KN | Chapter 15

The Trump Card

Chen Wan could count cards.

He broke the four suits apart into fragments. In the previous round, Zhao Shengge had already broken up one opponent’s straight flush once, so Chen Wan was not going to give him the Joker again.

For a dealer to remember cards was nothing unusual, but for one to carve into his mind the score and point total of all four players at the table, what cards each had taken in the previous rounds, and each person’s playing style, that was something truly frightening.

Of course, the young masters would never notice details like that, nor did they have the brains for it. They simply felt that when they played at Chen Wan’s table, they had a good time.

Dealer Chen had sharp eyes, steady hands, and a mind running at high speed. He spread his favor evenly, keeping the players evenly matched so they could fight it out. Whoever came out on top did so by pure skill.

This round, he gave the Joker to Young Master Huang.

So when Qin Zhaoting let out that ambiguous laugh, Chen Wan had no way of knowing whether it was because of that little Joker, or simply a feint.

Unluckily, this round, Zhao Shengge happened to want a little Joker.

Chen Wan could remember cards. Zhao Shengge could calculate cards.

In truth, by the middle of the round, Zhao Shengge had already figured out from Young Master Huang’s card-chasing and Tian Cheng’s full house that the little Joker had to be in Qin Zhaoting’s hand.

Zhao Shengge could have adjusted his order and finished collecting points early, but he did not. He drew it out one card at a time, dragging it on until that little Joker appeared ahead of time in the pot, like a stay of execution.

His hand this round was not good.

But who told him his score was high.

The MVP of the previous round was allowed to draw a replacement card.

Zhao Shengge lowered his eyes and stared intently at the chaotic, incoherent hand in his own cards. Without even lifting his head, he directly reached out his right hand and knocked twice on the table with the back of it.

A pale, clean hand pushed a face-down card in front of him.

Zhao Shengge flipped it over.

It was another little Joker.

God strove with all His might to maintain fairness, yet His heart still could not help but favor one side.

Zhao Shengge lifted his eyes and looked straight at Chen Wan. The dealer’s features were gentle and benevolent, open and composed, without a single flaw to pick at.

The card table was noisy, the sea roared and surged, and the daylight had already dimmed. Their eyes met, direct and yet concealed, for a second, then parted again.

From beginning to end, they had not exchanged a single word, yet in their minds, they had already crossed blades hundreds, thousands of times.

Zhao Shengge was calculating how Chen Wan dealt the cards. Chen Wan was calculating everyone’s plays.

Zhao Shengge’s hand this round was poor, but he did not mind. Bad hands had their own way of being played. But Chen Wan left no gaps at all, permitting not even the slightest lapse in fairness.

Anyone dealt a bad hand would be given a chip.

That chip was the little Joker, proof that before the round even began, Chen Wan had already predicted how the cards would be played.

How much annual salary would a dealer who could calculate base balance, draw-turn probabilities, and accurately predict card order earn in Shen Zongnian’s casino?

A million at minimum, pounds sterling.

Chen Wan must have run through hundreds of simulations and calculations in his head, narrowing down from hundreds of possibilities to the precise combination and order of appearance of every single card.

And the dealing time was only three minutes, including shuffling, dealing, and responding to the players’ joking interruptions.

In a setting like this, he still managed to control the probabilities of winning and losing with a variance of no more than five percent.

He had underestimated him.

Zhao Shengge withdrew his gaze and, expressionless, tossed that little Joker into the pot, ending the game.

After that round, Zhao Shengge stopped playing. He thought Chen Wan was being watertight and wisely protecting himself, making himself seem above reproach. What he could not know was that Chen Wan really had considered everything, but none of those were the most important reason.

The hand Zhao Shengge had been dealt this round truly could not be considered a good one. It looked large, but in reality it was very hard to build into a sequence, so Chen Wan kept back one little Joker.

This trump card was, in fact, Chen Wan himself. If Zhao Shengge needed it, he would find it. If he did not need it, then he would never discover it.

Of course, Chen Wan still hoped Zhao Shengge would never need to use it. He hoped Zhao Shengge’s road would remain smooth and open, that everything would go well for him.

By the time the sky had gone fully dark, Tan Youming had people move the card tables back inside, and everyone went to the top deck for dinner.

Chen Wan and Zhao Shengge were not seated at the same table. They barely even crossed paths.

Even on the same ship, too much still lay between them.

