Trapped in the Same Day for a Thousand Years: You Know About Art Too?

Welcome to Trapped in the Same Day for a Thousand Years, produced exclusively by Feilu Novel Network, written by Sang Ze and narrated by Wang Xiaomo and Lao He.

While everyone else was still reeling from the discovery that Yao Bin had cheated, Wu Chen gave no warning. He suddenly yanked Yao Bin against the table and brought the knife down.

The knife was the one Li Ruobin had just gone outside to get from a bodyguard at Wu Chen's request after the cards had been sealed.

At the time, Li Ruobing had no idea what Wu Chen wanted it for. If he intended to try something dangerous, he had a gun on him. Why ask for a knife?

Li Ruobin still resented being ordered around by Wu Chen, but he had brought it anyway.

Now Li Ruobing finally understood what Wu Chen wanted the knife for.

Lose a hand for cheating. It was a rule in casinos everywhere, whether the game took place on a cruise ship in international waters or in an underground gambling den.

Yao Bin felt Wu Chen yank him hard. He lost his balance and stumbled, nearly falling. Then came a piercing pain.

"My hand! Ah!"

Yao Bin's scream made everyone flinch. But he soon fell silent. Once pain reached a certain limit, it turned to numbness, leaving a person too stunned to react.

Wu Chen had really chopped it off. Yao Bin's left hand was severed from his body forever. Drops of blood splashed onto Wu Chen's clothes, and a few landed on his face.

Wu Chen casually tossed the bloody knife onto the gaming table. Holding his hands up, he looked down at himself. Blood spotted his blue suit and white shirt, as well as his hands and face.

"Tissues?" Wu Chen asked evenly, gesturing to the people around him.

He was so calm it was as if someone else had just cut off a man's hand.

The calmer he was, the more frightening he seemed. He was not putting on an act. He was used to it.

During the thousand-year loop, he had once spent a period studying gambling techniques to pass the time. He had visited underground casinos large and small throughout East Sea and clashed with people there. Once, dozens of men had chased him through more than ten blocks in the middle of the night. Another time, he had chased a whole group with a knife for just as long.

After all, there had been no need to worry about consequences. Everything would reset.

Wu Chen had truly been lawless back then, seeking thrills wherever he could find them. What had he not seen? This was nothing.

Li Ruobing took a packet of tissues from her bag and handed it to Wu Chen. A bodyguard outside the circle had picked up a tissue box to offer him, but when he saw that the young miss had got there first, he quietly put it back.

Wu Chen wiped his face, then his hands, before dabbing at the blood on his clothes.

Seeing this, Li Ruobing turned and murmured a few words to the bodyguard behind her. "You really didn't need to cheat. You couldn't beat me."

"Break the rules, and you'd better either not get caught or not complain when you do. Get caught once, and your life is over."

Across the four hands from thirty-five through thirty-eight, Yao Bin had stolen an ace of spades but never used it. A stolen card was only useful if it fit the hand he held, so he had been waiting for an opportunity.

Wu Chen could imagine Yao Bin's state of mind. When Yao Bin first came to Crown Club, he had not planned to cheat. Then he met Wu Chen.

Before the thirty-fifth hand, Yao Bin had exactly one hundred million left. He was still ahead overall, but he had lost control of the game and was steadily giving his winnings back to Wu Chen. Shen Guangnian had hired him for a hefty sum, and Yao Bin had promised not just to recover the three hundred million Shen had previously lost here, but to win even more. Realizing he could not beat Wu Chen without cheating, he had taken the risk.

What Yao Bin did not know was that every sophisticated move he made was plain as day to Wu Chen. None of it could fool his eyes.

Yao Bin lay on his side on the floor, gripping his left wrist with his right hand. His face was deathly pale, and he trembled uncontrollably. He was bleeding too fast. Without prompt treatment, he would die from blood loss.

"You won't last a few minutes. By casino rules, with this much money at stake, one hand wouldn't be enough. You'd lose both hands and both feet at least. But you're only playing on someone else's behalf today. You're not the one in charge, so I won't make things harder for you."

Wu Chen stopped wiping his collar. He tossed aside the bloodstained tissues, slipped one hand into his trouser pocket, and turned toward Shen Guangnian, who was trembling against the wall by the door.

