Chapter 245: The Proclamation (1)

After she threw out a pair of cards that formed a King Bomb[1. They’re playing a game called Fight The Landlord. It’s a three player card game where there’s a landlord and two peasants. The landlord is decided by a bidding system that takes place at the start of each game, with the other two players who didn’t manage to become the landlord turning into peasants. A King Bomb pair is the strongest hand that you can play in the game. Here’s the wiki entry if you’re interested in learning more about the game! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dou_dizhu], her expression remained the same, but her eyes revealed a smile as she looked at the two peasants sitting at the table. “Next group.”

The peasants who were utterly trashed by landlord Shen howled in anguish.

“My god, what kind of luck does she have! How can she have a Bomb[2. 4 of a kind. Able to beat every other hand in the game other than King Bomb or a stronger bomb]every round? That doesn’t make sense!”

“How terrifying! She’s a true terror!”

They’d come out to relax, so they decided to play a simple card game - Fight The Landlord. It required three people to play, and the losers would be swapped out. Everyone else who was interested could place bets on who they thought was going to win.

As Shen Jingbin was the star of tonight’s gathering, she was naturally part of the first batch of people to play. Wanting to show some consideration towards her, the spectators placed bets on her. At the same time, they’d also gotten themselves ready to console her for when she lost.

Little did they expect her to nab the spot of the landlord for herself, and when she got her cards, the people standing behind her received a shock.

Following that, the position of landlord never left her hand.

“I already told you guys; she’s a pervert!” Shen Jingchen stood behind her and gave a sympathetic look at his fellow companions who were shocked out of their minds.

Someone suddenly pointed to Zhao Chengning and exclaimed, “Hey, Ah Ning, why don’t you go play a round! Go go go, hurry up and play!”

Zhao Chengning had been sitting beside Shen Jingbin the whole time and leaning against the chair’s backrest, looking as if he was just casually lounging about while he admired her as she played. Having been suddenly pointed out, he just repeated what they said, “Me?”

He then looked towards Shen Jingbin.

Shen Jingbin looked right back at him, her eyes shining with anticipation.

“Alright then, I’ll play. We’re still missing one person, who’s going to play?” He said helplessly.

“Me!” Xuya and Jiang Weiwei both jumped at the opportunity. Realising someone else was vying for the spot, they turned to glare at the other party. However, Xuya couldn’t stare Jiang Weiwei down and was forced to silently forfeit.

With that, the participating people in this round were: Shen Jingbin, Zhao Chengning, and Jiang Weiwei.

“Beautiful! Go easy on me~” Jiang Weiwei said as she shot a coquettish glance at Shen Jingbin.

Zhao Chengning chimed in shortly after. “Beautiful, please go easy on me too.”

For some reason, the word ‘beautiful’ sounded so alluring when it came from Zhao Chengning’s mouth.

Shen Jingbin coughed to cover her embarrassment. “Ahem, I’ll try my best to do so.”

The spectators behind them couldn’t stand it any longer and started kicking up a fuss.

“Little Jing, you can’t do this! You didn’t show us any mercy when you played against us, but now you’re going easy against Ah Ning!”

“That’s right, that’s right! This is unfair! I demand equal treatment!”

“Don’t be like this Beautiful; I’ve got money riding on you winning. You almost robbed me blind just now, so the least you could do is let me win this time.”

Shen Jingbin felt a drop of sweat roll down her forehead. She turned to look at Zhao Chengning before she spread her hands and said, “What should I do? They’re not letting me throw the game.”

Jiang Weiwei slammed the table. “Then just come at me! I ain’t afraid of you!”

“Jiang Weiwei, shut up!” Zhao Chengning thought to himself.

Xuya, who’d been muscled out of the way by Jiang Weiwei, was now forced to act as the dealer. As usual, the position of the landlord had landed in Shen Jingbin’s hand once again. Shen Jingbin quietly shot a glance at Zhao Chengning and noticed him dedicating his full attention to his cards.

The landlord was the first to play their hand. Shen Jingbin looked at her cards which were almost all pairs. She had very few single cards, and her smallest card was a ten spade.

Shen Jingbin silently glanced at her opponents. It’s not that I don’t want to go easy on you guys, but these cards are making it impossible for me to do so!

No miracle happened this time around, and Shen Jingbin came out victorious once again. It was only then that the men who’d previously been beaten by her could feel the knots in their hearts unravel.

Look! Even a God like Zhao Chengning lost, so what shame was there in them losing?

Shen Jingbin gave up her seat after her game with Zhao Chengning and Jiang Weiwei and stood over to the side. Shen Jingchen, who had his sleeves rolled up his arms jumped at the opportunity to replace her, looking as if he was afraid she’d suddenly change her mind.

However, although the two of them were siblings, it looked like all of the good luck between them went to Shen Jingbin. After Shen Jingchen stepped up to the plate, it seemed as if he was being pressured the whole time, and he lacked the means to fight back.

Shen Jingbin was happily spectating on the sidelines when she suddenly noticed a gust of warm air from behind her. Turning back slightly, she noticed that Zhao chengning had suddenly appeared there at some point.

“Come with me,” He gently said by her ear.

After that, he began walking towards the balcony. Shen Jingbin looked back at everyone else who was watching the game with rapt attention. No one was paying any attention to her, so she followed after him.

Every lounge on the clubhouse’s second floor had an average size balcony, and each was large enough to accommodate two people. Zhao Chengning drew the curtains to the lounge and balcony closed while also shutting the glass door.

Shen Jingbin leaned against the railing as she watched him go about his business.

“It’s too noisy inside,” He said. Once done, a smile bloomed on Zhao Chengning’s face, and he continued, “What do you think of them?”

She knew he was asking how she felt about his friends.

“They’re not bad. Everyone was pretty outspoken and easygoing,” She replied.

Zhao Chengning walked over to her said and said, “Everyone here today is a childhood friend of mine who have backgrounds similar to mine. Some of them went overseas during junior high school and had come back these past few years. We had an agreement last time that we had to bring over whoever we were interested in for the rest of us to see.”

Zhao Chengning gazed steadily at her when he said that.