Chapter 126 Casino City

Chapter 126 The Casino

At that time, Jiang Luo, Zheng Bin, and Wang Chuang had been playing for a bit. The casino was opulent and extravagant. Not only was smoking banned except in designated areas, but the air was also filled with oxygen enriched with scented incense. Stepping inside, walking on the high-end carpet and immersing in the elegant atmosphere, one felt energized, and the more they played, the more excited they got.

Jiang Luo quite liked this place—mainly because it was clean, not noisy, and free of unsavory characters. Sitting at the card table, everyone, including the guests and the dealer, at least appeared to be decent people.

Jiang Luo, Zheng Bin, and Wang Chuang sat at the same table. About eight or nine people played a round of guessing high or low together for roughly 20 minutes before deciding to stop, leaving the table and taking their respective chips with them.

"How do you always guess right?"

Jiang Luo, toying with the chips in his hand, was talking and walking together with Zheng Bin and Wang Chuang, deciding what to play next, when he turned his head and suddenly made eye contact with a man approaching from the opposite direction. Both parties were momentarily stunned.

You Junyu?

Jiang Luo thought to himself, "What a coincidence."

You Junyu clearly recognized Jiang Luo too. He dropped his arm from around the girl beside him, shoved his hands into his pockets, jerked his chin up at Jiang Luo, and said in a familiar tone, "Here to play too?"

Wang Chuang followed his gaze and immediately recognized him as the one who had tried to steal their business at the small market before.

"You know him?"

Only Zheng Bin was puzzled.

Jiang Luo also looked at You Junyu but said nothing.

You Junyu, with a sloppy, casual attitude, jerked his chin again, gesturing toward the card table. "Wanna play a few hands together?"

"Sure, why not? It’s rare to bump into someone we know."

Zheng Bin, also acting familiar, immediately invited everyone to pick a table together.

Wang Chuang was completely exasperated; he had no desire to play cards with someone who had once tried to steal their business.

But seeing that Jiang Luo didn’t object and seemed to tacitly approve, he held back his opposition.

The group went together to find a card table.

As they walked, You Junyu said lazily, "I heard from my dad that you had dinner together the other day. He said you have a garment factory in the industrial zone owned by Manager Chen and the others."

"He also said you have two factories, one in Haicheng and one in Jiangsu."

"Manager Jiang, you’re really something else."

Those last six words didn’t sound like praise.

Jiang Luo didn’t hold back, responding unhurriedly, "Can't compare to you—you managed to land yourself in trouble while doing business."

"You!"

You Junyu hadn’t expected Jiang Luo to still know exactly how to hit a nerve.

He then laughed, a cold, mocking laugh, and snorted, "Yeah, you’re impressive. I’m worthless."

Zheng Bin, who had gone ahead, found a table with few people and turned to signal them, "Over here."

They each took their seats but didn’t start playing immediately. First, they observed how the three people already at the table played. It looked straightforward: essentially, the dealer gave each player five cards, and each round, all players revealed one card simultaneously. The first to win three rounds would take the game.

"This is simple."

Zheng Bin looked eager and ready to jump in.

When the round ended, coincidentally, the few people who had been playing earlier left the table, leaving just Zheng Bin, Wang Chuang, Jiang Luo, and You Junyu.

The dealer first showed that the deck was intact, then shuffled the cards while explaining, "No jokers. Ace is low, King is high. Best of five rounds, high card wins."

With that, he began dealing the cards one by one.

At the table, the four players received their cards, each with different expressions.

First round, all four played a card simultaneously.

Zheng Bin: K

Wang Chuang: J

Jiang Luo: 9

You Junyu: 7

The dealer, wearing white gloves, gestured toward Zheng Bin. "K wins."

Simultaneously, he collected the cards.

Zheng Bin beamed with pride, while the other three remained unfazed.

Second round.

Zheng Bin: 10

Wang Chuang: 6

Jiang Luo: 9

You Junyu: 8

The dealer again indicated Zheng Bin as the winner and collected the cards.

Zheng Bin was thrilled.

Third round.

Zheng Bin: 8

Wang Chuang: 5

Jiang Luo: Q

You Junyu: K

Fourth round...

