You Know Art Too?

Welcome to Trapped in the Same Day for a Thousand Years, exclusively produced 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 abruptly dragged Yao Bin to the table and brought the knife down.

Li Ruobin had just gone out to get the knife from a bodyguard at Wu Chen's request after the cards were sealed.

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

He had resented being ordered around by Wu Chen, but he had fetched it anyway.

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

Lose a hand for cheating. That was a rule in casinos everywhere, whether on a cruise ship in international waters or in an underground gambling den.

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

"Agh! My hand!"

Yao Bin's scream made everyone flinch, but he soon fell silent. Once pain reached a certain point, it turned to numbness and left a person utterly dazed.

Wu Chen had really chopped it off. Yao Bin's left hand had left his body for good. Drops of blood splashed onto Wu Chen's clothes and face.

Wu Chen casually tossed the bloody knife onto the gambling table. Holding his hands away from his body, he looked down. Blood marked his blue suit and white shirt, as well as his hands and face.

"Got any tissues?" Wu Chen asked calmly, gesturing to the people around him.

He was so composed that he might not have been the one who 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 this.

During the Millennium Reincarnation, he had once passed the time by studying gambling techniques. He had visited underground casinos large and small throughout East Sea and gotten into plenty of fights. Once, dozens of men had chased him through more than ten streets in the dead of night. Another time, he had chased a whole group through just as many streets with a blade.

He never had to worry about the consequences. Everything would reset.

Back then, Wu Chen had been truly lawless, seeking thrills wherever he could. He had seen it all. This was nothing.

Li Ruobing pulled some tissues from her bag and handed them to Wu Chen. A bodyguard nearby had already picked up a tissue box, but when he saw her offer hers first, he quietly put it back.

Wu Chen wiped his face and hands, then dabbed at the spots of blood on his clothes.

Li Ruobing turned and murmured a few words to the bodyguard behind her.

"You never needed to cheat, Lao Qian. You couldn't beat me."

"Break the rules, and you'd better not get caught. Get caught once, and you're finished for life."

Over the four hands from the thirty-fifth to the thirty-eighth, Yao Bin had stolen an ace of spades but never used it. A stolen card was useful only when it suited the hand he held, so he had been waiting for his chance.

Wu Chen could imagine what Yao Bin had been thinking. When Yao Bin first came to Crown Club, cheating had probably never crossed his mind. Then he met Wu Chen.

Before the thirty-fifth hand, Yao Bin had exactly a hundred million left. He was still ahead overall, but he had lost control 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 only to win back the three hundred million Shen had previously lost here, but to win even more. Once he realized he could not beat Wu Chen fairly, he took the risk.

What Yao Bin did not know was that every sophisticated trick he tried 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 his body kept twitching. He was losing blood fast. Without treatment, he would die.

"You won't last more than 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. But you were only playing on someone else's behalf today, so I won't make things harder for you."

Wu Chen stopped dabbing at his collar. He tossed aside the stained tissue, 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 was not the one who had lost a hand, but he had brought Yao Bin here to play for him. He could not entirely distance himself from the cheating.

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

Shen Guangnian gave a faint smile.

It was Wu Chen's habitual smile, but to Shen Guangnian, it looked like the devil's.

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

"Hey, I never told him to cheat! It was his own idea. I didn't know!"

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

"Young Master Li! Young Master Li, you know what kind of man I am!"

"I like to gamble, sure, but I've never cheated! I swear this had nothing to do with me!"

Shen Guangnian clutched at Li Ruotai's trouser leg, nearly begging.

He did not even dare plead with Wu Chen. Right now, Wu Chen seemed more frightening than Li Ruotai. He had cut off a man's hand without hesitation and afterward looked as though nothing had happened.

"You handle this." Wu Chen gestured around 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 said quietly, "Don't touch Shen Guangnian in 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. He just was.

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 naturally took Wu Chen's arm again.

With the bodyguards following behind, she asked softly, "Did cutting off his hand feel good?"

