “Did I? Not that long, was it?”

Lu Zhuonian’s grasp of time was precise: “39 seconds.”

Chen Zemian had just passed up an opportunity to display his incredible luck. To say he didn’t feel regret or pity would be a lie. With a dampened spirit, he propped himself up on one arm and shuffled the cards with a single hand. “Just half a minute, how is that a long time?”

It was a very beautiful hand. The cards fluttered, dancing gracefully between his smooth, jade-like, slender fingers. The distinct knuckles on the back of his hand and the metacarpals were slightly raised, every curve exquisitely perfect. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing his forearm down to his wrist bone. Beneath the remarkably thin skin, bluish veins and tendons were visible, glowing with an ivory-white luster under the light, as delicate and fragile as a sculpture. Chen Zemian’s shuffling was practiced and fluid, incredibly agile. Lu Zhuonian watched him single-handedly shuffle, his gaze unwavering, unsure if he was watching the cards or the hand.

As a thoroughly straight man, Chen Zemian was completely oblivious to Lu Zhuonian’s open stare, still immersed in the wistful loss of his Royal Flush. Such a rare, perfect hand was enough to boast about for a lifetime. How good was this hand, exactly? So good that even in a ‘feel-good’ novel, readers would exclaim it was too fake. Yet, he threw away such a perfect hand just to avoid offending Lu Zhuonian.

‘With this kind of resolve, I can succeed at anything.’

Chen Zemian finished comforting himself. He looked up, meeting Lu Zhuonian’s deep, inscrutable gaze head-on. Lu Zhuonian’s voice was slightly deeper than usual, with an all-knowing clarity: “If you’re reluctant, don’t give up.”

Chen Zemian was momentarily stunned, then played dumb: “Reluctant about what?”

Lu Zhuonian had no intention of stating his deduction process; he went straight to the result: “You just had a good hand.”

Admitting it at this point would be more offensive than simply winning, and besides, the cards were already shuffled, leaving no proof. Chen Zemian didn’t hesitate, denying it flatly. “My cards were terrible,” Chen Zemian lied through his teeth: “Worthless. Of course, I had to fold.”

Lu Zhuonian didn’t argue with Chen Zemian, simply stating: “I know what your cards are.”

Chen Zemian instinctively curled his fingers, gripping the shuffled deck: “Don’t try to fool me.”

Lu Zhuonian relaxed his back, leaning against the chair: “You don’t believe me?”

Chen Zemian said, “Of course, I don’t.”

Lu Zhuonian’s face showed a certain effortless confidence: “What if I can find them?”

Chen Zemian shuffled the cards with both hands again, then tidied them and handed them over: “Then you’re impressive.”

This wasn’t even a bet. But Lu Zhuonian accepted the challenge. He didn’t take the cards directly from Chen Zemian’s hand. Instead, he turned his hand over and tapped the table with his bent fingers: “Put them here.”

Chen Zemian raised an eyebrow, curious: “Is your mysophobia really that severe? What happens if you take cards from my hand?”

Lu Zhuonian replied casually: “Nothing. This deck has been shuffled so many times; it’s not like it’s been handled back and forth constantly.”

Chen Zemian deeply agreed: “Exactly, is it like Schrödinger’s mysophobia?”

Lu Zhuonian stated in a declarative tone: “More than dirtiness, I dislike physical contact with others. So I’ve always told people it’s severe mysophobia; it sounds more normal.”

Chen Zemian hadn’t expected Lu Zhuonian to suddenly talk about such a private matter. Shocked, he couldn’t help but be touched. This was a clear sign of trust. Lu Zhuonian was originally an extremely wary person, and Chen Zemian, full of vulnerabilities, had aroused Lu Zhuonian’s suspicion more than once.

“There’s nothing abnormal about disliking physical contact,” Chen Zemian placed the cards next to Lu Zhuonian’s hand, joking: “Besides, I wouldn’t suddenly touch you.”

Lu Zhuonian swept his hand, pushing the cards horizontally. All 52 cards were face down, revealing identical black and white patterns: “You did touch me, when you took the cards just now.”

Chen Zemian choked: “That was only because I picked up the wrong cards, it wasn’t on purpose.”

“I know,” Lu Zhuonian lowered his gaze, observing the card backs, then selected two and pushed them towards Chen Zemian: “Are these your cards?”

Chen Zemian hadn’t expected Lu Zhuonian to choose two cards without looking at their faces. Surprised, he tentatively reached for the cards, half-believing. Lu Zhuonian pushed the cards slowly and steadily. When Chen Zemian reached for them, he made sure of the position before taking them, after all, the other person had just said he disliked physical contact.

To his utter surprise, as he reached for the cards, he still touched Lu Zhuonian’s fingertips!

‘What the hell?!! Dead hand, can you move with more precision?’

‘Is Lu Zhuonian’s hand a magnet? How did they touch again?!’

Chen Zemian snatched his hand back, unable to stop himself from cursing under his breath: “I really didn’t mean to.”

Lu Zhuonian didn’t speak. He simply used his distinctly jointed fingers to pick up the corner of a card, then revealed the two cards one by one.

A Queen of Spades.

An Ace of Spades.

Lu Zhuonian looked up, his gaze fixed on Chen Zemian: “I did it on purpose.”

Chen Zemian: “???”

—-

Author’s Note:

The fishing continues.