Chen Xiaoxue stared at Hou Jun.
The two of them locked eyes for a long while.
Then suddenly, Hou Jun turned to me and said,
"I'll bet my girlfriend. Chuliu, if you win this hand, Xiaoxue will go with you tonight. You can do whatever you want with her. How about it?"
Everyone around the table was stunned.
No one expected Hou Jun to go so far as to bet his own girlfriend.
But that's gamblers for you—once they get red-eyed, they don't even recognize their own family.
What was even more shocking was that Chen Xiaoxue didn't object.
She sneered, a mocking glint in her eyes, and said to me,
"Chuliu, if you win, I'll go with you tonight. Whatever you want to do, I'll obey. Do you dare?"
Chen Xiaoxue already knew Hou Jun's hand.
That's why she dared to make herself the wager.
I stared coldly at her.
To me, she wasn't worth even a hundred, let alone ten thousand.
But she had insulted my parents.
Today, I had to make her pay for that filthy mouth.
"Alright, I accept. Let's reveal our cards."
The room fell silent.
Everyone focused on Hou Jun's three cards.
He was flushed with excitement, but still pretended not to know what he had.
He picked up his cards, held them up high, and shouted,
"Heaven help me! Give me a big one!"
Smack!
He slammed the three cards onto the table.
"Huh?!"
Gasps echoed around the room.
A triplet!
Triple Aces!
Hou Jun had slow-played a triple-A—the biggest hand in zhajinhua.
Of course, he had known what he was holding all along.
Still, he kept up the act, laughing out loud at his "luck."
"I told you my bad run was over! One hand and I'm back on top!"
He reached for the pile of money on the table, grinning.
Chen Xiaoxue clapped along, dancing with joy.
They thought they'd won—more than ten thousand yuan.
Just as Hou Jun was about to scoop up the cash, I said coldly,
"Hold on."
Hou Jun looked up.
So did everyone else.
"You think triple Aces is an automatic win? What if I've got 2, 3, and 5?"
2-3-5 is the smallest possible hand in zhajinhua.
But in our Harbin rules, 2-3-5 beats only one thing—triple Aces.
"Keep dreaming. 2-3-5? You think you're the God of Gamblers now?"
Chen Xiaoxue shot back with biting sarcasm.
Hou Jun barked, "Cut the crap and show your hand!"
I lifted the cigarette box that covered my cards.
Slowly, I flipped the first one:
♠️2.
Hou Jun frowned.
Then, the second card:
♦️5.
The air in the room grew thick.
All eyes fixed on the final card beneath my hand.
Hou Jun's hands, resting on the table, were trembling.
Suddenly, I shouted,
"Give me a 3…"
With that, I flipped the last card hard onto the table.
♥️3.
Stunned silence.
No one could believe it.
Triple Aces… beaten by a 2-3-5.
A freak hand, seen once in decades.
Yet here it was.
For a long moment, Hou Jun just sat there, stunned, then suddenly slumped into his chair.
He had been so sure the money was his.
In a flash, it was mine.
And worse—he had bet and lost his girlfriend.
Even if just for a day.
"No way… how could it be so perfect?"
He sat there dazed for a few seconds, then glared at me.
"Chuliu, you must've cheated. There's no way that was luck."
He wasn't completely stupid—he'd guessed I might've used a trick.
And yes, I had.
But there was no way his dog eyes could catch it.
I still wore a calm, dismissive look as I said slowly,
"Hou Jun, you picked the place. You called the people. You bought the cards. And now you say I cheated? Does that make any sense? Do you have any proof?"
Catch a thief with the loot, catch a cheater with the trick.
Same rules apply in the world of hustlers.
Even if you know someone cheated, without proof, it means nothing.
When Sixth Uncle taught me cheating techniques, he said,
"No matter if it's a small street game or a high-stakes casino, never leave the dirt on you.
If there's no evidence, not even the Emperor can do a thing."
I collected the cash on the table.
Nice haul.
Minus my own stake, I'd made over five thousand.
I looked directly at Hou Jun.
"You lost. Doesn't that mean your girlfriend now comes with me?"
Hou Jun looked utterly defeated, but before Chen Xiaoxue could speak, he blurted out,
"No way!"
I let out a cold chuckle.
"Fine. Then she can kneel, apologize, and call me 'Master Chuliu.' Then I'll let it go."
I never really intended to take her home.
A woman like her—closer to a hooker than anything—meant nothing to me.
I just wanted her to pay for that vile mouth.
"I won't kneel! I won't call you anything!"
Chen Xiaoxue glared at me, eyes full of hate.
"Then you're coming with me."
I didn't budge.
We were at a standstill.
Just then, Lao Hei clapped me on the arm and said,
"Come on, man. You've already won the money. No need to really take someone's girlfriend, right? Do me a favor—let this one slide."
There was something about Lao Hei—he had a rough, streetwise air.
But he wasn't part of my world.
I looked at him and said coldly,
"If he had won, would he have let it slide?"
"What's your point?"
He didn't like my tone.