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

Li Ruobing's expression grew complicated. She looked at Wu Chen with a peculiar curiosity.

She felt as though she had stumbled upon an unsolved mystery. She simply could not make sense of him.

Wu Chen called himself an intelligence broker. Fine. For now, she believed him.

But he also knew how to gamble, well enough to defeat a top expert.

And he claimed to feel nothing after cutting off a man's hand. He had remained perfectly calm.

Her instincts told Li Ruobing that Wu Chen had killed before.

A woman's instincts were often right.

Everything unusual about Wu Chen—his almost prophetic intelligence, his composure, his remarkable skills, even his ruthlessness—pointed to the same problem.

What made it all seem so strange was his age. He was barely in his twenties. How could he have lived through enough to become like this? It wasn't his own hand he cut off. What was he supposed to feel?

Wu Chen smiled as he stepped into the elevator. Back on the Eleventh Floor, they did not return to the room where Li Ruotai had met Zhao Guai and the others. Instead, they entered an enormous suite decorated with quiet elegance.

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

"Your brother has decent taste. Cui Ruzhuo's lotus painting is interesting." A lotus painting hung on the wall near the entrance. Wu Chen paused to look at it.

"Taste, my ass. He's just pretending to be cultured for the important clients he brings here. He doesn't understand any of this," Li Ruobing said.

Li Ruobing certainly knew her younger brother.

"You know art too? Have you studied it?" she asked.

"A little," Wu Chen said modestly. He gestured toward the painting. "That one's a fake. The original should be with a collector in Xiang River now."

Then he walked farther in and looked around the living room. Despite its elegant decor, the place had the artificial feel of a showroom.

As Li Ruobing had said, it was meant for receiving important clients. Every furnishing had been carefully chosen, but the room did not feel lived in.

There was even a Steinway piano by the living-room window. It would be a miracle if Li Ruotai could play. The piano was nothing but decoration.

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

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

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

Li Ruobing did not enjoy waiting on people, but after Wu Chen's performance today, she felt he deserved a glass poured for him.

While she poured the drinks, Wu Chen sat at the piano and lifted the keyboard cover. He ran a hand lightly across the keys, then began to play.

Soft, lovely music flowed from the piano. The black and white keys brought forth a moving melody, warm and unhurried as the sun at half past two in the afternoon.

It followed an old, graceful arc, growing brighter until the sound spread like a tide and filled every corner of the room.

His fingers danced across the keys, gliding from low notes to high through a bright sweep of color, then drifting back down like pearls scattered across the floor, delicate and gleaming.

Wu Chen's fingers continued to brush 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 piano lid 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 to watch him.

The clear notes flowed on. As Li Ruobing watched Wu Chen, a new light gradually entered her eyes.

She had to admit that he surprised her every time.

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

At this point, she did not dare claim there was anything he could not do.

He had not shown her that much yet, but every time, he managed to do something astonishing at precisely the right moment.

The piece Wu Chen was playing was famous. Extremely famous. Almost everyone had heard it.

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

Few people knew its name, but nearly everyone would recognize it the moment they heard it.

There was a drawback to being that familiar: people grew tired of it.

Even if it was your favorite song, set it as your alarm or ringtone and you would probably replace it within a year. After hearing it too often, you might never want to hear it again.

But a live pianist could give a piece a power no recording could match.

Wu Chen was not a concert pianist, at least not by profession. But Li Ruobing had studied piano herself, and she could tell his skill far surpassed hers.

Li Ruobing suddenly brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

Her long, straight black hair fell across her face whenever she tilted her head. Wu Chen did not look at her as she moved it aside.

He was focused enough on his playing to ignore everything around him. Even when a stunning beauty like Li Ruobing tucked her hair behind her ear right beside him, he paid her no attention.

Li Ruobing took another sip of champagne and slowly exhaled. She closed her eyes and listened.

It had been a long time since she had felt this relaxed. There was no deception from business rivals, no pressure from her family, no work, no worries. Only music she could lose herself in.

