After My Fiancée Failed to Pretend to Be an Alpha - Chapter 17

Tang Cheng ordered herself a bowl of noodles and sat across from the blond youth. The bright red plastic chair clashed with her crisp shirt and tailored trousers, but no one cared. The blond didn’t refuse, he simply lowered his head and finished the remnants of his meal.

Her choice of him was simple. First, he worked for money and was easy to control. As someone tied to the casino, he knew the terrain well, and few bothered to question his identity. That made him less likely to expose her. Second, when she counted on her fingers, she realized she had no one else she could trust.

Tang Cheng waited outside for a long time, gauging the timing before finally stepping in.

She didn’t need to speak—someone immediately came forward to serve her.

Clearly, she had been here often. The blond followed behind her, the two exchanging no glances.

Tang Cheng exchanged chips first, handing the remainder of her card balance to him. The money she had scraped together from part-time jobs barely converted into a palm’s width of chips.

She tried to keep a low profile, but someone called out behind her.

“Tang Cheng, you really came?”

It was the man from yesterday—He Si. Today he had shed his rakish look, dressed in a suit and tie, with black-rimmed glasses that lent him an air of sophistication.

Tang Cheng studied him carefully.

He was well-known in Star City—a minor gambling king who had risen through the tables, now barely clinging to the fringes of high society.

Tang Cheng kept her guard up but smiled lightly. “Care for a few rounds?”

As Zhang He’s vanguard, she had to test him, to see what tricks he had.

He hadn’t expected her to suggest it. His eyes flickered, already calculating how to strip her of her meager assets.

“Alright. Rare for Second Miss Tang to be in the mood.”

“How shall we play?”

“Your choice.”

“Keep it simple—blackjack.”

He gestured for Tang Cheng to take the dealer’s seat. She nodded and sat, no longer polite.

Blackjack was straightforward math. Cards from Ace to 10 carried their face value; J, Q, and K were worth 10. The dealer began with one face-up card and one face-down. The player had two face-up cards. The dealer had to draw until reaching at least 17. The player could draw freely until stopping near 21. Exceeding 21 meant bust.

The crowd gave them space, though none left. They leaned over the table, eager to watch Tang Cheng’s match. He Si’s reputation was such that most who played against him lost everything.

Tang Cheng’s first card was a Queen—10 points. The second lay face down, waiting to be revealed.

Not a bad start. If she drew another decent card, she wouldn’t lose outright.

Across from her, He Si’s two cards were a 7 and a 2. He gestured to the dealer. “Hit.”

The third card was dealt face down. He checked it, smiled with satisfaction, and folded his hands, eyes gleaming as he stared at Tang Cheng.

Tang Cheng reached for her card.

Her fingers brushed the surface, her eyes flickered. So that’s it.

She didn’t need to flip it. She would lose this round.

She turned it over anyway—a 7. Seventeen points. No chance to draw again.

He Si feigned surprise. “Your luck’s a bit off today.”

Half her chips vanished in a single hand.

The dealer collected and shuffled, preparing for the next round.

Footsteps echoed loudly on the marble floor—polished shoes striking sharp and clear.

“Well, well. Tang Cheng hasn’t been here in ages. I’ll join the fun.”

A familiar voice.

Tang Cheng turned, fingers idly stroking the velvet table, her mind already steady.

Her gaze met the flamboyant red-haired woman. In the corner of her eye, the blond leaned against a pillar, cigarette dangling from her lips, watching.

Not long-lost—they had met just yesterday.

Tang Cheng nodded slightly, not refusing. “Please.”

“Such a small stack of chips. Want me to lend you some?”

“No need.”

The air shifted. Zhang He and He Si exchanged a glance. Tang Cheng caught it all.

She had already guessed He Si’s secret. As for Zhang He, she was curious to see what tricks she had.

She rarely claimed brilliance, but when it came to machinery, there was nothing she couldn’t master.

She kept one chip aside, pushing the rest into the pot.

He Si and Zhang He matched her bet.

The dealer dealt. Tang Cheng’s first card was a 5.

The second card was placed on the table. Almost instantly, Tang Cheng pressed her hand down.

He Si’s eyes widened, lifting his gaze to her. She met his suspicion with a faint smile.

She had guessed correctly. The cards were embedded with chips—tiny, discreet, designed to prevent cheating. Each carried a unique electronic signal, transmitted invisibly.

Mechanical vibrations triggered a magnetic reader beneath the table. When a card landed, the signal was sent to a receiver—those glasses.

But this time, Tang Cheng gave him no chance. As the card touched the table, she pressed down, crushing the chip.

