Qingque had been so brazen about slacking off that she had drawn Fu Xuan herself to come catch her. One could imagine just how excessive her usual loafing around had been.
They had thought that would be the end of it, but who would have expected Qingque to be so bold today that she even dared to skip her daily check-in entirely?
Well, damn.
Would they really get to see Lady Fu Xuan again today?
Lin Shuang stood nearby and listened to their conversation.
Honestly, she did not believe it either.
Wasn't little Qingque getting punished by the Master Diviner for slacking off just the normal state of affairs?
How could the Divination Department possibly send her here specifically to play cards?
But just then, one of the people at the table suddenly felt the Jade Seal on her wrist vibrate. When she opened it and took a look, her face immediately fell.
"I'm done for. My teacher says she needs me for something and wants me to go over."
"No way, sis. We're about to deal, and you're leaving now?"
"Sorry, sorry. Drinks are on me next time. If I don't go, my teacher will hang me off a starskiff and make me fly around for three hours."
With that, the friend forced a smile, grabbed her clothes, and hurried away.
Perhaps Lin Shuang's white hair was simply too conspicuous. Qingque had been about to randomly grab someone to fill the empty seat, but the moment her gaze fell on Lin Shuang, she froze for a second.
She seemed to search her memory, unable to recall ever seeing this person at the card parlor before.
Then her eyes lit up, and she waved repeatedly as she called out:
"New here? Have you played Emperor's Jade before? No, wait, what's your name? Want to play a couple rounds?"
Lin Shuang had wanted to sit down and play a few rounds anyway. She had not expected Qingque to invite her first, so naturally, she sat down across from Qingque without hesitation.
"My name is Lin Shuang. I've tried Emperor's Jade a little, so I know the rules, but I don't have any Xun Di. Just Credits."
"That's fine, that's fine. Credits work too. We can use both on the Xianzhou anyway."
The moment they heard that, everyone at the table knew Lin Shuang was probably an Outworlder who had only recently arrived on the Xianzhou.
But whether she was an Outworlder or not did not matter in this card parlor. As long as she could play cards, that was enough.
Seeing Qingque begin dealing, the others laughed and said:
"Qingque, you're awfully eager. Watch out for beginner's luck. She might win back all the Xun Di you earned today."
Qingque expertly lined up her tiles in a row, immediately brimming with confidence. With this hand, losing would be impossible!
"Heh, Emperor's Jade is thirty percent luck and seventy percent skill. Today, I'll show you that even against beginner's luck, I can still win!"
When Lin Shuang sat down at the table and started chatting with Qingque,
the system notification appeared before her at just the right moment:
Target: Qingque Favorability: 58 (Friendly and expectant) Relationship: None 'Because she successfully found a new card partner, she's looking forward to winning Xun Di from you.'
Seeing that favorability rating, Lin Shuang laughed.
Just because she had sat down to play cards with her, her favorability had nearly reached sixty?
Girl, your favorability really was easy to raise.
If I found a chance to make you an exquisite Emperor's Jade set and give it to you, wouldn't your favorability explode on the spot?
With that thought, the game began smoothly.
Of course,
Lin Shuang was not a professional mahjong player. Besides, Emperor's Jade was ninety percent similar to the mahjong she knew, but there were still a few differences.
Qingque had to offer a few pointers about the rules from the side.
So over the next dozen or so rounds, although Lin Shuang won eight in a row,
who could have expected Qingque to stubbornly hold out for big hands, then win two huge rounds in succession and claw back everything she had lost earlier?
"See, see, see? What did I tell you? Even with beginner's luck, my luck today is still unstoppable!"
Qingque had just finished boasting when she seemed to remember that Lin Shuang was still a newcomer. Her tone suddenly shifted, and she scratched her head with a goofy grin at Lin Shuang.
"Ah, sometimes I speak without thinking. Don't mind me. It's normal to be unfamiliar with the rules at first. Play a few more times, and you'll be winning big hands too."
Lin Shuang did not mind, of course. She had not come to play cards to make money. Winning a few hands was enough.