Shen Guangnian's face had gone white with fear.

He had not lost a hand himself, but he had brought Yao Bin to play for him. There was no way he could distance himself from the cheating.

"What do you have to say, Boss Shen?" Wu Chen asked.

Wu Chen smiled.

It was his usual smile, but to Shen Guangnian, it was the smile of a devil.

"I... It had nothing to do with me!"

"Hey, I didn't tell him to cheat! It's got nothing to do with me. It was his idea. I didn't know!"

Sweat poured down Shen Guangnian's face as he frantically defended himself. Then he dropped to his knees.

"Mr. Li! Mr. Li, you know what kind of man I am!"

"I may love gambling, but I've never cheated! I swear this has nothing to do with me!"

Shen Guangnian clutched Li Ruotai's trouser leg and pleaded desperately.

He did not even dare beg Wu Chen. Right now, Wu Chen seemed more frightening than Li Ruotai. He had cut off a man's hand without hesitation and looked afterward as if he had done nothing at all.

"You handle this." Wu Chen gestured at the room as he spoke to Li Ruotai. "I'm leaving."

He headed for the door. As he passed behind Li Ruotai, he leaned close and murmured, "Don't touch Shen Guangnian inside the club. Have him taken away."

Li Ruotai nodded. He did not know why he had suddenly become so willing to listen to his brother-in-law, but he listened anyway.

Wu Chen and Li Ruobing left the Ninety-Five Chi Zun Suite, followed by Li Ruobing's bodyguards.

On the way to the elevator, Li Ruobing slipped her arm through Wu Chen's again as naturally as before.

The bodyguards trailed behind them. "Did it feel good, cutting off his hand?" Li Ruobing asked softly.

"Didn't feel a thing," Wu Chen said. He glanced at her with a smile. "Nothing at all."

Li Ruobing's expression turned complicated. She looked at Wu Chen with an unusual curiosity.

She felt as though she had stumbled upon one of the world's unsolved mysteries. She could not make sense of him.

Wu Chen claimed to be an information broker. Fine. For now, she believed him.

But Wu Chen also knew how to gamble well enough to beat a top expert. That took practice.

And he said cutting off a hand had made him feel nothing. He had been utterly calm.

Li Ruobing's instincts told her Wu Chen had killed before.

A woman's instincts were often quite accurate.

There was so much about Wu Chen that was abnormal: his almost prophetic information, his composure, his exceptional skills, and even his ruthlessness.

The reason all of it seemed so abnormal came down to one thing: Wu Chen was too young. A man in his early twenties could not possibly have that much life experience. Then again, it was not his own hand he had cut off. What was he supposed to feel?

As they entered the elevator, Wu Chen added with a laugh, "It wasn't my hand." They returned to the eleventh floor, but instead of going to the room where Li Ruotai had met Zhao Guai and the others earlier, they entered a huge suite decorated with understated elegance.

Judging by the framed photographs on the coffee table and the artistic portraits on the walls, it was probably Li Ruotai's private suite.

"Your brother has pretty good taste." Wu Chen stopped by a lotus painting near the entryway and smiled. "Cui Ruzhuo's lotus flowers are interesting."

"Taste, my ass. He's just pretending to be cultured. It's all for the important clients he brings here. What does he know about any of this?"

Li Ruobing really was Li Ruotai's older sister.

"You know about art too?" Li Ruobing turned to him. "Have you studied it?"

"A little," Wu Chen said modestly. He gestured at the painting. "That one's a fake. I believe the original is currently in a collector's hands in the Xiang River region."

He walked farther in and looked around the living room. Despite its tasteful decor, the place had the artificial feel of a show home.

Just as Li Ruobing had said, it was used to receive important clients. Everything had been chosen with care, but little of it felt suited to actual living.

There was even a Steinway piano by the living-room window. It would be a miracle if Li Ruotai could play; the piano was only there for show.

"I've sent a bodyguard to get you some clothes. They'll be here soon. Would you like a drink first?" Li Ruobing asked as she walked over to the liquor cabinet.

"Dom Pérignon P2, 2000 vintage. Thanks," Wu Chen said casually.

Li Ruobing had just opened the cabinet. She turned back with a slight frown and a surprised smile. He had named her favorite champagne.

