Sweeping the Table

With the Heavenly Eye Art helping him, playing three-card poker was no different from comparing numbers to Chen Hao.

For the first few hands, Chen Hao's cards were so terrible that he folded immediately without calling once. But the ante was fairly steep, so he lost several hundred without doing anything.

Watching Chen Hao act like an idiot, never checking his cards and doing nothing but folding and losing money, Liang Hong and the others exchanged contemptuous smiles.

Another hand was dealt. When it was Chen Hao's turn, he actually called for once, much to Liang Hong's surprise. "Oh, our young Chen actually called! Now that's a rare sight. Everyone, hurry up and call. Let young Chen win a couple of hands."

Liang Hong checked his cards as he mocked him, then rolled his eyes thoughtfully and called with a smile.

After two rounds, more than two thousand in cash had piled up on the table, and only four players remained in the hand.

Liang Hong stared at Chen Hao, wondering why this guy dared to keep calling without even checking his cards. Was he trying to bluff him?

He had a pair of kings. His opponent would need a straight or a flush to beat him.

After thinking it over, Liang Hong didn't believe Chen Hao could be that lucky, so he called again.

"Another two hundred blind."

Chen Hao lit himself a cigarette and spoke with an indifferent expression.

That move scared off the other two players. They shook their heads and tossed away their cards, leaving only Liang Hong.

Liang Hong didn't believe an idiot like Chen Hao could win without looking, so he called again. "I'm still in!"

Back and forth they went, until the money on the table climbed past three thousand.

Chen Hao gave a cold smile. "Another two hundred blind. Keep calling if you've got the guts!"

The provocative words immediately infuriated Liang Hong. "Who the hell do you think you're showing off to? You think I'm scared of you? I call!"

"Another two hundred blind!"

"I call again!"

With one betting blind and the other calling, the pot quickly passed five thousand. A hand with such high stakes immediately drew the attention of quite a few people in the private room.

As the pile of money grew and Chen Hao kept mindlessly betting blind without checking his cards, Liang Hong began to feel uneasy.

Finally, after a long hesitation, his patience ran out. He threw his cards onto the table. "Five hundred to see your cards. I've got a pair of kings. No way you've got me beat."

Seeing Liang Hong reveal his cards first, Chen Hao chuckled and spread out his own.

Everyone sucked in a sharp breath at the sight.

Chen Hao deliberately put on an expression of incredible relief and patted his chest. "Oh man, that scared me to death. A pair of aces. Just a tiny bit higher than your pair of kings."

Liang Hong squeezed his eyes shut in fury, grinding his teeth so hard they nearly shattered. "Fuck."

Ignoring the murmurs around him, Chen Hao swept up the five thousand-plus in cash and brazenly began counting it. "One, two, three, four, five..."

Liang Hong was nearly beside himself with anger and hurriedly told someone to shuffle and deal again.

Once the cards were dealt, Liang Hong snapped at Chen Hao, "Hurry up and bet."

Leaning back against the sofa, Chen Hao couldn't even be bothered to touch his cards. He crossed his legs. "Two hundred!"

Everyone coughed in shock. Damn it, why didn't this guy play by the usual rules? He went straight to the limit with his blind bet. How was anyone else supposed to play?

The others didn't have Chen Hao's nerve. They hurriedly checked their cards, and anyone with a bad hand folded immediately.

Liang Hong glanced at his cards again. "Four, five, six. A straight."

With cards that good, Liang Hong had no reason not to call. "I'm in!"

Four hundred-yuan bills fluttered onto the table.

Another guy's eyes darted around before he called too. "I'll call as well."

"Another two hundred blind."

"Call."

"I call too."

After three rounds, another three thousand or so had piled up on the table.

Seeing Chen Hao stubbornly keep betting blind without looking, Liang Hong lost his initial confidence once again. He glanced at the man beside him, whose forehead was covered in cold sweat. The man looked just as lost.

"Show them. I don't believe you're that lucky." Liang Hong threw down his cards again and demanded to see Chen Hao's.

Chen Hao pretended to pick up his cards and squeeze them together, then slapped them onto the table with a laugh. "Haha, a ten-high flush. That should beat your straight, right?"

"Fucking hell!" Liang Hong was ready to burst with rage. He slammed his fist onto the table.

Ignoring Liang Hong's fury, Chen Hao laughed heartily and scooped up all the money again.

After collecting the money, Chen Hao began shuffling and dealing, chattering away. "I have no idea why I'm so lucky today. I can win this much money just betting blind. Isn't that infuriating? Make sure you invite me whenever you play three-card poker from now on!"

Everyone's faces turned green at his words.

"Cut the crap!" Still unwilling to accept defeat, Liang Hong picked up his cards. His eyes immediately lit up.

Then Chen Hao spoke. "Fifty."

Hearing that Chen Hao was only betting fifty blind, Liang Hong brightened at once. "Call!"

The others checked their cards and placed their bets as well.

An entire round passed without a single player folding.

Chen Hao smiled again. "Another hundred blind."

Everyone exchanged looks, unable to figure out what Chen Hao was doing.

As soon as Chen Hao raised the bet, someone tossed away his cards and folded.

Liang Hong, however, steeled himself and called. He had a pair of aces.

Seeing that half the players had folded, Chen Hao smiled. "Two hundred!"

Another blind bet at the limit left the remaining players completely bewildered. They couldn't make any sense of Chen Hao's strategy. Did he genuinely have no idea how to play, or was he hiding his skill to lure them in?

Unable to get a read on Chen Hao, another player shook his head and folded.

