“Mahjong?” Chen Huanzhi heard Dong Changyang’s words and immediately felt playful, deliberately saying, “But how come I remember you telling me that mahjong is a way of emotional exchange here? And there’s something called ‘Hu’ too.”

“That’s right.” Dong Changyang persisted, “You don’t know, mahjong is a national treasure here. It’s not just in our country; people in many Asian countries particularly enjoy this sport, and there are even worldwide competitions for it. For the sake of mahjong, how many people have written TV scripts and movie scripts, all out of love.”

Dong Changyang, truly deserving of being a top student whose essays were read aloud by teachers for their excellence, was getting better and better at fabricating stories, to the point where even she started believing herself.

“Sometimes, when we can’t openly confront things, we can only reveal our true selves at the mahjong table.”

She jumped off the bed, pulled open the curtains, and let the sunlight serve as her backdrop.

Though she didn’t have Chen Huanzhi’s radiant smile that seemed to bloom like flowers, she could create that atmosphere for herself.

Like standing in the center of a stage, with all the lights and cameras focused on her.

She was the star herself.

Her adolescent spirit burned brightly!

Dong Changyang lifted her chin slightly, both thumbs pointing back at herself, like the boss making a final appearance in a gangster film. Unaware of how her small stature, posed with such gestures and tone, only made her seem cute and amusing.

“Dun dun dun dun, standing before you is the toughest kid on the block, known in these parts as the Little Mahjong Goddess.”

Chen Huanzhi turned her head slightly, struggling to hold back her laughter.

“What are you laughing at?” Dong Changyang felt like Chen Huanzhi was ruining the atmosphere she had painstakingly created. “I’m serious! I really am the best mahjong player around here!”

“I believe that, but your hair…”

“My hair?” Dong Changyang instinctively touched her hair.

It was… sticking up?

Dong Changyang jumped off the bed in a rush and dashed to the bathroom. The only mirror in her house was there.

Looking into the mirror, her hair was a complete mess, with several strands sticking out.

Oh no…

It must have gotten messed up while rolling around in bed earlier.

My image.

The well-behaved, understanding, and diligent image I’ve worked so hard to maintain in front of Big Brother Chen!

Dong Changyang felt like she could hear the sound of her heart breaking.

“Cough, could you tell me about mahjong?” Chen Huanzhi saw Dong Changyang’s visibly dimming expression and quickly suppressed her smile, changing the subject.

“I totally get it.” Dong Changyang, after all, was young and quickly bounced back.

Forget it, she couldn’t keep up the act for long anyway.

“Explaining mahjong rules is too complicated. Let me give you a brief overview first, and then you can watch me play with others a few times over the next day or two. You’ll get it!” Dong Changyang excitedly rubbed her hands together.

“Aren’t you supposed to be studying for exams?” Chen Huanzhi hadn’t forgotten about the upcoming entrance exams. “There’s just over a month left. Don’t get too overconfident.”

Actually, after excelling in the top exams, whether to participate in this one didn’t really matter. But once she had spoken those words, it seemed she had to follow through.

Ah.

Seems like it.

Still, she needed to study hard.“

Well, after studying every day, you can still teach me at the card table.” Chen Huanzhi changed the subject, “But this might delay your studying, so please forgive me.”

“Oh, not at all, Chen Big Brother, you’ve helped me a lot.” Dong Changyang suddenly smiled, “I’ll go review first, do a few practice papers, and then we’ll talk.”

“Mm.”

In the morning, Chen Huanzhi and Dong Changyang studied painting together. In the afternoon, she reviewed and worked on practice papers. By evening, she would wander around the mahjong parlors on several streets, rotating between them. Sometimes, she even pretended a bit to avoid any negative rumors spreading.

Initially, Dong Changyang thought she would continue this routine for only two or three days.

Mahjong was just mahjong—a simple game in her view. Chen Big Brother was so smart; surely he could learn it in no time.

Or so Dong Changyang thought!

For Dong Changyang, living in Shangnan County where mahjong culture was strong, she had seen people playing mahjong since she could remember. Characters like “bamboo,” “characters,” and “dots” were no issue for her.

But Chen Huanzhi was different.

From birth to adulthood, everyone around Chen Huanzhi did everything to shield him from anything negative, let alone mahjong. He hadn’t even played with dice.

Chen Huanzhi studied music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, wine, and tea. He squeezed in time for martial arts and horseback riding and competed with cunning officials alongside the Crown Prince. In his nineteen years of life, there was simply no room for the word “gambling.”

His only awareness of gambling was knowing that such a thing existed.

