Release that Man

“The casino was built by someone outside the village.” The young man did not follow after depositing Ye Shuang at the inside lobby. He smiled to say his farewell. “There are no locals who are familiar with this business. It was the old village master who recruited an outside merchant who started this place. So, we follow that person’s rules here. You normally have no right to enter this place unless you’re a VIP.”

“Thank you for the guide today. I’ll go in on my own.” Ye Shuang nodded in understanding. The young man found a girl who wore a server’s outfit from nearby. He whispered something in her ears and pushed her before Ye Shuang. “Xiao Ming can help show you around. If you still need a guide after you leave this place, you can have Xiao Ming call me.”

“Your girlfriend?” Ye Shuang asked with hidden glee.

The young man smiled shyly, but the girl admitted openly. “I am currently not in any relationship.”

The young man’s eyes darkened with dissatisfaction.

Whoops, touched a nerve there. Ye Shuang understood the situation instantly and swiftly moved away from the sad topic.

After the young man left the casino, Xiao Ming showed Ye Shuang around. Servers like them did not have a high salary, but those who came to the casino and had won big would give some tips either to buy some respect or just for luck. That was Xiao Ming’s main income. If she was lucky, her tip for one day could match her salary for the whole month.

Xiao Ming introduced the rules of the various games to Ye Shuang and asked at the end, “What are you in the mood to try, Miss Han?”

There was already quite a number of people around. Each betting table and roulette table was already filled with people. Their emotions were high, and the difference was how many chips they were holding. Ye Shuang glanced around and showed a lack of interest. “There are three floors here. What are the lower two floors for?”

“The basement second floor is for the big betters; one has to possess a certain number of chips to gain entry. The third floor is invitation only. I still haven’t had the right to enter that floor.” Xiao Ming hinted in a roundabout way. “Actually, if we’re just comparing the atmosphere, this floor is the best, and there are more games to play here.”

Many people would be interested in high-end bets, but actually, for those tables, the types of games were far less varied. Furthermore, the chip requirement did not mean that you only needed to bring so much money. One had to consider the issue of luck as well. For example, the entry requirement for the second floor was one million, but you might lose one billion there. Xiao Ming thought that Ye Shuang was just being curious. After all, the way she saw it, the girl was not that interested in gambling. This kind of person was fine if they lost one or two smaller bets. If they were taken to the big table and lost a lot, everyone would only look bad.

Ye Shuang heard what Xiao Ming did not say, but her purpose there was to shock the people on the inside, so she did not intend to change her mind just like that. “You’re right, then let’s go to the second floor.”

Since you think I’m right, why are we still going to the second floor?

To get to the second-floor casino, Xiao Ming accompanied Ye Shuang to change for a larger chip amount. Currently, Ye Shuang had no issue of budget. Naturally, the funds were provided by her friend, Han Chu. After all, the latter believed that Ye Shuang would never lose, so he was unnaturally generous when he approved of the budget.

...

After counting the chips, she got a half face mask. Ye Shuang followed Xiao Ming to the second-floor casino, and there were already four people sitting in the lobby, three men and one woman. They were chatting or reading. It did not look like a casino at all. There were a group of people who did not wear masks standing by the side. They were all servers. Around ten of them stood in one small area. They did not hurry the guests or walk forward to greet them; they would only come forth to see the request when called.

“There’s another one,” a man wearing an opera mask commented with a smile and raised his hand to greet Ye Shuang, “Come join us. What kind of game are you here for?”

Ye Shuang scanned the rooms that they were surrounded by. There were various plaques on the wall. Other than poker, there was mahjong as well. Looking at the four, they were probably not there for mahjong because if they were, they would have started a game already. Therefore, Ye Shuang smiled. “There’s nothing that particularly stands out to me since this is my first time here. How about I try my hand at some cards?”

Xiao Ming lowered her head to look at Ye Shuang, who took her seat on the sofa, in shock. The latter’s voice had dropped in pitch compared to normal, and there was a hoarse quality to it. However, considering that it might be altered by the mask, Xiao Ming was confused only for a while before letting it drop.

“That’s perfect—we’re here for a game of cards.” The opera man turned to the rest. “How about blackjack? Shall we wait some more?”

This suggestion was mainly for Ye Shuang’s benefit. Since the four were already sitting there, the one who joined later might suspect them of knowing each other and thus make rounds for one another. Therefore, with more people joining in, at least the game would be fairer and safer. But Ye Shuang was more courageous than the man thought. Her lips turned up. “That’s fine. Five is more than enough, right?”

The other only female on the sofa was sucking on a cigarette. She wore red lipstick and a beautiful black dress that was cut to her hips that showed off her figure. She looked like a sex symbol from the fifties and sixties. She originally did not give Ye Shuang much thought, but after hearing Ye Shuang, she turned around with interest. “Little sister, you sure are brave.”

Then she tapped on the long cigarette. The ash bounded down as she stood up. She raised her hand at Ye Shuang and smiled. “I’m He, you can call me Sister He.”

“Sister He.” Ye Shuang responded politely and stood up to take her hand. “My name is Han.”

The two ladies had no issues with the suggested game, so the rest naturally all stood up to prepare to enter the card room. Ye Shuang walked at the back. Xiao Ming rushed to keep up. She whispered in Ye Shuang’s ear, “Miss Han, this Miss He is good at gambling. This is your first time here...”

People like her depended on their guest to earn their living. In other words, if their guest was lucky, they would be lucky. Even if they did not wish for the casino to lose money, they did not wish for their client to lose too much as well. Furthermore, this was a case of gambling between two clients. Naturally, she sided more with her own client. As long as she did not reveal any inside info, giving simple advice was acceptable.

Ye Shuang paused and chuckled. “That’s fine. I’m quite good at gambling as well.”

Xiao Ming did not wear a mask, so her pained expression was revealed for everyone to see.

“Don’t worry.” Ye Shuang could not help but be tickled fancy. Her low voice took on a seductive undertone. “I will win. For your tip. Okay?”