CIATB Chapter 90: One Match Decides the Victory!
Chapter 90: One Match Decides the Victory!
The courtyard hotel arranged by the Du family is called "Jingxin Pavilion". It is located in a prime area within the Second Ring Road of Beijing, where land is extremely valuable. It is a quiet oasis amidst the hustle and bustle, a world of its own.
The Hongqi L5 drove directly into the courtyard, eliminating all the cumbersome check-in procedures.
Du Mingxuan settled the two of them in the largest main room, and before leaving, he gave Zhang Yan a black card.
"Master Zhang, this is a membership card for the 'Chang'an Club.' Not many people in the capital have one."
"If you don't want to stay in the hotel tonight, you can go there and sit for a while, just to... get familiar with the circles in Beijing in advance."
Old Du winked and gave him a knowing look.
Zhang Yan knew that this was a test of the waters.
Before the birthday banquet even began, probing from all sides had already started.
Sure enough, at seven o'clock in the evening, Nie Qingcheng's phone rang.
It was her good-for-nothing cousin, Nie Fan.
On the phone, Nie Fan's tone was excessively enthusiastic. He said that in order to welcome Nie Qingcheng, he had specially arranged a gathering at the Chang'an Club and insisted that she do her a favor. He even specifically asked her to "meet" Zhang Yan, who could make her infatuated.
"A Feast at Hongmen."
Zhang Yan changed into casual clothes and looked at Nie Qingcheng in the mirror as she put on a pair of diamond earrings.
Tonight she wore a black off-the-shoulder dress with a thigh-high slit, paired with bright red lipstick; she was a walking hormone bomb.
"Scared?"
Nie Qingcheng glanced at him in the mirror, a slight smile curving her lips.
"I'm afraid they won't have enough alcohol to drink."
Zhang Yan walked over, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, and rested his chin on her fragrant shoulder. "Let's go see what tricks the young masters of the capital are up to."
……
Chang'an Club.
The most exclusive private club in Beijing, frequented by the powerful and wealthy.
As soon as the two entered a luxury suite that had been reserved, a mixture of cigar, perfume and alcohol wafted towards them.
In the huge room, a dozen well-dressed young men and women were sitting or standing, their laughter and chatter filling the air.
The young man in the lead, wearing a floral shirt and with flaxen hair, saw Nie Qingcheng and his eyes lit up. He immediately raised his wine glass to greet her.
"Qingcheng, you've finally arrived! You're so late, you'll have to punish yourself with three drinks!"
This person is Nie Fan.
Nie Qingcheng glanced at him indifferently, didn't reply, and pulled Zhang Yan to sit down on the sofa.
Nie Fan was rebuffed but didn't get angry. He turned his gaze to Zhang Yan, his eyes filled with undisguised scrutiny and provocation.
"This must be Zhang Yan, right? I've heard about what happened at the airport. Pretty impressive, huh? Even the Du family's Hongqi L5 is your car."
Nie Fan sat down opposite the two with a forced smile, "If you didn't know better, you'd think a prince from some country had come to visit."
The people around burst into laughter.
A girl with smoky makeup leaned against Nie Fan and said in a sweet voice, "Brother Fan, is this the 'little puppy' that Sister Qingcheng was keeping in Jianghai that you were talking about?"
"She's quite good-looking, but I wonder if she bites?"
"Haha, I don't know if it bites or not, but it'll definitely cost money!"
Another young man with a buzz cut chimed in, "I heard that Sister Qingcheng bought a muddy pond for five hundred million for him?"
"Wow, that's quite a move! He's risking everything for his beloved!"
One barbed remark after another was thrown at Zhang Yan as if they were free.
Nie Qingcheng clenched her hands on her knees, her eyes turning cold, and she was about to lash out.
Zhang Yan, however, took her hand in return and gently squeezed it.
He leaned back on the sofa, relaxed, as if the sarcasm and ridicule around him were just flies buzzing.
