Chapter 172: Each According to Their Ability

Jin Shaoyu immediately rushed forward, pulled Ling Wu into his arms, and placed his palm against his thin back to take the camera. Ling Wu's body leaned slightly forward with his head bowed; this posture could prevent the nosebleed from flowing back into his throat, and the blood soon dripped onto the deck.

Jin Shaoyu took out a handkerchief and handed it to Ling Wu, gently patting his back: "Brother, use this to wipe it first."

"Mm." Ling Wu's vision was hazy and flushed; he bit the soft flesh inside his mouth and forced himself to say: "It might be that I've had a bit too much internal heat lately."

Medicine is three parts poison; as the time spent inhaling the drugs grows longer, the sequelae can only become increasingly severe.

Jin Shaoyu cupped his face and saw his pale complexion; his heart trembled along with it: "Really?"

How could his complexion be this poor if it were just internal heat?

Had his illness worsened?

"Yes."

The nosebleed stopped quickly. Ling Wu tucked his uncontrollably trembling hand into his jacket pocket, his expression very casual: "It's just a nosebleed, it's not a big deal. I remember you were often like this when you were little, and you even cried and asked me if you were going to die."

Jin Shaoyu heard him mention their childhood: "Can that be the same?"

"Why wouldn't it be the same?" Ling Wu was determined to brush this matter aside. He waved his hand and covered his nose with the handkerchief, saying: "My clothes are all stained with blood. It's just a pity about such a beautiful sunrise; let's come again tomorrow."

"Is that okay?"

What could Jin Shaoyu say?

Just looking at Ling Wu's pale face made his heart ache as if it were being wrung out, so he could only nod along with his wishes: "Okay."

"There is a doctor on the cruise ship. I'll go have a word with Jing Du later and have him send someone to take a look at you."

Jin Shaoyu urged him again, feeling uneasy: "If you feel any discomfort, you must remember to tell me. Brother, I listen to you obediently; likewise, don't make me worry, okay?"

Ling Wu said: "Okay."

After Jin Shaoyu spoke with Jing Du, he efficiently sent over a senior accompanying doctor. Just as Ling Wu had said, there was no major problem; in the end, the doctor advised him to eat less spicy food and tropical fruits to avoid further internal heat.

The heart Jin Shaoyu had been holding in his throat dropped.

It's good that he's fine.

It's good that he's fine.

Inside the room, Yin Huaiyu had long since been quietly sent away by Ling Wu's people. The curtains had been replaced, the traces in the bathroom had been cleaned up thoroughly, disinfectant had been sprayed, and the floor had been mopped again; it looked neat and clean.

Neither Jing Du nor Jin Shaoyu noticed anything unusual.

Jing Du sat on the sofa, and seeing that Ling Wu's complexion had gradually become ruddy and glowing after drinking hot water, he mentioned casually: "Shao Yu, take good care of your brother."

"There's a ball on the cruise ship this evening. Ling Wu, if you've rested well, you can go and have some fun. There's a casino and an auction on the fourth floor; if you're interested, you can go too. If you win, it's yours; if you lose, it's on me."

Jin Shaoyu didn't think much of the first half of his sentence, but he managed to discern a different meaning in the second half: "What do I need you for? It's not like our Jin Family has no money."

"It's you, on the other hand—are you really willing to leave your little fiancé all alone?"

There was a teasing tone in his words.

Jing Du paused his leg-crossing motion: "We're all adults. Without me watching him, could he possibly fall into the sea?"

Jin Shaoyu didn't dwell on it: "That's true."

Three tall, long-legged men sat on the room's sofa, appearing a bit cramped. Ling Wu had changed into a coat and turned his body slightly, his fingers sliding across his phone screen, his eyelashes lowered. Every now and then, a game completion sound effect came through. He yawned, his eyes filled with a bit of physiological moisture.

Jin Shaoyu saw it. He withdrew his gaze, patted Jing Du on the shoulder, stood up, and said: "Let's go. Didn't you say there's a casino on the fourth floor?"

"Want to play a few rounds?"

Jing Du replied: "Sure."

Before the two left, Jin Shaoyu stuffed a handful of pomelo candies into Ling Wu's hand. Watching his slightly weary profile, he even kept his footsteps light as he left and closed the door.

When Ling Wu woke up, the sea was calm and the burning red sunset shone into the room through the window. He checked the time on the wall clock, put on his clothes, and then carried the silenced gun with him as he went out.

Inside the casino.

Various gambling tables were scattered like stars in the sky, and the scent of money and desire rushed toward them. The lights were evenly painted over the gambling tables and the dealers, as if plating them in a layer of mysterious, tense color.

Jin Shaoyu, Jing Du, and Yu Shixue were all at the same table, along with Shen Zhaojue and Wei Ranxu. The cards flipped rapidly in the dealer's hands, and then they saw Ling Wu walk in.

Yu Shixue bit his cigarette and asked: "Do you know how to play?"

Ling Wu nodded.

Wei Ranxu placed his cards face down on the table casually: "Ling Wu, want to play a few rounds with us?"

"Sure."

Yu Shixue leaned against the back of his chair, his cuffs rolled up to his elbows. He glanced at Jin Shaoyu: "Shao Yu, this was your brother's own agreement. Don't say later that we led him astray."

