Passing through the first floor, Yang Yi didn't see Quan Quan at the reception; he figured she had gone inside to change into her work uniform.
Yang Yi usually didn't go for massages or foot therapy. The idea of a stranger rubbing you all over—especially your feet—seemed like it would be quite an uncomfortable sensation.
Just as he was lost in thought, his foot slipped, and he fell heavily onto the stairs.
"Sigh... that really hurts." Someone had spilled water on the stair tiles.
He rubbed his thigh; it felt like it was burning. The denim fabric had scraped against his skin.
Pushing open the door to Wufang, he found Ah Shui at the bar, cracking sunflower seeds.
"So early? Where's the girl?"
"She went back," Yang Yi said, limping toward the inner room. "There's water on the stairs; you might want to go out and wipe it up."
"Where'd water come from?" Ah Shui remained seated, continuing to crack his seeds.
After giving the heads-up, Yang Yi headed inside. Amidst the sounds of the game, he caught a familiar voice, and he suddenly felt like a lamb walking into a wolf's den.
Pushing the door open, he saw sitting directly opposite him—of all people—Brother Hei.
Why would Brother Hei be at Wufang? It wasn't even the end of the month yet; wasn't it a bit early to be debt collecting? Yang Yi froze on the spot, a chill rushing from the soles of his feet to the back of his head. The three hundred in his pocket wouldn't even allow him to pay back half of what he owed.
Mazi was the first to greet him. "You're here."
Little Lin, who had his back to Yang Yi while dealing, turned around at the sound. "Yo, Boss Yang! Wasn't today date night?"
"The date's over. Came to play a few hands with you guys." Yang Yi found a seat and sat down.
"You call that a date? Just took the girl out for a meal?"
"Didn't even eat. She was in a hurry to get to work, so I just dropped her back."
"Who works at this time of night? Which one? The one downstairs?" Mazi chimed in, arching an eyebrow with a look of worldly wisdom.
"Yeah, we just chatted for a bit." Yang Yi didn't dare mention that he had taken her to buy a phone—not with his creditor sitting right there. If he said that, he wouldn't be able to leave tonight.
"Then you're really into low-cost pick-ups." Little Lin's trash-talking skills were top-tier; in truth, he just had a big mouth.
"Brother Hei," Yang Yi greeted him with a nod. Brother Hei was in the middle of a hand; he glanced at the cards, then at Yang Yi, and gave a dull "mm" in response.
Yang Yi scanned the table. As usual, Little Lin was dealing, with Mazi and Zhen Zhen playing. Xiao Liu was there too, but Gold Tooth and Brother Long hadn't shown up.
Aside from Brother Hei, there was a new face sitting next to Zhen Zhen—a girl. She wore no makeup, her long hair hanging past the edge of the table. She seemed to have heavy dark circles under her eyes, hidden behind a pair of large, gold-rimmed glasses. She wore an oversized T-shirt so loose that the shoulder seams sloped down to her forearms.
Only a men's T-shirt on a girl would produce that effect.
"Yao Mei, you're still buying this hand?" Yao Mei picked up her hole cards to look. Just as she was about to fold, Zhen Zhen glanced at the hand and covered it with her plump hand.
"You're only drawing to a seven." Zhen Zhen tossed Yao Mei's cards away—it was the 8 and 9 of Diamonds. The board showed the 2 of Clubs, 5 of Clubs, 6 of Hearts, 10 of Diamonds, and Jack of Clubs. Brother Hei took down the pot with Pocket Kings.
"If there's a draw, you buy it," Mazi added from the side.
"What's a 'draw'?" Yao Mei asked Mazi.
"A draw is... well, a draw. Drawing for a flush is a 'flush draw,' drawing for a straight is a 'straight draw.' The number of cards you're looking for is called 'outs'—that is, the total number of cards that, once bought, will make your hand beat the opponent's." Mazi flipped a 7 out of the muck and placed it in front of the girl. "You were drawing to an inside straight: 5-6-7-8-9. You needed one of the four Sevens. If it comes, you win the pot. Those four Sevens are your 'outs.'"
