Xu Zhiqiu held the two finished, thumb-sized, six-sided dice, shaking them in her hand as she explained their purpose.
Hakudoshi caught on quickly. After Xu Zhiqiu rolled the dice and drew her tiles, it was his turn, and he followed her example. Byakuya went next, then Kagura.
Of the four, Xu Zhiqiu was a seasoned mahjong player. She beat them with ease, taking Kagura down first, then Byakuya, and finally Hakudoshi, who had already begun to figure out the patterns.
Xu Zhiqiu swept the table in the first round. As she shuffled the tiles, she grinned at Kagura, who was beginning to doubt herself. "It's fine if you lose. Come on, let's keep playing."
Hakudoshi sat nearby, watching Xu Zhiqiu shuffle.
Byakuya, meanwhile, looked unconcerned. He folded his arms and waited with mild interest for the next round to begin.
With the experience of the first round behind him, Hakudoshi slowly began working out the patterns. Kagura was easily coaxed by Xu Zhiqiu into discarding tiles, and she cried out in frustration, "Xu Zhiqiu, why do you keep claiming my tiles?"
"Because you're the player before me. Whose tiles am I supposed to claim if not yours?" Xu Zhiqiu took Kagura's tile and added it to her own, then discarded a spare phoenix tile.
Hakudoshi picked up Xu Zhiqiu's discarded tile, added it to his own, and discarded a circles tile.
Xu Zhiqiu watched his movements. Seeing how composed Hakudoshi looked, she figured he had grasped the patterns. She would have to be more careful with her discards.
The atmosphere around the mahjong table gradually grew tense.
They played from nightfall until the early hours of the morning. Once Hakudoshi became the first to grasp the patterns, he began matching wits and nerve with Xu Zhiqiu.
Byakuya and Kagura gradually