Chapter 3: Lost It All

The silver coins on the table that had not yet been swept into sleeves scattered everywhere due to Ruan Fu's agitated behavior. Ruan Xing, with quick eyes and nimble hands, reached out her small hand to swipe a small piece of broken silver and several copper coins. She silently recited "top up" in her heart with extreme speed. In an instant, her palm was empty, and Ruan Xing let out half a breath of relief.

Even if someone saw it, a body search would yield no evidence; she truly had no money hidden on her.

The remaining half of her breath was because Ruan Xing felt Ruan Fu was about to get beaten, and she had to quickly distance herself from this place of trouble. With a shrug of her neck, she retreated behind the crowd as nimbly as a slippery little fish, quietly moving toward the outer room.

Just as she reached the doorway, she saw several burly men sitting in the outer room stand up and slide the door bolt into place.

Ruan Xing:... Oh, crap, it's over; now nobody can run away.

Behind the burly men was a middle-aged man wearing a long gown, sporting a handlebar mustache and walking with a splayed gait. His long, narrow eyes flashed with a cold light. "Go in and see who is causing trouble inside."

"Yes, Qiye!" the man in front replied.

Ruan Xing was lowering her head and shrinking herself like a quail, trying to lower her presence, but she didn't expect that man to walk over and casually hoist her up, carrying her back into the inner room.

Inside the inner room, Ruan Fu and the fat man's hair and clothes were already a mess. Ruan Fu was in a worse state, already bruised and swollen; it was not hard to see that there were a few people in the crowd who were biased in their intervention.

Seeing the men enter along with Qiye behind them, the fat man panted heavily and cried out, "Qiye! You must uphold justice for me, Qiye! This brat lost money and refuses to admit it, and even hit me! The brothers in the room can all bear witness!"

"You're spouting nonsense! It was clearly you who cheated!" Ruan Fu kept repeating a few curse words, but he could never say what method the fat man used to cheat.

The fat man hid behind the tall man, his face mournful. "Qiye, I know the rules; how would I dare to cheat in your establishment?"

It was an unwritten rule of the casino that if a cheater was caught, their hands would be chopped off; if they weren't caught, they weren't a cheater. If one didn't have great skill and daring, no one would dare risk having their hands chopped off.

Ruan Fu had known the fat man for a while, and the two were birds of a feather, basically losing more than winning. How could Ruan Fu not know his level? But since Ruan Fu couldn't explain the specifics, he could only shut his mouth in frustration.

Qiye walked forward and found a relatively clean chair to sit on. With a smile that didn't reach his eyes, he said, "Ruan Shu Daizi, I remember you still owe me money, right? How many days has it been overdue? It's time to pay up."

Perhaps the breeze cooled Ruan Fu's heated brain; cold sweat broke out on his pale face as he trembled and said, "I was supposed to pay it back today... My luck was very good today! If I had won that last round, I would have paid it all back! It's all this bastard's fault for cheating! Qiye, believe me, he really cheated!"

"Ha!" Qiye shook his head and chuckled. "Half a month ago you borrowed two taels of Silver, saying you'd pay it back in three days. You know the rules here: Nine Out Thirteen Return, plus the thirteen days of compound interest—"

As he spoke, he glanced sideways at the messy tables and chairs around him, then looked at the intimidating burly men standing to the side.

"And how should the losses from my establishment for half a day and the hard-earned drinking money for my brothers be calculated?"

"Let me gamble one more time! My luck is very good today; if I win, I can pay it back!"

"You still have money? What are you using to gamble? Are you using an arm or a leg to pay?"

Qiye said this nonchalantly. Ruan Fu trembled in fear upon hearing this. He touched his own arms, which were growing cold, and looked around anxiously. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Ruan Xing had been keeping her head down, but no matter how absent Ruan Fu was as a father, he wouldn't fail to recognize what his daughter looked like. Seeing this, she could only secretly think, "Oh no." Would she be used by her deadbeat father to pay off his debts today? This didn't happen in yesterday's Simulation; presumably, in the Simulation, her elder sister came to deliver food, she left quickly, and she didn't chat with her mother. Perhaps she had already returned the bowls before this last round of Mahjong started, and it wasn't until later when the deadbeat father returned home that he got the idea to sell the two sisters to pay off the debt.

She had to think of a way. At home, there was still her mother and sister. No matter how difficult things were, as long as she had the Simulator, things would slowly get better. If she were really used to pay off the debt, she might end up on the original owner's path. She didn't want to be a dancing girl sold to others as a concubine and end up dying so miserably.

"This is my daughter! Qiye, I'll stake her to gamble. Qiye, look, she's quite pretty; she must be worth a few taels of Silver, right?" Ruan Fu walked a few steps to Ruan Xing. She was still being held under the burly man's arm and couldn't resist, her face being pinched roughly by Ruan Fu, forcing her to look up.

"Gambling your own daughter, you really are... fine, then I'll give you one more chance." Qiye shook his head and sighed feignedly, but he didn't stop him, instead gesturing for Ruan Fu to sit at the gambling table.

Ruan Fu was overjoyed and hurriedly straightened his clothes, but seeing Qiye sitting opposite him, he became a bit nervous. "Qiye, are you... are you gambling with me?"

"What? Is that not allowed, or are you afraid?" Qiye raised an eyebrow.

"No..."

Ruan Fu was hesitating when suddenly there were a few crisp cracking sounds. He subconsciously looked in the direction of the noise.

Ruan Xing could wait no longer. It was clear from the "slaughter" setup earlier that their goal was to ruin Ruan Fu's family. No matter who Ruan Fu gambled with in this round, he was bound to lose. She could not hand her fate over to others.

Thus, she loosened her hand, and the basket dropped to the ground, the coarse porcelain bowls inside shattering one after another.

"Let me gamble!" Ruan Xing shouted in a soft, childish voice.

It sounded ridiculous for a child to want to gamble with someone, and some people couldn't help but laugh. Ruan Fu was furious, "Shut your mouth, you damn girl!"

But Ruan Xing looked straight at Qiye, her voice revealing an unusual firmness. This Qiye was the one who called the shots; she didn't need to pay attention to the others laughing. As long as she could convince Qiye, she would be halfway to success.

"Qiye, since the stake is me, why can't I sit at the table and gamble with you? My father doesn't dare, but I do!"

Qiye's half-squinted, narrow eyes slowly opened to look at her. Ruan Xing was not afraid in the least, meeting his gaze.

After a long while, Qiye laughed: "The little girl isn't very old, but she has quite a lot of guts. I admire you. Even if you lose, I won't sell you to another place; just stay by my side as a foot-washing maid. Let her come over."

Wash your grandfather's feet!

Ruan Xing cursed inwardly, but on the surface, she obediently walked to the table. Ruan Fu had already been dragged to the side by Qiye's burly men with his mouth covered, giving up his seat. Her six-year-old body was only a head taller than the table, and she climbed onto the chair with some difficulty.

"Come on, what do you want to play? Dice, Mahjong, or Fan-Tan?"

Qiye looked at her with a smile.

(End of chapter)