As they played round after round, Zheng Bin, who always played his highest cards first, only won at the beginning. Wang Chuang played steadily, winning some and losing some. Jiang Luo and You Junyu, after testing the waters for a few rounds, figured out Zheng Bin and Wang Chuang’s playing styles and consistently outperformed them, taking turns winning most of the later rounds.

Jiang Luo: 10

You Junyu: 8

Jiang Luo: J

You Junyu: King

...

As they played on, it turned into a situation where Zheng Bin and Wang Chuang kept losing, while Jiang Luo or You Junyu won every round.

"Ugh! This sucks!"

Zheng Bin lost again. No matter how he played, he could only win at most once in every five rounds.

Fuck.

Wang Chuang threw down his cards and found himself losing yet again, feeling frustrated.

Only Jiang Luo and You Junyu, who kept winning, remained cool and unbothered.

Jiang Luo rested his hand on the table, his posture and expression relaxed, his fingertips toying with a chip.

You Junyu, while playing with his cards, also had his arm around the waist of the girl beside him, taking a drink of champagne from her hand.

"I'm done playing, I'm done."

Zheng Bin, unable to win, was bored and left the table after losing half of his chips.

Wang Chuang wasn’t upset, but seeing his chips running low, he also threw in his cards and quit.

Only Jiang Luo and You Junyu remained.

Jiang Luo: 10

You Junyu: 6

Jiang Luo: 7

You Junyu: Jack

With just the two of them, the game went faster. Cards were dealt in turns, five at a time, and discarded in turn, round after round.

At first, Jiang Luo and You Junyu were evenly matched, taking turns winning rounds.

But soon, the situation began to shift overwhelmingly—

Jiang Luo: 7

You Junyu: 4

Jiang Luo: 8

You Junyu: 3

In almost every round, no matter who won initially, Jiang Luo was always the first to win three games.

Huh?

Zheng Bin and Wang Chuang, watching from the side, noticed this and found it interesting. They moved closer to Jiang Luo to watch his cards.

You Junyu’s expression gradually shifted from relaxed to tense.

Starting another round, Jiang Luo and You Junyu each placed their facedown cards.

The dealer signaled, and the cards were flipped simultaneously. Jiang Luo: "Queen."

You Junyu: 10.

Another round of cards was played and flipped—Jiang Luo lost, You Junyu won.

Then, Jiang Luo won.

In the fourth round, Jiang Luo’s card was higher again, making him the first to win three games.

Damn!

You Junyu looked frustrated and pissed.

"Nice going, man."

Zheng Bin praised Jiang Luo with surprise.

You Junyu signaled the dealer: "Again!"

They played again, and once more, Jiang Luo was the first to win three games in every round.

It was as if he knew exactly what cards You Junyu held and which one he would play first, almost completely owning him.

You Junyu lost round after round, repeatedly and continuously, his expression getting worse and turning sour.

"Fuck!"

Losing again, You Junyu angrily slapped the table.

They played again, and he lost again.

You Junyu, grim-faced, tossed his chips toward the dealer.

He kept losing, over and over, without stop.

I'm done playing!

Finally, You Junyu coldly dumped all his remaining chips to the dealer, stood up, and walked away, ignoring his furious female companion.

Wang Chuang and Zheng Bin were entertained, scooping up the chips the dealer pushed toward Jiang Luo.

Jiang Luo remained calm and composed, as if he had known all along that he would win, exuding an arrogant confidence.

Only at the very end, when You Junyu stood up to leave, did he shoot a quiet glance over.

"Don’t follow me! Let go!"

You Junyu, clearly pissed, roughly shook off his female companion, who stamped her foot in anger and walked away.

You Junyu ignored her completely, his face cold as he pushed the door open and went outside to smoke, chain-smoking.

Inside, Jiang Luo and the others continued playing like it was nothing.

Zheng Bin remarked, "That guy just now couldn't take it."

Wang Chuang, throwing an arm around his shoulder, said, "Do you know who that jerk is? Back when Luo and I were running our business in the small market, that jerk came to poach our customers and deliberately undercut our prices."

"What?"

Zheng Bin: "Then why are you still hanging out with him?"