Li Ruobing did not like waiting on people, but after Wu Chen's performance today, she felt pouring him a drink was fair enough. A reward, even.

While Li Ruobing poured the drinks, Wu Chen sat at the piano and opened the keyboard lid. He ran a hand lightly over the keys, then began to play.

Soft, beautiful piano music filled the room. The black and white keys gave rise to a moving melody, warm and unhurried as sunlight at half past two in the afternoon.

It flowed along the instrument's old, elegant curves. The notes gradually brightened, spreading like a tide until they filled every corner of the room.

His fingers danced nimbly across the keys, climbing from low notes to high ones and opening a path of rose-colored brilliance. Then the melody drifted downward again, like pearls scattered across the floor, delicate and gleaming.

Wu Chen's fingers kept brushing over the keys. His body swayed almost imperceptibly with the rhythm, his eyes half closed, as though he were lost in the melody he played.

Li Ruobing approached the piano without a sound, a glass of champagne in each hand.

She leaned lightly against it and set one glass on the top, within Wu Chen's reach.

After taking a small sip from her own glass, Li Ruobing rested her cheek against the back of her hand and tilted her head, watching Wu Chen lose himself in his playing.

The clear, bright notes rippled through the room. As Li Ruobing watched him, a new light gradually entered her eyes.

She had to admit that Wu Chen surprised her every time.

In her twenty-seven years, she had met plenty of unusual men. Wu Chen was unquestionably the most unusual of them all.

At this point, she would not dare say there was anything Wu Chen could not do.

He had not shown her that much, yet each time, he managed to do something astonishing at exactly the right moment and in exactly the right setting.

The piece Wu Chen was playing was famous. Extremely famous. So famous that nearly everyone had heard it.

Major television stations across the country had used the classic piano piece as background music for variety shows, news programs, and films.

Few people knew its name, but almost anyone who heard it would recognize it. It was that familiar.

And being too familiar had a drawback: people grew tired of it.

Even if you set your favorite song as your alarm or ringtone, you would probably change it within a year and never want to hear it again. Hear something too often, and it began to feel tiresome and trite.

But a pianist's live performance had a power no recording could reproduce.

Wu Chen was not a pianist by profession, but Li Ruobing had studied piano herself. She could tell that his skill was remarkable, far beyond her own.

Li Ruobing, still tilting her head, suddenly swept a lock of hair behind her ear.

Her long, straight black hair fell across her face whenever she tilted her head, so she tucked it back. Wu Chen did not look at her.

He was so absorbed in playing that he could ignore everything around him. Even when a beauty like Li Ruobing, a nine out of ten by the strictest standards, tucked her hair behind her ear beside him, he paid no attention.

Li Ruobing took another sip of champagne and breathed out slowly. She closed her eyes, as though listening with her whole heart.

It had been a long time since she had felt this relaxed. No scheming in the business world, no pressure from her family, no work, no worries. Only music she could lose herself in.

She did not know how much time had passed before the music suddenly stopped. Li Ruobing opened her eyes as if waking from a dream and looked at Wu Chen. "You really are talented. That was a lovely rendition of Richard Clayderman's Ballade pour Adeline. Why did you stop?"

Wu Chen had not reached the end. There should have been a short passage left.

He pressed several keys in succession. "This piano needs tuning. You can hear it, can't you?"

"Mm." Li Ruobing hesitated. To be honest, she could not tell which note was out of tune.

Wu Chen had underestimated himself and overestimated Li Ruobing.

Li Ruobing had studied piano and passed graded exams in her teens, but she had not touched one in years. As for Wu Chen, who knew how sharp his ear had become? Even he did not know.

There was no way to compare. Li Ruobing rarely found herself in such an awkward position, but she did not dwell on it. She raised a hand toward the glass. "Your champagne."

Wu Chen stood, picked up the glass, and gave it a gentle swirl. "Cheers."

"Cheers."

Their glasses touched, and they each took a sip.

"Are you trying to flirt with me?" Li Ruobing asked, looking at Wu Chen again.

She wore a smile, though it was hard to tell what lay behind it. As always, she spoke directly.

"What makes you think that?" Wu Chen asked with a smile.