After what seemed like ages, the piano stopped abruptly. Li Ruobing opened her eyes as though waking from a dream. "You really are talented. That was a lovely rendition of Richard Clayderman's Ballade pour Adeline. Why did you stop?"

Wu Chen had not finished the piece. A short passage remained.

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

"Mm." Li Ruobing hesitated. Truthfully, she could not tell which notes were off.

Wu Chen had underestimated himself and overestimated her.

Li Ruobing had studied piano and passed graded exams in her teens, but she had not played in years. As for Wu Chen's musical ear, who knew how good it was? Even he had no idea.

Li Ruobing rarely found herself embarrassed like this. She did not dwell on it. Gesturing toward the piano, she said, "Your champagne."

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

"Cheers."

They clinked glasses and each took a sip.

"Are you flirting with me?" Li Ruobing asked, looking at him again.

She was smiling, though there was a challenging edge to it. She had never been one to mince words.

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

"You're an intelligence broker. You said so yourself, and I'm close to believing it. You know far too much. I also believe you've looked into me. That's why you chose my favorite champagne."

"You knew I'd studied piano, so you played the piano."

"I think there's been a misunderstanding," Wu Chen said with a smile. "Boss Li, 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 want to call that flirting, go ahead."

"So you're treating me like a client and trying to make your client happy. Is that it?" Li Ruobing asked.

"Is there a problem? Would you greet a business partner with a sour face?"

"When you're happy, I'm happy. Everyone's happy, and I make more money. Right?"

He could not let his money-loving persona slip.

"Hmph."

"That does make sense." Li Ruobing nodded with a smile, as though she actually believed him.

A knock came at the door. The bodyguard had brought the clothes. Li Ruobing had sent him to buy them while they were still in the suite because Wu Chen's clothes were stained with blood. He had bought two suits, probably spending well over a hundred thousand.

The bodyguard came in carrying one suit in each hand. Li Ruobing told Wu Chen to choose, and he settled on the silver-gray one.

Wu Chen went into the bedroom to change. When he came 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 Entertainment Club had a restaurant, but the three of them did not intend to eat there. However refined its food was, it could not compare with a proper restaurant.

They ended up at a French restaurant in the Central District. Li Ruobing was a member, so a table was always available for her.

In a private dining room on the second floor, they ordered a few dishes. Only while they waited 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.

He was already calling Wu Chen "brother-in-law" without thinking. Wu Chen had told him not to touch Shen Guangnian in the club, so Li Ruotai had let the man go. But he knew the matter could not end there.

The reason for leaving Shen Guangnian alone at the club was that acting there would cause trouble—not for Wu Chen, but for Li Ruotai. He already had enough problems and needed to show restraint.

"He's lost so much money that his business is in trouble. Push him until it collapses," Wu Chen said as he straightened the cutlery, not looking up. "Is Shen Guangnian innocent?"

Not in the slightest. He had ties to Wei Jia: one of Wei Jia's three leading figures had once been the superior of Shen Guangnian's father-in-law.

Li Jia and Wei Jia were sworn enemies. Since Wu Chen had chosen Li Ruobing as his first connection, he would naturally side with Li Jia.

"I understand." Li Ruotai nodded. He had plenty of ways to deal with a small figure like Shen Guangnian. He had only been unsure which approach was best.

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

Li Ruotai spoke again.

"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 turned to him. "Burn down the Crown Club? The renovations alone cost five hundred million back then." "Just burn part of it. 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 continued.

He then explained the details to Li Ruotai. The key was timing: when to release the evidence, when to kill Xiehu, and when to set the club on fire. They absolutely could not get the order wrong.

"I'm going to the restroom."

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

"Should I..." Li Ruobing asked, still concerned.

"Just rest, Li. I know the way."

Wu Chen gave Li Ruobing's shoulder a gentle press.

After Wu Chen left the private dining 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 whipped around and asked Li Ruobing in a low voice, "Sis, who the hell is this guy?"

"Where did you find him?"

He might have called Wu Chen his brother-in-law, but Li Ruotai still had serious doubts about him.