Chapter 16: All In

Finally, it was Shang Ying's turn to act as the dealer. She pulled out the cards, her technique skilled and rapid as she shuffled. The cards seemed extraordinarily obedient in her hands, fanning out smoothly, then gathering back together into a neat stack with a simple flick of her fingers.

This display left Cui Heyuan clapping directly in admiration, outright praising her for how beautiful it looked.

Indeed, Shang Ying had worked as a casino dealer for a period of time in her past. Because she had racked up a massive debt at a casino that she couldn't clear right away, she simply worked there to pay it off.

She was pretty and possessed slick techniques, so many wealthy young heirs loved seeking her out as their dealer. Later, she became friends with a few of them, and they pooled their money together to help redeem her freedom from the casino.

Having spent so much time in casinos, she had a general grasp of all their shady, behind-the-scenes manipulations. From then on, no matter what kind of gambling game she encountered, she could basically handle it effortlessly, even managing to repay the money her friends had pooled for her redemption.

Ah, her path to becoming a Casino King was paved entirely with lessons learned from blood and tears!

After shuffling and placing the cards into the shoe, Shang Ying pushed 30 million in chips forward, and the other three followed by pushing equivalent stakes.

Shang Ying flipped one of her cards face-up.

"Up card: 6 of Hearts."

She looked toward Xie Tuo, gesturing for him to make his move.

"Hit."

Shang Ying flicked a card in front of Xie Tuo, who reached out his hand, making Shang Ying immediately confirm verbally.

"Split. Double down."

Xie Tuo looked at his hand, 4 of Hearts and 2 of Diamonds, and continued asking for cards, drawing two small cards.

Then, he raised his hand once more, a movement that made Shang Ying steal an extra glance at him. Perhaps sensing the probing look in her eyes, Xie Tuo smiled subtly and explained.

"Small cards."

Shang Ying nodded and dealt two more cards. This time, he finally called a stand.

As for the remaining two players: Cui Heyuan busted when Shang Ying called out a hit, getting eliminated directly, while Wei Yanyi took one card before standing.

Turn moved to the dealer to draw cards, and Shang Ying's emotionless voice sounded line after line.

"Six points. Dealer holds twelve."

"Hit."

"Five points. The dealer stands at seventeen."

This round passed exceptionally fast. Xie Tuo held the highest point total, followed by Wei Yanyi who pushed a draw against Shang Ying, because both of Xie Tuo's split hands were higher than hers, Shang Ying lost her entire stake in this round.

After a few more hands, Shang Ying's bets grew larger and larger. Her lightning-fast dealing speed and rapid speech forced Cui Heyuan into a state of intense concentration, his mind constantly calculating cards.

In the final round, Shang Ying pushed all her chips forward at once, the crisp clinking sound hitting the table and stimulating everyone's nerves.

"All in."

Xie Tuo raised his head, his half-lidded eyes fixing upon those clear eyes of hers, before he smiled and pushed three-quarters of his chips forward.

As the stakes piled higher and the gambling pool grew massive, the excitement escalated. Cui Heyuan was thoroughly thrilled, pushing all his chips forward as well and shouting loudly.

"All in!"

Wei Yanyi remained the rational one, pushing only half his stack, which was still a substantial amount. This single round held a gambling pot exceeding hundreds of millions.

Shang Ying looked at her starting two cards, her expression unchanged, as she flipped one open: King of Spades, 10 points.

After Xie Tuo turned his cards, he smiled warmly.

"Looks like you have the best luck."

With that, he raised his hand.

Shang Ying spoke up, "Hit."

"Stand."

Next was Wei Yanyi. He chose to split his hand, and after taking two hit cards, a refreshed, spring-like smile finally surfaced on his face.

"Looks like the Goddess of Fortune favors me after all~"

His two hands totaled 19 points and 18 points, both solid hands.

