After lighting another Hong Nanjing and taking a deep drag, I shook my head and replied, "I refuse."
Upon hearing this, Yu Shuang's delicate eyebrows immediately furrowed, and she asked coldly, "Da Jianming, are you a donkey? Why are you so stubborn?"
"I've told you the conditions, and I've reasoned with you. I don't understand why you still refuse me?"
"Could it be... you just can't swallow your pride? You have to hit me over the head before you'll be satisfied?"
"If that's the case, then hit me! I won't complain."
Yu Shuang's words sent my imagination soaring.
Who the hell cares about hitting her over the head? If you've got the guts, try hitting me inside your body!
I didn't voice these fantasies.
Because much earlier, I had clearly realized that Yu Shuang was a rose with thorns.
No matter how beautiful she looked, if you tried to take advantage of her verbally, you'd find out if she'd prick you.
So, after indulging my fantasies, I took another puff of my cigarette and calmly responded, "Actually, you've shown considerable sincerity."
"But as the old saying goes, 'A thousand cups are not enough for a kindred spirit, while half a word is too much for a stranger!' "
"If you had had this attitude from the very beginning, I might have agreed."
"But I'm naturally someone who responds to gentleness, not hardness!"
"You can't hit me first and then offer me a piece of cotton candy."
"The blow has already been struck, and the pain has lasted for days. If I truly didn't care, how thick-skinned would I have to be!"
"Besides, if you were ugly, and I had to hit you, I could do it!"
"But it's your fault for being so damn beautiful! I can't bring myself to do it, nor do I want to! So..."
"Goodbye!"
With that, I turned and walked away.
But the next second, I looked back at Yu Shuang and added, "Oh, right, I forgot to thank you. Thank you!"
As soon as I finished speaking, without waiting to see Yu Shuang's reaction, I quickly walked out of the mahjong room.
Honestly, although I didn't get to meet Wang Yu this time to try my skills against him, that failed game and Yu Shuang's words had deeply impressed and benefited me.
I had initially thought that no matter how much Wang Yangming and his son stirred up trouble, it would at most be confined to the village. But now, I realized... I was completely wrong!
I had overestimated myself and underestimated them.
I always thought that with my mastery of cheating skills, the path to revenge would be like those Hong Kong movies, an unstoppable streak of wins leading to a perfect ending.
But the reality was the opposite!
As I improved, Wang Yangming and Wang Yu were also constantly progressing.
From village head to town mayor, Wang Yangming's advancement might seem like a mere change of title, but the actual gap was immense!
If I had truly targeted Wang Yu and cheated him out of his money, with Wang Yangming's cunning nature, he might have indeed "played me to death," as Yu Shuang put it!
Therefore, revenge couldn't be rushed.
And so, I, who had intended to leave, stayed because of Yu Shuang's words.
And thus, my story in Huadu began...
...
The next morning, when I woke up, I suddenly found a note on my bedside table!
This sight instantly sent cold sweat down my back, and my youthful vigor completely wilted.
Trembling, I opened the note. Upon reading its contents, my face turned red with anger.
"You good-for-nothing Leng Meng! You pickpocket!"
"I haven't even settled the score with you for deceiving me, and now you're playing this hide-and-seek game?"
"Is this how you apologize? You've scared me sick!"
"If you want to treat me to a meal as an apology, just say so! Sneaking into my room in the middle of the night and leaving a note on my bedside table isn't preparing for a meal! It's preparing for a wake!"
After venting my frustration, I quickly got up and dressed.
After washing up, without even having breakfast, I ran all the way back to the Baole Mahjong Room, intending to settle the score with Leng Meng.
However, to my great disappointment, the Baole Mahjong Room was empty except for Sister Ran, who had left early the previous evening, and two waitresses. Shi Jianguo, Yu Shuang, and Leng Meng were all gone.
I asked Sister Ran where Yu Shuang and the others had gone, but she just smiled, shook her head, and replied, "I don't know."
With no other option, I returned dejectedly.
Back in my hotel room, after a simple packing of my belongings, I left the hotel.
The reason for this was that Leng Meng's sudden appearance had sounded an alarm bell for me.
I remembered Uncle Tuo once saying that a cheater should never easily reveal their whereabouts when traveling.
If economic conditions allowed, one must have multiple hiding places, even five, or n places!
Simply put: strike and move.
The purpose of this, those who understand, will understand. I won't go into further detail here.
After finding a new place to stay, I changed into an outfit with a completely different style from my previous attire.
Then, I hailed a taxi and headed to the Huadu Casino, which Yu Shuang had mentioned.
I had two reasons for doing this.
First, to hone and improve myself.
While the mahjong room allowed for cheating and had a relatively high safety factor, the improvement to my skills and state of mind was extremely limited.
But a casino was different!
Casinos not only had obvious and hidden traps but also all sorts of cheaters who, disguised as various gamblers, walked on the edge of a knife.
Only by playing against these masters could my abilities be maximized.
As for the second reason, it was naturally to see if I could encounter that pickpocket Leng Meng at Huadu and get a little revenge!
In a small, 18th-tier city like Anhai, if you're bored out of your mind and want to visit an underground casino, asking a taxi driver is always the right way to go!
In fact, not just in Anhai, but in any city, if you want to clearly understand those so-called "gray entertainment projects," always take a taxi and offer the driver a cigarette.
You'll find that the door to the gray world... seems to open for you without any warning!
...
On the way to the Huadu Casino, I heard from the rather talkative driver that Huadu was a casino that had sprung up in Anhai in the last two years.
It was said that there was a boss lady there who possessed both beauty and strength. Many people went to Huadu not necessarily to gamble.
Hearing this, I immediately understood.
Wasn't that Yu Shuang?!