The game in the VIP lounge began amidst the symphony of fantasy and vices.
The bunny girl dealer dealt two hidden cards to Xia Lei and Alice respectively. Alice carefully flipped the hole cards over for a glance. It was a pair of Queens. She couldn’t help but smile excitedly at the sight. Thompson was fast to kick at her heel to have her put on a poker face.
Emotional control was fundamental when it came to gambling. Thompson was well-versed in this department but Alice was not. If their opponent, ‘James’, had noticed that her cards were strong, he certainly wouldn’t continue the game.
It seemed that Thompson was worried over nothing. Just as Alice had cracked a smile over her lineup, Xia Lei was completely distracted by the dealer’s breasts. The dealer was only dressed in a scanty bikini with a fluffy bunny tail sitting cutely atop her bottoms. Whenever she dealt a deck, she would incline her body forward. The sight of two hovering breasts was admittedly a wonderful sight to behold.
Thompson smirked mockingly at that. His opponent was distracted and a total pervert! Tonight was a surefire win for them!
Sure enough, when Alice threw in twenty thousand dollars worth of chips, Xia Lei called it without a single sign of reluctance.
The dealer dealt the first of their community cards. Alice had gotten another Queen again while Xia Lei had received an Ace. This time, thankfully, Alice did not behave childishly. She probed, “Are you holding a pair of Aces?”
Xia Lei nonchalantly replied, “You’ll find out soon. I’m placing in another twenty thousand dollars.”
“Same for me.” Alice threw in another twenty thousand dollars worth of chips.
The dealer dealt them their second community card. Xia Lei had received a Queen while Alice had received an Ace.
“Bet fifty thousand dollars,” Thompson whispered in her ear.
Alice repeated his words. “I’ll place fifty thousand dollars.”
“Hmph.” Xia Lei huffed with disinterest. “Same for me.”
The dealer gave them their last community card. Xia Lei got a Ten while Alice was dealt a King. With this lineup, Alice was bound to win. Sadly, she was only left with ten thousand dollars to spare. She begrudgingly tossed Thompson a look. The older man shared her sentiment and knew that this was such a wasted opportunity.
“Ten thousand dollars is all I’m left with. I’m placing them all in the game. Would you like to see my hidden deck? I’m bound for victory,” declared Alice proudly.
Xia Lei’s gaze was calm. “Ten thousand dollars is nothing. I’ll follow it. Show me your deck.”
Alice flipped her cards over. Three Queens. Xia Lei only had an Ace. This move had cost him ten thousand dollars. Yet, the man was surprisingly unfazed by his loss.
The game went on.
In the second round, Xia Lei had won over Alice’s pair of Tens with three Kings. Despite that, all he won was five thousand USD. When her cards were lacklustre, Alice was evidently much cautious than before.
In the third face-off, Alice had defeated Xia Lei’s two pairs with a flush. She won another fifty thousand USD.
Half an hour had passed before long. The pile of chips in front of Alice had increased from a hundred thousand to a hundred and thirty thousand USD during then. She had won big and lost small, not allowing Xia Lei a single chance at winning his money back.
Thompson had taught Alice everything she knew about poker. If Alice was capable enough of winning so many times, Thompson was sure that he could at least attain five hundred thousand USD at this point from Xia Lei. He was starting to get restless from excitement.
“Alice, let me play with him,” Thompson told Alice in hushed tones, no longer able to sit still.
“Sure.” Alice let him take over.
Before Thompson could even make himself comfortable, Xia Lei stood up and tossed one thousand USD worth of chips to the dealer. “Okay, here’s the thing. The bets in this game are too small. There’s no point playing anymore. Can’t you find someone who’s willing to bet bigger?”
“No problem, Mister James.” The dealer answered him coquettishly. “Please give me a moment, I’ll get my manager right away. I’m sure he’s able to solve this issue for you.”
“Wait.” Thompson stood abruptly. “Mister James, how much do you wish to play?”
Xia Lei answered, “I’ve prepared five million dollars for the game but all you have is one hundred thousand dollars. What kind of sick joke is this? I only agreed to this game because I thought she could get some new clothes. If you wish to play with me, you’d need to bet at least three million dollars.”
