Reply to Keats - Chap 16

Chen Wan’s heart almost jumped out of her chest.

“No.” He still looked calm.

The fire protected in the palm of the hand swayed in the night and danced in the boundless darkness, freezing the quiet ten seconds of mutual gaze into a thick, azure blue painting.

Zhao Shengge’s expression seemed to be somewhat mocking, and he took the lighter directly from his hand. The cigarette had gone out as they looked at each other silently. He lowered his head and frowned as he relit it himself.

The sea breeze rustled his shirt, outlining his tall and superior figure. His hair was a little messy, making him look like the arrogant and domineering superstar in a Hong Kong movie from the 1990s.

Top, so pretty, Chen Wan thought expressionlessly, but he only glanced at her and stopped looking. He politely took half a step back and kept a safe distance.

But it didn’t work.

Zhao Shengge was biting on a cigarette and there was a faint fragrance. Chen Wan didn’t know what it was, but it was like deadly rosemary, disturbing his mind and making him feel confused and scared.

The other person was playing with Chen Wan’s lighter in his hand, and even took it in front of his eyes to look at it carefully, and he didn’t seem to have any intention of returning it to him.

Chen Wan’s private property was confiscated without any reason. He didn’t ask any questions, but secretly regretted not bringing something more expensive and better with him.

Just one Cartier would be too unfair to Zhao Shengge.

After lighting a cigarette, Zhao Shengge ignored him, leaning his elbows on the railing and looking at the night sea calmly.

Chen Wan was still wondering if she should leave when Qin Zhaoting came out and said with a smile, “I couldn’t find you anywhere. So you two are here.”

It sounded like he had made an appointment with them to go out and have some fun. Chen Wan smiled and said frankly, “I came here to clear my head. I happened to run into Mr. Zhao.”

His tone was very polite, and there was no misunderstanding that he was very familiar with Zhao Shengge.

Only when he was alone with Zhao Shengge would Chen Wan show subtle fluctuations. Once he was in the presence of outsiders, his consciousness and body would automatically switch to an impeccable standard paradigm for him. The smiling mask was beautiful and decent, and it was impossible to find fault with it.

The playful smile in Qin Zhaoting’s eyes deepened a little, and he said, “Come back when you’ve had enough rest. You’re urging people to come to the table.”

The time for opening the cards is calculated well. Once midnight passes, the second half will begin.

Chen Wan was about to go in, but Zhao Shengge said calmly, “Why are you in such a hurry? You won’t even let me finish my cigarette?”

“……”Chen Wan was nailed to the spot again.

Qin Zhaoting raised his eyebrows: “It’s unlucky to be late.”

Feng Shui is very important when going out to sea, and there are even more things to consider at the gambling table, such as the direction of the seat and auspicious time.

Zhao Shengge didn’t care about all this. In the face of absolute strength, he could disregard Feng Shui. He just stood there steadily, like an iceberg on the ocean, causing whales to retreat and ships to give way.

He said this, but Qin Zhaoting didn’t leave and didn’t say anything.

“……”

Chen Wan put on her friendly smile again and said in a smooth manner, “Mr. Zhao has won too many prizes tonight, so he wants to leave some luck for everyone.”

Qin Zhaoting turned his head and looked at him: “What about Mr. Chen?”

Zhao Shengge also looked at Chen Wan.

One urges people to leave, the other prevents them from leaving.

Chen Wan would not offend Qin Zhaoting, but he was partial to the Pacific Ocean: “I’ll take over Mr. Zhao’s good luck here, and we’ll see if it works on the card table later, how about that?”

Since he said so, Qin Zhaoting also smiled: “Okay, then let’s see if it works later.”

It was unclear whether Zhao Shengge was satisfied with this answer or not. He just leaned against the railing and slowly finished his cigarette. He then looked at the sea for a while with his head tilted, looking very relaxed.

Chen Wan just stood quietly beside him and waited.

In the second half, everyone became more and more excited. Chen Wangang had already said that he would take over Zhao Shengge’s good luck, so he naturally couldn’t lose. But he knew how to behave. After winning a few games, he started to hide his weakness again and even made it clear in advance – Mr. Zhao’s good luck was very loyal, and others could not share it. He was lucky enough to take over a little bit, and now it was all used up.

Qin Zhaoting found his speech very interesting and laughed out loud.