Yin Huaiyu stood up from the gambling table and gave up his seat. He was wearing a wine-red suit jacket that covered his arms completely. His movements were fluid, and one couldn't tell at all that he had been injured. He cast a look toward Ling Wu.

His vitality was as tenacious as a cockroach that couldn't be killed...

In short, very annoying, very, very annoying.

Yin Huaiyu said: "I'll be the dealer."

The six of them sat down at the green velvet gambling table immediately. To Ling Wu's right sat Jing Du, and to his left was Jin Shaoyu. Yin Huaiyu, as the dealer, shuffled and dealt the cards, the cards making a "swish-swish" sound as they flipped.

Yu Shixue was the dealer position; the small blind and big blind were Wei Ranxu and Jing Du respectively. The two placed their bets one after another. Wei Ranxu sat with his legs crossed and pushed out red chips casually; Jing Du followed with four.

The rules they played by were all self-determined. One red chip was 1 million; Jing Du, as the big blind, had placed four red chips, so the minimum bet for this round was 4 million.

But for these young masters of wealthy families who threw money around like dirt, this wasn't considered a big game. Yin Huaiyu, as the dealer for this round, had much more power than an ordinary dealer in the casino; counting cards and cheating were implicitly allowed.

Seeing that they had finished placing their bets, Yin Huaiyu dealt the cards clockwise starting from the small blind.

Ling Wu looked at his two hole cards, which were the Ace of Spades and the King of Spades, and tossed out his chips with slender fingertips: "Call."

Jin Shaoyu rested on his elbows and tossed out his chips lazily, very much at his own whim: "Raise."

Shen Zhaojue chose to fold.

"Shao Yu, looks like you've got a good hand."

Yu Shixue glanced at his hole cards—two Aces—and chose to raise again. He pushed out the stack of chips in front of him, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the green velvet tabletop.

His gaze swept lazily around the table. Several people folded due to having weak hands. Just as the betting for this round was about to end, Ling Wu put down his hole cards and pushed out his chips: "Raise."

The young man's expression was very calm, showing nothing of what he was thinking.

The betting for this round ended, and for the flop betting round, Yin Huaiyu cut one card and dealt three community cards onto the gambling table at once: the Queen of Spades, the 8 of Clubs, and the Jack of Spades.

When Ling Wu saw the community cards, his eyes flickered; he raised his gaze to look at the dealer surnamed Yin directly in front of him, lifted his chin slightly, rested his hands on the armrests, and just sat there quietly scrutinizing him, with the intention of holding his ground.

Given this hand pattern, if the Ace of Spades and King of Spades in the hole cards were a coincidence, then the Queen of Spades and Jack of Spades appearing on the community cards at this moment were definitely intentional; Yin Huaiyu, this dealer, was cheating to feed him cards.

If he guessed correctly, there would be a 10 of Spades in the next two rounds.

And Yin Huaiyu, seeing his gaze, subconsciously raised his hand, inadvertently revealing the bandage wrapped around his arm, his eyes appearing ambiguous under the dim chandelier.

Jing Du glanced at the community cards: "Check."

When it was Ling Wu's turn, he followed the bet as usual.

"Adu, what is there to check? It's not like there's much money anyway," Jin Shaoyu said, curling his lips: "Call!"

Yu Shixue likewise raised: "Huaiyu is doing a good job as a dealer."

The winning odds for two Aces were quite good.

Since the others folded, after matching the maximum bet on the table, the current betting round ended; for the turn betting round, Yin Huaiyu likewise cut one card and then dealt one community card onto the gambling table.

The 7 of Hearts.

On the gambling table, only four people remained: Jing Du, Ling Wu, Jin Shaoyu, and Yu Shixue; Jing Du chose to check, and seeing him check for two consecutive rounds, the others knew his hand couldn't be very strong, so they bet even more readily.

Seeing Jing Du check again, Jin Shaoyu felt a bit restless; he tugged at his collar and said: "Why are you checking again? Can you even play properly?"

"Tsk," Jing Du laughed in spite of himself: "I've already let you win a few rounds, aren't you going to allow a loser like me to check?"

This 7 of Hearts did not improve Yu Shixue's hand, so he chose to check.

In the final round, Yin Huaiyu logically dealt a 10 of Spades.

Jin Shaoyu pushed his chips forward, and Yu Shixue raised again.

The neon lights outside the floor-to-ceiling windows shattered into purple-red light spots, spreading to the soles of Ling Wu's feet; his cufflinks brushed against the edge of the green velvet table, and on the backs of his two hole cards, the hot-stamped dark patterns shone brightly under the chandelier; the lower half of his face was at the junction of light and shadow, appearing particularly clear: "All in."

The parties at the gambling table revealed their cards.

Ling Wu flipped over his two hole cards and looked at everyone with his fingers interlaced: "Royal Flush."

The others looked at each other; Jin Shaoyu naturally had no objections to this, and Jing Du and Yu Shixue didn't say anything—they had gathered together just for fun, so losing was just losing.

Yu Shixue looked at Yin Huaiyu with an ambiguous expression: "Huaiyu, is this the idea you had when you wanted to be a dealer?"

"Eh, Shixue," Yin Huaiyu sighed: "You can't just talk nonsense without evidence; at the gambling table, everyone shows their own special prowess, relying on their own abilities."