After the break, Ye Shishi had changed into a form-fitting black outfit, and her aura seemed to have returned to her. Beside her, Ye Xiang was smiling warmly as he stuck close to protect her. For this final round, Ye Xiang felt that his sister had it in the bag. Even though she hadn’t won comprehensively, at least she’d managed to save face.
“Don’t count on me later, Sis. My card skills are terrible,” Ye Xiang said upfront, just to make sure she wouldn’t blame him afterwards.
“Just play normally, Fourth Brother. Don’t worry about anything else.”
Ye Xiang asked curiously, “But what if you end up being the landlord? Should I go easy on you?”
“As if you could beat me even if you didn’t.”
Ye Xiang: “…”
“Fine, fine. Since you put it that way, I’ll just play however,” Ye Xiang teased as he patted his sister’s shoulder, then sat down in one of the chairs by the small square table. Ye Shishi sat down right after.
Just then, Yu Xiaoduo, who had changed clothes, walked out from a room nearby. She was wearing the pink long dress that Gu Wan’er had worn to work before, though her hair was still tied in a ponytail. The look was gentle yet dashing, and it turned even more heads than Ye Shishi had.
Even Ye Xiang couldn’t help but say, “Shishi, look at her, then look at yourself—you’re dressed like a boy.”
“I’d rather die than dress like that.”
Ye Xiang let out a helpless chuckle. His little sister had never worn a dress since she was little. He figured it was because she’d grown up running around with their older brothers, which had shaped her personality. Now she was already a grown woman, and she’d never even had a boyfriend.
Gu Wan’er said softly, “Go get ’em.”
“Have I ever let you down?” Yu Xiaoduo flashed a confident smile and walked toward the small square table.
“Brother Yu, sit over here! I saved you a spot.” Lu Zhengzhi waved and called out from the side.
Gu Wan’er watched her own retreating figure and suddenly felt that she did look pretty cool—but she had no idea how to pull off that kind of attitude.
Yu Xiaoduo wanted to say, You’re the one making my tough-guy image look soft.
“Sorry to keep you both waiting.” Yu Xiaoduo sat down with a faint smile.
Ye Shishi cut straight to the chase: “Miss Gu is our guest, so you set the rules.”
“I hardly ever play Dou Dizhu either. You go ahead and set them,” Yu Xiaoduo said casually, even crossing Gu Wan’er’s slender legs—though since they were under the table, no one else could see.
Ye Shishi didn’t refuse and said plainly, “We flip one card. Whoever gets it is the landlord. Calling for landlord doubles the stakes, bombs double them too. Spade 3 leads first. The landlord can’t fold. Whichever of us runs out of chips first loses.”
After hearing the rules, Yu Xiaoduo chuckled, “Sounds good.”
Just then, the scar-faced man walked over and asked, “Do you want us to cordon off this area?”
Ye Shishi glanced at Gu Wan’er, signaling she didn’t care either way.
Yu Xiaoduo said calmly, “No need.”
Even though Pan Wei and his group were sitting behind her, she wasn’t worried in the slightest.
Ye Xiang didn’t say much, but he felt that Gu Wan’er carried herself with a pretty impressive presence—stronger than Gu Yuanli’s, it seemed. The infighting within the Gu Corporation was turning out to be quite interesting.
The scar-faced man set out some chips, then stepped aside to observe.
Bai Ji, watching from the side, was quite curious. Just how was Wan’er going to win this round? Ye Shishi had already lost two events, so this last one was definitely her strong suit. But she’d kept it well hidden—Bai Ji had known Ye Shishi for years and had never once seen her play cards.
As for Wan’er, Bai Ji felt like she couldn’t quite read her anymore. It was as if she was shrouded in a thin veil of mystery.
Bai Ji’s gaze unconsciously drifted to Yu Xiaoduo, who was sitting in the audience. Oddly enough, he seemed even more nervous than Wan’er.