Chen Wan was willing to lose, and everyone was happy to oblige him and tried to beat him.

Whether or not there is money is secondary. What matters most is the jackpot. Businessmen in Hai City take this very seriously.

But the young masters had no sense of propriety when playing, and some of them had no concept of money at all. In the last few rounds, some of them became addicted to gambling and started to urge Chen Wan to take off the watch on his wrist, just like drunkards who loudly urge others to drink.

What’s the point of playing only for money? Money is worthless to people like them.

The watch on Chen Wan’s hand was not a famous one, but he had worn it for many years and it was a close-fitting personal item. Taking off the watch at the gambling table was somewhat humiliating, so he didn’t plan to let the winner win this time.

Let people know your bottom line. This was the first lesson nine-year-old Chen Wan learned in Xiaolan Mountain.

Changpei Literature Network (https://www.gongzicp.com)

A group of people were chattering, and Zhao Shengge was annoyed by the noise. He raised his eyelids, pushed all the cards lazily, and said that he was the banker.

The gold medal numbers made a loud clattering sound, and everyone looked over and said they wanted to follow the banker.

Zhao Shengge spread his hands, indicating that it was up to you.

There are four people at the table. The two families opposite have already paired up in the last round. This round, they have to play against their opponents and cannot follow. The remaining Chen Wan can play with Zhao Shengge or set up a banker himself.

Zhao Shengge didn’t hear anyone speak for a long time. He didn’t look up and asked casually, “Do you want to follow?”

Chen Wan was stunned for a moment. He had not planned to follow. He didn’t have many chips left, and following wouldn’t help Zhao Shengge at all. But he wouldn’t refuse Zhao Shengge in front of so many people, so he said he would follow.

Zhao Shengge’s tone was calm, but his words were strong and direct: “Chen Wan, I have to win when I play.”

Chen Wan seemed to be back in the summer ten years ago when he was still in Xiaolan Mountain.

He followed suit and smiled: “Of course.”

Smart people form a powerful alliance between the top and bottom dealers. Chen Wan and Zhao Shengge, the two of them have at least 800 smart minds combined, and they tacitly understand each other and start killing each other.

When drawing cards, their fingertips accidentally touch each other, as if an electric current passes through them, and in an instant, they move away from each other.

Playing cards is like flirting, they predict each other, you chase me and I follow, pretend to counterattack, cover up for each other, which makes others envious and sigh that they are a perfect match and a family made in heaven.

Chen Wan would never dare to accept such flattery. Who in Haishi would dare to say that he and Zhao Shengge were from the same family? He was polite and modest, saying that it was Mr. Zhao’s generosity and he was lucky to get a share of the pie.

Everyone at the table had red eyes and envy, so Chen Wan could only smile bitterly. Zhao Shengge’s dealer was not so easy to follow. He was unpredictable, played cards in an evil way, and when he got crazy he would even eat his own people’s cards. Without a strong psychological quality, it was impossible to handle his cards.

Zhao Shengge is a bad person. He has never been able to figure out Chen Wan’s tricks, so he doesn’t want Chen Wan to figure out his.

Isn’t Chen Wan invulnerable? He will expose his flaws all over.

When Chen Wan was about to be eaten by the next player, he suddenly appeared like a savior of the world, like a cunning cat teasing a mouse. Whether to advance or retreat, win or lose, life or death, all depended on his will.

By the end of the fight, Chen Wan was running out of brain cells, but he felt it was worth it because he felt that Zhao Shengge was quite happy playing against him.

Zhao Shengge had two decks of cards, one for the land of Jiaoxi Building, and the other for the building of Shengtiandi.

The person opposite him looked a little unhappy, and Chen Wan wanted to laugh.

Playing chess with Zhao Shengge is really brain-burning but also really fun. The mind is running at high speed with sparks and lightning. They fight overtly and covertly but they are also each other’s strong backing. They can confront each other head-on or unite to face the outside world. It’s so refreshing. The extreme pleasure after the adrenaline rush almost makes Chen Wan have an orgasm in his brain.

As the night deepens, the ship sails deeper into the sea.

Zhao Shengge bit his cigarette but didn’t light it. He looked down at the new cards in his hand and casually pulled out a spade. Chen Wan quickly fed him an Ace of Diamonds. Before the next player could calculate, Zhao Shengge directly stepped on the bridge set by Chen Wan and handed him a “Queen”. He said to the man in a very polite tone: “I want Jonesy Manor.”

