I Become The Richest Man With A monthly Salary of Twenty Thousand Yuan-Chapter 582 - 426: Bad Intentions_2

This card was indeed the last Ace.

"Master Xia truly lives up to his name. Whoever you say will win is guaranteed not to lose," Lin Tian chimed in, starting to flatter Xia Liang once again.

After taking a deep breath, Luo Ying spoke again. "What a coincidence. If I hadn’t shuffled or switched the cards, I suppose this Ace would never have ended up in Miss Wu Tong’s hands, would it?"

The moment he said it, Luo Ying immediately regretted it.

Don’t my words imply that Xia Liang saw through my every move, from shuffling to switching the cards?

The thought that everything he did was perfectly within Xia Liang’s calculations made Luo Ying’s face turn a shade paler.

The other two realized the same thing, their faces equally stunned.

Fortunately, Lin Tian had heard about Xia Liang’s abilities before, so after taking a deep breath, he found it somewhat understandable. Wu Tong, on the other hand, found her interest in Xia Liang growing even stronger.

"Playing cards is getting dull," Xia Liang said with a smile, finally breaking the silence. "It seems you have something you want to say to me, Luo Ying. Why not just say it?"

"Then I’ll be direct." Luo Ying took a deep breath. He felt the previous hand didn’t prove much and was still eager to test Xia Liang. "I just heard Boss Lin mention many of your exploits, Master Xia. I’d like to witness your abilities for myself. Is that possible?"

Listening to Luo Ying’s words, Xia Liang smiled faintly and nodded. "What game do you have in mind?"

The corners of Luo Ying’s mouth turned up in a smile. "Simple. Let’s play a little game to see if Master Xia has any real skill."

Instantly, everyone in the VIP section turned to look at Xia Liang. Lin Tian and Wu Tong also watched him with great interest, curious to see if he would refuse. Although Xia Liang had already offered a glimpse of his abilities, it wasn’t enough to satisfy their curiosity. It was only natural for Wu Tong and Luo Ying, who didn’t know him well, to want to see more. As for Lin Tian, even though he knew all about Xia Liang’s deeds, he still wanted to witness them again with his own eyes. It was like being friends with a world-class magician; you’d still want him to perform a trick every time you met.

Seeing the confident look in Luo Ying’s eyes, Xia Liang slowly nodded. "Alright. What’s the game?"

Kid, do you really think I don’t know what you’re up to?

When Xia Liang agreed, Luo Ying breathed a sigh of relief, inwardly pleased. He immediately laid out the rules of the game.

"Let’s play the simplest card guessing game. I’ll draw a random card from a deck of fifty-four, and we’ll see if Master Xia can guess it correctly. How about it?"

"I was expecting something more. Isn’t this just a magic trick? That’s all you’ve got, Luo Ying?" Before Xia Liang could respond, Lin Tian couldn’t help but interject. He had hoped to witness more of Xia Liang’s profound abilities, and this little game seemed far too trivial.

Luo Ying clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Not at all. Card guessing in magic is just a collection of petty tricks, none of which would work on me. Rather than have Master Xia read our fortunes, it’s better to stick to the basics. Seeing the big picture in the small details is the key."

Luo Ying’s confidence stemmed from his belief that Xia Liang couldn’t possibly gain an advantage here. Even if Xia Liang possessed real skills, they would be useless in this scenario. Luo Ying, known as the Haojiang Little Gambling Sage, had made a name for himself in his early years by relying on such petty tricks. Before coming to Yitian Entertainment City, he had placed a small device in his sleeve, which contained five cards he’d hidden there earlier. No matter what card Xia Liang guessed, he could use the device to swap it out.

That way, any card Xia Liang guessed would be wrong. What he didn’t know, however, was that Xia Liang had already seen through his entire plan.

Xia Liang understood Luo Ying’s intentions and shook his head with a feeling of resignation.

Your petty tricks are laughably amateur.

"Let’s begin," he said simply.

