Super Soldier in the City
Chapter 608 - 627: Husband

Chapter 608: Chapter 627: Husband

By an oval-shaped table, eight people had already sat down. Xu Shanshan and Su Mengxin were seated on either side of Li Yifei, while Cao Bin faced Li Yifei on the other side. The remaining four, comprising three men and one woman, included two middle-aged men, in their mid-forties, who were acquainted with Cao Bin—one named Song Tianwei and the other Wang Shiying. Both of them were in business, each owning assets worth ten to eighteen million yuan. Although such wealth didn’t make them stand out on the cruise, they were still quite respectable.

Of the remaining two, the man was someone Li Yifei had met before, named Sunx Dongran. When Su Mengxin visited Mile City for the first time, Li Yifei attended a reception with Xu Yingying, and that was when Sunx Dongran, an overbearing suitor, had set his sights on Xu Yingying. Li Yifei hadn’t seen him since that occasion and was surprised to run into him here today.

It wasn’t that Sunx Dongran had given up pursuing Xu Yingying after learning she had a boyfriend; rather, he had been away from Mile City, sent by his father to conduct business elsewhere. In reality, Sunx Dongran wasn’t the one handling the business; he was merely gaining experience. Yet, he returned acting high and mighty, as if he had closed a major deal himself.

The moment Sunx Dongran saw Xu Yingying masquerading as Xu Shanshan, his eyes lit up. However, seeing Xu Shanshan clinging affectionately to Li Yifei’s arm and acting as if she didn’t recognize him, rage instantly surged within him.

Sunx Dongran had also met Su Mengxin before, but at that time, she was enveloped in an aura of glory. With his status, he couldn’t get close to her. Su Mengxin, now dressed down, was still breathtakingly beautiful. However, unless one was very familiar with her, it would be hard to connect her to the "Number One Beauty of Huaxia."

Those who came here to play cards included not only avid gamblers but also others who used the game to socialize. Even though Cao Bin intended to target Li Yifei, he still said with a smile, "President Song runs a well-known logistics company in Mile City, and President Wang owns a taxi company with dozens of vehicles. They are both influential businessmen. Young Master Sunx is from Mile City’s renowned Tianli Group, and is now its vice-president, a business elite. This lady is Xu Yingying, general manager of Dreamfly Company, and the one playing with us is her husband, Li Yifei."

Song Tianwei and Wang Shiying both nodded to Li Yifei, but Sunx Dongran’s eyes bulged as he blurted out, "Xu Yingying, you got married?"

Xu Shanshan, who had no idea who Sunx Dongran was, could tell from his tone that he knew her sister and was clearly up to no good. Mimicking her sister’s demeanor, she said lightly with a smile, "Yes, this is my husband, Li Yifei."

Veins throbbed on Sunx Dongran’s forehead. He had been interested in Xu Yingying not out of genuine affection but rather because her talent and beauty made her a catch that could boost his status. Back then, he regarded Xu Yingying merely as a small company’s general manager—a mere employee—so he never took her seriously, believing she would eventually be his.

Now, to his shock, someone else had beaten him to the punch, and they were even married. For him, it was an unbearable blow.

If he wasn’t on a cruise, he would have liked to round up some people and beat Li Yifei up. Glaring viciously, he ground his teeth and exclaimed, "Kid, you’ve got guts, daring to touch the woman Sunx Dongran was interested in."

Li Yifei met Sunx Dongran’s gaze with disdain and said, "And you think you are who, exactly?" Although Xu Shanshan was by his side, Sunx Dongran’s remarks about Xu Yingying were unacceptable, and a proper response was necessary to maintain his dignity as a husband.

"What did you say?" Sunx Dongran suddenly slapped the table and stood up abruptly.

Quick to intervene, Cao Bin said, "Young Master Sunx, don’t be impulsive. We’re all here to have fun; let’s set aside past issues for now."

Sunx Dongran knew he couldn’t cause a scene on this kind of cruise. Those who could actually afford such ships were far beyond ordinary means, and even with the capabilities of Tianli Group, his family couldn’t afford to invest in such a venture.

Sitting back down, Sunx Dongran coldly stared at Li Yifei and said, "Kid, let’s just remember this for now."

Li Yifei turned and kissed Xu Shanshan on the cheek, sneering, "As if you could do anything... ha-ha..."

That "ha-ha" was filled with contempt and disdain, which infuriated Sunx Dongran, his eyes burning with fury. If not for Cao Bin holding him back, he would have rushed to fight Li Yifei there and then.

Changing the subject, Cao Bin turned to Su Mengxin and said, "Right, we haven’t been introduced to this beauty here yet."

Before Li Yifei could speak, Su Mengxin had already entwined her arm around his, and resting her head on his shoulder, she said provocatively, "I’m Yifei’s lover." Her demeanor was so flirtatious that it made her seem more like a lover than a wife.

