As for Pink-Hair, before Falling in Love, He Insisted That He Wasn't the Possessive Type - Chapter 3

The moment Shang Qingye spoke, everyone at the card table turned to look at him.

“Hiss, Ye-ge, you are really something,” Chen Yue said, giving Shang Qingye a thumbs-up with a face full of admiration.

Shang Qingye did not say a word. He simply bit down on his cigarette and looked up, signaling the dealer.

In this round, he was the only one who added a card. The card was quickly dealt into his hand; he lifted a corner to take a peek, and the corners of his mouth curled upward.

“Stay.”

Shang Qingye stayed.

Zhou Hao had sat this round out. Observing Shang Qingye’s expression, and relying on their four years of friendship from university, he knew this hand was likely a guaranteed win.

Sure enough, during the showdown, Shang Qingye flipped his cards to reveal three Aces and two 4s.

“Twenty-one!”

Zhou Hao cried out in surprise. It was not that hitting twenty-one was particularly rare, but he had not expected Shang Qingye to have such guts and luck.

Everyone at the table stared at Shang Qingye’s hand. Among the rest of them, the highest was only nineteen. Without a doubt, Shang Qingye had won this round.

After seeing the cards, Chen Yue tossed his own nineteen point hand toward Shang Qingye and laughed, “You kid, you are quite the actor.”

Shang Qingye blocked the flying cards with his hand, the cigarette still clenched between his teeth as laughter escaped his lips.

Yu Qingdu was sitting right next to him; in fact, he had seen every one of Shang Qingye’s cards. He turned his head to look at the man beside him who was laughing so wantonly.

He had to admit, there really was no opening.

Over the next few rounds, Shang Qingye did not lose once.

Zhou Hao, who was nearly on the verge of vomiting from all the drinking, pointed at Shang Qingye and barked, “I will be damned! Did you not say you have never played this before?!”

Shang Qingye gripped his cards, the cigarette still in his mouth. He looked at Zhou Hao with a slight smirk.

“Do not blame the road for being uneven just because you cannot walk it.”

Zhou Hao was stunned into a laugh. He grabbed the cigarette pack from the edge of the table and tossed it at him.

“Screw you.”

Shang Qingye caught it with a laugh and tossed it back.

When the cards were shown, Shang Qingye won yet again.

Yu Qingdu watched the cigarette that had been dangling from Shang Qingye’s mouth for several rounds. He leaned close to the man’s ear and whispered softly,

“Ye-ge, want a light?”

Yu Qingdu’s words, accompanied by a soft tone and warm breath, bored into Shang Qingye’s mind. Shang Qingye felt as if he had been hit by an electric current; a numbing sensation washed over his entire body.

He turned to look at Yu Qingdu. His gaze swept past the other man’s lips before settling on his eyes, where a faint, shimmering smile lingered.

Shang Qingye held his gaze for a dozen seconds. Instead of answering the question, he took the cigarette out of his mouth, turned to Zhou Hao, and said, “Since you are complaining that I have won too many rounds, how about this: I will have this gentleman play in my place. If he loses, it is on me, I will do the drinking.”

As he spoke, he patted Yu Qingdu on the shoulder.

Hearing Shang Qingye’s words and seeing his actions, Zhou Hao was momentarily bewildered. Since when were his best friend and his older brother so close?

“Is my Du-ge okay with that?” Zhou Hao asked Yu Qingdu tentatively.

Shang Qingye rested one arm on the coffee table and turned his body ninety degrees. Looking into Yu Qingdu’s eyes, he raised his lips and said,

“Do you agree, Du-ge?”

Yu Qingdu’s expression remained unchanged. He met Shang Qingye’s gaze calmly and smiled, “If I lose, you drink?”

Shang Qingye licked his lips and gave a lazy nod.

“Right. I drink.”

Yu Qingdu nodded. “Then thanks in advance.” After saying that, he shifted further into the seat and looked at Zhou Hao. “Shuffle the cards.”

