Rarely do men use women as pawns; it's usually the other way around.
Another move to strike directly at the heart, and they'd immediately surrender, with everything going downhill.
Ahem, I've digressed...
Of course, I couldn't tell the punk girl the truth. I only told her to use the current crowd to expose the matter of the "Da Pai Yan" cards. Those gamblers, blinded by their losses, would surely rally to her cause.
Naturally, if she was too afraid to act, I wouldn't mind taking charge myself.
Compared to the theory of opposite sexes attracting and same sexes repelling, although it would be slightly more difficult for me to rally a group of male gamblers than for her,
with the established fact of the "Da Pai Yan" cards as a prelude, it wouldn't be too difficult in the end.
However, how much of the two hundred thousand principal I could recover then... would have nothing to do with her.
After all, I came up with the idea and put in the effort. I couldn't just hand over the recovered money, could I?
...
After much deliberation, the punk girl ultimately decided to adopt my suggestion.
But she made a request: that Cheng Minglang and Han Jinlun accompany her.
I knew that the punk girl's doing this was because she didn't trust me, fearing I might play tricks, so she wanted to keep my people under her control first.
To be honest, I wasn't surprised that the punk girl would make a request.
If she had honestly followed my suggestion to stir up trouble, it would only mean she was a person completely devoid of independent thought or consciousness.
Even with the truth about the "Da Pai Yan" cards in hand, she would ultimately be unable to make any waves.
Therefore, I didn't hesitate much and readily agreed.
The reason for my decisiveness, besides wanting to save some effort, was that I knew both Cheng Minglang and Han Jinlun were still harboring resentment.
Rather than having them suppress it like me, it was better to let them release it directly through this opportunity.
After all, before coming here, I had already contacted Leng Meng and asked for her help in disguising all three of us.
No matter how big the commotion, we wouldn't have to worry about being exposed by Xiang Tianhua.
After reaching a mutually beneficial agreement, I stopped paying attention to the movements of the Baowang Arcade and went to a roadside stall to order two stir-fried dishes, planning to eat and wait.
Sunrise followed by sunset, a small square table.
One meat dish followed by one vegetable dish, waiting for the outcome.
I don't know how long it had been.
As the streetlights, used for illumination, were successively lit, and the meat and vegetable dishes on the two plates were finished...
I, who had lost count of how many times I had looked up, finally saw the tall, exaggeratedly made-up punk girl, accompanied by Cheng Minglang and Han Jinlun, and a large crowd of people, emerging from the Baowang Arcade.
Seeing the excited and joyful expressions on everyone's faces, I knew the punk girl had succeeded.
It was extremely rare for gamblers, who lacked any particular skills, to defeat a casino.
Of course, this was due to Xiang Tianhua's excessive arrogance and overconfidence, daring to openly have the dealer spew "Da Pai Yan" cards at the gamblers in full view of everyone.
After dispersing the crowd, I thought the punk girl would also leave.
After all, judging by her appearance, she had certainly managed to settle the lost capital and the usurious loans she had taken out.
The mutually beneficial cooperation had ended, and the best outcome was to disregard each other and go their separate ways.
But unexpectedly, she followed behind Cheng Minglang and Han Jinlun and walked all the way to the roadside stall where I was.
At first, I thought she had come to thank me, or perhaps she was hungry and came to buy food. It wasn't until she reached me...
That I realized she had something to discuss with me.
So, after a slight pause, I looked up at her and asked, "Is there something you need?"
Ignoring my question, the punk girl pointed to the only empty seat at the square table and asked, "Can I sit there?"
Upon hearing this, I first nodded to indicate it was alright, then I consecutively swept my gaze towards Cheng Minglang and Han Jinlun on my left and right, using my eyes to ask them what was going on.
To my surprise, both Cheng Minglang and Han Jinlun shook their heads at me, indicating they didn't know.
The one who tied the knot must untie it!
It seemed that to understand the truth of the punk girl's lingering, I could only ask her directly.
However, I didn't ask immediately after the punk girl sat down.
Instead, I first reviewed all the fragments from when I first met her to the present, confirming that I had not met her before; it should have been a coincidental encounter.
As for the punk girl, after sitting down, she became nervous and seemed to have forgotten how to speak for a moment.
This action made me even more curious about her purpose for staying.
After another two or three minutes.
Seeing the punk girl looking as if she had something to say but couldn't, I broke the silence and asked curiously, "Do you have something to tell me but don't know how to start?"
Upon hearing this, the punk girl was slightly startled, then she hurriedly nodded repeatedly.
Seeing that I had hit the mark, I continued, "Then I'll give you the time it takes to smoke one cigarette. Before I finish this cigarette, think it through properly before you speak!"
After saying that, I lit a cigarette.
While exhaling smoke, I quietly waited for the punk girl's next words.
Soon, the time it took to smoke a cigarette passed.
It wasn't until I threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stomped it out, and stood up that the punk girl finally spoke.
"Handsome, are you... are you a gambler?"
I was surprised that the question the punk girl had held back for so long was about my identity.
Not understanding her meaning, I looked at the punk girl with a strange gaze and asked in a deep voice, "So what if I am, and so what if I'm not?"
Upon hearing this, the punk girl suddenly replied with a serious expression, "If you are a gambler, I, I think... I want to ask for your help!"
Just as I was about to refuse, the punk girl preempted me by saying, "I know it's abrupt and hasty to say this to a stranger I've only met once, but I'm truly desperate!"
"The thing is..."
Once the floodgates of speech were opened, the punk girl immediately recounted the whole story.
The punk girl's name was Zhu Wenjing. She hadn't actually come to the arcade to gamble, but to redeem herself.
Yes! You read that right, and I didn't misstate it... it was redemption!
Zhu Wenjing's elder brother, Zhu Wendong, was the gambling addict I often mentioned.
Because of his gambling addiction, he stole Zhu Wenjing's ID card and mortgaged his own sister to Xiang Tianhua for one hundred thousand yuan.
Zhu Wenjing had come with money this time to redeem the pawn ticket written by Zhu Wendong himself, which recorded her name and ID number.