A Valiant Life

Lin Fan knew that getting the ‘gambling’ knowledge from Wang Ming Yang was not without reason. If Wang Ming Yang wasn’t skilled at it, Lin Fan wouldn’t have gotten it.

Before opening the door, Lin Fan already felt a stifling tension in the air coming from the other side of the door.

The tension was incredible. But of course, it was just a dramatized atmosphere.

There was some noise inside. Just standing at the door, they could hear the noise and on top of that, some high pitched screams.

They had gone too high.

Lin Fan pushed open the door.

He waved his hands. The place was billowing with smoke and it twined around them, choking them slightly. There was quite a number of people gathered there, whispering among each other. Although they weren’t participating in the gambling themselves, each of them looked very suspicious, as if they were all at the table, gambling together.

The table was piled with cash, piles and piles of it. It seemed that they had come prepared.

When Wang Ming Yang saw that Lin Fan had entered, he gave a slight smile.

Lin Fan looked at the man sitting opposite to Wang Ming Yang. His expression looked maniacal as he threw stack after stack of cash onto the table. It was as if he didn’t treat it as money.

He was very imposing. The two other people sitting at the sides shook their heads.

Wang Ming Yang spoke, “Li Hao, that’s a little too much. We’re just playing around, no need to be too serious. If you don’t look at your hand and just keep playing like that, you’ll end up playing too big.”

Chen Li Hao smoked his cigarette as he said, “Brother Wang, there are no restrictions on the gambling table. If I win this way, it’s still a win. Why don’t one of you throw out a house? Otherwise, I’ll just keep playing big without looking at my cards.”

Wang Ming Yang didn’t say anything. Chen Li Hao left him with no choice. The man sitting at the side threw his cards, “If you play like that, who would want to play on? I give up. I’m throwing my pair of Aces. You guys play on.

Chen Li Hao shrugged and said, “All of you have no balls. How can you gamble like that? Gambling is a battle of luck.”

Especially because he saw that guy throw out a pair of Aces, he started laughing. Another fella killed off.

…

Lin Fan looked at the situation and felt that this guy was a little crazy. He was trying to kill them all. He was betting it all on luck. Wang Ming Yang and the other player had all seen their hands, yet he was still playing blindly. If he won, he would indeed win a lot of money.

He Cheng Han, who was standing at the side, started talking, “Master Lin, this Li Hao goes crazy whenever he gambles. Other than the few of them who are willing to play with him, there’s pretty much no one else. He just bets everything on his luck.”

“Is that so?” said Lin Fan calmly. He didn’t think much of it.

Chen Li Hao said, “Brother Wang, it’s just you and I left. What do you say? Do you want me to reveal or do you want to keep going? I can still keep playing. There’s only a million on the table, that’s not enough at all.”

The lady who was being taken care of by Zhu Zhu went forward immediately, “Li Hao, you’ve gone mad…”

Chen Li Hao furrowed his brows, “The men are gambling. What is a woman interrupting for? Scram off.”

Zhu Zhu was pissed, “What’s wrong with you, Li Hao? Why did you scold her? Do you think you’re so great?”

Chen Li Hao glared at Zhu Zhu, then snorted and ignored her. Let her be pissed then. There was nothing wrong at all.

Wang Ming Yang took a few stacks of money and threw them on the table, “Reveal it.”

“What cards do you have? Let me see…” Chen Li Hao said excitedly. That moment, in particular, made him very excited. It was time to see his luck. Dragging it out slowly until the end, if he won, we would have won a large sum. Thrilling. Simply thrilling.

“Single Ace” Wang Ming Yang threw out his tile.

Chen Li Hao looked at Wang Ming Yang’s tile and his expression shifted. His heart was beating furiously, “If I play a pair, I’ll win.”

“No sides…”

“Good, no sides. I’ve won half the battle…”

The third card.

Chen Li Hao threw his card. He saw that the third card had no sides too, then he instantly started laughing, “Sorry, Brother Wang. If it’s not a straight, then it’s a pair. I’ve won.”

When he opened his cards, it was the smallest pair.

The man who had thrown his pair of Aces couldn’t help shaking his head. F*cking ridiculous.

“Sorry Brother Wang, I’ve won,” said Chen Li Hao with a grin. Then, he looked over at the lady, “You saw that? I’m not someone who would lose. If I had listened to you, I would’ve been finished long ago.” After that, he looked back at Wang Ming Yang again, “Brother Wang, you sure got some guts, to dare to challenge me with a single Ace But you are really unlucky. Throwing away a pair or Aces. What a shame.”

He was delighted with himself. It was a f*cking thrill.

One of the men waved his hand, “I’m done. You guys play on.”

Chen Li Hao looked at him, “Don’t be like that. Didn’t we say that we would play till the end? It’s not right to just withdraw halfway like that.”

