Trafford's Trading Club

673: Chapter 86: Nearly Flawless 673: Chapter 86: Nearly Flawless “Are you talking about those three women?”

In the casino’s hall, Liu Zixing was still sitting at the same baccarat table—since he finished gambling against A Jie, no one else had played there.

Although a new dealer had taken over, he stood there nervously—he even wiped the card strips sent to the gamblers with a cloth…

With this jinx here, who dared to start gambling?

At this moment, hearing Liu Zixing’s sudden comment, Hou Chen Yuhuan was startled, then quickly glanced at those wealthy ladies—not engaging in anything, they just stood by another table, occasionally looking in her direction.

It seemed they planned to inquire but were cautious.

They probably couldn’t figure out the relationship between her and the man who had just won a large sum in the gambling hall. “Yes.” Hou Chen Yuhuan quickly nodded.

Anyway, there wasn’t anyone at this baccarat table right now, so she wasn’t afraid of anyone overhearing her, “I was brought to this place by them.

I originally thought it was just an ordinary leisure club…so.” “You’re married.” Liu Zixing suddenly stated.

Hou Chen Yuhuan was startled, initially wanting to ask how he knew, but seeing him staring at her ring-adorned finger, she nodded… and then hastily said, “I…I am not that kind of person.

I really am not here to play around…play with men…”

Liu Zixing shook his head, “Your matters have nothing to do with me.

After we get the money later, you will follow me out, and then we’ll go our separate ways.

But you said you didn’t want the money, so I won’t give it to you.”

Hou Chen Yuhuan nodded.

The waiting time always seemed long… Hou Chen Yuhuan didn’t know what to say to this man, feeling extremely awkward, and being in such an environment made her even more uneasy—yet she didn’t dare to walk away easily.

She took out her phone to check and found that it had already died and shut down automatically… though she had her charger, she wasn’t sure where to charge it. “You…you really have good luck.” Hou Chen Yuhuan was still very scared.

She feared that those wealthy ladies might see that she had nothing to do with this man and directly approach him.

Even more afraid that if those wealthy ladies came forward and got entangled, this man would, because of the hassle, directly ignore her and not take her away—so she tried to make some conversation.

Even if just one sentence, at least it wouldn’t seem like they were complete strangers. “Luck?” Liu Zixing heard it, shook his head, and sneered, “If I say I’ve used up all my future luck today, and after today I might die a sudden death on the street, would you believe it?”

Hou Chen Yuhuan instinctively shook her head… This man gave her a strange feeling—not one of affection, but rather like that of a pitiful homeless person.

Clearly, he had become wealthy overnight, possessing money others couldn’t earn in a lifetime… yet he seemed so pitiful. “I don’t believe it myself,” Liu Zixing self-deprecatingly smiled, “But that’s the truth.” “Don’t be so pessimistic.” Hou Chen Yuhuan shook her head, “You’re fine, why would you suddenly die?” “Is sudden death strange?”

Liu Zixing said indifferently, “The world population is so large, any impossible occurrence becomes probable against this daunting number.

Regardless, I read a news story a few years ago, and you might not believe it: a father and son, just returned from dining with the grandparents, and on the way back home, the father got out of the car to buy something from a convenience store for the child, who stayed in the car due to mobility issues.

Amazingly, within a few minutes, while the father was walking across the green-lit crosswalk, he was hit by a drunk driver.

The father was rushed to the hospital, but no one knew about the child, who tragically suffocated to death in the car.

You see, the child was already unfortunate enough, and ultimately died because of it, never having received any warmth from the world.

Isn’t such a story tragic yet it happened?

So if I die suddenly tomorrow, what’s so strange about that?

Are you…not feeling well?”

Liu Zixing noticed that the woman who had just helped him draw a card suddenly lowered her head, lips tight, face pale. “No…I…” Hou Chen Yuhuan shook her head, took a deep breath, and forced a smile, “It’s just that you…you’re not wrong.” “Are you that child’s mother?” Liu Zixing suddenly asked.

Hou Chen Yuhuan raised her head abruptly, looking at him in disbelief, instinctively asking, “You…did you know already?”

