Song Liang was hardly surprised that Xiao Yi had approached Duan Yan. After the way he had played him at Songlan Mansion, it would have been stranger if Xiao Yi had simply let him go.
Especially while the Emperor’s Tear remained in his hands.
Duan Yan, however, was undeniably unreliable. Which was why Song Liang had taken possession of his car again in advance.
On the other end of the call, Duan Yan had underestimated Song Liang’s nerve and overestimated his morals. He soon believed the story about being forced into a kept-lover arrangement.
His reply was equal parts envy and sympathy.
“You really do have it rough.”
Song Liang took it as a compliment. Before hanging up, he reminded Duan Yan that his beloved car was being very well looked after, so there was no need to worry.
Duan Yan recognized the warning, angrily insisted he hadn’t told anyone anything, and ended the call.
【Do you think he’s reliable?】
“No idea.”
In the club’s bustling Hall One, Song Liang wore a white shirt beneath a black waistcoat, paired with black trousers that emphasized his slim waist and long legs. Together with his finely sculpted face, the result was decidedly easy on the eyes.
He carried a tray of drinks through the crowd, passing one guest causing a disturbance, two who had lost everything but refused to leave, and another caught by security trying to grope a server.
Then he delivered the drinks to Table Four.
They were playing roulette. Apart from the croupier, there were only two players: middle-aged men, one wearing glasses and the other sporting an elegantly groomed mustache.
The man with glasses was having a poor run. Only a few chips remained before him. His mustached opponent had a sizable pile and was clearly enjoying a lucky streak.
Song Liang set down the drinks and turned to leave.
The man with glasses stopped him.
“Come here.”
“How may I help you?”
The man placed a purple chip in front of him.
“Stand here for an hour, and this is yours.”
People who frequented casinos tended to be particularly superstitious. After a string of losses, some guests would summon a lucky server to stand beside them, hoping to borrow a little good fortune.
Superstition or not, it could be remarkably effective. Every casino had a few servers whose mere presence seemed to turn a guest’s luck around.
Such employees were popular, often with regular customers of their own. Their nightly drinks and service commissions could be substantial.
Song Liang picked up the chip and started toward the man with glasses.
The man abruptly recoiled and pointed across the table.
“Stand over there!”
Song Liang: “…”
An hour later, the mustached man stared at his dwindling chips in disbelief. Then he turned toward Song Liang beside him, his eyes filled with horror.
“What’s your name?”
“Song.”
“Go stand on the other side. I’ll give you two chips.”
“…”
Apparently, he was not one of those employees who brought good luck.
Quite the opposite. He ruined it.
In the end, he stood on neither side and returned to the staff lounge with a pocketful of clinking chips.
The lounge was alive with discussion, punctuated by excited voices. As soon as he entered, his female colleague Xiaoqiu looked over and teased him.
“Back already? Another guest sent you away?”
“…”
Song Liang said nothing.
When he first entered the scenario, he hadn’t been certain. But in a casino, where luck made itself so immediately apparent, he had finally realized that his own was rather poor.
Other employees might not be especially fortunate, but they could at least turn a guest’s luck around occasionally.
Whenever Song Liang stood beside someone, that person began losing.
At first, some guests refused to believe it. Confident in their luck and gambling skill, they insisted he remain beside them. A few rounds later, they would scowl and tell him to move to the other side.
Naturally, the opposing players didn’t want him either. They would offer him chips to stay exactly where he was.
The result was often that both sides paid Song Liang to keep away from them.
Or, like the man with glasses earlier, they simply bribed him to bring bad luck to their opponent.
After enough incidents, even some of the staff knew that Song Liang had terrible luck and was positively lethal to a gambler’s winning streak. If an employee planned to play a few rounds, they would avoid speaking to him all day, afraid of losing everything.
Even 3085 could no longer deny that its host seemed genuinely unlucky. Thinking back over everything that had happened since they entered the scenario, it began to suspect that the main system really might be targeting Song Liang.
Another colleague, Xiaoma, laughed.
“You don’t bring bad luck to yourself, though. You do pretty well when you gamble.”
Song Liang smiled without answering.
Someone nearby chimed in.
“Exactly. It helps to have someone protecting you. Otherwise, a walking jinx like you would’ve been reported and fired ages ago.”
