Chapter 31: All In
In the third round, as expected, Ye Ran lost again.
The cheering and heckling around them grew louder.
“Young Master Ye, if you lose a few more rounds, Iām afraid you’ll pass out drunk in our Young Master Fangās bed.”
“That’s right, Young Master Ye. Do you have enough pocket money? If you keep losing like this, you’ll lose everything down to your underwear.”
“Why don’t you just admit defeat now? You might still keep a piece of clothing on you.”
“Go away, look at what you’re saying. You’ll make people think Young Master Ye can’t afford to play.”
“…”
The heckling and mocking grew louder and louder, and Qiao Yubai also became anxious. He said in a low voice, “Ge, I’ll hold them off later. You take the chance to run…”
Ye Ran smiled and lowered his voice. “By the time you’re done holding them off, I probably won’t have even reached the door of the private room.”
Qiao Yubai: “…”
Qiao Yubai felt a bit dejected. He was uselessāhe had been tricked by his classmate, who said it was a class reunion, only to run into Fang Yuan and his gang as soon as he entered.
His phone had also been snatched away. He was so uselessāhe couldn’t drink much, couldn’t fight, and certainly couldn’t play cards. He couldn’t do anything and couldn’t help Ye Ran at all.
While Qiao Yubai was wallowing in self-reproach, Ye Ran finished another bottle.
Afterward, he finished two more bottles in a row. Those people began to feel it was boring; Ye Ran was always drinking and always losing. That wasn’t the point. The point was that no matter what they said or how much they heckled, he didn’t show the slightest agitation. He still calmly lost cards and calmly drank.
It was as if he wasn’t playing against Fang Yuan, but had simply come here to drink.
This one-sided situation finally took a turn after Ye Ran finished his sixth bottle.
Fang Yuan began to lose.
Losing a round occasionally was normal; there was no forever winner at the card table. That was what Fang Yuan thought.
After losing three rounds in a row, Fang Yuanās expression turned ugly. He was starting to find it hard to drink more.
Ye Ran, acting as if nothing was wrong, smiled with curled lips. “If Young Master Fang can’t drink anymore, will you let a male model drink for you?”
Letting someone else take his place? Did he still want his face? He wasn’t someone who couldn’t afford to play.
Fang Yuan took a bottle of wine, tilted his head back, and forced it down. The splashing foam soaked his clothes. With a “thud,” the empty bottle was slammed onto the table. “Again.”
In the following rounds, Fang Yuan continued to lose.
His mental state was also crumbling a bit. From initially waiting to see Ye Ran as a laughingstock and waiting for Ye Ran to pass out in his arms after losing, to things changing natureāhe must win against Ye Ran.
Fang Yuanās eyes turned red. “Again, again…”
In a new round, Fang Yuan took a look at the cards in his hand and made a grand gesture. “Increase the stakes.”
In those few rounds, a rare confidence appeared in his eyes. He looked at Ye Ran. “Do you dare to follow?”
Ye Ranās eyelids flickered. “I’ll follow.”
Fang Yuan flipped the next card and continued to increase.
Ye Ran didn’t look further. He flipped his cards face-down on the table. “All in.”
“What?”
Everyoneās gaze simultaneously fixed on Ye Ran. This guy dared to go “all in” without even looking at his cardsāwas he a lunatic?
Ye Ran, however, stared intensely at Fang Yuan. In the heat of the moment, Fang Yuan blurted out, “All in.”
He didn’t believe his hand would lose.
With the stakes so high, everyone held their breath, waiting for the cards to be revealed.
When Fang Yuanās cards were shown, everyone was absolutely certain that Fang Yuan would win this round.
What remained was to watch the show and gloatāall left for Ye Ran.
“Young Master Ye, let us see your cards.”
Ye Ran flipped his cards and threw them on the table.
To everyoneās surprise, Ye Ran actually won!
Even though it was a narrow victory by only one point, it didn’t change the fact that he had already won.
