Once things had quieted down a bit, Draco looked at Diana again, his gaze landing on her red and swollen eyes. "Why are you here? Your eyes are really red! Did something happen?"
These words shattered Diana's carefully maintained composure; her lips trembled violently, and her nose stung with tears.
All my emotions surged up at once.
Diana hurriedly lowered her head, not wanting to shed tears in front of Draco, but the tears still rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably.
"I don't... I just... I just feel a little unwell..." Diana denied, sniffing, her shoulders still trembling.
I tried to wipe my tears with the back of my hand, but the more I wiped, the more intense they became.
The group of people who were still peeking out to watch the drama unfold in the distance erupted in anger when they saw the girl suddenly tear up.
"Oh my god, look! She's crying! She was right!"
"How can your wife not feel wronged after losing so much money?"
"Look how pitifully she's crying; she must have suffered a lot at home."
"Keep your voice down, it'll be awkward if you start arguing."
"I bet they've had a lot of arguments about this."
They huddled at a distance, peering around, hesitant to approach yet reluctant to leave. Some were there to watch the spectacle, others to sympathize, and still others to avoid getting into trouble. Whispers rippled through the air.
"Stop crying..." Draco nudged her arm with the back of his finger. "If you keep crying, the onlookers will tear me apart."
"Look at them, they'll probably all call me a domestic abuser, a gambling addict, and a bastard who bullies his wife."
"I... I didn't mean to..." Diana paused, stunned by his serious complaint. Her sobbing stopped, she sniffled, and looked at him with teary eyes.
Although tears were still on her face, she no longer felt so aggrieved; all that remained was an embarrassed and flustered expression.
"What happened?" Draco asked. "Your husband... lost?" He already had a pretty good idea.
Diana nodded, tears welling up in her eyes again.
"Oh dear, don't cry... I'm about to lose a hundred games in a row, and I haven't cried, but you're the one crying first," Draco comforted him.
A challenge... a hundred consecutive losses? Diana looked at him like he was crazy, wondering if there was something wrong with this guy.
A normal person would give up after losing a few rounds, but he deliberately wants to lose a hundred? What kind of bizarre fetish is that?
"Hey, what's wrong with your eyes? Are you thinking I've lost my mind?" Draco burst out laughing.
"I didn't... I just felt... you don't need to be so hard on yourself..." Caught off guard, Diana panicked.
"Really not?" Draco pressed.
"... No, really." Diana mumbled, her heart trembling under Draco's gaze, and she could only hurriedly turn her face away.
"Alright, alright, everything's alright now, stop crying. You'll look like a little kitten if you keep crying." Draco softened his tone, took a pack of clean tissues from his pocket, and handed it to him.
As he spoke, he pulled out a mirror and held it up to Diana's face. "Look at yourself, how swollen your eyes are."
Diana instinctively took the tissue, but before she could thank her, she was startled by the mirror suddenly thrust in front of her.
She timidly looked up and saw her reflection in the mirror: red and swollen eyes, slightly disheveled hair, and tear stains on her cheeks—a disheveled and aggrieved appearance. Instantly, her cheeks burned.
She hurriedly turned her face away, pushed aside the mirror, lowered her head and vigorously rubbed her eyes, saying embarrassedly, "... Don't look at yourself, it looks terrible."
"Now you realize it's not pretty? You didn't think of that when you were crying." Draco chuckled, then put the mirror away.
"I... I couldn't help it just now..." Diana's face burned even hotter, she clutched the tissue and gently rubbed it, her head hanging even lower.
Like a student who has made a mistake.
The onlookers, who were still peering out from a distance, witnessed the whole scene and immediately began to whisper among themselves:
"Wow, he's already appeased her?"
"That's amazing! He's the kind of man who can lose a hundred games without batting an eye, and he even knows how to appease his wife!"
"Wow, that's amazing! I thought they were going to have a fight!"
"... Collard, your luck is already this bad, why do you keep playing?" Diana asked, wiping away her tears, as a way of changing the subject.
"Anyway, 100 consecutive losses only costs 100 coins," Draco, pulling out his last coin from his pocket and weighing it in his palm.
"A little gambling is harmless fun. Besides, I want to see just how bad my luck can get!"
These words left Diana momentarily speechless.
Should we say he has a good attitude, or that he's incredibly bored?
But for some reason, his challenge, which was tinged with a research spirit, slightly relieved the suffocating feeling she had in her heart because her husband had lost everything.
"Speak," Draco tossed the last coin into an empty slot machine next to him, but didn't pull the lever, "What do you want? You're not here to see me break records, are you?"
" David... we... we've lost everything..."
"Hmm, I see. So what?"
"He... he wants... me to ask you..." Diana's voice trailed off, "Could... we borrow some..."
"Borrow money?" Draco shook his head. "Impossible."
Hearing Diana's voice, tears welled up in my eyes again.
"It's not that I'm stingy," Draco hurriedly said, "But I know very well that lending you money is like throwing money into a bottomless pit. Given your husband's current state, whatever he gives him will be lost, and he'll sink even deeper."
His words were as clear-headed as when he had advised them against gambling, and Diana knew he was right.
But...
"However," Draco said, changing the subject as Diana remained silent, "I can make you my assistant."
"Huh?" Diana looked at him, puzzled.
Assistant? At the casino?
"You can be my assistant, and I'll pay you a salary."
Draco added something.
"An assistant... what does that do?" Diana asked cautiously, her mind racing with all sorts of wild thoughts.
Is he the kind of person who only has assistants to do things when needed, and nothing else...? But Draco doesn't seem like that kind of person...
"You're just a proper gambling assistant, don't get the wrong idea. You won't be doing anything else." Draco coughed lightly.
"I... I wasn't thinking anything..." Diana whispered in defense.
But her face was already red...
Draco didn't press the matter further, but instead explained the job duties of a gambling assistant, "Just explain to me how to play each game, and help me place bets, that'll do."
"I'll share half with you after I win money."
"Gambling assistant? But... your luck is so bad!"
"Following you, isn't that... isn't that just going to deliver money along with you?" Diana's first reaction was to refuse.
"Luck is never the only indicator of winning money."
"What else?" Diana asked, puzzled.