Chapter 17: Father Who Died at Sea, Land, and Air

Second round.

Strong brother rolled a three-six-three-five again.

He smugly rubbed his bald head, looking as if victory was already in his grasp, that 200,000 was already in his pocket.

Next, it was Shu Shu's turn to lift the lid.

Inside the lid were two fives and four sixes.

Thirty-four points! Just one point more than Strong brother!

Strong brother's smile froze, a little incredulous.

This, just dumb luck!

In the final round, match point.

Strong brother subconsciously kicked in twelve percent effort.

This time he rolled five sixes and one five.

Thirty-five points, close to maximum!

Rolling dice to Strong brother's level also counts as a skill.

Strong brother laughed, eagerly saying: "Little girl, you don't need to roll, just hand over the money, saves time!"

He thought dumb luck wouldn't strike twice, Shu Shu absolutely couldn't roll higher than him.

"Still need to roll."

Shu Shu's slender five fingers gripped the black cup, she lifted and shook it, the dice inside made uniform clacking sounds.

Bang—

The dice cup set down on the table.

Shu Shu curled her lips, her pair of luminous peach-blossom eyes glittered under the bar lights, then, under everyone's focused gaze, she moved the lid aside.

Only see six dice, all showing six.

Six sixes! Exactly thirty-six points! Full points!

"We won! We won!"

Shu Lingchen beside them was excited beyond words.

Strong brother couldn't believe it, his expression turned ugly.

"I won, so you pay up per the bet, but the ten-thousand deposit need not be returned; can he leave now?"

Getting ten thousand for free, also no loss; Strong brother glanced at Shu Lingchen, gritted his teeth, figured this kid was lucky, in the past anyone trying to succeed leaving him had to shed a layer of skin.

He waved his hand: "Let's go!"

…

On the way back, Shu Lingchen looked at Shu Shu with eyes full of admiration.

In his impression, his mom had always been formidable, but this was the first time he knew his mom could also roll dice.

"Mom, was your first roll just random, to let Strong brother let his guard down?"

"That was me deliberately rolling like that; I can roll whatever number I want."

Shu Lingchen exclaimed in surprise: "What! Is it real or fake?!"

"Mm-hmm."

"How awesome! Did you learn it yourself or was someone teaching you?"

Shu Shu's steps suddenly paused, she was silent for three seconds, then said: "... Someone else taught me."

Shu Lingchen hehe laughed, leaned in: "Um, Mom, could you also teach me?"

"Why do you want to learn this?"

"Just think it's awesome, want to learn."

"No teaching, no way."

Who knows what this little idiot wants to learn this for.

Actually, just now Shu Shu could have simply used money to settle things for Shu Lingchen.

But she didn't.

She just wanted Shu Lingchen to personally witness how severe the consequences are when anything touches illegal crime.

"... Oh, okay." Shu Lingchen keenly sensed Shu Shu's brief pause, he turned into a curious baby, guessing: "Mom, is the person who taught you my dad who died at sea, land, and air?"

When Shu Lingchen was little, seeing other kids have dads, he'd ask Shu Shu why he didn't have a dad, where his dad went.

The first time he asked, Shu Shu told him his dad was a fisherman, swallowed whole by a shark while fishing at sea.

The second time she said his dad was a street sweeper, killed by a car while sweeping the street.

Afterwards, Shu Lingchen kept asking, Shu Shu kept saying his dad was a pilot, the plane exploded mid-air and he was blown to bits.

Up to the end, Shu Lingchen was never sure what his dad actually did.

All he knew was his dad was dead.

Shu Lingchen looked at Shu Shu eagerly, still waiting for her answer.

Shu Shu unconsciously lifted her head, meeting Shu Lingchen's gaze.

Each time she earnestly looked into her son's eyes, Shu Shu couldn't help marveling at the strength of genes.

As expected of father and son.

Shu Lingchen's eyes were exactly like that person's, pupils pitch black like ink.

Only the former's eye color is placid and simple, whereas the latter is forever cold, deep, making it impossible to see all his emotions.

Upon hearing Shu Lingchen's question, Shu Shu's mind almost instantly conjured an image:

A distinct-knuckled, slender large hand gripped the black dice cup, accompanied by the motion of lifting the lid, a pleasant male voice like jade stones striking rang out, casual yet feeling like a sigh.

How stupid, I didn't roll a six again.

You already owe me thirty-two kisses.

She learned her dice-rolling skill only after paying a considerable 'price'.

Shu Shu has always consciously controlled herself not to think about that person.

In the dream she had before her death, it said she was his... white moonlight.

That must be fake.

She still remembers the scene before their complete breakup: he looked at her coldly, his eyes filled with clear hatred, and his words were even more cold-hearted: 'You'd better get lost; I never, ever want to see you again.'

So, how could she possibly be his white moonlight?

Shu Shu shook her head violently, flinging those images away, bringing her thoughts back to reality.

Anyway, they definitely won't meet again.

She is already 'dead'.

Shu Shu's expression returned to normal as she raised her hand and gave her son a big flick on the forehead: 'Treating me like Baidu Baike, huh, with all these questions?'

Shu Lingchen covered his forehead, the fire-chicken-haired boy wearing a pained expression:

"Mom, can you stop hitting my head? It'll make me stupid."

Shu Shu snorted: 'It's not a big deal; it's just going from being a little idiot to a big idiot.'

Shu Lingchen: '…'

…

Late night.

This is the first night Shu Shu has lived in her new apartment F1600 at Yujingyuan.

She doesn't suffer from insomnia; she can fall asleep quickly even in unfamiliar places.

But I don't know if it's because Shu Lingchen, that little idiot, mentioned that person, Shu Shu started having chaotic dreams.

In the dream, a pair of pitch-black eyes tightly gripped her.

Deep, obsessive, morbid.

It was like an airtight net, tightly binding her whole body, wrapping around her, making it hard for her to breathe.

His large palm trapped her in his embrace, his thin lips pressed to her ear, and in a pleasant, low voice he told her word by word.

"Don't even think of leaving me unless you die."

"If you die, I won't want to live either; I'll accompany you, then let people burn us together and put our ashes in the same urn, okay…"

——Madman!

Shu Shu lay on her back on the soft bed, brows furrowed, a thin sheen of sweat on her forehead.

Such similar dreams appeared every night during the long period after Shu Shu left that person, but over time they gradually stopped occurring.

Today, she dreamed again.

Shu Shu's fingers unconsciously gripped the blanket, straining to break free.

Finally, she broke free, only to quickly plunge into the next dream.

Before her eyes was an unfamiliar scene, and the protagonist of the dream was not her.

It was Shu Lingchen——