Who Would Fall in Love After Being Reborn?

Chapter 145: The Boss Lady is a Master

TL: Etude

“Shall we play for money?”

“No gambling for me, I’m broke as hell, and I’m strictly against gambling and drugs!”

Dong Wenhao coughed and said, “We don’t usually play for money either, but we thought we’d make an exception since the boss is here.”

After hearing this, Jiang Qin looked puzzled: “Oh, so you think I’m an easy mark?”

“No, no, no, it’s just that, given your esteemed status, we wanted to play something with real stakes.”

Jiang Qin smirked, “Heh, Wenhao, trying to learn from me how to swindle people? You’re on the right track, but it’s not enough to pique my interest.”

Lu Feiyu couldn’t help but interject, “Boss, we have fun playing our usual games, but think about it, having a bunch of paper stuck to your face would really undermine your dignity. And dignity, that’s something money can’t buy.”

“That word, ‘dignity’, really is something else.”

After listening, Jiang Qin poked Dong Wenhao, “Listen to this, Old Lu is learning faster than you. I’m almost tempted now.”

Dong Wenhao coughed, “Great, the boss has agreed to play for money. Five bucks a game!”

“The hell, when did I agree? Five bucks is too much, I only spend fifty cents on ice cream!”

“Boss, does your boss lady keep you on such a tight leash?”

“Nonsense, five bucks it is!”

Cursing under his breath, Jiang Qin reached for the cards.

The poker game they played, taught by Dong Wenhao, was unique to his hometown and involved five players.

The Emperor is known to all, but the Eunuch is a secret ally, working together to beat the three commoners. Victory is achieved when all of a player’s cards are played, with the fun lying in the Eunuch’s hidden identity, creating mutual suspicion, to the extent that even the Emperor doesn’t know who his protective Eunuch is.

The game requires four decks of cards, totaling over two hundred cards.

After Dong Wenhao explained the rules, Jiang Qin felt confident and played his cards with a clatter, ending up last.

“Boss, you lost, pay up!” Dong Wenhao extended his hand.

Jiang Qin frowned at him, “Put it on my tab. Who knows, maybe I’ll win it back later.”

Lu Feiyu looked up, “Just don’t forget, boss. You owe me five bucks too.”

“I’ve only played one round, how come I owe both of you money?”

“Dong’s the Emperor, I’m the Eunuch, and since you came last, you have to pay double. That’s the rule.”

“What kind of bullshit rule is that? It’s even shadier than mine.”

Dong Wenhao and Lu Feiyu exchanged glances, their faces alight with the thrill of fleecing a newcomer. In these kinds of card games, first-timers rarely have the upper hand and mostly flounder between understanding and confusion, so losing money is a given.

It would take at least eight or nine rounds for even the smartest person to grasp the intricacies of the game.

So, they figured the boss had agreed to play just to give his employees a bonus.

“Boss, you’re not going to lose your cool over losing money, are you?”

Jiang Qin snorted, “That would be low class. I understand the stakes of the game. Let’s shuffle and start again. I think I’ve got the hang of it now.”

Ma Yubao coughed, “The loser shuffles the cards. That’s also a rule.”

“Fuck!”

Jiang Qin cursed as he gathered the scattered cards in front of him and started a new game, only to lose again, once more finishing last.

The four players across from him were about to die laughing, especially Yang Shuai, whose mouth stretched almost to his ears.

While they were laughing, the door of Room 208 suddenly opened. Jiang Qin looked over at the sound and saw a pretty, petite face peeking in. Her eyes were cold, her expression fierce yet cute. Her full, cherry lips looked soft and moist under the light, as if one bite would yield water.

Simultaneously, all the employees in Room 208 turned to look and brightened up instantly, sweetly calling out “boss lady” in unison.

Feng Nanshu nodded with some pleasure and then entered, sitting down beside Jiang Qin, looking obediently demure.

She seemed to have just taken a bath. As the young, wealthy woman leaned in, a soft, floral scent wafted into Jiang Qin’s nostrils, a delicate and refreshing fragrance that tickled his senses.

“Do you want to play?” Jiang Qin passed the cards to her.

Feng Nanshu leaned over to look and said, “I don’t know how, I’ll just watch you play.”

“Deal the cards, deal the cards.” Jiang Qin shuffled the cards and laid them on the mat.

“Boss, you haven’t paid for the last two rounds. We agreed, no backing out of debts.”

Jiang Qin’s eyebrows shot up, “Do you think I’d run away from a monastery but not from the monks? If I really wanted to dodge the debt, just take all the laptops in the office and I won’t say a word.”

Dong Wenhao was taken aback, “But those laptops are all ours.”

“We’re all family here, why talk like strangers? Hurry up, I need to redeem myself.”

So, they played another round with vigorous card-playing, and the competition was intense. Except for Lu Feiyu, who was a commoner and left first, the rest were in a tense standoff.

When it was Jiang Qin’s turn, he hesitated because his hand didn’t seem very strong. It would be difficult for him to be the second to finish, so the safest bets were third or fourth.

“Play this one next.”

Feng Nanshu stretched out her fair hand, pointing at Jiang Qin’s cards, her breath warm and fragrant on his face.

