I Become The Richest Man With A monthly Salary of Twenty Thousand Yuan-Chapter 702 - 487: Seek Other Methods_2

The boy chuckled and addressed the surrounding crowd.

Upon hearing the boy’s words, the onlookers became eager to try their luck. Winning would earn them a point, while losing only cost half a point. No matter how you looked at it, it was a great deal. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"I’ll give it a go!"

A girl stepped forward and walked over to the small table. She wore a pink hat and had a youthful, lively, and adorable air about her.

"The one on the left," the girl in the pink hat said with a smile.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

The boy nodded and lifted the cup. Sure enough, there was a coin underneath.

"Ah! You guessed it right. Here’s your point..." As he spoke, the boy took a point from his pocket and handed it to the girl.

The girl in the pink hat happily accepted it, saying, "Wow, earning money is so easy..."

Seeing the girl win, the spectators all wanted to give it a try. Before Xia Liang had arrived, this same girl had already won once. Including this time, the girl in the pink hat had effortlessly earned two points.

"Alright, let’s continue!" the boy announced with a smile after rearranging the cups. "Who’s next?"

"Me, me, me!"

"I want to play too!"

The boy glanced over and chose a tall man from the two who wanted to try. "You go first."

The tall man guessed the cup on the right.

"Ah... guessed right again." The boy running the game reluctantly fished out another point from his bag. "Seems like my luck is bad today. I might as well pack it in..."

Just as the boy made a show of packing up, the tall man who had just won stopped him.

"You can’t just quit because you lost money! Look how many of us still want to try."

"So you want to win all the money in my bag, huh?" the boy said with a wry smile. "Alright then, one last time. If I win this round, I’ll keep playing for a while."

Since two people had already won money, the crowd was getting restless. After all, you could win a point, but you’d only lose half a point. It was a bargain no matter what.

The game started again.

"Okay, who’s up this time?"

"Me, oh, me, me, me..." Another girl eagerly joined in.

"Which cup will you choose?" the boy asked.

The girl had been watching the boy handle the cups carefully. She was almost certain the coin was under the one on the left.

"That one," the girl said, confidently pointing to the left cup. "The coin is in this cup!"

The boy running the game asked with a smile, "Are you sure the coin is in this one?"

"Mhm, I’m sure of it! Hurry up and open it!" the girl said, laughing.

"Okay, here it goes," he said, lifting the cup the girl had chosen.

However, there was nothing underneath. "You guessed wrong."

The girl who was playing said in surprise, "How can that be? I was watching so closely! Did I see wrong?"

"But there’s nothing here," the boy said with a chuckle as he opened the other cup, revealing the coin for all to see. "See? It’s over here. You lost. Half a point, thank you."

The girl, looking morose, took out the equivalent of half a point from her purse and handed it to the boy.

"Looks like my luck hasn’t run out yet. Let’s play a bit longer today. Anyone else want a turn?" the boy asked, looking around at the crowd.

The onlookers responded eagerly. A middle-aged woman chose the left cup, lost, and gave the boy half a point.

A man with glasses chose the right cup, lost, and gave the boy half a point.

The tall man played again, chose the right cup, and won a point.

...

The game went on for about an hour, and the crowd of onlookers had turned over several times. Overall, the boy running the stall had lost more than he won.

Throughout the entire process, Xia Liang had been watching quietly from the side without saying a word.

"Alright, alright, everyone, I’m done. I’ve lost too much today," the stall operator said, starting to pack up his things with a dejected look on his face.

Seeing there was no more fun to be had, the crowd dispersed.

Xia Liang, however, remained standing there. The boy tried to ignore him at first, but Xia Liang’s constant staring made him very uncomfortable.

Finally, he couldn’t help but ask, "Hey, handsome, you’ve been standing here for quite a while..."

"Because I want to play, too," Xia Liang said with a smile.

If you wanted to play, why didn’t you come up earlier instead of waiting until I was packing up? the boy thought resentfully.

But out loud, he said politely, "I’ve already closed up for the day, sorry."

"How about this: if I guess right, you give me half a point. If I’m wrong, I’ll give you five points," Xia Liang said with a light chuckle. "Care to play?"

Hearing Xia Liang’s words, the boy’s hands paused. Half a point for five points. Anyone in their right mind would know what to choose. Although Xia Liang’s confidence made the situation feel suspicious, the boy was desperate for money.

It was worth a shot.

"Since you’re so confident, handsome, let’s play!"

The boy showed Xia Liang the coin and the two empty cups, then placed the coin under one of them and began to quickly shuffle their positions. "Alright, guess which cup holds the coin."

Xia Liang smiled faintly. He didn’t even look at the cups, instead staring directly into the boy’s eyes. "The coin is in your hand, isn’t it?"

"Wh-what?" The boy was flabbergasted. No one had ever exposed his trick so quickly.

"You keep the coins palmed. That way, you control the outcome and can make a coin appear under whichever cup you want, right?"

That was it, exactly. That was the trick he was using.

"N-No, not at all! I’m really just testing my luck with everyone. Look, I lost so much money earlier," the boy explained, his guilt obvious.

"Heh. That girl in the pink hat and that tall guy... they’re your shills, aren’t they? In the end, the money all goes back into your pocket."

"..."

The boy fell silent. His trick had been completely exposed.

"Judging by your technique, you must be a magician, right?" The boy’s flamboyant movements, full of unnecessary flourishes, told Xia Liang he was dealing with a magician. If his goal were simply to scam people, he wouldn’t need to make it so complicated.

"What’s your name?" Xia Liang asked.

"Tao Jing."

Although he didn’t understand why the other party was asking for his name, Tao Jing answered honestly. A name, after all, was nothing to hide.

"Why use magic to scam people? Don’t you think that tarnishes the art?" Xia Liang asked, raising an eyebrow.

While magic could be considered a form of deception, it existed to bring people joy. Xia Liang believed that when these techniques were used to entertain, bringing happiness and surprise, they could be called magic. But using them just to scam people? That was nothing but a cheap con.

"You think I want to do this? I have no choice," Tao Jing said with a bitter smile. "I never thought I’d one day use the magic I’ve learned to scam people."

Xia Liang could see from Tao Jing’s expression that he wasn’t faking it. It seemed he really was in some kind of trouble.

"If you don’t mind, let’s find a place to sit. You can tell me your problems, and I can help you," Xia Liang said calmly.

Tao Jing just smiled without saying a word. He didn’t believe a stranger he’d exchanged only a few sentences with could do anything for him.

"Or, I could just call the police right now and report that someone is running a scam here."

Tao Jing was annoyed. He couldn’t figure out Xia Liang’s angle. What does he mean? If I don’t let him help, he’s going to call the police on me?

Left with no other choice, Tao Jing followed Xia Liang to a nearby café. They sat down on some chairs outside, and he began to tell his story from the beginning.

It wasn’t that he was actually afraid Xia Liang would call the police. It was the powerful confidence radiating from Xia Liang that gave off a sense of omnipotence. Maybe he really can help me?