Chapter 204: Al
Translator: Lonelytree Editor: Millman97
“There is a saying in our country—to give in to sensual pleasure.” After she got the permission from Zuo Feiyang and You Yang, Ye Shuang, who had obtained a rudimentary level of trust from Mr. Zuo, went to the break room. The fee to use the break room at the casino was not small—the smallest payment was five thousand or a blue chip.
There were three types of chips at the public part of the casino: white, red, and blue. Based on the size and pattern, the white chips could be separated into values of 5, 25, and 100, and the red chips were 500 or 1,000. Blue chips were the highest at the public part of the casino; they were 5,000, 10,000, or 30,000. If one entered the VIP area, there were chips for 100,000 and 1,000,000.
After Zuo Feiyang beat the bespectacled man, he was feeling generous. He tossed a blue chip that had the largest value to Ye Shuang as thanks her for giving him the reminder and undoing the cheat set up by the man. He believed that the man of the hour that night was Ye Shuang.
Ye Shuang toyed with the chips for a while before nodding and placing the chip inside her pocket. Then she had opened her lips to give that earlier comment. Zuo Feiyang and You Yang looked at each other, and they were confused by the sudden lamentation.
Ye Shuang smiled at the blonde waitress who walked in with the choice of alcohol. The tone that was as seductive as the cello flowed out from the man, and after the girl left the room with a face as red as a tomato, Ye Shuang turned around to explain to the two inexperienced little children. “Casinos, stock markets, and the red light districts are places that I don’t suggest you guys go to for now. Perhaps you might think gambling is not as bad as taking drugs, but this place is actually more dangerous than a drug den.
“You have both been here several times already, right‽” Ye Shuang filled up the two’s empty glasses and continued. “It is too easy to fall into the trap of luxury here. You should have noticed this already. Sitting in a break room costs a blue chip. A glass of wine is a white chip, and a random snack is red chip. Do you really think that’s fine‽”
From Ye Shuang’s observation, the betting chips on the table were either red or blue. White chips were generally used for tips and wine. People whispered to one another, saying they had won or lost several hundred thousand or more. Money was really just a number here. For example, when one visited other entertainment areas, who would spend five thousand on a room‽ But that was considered normal here. The sense of money here was twisted, and after a long period of being in here, one’s perspective would be assimilated as well.
“Within this atmosphere, it’ll be hard to view money like you normally would, and the chips in your hands will not give you the actual sensation of how much money you’re holding. You won’t be able to calm down, and your normal perspective will collapse. Chips worth more than a hundred thousand will just disappear down the betting table, and you might think it is easy to earn this money back because the money will come when you make the correct bet.”
Ye Shuang shook her head and sighed. “A calm investor would not come to a place like this, because in this crazed environment, your normal moral value will be shattered by the crazed gambling. For example, ‘I earned 1,000,000 from my previous contract, but I can earn that much here in just ten minutes!’ If I’m not mistaken, Mr. Zuo’s big brother should be against you spending time here with the client, right?”
The Si Hai Organization was actually similar to the setting in Luo Mingxin’s movie. There was a calm big brother who handled the family business with a firm hands and a younger brother who was also known in the business but just slightly worse than his big brother—Zuo Feiyang was that little brother.
From the information given by Han Chu, the Si Hai Organization was a stably growing company. Even when there was a windfall, it was from a long period of build-up and preparation. Based on that, the personality of the current company leader should be the quintessential hardworking type. Of course, socializing with a client was unavoidable in this business, but he would not lower himself to the level of a pimp or join the client at the casino.
Zuo Feiyang frowned like he had just remembered something not so positive. He moved his gaze away and grumbled, “But I’m not a child anymore.”
“The fact that you can still be tricked here says otherwise.” Ye Shuang pointed it out calmly, and then she seemed to realize something. “By the way… don’t tell me that it was your idea to work with Xi Hwa Organization!”
Big Brother Zuo’s eyes could not be so bad, or else he would not have become part of Han Chu’s client list. Zuo Feiyang still wanted to say something, but when he thought back to what happened that day, he knew that the cooperating partner was definitely problematic. His face blanched from fear like he just realized the gravity of the situation. “Yes, it’s my doing.”