Just hearing the Emperor's Jade tiles clatter across the table made Lin Shuang feel strangely nostalgic.
And Qingque was rather cute when she smiled.
Lin Shuang did not hide it. She looked at Qingque with a smile and said:
"It's fine. It's a game. Winning and losing are both normal."
"Ooh, well said. Games are all about having fun, win or lose. You're definitely my friend now."
Before Qingque could speak, one of the card players sitting beside Lin Shuang could not help giving her a thumbs-up.
The few of them often gathered to play cards because no matter whether they won or lost, they stayed emotionally steady. They were not like certain people who changed their faces after losing too much.
Qingque across from them clearly agreed as well. She nodded seriously, swaying her head as she said:
"Ah, Miss Lin speaks wisely. A newcomer who's both pretty and good-tempered is quite rare, you know~"
As she spoke,
Qingque's favorability rose again.
Target: Qingque Favorability: 63 (A like-minded card partner) Relationship: None 'The new card partner is a beautiful girl suited to playing cards often. What a score!'
It was already over sixty?
Lin Shuang was speechless for a moment.
Girl, you really were easy to raise.
Once it passed sixty, she only needed to establish a relationship to get a draw.
After thinking about it, Lin Shuang picked up the thread of conversation.
"I'll probably be staying on the Xianzhou for a while. If you don't mind, can you count me in when you play cards normally?"
"Sure, sure. The more card players, the better."
Qingque was the first to welcome her, and the other two nodded in agreement as well.
Then the system refreshed once more.
Target: Qingque Favorability: 63 (A like-minded card partner) Relationship: Card partner 'The new card partner is a beautiful girl suited to playing cards often. What a score!' Reward: One green draw
Here it came.
Looking at the green draw, Lin Shuang chose to draw without the slightest hesitation!
The familiar green light flashed. As always, no miracle happened, and what appeared was still a green item.
Then, as always, Lin Shuang's expression collapsed.
Art of Deception (Master Level) 'What a rare skill. With it, no one can match your ability to cheat and steal!' 'As long as you want, even the Master Diviner herself won't be able to tell that you're cheating right in front of her.' 'But she can calculate it.'
Who the hell wanted this thing...
Lin Shuang nearly flipped the table.
Even if it was related to Qingque, wasn't this Art of Deception a little too ridiculous?
Especially when a massive number of cheating techniques and tricks flooded into her mind, making Lin Shuang feel that if she ever used them, she would probably get beaten to death.
Cheating in front of a diviner, huh?
Why not tell the Cloud Knights that you were an Abomination of Abundance while you were at it?
At least that would save some trouble afterward.
When she came back to her senses,
the new tiles had already been arranged.
And at that moment, Lin Shuang immediately felt that the game had changed.
This skill did not merely improve her sleight of hand. It also came with a vast number of techniques for card and board games.
After suddenly gaining so many techniques, Lin Shuang looked at the table and naturally felt a subtle sense of seeing the whole picture and controlling the situation.
At the same time, Qingque's cheerful voice rang out from across the table:
"Ah, what a lucky hand! Sorry about this, everyone."
Qingque winked with a smile and confidently played a tile from her hand.
Time to kill!
And yet—
"Self-draw. I won."
Lin Shuang's calm voice shattered Qingque's hopes.
Qingque stared wide-eyed at the tiles Lin Shuang had laid down.
You got completely crushed, friend.
Although the other two card players had lost as well, they burst into laughter instead.
Qingque had been focused on making a big hand and had piled her multiplier absurdly high.
Who knew Lin Shuang would quietly complete her hand, causing Qingque's entire plan to fall apart at the last moment?
This way, the other two only lost a little, while Qingque suffered a crushing defeat.
She spat out everything she had won earlier.
A loss was a loss, but Qingque still said with a grin:
"Fortunes change, friend! You managed to win at a moment like this? Come on, come on, let's play another round!"
"..."
"..."
Yet no one answered Qingque. Silence filled the room.
The other two card players covered their mouths and coughed softly. Lin Shuang had not wanted to cough at first.
But seeing the two people beside her doing it, she covered her mouth as well and gave two insincere coughs.
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