Fang Yuanās eyes widened as he carefully looked at Ye Ranās cards twice. He couldn’t believe he had lost just like that.
Ye Ran curled his lips. “It seems my luck is pretty good today. The game is over. I’m taking the person with me. Young Master Fang, just transfer the money to President Chi later.”
After saying that, he stood up and pulled Qiao Yubai out of the room.
Qiao Yubai was still stuck in the daze of the card game just now. His mind was a mess. It wasn’t until he was hit by the cold air from the central air conditioning in the hallway that he came back to his senses. He was already outside the room.
He instinctively wanted to speak, his voice just reaching his throat. “Ge…”
“Shut up and follow me.”
Qiao Yubai immediately swallowed his words. His small mouth was like it had been zipped shut with an invisible zipper as he obediently followed his footsteps.
Although his mouth was closed, his gaze couldn’t help but look around. Finally, his eyes landed on Ye Ranās open coat pocket.
A few red strings were faintly visible, looking like the peace talisman he had given him.
Qiao Yubai, who had been a bit scared, was replaced by joy. His brother was carrying the peace talisman he gave him.
Does carrying the peace talisman mean that his brother doesn’t hate him anymore?
He remembered when he first met Ye Ran, he felt very close to him. When he found out that was his biological brother, he was extremely happy.
When he was bullied by kids his age when he was young, others had parents to protect them, but he didn’t. From the time he was sensible, he had never seen his father, and it seemed he hadn’t seen his mother many times either. The only person he could see every day was his sister.
But his sister was also very busyābusy with her studiesāand never had extra time to play with him.
He had thought that it would be great if he had a brother. What he didn’t expect was that he really did have a brother.
Only, when they met for the first time, Ye Ran smiled at him in front of people but secretly splashed water mixed with detergent on the path he intentionally passed by, watching him fall and mocking him from the side.
He tore up his books and said the dogs outside had bitten them.
He didn’t know why Ye Ran hated him so much; every time he saw him, his eyes were full of loathing.
He didn’t know what he had done wrongāwas it because he wasn’t good enough to his brother that his brother didn’t like him?
So Qiao Yubai went to a very distant place to seek a peace talisman for Ye Ran. He knelt and prayed to the Buddha, and his wish, besides hoping for his family’s safety, was hoping that Ye Ran would stop hating him.
It was true; his wish had come true.
His brother was willing to carry the peace talisman he gave him and even came to the bar to save and protect him.
Ye Ran pulled Qiao Yubai along for a few steps, but felt the person behind him walking slower and slower. When he looked back, he found this guy staring blankly at his clothes for some reason.
He was speechless. When did he even have time to daydream!
Just as he was about to tell Qiao Yubai to hurry up, the door to the room opened with a “thud,” and Fang Yuan chased them out.
Ye Ran hadn’t gone far and was dragging Qiao Yubai, so he was quickly caught up by Fang Yuan, who blocked their way.
Fang Yuan had drunk a lot and was a bit unsteady, but his tone was ferocious. “Did I fucking say you could leave?”
Ye Ran gave a light “Heh.” “Does Young Master Fang still want to play?”
“You don’t even have any chips left. What else are you going to play with?”
While Ye Ran was speaking, the hoodlums from the room also chased them outāabout a dozen people.
If it weren’t for Fang Yuan realizing it, those people would still be in a daze. Furthermore, their goal of tricking Qiao Yubai here in the first place was to lure Ye Ran over and take him away to make Chi Yuheng anxious.
How did they forget everything after turning to play cards? Did they really think they were here to play a game?
Ye Ran turned and scanned those people, cursing, “Fuck!”
Truly a dog. If you can’t win with your brain, you want to fight in a group, right?
Translator’s Note:
- All in: A gambling term.
- Open a skull (å¼ē¢): A slang term for hitting someone on the head so hard it bleeds. Ye Ran is about to do this!
- Peace Talisman: This is a major turning point for the brothers’ relationship.
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