Over on the other side, Gu Yuanli whispered, “Does our little sister even know how to play cards?”
“If I remember correctly, she hates card games the most. At our family gatherings, she wouldn’t even glance at them,” Gu Mingqin said, staring at his sister on the screen. Where was her confidence coming from? Was she just bluffing?
“No, no, no. I think she’s actually a pro. She’s just been pretending all this time. Our little sister is way too sneaky.” Gu Yuanli thought about it and felt a strange sense of unease.
“We’ll know soon enough.”
On the scene, Ye Shishi opened a fresh deck of cards. Her shuffling technique was a bit flashy—at least, that’s what Yu Xiaoduo thought.
But Yu Xiaoduo was secretly amused. Not bad. That shuffle is definitely pro-level. No wonder she chose Dou Dizhu. If I didn’t do something about it, the cards she dealt herself would blow me straight out of the water. What a ruthless woman—trying to finish me off in one round.
If I’d known you were this vicious, I wouldn’t have gone easy on you earlier. I’d have given you the full Supreme Massage Fist treatment—guaranteed to add a few extra cup sizes.
Once Ye Shishi finished shuffling, Yu Xiaoduo smiled and said, “Mind if I cut?”
“Of course. Be my guest.” Ye Shishi handed the deck over, but her eyes stayed fixed on Yu Xiaoduo’s hands.
Yu Xiaoduo handled the cards like a complete amateur, chopping the deck all over the place—even knocking some cards onto the floor, which drew a round of laughter from the crowd.
But Ye Shishi had completely lost track of the card order. Yu Xiaoduo had thoroughly scrambled everything.
Ye Xiang, sitting beside her, let out a low chuckle. Watching Gu Wan’er cut cards was even worse than he was.
“My bad.” Yu Xiaoduo smiled, then flipped one card over and inserted it back into the deck. Whoever drew it would be the landlord.
She placed the deck in the middle and said, “Let’s each draw our own cards. No dealing.”
Ye Shishi nodded. Usually, the dealer had a good chance of pulling some tricks.
“Miss Gu, you’re the guest. Ladies first.”
“Then I won’t hold back.” Yu Xiaoduo started drawing right away, which made Gu Wan’er feel a little strange—she hadn’t refused at all.
Yu Xiaoduo fanned out her cards as if she were building a mountain, practically shouting to everyone around, Look how good my hand is!
Even Gu Wan’er, who never played cards, felt secondhand embarrassment. Your fanning technique is even worse than mine.
Suddenly, Pan Wei, sitting behind Yu Xiaoduo, let out a cough. In the silent hall, it was especially jarring.
The scar-faced man shot him a glare, which made Pan Wei jump.
“Pan Wei, is your throat bothering you today? You should get to the hospital—don’t go spreading it to me.” Yu Xiaoduo turned her head and taunted him. You little brat, your sneaky hints are way too obvious.
That cough of Pan Wei’s did earn him plenty of scornful looks. Most of the people there were senior bigwigs, and everyone was playing by the rules—why were you butting in?
The flipped card landed in Ye Shishi’s hand, and the spade 3 was in her hand too.
“My hand’s pretty good. I’ll call landlord,” Yu Xiaoduo said seriously. Ye Shishi’s eyes narrowed just a little.
The audience watching through the big screen saw Gu Wan’er’s cards, and their jaws practically hit the floor. Even a complete idiot could play this hand.
Even Gu Wan’er herself was stunned. She thought, With a hand like this, even I could win. Yu Xiaoduo’s luck is absolutely insane.
Pan Wei was in despair. Yu Xiaoduo’s luck was just as terrifying as it had been when she went up against him last year. There was no point in even playing.
Ye Shishi looked at her own hand. She had a rocket (two jokers), three 2s, and a pair of Aces—but some sequences were missing. Judging by Gu Wan’er’s expression, she seemed incredibly confident, and the reactions of the people around her were a bit strange too.
