Forget it. I’ll let her have this one.
“Pass.”
Seeing that his sister wasn’t calling, Ye Xiang clicked his tongue and tapped the table.
Yu Xiaoduo picked up the last three cards and slipped them into her hand. “Miss Ye, you go first.”
“Pair of fours.”
“Bomb! Four threes.”
Ye Shishi was taken aback. She’s bombing right off the bat?
Ye Xiang chuckled, “Miss Gu’s hand is amazing—she starts with a bomb right away.”
“Haha, honestly, I don’t have anything smaller to play.”
The siblings: “…”
“Pass.” Ye Shishi said flatly.
Ye Xiang shook his head, staring at his own cards. My luck is this bad today? They’re all scattered—nothing even comes together.
“Bomb! Four fives. You want ’em?”
“Four sevens, four tens…”
Every single card in her hand was a bomb, and it was enough to make Ye Shishi dizzy. Even Ye Xiang, sitting next to her, was slack-jawed. Is this Dou Dizhu? Or Bomb Dizhu?
After throwing down her last bomb, Yu Xiaoduo smiled lightly. “Good thing Miss Ye didn’t call landlord—those last three cards gave me three more bombs.”
That remark was like a knife straight into Ye Shishi’s chest. If even one of those bombs had been missing, she wouldn’t have won.
Just like that, two-thirds of Ye Shishi and Ye Xiang’s chips were gone.
Even Bai Ji couldn’t hide her shock at this point. A full hand of bombs? Impossible. Wan’er must have done something while cutting the cards—but even Scarface didn’t catch it.
Bai Ji couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh. Looks like tonight’s outcome is already set. Shishi’s in for a rough one.
“Boss! What did I tell you? I knew little sister was hiding her skills, and you didn’t believe me!” Gu Yuanli suddenly shouted, even letting “boss” slip out in his excitement—that’s how stunned he was.
Gu Mingqin’s expression turned serious, and he said in a low voice, “It looks like we’ve both run into a formidable opponent. Looks like our alliance needs to stay solid.”
“I agree.” Gu Yuanli nodded without hesitation, silently thanking Ye Shishi for being the test dummy and saving them from underestimating their little sister.
As the first round ended, the crowd buzzed with chatter. Everyone knew how astronomically low the odds were of drawing a full hand of bombs, and yet Gu Wan’er had somehow pulled it off—as if the heavens themselves were on her side.
“Brother Yu, is Sister-in-law really some kind of gambling god?” Lu Zhengzhi asked curiously, looking like he was about to beg her to take him as a disciple again.
Gu Wan’er shook her head blankly. “I don’t even know. He’s just too good.”
“This isn’t just good—this is a gambling god possessing her.”
Gu Wan’er stared at the version of herself not far away, and suddenly pictured herself with her hair slicked back, a cigar in her mouth, a piece of chocolate tucked in her cheek, and her teeth all stained black from the chocolate. How disgusting.
“Miss Gu really is something else. I fell for your tricks again.” Ye Shishi finally understood—she had been outplayed by this woman at every turn. It was so frustrating. Why was there someone even more capable than her?
Yu Xiaoduo was thinking, Where’s my chocolate? This would be the perfect time for a piece of chocolate to add to the show. “What do you mean, ‘something else’? It was all just luck.”
Yeah, right. Luck gives you a full hand of bombs? Even a professional card shark wouldn’t dare deal themselves that.
The problem was, she hadn’t caught any sign of cheating at all. Did she know how to stack the deck? But when she cut the cards, there was no pattern whatsoever—and she’d been watching the whole time.
Next up was Yu Xiaoduo’s turn to shuffle. Unlike Ye Shishi’s flashy style, hers was plain and simple—just the honest, no-nonsense sound of cards being rifled.
“Miss Ye, cut please.”
Ye Shishi took the deck. Her cutting technique wasn’t bad either.
As they started drawing, the crowd was stunned once again—but this time, the attention wasn’t on Gu Wan’er. It was on Ye Xiang.