"You're an information broker. You said so yourself, and I'm starting to believe it. You know far too much. I believe you know me, too, which is why you chose my favorite champagne."

"You know I studied piano, so you played for me."

"I think there's been a misunderstanding," Wu Chen said with a laugh. "Boss Li, please don't flatter yourself. We're business partners, aren't we?"

"You paid me twenty million. That's why I came here today."

"I always take my clients seriously. If you insist on calling that flirting, suit yourself."

"So you're treating me as a client. You wanted your client to feel comfortable. Is there a problem with that?"

"Would you scowl at a business partner?"

"You're happy, I'm happy, everyone's happy. And that means I can make more money. Right?"

He had to keep up his money-loving persona!

"Hmph."

"That's true." Li Ruobing seemed to believe every word of Wu Chen's nonsense. She even smiled and nodded.

A knock came at the door. The bodyguard had arrived with the clothes. Since Wu Chen had blood on his outfit, Li Ruobing had ordered the bodyguard to buy him a replacement while they were still in the suite. He had bought two outfits, probably at a cost of over a hundred thousand.

The bodyguard came in carrying a suit in each hand. Li Ruobing let Wu Chen choose, and he picked the silver-gray one.

Wu Chen went into the bedroom to change. When he came back out, Li Ruotai had arrived. It seemed Shen Guangnian's matter had been dealt with.

"It's noon. Let's get lunch," Li Ruobing said, coming over to straighten Wu Chen's clothes. Crown Club had a restaurant, but the three of them had no intention of eating there. However refined the club's food might be, it could not compare with a restaurant devoted to its craft.

They eventually went to a French restaurant in the central district. Li Ruobing was a member, so a table was always available to her.

The three ordered a few dishes in a private room upstairs. Only while waiting for the food did they begin to chat.

"Brother-in-law, what do you think we should do about Shen Guangnian?" Li Ruotai asked quietly.

Calling Wu Chen "brother-in-law" had already become second nature. Wu Chen had told him not to touch Shen Guangnian.

More precisely, he had said not to touch Shen Guangnian inside the club. Li Ruotai had let the man go, but he knew the matter could not end there.

Wu Chen had said not to act inside the club because doing so would cause trouble for Li Ruotai, not for him. Li Ruotai already had enough trouble and needed to show restraint. "He's lost so much money that his business is already in trouble. Drive him into the ground."

Wu Chen arranged his cutlery and spoke without looking up. Shen Guangnian was hardly innocent. He had ties to Wei Jia: the organization's third-ranking figure had once been Shen Guangnian's father-in-law's superior.

Li Jia and Wei Jia were bitter enemies. Since Wu Chen had chosen Li Ruobing as his first connection, he was naturally on Li Jia's side. "I understand."

Li Ruotai nodded. He did not need more details. He had plenty of ways to deal with a small fry like Shen Guangnian; he had only been unsure which would be most appropriate.

At a time like this, he was also afraid of jeopardizing his brother-in-law's plans for the club.

Li Ruotai asked another question.

"If you can bear to do it, set fire to the Crown Club."

Wu Chen looked up at Li Ruotai, then at Li Ruobing.

The siblings both looked at him. "Burn down the Crown Club? The renovations alone cost five hundred million back then." "You only need to burn part of it," Wu Chen said. "Make sure it gets on the news. Then you'll have a legitimate reason to close for repairs and renovate again. No one will suspect a thing."

Wu Chen went on.

He then told Li Ruotai exactly how to do it. The timing was the key: when to release the evidence, when to kill Xiehu, and when to burn the club. They absolutely could not get the order wrong.

"I'm going to the restroom."

Wu Chen glanced at his watch and stood. "Do you know where it is?"

"If not, I could..." Li Ruobing asked with concern.

"Stay here, Li. I know the way."

Wu Chen gave Li Ruobing's shoulder a light pat.

After Wu Chen left the private room, Li Ruotai turned toward the closed door. He listened as the footsteps faded, making sure Wu Chen really had gone to the restroom.

Then he spun back to Li Ruobing and asked in a low voice, "Sis, who exactly is this guy?"

"Where did you find him?"

Despite calling Wu Chen his brother-in-law, Li Ruotai still harbored deep suspicions about him.