Thompson was caught aback. He had assumed that Xia Lei’s minimum bet would be somewhere around five hundred thousand USD. If that was the case, the addition of his money, Alice’s base cash and their current victory loot would be sufficient to meet the quota. It was a complete surprise that Xia Lei’s standard was three million USD. Thompson could not produce that much money now. However, as a frequent casino patron, Thompson was aware that Xia Lei’s request was not at all ridiculous. Heck, it was even relaxed for someone like him. It was a typical practice to place in equal bets in the game of luck. How would someone with five hundred million USD worth of chips be willing to entertain a person who’s only going to bet a few hundred thousand dollars?
Just as Thompson was in a daze, Xia Lei began walking towards the doors. Without looking back, he spat, “Nevermind, you’re pretty broke from the looks of it. Exchange my chips, I don’t wish to continue this game. I have a flight to catch for Dubai tomorrow.”
“Wait,” Thompson called after Xia Lei. “Mister James, spare me ten minutes. I’ll go exchange more chips. Three million dollars, right?”
Xia Lei nodded. “That’s the least I’m asking for.”
Thompson dashed out of the VIP lounge in a flurry. Xia Lei had first requested to change an opponent and then said to leave the game, stating the fact that he needed to return to Dubai tomorrow. With all obvious hints of leaving, how could Thompson risk letting such a fat sheep escape his grasp?
Xia Lei, on the other hand, did not choose to wait idly in the VIP lounge. He feigned paying a visit to the washroom to spy on Thompson.
It didn’t take long for Thompson to flag down someone who was willing to loan him money. After minutes of negotiations, the other party had agreed to the deal. It was then that Xia Lei entered the washroom. He waited for Thompson to return to the VIP lounge with fresh chips before joining them inside. He wanted to impose the impression that he had not interacted with Alice.
“Mister James, I now have three million dollars worth of chips with me. Shall we begin?” Thompson was evidently impatient.
Xia Lei flashed him a smile. “Sure, let’s start.”
The curtains of a new game were lifted.
In the first round, Xia Lei lost two hundred thousand USD.
In the second round, Xia Lei won one hundred thousand USD.
Subsequently, Xia Lei lost three hundred thousand USD.
Xia Lei lost another hundred thousand USD when the fourth round ended.
Later, Xia Lei won two hundred thousand USD.
This was the same as with Alice but Thompson was much more cunning and cautious than the former. He would not place a bet when Xia Lei had bigger cards, hence he kept his losses to a minimum. As soon as he attained larger cards, he’d place bigger bets. Thompson would win big in that case. Weirdly, Xia Lei seemed pretty unpractised in that aspect. His bets were bold when with better cards, as if not worried that his opponent would notice that about his deck. Contrastingly, when he was dealt with awful cards, he’d try his darndest to lure Thompson into placing hefty bets. As they pushed and pulled, a few hundred thousand USD had become Thompson’s.
The sixth card was passed around.
Thompson’s hole deck was a pair of Aces. His emotions betrayed no thoughts.
Xia Lei checked his cards. The King of Spades and a Joker. He frowned.
The minute shift of his demeanour did not escape the watchful eyes of a veteran gambler. Thompson rejoiced internally, still maintaining his poker face in fear of alerting Xia Lei. Subsequently, he pushed a stack of chips towards the centre of the table. “Two hundred thousand dollars.”
“I’ll follow your two hundred thousand with three hundred thousand dollars added to the mix.” Xia Lei pushed a total of five hundred thousand USD to the pool of chips in the centre.
“Is that a threat?” Thompson chuckled under his breath. “I’ll follow.” There was no way Xia Lei’s cards were any bigger than his pair of Aces. That was why Thompson was sure that Xia Lei was just yapping out empty barks with no bite. Thompson was worried that Xia Lei would’ve fled the scene but to his surprise, Xia Lei was proactively initiating attacks. This was a sure-win situation, why would Thompson not want to take a bite of this easy meal?
Xia Lei cast a look at the dealer. “Cards, please.”
The dealer dealt them each a community card. Thompson had attained an Ace while Xia Lei received a Ten of Spades.
