Four people playing cards; as the saying goes, one’s character is revealed at the card table.
Xie Tinglan played cautiously; Yao Dai made bold probes; Zongzheng Huangyue silently calculated the cards remaining on the table; and Xin Jiuxian learned the rules.
The first round.
Zongzheng Huangyue: “Bomb. I win.”
The second round.
Zongzheng Huangyue: “Straight. I win.”
The third round.
Zongzheng Huangyue broke apart a hand that should have won directly.
Xie Tinglan threw down a bomb, then a single card. “I win.”
“Second Senior Brother’s luck is truly good.” Zongzheng Huangyue casually flipped her remaining cards over and tossed them into the pile.
But Xie Tinglan flipped her cards back over, his tone certain.
“You could have won. Why didn't you?”
Zongzheng Huangyue’s expression remained unchanged as she looked up with a surprised tone. “Oh? I actually had a chance to win? It seems I misread my cards just now. Second Senior Brother, can you let me have a redo?”
“No.”
Xie Tinglan frowned slightly. Every time this person played a card, she managed to block him perfectly. Could she really be that careless? Or had she calculated everyone’s next move and was intentionally feigning weakness?
The fourth round.
Xin Jiuxian started the game. “What is this?”
Xie Tinglan expressionlessly tossed back the cards he had just finished organizing.
“A full straight. You win.”
“Oh.”
Yao Dai was amazed. “Your luck is incredible.”
Zongzheng Huangyue looked up slightly. For someone who didn't even know how to play to start with a winning straight before anyone else could move—that luck was indeed formidable.
The fifth round.
Xie Tinglan won.
This time, Zongzheng Huangyue hadn't actually calculated incorrectly; it was because Xie Tinglan had realized she was calculating the cards and everyone’s psychology, so he began using counter-strategies to feed her false information.
The sixth round.
Xin Jiuxian won again. As before, the game ended right as it started. Her combined pairs, straights, and bombs left no one else with even a chance to play.
The seventh round.
Zongzheng Huangyue won. Xie Tinglan gave her a faint sideways glance.
The eighth round.
Xin Jiuxian won. It was another immediate finish, directly blocking the possibility of Zongzheng Huangyue’s psychological warfare and Xie Tinglan’s technical skill from ever manifesting.
Once was a coincidence, twice was an accident, but what about three times?
Even Yao Dai, who had been losing constantly and hadn't won a single round, couldn't help but reach out and ruffle the girl's sleeves. “Are you cheating?”
She had lost so much she was becoming numb. Was her gambling luck really this bad? Why was Old Six’s luck more insane than stepping into a pile of lucky gold?
Xin Jiuxian remained expressionless. “What is cheating?”
“Don't speak.”
Yao Dai’s face darkened, stung by those words that, while harmless in intent, were extremely insulting. Great. This girl still hadn't fully figured out the rules, yet she had won three times purely through luck—and right at the start of the rounds, no less.
The ninth round.
Before drawing cards, Yao Dai couldn't help but clasp her hands together and mutter quietly, “Please, just let me win once. I already owe three people twenty-four shifts of cooking. Just once, at least to prove it’s not my brains but my luck that's the problem! I’m willing to trade one year of Xie Xiao’er’s luck for it!”
Xie Tinglan grew impatient. “Hurry up.”
Yao Dai rolled her eyes at him. “None of your business.”
She exhaled onto her palms, rubbed them together, and then carefully reached out to draw her cards.
Luckily, it wasn't Xin Jiuxian’s turn to start this time, otherwise, it would have ended immediately.
As Zongzheng Huangyue played her cards at a critical moment, Yao Dai screamed loudly.
“Wait, wait! I want that! A straight!”
She threw down her cards in a heap.
Xie Tinglan and Xin Jiuxian turned their heads to look at her simultaneously.
Xie Tinglan pulled a specific card from her pile. “You stole a card. This Two has already been played.”
Xin Jiuxian silently revealed the three straights and bombs in her hand. “Your straight is right here. Where did you pick up your cards from?”