Since Xia Liang had no objections, Lin Tian didn’t say any more and watched intently. He had to agree with Luo Ying’s sentiment about seeing greatness in small things; this could indeed reveal some of Xia Liang’s true abilities.

"Then I’ll begin!" Taking out a new deck of cards, Luo Ying picked one at random and cupped it in his hand. Only he knew what it was. Not even Lin Tian or Wu Tong could see it. "Please make your guess, Master Xia."

As he spoke, all three of them fixed their gazes on Xia Liang, eager to hear his guess. Meanwhile, Luo Ying’s little finger hovered over a transparent thread, ready to switch the card at a moment’s notice.

But Xia Liang seemed oblivious to their urgency. He slowly took a sip of the tea beside him. "Let me think... how many suits are there in a deck of cards again?"

This question stunned the other three. They had just finished a game of cards; how could Xia Liang have suddenly forgotten something as basic as the number of suits?

A flash of excitement appeared in Luo Ying’s eyes. In his view, Xia Liang knew he couldn’t possibly guess the card and was just looking for an excuse to back out.

"There are four, Master Xia! What’s wrong?" Lin Tian asked hastily.

"Four?" Xia Liang still seemed puzzled. He then looked at the Croupier, who immediately understood his intent and handed him the deck they had used earlier.

Xia Liang opened the deck and looked through it. "Indeed, there are four," he said. As he spoke, his hand suddenly trembled, spilling the cards across the table. Then, he slowly began to sort through them. The others had no idea what he was doing.

Only Luo Ying, his eyes suddenly sharp, felt something was amiss.

No matter what card Xia Liang guesses, I can immediately switch mine to something else. But if he does the same thing I did—selects a card from a deck and covers it—then I won’t know what he’s chosen, which means I can’t swap my card to beat his!

"Let me see which card you drew," Xia Liang murmured. He began sorting through the scattered cards in front of him, then tossed one aside, away from the others. "Not this one, nor this one..."

Another card was tossed aside, and then another. After discarding several more, Xia Liang finally selected one. A smile played on his lips as he covered the card with his hand and pushed it forward.

"Open it," Xia Liang said, his expression unchanged.

Wu Tong and Lin Tian immediately turned to Luo Ying. A few moments passed, but Luo Ying didn’t move.

"What’s wrong, Luo Ying? Reveal your card. Let’s see if Master Xia guessed correctly," Lin Tian said, confused.

At that moment, Luo Ying was gripping his card tightly, his eyes locked on Xia Liang, completely unsure whether he should make the switch. It was just as he’d feared. By picking a card himself and covering it, Xia Liang had given him no opportunity to cheat.

What if the card Xia Liang chose is the very one I would swap to? And if I ask him to reveal his card first, won’t that just prove that I have a guilty conscience and was planning to cheat?

After a moment of deliberation, Luo Ying gritted his teeth. A moment ago, he had switched the card to give the Ace to Wu Tong. This time, he decided to do nothing. Luo Ying slowly pushed his card forward and turned it over. It was the five of hearts.

Xia Liang nodded at Lin Tian, gesturing for him to reveal his card. With a trembling hand, Lin Tian flipped it over.

Sure enough, it was a five of hearts. Seeing this, Wu Tong and Lin Tian both seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief before they began praising Xia Liang. Xia Liang, however, merely looked at Luo Ying with a faint, unreadable smile.

Then he turned to Lin Tian. "Boss Lin, where’s the restroom?"

"Over there. I’ll have someone show you the way," Lin Tian replied, quickly instructing a nearby attendant to lead Xia Liang to the restroom.

For some reason, Xia Liang made a deliberately large movement as he stood up, creating a small gust of wind. The breeze swept across the table and flipped over a few of the cards in front of his now-empty seat. These were the five cards he had initially picked out and discarded, setting them aside from the main deck. Because they were scattered individually instead of stacked, they were easily affected by the breeze. The gust of wind he created flipped all five of them face-up.

By then, his figure was already receding from view, heading towards the restroom.