“Don’t tell me you’re holding a three of a kind. I’m placing another five hundred thousand dollars in. You’ll only follow if you have a three of a kind.” Thompson mumbled to no one as he pushed another stack of chips to the centre of the table.
“I don’t think you’re holding three Aces. I’ll match it. Please deal the next card.” Xia Lei pushed equivalent chips to the table.
The dealer presented them with their next community card.
Thompson had gotten his fourth Ace.
Xia Lei had gotten a Queen of Spades.
Thompson had four of a kind. All Aces. On the other hand, Xia Lei’s biggest combination was only pairs of either Tens or Queens.
Eyes burning holes into the two displayed cards, Xia Lei brows were knitted tighter. He was even checking his wristwatch constantly, evidently a little on edge.
Thompson studied his expressions and the cards in front of him. He thought to himself, “What are his hole cards like? He did not hesitate to follow my blind bet of two hundred thousand dollars and even willingly added in three hundred thousand. He’s definitely holding a pair. When I had three Aces, he followed my five hundred thousand dollar bet. There’s no doubt that he’s holding three Tens. One of his known cards was Nine. If she deals him another Nine, it’d just be nothing more than a regular flush. There’s no way his cards would add up to a Royal Flush because he has no idea what his fifth card would be…”
“Mister Thompson, please state your bet.” The scantily-dressed dealer helpfully reminded.
Seemingly confident with his analysis, Thompson’s heart was in a frenzy. At the reminder of the dealer, Thompson graciously pushed all of his chips to the table. “I’m all in. Will you follow?”
Xia Lei mirrored him. “Where’s the fun in gambling if we don’t take risks? I don’t think you’ll manage to get four Aces. Deal the final card.”
The dealer gave them their last card.
Thompson had received a Queen.
Xia Lei had received a Nine of Spades.
Thompson generously opened both his hole cards. He was emotional, “Four Aces. Let’s see how you’ll beat me.”
Xia Lei regarded him with no visible expression.
“Hahaha… Your gambling techniques are so-so.” Thompson stood and reached over to reclaim his prize. The mountain of chips had proved to be too much to pull over. The older man needed to spread his arms wide to bring all of it to his side.
Just as he was about to wrap his arms around the pile, Xia Lei finally revealed his hole cards. With nonchalance, he stated, “Royal Flush. I guess that counts as my victory, right?”
Crack!
Thompson’s veins jolted violently. He froze. Before Xia Lei had flipped his cards over, Thompson had felt like the luckiest bastard in the world. His entire being was vibrating out of joy and his heart was ablaze! Sadly, all flames were extinguished with Xia Lei’s unexpected Royal Flush.
How was this possible?
Thompson’s brain went numb with terror.
Xia Lei dusted his slacks and stood up. He grinned at Thompson. “Mister Thompson, as I said, the gambling spirit is what makes this game fun. I defeated you with a Nine of Spades. You had been very lucky all along but Lady Luck won’t be following you forever. You’ve lost.”
Thompson continued to stare blankly at the cursed Royal Flush.
Xia Lei grabbed five thousand USD worth of chips and handed it over to the dealer. “This is your tip. Help me bring my chips to the counter.”
“Thank you! Thank you!” The dealer was too happy.
“This is impossible!” Thompson finally responded. He roared at the top of his lungs. “You’re cheating!”
Xia Lei looked at him, unimpressed. “Gamble is a form of deception. Haven’t you been deceiving me throughout the game? I’ve only done it once and tricked you into believing that luck was on your side. That is more than enough for me tonight. Good night, Mister Thompson. If you wish to play again, I’m afraid you’d have to wait till I’m back from Dubai.” Letting his sentence fall, Xia Lei pushed the handles and left.
“I… I need to use the washroom.” Alice too clambered up and fled the scene.
Thompson plopped his ass down unceremoniously onto the carpeted floor. His mind replayed his last hand again and again. He was sure he hadn’t missed a single detail.
Never in his life would he expect Xia Lei to know whatever cards were in the dealer’s hand before it was even dealt. In other words, before the game had even begun, Xia Lei knew that Thompson was doomed.
Oftentimes, good cards did not necessarily mean victory.
Throughout the game, Xia Lei was merely waiting for Thompson to have a winning hand. That was going to be the moment Xia Lei would defeat Thompson.