A cruise ship was almost always a sleepless venue. After dinner, the sound of chips continued to echo across the deck.

There were many people, and Chen Wan was the most sought-after dealer, drifting between table after table, unhurried and unflustered, elegant and composed.

At long last, there was an intermission. He stepped out onto the deck to clear his head. Being the dealer was no easier than being the gambler. It looked as though he held great power, but in a setting like this, it was certainly not as if he could simply deal however he pleased.

Any one of the four people seated at the table was someone important. He had to rack his brains to maintain that subtle balance among them, while also making sure the game did not become so dull that it could be seen through at a glance. Keeping this group of young masters happy and entertained really was mentally exhausting.

The sea breeze at night was very comfortable. All the daytime heat and restlessness had been blown away, and the waves on the sea crashed with a rushing sound.

His nerves had been stretched too tight. Chen Wan had a headache. He lit a cigarette and held it between his lips, absentmindedly trying to relax. He did not even notice when someone came to stand behind him.

Caught smoking and slightly embarrassed, Chen Wan immediately took the slim cigarette from between his lips and politely moved aside to give the other person space.

This was the best viewing platform.

Zhao Shengge glanced at him and said nothing. Chen Wan could neither leave nor stay. He did not want to force conversation on purpose, but turning and walking away immediately would also have been impolite.

A man who could handle himself with ease at the card table found himself unexpectedly at a loss. With no one else around, the two of them ended up in the awkward position of staring at each other.

“…”

But the awkwardness was Chen Wan’s alone. Zhao Shengge was never awkward. One could even say he was calm and perfectly at ease.

Chen Wan could only smile politely and break the ice. “Mr. Zhao, what good luck.” He should have won quite a lot today.

Zhao Shengge did not respond to that. He took a cigarette from the case and put it between his lips, quietly and slowly staring at him. Behind him was a stretch of night sea, but Zhao Shengge’s gaze was darker and deeper than the night sea.

After a while, he suddenly said, “Chen Wan.”

Chen Wan froze slightly. This was the first time Zhao Shengge had called him by name. Not Mr. Chen. Chen Wan.

Zhao Shengge tilted his head and said, “I didn’t bring a lighter.”

Chen Wan immediately and properly put out the cigarette in his hand, took out a lighter, and used both hands to light Zhao Shengge’s cigarette, his posture respectful, exactly like a subordinate lighting up for his superior.

Zhao Shengge raised an eyebrow.

Lighting a cigarette was an intimate act. Under normal circumstances, those with ulterior motives would already have leaned in, head to head, flame to flame, to light it.

But from beginning to end, Chen Wan remained perfectly proper.

Zhao Shengge’s latest attempt at probing him ended in failure once again.

Chen Wan was still standing there waiting for him, one hand holding up the lighter, the other curved around it to block the wind, guarding the weak, dying flame. His gaze was earnest and upright, open and clear.

The deep-blue sea and the moonlight shone across his face. His skin looked white enough to glow, and his whole person resembled some creature that had swum up from the deep sea.

The way he stood there holding up that tiny flame and waiting for someone reminded Zhao Shengge of a fairy tale book, something about selling matches or whatever. Zhao Shengge had not read those things as a child and did not remember clearly.

In any case, Chen Wan’s whole person gave off a glistening, watery kind of desire, pure and sacred, very easy to pity, and also the kind that stirred a person’s urge to torment and destroy, especially for someone like Zhao Shengge, whose mind was not exactly normal.

He bent his head and lowered it, using the tip of his cigarette to touch Chen Wan’s flame.

The distance was so close that Chen Wan nearly fell into those dense, dark brows and eyes of his.

At that moment, Chen Wan suddenly realized that Zhao Shengge’s handsomeness carried a fierce impact. It was only usually hidden by the calm steadiness and gentleness he wore every day.

Chen Wan’s heartbeat shot upward, reaching a pace he could no longer suppress. The seawater and starlight in his eyes receded like an ebbing tide, leaving only Zhao Shengge with his eyes lowered before him.

The culprit remained incomparably calm. He suddenly lifted his eyes, his pupils dark as ink, stirring ripples in the water within Chen Wan’s gaze.

That kind of downward gaze from above put an immense pressure on a person. Chen Wan’s hand trembled ever so slightly. Just as the swaying flame was about to be blown out by the sea wind, Zhao Shengge suddenly raised a hand to steady Chen Wan’s hand and asked, “Why are you shaking?”