After he lost, the shills around him repeated the same old routine once again.
Li Tanghu clutched his empty wallet, fiddling with it with a face full of resentment.
His eyes were fixed on the crude spring ball device on the ground; his mouth slumped, and his throat began to tighten.
Seeing him like this, a newly joined boy nearby shouted loudly, slapping ten yuan into the stall owner's hand.
"Watch closely! I'll definitely win this time!"
He watched as the young boy pulled the spring.
Li Tanghu subconsciously held his breath.
Soon, the steel ball came to a steady stop in the "100 yuan" slot.
"Wow, I won 100 bucks!"
Seeing this scene, the thought "Someone else won again..." slithered into Li Tanghu's heart like a venomous snake.
He had clearly already believed what Huang Yuqi said about it possibly being a scam, but this scene made his suspicion waver again.
A burning sense of resentment surged in his heart once more.
His fingers unconsciously brushed against the house keys in his trouser pocket.
"Just one more round, just one, and I'll definitely win it all back..."
"I've already lost fifty. If I don't play, that fifty yuan is just gone..."
Once this thought appeared, it grew wildly like weeds.
The imagined pleasure of seeing himself win back the cash made his fingertips tremble slightly.
"Sister Yuqi,"
Li Tanghu said urgently to Huang Yuqi.
"Can you lend me ten yuan? I'll definitely win this round!"
Huang Yuqi looked at him speechlessly and shook her head. "No, I don't have any money, and you won't win anyway."
Li Tanghu licked his dry lips and spoke rapidly, "I can definitely win! Don't worry, I have money. My grandparents gave me New Year's money this morning, I just didn't bring it out. Even if I lose, I'll pay you back."
Seeing that Huang Yuqi remained unmoved, Li Tanghu immediately turned his gaze toward Jiang Cheng.
Smiling, he said to Jiang Cheng, "Brother, are you Sister Yuqi's boyfriend?"
Jiang Cheng replied with a grin, "Hmm, ask your Sister Yuqi. If she says so, then I am."
Upon hearing this, Huang Yuqi's face instantly turned red.
Huang Yuqi neither admitted nor denied it, saying somewhat impatiently.
"Tanghu, he doesn't have any money either. Hurry up and go home; I'm leaving."
Seeing this, Li Tanghu pulled on Huang Yuqi unwillingly. "Sister Yuqi, how could he have no money? Grandpa Ge just said at the alley entrance that your boyfriend drives a sports car..."
Looking at Li Tanghu's stubborn and thick-headed appearance.
Jiang Cheng leaned down and looked into Li Tanghu's eyes. "Kid, some things aren't what they seem on the surface. Do you think everyone who drives a luxury car is rich? No, they could also be scammers."
Jiang Cheng's words actually had no effect on the current Li Tanghu.
Because at this moment, Li Tanghu's peripheral vision was still glued to that spring ball device.
Watching yet another "lucky winner" take away the prize money.
The resentment in his heart deepened by a few more degrees.
Under the stimulation of such an environment, a gambler's brain automatically filters out all advice.
At this moment, his head was filled with a loop of thoughts: "If others can win, why can't I?" and "Just one more try."
"Tch, stingy. I'll go home and get it myself. You guys wait for me a bit, don't you dare leave."
Li Tanghu's eyes were already red with desperation as he ran home to get his New Year's money.
Watching Li Tanghu's pace get faster and faster until it almost became a sprint.
Huang Yuqi shook her head helplessly and said to Jiang Cheng, "Let's go, we haven't finished eating yet."
Given Huang Yuqi's personality, Jiang Cheng had thought she would put all her effort into stopping him.
After all, it was related to her profession.
But to his surprise, Huang Yuqi didn't. She pulled him back toward the noodle stall.
"Not stopping him?" Jiang Cheng's voice carried a hint of amusement.
Huang Yuqi looked toward the depths of the alley.
Huang Yuqi picked up a chopstick-full of noodles that had already become soggy, her tone as calm as if she were discussing the weather. "If I stop him this time, I won't be able to stop him next time. Spending a hundred yuan or so to buy a lesson is actually quite cost-effective."
Seeing how transparent Huang Yuqi was, Jiang Cheng laughed.
"Great minds think alike."
After sitting back at the noodle stall and looking at the food in front of her, Huang Yuqi pouted. "Sigh, the noodles are all clumped together. It's all Li Tanghu's fault. I'm just waiting for him to lose all his New Year's money so I can see how his mom spanks his bottom."
Jiang Cheng chuckled low. "You're quite a Zen teacher."
"There are over sixty students in the class, and fifty of them are left-behind children," Huang Yuqi said, putting down her chopsticks. "If I tried to manage every single one of them like my own son, I'd have died of exhaustion long ago."
"Last year, Li Tanghu stole money from home to buy game equipment and was hung from a tree and beaten by his dad."
After saying that, Huang Yuqi shook her head, took a slurp of noodles, and continued, "And the result? Last week, he was caught stealing again." She looked up toward the alley entrance. "Some pits you have to fall into yourself before you know the pain. Just respect the fate of others and do your best."
Hearing this, Jiang Cheng's admiration for Huang Yuqi increased by a few more points.
"You're right, let's just respect the fate of others~"
Just as he said that, a low-profile black Mercedes-Benz S600 suddenly pulled to a slow stop beside them.
Jiang Cheng turned his head and glanced over.
The car window rolled down, revealing Xu Lei's well-maintained face.
His hair was combed into a meticulous slicked-back style, his eyes sparkled with shrewdness behind gold-rimmed glasses, and the tie clip on his Hermès tie glinted coldly in the sunlight.
"Hahaha, Chairman Jiang, Happy New Year..." Xu Lei almost stepped on a discarded disposable chopstick on the roadside as he got out of the car.
His Italian handmade leather shoes came to an emergency halt.
Changing direction toward Jiang Cheng, he said with a smile, "...What a small world! What a coincidence, I didn't expect to run into you here."
Seeing Xu Lei's extremely fawning face, Jiang Cheng's action of wiping his mouth with a tissue suddenly stopped.
He gave an incredulous laugh. "Oh, Bank Manager Xu, you're in Kyoto for the New Year too?"
Xu Lei had already quickly walked over from the car.
Xu Lei had already hurried over, adjusting the cuffs of his custom suit to ensure his expensive Patek Philippe watch was partially visible.
"Oh, Chairman Jiang, you're too kind." He bowed slightly, his posture respectful yet poised. "Just call me Old Xu. I happened to be in Kyoto for a Financial Summit and thought I must find the time to pay my New Year respects to you."
Of course, Jiang Cheng did not believe Xu Lei's words.
Twenty billion had just been transferred into CMB last night, and he appeared before him in the blink of an eye—this was far too coincidental.
After speaking, Xu Lei even rubbed his hands together and asked politely with a smile, "And who might this lady be?"
"This is Huang Yuqi, a volunteer teaching teacher from Rongshan," Jiang Cheng introduced, his tone carrying a rare hint of seriousness.