Chapter 59
Chapter 59
Xia Zhiruo’s face was deathly pale. She could not take it anymore. With one sweep of her hand, she knocked away the fifth glass of wine the server had brought over.
The glass fell to the floor with a shrill, piercing crash, startling everyone present.
Xia Zhiruo shot to her feet and snapped, “Xia Sheng, you cheated! I’m not playing anymore!”
Xia Sheng lifted her eyes unhurriedly, a mocking smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “So when you won five rounds in a row at the start, that was perfectly normal, but now that I’m winning, I’m cheating?
“This game room belongs to the hotel. It’s not like I opened it. How could I possibly cheat?”
Xia Sheng threw Xia Zhiruo’s own earlier words right back at her. Furious, Xia Zhiruo shouted without caring about her image, “You did cheat! You know witchcraft! You must have used witchcraft to swap the cards, and that’s why I keep losing!”
“Can’t afford to lose, can you?” Xia Sheng’s gaze sharpened. “If you don’t want to keep playing, that’s fine. Wire two hundred million to my account, and tonight’s game ends right away.”
“You!”
Xia Zhiruo was so angry her chest heaved violently, and she nearly couldn’t catch her breath.
It was the first time the others had ever seen the gentle, charming young lady of the Xia Family lose her temper. They all backed away, whispering among themselves.
Shen Ze also said, “Xia Zhiruo, weren’t you the one who swore up and down just now that no one was allowed to go back on their word? What, you only want to win money and don’t want to lose any? Do you still have any shame?
“My Uncle Nine’s company keeps more than a dozen dedicated lawyers on retainer. Should I have them come over and explain to you exactly how many years in prison you’ll get if you can’t pay back two hundred million?”
Xia Zhiruo clenched her teeth so hard she nearly ground them to dust. Stuck with no way out, she hesitated again and again before sitting back down in a huff.
In the following rounds, Xia Sheng continued to win by an overwhelming margin.
By the time they reached the very last round, Xia Zhiruo, who had already drunk ten glasses of wine, was nearly delirious.
She had clearly only had someone drug Xia Sheng’s wine. So why did she feel so hot?
Was it because of the alcohol?
Or had Xia Sheng not only swapped her cards, but also swapped her wine?
By then, Xia Zhiruo could no longer think straight. Her head dropped, and she collapsed onto the table.
Xia Sheng curled her lips. Her hand pressed against the underside of the table, and a Paper Figurine crawled along the bottom of the tabletop onto Xia Zhiruo, then vanished.
No one noticed Xia Sheng’s movement.
All they saw was Xia Zhiruo lying on the table for a few seconds before suddenly standing up again and walking straight out of the game room.
Shen Ze thought Xia Zhiruo was trying to skip out on her debt and called after her, “Where are you going? You haven’t paid yet!”
As he spoke, he moved to chase after her.
“No need to chase her,” Xia Sheng called him back. Resting her chin on one hand, a faintly wicked smile glimmered in her eyes. “We’ll get the money sooner or later.”
But some good shows could only be watched tonight.
Yu He accompanied Mrs. Zhou at the entrance to receive the guests. Once almost everyone had arrived, she entered the main hall together with Mrs. Zhou.
Old Master Zhou and Mr. Zhou were both in the hall chatting with guests. Yu He presented the birthday gift she had prepared.
“Old Master Zhou, my husband couldn’t get away from work tonight, but he still remembered that you once mentioned liking Mingpinxuan’s tea. He specifically asked me to prepare some of their new tea for you. Please see if it’s to your taste.”
Old Master Zhou accepted the gift from Yu He and said with a smile, “Yanzhi is a thoughtful child. Tell him to take care of his health and not wear himself out with work.”
Yu He smiled as well. “Thank you for your concern.”
After they exchanged a few pleasantries, Old Master Zhou’s gaze swept around the hall. Not seeing his grandson, he asked Mrs. Zhou, “Where did Yichuan go?
“Didn’t the girl from the Xia Family come as well? Since the elders are all here today, this is the perfect chance for the two of them to meet.”
Old Master Zhou had not originally planned to make such a grand affair of his birthday celebration. The main reason he had invited so many people over today was to announce the marriage alliance between the Zhou Family and the Xia Family.
Mrs. Zhou said, “All right, I’ll call him and have him come over.”
With that, Mrs. Zhou stepped aside to make the call.
Old Master Zhou looked at Yu He with a kind, benevolent smile. “Has that girl arrived? Hurry and take me to meet her. I’ve been wanting to see her for a long time.”
Yu He smiled. “When she arrived, we had her go look for Yichuan. She should be with Yichuan right now.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than Mrs. Zhou came back with her phone in hand and said to Old Master Zhou, “I can’t get in touch with Yichuan. Who knows where he’s gone.”
At that, Old Master Zhou’s expression darkened slightly. He slammed his dragon-head cane hard against the floor.
“That brat! Don’t tell me he’s gone out fooling around with those good-for-nothing friends of his again! Yu He, call Sheng’er and ask whether that brat is with her.”
Yu He nodded and dialed Xia Sheng’s number.
The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered.
Old Master Zhou frowned. “What’s going on? We can’t reach either of them?”
Mrs. Zhou grew worried as well. “They couldn’t have gotten into some kind of trouble, could they?”
“Touch wood! Today is Old Master Zhou’s birthday. What could possibly happen?” After Yu He said that, a troubled look appeared on her face. She hesitated before adding, “Actually, not long ago, Yichuan came to see me and asked me to book him a room on the sixth floor. He said he would need it later.
“I asked him what he wanted it for at the time, but he wouldn’t tell me. Could he have gone to rest?”
At that, the expressions of Old Master Zhou and the Zhou couple all changed.
They knew exactly what their own child was like.
The boy was a lecher, and in the past, he had ruined more than a few girls.
Now that neither Zhou Yichuan nor Xia Sheng could be reached, it was very possible that Zhou Yichuan had used some trick to get her into bed.
The Zhou Family had always been strict and upright. Mr. Zhou and Mrs. Zhou could not understand how they had raised such a thing.
Old Master Zhou’s face turned livid as well. “Which room did he book? Take us there.”
If that bastard grandson of his had really touched the girl, he would break his legs today!
Yu He gave the room number, then asked with feigned confusion, “Old Master Zhou, why do you look so awful? Did something happen?”
Old Master Zhou looked as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing and turned toward the elevators.
He could only hope he was overthinking it.
The girl from the Xia Family had only just come of age this year. If his grandson had dragged her into bed, how was he supposed to face the Xia Family in the future?
Seeing Old Master Zhou leave, Mrs. Zhou and Yu He followed after him.
Noticing that everyone from the Zhou Family looked grim, Yu He could not help the triumphant smile that spread across her face.
That wretched girl Xia Sheng-did she really think she could refuse to marry into the Zhou Family just because she didn’t want to?
Once Yu He and the Zhou Family caught her in bed with him, she would like to see whether Xia Sheng still dared to refuse!
The curve of Yu He’s lips widened bit by bit. Yet in the final second before the elevator doors closed, when she saw Xia Sheng standing among the crowd, her smile abruptly froze, and her pupils contracted sharply.
Why was Xia Sheng here?
Could it be that her daughter’s side of the plan had failed?
But she had clearly received a text from her daughter…
An uneasy thought rose in Yu He’s heart. With trembling hands, she took out her phone and called Xia Zhiruo.
However, until the group reached the door of the room, all that came through the phone was the notification that no one was answering.