He picked up a cherry from the table, slowly removed the stem, and then held it to Nie Qingcheng's lips.
"Try it, it's quite sweet."
Nie Qingcheng was taken aback. Looking into his calm and unwavering eyes, her anger inexplicably subsided by more than half.
She opened her mouth and took the cherry into her mouth.
Their unabashed intimacy left Nie Fan, who was standing opposite them, completely dumbfounded.
What's going on?
This is a denunciation meeting, not a chance to flaunt our love!
"Ahem!"
Nie Fan coughed loudly twice, drawing everyone's attention.
"Zhang Yan, right? Since you're Qingcheng's boyfriend, you're practically one of us now."
Nie Fan crossed his legs and pointed with his chin at the white grand piano in the center of the room.
"Just sitting here is so boring, why don't you perform something special to liven things up?"
"I heard you can play the piano?"
"Go up and play a piece. If you play well, I'll cover all your expenses tonight!"
As soon as he said this, the whole room fell silent, and everyone looked at Zhang Yan with the eyes of someone watching a show.
This wasn't asking him to perform his talents; it was clearly treating him like an entertainer at a banquet for ancient royalty and nobility—a blatant humiliation.
Nie Qingcheng slammed her wine glass on the table with a "bang" and was about to stand up.
Zhang Yan held her down.
He finally lifted his eyelids, looked at Nie Fan, and smiled.
"Performing is the job of actors."
"I'm not interested in those jingling and clanging things."
Zhang Yan's gaze swept over the gambling table on the other side of the room, where several rich kids were playing dice.
"I'm a rather down-to-earth person; I like to do things practically."
Nie Fan followed his gaze, paused for a moment, and then looked as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.
"What? You want to play a couple of rounds with us?"
Nie Fan stood up, walked to the gambling table, picked up the dice cup, and weighed it in his hand. "Sure! I'm just afraid you can't afford to lose!"
[Ding! Host detected facing a high-intensity social game scenario, triggering a random event: The Artist at the Gambling Table!]
[Mission Requirements: Win items worth at least ten million in the gambling game.]
[Task Rewards (Already Issued): Skills [Sound Location (Intermediate)], [Mathematical Proficiency (Beginner)]]
The system's voice rang in my mind.
Zhang Yan's lips curled up slightly.
When you're feeling sleepy, someone brings you a pillow; this system is really thoughtful.
"How big of a bet?"
Zhang Yan also stood up and slowly walked over.
"Keep it simple, guess high or low, one million per hand, no upper limit!" Nie Fan slammed the dice cup down on the table, his tone menacing. "Dare you?"
"One million?"
Zhang Yan shook his head.
"What? You think it's too big? Are you scared?"
Nie Fan scoffed, "If you don't have money, you can borrow from Qingcheng. You're used to living off women anyway."
"No."
Zhang Yan held up one finger and shook it gently. "I think it's too small."
"Playing with money is pointless."
Zhang Yan's gaze fell on the Patek Philippe watch on Nie Fan's wrist, then glanced at the Ferrari car keys he had casually tossed on the sofa.
"Let's gamble on these material possessions."
"How about we decide the winner in one go?"
crazy!
Everyone thought Zhang Yan had gone mad!
That watch alone is worth three million, not to mention that Ferrari SF90, which cost nearly ten million after its initial purchase!
Is this guy planning to gamble away all of Nie Qingcheng's wealth?
Nie Fan was stunned at first, then overjoyed.
He was originally planning how to lure the kid into the trap step by step, but he didn't expect the other party to jump in on his own.
"Fine! You've got guts!" Afraid he'd change his mind, Nie Fan slammed his watch and car keys onto the gambling table. "I'll bet with these two!"
"What about your bet?"
Nie Fan looked at Zhang Yan provocatively.
Without saying a word, Nie Qingcheng took out a black card from her bag and threw it on the table.
"Is one hundred million enough?"
Her tone was indifferent, as if she had thrown away not a hundred million, but a piece of waste paper.
