"Opening the cards is fine! But..."
Ignoring the hidden lights that swarmed from all around the room, I suddenly stood up from my seat, pointed at Lin Xinyu, and said coldly, "I want her to help me open the cards!"
Before Uncle Qiu could speak, Lin Xinyu, standing nearby, immediately nodded and replied, "Okay! I'll open the cards for you!"
"No matter what tricks you want to play, my Lin family will accompany you to the end!!!"
With that, as Lin Xinyu slowly walked closer to me, the entire room fell silent.
Her delicate hands reached out, pointing directly at the pile of cards in front of me. The moment Lin Xinyu's right hand touched the last face-down card at the end of the deck...
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Lin Xinyu's right hand, and the crucial face-down card beneath it.
Under the gaze of everyone, Lin Xinyu's chest rose and fell with her ample bosom, and her face was flushed with tension.
But after all, she was a young lady from a prominent family accustomed to grand occasions. After gently patting her chest a few times and taking a deep breath, she calmed down.
Then, Lin Xinyu picked up the face-down card, slightly raised her arm, and slammed the card onto the gambling table.
*Slap!*
In the VIP room where one could hear a pin drop, the moment the crisp sound of the card hitting the table echoed, everyone involuntarily gasped.
A four of diamonds!
Not a straight, but a mixed hand!
The instant this conspicuous four of diamonds was revealed by Lin Xinyu, the Lin brothers, who had clenched their fists beside her, and the surrounding hidden lights erupted in a burst of ear-piercing cheers and laughter.
As for Uncle Qiu at the gambling table, he excitedly clenched his fist.
"Hahahaha~ Kid, I seriously doubt if you are Lu Mingtai's disciple?"
"In this best-of-three gamble, apart from the first round you won through sheer luck, in the next two rounds, your hands... didn't even move!"
"Is your psychological fortitude that poor? You don't even dare to open the cards?"
"A dog's son from a tiger father, a bad disciple from a famous teacher!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Uncle Qiu stood up and reached directly for the chips in the pot.
Just as Uncle Qiu, that old coffin board, was about to collect all the chips from the pot, I suddenly shouted coldly, "Wait!!!"
Hearing this, Uncle Qiu immediately stopped what he was doing, then looked up at me and sneered disdainfully, "Heh. What is it!?"
"Are you trying to be like the God of Gamblers, Gao Jin, and perform a supernatural card-changing trick for all of us, turning a 4 into a K?"
Hearing Uncle Qiu's words, everyone present immediately burst into uproarious laughter.
In response, I didn't offer much of an explanation, merely smiling noncommittally and saying, "You're right. I am going to change the cards, but..."
"It's not my cards I'm changing, it's yours!"
"Hahahaha~"
My words not only amplified everyone's laughter, but Uncle Qiu himself stared at me with disdain and said, "Changing cards from a distance?"
"That's magic, not a con!"
"Don't tell me you don't know any con tricks at all, and you're just a showman whose brain is short-circuited?"
No one believed what I said. Even Lin Xinyu, who was acting as the temporary dealer, mocked me, "A true man should be able to win and lose gracefully!"
"If you are indeed Lu Mingtai's disciple, then your words and actions today have brought great shame to your master!"
Ignoring all the laughter and contempt, I casually picked up the red Nanjing cigarette pack from the table, took out a cigarette, and lit it.
For me, the moment of truth, the unveiling of the final trick, was about to begin.
Exhaling a long plume of smoke, I pointed at Uncle Qiu with my cigarette-holding right hand and said, "If you have the guts, stand there and don't move from now on!"
"I can prove to you, and to all of you, what 'changing cards from a distance' means!"
As I said this, my entire demeanor changed instantly. Gone was the indecisiveness and timidity from before, replaced by a chilling coldness.
Seeing this, Uncle Qiu's brows furrowed involuntarily.
Although he didn't understand why I had become so confident, the situation was clearly in his favor. There was no reason for Uncle Qiu to refuse, so...
"Fine!!!"
He withdrew his hand from the chips and stood perfectly still, saying with a cold smile, "I won't move! Go ahead! Start your performance!"
"Let me say this upfront! If you can't change my cards... what will you do then?"
Upon hearing this, I stubbed out the cigarette butt and extended my hands towards Lin Jiahuan, saying in a deep voice, "If I can't change your cards, then these hands are yours for the taking!!!"
"See? Are you satisfied with this outcome?"
Unsure whether I was setting a trap or truly possessed the ability to change cards from a distance, Uncle Qiu pondered for a moment before finally nodding, "It's settled then!"
"Kid, if you can't do it, then today's matter is definitely not over!!!"
Hearing this, I shook my head and said, "Don't worry, it won't come to that!"
"No matter what, this gamble today... must have a winner and a loser!"
"Heh, fine!"
"What are you waiting for? Get started!"
Nodding with a cold smile, Uncle Qiu still appeared confident and in control of the situation.
Ignoring the provocation, I turned to Lin Jiahuan and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Lin, since you said you can be the master of this situation, please bear witness to today's gamble."
Hearing my words, the bewildered Lin Jiahuan nodded without hesitation.
Seeing this, I shifted my gaze to Lin Xinyu and said, "Miss Lin, please search Uncle Qiu's person."
"After the search, it will be immediately clear whether I can change Uncle Qiu's cards from a distance..."
As soon as I finished speaking, I saw Uncle Qiu's face, which had been so confident and full of mockery and disdain moments ago, immediately darken.
By this point, if Uncle Qiu still didn't understand what I meant by "changing cards from a distance," he would truly be a fool!
Uncle Qiu had never considered that my abandoning the attempt to cheat was precisely to catch him cheating!
If the situation were the second round, he wouldn't have worried about this.
In the crucial second round, after using his "Sleeve Sword" to cheat, Uncle Qiu had immediately disposed of any evidence.
However, in the decisive showdown, he hadn't done so.
It wasn't that Uncle Qiu was careless or not cautious enough, but rather that my previous performances had gradually relaxed his cautious nature, almost subconsciously.