Chapter 218: Chapter 217: It’s Been a Long Time Since I Joined Such an Ordinary Gamble

From a certain perspective, ZhaJinHua can be considered a simplified version of Texas Hold’em, an enhanced version of comparing card values. Compared to Landlord and Progression, more people can participate in a single round, and the excitement is stronger. It really is an ideal entertainment activity for gatherings.

"Since we’re all working people, how about setting the minimum bet at 20 yuan, with a single round cap of 100?" Zhu Wu casually suggested.

If Zhao Jin was still somewhat of a nobody in high school, Zhu Wu was already a class bully, involved in fights and skipping classes. It’s said that many classmates had tasted his fists. Later, because of a big fight, he didn’t even take the college entrance examination and went straight to mingle with society.

At that time, Chen Xuan, due to his good grades, received special attention from teachers, so the class bully didn’t dare to lay a hand on him. Over the years, things went smoothly.

Logically, people like him should be ostracized, but from the atmosphere on the scene, most classmates were chatting and laughing with him, showing no trace of having been bullied.

Now, there wasn’t much change in Zhu Wu’s image compared to before, or perhaps he looked even more fierce. He had a shaved head, a thin old scar on his left brow bone, tattoos covering the front of his forearm, and a thick gold chain around his neck, almost as if the words "Don’t mess with me" were written on his face.

"I think it’s fine, there has to be some stakes to make it fun." Zhao Jin agreed with a smile, "10 yuan isn’t much, what does everyone think?"

"Okay, if I lose, I’ll just borrow from President Zhao."

"You can’t afford to lose a few hundred?"

"Ah, my wife is strict."

Everyone burst into laughter.

"I don’t mind lending, but since we’re here to have fun, everyone should just play within their means." Zhao Jin looked at Chen Xuan, "How about you and your friend?"

"She doesn’t play, I’m okay." Chen Xuan shrugged.

"Alright, then Sister Yanzi, you be the referee." Zhao Jin said to Xia Feiyan.

At this point, a few more classmates joined in the fun, and there were twelve participants in the first round. After the cards were dealt, the baseline pool reached 240 yuan.

Chen Xuan glanced at his cards, a 5, 8, and K, didn’t even bother with the suits, and threw them directly into the pool.

This was equivalent to losing 20 yuan.

It didn’t seem like much, just enough for a breakfast, but this was precisely a trap. How much is an average worker’s daily wage? 300 yuan is not much, 500 yuan is not little. And yet, here were 240 yuan just on the table, and it could easily surpass a daily salary with another round, taking it in just a matter of seconds. This is an immense temptation for ordinary people.

Chen Xuan noticed... two classmates were visibly breathing faster, even their pupils slightly tightened.

They were named Wang Xingyu and Cheng Yu.

Apparently, their hands were decent.

Zhao Jin’s expression showed no change—he couldn’t be considered an average worker anymore; this amount did not faze him.

"Raise or fold, hurry up, don’t dawdle!" Zhu Wu shouted loudly, "I’m going to beat you all with this hand!"

"I raise 20," someone said.

The subsequent players followed suit.

When it was Zhu Wu’s turn, he directly raised it to 50.

"50, who’s staying in!?"

The sudden fivefold increase made many look hesitant. By the end of this round, six had folded, but the table’s amount rose to 450 yuan.

The atmosphere quickly intensified as the numbers grew.

"Follow, what are you afraid of!"

"It’s just 50!"

Under the encouragement, Wang Xingyu followed with another 50, but he asked to showdown with Zhu Wu.

After comparing the two players’ cards, Xia Feiyan threw Wang Xingyu’s cards into the pile, signifying he’d lost 90 yuan in less than a minute.

"Damn! Was Brother Wu’s hand that good?" he lamented.

"I told you, this round you’d all have to surrender!" Zhu Wu laughed proudly.

After another two rounds, Zhu Wu won the final showdown. His hole cards were a pair of Aces, pocketing all 750 yuan on the table—symbolically, at least. Currently, only the referee was keeping score, and they’d settle through WeChat transfers afterward.

Winning 750 yuan in the first hand ignited everyone watching. This is precisely why ZhaJinHua is so popular at various gatherings, even making Mahjong seem dull in comparison.