Liu Zixing shook his head: “I guessed.

I’ve been very accurate in guessing today, do you believe it?”

As if worried that Hou Chen Yuhuan wouldn’t believe him, Liu Zixing picked up a used but not yet collected playing card next to him and drew one, “Queen of Spades.”

He flipped it over, and as he said, the card revealed was indeed the Queen of Spades.

He kept calling out a number before flipping the card, verifying his correctness again and again—as if he already knew what would come up. “This…” Hou Chen Yuhuan found it hard to believe such a thing could happen, but instinct told her he wasn’t lying, “Then could you…guess my name?” “I can’t guess that,” Liu Zixing shook his head, “There are only fifty-two cards, my luck should still suffice.

But with the infinite combinations of names, I’m afraid my luck won’t be enough.

As for just now saying it was a guess, I just looked at your expression and my heart stirred.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up your sorrowful memory, don’t mind it.” “It’s nothing.” Hou Chen Yuhuan shook her head, said sadly, “It’s been so long.”

Liu Zixing nodded, his gaze fixed on a certain door in the gambling hall ahead, and suddenly said, “Get ready, after I get the money, follow me out immediately.

If I sense it right, someone is already waiting outside for me.” “Are you talking about… the people from the casino?” Hou Chen Yuhuan was startled. “Not necessarily.” Liu Zixing smiled indifferently, “I’m a mess.

For the sake of gambling, I destroyed my family, and even my closest mother severed ties with me, driving me away.

Having many enemies is normal.” “But you…” Hou Chen Yuhuan was about to say something.

However, Liu Zixing had already stood up—the casino advisor, A Jie, had already come up to him with a check.

She silently watched Liu Zixing…

Since he had already said these words, why did he come back to this place to gamble heavily again? “Welcome to visit next time, I definitely won’t lose to you again.” A Jie smiled calmly.

As if the lost money was just a trifling amount.

Liu Zixing silently took the check, then checked his bank account on his phone, finding that another portion of money had arrived, and then looked at A Jie, speaking indifferently, “This is probably the last time I’ll gamble.”

A Jie instantly furrowed his brow, “You’re saying you won’t gamble anymore in the future?”

Such an opponent he couldn’t defeat didn’t make him feel frustrated, instead, it stirred a desire to overcome.

His state of mind had been nearly perfect since he started… but it was shaken by Liu Zixing’s words—anger. “No.” Liu Zixing shook his head, “I said I won’t gamble money… but I will still wager on other things.” “Wager on what?” A Jie asked instinctively. “The future.” “The future?” “Yes.” Liu Zixing nodded, “This is the only thing left in my life that I can gamble on.”

After saying that, Liu Zixing didn’t say another word, just motioned for Hou Chen Yuhuan to follow him, then left A Jie’s side.

A Jie had a feeling that he might never encounter this strange man again, just like his master, who was called the God of Gamblers, never saw his opponent again after losing to someone who didn’t even know gambling skills back in the day.

He suddenly remembered the last words his master said before he graduated: in this world, there’s no most skilled gambler, but there is the strongest gambler—one who dares to gamble with fate, using life as a stake, and ultimately seeks to defy the heavens half a step. “I lost.”

This young gambling expert quietly conceded.

He still lacked the courage to challenge his fate and future. … …

A simple carousel, seesaw.

Swaying, uncertain banyan tree shadows and the cold early winter wind.

There was a swing set installed on the small sandpit, and Zhu Maolin and Xiao Lu each sat on adjacent swing seats.

This was just a very simple tiramisu slice, a small piece only the size of Xiao Lu’s palm.

After sitting down, Xiao Lu didn’t say a word, just carefully, treasuredly, as if reluctant, cut a small piece with a fork and put it in her mouth.

For a long time, after savoring for a long time, she was willing to cut another small piece with the fork.

The delicate tastes of the world seemed condensed into this small tiramisu slice.

This was probably the most blissful and satisfying way for the chef who made this cake.

