Bet Freely, I'll Cover the Losses

Uncle Lin was so drunk that he squinted for a long time, unable to remember why he had come.

Lin Xiaoxi really couldn't stand watching anymore and spoke for Old Lin. "It's like this. My dad heard you were going traveling, so he wanted you to take me along. I just graduated from senior year, and my family wants me to get out, see the world, and broaden my horizons. They'll feel more at ease if you're with me."

"Right!"

Uncle Lin, reeking of alcohol, slapped the table, his voice full of vigor.

Li Yao felt that something was off.

Why were they handing her over to him? Couldn't Uncle Lin and Auntie take Lin Xiaoxi themselves? Had something happened to the Lin family? Li Yao couldn't help overthinking it. After all, the Lin family's eldest daughter was now his golden-finger dad. How could he not care? He wanted to get to the bottom of it, but before he could open his mouth, his incredibly tactful mom shoved Li Yao's face straight into his rice bowl. "No problem! My Da Yao agrees!"

Li Yao: "???"

Did he have any status at all in this family?!

He struggled to lift his head out of the bowl, glared at his mom, and said, "Uncle Lin, I'm going to Macau. I'm leaving tomorrow, and she'll need a Hong Kong and Macau Travel Permit. There's no way she can get one that quickly."

Uncle Lin waved a large hand. "Xiaoxi's passport and Hong Kong and Macau Travel Permit were taken care of months ago. They've just been waiting to be used!"

Li Yao: "..."

Uncle Lin scratched his flushed face, looking a little dazed. "Da Yao, when's your flight? I'll buy one for the same flight. Uncle Lin has money! Money's no problem!"

He slapped the table with a bang and loudly declared that money was no problem.

He was really drunk.

Seeing this, Dad stopped urging him to drink. The goal had been achieved anyway, so he quickly had Mom serve some hot, thick soup to sober him up first.

Once Uncle Lin had eaten and drunk his fill and left the Li home, Mom's expression immediately changed. She poked Li Yao's forehead in frustration. "You useless thing! I've paved the way for you this far, and you still tried to turn it down! What kind of family and background do you have? You don't even appreciate such a good girl? Old Li, does our family have a mine or something?"

Old Li Comrade lay on the sofa, rubbing his slightly overstuffed belly as he narrowed his eyes weakly. "What mine? Where'd a mine come from? Why don't I know about it?"

"Just look at you!"

After scolding him once, Mom went to clean up the dishes...

The next day, Uncle Lin and Lin Xiaoxi arrived with their suitcases. Uncle Lin said, "The tickets are booked. We just need to print the boarding passes at the airport. Da Yao, this is Xiaoxi's spending money. Keep a closer eye on her. Things are a bit hectic at home right now, so I can only trouble you with this."

Li Yao nodded.

This counted as a kind of study trip, didn't it?

Ideally, parents would take their children along, impart their values, and broaden their horizons.

But the Lin family was going through a troubled time, so they could only entrust her to him.

He nodded. "Don't worry, Uncle Lin. I'll definitely take good care of Xiaoxi."

Lin Xiaoxi: ╮(￣⊿￣")╭

Heh. Who knew who would be taking care of whom!

After finishing his instructions, Old Li Comrade stood and patted his butt. "Old Lin, go handle your business. I'll see the two kids off."

Uncle Lin smiled. "Sorry for the trouble."

"What are you talking about!"

Old Li waved his hand and led Li Yao and the others outside. After saying goodbye to Uncle Lin downstairs, Li Yao and Lin Xiaoxi got into Old Li Comrade's Volkswagen Lavida and headed straight for the airport.

After a bumpy journey, they finally arrived in Macau and checked into their reserved hotel.

Li Yao and Lin Xiaoxi booked two adjacent rooms. Li Yao was unpacking in his room, planning to check out a casino later that evening. He intended to go to the Grand Lisboa Casino. It was prestigious, reputable, and had huge cash flow, so there was no chance of those tasteless scenes from novels happening there. They even had staff specially assigned to protect you while transferring your winnings into your bank account.

That was what the novel had said, anyway.

As for whether it was true...

He would test it in practice.

Just then, someone knocked on the door. "Li Yao, open up."

Li Yao got up and opened the door, his face darkening. "Why didn't you call me big brother?"

Lin Xiaoxi was dressed in trendy brands, chewing gum, looking like an underground rapper. When had she changed clothes? She was really letting loose. Lin Xiaoxi said, "Li Yao, where's the money my dad gave you?"

Li Yao said, "What do you want it for?"

Lin Xiaoxi rolled her eyes. "Don't spend it. Give it to me when we go back, and I'll return it to my dad. I have my own money, nearly twenty thousand. That's enough to spend."

Li Yao was stunned. "You just graduated from senior year, right? Where did you get so much money?"

Lin Xiaoxi smiled smugly. "Wasn't there the World Cup a while ago? I won it."

Li Yao immediately sucked in a sharp breath.

Holy shit!

How much capital could a high school student possibly have? How had she turned it into twenty thousand? Did she bet on exact scores every time? Li Yao voiced his doubts. Lin Xiaoxi thought about it and said, "I watched what the big Weibo influencers said. Sometimes I followed their bets, sometimes I bet the opposite way, and then I accidentally made that much. Tsk, making money is really easy."

Heh heh.

Li Yao rolled his eyes. "You don't need to spend your money either. Your brother didn't come here to spend money this time!"

He had come to rob them!

No, even robbery didn't make money this fast.

He urged Lin Xiaoxi to return to her room and change into something more mature so she wouldn't be stopped later. You had to be at least twenty-one to enter Macau casinos. Of course, they didn't stop everyone, mainly just those who looked young... This led plenty of overage girls to put on youthful makeup specifically so they could get stopped, then film it for Douyin to show off.

Heh. Women.

But Lin Xiaoxi refused. She questioned him, "You came here to gamble? Are you any good?"

Li Yao's heart skipped a beat. He glanced at the broad, soft bed and thought, Why don't you come try for yourself and find out?

Sinful, sinful!

This was his buddy's little sister. He couldn't mess around with her...

He changed clothes, grabbed his wallet and identification, and declared with confidence, "Let's play Lucky Roulette. Bet freely, I'll cover the losses!"

Lin Xiaoxi immediately jumped off the table. "You said it!"

Roulette involved a wheel divided into small numbered slots. The wheel spun clockwise, and once betting ended, a small ball was launched counterclockwise and rolled around the wheel before finally stopping in one of the slots. The goal was to predict which color, number, or combination of numbers the ball would land on.

Betting directly on a number offered the highest payout—35 to 1, meaning you could win thirty-five times your wager!

That was Li Yao's target.

Given his current abilities, this was the only kind of gambling game suitable for him.

The Grand Lisboa Casino was packed with gambling tables, offering every kind of game: cards, mahjong, pai gow, slot machines, fishing machines, and more. People with different preferences stood at different tables, staring intently at their cards.

Here, the intoxicating fragrance brewed from intertwined wealth and greed hung in the air.

It was enough to make people forget time.

And amid the wild swings of sudden gains and sudden losses, the adrenaline rapidly secreted by the body created sensations intense enough to make gamblers feel the reality of the world to the fullest... Only in that moment did they feel truly alive.

Li Yao had been observing the Lucky Roulette table for quite a while. He had watched several people become rich overnight, and he had also watched several people lose everything overnight...

Yet amid that delirious, decadent atmosphere, Li Yao's mind remained exceptionally clear.

Finally, he stopped watching from the sidelines. As the Lucky Roulette spun once again, Mage Hand activated without hesitation...