“That’s the highest card I have. If it gets blocked, I’m done for.”

For the first time, Jiang Qin was this close to Feng Nanshu, so close that he could touch her cute nose with a tilt of his head, even feeling the warmth of her skin.

“They don’t have anything higher than this.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“Brother, play this one next time, trust me.” Feng Nanshu turned her head to him, her face so close it was almost touching his.

Jiang Qin’s breath hitched, and he carelessly played his highest cards, five Jacks. The opponents’ faces changed immediately, and they shook their heads, declining the play.

The next few rounds were similar. Whatever the little rich lady suggested, Jiang Qin played, swiftly and precisely, keeping Dong Wenhao, the dying eunuch, from showing his hand.

Ma Yubao was silently planning to trap the boss with his cards, but Jiang Qin quickly cleared his hand before Ma could react.

After a few rounds, Dong Wenhao and Lu Feiyu each lost more than ten bucks, their faces turning ashen.

“How about it, shall we continue?” Jiang Qin asked, his mouth askew.

Dong Wenhao shook his head, his lips pursed, “No more, the boss lady is a master. If we keep playing, we’ll lose our entire wallets.”

Feng Nanshu spoke up seriously, “I don’t know how to play.”

“One doesn’t enter a family without fitting in,” Dong Wenhao muttered under his breath, “Never a word of truth from her.”

Feng Nanshu’s eyelashes trembled slightly, “I really don’t know how to play, but I can count. I scored 671 in my college entrance exam, only 12 points in the essay.”

“…”

After a while, Dong Wenhao, with tears in his eyes, pulled out his wallet and reluctantly handed Jiang Qin some money, refusing to play any further.

Well, if they continued, it would just be an endless cycle of the boss’s salary being won back by the boss lady, a never-ending, prosperous development for the business.

“Damn, are you two laundering money or what?”

Watching Dong Wenhao insist on leaving, Lu Feiyu and Ma Yubao also paid up, packed their things, and prepared to return to their dorms to sleep.

Jiang Qin looked up and noticed that it had become dark outside. The night, deepened by winter’s arrival, seemed particularly dense. The wind blowing through the window was cold, carrying a damp scent, hinting at impending rain.

Turning around, he saw Feng Nanshu still sitting obediently, gazing at him intently with her beautiful eyes.

“It looks like it’s going to rain. I should walk you back to your dorm.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Qin stood up, picked up his coat, and walked out, only to find the little rich lady still standing in the same spot, quietly watching him, as if waiting for something.

“Let’s go.”

Feng Nanshu looked down at her feet, “Jiang Qin, I can’t move.”

Jiang Qin frowned, “Are your feet numb? Weren’t you fine just now?”

“My feet are sealed. I need to feel the power transferred from your palm to break the spell.”

“?!”

Jiang Qin understood; she wanted to hold hands. This cunning little devil, first cozying up to him during the card game and now this trick.

“Well, stay here then. I’m leaving. But just a heads up, once I leave, Su Nai’s computer will start making some terrifying noises.”

Su Nai’s eyes flashed murderously, thinking to herself that if Jiang Qin dared to stay alone, it would be his end. If not for the fear of the boss lady witnessing bloodshed, today would mark his death anniversary next year!

As Jiang Qin walked away, Feng Nanshu’s eyes dropped slightly, but she still pushed open the door and followed. Her little leather shoes echoed in the empty hallway with a ‘tap tap’ sound.

“Such strong wind, has Zhu Bajie arrived?”

Jiang Qin stepped outside the Entrepreneurship Center to find a strong wind blowing through the campus, sounding like a mischievous spirit, the continual ‘whooshing’ swirling all around, tossing the yet-to-fall leaves into disarray.

The little rich lady seemed a bit panicked, her eyes fixed on Jiang Qin, following his every step.

Jiang Qin slowed down, allowing her to catch up, then took her arm, holding her slightly cold hand firmly.

“Is the spell broken?”

“It’s broken.”

Feng Nanshu spoke seriously, her only hint of fear vanishing completely.

Jiang Qin led her towards the direction of the girls’ dormitory. But halfway there, they bumped into Cao Guangyu and Ding Xue, hand in hand. The four exchanged glances, creating a somewhat awkward atmosphere.

“Yo.”

“Yo my foot, get lost!”

Cao Guangyu had barely uttered a syllable before Jiang Qin cut him off with a blunt ‘get lost’.

Jiang Qin knew exactly what Cao Guangyu, that jerk, wanted to say – something along the lines of, “How come you’re holding hands now? I thought lovey-dovey couples weren’t your thing,” followed by a smug smile as if uncovering some great secret.

Jiang Qin felt at peace with himself and saw nothing to hide, but Cao’s smugness was unbearable.

Get lost, then! Cao Guangyu, cursing under his breath, walked away with Ding Xue.

“Jiang Qin.”

“Hmm?”

“Why do so many people want to be lovers if the ultimate end is to become strangers at death?”

Feng Nanshu asked softly, her voice gentle, her expression filled with confusion and wonder as she watched Cao Guangyu and Ding Xue walk away.

“Perhaps… it’s for the joy of the fleeting moments.”josei

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