Zhu Maolin didn’t ask Xiao Lu how the wounds on her face came about, nor did he ask why she was secretly crying sitting on the stairs downstairs.

Even seeing her clothes slightly disheveled, he didn’t inquire—Xiao Lu also didn’t voluntarily speak.

Some things are not meant to be known by others—this was what Zhu Maolin had said not long ago: just in that hot pot restaurant’s internal strength, he had said this to Xiao Lu once.

At eleven thirty-seven in the evening, he had been sitting here with Xiao Lu for more than ten minutes, with twenty-three minutes left until midnight.

This little future time is like the night’s cloudy sky; it’s impossible to know how these clouds will change in the next second. “Hmm…

I can’t bear to eat it.” Xiao Lu suddenly stopped her hand, placed the remaining cake back in the box, looked at Zhu Maolin, and whispered, “If this box could stop time for a year, it would be great… so that next year, at this time, I could open it again.”

In the heart of a younger girl, there is such absurd yet beautiful imagination.

But Zhu Maolin was no longer young, even though he knew at this moment, if he said something, he might be able to leave something in the girl’s heart even deeper than an impression.

Not perhaps, but fully aware, because having experienced love, he knows where the nourishment for its budding comes from.

The girl is now waiting for him to say such words, staring deeply—like when she was shooting that advertisement, playing the role of a young girl awakening to love.

Her pale lips weren’t painted with lipstick like during the shoot, yet somehow still retained that sweet cherry flavor… maybe now it was mingled with the scent of tiramisu.

What kind of sweetness could this be?

Zhu Maolin, on the contrary, closed his eyes, but couldn’t imagine it. “Like a bear in spring,” Zhu Maolin suddenly said, and opened his eyes.

Xiao Lu looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Zhu Maolin lightly smiled, “It’s a passage from ‘Norwegian Wood’.

Liking something is like liking a bear in spring.” “Why a bear?” Xiao Lu asked instinctively.

Zhu Maolin looked up at the cloudy sky, as if trying to imagine its ever-changing shapes as a little bear, and said, “On the wild fields of spring, flowers bloom, birds sing amidst fragrant smells, and you walk alone on a hillside, only to see a furry, black-and-white bear come your way.

It sits stupidly in front of you, blinking at you, and so you embrace it and roll down the soft slope.

You don’t feel any pain because the bear is so soft; because the grass and earth are soft.

Your body gets covered with grass bits and petals of wild chrysanthemums, and at this moment, you don’t need to think about anything, feeling a refreshing comfort…

Don’t you like it?” “I do,” Xiao Lu said softly with her eyes closed. “I used this borrowed line to win over my wife,” Zhu Maolin abruptly interrupted Xiao Lu’s fantasy.

She opened her eyes, astonished and disappointed, with something else that Zhu Maolin couldn’t quite fathom: everything indicated she was surprised that he would refuse at this moment… “Do you… love your wife very much?” Xiao Lu hesitantly asked. “How could I not love her?” Zhu Maolin countered.

Xiao Lu said nothing, and instead opened the box, silently finishing the tiramisu underneath her, then stood up from the swing bench, turning her back to Zhu Maolin, standing straight as if preparing for something.

She took a deep breath, “May I sing a song?” “A birthday song?”

At this moment, Zhu Maolin thought of the song he should know, but Xiao Lu lightly shook her head and lowly said, “A song once written for me by a minstrel…”

Zhu Maolin was stunned, as if not hearing clearly, but saw Xiao Lu suddenly spread her arms, like a swan spreading its wings, spinning, leaping, spinning, leaping, lowering her body. —Are you going to Scarborough Fair? —Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme —Remember me to one who lives there —She once was a true love of mine. —Ask her to make me a cambric shirt…

She closed her eyes, as if she could no longer see the bustle of the world… ceaselessly.

The winter scene around seemed to recede to late autumn, as the desolate autumn wind carried the smell of dry grass across the endless wilderness, she looked like a barefoot nomadic dancer, also waiting for someone to return.

This wasn’t any version Zhu Maolin was familiar with.

Unconsciously, he allowed his thoughts to roam over this wilderness, forgetting everything.

