Chen Cheng turned his head. The referee had already shuffled the cards and was ready for the next step.
"You shuffle fast, ref. I'm in trouble now—I didn't even see how you did it."
The referee ignored him and merely said:
"You may begin calling numbers to determine who deals first."
Chen Cheng looked across at Jethead instead.
"I didn't see the referee shuffle just now. That puts me at a huge disadvantage. How about this: instead of choosing our own cards, we choose each other's? If your opponent goes out first, you lose. What do you say?
"Otherwise, if I lose all three rounds in front of this many people, I'll lose too much face."
Chen Cheng had raised the difficulty another notch. He turned to the referee.
"Ref, is that allowed?"
"Of course, sir. That's an advanced form of card counting. You're also allowed to pass only once; if you can't play a card after that, you automatically forfeit.
"There's an even more advanced version where each player chooses half the other's hand, then the cards are mixed before play begins. All other rules remain the same.
"You two may agree on the rules before starting."
Both versions were Hell-level difficulty. Players had to remember not only their own cards but their opponent's, while making sure they played cards and lost to their opponent with only one chance to pass.
When the onlookers heard Chen Cheng wanted to raise the difficulty, discussion erupted at once.
"Who is this guy? Card counting wasn't enough for him, so now he wants an even harder version?"
Some wealthy heirs recognized Melinda in the crowd. Hearing Fini call Chen Cheng "brother-in-law" over and over left a bitter taste in their mouths.
Melinda was not only the nation's goddess; she also ran a