The King of Cheating

Chapter 8: No Rules

Chen Xiaoxue stared at Hou Jun for a long moment before Hou Jun finally spoke to me.

"I'll bet my girlfriend!" Hou Jun exclaimed. "Chu Liu, if you win this round, Xiaoxue will go with you today. You can do whatever you want with her. How about it?"

His words stunned everyone at the table. Nobody had expected Hou Jun to wager his girlfriend. But that's the nature of gamblers—when they're desperate, they don't care about anything, not even family ties. What shocked everyone even more was that Chen Xiaoxue didn't object. Instead, she gave me a taunting smile and said, "Chu Liu, if you win, I'll go with you today. You can do whatever you want. So, do you dare?"

Chen Xiaoxue knew what Hou Jun's cards were, which is why she had the confidence to use herself as a bargaining chip.

I looked at Chen Xiaoxue coldly. To me, she wasn't worth even a hundred yuan, let alone ten thousand. But since she had insulted my parents earlier, I had to make sure she learned the price of her foul mouth.

"Fine, I accept. Let's reveal the cards," I said.

The room instantly fell silent as all eyes turned to Hou Jun's hand. His face flushed with excitement, though he tried to maintain the act of not knowing what his cards were.

He picked up the cards, lifted them high into the air, and shouted, "God bless me, give me a big hand!"

With a sharp snap, he slammed the three cards onto the table.

"Ah?" A collective gasp filled the room.

It was a triplet of aces! In Zha Jinhua, this is the best hand possible.

Hou Jun already knew his cards, but he continued his act, laughing triumphantly. "I told you, my luck had to change! This hand, I'm finally turning things around!"

As he reached out to scoop up the pile of money on the table, Chen Xiaoxue was dancing with joy beside him. They thought they had won—they were looking at over ten thousand yuan.

But just as Hou Jun was about to gather the money, I coldly said, "Hold on a second."

Hou Jun looked up at me, and so did everyone else at the table.

"Does having a triplet of aces automatically mean you've won? What if I have a 2-3-5?"

In our local rules of Zha Jinhua, a 2-3-5 hand, while being the lowest combination, can beat a triplet of aces. But it only works against aces.

"Are you dreaming? A 2-3-5? You think you're some gambling god?" Chen Xiaoxue sneered at me.

Hou Jun, of course, didn't believe I could have a 2-3-5, and he demanded, "Stop talking nonsense and just reveal your cards!"

I moved the cigarette box off my cards and slowly flipped over the first one—a two of spades.

Hou Jun's brows furrowed slightly.

Then I carefully revealed the second card—a five of diamonds.

The atmosphere in the room immediately grew tense. Everyone's eyes were fixed on my hand, and Hou Jun's hands trembled as they pressed against the table.

Suddenly, I shouted, "Come on, three!"

With a dramatic flair, I slapped the third card onto the table—a three of hearts.

The room went dead silent. Everyone was dumbfounded, unable to believe what they were seeing. A triplet of aces, beaten by a 2-3-5—this was the kind of hand that happens once in a lifetime, if at all. And yet, here it was, right in front of them.