Great, another total novice. Yang Yi had been playing for at least a month and now understood the basic poker terminology under Mazi's tutelage.
Brother Hei continued to crush the table, constantly hitting big hands. He took first in this round, Mazi took second, and Xiao Liu took third.
Yang Yi pulled 100 out of his pocket and joined the game.
His first hand was the 2 of Clubs and 7 of Hearts. Yang Yi curled his lip and folded. This was the worst starting hand in Texas Hold'em. Yang Yi had once asked Mazi why it was worse than a 2 and 3; Mazi's answer was that a 2 and 3 could form a straight with any A-4-5, whereas there were four ranks between a 2 and 7, making a straight impossible.
Two people had already busted out, and Yang Yi's hands were still abysmal. He felt like an outsider watching the others slaughter each other, constantly folding his cards while occasionally replying to Quan Quan's texts.
It was clear that Quan Quan wasn't very interested in poker from last time, so Yang Yi didn't tell her he was upstairs. It would be awkward if they ran into each other when he headed down later.
Brother Hei was constantly betting and scooping pots. Several times he showed his hand, and they were always monsters.
Yang Yi picked up AK and shoved pre-flop. Brother Hei called with Pocket Nines. The board failed to produce an Ace or a King, and Yang Yi lost his first buy-in. After busting out, he sent a text to Little Lin.
"Why is Brother Hei here today?"
Little Lin took a moment to check his phone, then put it down, glanced toward Yang Yi, and went back to focused dealing.
As time ticked away, it reached 1:00 AM. Usually, the game would have broken up by now.
He only had four hundred plus left in his pocket. He had no luck today; he'd play one last hand and call it quits.
Under normal circumstances, tomorrow would be the last working day of the month, meaning his salary would hit his account. He could win it back properly over the weekend.
In the next hand, Yang Yi was still plagued by trash cards. Occasionally he'd get a pocket pair and bet, but everyone else would fold. His chips hovered around the 400 mark. Meanwhile, Brother Hei had already eliminated Zhen Zhen and Yao Mei. Only Yang Yi, Mazi, and Xiao Liu remained.
It looked like winning today would be difficult. After this last hand, he'd head home early, Yang Yi thought to himself.
With four players left, Yang Yi was the first to act. His hole cards were the Ace of Hearts and King of Hearts. This was a rare monster for tonight. Yang Yi raised to 30.
Brother Hei, on the Button, thought for a few seconds before calling.
Mazi in the Small Blind looked at his cards and called.
Xiao Liu in the Big Blind called as well.
A rare four-way pot at Wufang. Mazi and Xiao Liu's hands probably weren't great, but as the blinds, they had already put in 5 and 10, so a 30-raise wasn't much pressure. In Yang Yi's eyes, the only danger was Brother Hei, acting second to last.
Little Lin gathered the chips and tapped the table.
The Flop: 9 of Hearts, 6 of Clubs, 8 of Hearts.
Mazi and Xiao Liu checked in turn. It was Yang Yi's move.
Two hearts on the board. Yang Yi held the two biggest hearts in his hand. As long as one more heart came, he'd have the nut flush—effectively unbeatable.
"I'm still on a draw. If anyone else hit a pair, they're ahead of me." Yang Yi also checked, casting a glance at Brother Hei. He suspected Brother Hei likely had a pair.
Brother Hei quickly tossed out five blue chips.
"How much is that, 50?" Mazi muttered to himself, looked at his cards, and folded.
Mazi was as talkative as ever, a sharp contrast to the silent Brother Hei.
Xiao Liu called the 50.
When it reached Yang Yi, he also called the 50. The situation was still optimistic; while drawing for the flush, he was also drawing for an overcard Ace or King. Any heart or high card on the Turn would put him in the lead.
The Turn: Ace of Diamonds.
The high card arrived. Yang Yi now had Top Pair Aces plus a Flush Draw. Xiao Liu checked. Yang Yi was certain he was ahead and bet 100.