Xiaoqiu and Xiaoma looked embarrassed and hurried to say it wasn’t that serious.
Song Liang turned toward the speaker.
The young man sat in a corner of the sofa, playing on his phone. His name was Chi Yi, and he was about Song Liang’s age. Apparently, he was a university student too.
He had delicate features, almond-shaped eyes, and naturally upturned lips.
Before Song Liang arrived, he had been the casino’s best-performing server. The reason was simple: luck. Seven times out of ten, his presence helped a guest start winning, making him exceptionally popular.
When Song Liang looked over, Chi Yi smiled back with an unmistakably challenging expression.
Song Liang said nothing. He merely slipped a hand into his pocket and rattled his pile of chips.
Chi Yi: “…”
His face darkened. He nearly blurted out, “Are you insane?”
Sensing the tension, Xiaoqiu quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway, have you seen the news lately?”
Xiaoma immediately joined in.
“Yes, yes. About Xiao Group, right?”
Song Liang’s attention sharpened.
“What news?”
Knowing this university student was rather absorbed in gaming and rarely followed current events, Xiaoma explained.
“You know how Xiao Group’s chairman was attacked and injured?”
Song Liang nodded. Of course he knew. He had been there.
He was also the one who had slammed into the man hard enough to put him in the hospital.
Encouraged, Xiaoma lowered his voice conspiratorially.
“Then do you know who did it?”
Song Liang: “Xiao Wenyu.”
Xiaoma: “…”
His excitement collapsed.
“Oh, you’ve already read about it online. That’s no fun.”
Song Liang hadn’t read it online, of course. He had heard it directly from someone involved behind the scenes.
He opened the news on his phone and found reports of Xiao Wenyu’s suspension. Everything else was speculation from internet users.
But the rumors had grown so loud that someone was clearly helping them along.
Song Liang didn’t need to think to know who.
【He really does care about Xiao Ji. He’s already knocked Xiao Wenyu out of the running.】
【You should be grateful he’s busy dealing with other people and hasn’t had time to come after you.】
Song Liang wasn’t convinced.
With Xiao Yi’s capabilities, someone as insignificant as Xiao Wenyu shouldn’t occupy so much of his attention. The Emperor’s Tear was still with Song Liang, after all.
After a moment’s thought, he sent Xiao Ji a message.
[Song Liang: What are you up to, sweetheart~]
【…You’re revolting.】
Ignoring it, Song Liang continued messaging. He asked what Xiao Ji had been doing lately and when he planned to introduce him to the family.
After more than a dozen messages, Xiao Ji apparently ran out of patience.
[Xiao Ji: Get lost.]
His anger was palpable even through the phone. Song Liang’s mood improved at once.
[You’re taking too long to decide. Let’s meet this week and talk.]
There was a pause.
Then:
[Not free this week. Next week.]
Song Liang’s gaze shifted slightly.
Xiao Ji had been trying to track him down. Now that Song Liang was offering a meeting, he hesitated.
Something more important than the Emperor’s Tear must have come up.
Song Liang considered it briefly, reached no conclusion, and gave up.
When he stopped replying, Xiao Ji sent another message.
[I can give you anything you want except marriage.]
[Song Liang: An engagement, then.]
[Xiao Ji: Get lost!]
Song Liang: 【Tsk. Touchy again.】
3085 couldn’t help commenting, 【Wouldn’t you be upset if someone were trying to force you into marriage?】
Song Liang: 【He shouldn’t have been the top lead, then.】
His colleagues were still discussing the Xiaos. Xiaoqiu took out her phone to search for the latest developments.
Then something made her exclaim, “Holy shit!”
“What?”
Xiaoma leaned over and echoed, “Holy shit.”
Song Liang approached, glanced at the screen, and paused.
It showed a photograph of Xiao Yi in profile, apparently taken at a formal evening reception.
A golden chandelier glittered overhead. Tall and elegantly proportioned, Xiao Yi wore a black formal suit. His impossibly handsome face appeared flawless beneath the camera’s gaze.
His dark green eyes seemed fixed on something in the distance, his expression cool and distinguished.
Beside him, his colleagues were still discussing the Xiao family’s exceptional genes.
Song Liang reached out and tapped the obviously secretly taken photograph.
“Send me that.”
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