That domineering aura made the surrounding rich kids stare in disbelief.
"Enough! That's more than enough!"
Nie Fan's eyes turned red.
Today, he not only intends to ruin Zhang Yan's reputation, but also to tear a piece of flesh from Nie Qingcheng!
A croupier dressed in a suit and vest walked over and stood respectfully in front of the table.
"I'll roll it." Nie Fan snatched the dice cup and took the plunge himself.
He put three dice in, closed the lid, and began shaking it in an extremely fancy manner.
"Splash..."
The dice collided violently inside the cup, producing a series of crisp yet chaotic sounds.
Everyone around held their breath.
Nie Qingcheng's heart was in his throat, and his palms were sweaty.
Only Zhang Yan stood there calmly.
With the combined advantages of [sound localization] and [mathematical proficiency], the chaotic collision sounds were instantly broken down into countless clear data in his ears.
Every roll, every collision, and even the subtle differences caused by the friction between each die and the dice cup wall all contributed to a model of its motion trajectory in his mind, accurate to the millimeter.
"Bang!"
Nie Fan slammed the dice cup down on the table, a smug, ferocious look on his face.
He just used his unique technique and rolled three sixes – a triple! A guaranteed win!
"Kid! Place your bets! Guess!" Nie Fan roared.
Zhang Yan closed his eyes.
It's not just for show.
Instead, it involves filtering out the final results from a massive data stream.
one second.
two seconds.
"What? Can't you guess?"
Nie Fan was getting a little impatient.
Zhang Yan opened his eyes, and a glint of insight that no one could understand flashed in his clear eyes.
He didn't say "big" or "small".
Instead, he held up three fingers, speaking in a flat tone as if he were talking about today's weather.
"One, two, three. Small."
What?!
The entire audience erupted in uproar!
Nie Fan looked at him as if he were an idiot.
"One, two, three? Are you fucking kidding me? You think this is child's play?"
In the rules of Sic Bo, unless it is a set of dice, the sum of the points is 3 to 10 for small and 11 to 18 for big.
To shout out specific numbers directly is simply a pipe dream!
"Let's open it."
Zhang Yan made a "please" gesture, not even bothering to say another word.
"Fine! I'll make you admit defeat fair and square!"
Nie Fan gritted his teeth and flipped the dice cup over!
Time seemed to stand still at that moment.
Everyone's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
On the red velvet cloth of the gambling table, three ivory-white dice lay quietly.
One, a little.
One, two dots.
One, three dots.
one two Three!
It really is one, two, three!
A total of six points, small!
"No...it's impossible..."
The color drained from Nie Fan's face instantly. He staggered back a step, pointing at the dice, his whole body trembling, "You...you cheated!"
"The dealer is his man! There's something wrong with the dice!"
The dealer standing to the side turned pale with fright and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Young Master Fan, these dice are provided by the club, there's absolutely no problem with them!"
Zhang Yan smiled, stepped forward, picked up the Ferrari car key, and tossed it in his hand.
Then, he picked up the Patek Philippe watch, didn't even glance at it, and handed it directly to Nie Qingcheng behind him.
"Honey, this is for you."
Nie Qingcheng took the watch and looked at the man in front of her. Her heart felt like it had been struck by an electric current, sending shivers down her spine.
She didn't say anything, but stood on tiptoe and, in front of everyone, gave Zhang Yan a big kiss on the cheek.
This kiss was more powerful than any words.
As Nie Fan watched this scene, he felt a surge of blood rushing to his chest and a metallic taste rising in his throat.
He lost.
A crushing defeat.
He lost millions of dollars, and even more so, he lost all his dignity.
"Zhang Yan!" Nie Fan's eyes were bloodshot, like a wild beast driven to the brink of despair. He pointed at Zhang Yan's nose and let out a venomous roar.
"You just wait!"
"At tomorrow's birthday banquet! I'll make you crawl on your knees out of the Nie family's gate!"
After saying that, he stormed off in a huff.
……