Brother Hei thought for a moment, placed a green chip on the tip of his thumb, and flicked it. The chip flipped several times in the air before landing in the pot.
Tossing out your smallest denomination chip—this action represented an All-in.
"All-in." It was the same loud, familiar voice Yang Yi had heard last time.
Xiao Liu hesitated, flipped over one of his cards—a 9—and then folded.
"Hey, you can't show that. The hand isn't over," Mazi corrected him.
The action was back to Yang Yi. Perhaps some shadow from last time still lingered, as he began to shrink back.
"Could it be a Set?" Given how Brother Hei had played today, for a moment Yang Yi thought he might have Pocket Eights or Nines.
"He might also have two pair with an Ace. I might be behind." Yang Yi reverted to his previous logic: if Brother Hei had A9 or A8, having hit a pair on the flop and then hitting an Ace on the turn, he'd have plenty of reason to shove.
The pot was already several hundred. Yang Yi had about 200 chips behind. Even if he was against a set or top two pair, he still had the flush draw on the River to win.
"Call!" Yang Yi pushed his chips forward and showed his AK of Hearts.
Brother Hei picked up his cards and slammed them face-down on the table with a heavy thud. It took Yang Yi a long time to identify those two unfamiliar cards.
Brother Hei's hand was the 10 of Hearts and Jack of Hearts.
"A flush draw? I've already won... wait, he's also drawing for a straight." Yang Yi cleared his head.
"Damn, a Straight Flush Draw!" Mazi shouted excitedly.
"Playing a draw that aggressively? Shoving over me," Yang Yi muttered under his breath. In the usual Tianbei games, people on draws would just call passively—win if you hit, fold if you don't.
"If it was just a flush draw, the hand would be drawing dead—he couldn't beat you no matter what. But he's also drawing for the straight." Mazi held up Brother Hei's cards as if they were his own.
Little Lin glanced at Yang Yi and tapped the table.
The River: 7 of Spades.
"The overtake! Haha, the Straight Flush Draw won! If he didn't have the AK of Hearts, we'd have had fifteen outs," Mazi said to Brother Hei. Brother Hei remained silent, looking down as he organized his newly won chips.
Yang Yi knew exactly how those fifteen outs were calculated. From Brother Hei's perspective: two hearts in hand, two on the board meant nine heart outs left in the deck. Add to that the non-heart Sevens and Jacks for the straight—six outs. Nine plus six made fifteen outs.
Shoving on a draw and hitting the straight on the river—Yang Yi was beaten fair and square. But now he only had one hundred left in his pocket, and Mazi's gloating made his chest feel tight with frustration.
"I can't take it. I'm going out for some air." Yang Yi made an excuse to head downstairs. He couldn't keep playing today.
The girl from before was still at the downstairs reception; Quan Quan still hadn't appeared.
Yang Yi walked outside. Perhaps from sitting too long, or perhaps because he hadn't processed that hand yet, his legs were trembling slightly. As he passed a row of iron railings used for locking bikes, he lost his balance and nearly tripped.
He pulled out his phone; Little Lin had sent a text:
"Man, you should've said something before coming. Gold Tooth and Brother Long both couldn't make it today, so Mazi asked me to find some people to fill the game."
"How could Brother Hei be interested in our small-stakes game? I thought he came specifically for my debt."
"Relax, Boss Yang. Brother Hei did ask if you were around today, but he really didn't come for your pocket change. He happened to be nearby on business, so we had dinner together and then came to Wufang."
Little Lin had never sent such a long text to Yang Yi before. It was clear he was genuinely afraid of a misunderstanding and was trying hard to explain.
"I just won a bit yesterday, and today it's all gone."
"You're a joker, Boss Yang. Hurry up and come back for the next round."
"I'm out. I'll take a break today and see you this weekend." Yang Yi felt the three hundred in his pocket. It was fine; enough to get by.
But having such a big hand get shoved on by someone else's draw... he hadn't encountered that in his month of playing poker.
It seemed tonight had left Yang Yi with a bit of a shadow.