The closest he had been to a gambling den was probably when he went to the street with Manager Wang to look at shops.

As a result, the teaching process didn’t turn out as pleasant as imagined.“

Before playing mahjong, you need to roll the dice first, and then draw tiles according to the points…” Dong Changyang explained while watching the person opposite her roll the dice, “But there’s also skill in rolling the dice. I’ll demonstrate it for you later, it’s all about being skillful with your hands.”

Chen Huanzhi silently noted this difficulty.

As for the dice, he planned to have a servant buy a few to practice later.

“The most important thing in playing mahjong is counting tiles. First, you need to remember how many of each suit—characters, bamboo, and dots—you have. For example, ‘smelling over three bamboo, when prosperous I randomly discard.’ ‘Weak tiles lead to life or death, and tiles at the end block a win.’ ‘Early listening to three points, rather abandon than expose.’”

Chen Huanzhi: …

There seemed to be quite a few strange terms inside, difficult to understand.

While Dong Changyang’s words individually made sense to him, when put together, he had no idea what she meant.

“Ah, these are all things the older ladies and aunties talk about when playing with me. There’s some truth to it, just listen to it, no need to believe it all. Sometimes winning also depends on luck and intuition.”

Chen Huanzhi suddenly realized that perhaps mahjong was even more difficult than studying poetry and literature.

The Chen family.

Recently, Chen Huanzhi’s peculiar behavior had already been reported to the patriarch and matriarch by the servants.

Chen’s father was naturally very pleased with his outstanding son, Chen Huanzhi.

While he wasn’t lacking in sons, the previous ones were all average in talent, except Chen Huanzhi. Perhaps because of the mediocre talents of the previous sons, Chen Huanzhi’s exceptional talents made his wife particularly attentive to his education. He hardly touched the toys and games other young masters of noble families played with.

However, it was precisely because of this rigorous upbringing that Chen Huanzhi excelled so prominently as an adult.

It’s often said that marrying a wise wife has its merits, and it’s not without reason.

Yet, this son, who excelled in everything, was recently said to often lock himself in his room, talking to himself and not allowing anyone in. Today, he even mentioned sending a servant to buy dice and had someone specially carve a pile of square blocks with various strange patterns?

For a moment, Chen’s father didn’t know what his son intended to do, so he decided to ask his wife first.

Chen’s wife was also at a loss, no better than her husband in this matter.

“A while ago, His Royal Highness seemed to have entrusted him with managing several shops. I sent our most trusted Manager Wang to assist, fearing Ah Heng might be deceived.”

“I know about this,” Chen’s father was well aware of these matters, “Jinjiang Pavilion is already the most popular gathering place for noble women in the capital. His Highness is very pleased with it. Currently, the income from Jinjiang Pavilion alone is enough to cover the losses of the other several shops. My dear, I see Ah Heng has a lot of your style from years ago.”

“Yes, A Heng wrote this morning, saying she’s currently guiding her newly grown-up younger sister into the social circles of the capital. She specifically asked if Jinjiang Pavilion could spare a day for her,” Mrs. Chen added a few words. “My husband, dealing with other officials outside, may not know that we, as wives, also look forward to having such a good place to relax. Jinjiang Pavilion seems poised to make a lot of money soon. However, I’m afraid in a few days, similar tea houses will spring up in the capital, dividing the clientele.”

“Could Ah Heng be worried about this?” Chen’s father seemed to find a reason.

“It doesn’t seem like it,” Mrs. Chen hesitated for a moment. “Ah Heng used to be quite close to his third brother. Should I ask the youngest to come back and inquire?”

“The youngest is busy with editing books right now; there’s no need to bring him back specifically,” Chen’s father disagreed. While he couldn’t maintain complete fairness among his sons, calling back other sons due to Ah Heng’s private matters might damage their brotherly relationship.

“Well then…”

“Wife, Ah Heng has never played dice or Pai Gow before, nor has he even touched cricket fights or cockfighting,” Mr. Chen looked troubled. These were things he had played in his youth but gradually gave up later on. However, Ah Heng seems to have never been involved at all, always disciplined since childhood. Could it be that now, when he’s socializing outside, he lacks topics to discuss with his friends?

“It’s possible,” Mr. Chen quietly shared his speculation with his wife.

“Well…” Mrs. Chen felt uneasy hearing this from Mr. Chen. After all, as a woman, she couldn’t be expected to know much about the social activities of men outside. Moreover, during Ah Heng’s upbringing, Mr. Chen was busy with official duties, and she almost single-handedly raised Ah Heng, perhaps forgetting the principle of moderation.