It was as if he truly arrived beside this solitary dancer, becoming the one she awaited.

Softly, he heard the dancer’s call. “My birthday wish is to find someone I like, be with him always, and have a cute child with him… can you make this wish come true for me?”

Zhu Maolin let out a slow sigh, suddenly feeling a burning sensation in his chest, like a volcano that had accumulated for years.

He suddenly stood up, “I’m sorry, I must go home.” …

As the car parked outside the small park started and drove away, unwilling to stay even for a moment, until it was completely out of sight, Xiao Lu sat alone on the swing bench.

Beside her, where Zhu Maolin had sat, lay the empty box that once held the tiramisu.

She seemed a bit absent-minded, then subconsciously lifted her palm, watching as a white card slowly appeared in her hand.

Then the white card shattered completely in an instant—when the master temporarily destroyed all possibility of transaction, the white card representing the master would shatter.

At least, in the short term, the master’s heart was nearly perfect, or the master felt they could achieve what they wanted. “Oh!

You’re here!

What are you doing out here in the middle of the night not coming home?

I hit you a couple of times and you left!

Forgotten who your dad is… huh?

Where’s everyone?”

A figure hurried into the small park, with a face like a fierce demon, sporting a small mustache, a middle-aged man, yet he only saw Xiao Lu sitting alone.

He walked up to Xiao Lu, curiously asked, “Number 18, wasn’t it supposed to be at twelve sharp?” “No need.” ‘Xiao Lu’ glanced calmly, “Go play on your own, this task failed.” “What?”

The fierce middle-aged man’s expression gradually changed in shock… this was Da Zhe.

A black mist surged from ‘Xiao Lu’s body, and in the next second, she was dressed again in a black robe, Xiao Lu’s form seemed once more eternally obscured by the indistinct black mist.

She vanished in front of Da Zhe, leaving no trace.

Play on his own?

Play what? … … “Uh… hand me that part.

Yes, the part marked seven.”

In the club, Boss Luo, immersed in assembling a newly ordered Christmas tree, extended his hand, and a moment later, the maid handed him the needed part. “It’s almost done,” You Ye looked at the nearly completed Christmas tree with anticipation.

Just then, a wisp of black smoke slowly drifted through the club’s main door.

Without turning his head, Luo Qiu said, “Number 18, you’re here.

Come, let’s put together this Christmas tree, it’s almost done.” “At your command.” Number 18 nodded, walking respectfully to Boss Luo’s side, under Luo Qiu’s instructions, hanging a decorative piece on the upper part of the Christmas tree.

While hanging it, Number 18 softly said, “Master, I am at fault… the white card you approved has been destroyed.” “Hmm… hand me the things over there,” Luo Qiu pointed.

Number 18 quickly brought them over.

After Luo Qiu mounted them, he stepped back a few paces—the Christmas tree was finally complete.

Boss Luo, satisfied, admired the Christmas tree and asked with a smile, “How does it feel?”

Number 18 hesitated, then said, “I…

I’ve become too reliant on the ability of ‘Dream of the Past’, even though it’s always been effective, I’ve neglected the basic skills a Black soul envoy should have.

As soon as…

I encounter a situation where ‘Dream of the Past’ can’t be used with a master, I might not even be as good as an entry-level guy, I need to reflect on myself.” “I was talking about the Christmas tree,” Luo Qiu shook his head.

Number 18 looked up, “This…

Since it’s handcrafted by you, Master, of course, it’s the best.”

Luo Qiu shook his head, calmly saying, “It is indeed the best, but not because I’m the one who assembled it… but because it’s assembled by my own hands.”

He went to the counter, starting to prepare drinks with You Ye assisting, “Isn’t something you’ve done yourself the most perfect?”

Number 18 seemed thoughtful. “This time, want something to drink before you leave?” Luo Qiu asked with a smile. “Then… then I won’t be modest.” Number 18’s tone inadvertently relaxed, “Mead, please.”

Luo Qiu smiled slightly, “Alright, please wait a moment.”

The new boss is much better than the last one…

Number 18 thought instinctively.