He was very polite, as if he was negotiating with someone.

The opponent’s face immediately changed – it was the person who asked Chen Wan to take off his watch just now.

He was miserable, hesitating whether to “dump the bottom”, and Chen Wan immediately released the biggest remaining king of clubs in his hand to suppress the “king” and cooperate with Zhao Shengge’s flush.

Chen Wan tried her best to fight for what Zhao Shengge wanted.

The two men each played their own cards, without looking at each other or communicating. They each performed their duties and stayed in their positions. With their knives falling, they became vicious villains at the gambling table, trying to make money and kill people, singing all the way.

With Zhao Shengge around, Chen Wan played without restraint and won quite a few games. Naturally, the watch still stayed quietly on his wrist.

Someone tentatively and jokingly suggested to him to exchange a shop space in Wangchunjiao Commercial Company, but Chen Wan politely declined.

The shop was not big and the location was not particularly good, but Zhao Shengge had won the previous round by creating momentum, and the cards just happened to be in Chen Wan’s hands, so they belonged to him.

Although Zhao Shengge did it casually and without intention, Chen Wan intended to regard it as a gift from Zhao Shengge to him.

The gambling table stayed open until after one o’clock. Chen Wan won a lot of money and treated everyone to a midnight snack.

Zhuo Zhixuan went with him to order, looked around, and asked him in a low voice why he didn’t take Zhao Shengge’s knight card in the last round.

People like Zhao Shengge and Shen Zongnan never play the knight card outside.

“It’s a waste of natural resources. Do you know how many people are shocked?”

The Knight card is a custom in the romantic world. You can make a request to whoever you get the Knight card from.

This is the human relations in the business world. Casinos also emphasize trust and friendship. Many collaborations are struck at the card table, which is the same as the drinking table culture.

Chen Wan shook his head: “Not appropriate.”

Too ambiguous.

There are also different types of knight cards, and the last one left is the King of Hearts. Those who play outside know that this is a card commonly used by casino girls. It has some sexual connotations and is inappropriate.

Even if we take a step back, for him it is just a matter of climbing up the social ladder.

Zhuo Zhixuan rolled his eyes: “You think too much, Zhao Shengge won’t take it seriously at all.”

They have played these games many times outside, and if they really want to calculate them one by one, it will take forever. Besides, all these tricks in the business world are just for building favors. The drinking table culture and the card table culture are nothing more than this. Zhuo Zhixuan, who has been immersed in official culture since childhood, knows this well, and Tan Youming and Zhao Shengge are even more so.

“But I will take it seriously,” Chen Wan stopped and turned to look at him, with a dark paranoia in her calm eyes, “I didn’t mean that.”

“I don’t flirt either.”

Chen Wan was very determined. She patted him on the shoulder and gave an inappropriate and impossible analogy to show her determination: “We don’t do anything ambiguous when we are sex partners.” She didn’t know if Zhuo Zhixuan could understand what she said.

“……”

“Don’t you always think I’m crazy?” That’s why Monica came to him.

Chen Wan didn’t want her relationship with Zhao Shengge to involve more than ordinary friendship. The patient couldn’t control himself, and it was hard to say what he would do.

If he really crossed the line and opened his mouth, he would never, ever let Zhao Shengge go, no matter whether Zhao Shengge loved him or not.

Zhuo Zhixuan looked at his calm expression and felt a chill behind him.

But he felt that this was an excuse: “It’s not that mysterious. Monica said that it’s possible for you to cooperate with the treatment. You are just -”

Chen Wan still shook her head and told him to stop talking.

There is nothing to discuss about this matter.

“……”

Chen Wan is a person who is very gentle to others but cruel to himself. He seems easy to talk to, but he has his own unshakable creed of secret love and principles of doing things that cannot be broken.

Zhuo Zhixuan had nothing to say.

The most extreme paranoia is not going crazy towards the person you love, but the restraint and rationality of your own words and deeds that go beyond the limits of desire, and the almost self-masochistic coexistence with the pain of not being able to get what you want.

But Chen Wan has always been self-consistent and knows exactly what she wants.

What he wanted was not Zhao Shengge’s love.