Seeing his smug look, Cui Heyuan refused to be outdone. Shang Ying directed a single word at him.

"Please."

As the card landed in his hand, Cui Heyuan took a deep breath, slowly opening his card, even closing his eyes. ‘It had to be a six, it had to be a six!’

First, the heart suit appeared. His fingers shifted slightly, his eyes lighting up as he pulled his hand away. 6 of Hearts!

He had landed a 21-point hand!

"Ha! The Goddess of Fortune favors me! Hahaha!"

Watching his frantic, wild behavior, Wei Yanyi turned his face away, too lazy to watch, waiting to see if he'd still be laughing when he lost later.

Xie Tuo rested his face on his hand, his fingers tapping lightly against the card with the red back, refusing to show weakness.

"I think the Goddess of Fortune favors me instead."

Turn moved back to the dealer.

Shang Ying's expression remained completely calm. All three men stared at the card in front of her, yet they were all quite relaxed, as if the winner of this game had already been decided.

Shang Ying placed her hand on the card, her pretty eyes curving slightly. Xie Tuo instantly sensed something was wrong, his smile freezing, while Wei Yanyi and Cui Heyuan's smiles froze as well, their brows furrowing.

She flipped the card open, her face-down hole card was an Ace.

Her voice, clear as spring water, dropped word by word like pearls onto a jade plate.

"Dealer, Blackjack."

"Holy crap?!"

"Insane."

"Looks like the Goddess of Fortune actually favors me."

At the card table, the young girl's eyes curved in a smile, the ambient light casting a divine rhythm onto her soft hair, her every expression radiating the satisfaction of a successful calculation.

Xie Tuo stared at her, temporarily losing himself in thought, his eyes holding a deep, probing gaze. ‘Was she really an underage kid? Has she been playing cards at family tables since childhood?’

Blackjack, a two-card combination consisting of an Ace and any 10-point card, totals exactly 21 points and beats any other 21-point combination formed through multiple cards. In other words, these two cards represented an absolute, unstoppable win.

Shang Ying pulled back her hands with a smile. Mission accomplished tonight, a massive harvest! Winning several hundred million in a single hand, she now held 600 million yuan in hand.

Putting on her hat and gathering her chips, she hummed a little tune, preparing to head out, only to be blocked by Cui Heyuan again. Shang Ying stared at his hand and let out a scoff.

‘What's the meaning of this? How many times was she going to get blocked today?’

‘She wasn't a year-end pig. Why was everyone taking turns blocking her way?’

Seeing her gaze turn sour, Cui Heyuan immediately pulled his hand back and explained, "No, no, no! Let's add each other as friends, little sister! I beg you, give me a friend slot!"

For Young Master Cui to act like this was something outsiders wouldn't even dare to imagine. Usually, others were the ones bowing and scraping before him. Where had anyone ever seen him rushing forward to beg someone to add him as a friend?

Wei Yanyi: - _ - # ‘Fools.’

Shang Ying didn't refuse, pulling out her phone to display her QR code.

Nearby, Xie Tuo silently scanned it as well, offering a perfectly polite smile.

"Thank you."

Shang Ying: ‘Damn, the ultimate main villain added her too.’

Seeing both of them add her, Wei Yanyi followed the principle of 'since I'm already here' and added Shang Ying as a friend as well.

Having had a great time playing tonight, Shang Ying originally intended to go to the accounting room to exchange her chips, but Cui Heyuan waved his hand, saying there was no need for such hassle and that he would transfer the funds straight to her bank account.

Glad to save herself some trouble, Shang Ying casually bade them farewell and left. Cui Heyuan offered to find someone to drop her off, but Shang Ying waved her hand and declined.

Naturally, she couldn't agree. If they found out where she lived, that would be a disaster! If they discovered she was a child of the Shang family, Shang Heng would definitely beat her butt black and blue tomorrow.

As it stood, her butt hadn't even recovered yet, hurting with every step she took.