The man said, “Li Hao, no one would want to play with you like that. You basically just want to fight with us to the death.”

“How is this fighting to the death? This is just how gambling is. There are wins and losses. That’s the thrill of it. Come play a few more.”

The man sighed, then finally sat forward again. Since it had come to this, he decided to go for a few more rounds.

Start.

Cards were dealt.

Everyone had to put ten thousand each. When it reached Chen Li Hao, he raised the bets again.

Chen Li Hao shook his head, “Brothers, I’m raising the bets. It shouldn’t be a problem, right? If you can’t take it, then just look at your cards.”

The spectators were all sighing.

They seldom saw Chen Li Hao playing cards there. In the past Salons, Chen Li Hao had suggested playing but he was always rejected. But this time, they agreed. They hadn’t played for a long time and just wanted a casual game.

But they never thought that it would come to this. The gambling Li Hao and the usual Li Hao were two different people. The difference was too huge.

They knew that Li Hao would go maniacal when he gambled, but they didn’t expect it to be this bad. After all these years, he hadn’t changed one bit.

At that moment, Lin Fan stood behind Wang Ming Yang. Wang Ming Yang turned around and said, “It will be over soon.”

Lin Fan replied, “No worries, take your time.”

Very quickly, the cards were played.

The other two players had seen their cards and discarded them. Even the small pairs were discarded. If Chen Li Hao wasn’t there, they could still play around a little and try their luck but now, they didn’t want to anymore.

Chen Li Hao looked at Wang Ming Yang, “Brother Wang, are you going to see your cards, or am I going to see mine?”

Wang Ming Yang smiled, “I’ll go. After this round, I’m done playing.”

Chen Li Hao smiled back, “That’s fine but if you see your cards, you can’t open mine. I have to see mine too. In the end, we have to have one final death battle.”

Wang Ming Yang slowly peeked at his own cards. A small straight, nothing big. Then, he threw his cash forward, “Alright, you look at your cards. One last round and it’s over. Let’s not make too much of a scene.”

Chen Li Hao laughed, then slowly looked at his cards. His expression changed slightly. The corners of his mouth were raised and a gleeful smile appeared on his face.

“Brother Wang, since it’s like this, I’m going all in. Even my car, my stocks, everything. I’m going to win for sure.”

Wang Ming Yang was startled, “Li Hao, is that necessary?”

Li Hao’s wife rushed forward, “What are you trying to do? That’s your Brother Wang! Did you not think this through?”

Chen Li Hao glanced at her and said, “I think the one who’s not thinking is you.”

“You…”

Lin Fan patted Wang Ming Yang’s shoulder and smiled, “Let me see your cards.”

Wang Ming Yang didn’t mind. Lin Fan placed his hand on the three cards with a smile on his face. His thumb raised slightly and a crisp sound came from the cards. Then, he placed the cards back down.

“Not bad. Since he’s willing to gamble, just go with him,” said Lin Fan with a grin.

Wang Ming Yang laughed, then picked up his cards. He glanced at them without much thought. He was prepared to throw his card out. But at that moment, when he saw the three cards clearly, he was stunned. He rubbed his eyes as if he couldn’t see clearly.

Then, he looked at Lin Fan with a look of astonishment.

Lin Fan just smiled and said nothing.

Chen Li Hao said confidently, “Brother Wang, are you playing? My things are all here.”

The surrounding crowd whispered amongst themselves. They felt that Chen Li Hao had gone overboard. It was supposed to be a fun game but now, it had reached such a stage. It was all serious now.

“Li Hao, we’re all friends here. We’ve known each other for a long time. How can you gamble with Ming Yang and the rest so recklessly…”

“Yeah. It was a pleasant Salon but you’ve caused so much tension. What’s the point of that?”

The crowd all tried to stop him. They had experienced this before. But it had never gotten so drastic.

From the start till then, Li Hao had gambled with his entire net worth.

They were simply playing with fire.

Wang Ming Yang looked at Lin Fan, then looked at Chen Li Hao, then his wife and finally, he looked down at his cards, pondering.

“It’s nothing much. That’s just how gambling is,” said Chen Li Hao. then, he looked at Wang Ming Yang, “Brother Wang, what do you say?”

Wang Ming Yang decided not to think too much.

“I’m done. I’m done playing. Li Hao, I want to tell you that gambling is fine but don’t be like this. A little gamble can boost your mood but big gambles are bad for you. If you carry on like this, one day you will be in deep trouble.”

Chen Li Hao laughed, “Brother Wang, I’m not stupid. If I wasn’t confident, I wouldn’t play like this. Let me show you my cards so you don’t think I was bluffing you.”

He threw the three cards onto the table.

They were…

Three Kings.

Then, Lin Fan gave Wang Ming Yang a surprised look and laughed.