"If it were me, running into him like enemies on a narrow path, I'd be lucky not to spit in his face."

Wang Chuang: "Who wants to play with him? Didn't you see how our Brother Luo just had him pinned down?"

Zheng Bin quickly stopped talking about You Junyu and went over to ask Jiang Luo: "Hey, how did you keep winning just now? How did you know what cards he was holding, whether they were big or small, and which ones he'd play?"

The three of them soon moved on to other games and asked an attendant roaming the hall to bring juice and drinks.

Later, Jiang Luo stopped playing and took a break.

He gave all his chips to Zheng Bin and Wang Chuang, letting them play as they pleased, while he found an empty sofa to sit and rest.

While resting, sipping on champagne with almost no alcohol, a manager from the casino came over to greet Jiang Luo and asked, "Are you a friend of Huo Zongzhuo?"

Jiang Luo was a bit surprised.

The manager smiled: "Huo Zongzhuo just called and asked us to let you use chips charged to his account to play."

He added: "Mr. Huo is a friend of our boss."

Jiang Luo smiled and chatted casually with the manager, asking if Huo Zongzhuo used to come here often.

As they were talking, Jiang Luo’s peripheral vision caught sight of You Junyu plopped down on the opposite side of the coffee table, staring at him.

The manager noticed too and, tactfully, said to Jiang Luo, "I'll get you another glass of champagne," then smiled at You Junyu and left.

Once the manager was gone, You Junyu, leaning back on the sofa expressionless, tugged at his collar and said irritably, "You’re loving this, aren’t you? Seeing me like this."

Jiang Luo also leaned back, looking at You Junyu calmly, betraying no emotion.

You Junyu: "I know. Back then, I went to Haicheng to muscle in on your business, and later I copied your business model and got caught—it’s my payback."

"My dad, my mom, my grandma, they all say that."

"They say I shouldn’t have copied you, shouldn’t have shipped those goods to Haicheng and forced you out."

You Junyu maintained a blank expression, his words tumbling out quickly: "I admit it, you’re better than me."

"I didn’t expect you to stop selling in the small market later—turns out you went into manufacturing and clothing."

"You’re a better businessman than me."

"So?"

Jiang Luo looked at him unhurriedly: "What are you trying to say by telling me all this?"

You Junyu looked gloomy, his face tense as he stared at Jiang Luo.

Jiang Luo looked down on him: "Telling me you regret it? That you shouldn’t have stolen my business and then suffered karma?"

Huh?

Jiang Luo: "So? What comes next?"

You Junyu was stumped by Jiang Luo’s question. Yeah, what was the point? What did he mean? What was the significance?

You Junyu asked himself inwardly, not even understanding why he’d come to say all this to Jiang Luo.

But before getting up to leave, Jiang Luo said in an even tone: "You Junyu."

"You walk your path, I’ll cross my bridge."

"Talking about you stealing my business—you think too highly of yourself."

"Out of respect for your dad, for his past cooperation with me and for bringing you to apologize, and for inviting me to dinner this time, I’ll give you a word of advice."

You Junyu put on a long-suffering look, his despair hidden behind a facade of strength, watching Jiang Luo.

Jiang Luo said thoughtfully: "From last July in the small market, to when you got caught, it was just six months. And until now, this moment, it’s only been a year."

"A year of ups and downs is normal. Who are you putting on this show for?"

"Others struggle for ten or twenty years, suffer complete failure, and still grit their teeth to make a comeback."

"You’ve only had a year, and what you’ve been through is nothing compared to what some go through. You’re still alive, unharmed, with a rich dad and a factory in Shenzhen—and you’re already giving up?"

Jiang Luo taunted: "Weren’t you pretty full of yourself and competent back in the small market?"

After saying this, Jiang Luo got up and left, leaving You Junyu alone on the sofa.

Soon, You Junyu’s eyes grew moist, and all the pretense on his face collapsed.

Yeah.

He thought, just six months, only a year.

In a year, Jiang Luo already had three factories back home.

Where did he come up short compared to Jiang Luo?

You Junyu suddenly felt extremely resentful.

Emotions raged like a tornado inside him, growing larger and more an irresistible force.