Neither Li Yifei nor Xu Shanshan expected Su Mengxin to speak like that. As Xu Shanshan looked towards Su Mengxin and saw her wink, she quickly understood the playful intent—the comment was meant to provoke both Sunx Dongran and Cao Bin.

Xu Shanshan knew how to play Golden Flower, and the key to playing this game was to keep a cool head. If one got heated, it was very easy to lose money. Now the three of them just wanted to fired up Sun Dongran and Cao Bin’s anger, ensuring that these two would definitely become the biggest suckers.

As Su Mengxin had said this, the people opposite them all widened their eyes, staring at Li Yifei and his companions. The fact that Li Yifei could marry Xu Yingying was already enough to get under their skin, and now to top it off, he had a lover who was even more beautiful than his wife, Xu Yingying. What was essential, though, was that this lover was comfortably seated on Li Yifei’s side, next to his legitimate wife, without conflict or quarrel between them, seemingly in good rapport.

What was the world coming to? A geek’s counterattack was already annoying enough, but this was just over the top.

Li Yifei, thoroughly enjoying being escorted by the two women, gloated, "Are you still playing or not?"

Sun Dongran slammed the table and declared, "Bullshit, I’m going to make you lose so bad, you’ll strip down to your underwear."

Li Yifei snorted and said, "We’ll see about that. I’ve always been quite lucky when it comes to gambling."

Cao Bin, a man of deep thoughts, chuckled and responded, "Then let’s get started."

There were eight people seated, but in fact, there were only five players. Xu Shanshan and Su Mengxin were there to enjoy the show, while another woman, brought by Sun Dongran, was quite a beauty herself but sat silent at Sun Dongran’s side, daring not to say a word – clearly, he wasn’t giving her much attention.

The Golden Flower was played with three cards dealt to each person. A set of identical cards was called a leopard and was the highest hand, followed by a straight flush, and then flush, straight, pair, with the lowest being high card. The ranking was evident at a glance.

The game’s thrill came from the fact that nobody could see each other’s cards, and often many players wouldn’t even look at their cards before starting to bet. When there were more than three players following the game, they couldn’t compare hands – they had to rely on guts to continue betting. Those with less money or less courage would have to give up early, even with decent cards in hand.

Cao Bin then asked, "How big should the stakes be?"

Sun Dongran immediately replied, "Go big or go home, the minimum bet is ten thousand, with a minimum follow bet of ten thousand, the sky’s the limit." He was eager to win everything from Li Yifei in one fell swoop, thus proposing a huge wager.

Song Tianwei and Wang Shiying immediately frowned. These stakes were hefty; a few rounds could quickly deplete their entire wealth. Although they didn’t speak out immediately, if the game were played at these stakes, they’d have to leave right away.

Li Yifei quickly intervened, "No, no, that’s too much. I can’t afford that. Besides, I don’t even know how to play, and you want to go this big? Do you think I’m Kaiser or something?"

Cao Bin immediately interjected, "Young Master Sunx, with bets like these, there aren’t many people on this cruise who could afford to play. How about this – the minimum bet is one hundred, and the maximum bet is ten thousand each time. Let’s play for a while, and after Li Yifei has learned, we can all discuss how to proceed."

Li Yifei smacked his lips and said, "That’s still not small, it seems like a round will cost over ten thousand."

Cao Bin smiled faintly and said, "You can choose not to follow. Just watch us play for now. Besides, Yingying is president of a company after all. Putting forth a few hundred thousand shouldn’t be a problem, should it?"

Li Yifei turned to look at Xu Shanshan, who appeared to be in a tough spot. After pretending to struggle with the decision, as if fearing that Li Yifei would lose face, she finally said reluctantly, "Alright, we’ll put up two hundred thousand, but no more than that."

Su Mengxin laughed and said, "I’ll add another three hundred thousand. We’ll play with five hundred thousand, just to keep my husband happy."

Several men’s eyes nearly popped out of their skulls at that. It turned out this lover was loaded – not only was she not a financial burden to Li Yifei, but she was also providing him with money to gamble. What kind of bloody luck did this guy have? His wife was already exceptional, and now his lover, instead of needing to be pampered, was bankrolling him – this was quite the geek’s revolution.

Playing here was almost the same as a real casino; someone quickly arrived to exchange chips for everyone, and everyone whipped out their cards. Sun Dongran exchanged for a million chips right away, Cao Bin got five hundred thousand, while Wang Shiying and Song Tianwei settled for two hundred thousand. Their financial power was clear; swapping two hundred thousand for a game was indeed sizable. If it wasn’t for the prospect of doing business with Sun Dongran’s family’s group and Tianli Group in the future, they probably wouldn’t be willing to play such high stakes with Sun Dongran.