Years of working with machines had taught her exactly how much force was needed to break such fragile components.

Now the card belonged to her alone. No one else knew its value.

She lifted the corner, glanced, and let it fall.

Her eyes betrayed nothing. She looked at He Si and Zhang He with quiet amusement.

He Si was stunned. Never in all these years had anyone uncovered his secret. Yet Tang Cheng had seen through it in a single round.

On the table lay his cards—a 10 and a 4. He should have called for another, but the words stuck in his throat.

Zhang He hadn’t noticed his unease. Her own cards were a 3 and an 8.

“Hit!”

“Hit.”

“Hit, hit.”

Tang Cheng reached for the card. Same maneuver—her hand pressed it to the table a fraction faster, crushing the chip hidden inside.

She lifted the corner, confirmed the value.

He Si’s hand had already exceeded twenty-one. He gathered his cards, flipped them up, and forced a crooked smile.

“Hit!”

“Hit.”

Tang Cheng and Zhang He kept raising the stakes. By the third round, the pot had quadrupled.

Four cards meant a high risk of bust. Silence fell.

This round belonged to Tang Cheng.

When both dealer and player bust, the dealer wins.

Tang Cheng revealed her hand: a King worth ten, a Blackjack worth one, and a nine.

Zhang He’s hand showed two fives—busted.

She slammed her cards onto the table in frustration.

Just one point short. She could have beaten Tang Cheng. Still, she had another chance. She reached out, patting He Si’s shoulder in a secret signal.

Tang Cheng smiled faintly, folding her cards and handing them to the dealer herself. “Another round. Let’s raise the stakes.”

“Afraid of you? Hardly.” With He Si present, Zhang He had no reason to refuse. She agreed immediately, whispering to He Si, “Win her completely.”

He Si didn’t answer, mind racing for a countermeasure.

The dealer shuffled, breaking the deck anew.

Tang Cheng sat calmly as more spectators crowded around. The noise swelled. Attention—yes, this was exactly what she wanted.

A gaze pricked at her, sharp and venomous. She tilted her head, searching for its source, but found nothing. Like a snake in the dark, watching, waiting, unseen yet suffocating.

She had thrown in everything. No retreat.

She confirmed again Zhang He wasn’t cheating, then focused on her own methods.

Two hundred thousand sat in the pot. Tang Cheng wondered if she could push Zhang He to add more.

The night’s match had reached its climax.

Her first card was a four. Same trick—pressing the card down, hiding its value.

Second card, a seven.

He Si’s hand: a six and an Ace. He would have to tangle with her to the end.

Zhang He’s hand looked better: a nine and a two.

All three called for another card.

Tang Cheng reached for her third—only to press down on nothing. A blank card.

He Si noticed too, his eyes flashing. Tang Cheng’s edge lay in uncertainty. From the start, she had crushed only three chips: a ten, a one, and a nine.

Her heart skipped. Luck was on her side tonight. Out of 208 cards, she had drawn duplicates.

Her hand totaled eleven. Enough to stop or to risk another draw.

The danger lay with He Si and Zhang He.

“Fold.”

He Si folded first, his last card a Queen, totaling seventeen.

“Eyes failing with age? Can’t read the cards even with glasses?” Tang Cheng teased. He Si stayed silent.

Those glasses had won him countless honors. He knew exactly what Tang Cheng held.

Zhang He hadn’t expected him to fold so quickly, especially with fewer points than her own. She tried to signal with her eyes.

Tang Cheng said evenly, “Hit.”

Seeing her draw, Zhang He refused to back down. “Hit!”

He Si reached out, wanting to stop the arrogant youth. But the chips were already down. No turning back. The pot had quadrupled—one million.

Tang Cheng took her card, not yet revealing its value.

Zhang He leapt up, flipping her last two cards: a two and an eight. Exactly twenty-one.

Twenty-one. The crowd roared.

Even He Si, usually jaded, stared in disbelief, light flashing in his eyes.

No one had expected Zhang He to hit twenty-one so perfectly. The onlookers erupted in cheers, the noise deafening.

“Won! Tang Cheng! Still think you can act tough?” Zhang He sneered, swaggering closer, eyes gleaming with triumph.

Too close. Tang Cheng could still see the scar she had left on her last time. She hadn’t learned her lesson.

Then her final three cards were revealed: a seven, a nine, and a Blackjack. With her face-up four, she too had twenty-one.

All eyes turned to Tang Cheng’s hand. Disbelief rippled through the crowd.

Impossible. A one-in-a-million chance—another nine, another Blackjack.

He Si stared at her, stunned. When did she start manipulating the game? He hadn’t noticed a thing.