Chapter 198: Three Public Figures

Two men and one woman were gathered around the mahjong table, each of them a prominent public figure.

One of the big men had thick eyebrows and large eyes; his square face had become even more blocky due to his obesity, and the most eye-catching feature was his smooth, shiny, glowing scalp.

Who else could it be but Zhu Bajie, Xu Zheng?

The other man, with a face full of weathered stubble and black-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, was none other than Wang Feng, a singer who holds half the sky of the rock music world.

As for the last beauty, she was the famous Fan Ye, Fan Bingbing, who became known to the public through the role of Jin Suo.

Fan Bingbing wore her long hair draped over her shoulders and had a standard cone-shaped face; her nose was high and defined with a slight hump, making her very recognizable, while her fox-like eyes, set off by her eye makeup, appeared round and large, full of allure; her exquisite makeup made her look glamorous yet not tacky, and every look and smile was charming and moving.

Shen Yan couldn't help but marvel inwardly; she was truly worthy of being hailed as the ceiling of beauty in the entertainment industry, looking even better in person than on video.

At this time, Fan Bingbing had not yet gone through the tax evasion incident, and with her strong resources behind the scenes, she held significant influence in the entertainment industry.

Noticing that the person approaching was a very handsome man, Fan Bingbing's eyes lit up; this level of handsomeness was quite formidable even in the entertainment industry, which was full of handsome men.

Although the other party was dressed plainly, Fan Bingbing did not have the slightest intention of looking down on him; those who could enter the high-end hall would not be ordinary people.

What's more, the other party was so young that he might have some heaven-reaching background; as an old hand who had been in the entertainment industry for many years, even if she didn't befriend him, she wouldn't do anything impolite.

After Shen Yan took his seat, Fan Bingbing raised the corners of her lips slightly and rested her chin on her right hand; the black V-neck waist-cinching dress she wore displayed her allure to the fullest, and with a high-end silver silk scarf tied at the neckline, she smiled and said, "Handsome, you're so good-looking, what should I call you?"

"Beauties usually call me Brother Shen; if Fan Ye doesn't mind, you can call me that too." Seeing three celebrities at once, Shen Yan didn't feel the slightest bit stage-frightened.

Nor would he be like fans who see their idols, exclaiming repeatedly or crying and shouting for an autograph.

Wang Feng and Xu Zheng looked at Shen Yan in surprise.

Brother Shen? This young man sure knows how to play.

After a moment of stunned silence, Fan Bingbing couldn't help but giggle.

"You look like you're not even twenty yet, is it really appropriate for me to call you Brother Shen?"

Shen Yan leaned lazily against the chair, gently rubbing his chin with his palm, and said in an indifferent tone, "What's inappropriate about it? Don't women all wish they were eighteen every year? Calling someone 'brother' only highlights their own youth."

The smile on Fan Bingbing's face deepened, and she asked again, "You just called me Fan Ye; did the public give me this nickname?"

Uh...

Shen Yan was slightly taken aback; could it be that the title "Fan Ye" hadn't emerged yet?

He didn't pay much attention to the entertainment industry and had no idea where this title came from or when it had spread.

So he answered casually, "I'm not too sure, I just happened to hear someone call you that."

Upon hearing this, Fan Bingbing nodded indifferently; she quite liked this title, as it was domineering and bold, fitting her image characteristics very well.

She could arrange to have this title spread around later.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Wang Feng began to urge them impatiently to start the game; he was here to seek passion and excitement and had no time to listen to this idle chatter.

Thus, the gambling game officially began.

To be honest, encountering three celebrity opponents made the joy in Shen Yan's heart almost uncontrollable; what he feared was meeting those top-tier big shots or masters of gambling tricks.

Handling these three rich and foolish people was simply effortless.

"Three of Bamboo!"

"West Wind!"

"East Wind!"

While discarding tiles, Shen Yan probed the three's playing styles, trying to deduce what tiles they were waiting for.

With a little observation, one could see that among the three, Wang Feng and Xu Zheng had some ink in their bellies; their expressions were focused, their eyes darted around frantically, and their techniques were like smooth flowing water, fluent and natural—they must have put a lot of effort into this.

As for Fan Bingbing, she appeared calm and relaxed, tapping the table with her fingers while flicking her hair, seemingly not taking this money to heart at all.

She might as well have had the word "arrogant" written on her face.

"Six of Bamboo!"

While discarding, Fan Bingbing didn't forget to probe Shen Yan's background: "Handsome Shen, at your age, you should still be a student. Why are you here playing instead of being at school?"

Shen Yan replied instantly: "A voice in the dark told me that I would encounter a great beauty here, so I came to try my luck."

"Then did you find her?" Fan Bingbing's eyes rippled like autumn water, though she was cursing "little fox" in her heart.

"I suppose so!"

As the words fell, Fan Bingbing discarded a One of Bamboo; Shen Yan secretly thought it was bad, and sure enough, Wang Feng immediately declared a win.

Shen Yan paid out 200,000 in chips.

Xu Zheng looked at Fan Bingbing with resentment, while Fan Bingbing stuck out her tongue, as if regretting her previous discard.

Victory and defeat are common in war; Shen Yan didn't take it to heart.

The game continued.

Next, Shen Yan gradually brought his photographic memory and mental calculation skills into play; while he couldn't say he was infallible, he could roughly figure out the others' playing patterns.

After an hour, Shen Yan had won more than he lost, and the pile of chips in front of him grew larger and larger; a rough estimate put it at no less than 12 million.

It had more than doubled!

"Little brother, your luck is not bad." Xu Zheng scratched his smooth scalp, his expression somewhat depressed.

Shen Yan laughed it off, "This is just the beginning; the one who laughs last is the winner."

Wang Feng let out a soft breath; he had thought a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered had arrived, but instead, the person was earning a fortune while chatting with a beauty.

His luck was off the charts!

Where is the justice in this?

However, the night was long, it was too early to say these things, so he just had to keep going.

Another hour passed, then two...

The expressions of Wang Feng and Xu Zheng grew increasingly gloomy, and Fan Bingbing also lost that composure of hers.

Wearing her black V-neck waist-cinching dress, she lifted her lower leg slightly and rubbed it against Shen Yan's leg, saying meaningfully, "So Handsome Shen was hiding his true colors; I really did misjudge you."

"Little brother, you wouldn't happen to be a card shark, would you?" Wang Feng looked at Shen Yan suspiciously.

In just over three hours, the eight million in chips on his table were already dwindling to almost nothing.

Although he usually lost more than he won, it had never been as swift and decisive as it was today.

Shen Yan said with calm composure, "I'm only wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt, and my hands have been on the table in front of me the whole time; how could I be cheating like this?"

Xu Zheng recalled the scene in his mind and nodded in agreement, "Indeed, the young brother's hands have been very well-behaved; it's impossible for him to be cheating."

"Then I must have been overthinking it!" Wang Feng said with a laugh.

In truth, he had only said it offhandedly; having been immersed in card games for many years, he naturally had his own judgment on whether someone was cheating, and he had been observing Shen Yan's movements ever since he started losing money.

He really was so well-behaved that he didn't look like a gambler at all.

However, in the current situation, he certainly could not continue playing, so after exchanging pleasantries, Wang Feng stood up and left the casino directly.

Xu Zheng believed Shen Yan was an expert and likewise had no intention of staying any longer, while Fan Bingbing rested her chin on her left hand, looking quite interested.

"Handsome Shen, are you the type whose brain is exceptionally good at counting cards?"