Zongzheng Huangyue tossed her cards down and leaned back, calmly looking at Yao Dai. “You should have seven cards left in your hand. How are there only four? Did you eat them?”
The gazes of the three were far too cold. Yao Dai, who had been losing and was already buried under a massive debt, sniffled. Sweating profusely, she loudly tried to argue her way out of it.
“Eh? Right, how could my cards be the same as yours? Who—you guys are playing tricks! Who stole my cards?!”
“Or is someone trying to frame me?! Who is it?! Come out!” Yao Dai stared fiercely at the non-existent people around her, seeing only air.
The scene was far too familiar. Zongzheng Huangyue remembered a few days ago at the Xianle Grand Ceremony when their Master had thrown sunflower seed shells at Hua Cishu and then questioned others with the same “righteous indignation.”
She was truly the Eldest Disciple. One couldn't say she was exactly like her Master; one could only say there was zero difference.
Xie Tinglan was used to her shameless style of turning her back and denying everything. Zongzheng Huangyue had also figured out the general temperaments and brains of the three and, having achieved her goal, didn't bother to press further.
Only Xin Jiuxian remained.
She stared at the woman and enunciated each word clearly. “You. Are. Cheating.”
The boomerang of her own words hit Yao Dai, leaving her stunned. She replied righteously, “I absolutely did not cheat! Someone clearly framed me! Do you have evidence? Don't talk nonsense without evidence!”
Xin Jiuxian frowned. She had no evidence, but the round shouldn't have been ruined like this.
“Redo. I want to keep playing,” the girl said with a serious and stubborn tone.
Perhaps because she had been in the forbidden ground for too long with no one to talk to or play with, she became quite intense when she encountered something novel.
Yao Dai shook her head and tossed the cards onto the table, leaning back in her chair with a look of utter resignation. “I’m not playing anymore. I lose every single time. If we keep playing, I’ll be covering a whole year’s worth of food money.”
She temporarily blamed it on her bad luck. She wasn't stupid; anyone with eyes could see that Old Six was a literal lucky charm. She’d be a fool to keep playing cards with her. Even if she cheated ten thousand times, she couldn't beat her luck with one hand.
Xin Jiuxian knitted her brows. But she still wanted to play; it was fun.
Seeing that Yao Dai refused no matter what, a spiritual light flashed in Xin Jiuxian's right hand. She directly summoned the Yulan Floating Light Zither and leaned it against her arm, upright on the ground.
Yao Dai let out a soft scoff. “What? You want to play me a little tune to liven things up and beg me to play with you?”
If it weren't for their Master, she never would have peacefully accepted these Junior Brothers and Sisters. Not resorting to violence was her greatest concession. If they pushed her too far, she would just have a fight; anyway, if she got hurt, she could just go cry to her Master.
Seeing Xin Jiuxian bring out her zither, Zongzheng Huangyue immediately stood up and moved three steps back.
Observing the movement, Yao Dai spoke in a lazy tone, “What are you backing away for? Is she going to play a song so bad it makes you faint?”
The next second...
Thud!
Standing to the side, Zongzheng Huangyue spoke blandly, “She won't make you faint from her music. She’ll just knock you out with the zither.”
With that innocent, weak, and pale face, Xin Jiuxian shouldered the zither with one hand and swung it toward Yao Dai, her gaze stubborn.
“Play with me.”
Fortunately, Yao Dai was no pushover. She immediately flew backward, her right hand surging with spiritual energy.
“You want to fight me, your Eldest Senior Sister?”
Xin Jiuxian’s silver hair hung low. Her indifferent eyes were as calm as still water, yet they held a hint of defiance.
“Master said it is only the order of joining, not seniority.”
Yao Dai let out a cold laugh. “If you want to be the Eldest, you’ll have to ask if the others agree.”
Never mind anyone else; even Xie Xiao’er never bothered with seniority.
Xin Jiuxian thought seriously for a moment. “If I beat all five of you, I’ll be the Eldest?”
Xie Tinglan’s brow furrowed, and Zongzheng Huangyue also glanced over.
Wanting to be the boss? Keep dreaming.
Rate on N.U.
