Sensing his clothes being tugged, the man turned around.
Upon seeing that it was his wife, a gentle smile appeared on his face. Before she could speak, he reached out and gently pulled her into his arms, patted her back, and asked with a smile:
"Honey, how did you find your way here?"
"Someone brought me here." Diana released her grip on him, instinctively turning her head to point behind her.
But behind her was nothing but a noisy, ever-flowing crowd. Draco had been standing there just moments before, leading her through the throng, was nowhere to be seen.
"Are you a casino employee?" the man asked casually as he sorted through the chips he had just won, his mind still on the game.
"No," Diana shook her head and said truthfully, "It was a gambling buddy I play slot machines with. He even helped me chase away the stranger who was bothering me, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to find you."
"Really?" David had just pushed his chips out to place a bet when he turned back to look at her in surprise. "Why didn't you stop him? We could have thanked him properly and bought him a drink!"
"He wasn't having much luck," Diana explained softly, a smile playing on her lips as she recalled Draco's five consecutive losses and his self-deprecating remarks. "He lost so many slot machines in a row. He said he was afraid of bringing your bad luck on you, so he left."
"What a good person." The man smiled and shook his head, his eyes showing the tolerance and nonchalance typical of a winner.
As he spoke, his attention quickly returned to the gambling game and the pile of chips. He gathered all the chips in front of him and presented them to Diana, his actions exuding the swagger of someone displaying their spoils.
"Honey, look! I won! A whole 9,000 dollars!" the man boasted excitedly to Diana.
"Oh my god, this is the best news ever!" Looking at the chips in front of her, Diana was instantly overwhelmed with joy.
She excitedly threw herself into her husband's arms again. The man smiled and held her firmly, gently spinning her around in one spot.
After they stopped, Diana's cheeks flushed, David took the opportunity to ask, "How was your trip? How's the battle going?"
"Bad luck, I lost dozens of chips." Diana's eyes dimmed slightly, and she lowered her head somewhat embarrassed.
"It's alright, it's nothing," the man said nonchalantly, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer to him.
"You just stand here and watch, I'll win enough money, and we'll have a house soon."
After speaking, the man turned to his female gambling buddy beside him, his face regaining its warm smile, and introduced her with a smile:
"This is my wife, Diana."
"Hello, I'm Bellatrix." The female gambler put down her chips and smiled as she introduced herself.
"Hello, Bellatrix," Diana replied politely, her gaze slightly evasive; she wasn't used to such small talk.
"I've been betting with Isabella and the others these past few rounds, following their strategy the whole time. I've been incredibly lucky, that's why I've been winning so many times in a row and making so much money all at once." The man pointed to his fellow gamblers beside him, his tone becoming increasingly excited.
"Thank you so much! You've been a huge help to us, especially with David by our side." Diana quickly thanked Bellatrix and the other gambling buddies beside her.
Bellatrix waved her hand and said:
" David is very lucky, and he brought us good luck too. We've won quite a bit as a result!"
"Come on, darling, kiss the dice, let's share your good luck and win again this round!" David picked up the dice from the table, handed them to Diana, and looked at her expectantly.
Without much thought, Diana, filled with trust in her husband and the joy of winning, obediently lowered her head and touched the cold surface of the dice. David immediately gripped the dice tightly, strained his arm, and flung them forcefully towards the center of the gambling table.
The two dice spun rapidly on the smooth tabletop, making a crisp clicking sound, and finally came to a steady stop under everyone's watchful eyes, showing a total of seven!
"We won! We won again!" David cheered, jumping and leaping with Diana in his arms. The surrounding gamblers joined in the cheering, and Diana, infected by her husband's emotions, smiled along with him.
But as she laughed, Draco's words by the slot machine suddenly flashed through her mind. His phrase, "Nine out of ten gamblers lose," was like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the flame in her heart.
Thinking of this, Diana's bright smile gradually faded, and a sense of unease rose in her heart.
As the surrounding noise gradually subsided, Diana gently tugged at her husband's sleeve, lowered her voice, and repeated Draco's warning verbatim:
" David, the guy who brought me here said the odds at the ship's casino are terrible, and nine out of ten gamblers lose. If they can't recover their losses and get involved with loan sharks, they'll be drowning in debt. Should we just stop gambling and cut our losses?"
Upon hearing this, David's smile vanished instantly, his brows furrowed, and his tone turned displeased:
"Why is that guy spouting such unlucky things! We're winning money right now, and he's throwing cold water on us with these discouraging remarks. What's his intention? All that loan sharking, all that talk about never being able to recover—it's all nonsense!"
"No, he meant no harm," Diana quickly defended Draco, not wanting her husband to misunderstand a good man.
"He was just kindly reminding us; he himself was losing on the same day and genuinely felt that we shouldn't stay in the casino for long."
David wouldn't listen to her explanation at all. He waved his hand impatiently, patted the chips in front of him, and his eyes were filled with a burning desire for the house.
"We've only won 12,000 so far, still a long way from our goal of 50,000! If we win a few more rounds, we can raise enough money to buy back the house, and then we'll have our own home, instead of living in that cramped rented room!"
Seeing the burning light in her husband's eyes and the readily available bargaining chips before her, Diana's words of persuasion caught in her throat.
Like her husband, she longed for a stable home. The house, which was half-built with a loan, was the only hope she and her husband had been striving for all this time.
They were the light that sustained them through countless difficult days.
On one side is Draco's sober yet cruel admonition; on the other is her husband's imminent hope of victory.
Two conflicting thoughts tore at her heart. Diana's gaze wavered, and her initial determination to persuade her husband to leave was gradually eroded by his words.
She opened her mouth, but didn't say anything to dissuade him. Although she was conflicted and uneasy, she ultimately chose to believe her husband.
When the chips piled up to 15,000, the light in David's eyes was no longer excitement, but an almost fanatical dissatisfaction.
Staring at the pile of chips, David seemed to see a more distant future, a future he had never dared to hope for.