Why do you people like to create problem for the family so much‽
You Yang looked at how devastated his friend was and said, “Brother Ye, what should Feiyang do now?”
“It’s easy. If the sky is falling, then go and find someone taller than you.” Ye Shuang smiled. “Tell your big brother everything honestly. He will definitely help you. Then, wait for our investigation to finish in another few days, and we’ll see what to do then.”
Wait, normally, shouldn’t this be the time you use your golden finger to turn the situation around‽ Why are we looking for outside aid‽ Where is the massacre that we were promised? Aren’t you supposed to help us clear up the mess‽
Zuo Feiyang felt the breath catch in his throat. Just as he was about to say something, the door was pushed open, and the foreign waitress who left the room earlier returned with a silver-haired man following behind her. Ye Shuang stood up to welcome the man with open arms. The two greeted each other warmly and conversed in English before Ye Shuang slapped the back of the man to make the introduction. “This is Albert, but you can call him Al.”
Zuo Feiyang was fine, but You Yang was spooked. This was the profiler from some mysterious unit that Brother Ye had just pointed out to him earlier. It was that psychologist who had a 63% win rate.
“Nice to meet you.” Albert sat down with a smile. He appeared friendly and kind. His Chinese was rather awkward, and he even stuttered.
Ye Shuang gave the waitress a white chip as a tip. The girl left after giving Ye Shuang a wink. Ye Shuang sat down next to Albert, and she said with familiarity, “Al, my two friends here are in some trouble. They’ve run into an expert and cannot win. Do you have the time to represent them at the table?”
Albert was pouring himself a glass of wine when he heard that. An exaggerated shocked expression appeared on his face, and his eyes widened. “Oh, no! There’s a player that you can’t beat here‽”
“It’s a little bit inconvenient for me to show myself.” Ye Shuang smiled and tossed a knowing gaze. Albert filled in the blanks and scratched his chin. His gray eyes turned around to glance at You Yang, who looked so nervous. He then raised his wine glass and smiled. “This fella here knows who I am?”
“I’ve told him your win rate,” Ye Shuang explained as she raised her glass. She clinked it with Albert’s glass and took a sip. “So, will you help?”
Albert shrugged easily and took a sip of his own. “Sure, since you’ve said so.”
You Yang sighed in relief, but Zuo Feiyang was confused. He could not understand what was happening, so he poked his friend to find an explanation. “Xiao Yang?”
You Yang wiped the sweat away. “Feiyang, it’s fine. If Brother Ye’s friend is willing to help, you won’t lose tonight.”
“Oh, no no! That’s not a guarantee. I will treat the game seriously, but no one can guarantee that they will always win.” Albert shook his head and then asked Ye Shuang with interest, “Do you mind telling me who my opponent will be?”
“Probably a cheater.” After a moment’s thought, Ye Shuang added, “When he was playing earlier, he had already hidden a stack of cards in his sleeves, so it might be quite difficult for you to beat him.”
“There’s no need to goad me into action. I know you Chinese can be quite cunning. You have confidence in me, but you like to say the opposite.” Albert shook his head. “But since I’ve promised you that I’ll do my best, don’t you worry about that.”
Ye Shuang smiled. “Okay, then I hope my confidence in you will not waver for the rest of the night.”
…
After the bespectacled man left the table, he could not find Zuo Feiyang and You Yang anymore. He was worried but not panicked. After all, he was still the client, and they would not have left without informing him. Thus, it was only matter of time until he found them again. Perhaps they were at the toilet or at another table.
The man walked around the room and found the two at a card table. Zuo Feiyang and You Yang were playing with a silver-haired man. They had different levels of chips. Zuo Feiyang had the most, the silver-haired man had a normal number, and You Yang only had several red chips left.
When the man walked over, You Yang saw him and quickly jumped up from his seat with a big sigh of relief. Without waiting for him to respond, he pulled the man to replace him. “Wonderful, I’ve almost lost everything. You’ve arrived at the right time!”
Then, he wandered to stand behind Zuo Feiyang happily.
The bespectacled man frowned and scanned his partners in the crowd. His palm pressed the hidden stack of cards that he had just rearranged, and he nodded. “Sure.”
It was just two opponents; he could handle that.