However, aside from Chen Xuan, no one noticed that Cheng Yu’s smile was somewhat strained. Just now, he got a bit carried away and continued to follow for two rounds, directly losing over 200 yuan, quicker than drawing cards in a mobile game. At least a ten-pack draw has an animation, but here it’s just a single call of "follow."

If this keeps up, losing or winning tens of thousands in an afternoon would be all too easy.

Cheng Yu clearly had some hesitation.

In reality, if he let go of his pride and said he didn’t want to play anymore, it would be okay. But the problem was, amongst classmates, it’s often about saving face—having graduated for so many years, no one wants to admit they’ve been doing worse than others.

This was probably what Zhao Jin calculated.

Chen Xuan chuckled silently at the situation—face-offs and arrogant rebukes happen only in online dramas. There wasn’t any deep animosity here to provoke contention. Besides, behaving too brazenly, others aren’t blind. What Zhao Jin wanted was probably for him to admit financial shortage, awkwardly retreat; even if he found an excuse to quit, everyone would still understand the real reason.

Especially with Lin Qing watching, it would underscore the disparity between them.

But he had no real understanding of what kind of person Lin Qing was.

And he didn’t really understand himself either.

The second round began, and Chen Xuan got a flush of diamonds, which was quite a good hand. This time, two more people joined, and the pot started with 280 yuan.

"50!" The previous round’s winner, Zhu Wu, raised the first call to 50 yuan.

"Looks like your luck is pretty good today," Zhao Jin said with interest as he glanced at Zhu Wu, "I’ll also raise 50."

Classmates jeered, "Get him, President Zhao!"

"I don’t believe Brother Wu has such good luck, always drawing good cards!"

In the heated atmosphere, only two people folded in the first round, everyone else chose to follow the bet.

Everyone thought this was a game of luck and courage, but for Chen Xuan, it wasn’t that way. He knew exactly what cards everyone had; from the moment the cards were dealt, the outcome was already set.

At this distance, the Divine Eye Technique could magnify and capture what’s reflected in everyone’s pupils—as people nearby slowly picked up their cards or revealed a corner to peek, Chen Xuan not only saw their hands but also their expressions of joy, anger, and sorrow. A lifted corner of the mouth, or a sigh with slight nostril flare, would be accurately recorded by the Divine Eye Technique.

For example, Zhao Jin had a straight with 789, while Zhu Wu had meaningless cards.

The biggest set on the table was Chen Xuan’s diamond flush.

Chen Xuan’s expression remained unflustered; he had attended life-and-death gambling games, and having a coin decide life or death means the money on the table held no thrill for him.

After three rounds, players either folded or showed their hands, leaving only Chen Xuan, Zhao Jin, and Zhu Wu. Even with junk cards, no one dared to open Zhu Wu, obviously intimidated from his bluff in the first round.

The amount on the table grew to over two thousand.

"I raise 100." Zhao Jin unhurriedly raised the bet to the limit, "Are you sure you want to compete with me?"

"Forget it, there’ll be other chances." Zhu Wu grumbled and chose to fold.

"Raise." Chen Xuan briefly said.

"Add 100."

"Raise."

"Wow, they’re really going at it!" Wang Xingyu exclaimed, "Do you both earn that much?"

"Of course, without Boss Zhao, we wouldn’t be having a class reunion at the White Swan, right?"

"Chen Xuan seems to have made quite a bit in Jiang City too," someone whispered.

"But didn’t he just say he quit his job?"

"Maybe he has savings?"

Both chose not to show their cards, continuing to raise. Even with a single round cap of 100, it didn’t stop them from calling quickly. In less than a minute, another 2000 yuan was invested.

The atmosphere on site increasingly tensed. When it came to such a head-on showdown, fewer people were jeering.

Everyone focused on the game, calculating how much salary this amounted to.

"No need to push yourself so hard, right?" Zhao Jin smiled at Chen Xuan, "You surely can’t win against my hand this time."

Chen Xuan didn’t argue, "Then you reveal."

The person who reveals has to pay an additional round’s bet. Although 100 yuan wasn’t much for Zhao Jin, it would still show weakness, which would be a loss of face.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, naturally, he wouldn’t choose to reveal first, "Fine, let’s continue, raise 100."

"Raise." Chen Xuan again responded concisely.

This hand rarely extended beyond five minutes without concluding, with both sides’ investments breaking through the 5000 mark.