After seeing the card clearly, Becky was filled with regret. If that 2 had been dealt to her, 19 plus 2 would have made 21, a perfect hand that would guarantee a win. But because of her momentary hesitation, she missed such a good opportunity.
"I should have listened to you and drawn the card... That 2 was definitely mine, and now it's gone. It's such a shame. Why am I so indecisive?" She looked at Draco dejectedly.
"You hold the cards in your hand; you're the player in charge. I'm just giving advice; it's up to you whether you listen or not," Draco said.
Becky pouted, knowing that it was too late for regrets now, and could only silently wait for the dealer to settle the accounts.
Soon, the dealer began to deal the cards one by one. When it was the dealer's turn, he showed his hole cards. The two cards totaled exactly 20 points, beating all the other players' cards. The dealer ruthlessly took away the two thousand-dollar chips from Becky's betting position.
"I've lost two games in a row," Becky said, frustrated.
Without saying a word, Draco offered her a bargaining chip:
Still want to play?
"I absolutely have to win this game! I'm so unwilling to accept defeat. I'm determined to beat blackjack today!"
The dealer proceeded with the game and dealt cards as usual.
Draco still had a full bet of two thousand, Becky stared nervously at her hand: an 8 of diamonds and a 7 of hearts.
15 points—not good, not too bad. But when she saw the dealer's revealed hand, her heart sank again.
Another 10.
"What should I choose this time? The dealer has a 10-point high card, should I draw a card?" Becky asked again for help.
"Stop trading, don't bother with the additional charges," Draco said without hesitation.
"15 points isn't low, and there's still plenty of room to go before reaching 21. If I can draw a small card, I can easily increase my hand and beat the dealer. It would be a shame to give up now."
"That makes sense," Draco readily agreed.
His words only strengthened Becky's resolve. "I want the cards!" Becky declared firmly to the dealer.
The next card is the 3 of clubs.
"Yay!" Becky couldn't help but let out a small cheer, a smug smile spreading across her face. She turned to Draco and said, "Thank goodness I didn't listen to your advice to suspend the game; now it's all settled!"
"Hmm, not bad at all." Draco's lips twitched slightly, but he still gave a faint, agreeing response.
Soon, all the players finished their turn, and it was the dealer's turn to reveal their cards. The dealer showed their hole card first: a 4 of hearts.
The dealer has 10 points in the face-up hand and 4 points in the bottom hand, for a total of 14 points. According to the rules, if the dealer's total is less than 17 points, they must draw a new card.
The dealer draws a card from the card holder and slowly turns it over.
A square 5.
At 7 PM, the dealer must stop playing.
But Becky's smile froze instantly; she only had 18 points, while the dealer had 19, a clear advantage.
This puts them in a complete dilemma: not drawing cards means conceding defeat, but drawing cards could very likely result in a blowout.
The smugness he felt just moments before vanished without a trace.
The dealer looked at Becky, awaiting her decision.
"... draw a card." Becky gritted her teeth.
Having received the answer, the dealer dealt another card, smoothly laying it face up in front of Becky: a 3 of spades.
"Twenty-one!" Becky was completely stunned.
"We won!" Draco gently shook Becky's shoulder, waking her from her daze. Seeing that she still didn't react...
Draco asked, somewhat puzzled, "Aren't you happy?"
"Happy..." Becky forced an unnatural smile.
But the next second, before Draco could ask anything, Becky leaned forward and hurriedly said, "Let's play one more round, win back what we lost, and then I'll stop!"
"Okay." Draco didn't try to stop him.
The dealer shuffled the cards again to start the game. After receiving her hand, Becky habitually asked Draco, Draco didn't think much of it.
Looking at the cards, he gave honest advice, but after listening, Becky took the opposite advice. Draco told her to stop, so she drew a card; he told her to draw a card, so she insisted on stopping.
After this happened three or four times in a row, each time with such deliberate intent, Draco shook his head helplessly and laughed, "I've figured it out, you don't care at all whether you win or lose this round."
"Who said that! I just want to win it back!" Becky's heart tightened, but she forced herself to remain calm and stubbornly retorted.
"I don't think so. You deliberately chose the opposite option, using the card game as an excuse to make me lose money and get revenge for how I bullied you before, right?" Draco saw through her little scheme.
"I didn't retaliate against you!" Becky retorted stubbornly, then dropped the pretense and said, "I just wanted to choose this way. You can't always listen to others when playing cards!"
However, she couldn't hide the smile in her eyes as she spoke.
"If not," Draco continued to expose her.
"Why do you always specifically ask for my advice, and after I give it, you always do the opposite? Once or twice could be a coincidence, but every time it happens, isn't that intentional?"
Becky couldn't keep up the act any longer. She covered her mouth and chuckled, saying matter-of-factly, "Who told you to always bully me, order me around serving tea and water, and even pinch my cheek? Of course I had to get a little revenge! Anyway, you won so many chips and have so much money, what's wrong with letting me have a few rounds?"
"So, all that regretful look he gave me when he lost those first two hands was just an act? His acting was pretty good; he almost fooled me." Draco shook his head and chuckled.
"That's right!" Becky proudly raised her chin like a smug little peacock. "Don't you know who I am!"
"But when I first lost those two thousand, I was genuinely a little heartbroken. Later on, I just wanted to see you get your comeuppance!"
She was quite frank.
"Fine," Draco said, not bothering to argue with her, since the outcome was insignificant to him anyway. "Go ahead and play. You won't lose anything, so just do what makes you happy."
Hearing him say that, Becky felt a little embarrassed and stuck out her tongue. "Well... for this last round, I'll play seriously!"
In the final round, Becky abandoned her intention to deliberately contradict others and began to carefully examine the cards, thinking cautiously.
Perhaps it was because he adjusted his mindset, or perhaps his luck returned. Becky was dealt a good hand, made reasonable decisions, and continued to draw cards, ultimately winning more points than the dealer.
The dealer pushed the winning chips back to Becky, and the game finally came to a successful end. The two stopped playing as agreed.
Draco glanced at the chips on the table, which were tied, and chuckled, "I really have to thank you, Waiter Becky. You went easy on me in the end and prevented me from losing money."
"Of course! When have I ever failed to win? I said I'd win, and I won!" Becky boasted shamelessly.
She was in an extremely good mood at that moment, having not only gotten revenge on Draco but also helped him save his principal.
Becky then stretched lazily, feeling she'd had enough fun, and said to Draco, "Alright, I've had enough. I'm going back to my room to rest. What about you? Want to come with me?"