Undoubtedly, the handsome man gained the upper hand.
After taking turns rolling the dice, everyone began to draw their tiles in sequence.
Drawing the tiles meant the mahjong game... had officially begun!
Even though I saw the handsome man cheat while rolling the dice, I still had no intention of cheating myself. I just wanted to play normally.
If I didn't lose too much, it would be considered a win!
My purpose for being at this game today was to make contact with Zhao Mingyue.
Because I wanted to see if Yu Shuang's intelligence was inaccurate, or if Wang Yangming's affair with his mistress was something else entirely?
Or perhaps, both were true!?
But after less than two rounds, I was already finding it unbearable!
My original plan was to lose some money to Zhao Mingyue, leave a good impression on her, and then find an opportunity to communicate and probe.
However, the objective of this handsome man and beautiful woman duo was completely opposite to mine.
They were here to win Zhao Mingyue's money! And right from the start, they began to intentionally feed each other tiles and discard winning tiles.
In addition to that, the handsome man was intermittently applying "falling flowers" to some mahjong tiles.
Much like the "welding" of playing cards I mentioned before, applying "falling flowers" to mahjong tiles is also a relatively common cheating method.
Although it was very subtle and difficult to detect, it still didn't escape my eyes.
Because I had been watching him all along!
It was only then that I understood why the handsome man, who was no older than twenty-five or twenty-six, was sporting a slicked-back, shiny hairstyle that men in their thirties or forties would wear.
It turned out to be for the convenience of applying "falling flowers"!
"Falling flowers" on mahjong tiles are generally done using special glue.
And this glue, made of special materials, can be wiped clean at any time.
Things like hairspray and makeup cream can achieve this. And the hairspray the handsome man was using undoubtedly fit this perfectly!
With a whole glob of hairspray stuck to his hair, it might be a bit difficult to wipe clean.
But if you apply the hairspray bit by bit to the mahjong tiles separately, you'll find that wiping it clean... only takes a flick of the finger!
After observing for another round, I confirmed that the handsome man was using the "Nine-Character Falling Flower Method."
The so-called "Nine-Character Falling Flower Method" involves applying "falling flowers" only to tiles with the characters "Wan" (万), "Tong" (筒), and "Suo" (索).
Because these three types of tiles only go up to nine, such as: Nine Wan, Nine Tong, Nine Suo.
Therefore, marking these three types of mahjong tiles is collectively referred to as the "Nine-Character Falling Flower Method" by those in the cheating world.
Although strictly speaking, the "Nine-Character Falling Flower Method" isn't really a cheating technique, it's practical, highly concealed, and has a high success rate!
In fact, many cheaters have even composed a jingle for the "Nine-Character Falling Flower Method."
"Nine-character falling flowers, wealth comes home. Five on the left, four on the right, win till you die!"
(ps: Five on the left and four on the right refers to the position of the falling flowers on Wan, Tong, and Suo tiles. Generally, falling flowers are applied to the edges and corners of the mahjong tiles. The left side marks points one to five for Wan, Tong, and Suo, while the right side marks points six to nine. With thousands of years of cultural heritage in our nation, the left side is considered superior. Therefore, the falling flower count on the left is one more than on the right.)
Many cheaters choose to use the "Nine-Character Falling Flower Method" to cheat when playing mahjong.
Then, they would decide whether to continue cheating based on the specific situation.
In today's mahjong game, that handsome man didn't need to cheat further.
Because he had accomplices feeding him tiles and discarding winning tiles, coupled with the "Nine-Character Falling Flower Method" as a backup, he was basically winning all the time.
See, after his female companion "accidentally" discarded a winning tile, the handsome man once again declared "Hu!"
I thought that with such a crude performance, Zhao Mingyue, even if she didn't see through it directly, would at least have some inkling.
But I didn't expect that she seemed to... completely ignore it!
I don't know if she didn't realize it or had some other plans.
Although Zhao Mingyue was unaware, Sun Jingjing, as an outsider, was as sharp as a fox.
Seeing the situation, Sun Jingjing immediately glanced sideways at the handsome man and said sarcastically, "Hey, Qi Bin, your luck today is a bit too good, isn't it!?"
"Do you not even need to self-draw to declare Hu?"
The implication was that someone was deliberately discarding winning tiles.
It seemed Sun Jingjing wanted to awaken Zhao Mingyue in this way.
However, before the handsome man named Qi Bin could speak, his female companion immediately turned her gaze to Sun Jingjing.
Giving Sun Jingjing a displeased glare, the female companion said irritably, "What do you mean by that!? Are you saying I deliberately discarded a winning tile?"
"This isn't the first time we've played cards together, why would I do something like this?"
"Everyone has their bad luck streaks, and I don't want this either!"
Upon hearing this, Sun Jingjing did not respond. Instead, she silently turned her gaze to Zhao Mingyue, wanting to see if there would be any reaction from her.
Zhao Mingyue smiled gently and said softly, "Oh! We are all good friends. Luck ebbs and flows, and it's normal to win and lose when playing cards."
"Let's continue, continue!"
I had to admit that Zhao Mingyue's conduct at the table was indeed excellent, and her magnanimity was also great.
With just a few words, she had silently resolved a potential dispute. She was a person who knew how to handle situations!
After the small interlude, the game continued.
Since Zhao Mingyue didn't understand or mind, I naturally didn't need to expose or point out Qi Bin.
After all, I wasn't here to win money.
So if she wanted to lose, let her lose.
However, during this time, I still tried my best to feed Zhao Mingyue tiles, hoping to ensure that she... at least wouldn't lose too badly!
The reason for doing this wasn't due to an overflow of sympathy, but because I wanted to use this opportunity to test Zhao Mingyue, to see if she genuinely didn't understand, or...
As if sensing something, whenever Zhao Mingyue's gentle and beautiful face happened to meet my gaze, a thoughtful smile would appear.
At this sight, I immediately realized... Zhao Mingyue actually knew what was going on!
But then, why was she pretending to be oblivious and losing money silently?
Thus, carrying a belly full of questions, this mahjong game continued for more than four hours.
In the evening, as it approached six o'clock.
After finishing another round, Zhao Mingyue glanced at the wall clock and suddenly said with a light laugh, "I'm a bit hungry after sitting for so long, hehe. How about... we go to the small restaurant next door to eat something before we continue playing?"
Everyone agreed to Zhao Mingyue's suggestion.
After collecting their money, everyone, including myself, stood up and left the private room, preparing to go downstairs for a meal.
However, at that moment...
"Um, Sun Jingjing's boyfriend... could you wait for me for a moment?"
Upon hearing this, I immediately froze in place.