Chapter 146: Incomprehensible Words
Although he didn't understand what being handsome had to do with gambling skills, Li Mucheng suddenly felt a bit belittled when a stranger challenged him to a game. He immediately agreed, saying, "Alright, since you've come with my unlucky self, you must have some skills. I'll gamble with you. What do you want to bet on?"
"No, just one round. We won't bet on something difficult. You might know, but I don't. Let's just bet on dice, guessing the size. One round to determine the winner," Yang Chen said, raising a finger.
"One round? That's not much fun. What's the prize for the bet?" Li Mucheng grumbled.
Yang Chen chuckled and leaned in to whisper something in Li Mucheng's ear.
Li Mucheng's eyes lit up with excitement. "Seriously?"
"Why would I lie to you? I'm on your turf; would I dare to lie? It depends on whether you're capable enough," Yang Chen replied.
"What if I lose? What do you want then?" Li Mucheng wasn't naive and immediately asked cautiously.
Yang Chen still raised a finger. "One million. How about that?"
Li Mucheng pretended to ponder deeply. "So you're after money. One million for the terms you mentioned does seem fair. I'm not afraid of you cheating. I'll take the bet!" With that, he got up and walked to the nearest dice table, dispersing the gamblers there.
Seeing the two were really going to gamble, Li Muhua whispered to Yang Chen, "Mr. Yang, I wonder what bet you've placed?"
Yang Chen made a hushing gesture. "Can't reveal the divine plan."
"Hey! What are you muttering about? Come and gamble! Are you going to be the banker or am I?" Li Mucheng asked loudly.
Yang Chen shrugged. "As you wish."
Li Mucheng grinned smugly. "Since you've said 'as you wish,' then I won't let you. You must want to act generous on purpose, making me feel embarrassed, wanting me to give the banker's seat to you, right? Do you think I'm a three-year-old? So easy to fool? Since you said 'as you wish,' then I'll listen to you. I'll be the banker myself!"
After saying this, Li Mucheng felt quite clever, laughing heartily a few times before leisurely shaking the cup in his hand, the sound of the dice rolling inside.
Yang Chen rested his hands on the table, tapping his fingers, waiting leisurely for the dice to stop.
Many around them held their breath, after all, the bet was one million for a single round of dice, even though most of them were wealthy, such a large-scale dice game was rare.
After about half a minute, Li Mucheng's arms were sore from shaking the cup before he finally stopped, and the dice under the cup also fell silent.
"Your guess," Li Mucheng said with full determination, lifting his chin.
Yang Chen absentmindedly scratched his ear and didn't even look at the cup. He looked at Li Mucheng's face and said, "It's impossible to be big. I guess small."
Li Mucheng laughed heartily. "You guessed wrong. Based on my experience as a gambling expert for over a decade, it must be big!"
With that, Li Mucheng suddenly lifted the cup!
"1, 1, 3, small," a nearby dealer whispered.
Li Mucheng's face fell instantly, murmuring repeatedly, "Impossible."
Seeing his elder brother lose, Li Muhua smiled at Yang Chen and said, "Mr. Yang, your gambling skills are superb. You've won. I'll send the one million check to your room later."
"No need!"
Li Mucheng interjected abruptly, stopping him. "I'll write the check since I lost. I don't need your dirty money!" With that, he glared at Li Muhua, grabbed the checkbook from Li Meng beside him, and swiftly wrote a one million check from Yanxia Bank, handing it to Yang Chen on the spot.
Yang Chen didn't hesitate either, accepting it and stuffing it into his pocket. "Looks like Young Master Li isn't so lucky. I know when to stop. I'll take my leave tonight."
Despite being embarrassed by Li Mucheng's outburst, Li Muhua didn't get angry. After smiling amiably at everyone present, he caught up with Yang Chen from behind and asked softly, "Mr. Yang, would you mind telling me what the bet was between you and my brother? I'm curious why my brother suddenly agreed to gamble with you."
Yang Chen slowly took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, gesturing for Li Muhua to light it for him.
Li Muhua didn't mind and gladly borrowed a lighter from his entourage to light Yang Chen's cigarette.
After taking a drag, Yang Chen nodded in satisfaction and said, "You are indeed more sensible than your brother. Your father should indeed keep an eye on you."
"Mr. Yang, you flatter me. I'm just being hospitable," Li Muhua waved his hand.
Yang Chen blew out a few smoke rings and smirked, "Actually, I didn't say anything special to him. I just said if he won, I would help him get Mo Qianni drunk and send her to his room."
Li Muhua looked horrified and hurriedly said, "Mr. Yang, how could you treat Miss Mo like this? If Miss Mo finds out that you secretly used her as a bet, it would hurt her and ruin the friendship between us!"