“I know some well-behaved friends who are quite knowledgeable about these recreational activities. In my opinion, since Ah Heng hasn’t officially taken up an official position yet, why not let him learn from his friends first? Once he understands the ins and outs of these pastimes, it won’t be such a big deal, and it’s not easy to become addicted. I’ll write a few letters to my friends and ask them to keep an eye on Ah Heng,” Mrs. Chen suggested.

After considering it for a while, Mrs. Chen finally nodded.

Perhaps she had been too strict in the past.

Ah Heng was already nineteen, an age when children in other families would have several siblings, yet Ah Heng still seemed immature. This might be related to her frequent scolding of the maidservants around him in the past.

Men need to know some recreational activities when they socialize outside; otherwise, they might be marginalized.

Meanwhile, Chen Huanzhi and Dong Changyang were engaged in one-on-one tutoring.

“When it was your third turn, why did you discard the three bamboo tiles when you said you were going for a complete set of characters?” Chen Huanzhi asked each question based on his notes.

“Because I needed to break up the opponent’s hand.”

“How did you know you needed to do that?”

“Because she has been watching the Wan tiles on the table,” Dong Changyang said matter-of-factly.

“And the fifth turn, the time it ended in a draw, why did you withhold the One Bamboo tile? It seemed useless to hold onto it.”

“Because the player next to me needed to complete a set with One Bamboo. Since I couldn’t use it to win, I naturally wanted to mess up their hand.”

“You knew they needed One Bamboo?”

“It’s simple, really. When the player next to me drew a tile, their fingers kept rubbing in one spot, clearly indicating they were marking a circle. Later, I noticed they were staring at the Two Bamboo tiles I discarded, looking quite regretful. That confirmed they were aiming to complete a set with One Bamboo.”

…

Chen Huanzhi finally understood why Dong Changyang was so skilled at mahjong.

She’s very good at reading people’s expressions and intentions.

One could even say Dong Changyang possesses innate qualities of a politician.

This ability could be considered innate or developed through practice and experience.

“Those devoted to painting require an exceptionally keen eye for detail to capture the beauty of different subjects on canvas.

Moreover, due to her environment, Dong Changyang learned early on to discern the expressions and thoughts of adults.

Children are most adept at unconsciously acquiring skills.

Whether Dong Changyang herself realizes it or not, her ability in this regard is indeed exceptional.

Whether it’s mahjong or similar entertainment games, it ultimately boils down to technique and mindset.

Chen Huanzhi rarely competes at tables with others, hence he’s finding mahjong quite uncomfortable.

Yet he can understand why mahjong is beloved by so many women.

Chen Huanzhi is unaware that as he and Dong Changyang delve into the professional terminology of mahjong, his upcoming schedule has already been decided.

Packing his things and sending him to his father’s friend to learn ‘playing’ took less than a day in total.

It’s said this friend is well-versed in various gambling methods on the market, and in his youth, casino-goers feared him; later, even gambling house owners respectfully asked him to leave with silver.

Despite his various unreliable traits, due to his superior family background, excellent calligraphy, and widespread friendships in Beijing, he’s considered a peculiar ‘scholar.’

“Oh, oh, oh! So this is your world’s gambling god!”

“The name of the divine should not be casually mentioned; how can humans compare themselves to gods?” Chen Huanzhi felt that in Changyang’s world, people lacked proper reverence for the divine.

Even the Emperor, the ruler of a nation, would not dare to call himself “divine.”

Chen Huanzhi sensed that his life trajectory seemed to be undergoing a slight change.

“Elder Chen, no matter how much I explain and you observe, it seems we won’t learn much this way.” Dong Changyang had given up on explaining how to play mahjong literally to Chen Huanyu.

This thing requires practice.

—Facing Elder Chen, I don’t even have this much patience. It seems the idea of tutoring others during summer vacation should be put on hold.

Dong Changyang silently revised her money-making plans.

“How about this, Elder Chen?” Dong Changyang proposed a “great idea” to Chen Huanzhi, “The uncle you’re about to meet is knowledgeable in various gambling methods, right? He must also have friends who are skilled In this area. Why don’t you gather two more people, play mahjong together every day? The rules of mahjong vary everywhere, and I don’t know which type the women of your era prefer to play. So, why don’t you play yourselves, choose a variant, and then promote it?”

Although Dong Changyang’s words were sincere, Chen Huanzhi believed her. However, for some reason, he felt a hint of disdain in her tone.

Was it just his imagination?