Ye Xiang’s hand was absolutely unbeatable—bombs of Q, K, A, and 2, plus the spade 3. Even Ye Xiang himself looked completely baffled.
Ye Shishi was the landlord again this round, but her highest card was only a J. Still, she had two small bombs, a big joker, and a straight—not a terrible hand.
But Ye Shishi couldn’t figure it out. She’d cut the deck herself—it should have given her a full hand of bombs. How did it change?
She glanced at Yu Xiaoduo’s hand, and it was just as miserable as Ye Xiang’s had been last round—absolute garbage.
Ye Xiang swore up and down that in all his years of playing cards, he’d never had luck like this. Look at these bombs he’d drawn—it was terrifying.
But the problem was, this was the worst possible time for it. If he threw all those bombs out, his sister was done for. But if he broke them up and played weak, everyone would see him as a joke.
“Who’s got the spade 3? Come on, play already—I’m getting old waiting here.” Yu Xiaoduo propped her chin up and smiled lazily.
Ye Xiang let out a long breath. “A 3.”
Ye Shishi smiled inwardly. Bro, you’re being way too obvious. People are gonna say we’re ganging up on an outsider. But hey, if I can let a card pass, I’ll take it.
“8.”
Yu Xiaoduo played a J. Ye Xiang immediately passed.
Ye Shishi was annoyed—a J meant she’d have to use her big joker, just to let him pass. “Pass.”
“6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 9.” After playing that sequence, Yu Xiaoduo basically gave up on the rest of her hand. She still had a little joker to step on something later.
Ye Xiang naturally passed, but Ye Shishi saw that Yu Xiaoduo didn’t have many cards left—if she let her go again, she’d be gone.
“Four fours.”
Yu Xiaoduo shrugged. “Can’t take it.”
“Pass.” Ye Xiang outright folded.
But the moment those words left Ye Xiang’s mouth, Lu Zhengzhi led the crowd in a chorus of boos, and even Gu Wan’er joined in. The jeering spread fast and ugly—mostly because everyone knew exactly what Ye Xiang was holding. Playing like that was just pathetic—poor sportsmanship.
Yu Xiaoduo looked around, puzzled. “What are they booing about?”
Ye Shishi stared at her brother and said in a low, stern voice, “If you can take it, then take it. I don’t need any favors!”
“Shishi, don’t be like that. Fourth Brother doesn’t mind. Let them say whatever they want.”
“I know you’re doing this for my sake, but at the card table, there’s no such thing as family—I don’t need special treatment.” Ye Shishi’s voice was sharp. She hated it when her brothers treated her like a child and sheltered her unconditionally.
Seeing his sister’s temper flare up again, Ye Xiang let out a long sigh. She did have a point, after all.
“Four Js.”
Seeing her brother take it seriously, Ye Shishi breathed a sigh of relief. Now that’s more like my brother. “Pass.”
“Pass.” Yu Xiaoduo shrugged.
“Four Qs.”
Ye Shishi: “?????”
“Four Ks.”
“Four As.”
“Four 2s.”
Ye Shishi stared blankly at Ye Xiang, her eyes practically screaming, Are you seriously my real brother?! How did all MY cards end up in YOUR hand?!
And Ye Xiang looked back at her seriously, as if to say, You just said you’ve grown up, that you can handle pressure without your brothers’ help.
Yu Xiaoduo said with admiration, “Mr. Ye, I gotta hand it to you—truly upholding justice by sacrificing family.”
Even Gu Wan’er hadn’t expected that the one to ultimately defeat Ye Shishi wouldn’t be Yu Xiaoduo, but her own brother.
“If I were Ye Shishi, I’d be spitting blood right now.” Lu Zhengzhi was thoroughly enjoying this. She was just acting all tough about not needing help, and then your big brother steps in and you’re completely dumbfounded.
Bai Ji found the whole thing both hilarious and exasperating. Still, it was for the best—just let it end quickly.