Zhou Hao scratched his head, feeling that something was slightly off between his best friend and his brother, though he could not quite put his finger on it.

The cards were quickly dealt to Yu Qingdu. He checked both cards, then turned his head toward Shang Qingye, his voice tinged with playfulness.

“It looks like there will not be a chance for you to drink for me.”

Shang Qingye had been staring at Yu Qingdu’s hand the whole time. Since Yu Qingdu had seen his cards, Shang Qingye had naturally seen them too, so he understood exactly what he meant.

He put the cigarette back in his mouth and closed his eyes. Leaning back lazily, he replied,

“A pity.”

The others had no idea what kind of riddle these two were playing. They only saw that Yu Qingdu took the initial two cards and never asked for another.

The round soon reached the showdown. After everyone else had revealed their cards, all eyes were on Yu Qingdu’s hand, especially since everyone had overheard the exchange between him and Shang Qingye.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Yu Qingdu revealed his cards.

“Blackjack!”

An exclamation broke out from the crowd. Yu Qingdu had flipped over an Ace and a King.

Blackjack is a special hand in the game of 21 that beats a standard twenty-one.

Shang Qingye had opened his eyes even before Yu Qingdu showed his hand. Upon hearing “Blackjack,” he questioned Chen Yue with a look. Chen Yue’s eyes were bright as he explained to Shang Qingye:

“Blackjack is better than a regular twenty-one. It happens when you have an Ace and one of the 10, J, Q, or K cards in your first two cards.”

Chen Yue looked at Yu Qingdu and joked, “Du-ge, your luck is incredible.”

After that, Yu Qingdu did not join the table again, simply sitting by the side and watching them play.

“Going to the restroom.” After an unknown amount of time, a round ended, and Shang Qingye tossed his cards down. Leaving those words behind, he exited the private room.

Yu Qingdu remained in his original spot, watching him walk away.

After finishing in the restroom, Shang Qingye stood at the sink and turned on the faucet. He washed his hands first, then cupped some water, bent over, and splashed it onto his face.

After splashing himself two or three times, he straightened up and wiped his face with his hands. Looking at himself in the mirror, his face showed signs of exhaustion.

His right ear had been ringing intermittently for a long time. He pressed his left ear, hoping it would make him feel better.

The noisy environment, the high intensity concentration, and the prolonged tinnitus had left him exceptionally tired.

Back in the room, Yu Qingdu was looking at his phone. His fingers were tapping away on the screen as if he were writing something; he had already turned off Do Not Disturb mode.

While he was writing, a call suddenly came in. He checked the caller ID and answered.

“Hello, Qingdu. Are you busy right now?”

The caller’s voice was as cool as moonlight, but the tone was serious.

“I am not busy. What is wrong?” Yu Qingdu could tell something was off.

“If you are not busy, come over for a bit.”

“Alright.”

After hanging up, Yu Qingdu stood up. He walked behind Zhou Hao and gave his back a few light kicks with the toe of his shoe.

Zhou Hao was already tipsy. He turned around impatiently, only to find it was his brother. “Bro, what is it?”

“Come here.”

Yu Qingdu led Zhou Hao to a quieter spot nearby, pulled a business card from his pocket, and handed it to him.

“Help me give this to Shang Qingye.”

Zhou Hao blearily picked up the card and saw that it was his brother’s business card. If he had not been drunk, he might have pressed for a reason why his brother was giving a card to Shang Qingye. Unfortunately, he was wasted.

“Got it, mission will be accomplished! Hic.”

Zhou Hao let out a loud burp. Yu Qingdu recoiled slightly in disgust.

“Then I am leaving.”

Zhou Hao gave him an OK gesture.

After Yu Qingdu left, Zhou Hao sat on the sofa and dozed for a minute or two, leaving the business card aside.

“Haozi, hurry up and come back! Let us keep going!” The group over there started calling for Zhou Hao to join the game again.

“Coming!” Zhou Hao called back. He stood up and headed toward the crowd, leaving the business card behind on the sofa.