"I won, didn't I? Why are you in such a rush?" Yang Chen asked with a smirk.
Li Muhua blushed, coughed a few times, and said, "I'm just concerned about the strained relationship between you two, which wouldn't be conducive to our future negotiations. But I'll definitely keep it a secret for Mr. Yang. I just hope Mr. Yang won't do this again in the future."
"Don't worry, I won't do it again in the short term. One million is enough for me for a while," Yang Chen said contentedly.
When he returned to his room, it was almost midnight. The quiet room was softly lit. Yang Chen turned on the TV, and the satellite TV happened to be broadcasting a French radio station, featuring a reading program. Since there were no language requirements, Yang Chen didn't mind and let it play.
As he turned on the tap in the bathroom, intending to take a good bath, he had just taken off his upper clothes when there was a knock on the door.
Curious about who would knock at such a late hour, Yang Chen walked to the door and opened it, only to find Mo Qianni standing outside wearing loose and casual men's pajamas. Her damp hair told him that she had just finished showering, and her body still exuded the fragrance of shower gel.
"Oh, I thought it was the maid I called for. I didn't expect it to be Minister Mo in higher-grade attire," Yang Chen joked.
Mo Qianni blushed and turned her head away. "Couldn't you put on some clothes before opening the door?!"
"I was about to take a bath. Can't you come when I'm not bathing?" Yang Chen said, taking a few steps back into the room without intending to put on clothes. "Is there something urgent at this late hour? Don't tell me you really want to sleep with me? I'm very particular about cleanliness."
Mo Qianni wasn't a shy girl. Seeing that Yang Chen had no intention of covering up, she didn't dwell on his bare upper body but walked into Yang Chen's room, inspecting the bed and the bathroom.
Yang Chen was puzzled. "Miss Mo, is there anything worth checking out? Our rooms are the same."
"Hmph," Mo Qianni glared at him. "I'm here to keep an eye on Ruoxi, to see if you're bringing any vixens back irresponsibly at night."
Yang Chen suddenly realized and smirked, "Are you really here to keep an eye on my wife? I think Ruoxi wouldn't care about such matters at all. It seems like Miss Mo is the one who's quite concerned, huh?"
Mo Qianni was hit right on the mark, her ears burning, her heart racing. She had indeed been bothered by what happened on the plane during the day. The thought of Yang Chen possibly bringing other women back at night made her feel uncomfortable. After much consideration, she decided to come and check things out.
"Stop gloating there. Who do you think you are, Tang Monk? Everyone is chasing after you for a piece of meat. I'm just fulfilling my duty as a good friend. Since you didn't bring any vixens back, I'll leave," Mo Qianni said.
Feeling embarrassed to stay any longer, Mo Qianni lowered her head and hurriedly tried to slip out of Yang Chen's room.
Suddenly, Yang Chen grabbed Mo Qianni's chilly arm. She froze in place with her back to him, nervously asking, "Why did you grab me?"
Yang Chen sighed and said, "I'm sorry. I was wrong that night, and I sincerely apologize to you."
The night he referred to was naturally the one at Mo Qianni's home, where Yang Chen pretended to be asleep, waiting for Mo Qianni to kiss him. In fact, it was Mo Qianni's own desire, and Yang Chen, as the passive party, was not at fault. However, in terms of emotional sincerity, Yang Chen did deceive this emotionally naive woman. By pretending to be asleep and deliberately obtaining a kiss from her, he was essentially being irresponsible and taking advantage. Mo Qianni's genuine feelings didn't get a genuine response.
Mo Qianni's delicate body trembled slightly, her beautiful face drooped as she faced away from Yang Chen, her eyes reddening. But she held back her tears, refusing to cry. Taking a deep breath, she said faintly, "I don't know what you're talking about. Don't speak to me in incomprehensible words."
With that, Mo Qianni forcefully broke free from Yang Chen's grip and quickly ran back to her own room.
Yang Chen couldn't help but smirk wryly. This apology was a bit late, but there was nothing he could do. If he had done it earlier, she would have had an even stronger reaction and wouldn't have listened to him at all.
As for whether Mo Qianni could forgive him, Yang Chen didn't dare to hope for anything. The relationship between them had reached a point where they were close yet distant, tangled and unresolved.
Half an hour later, Yang Chen finished his bath, changed into the pajamas prepared in the guest room, turned off the lights, and lay down in bed, preparing to drift off to sleep.
Suddenly, he wondered if Lin Ruoxi from Zhonghai would call him at this time and ask something affectionate like "Are you doing well?" After thinking for a moment, Yang Chen found it ridiculous. If the Ice Beauty really said something like that to him, she would probably think she was hallucinating at midnight.
Just as Yang Chen closed his eyes, intending to sleep peacefully, his keen hearing picked up some sounds he shouldn't have heard.