Liang Hong stared venomously at Chen Hao without blinking, as though trying to see straight through him.

But Chen Hao kept a cigarette between his lips and met Liang Hong's stare with a smug expression. Liang Hong could almost hear his silent taunt: Go on, call. Keep calling if you've got the guts!

The cards creaked in his grip. Though he hated to give in, remembering his two heavy losses made Liang Hong lose his nerve despite holding a pair of aces. He placed his cards facedown and folded.

Seeing that no one was willing to keep calling, Chen Hao beamed and flipped his cards over. "Who would've thought? Even king-high can sweep the table."

"What?"

When they saw Chen Hao's cards, everyone stood up, their faces filled with regret and disbelief.

Liang Hong's face turned livid with rage, and even his hands trembled. His glare made it seem as though he wanted to skin Chen Hao alive.

"Looks like young Chen's luck is pretty good today. But the stakes are a little low. Not exciting enough." After taking quite a while to calm himself, Liang Hong suddenly looked at Chen Hao and spoke.

How could Chen Hao miss what he was implying? "Oh? How would you like to play, Manager Liang?"

When Chen Hao took the bait, Liang Hong sneered. "Same ante. Raise the limit to one thousand!"

An uproar swept through the private room.

Their previous limit of two hundred was already substantial. A pot of two or three thousand was considered small. Raising the limit to one thousand would mean tens of thousands in a single hand.

"If you don't have the guts, forget it. Just admit you're scared," Liang Hong said arrogantly, staring straight at Chen Hao.

Chen Hao was delighted. Since the man was volunteering to screw himself over, why wouldn't he oblige? "Bring it on. Whoever can't take losing is a little bitch."

"Shuffle!"

There had originally been ten players, but with the stakes raised this high, only three or four remained.

A few people had still been singing in the private room, but now they all stopped and gathered around. A game with tens of thousands riding on each hand was simply too exciting.

After the cards were dealt, everyone tacitly agreed not to look. They followed Chen Hao in betting the limit for two rounds, quickly covering the table with money.

One guy couldn't hold out any longer and checked his cards early. After looking, he cursed and folded.

Another was feeling nervous too, but after checking his cards, the panic on his face noticeably eased. Apparently, he had a decent hand.

Liang Hong seemed determined to fight Chen Hao to the bitter end. Another two rounds passed, and he still didn't look.

As the pot passed ten thousand and Chen Hao and Liang Hong continued stubbornly betting blind, the player who had checked his cards was scared witless. He immediately folded, inwardly cursing them both as lunatics.

Liang Hong and Chen Hao locked eyes, each betting another thousand in turn. The tension in the air grew thicker and thicker.

Soon, the pot passed twenty thousand, nearly exhausting all the cash everyone present had on them.

Seeing that the money had almost run out, Liang Hong suddenly said, "How about we show our cards together and settle it in one go?"

Chen Hao wasn't happy with that. "Show our cards at only twenty thousand? Isn't that a little low?"

The corner of Liang Hong's mouth twitched. "Then what are you suggesting?"

"We're out of cash, but we can still transfer money through WeChat. I just don't know whether Manager Liang has the guts to keep going. If you don't, you can always admit you're scared." Chen Hao threw his words right back at him.

"Me, scared? What kind of joke is that? Transfers it is. I'm just worried a broke kid like you can't come up with that much money." Liang Hong's eyes were bloodshot.

Sensing that things were getting increasingly out of hand, someone quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Three-card poker's just for fun. There's no need to make the stakes so high."

Chen Hao sneered. "I never wanted stakes this high. Your Manager Liang insisted on changing the rules. When the boss speaks, how could I dare say no?"

Liang Hong wasn't stupid. Naturally, he heard the sarcasm in Chen Hao's words. "Don't worry. It's only a few tens of thousands changing hands. That's nothing. I'm sure young Chen can afford to lose, right?"

"Of course. Come on, let's make the transfers," Chen Hao replied.

The two of them each put up another fifty thousand, bringing the pot to more than a hundred and twenty thousand—about a year's income for an ordinary office worker.

Their colleagues watched with tense expressions, looking even more nervous than Chen Hao and Liang Hong.

Although Liang Hong was wealthier than Chen Hao, having over a hundred thousand riding on a single hand still made him nervous. When he picked up his cards to check them, more than half his colleagues crowded around him.

As Liang Hong slowly revealed the eight of hearts and the nine of hearts, everyone held their breath and stared intently at his last card.

Before he had even fully revealed the final card, Liang Hong's eyes lit up. He slammed his cards onto the table and pointed at Chen Hao with unbridled arrogance. "Haha! I've got a straight flush! Looks like Lady Luck is still on my side."

Seeing Liang Hong reveal a straight flush, the people in the private room erupted. Everyone crowded around him, leaving Chen Hao's side looking especially deserted.

Watching Liang Hong get so excited he barely seemed to know who he was anymore, Chen Hao chuckled. "Aren't you celebrating a little too soon? I haven't shown my cards yet!"

At that moment, there was no way Liang Hong would believe Chen Hao could beat his hand. Suppressing his wild joy, he ignored Chen Hao's words entirely and began gathering the banknotes on the table. "Stop being stubborn. You gambled, you lost. Hurry up and transfer the money."

Faced with that arrogant expression, Chen Hao picked up his cards without even looking and flung them straight into Liang Hong's face.

After being hit in the face with the cards, Liang Hong immediately gritted his teeth and prepared to lunge at him. But when he saw the cards that had fallen onto the table, he froze in utter disbelief.