Looking at the hand rankings in poker, after Royal Flush and Straight Flush, comes the second-best hand, Four of a Kind, followed by Full House (three of a kind with a pair).
However, with the first two cards dealt to Feng Xihua and me each locking down an Ace of a different suit, Four of a Kind and Full House were no longer possible.
Therefore, the true winning hand in this game of showdown... was Three Aces!
This was the strategy secretly decided upon when Feng Xihua received a hint from Xu Qihan and decided to draw a card first.
What a plan! Truly a brilliant plan!
This plan was only one card away from success!
No fifth card was needed. As long as Feng Xihua drew the diamond Ace, the only remaining Ace, when drawing his fourth card, I would be guaranteed to lose!
...
When I drew a Three of Hearts, Feng Xihua suddenly burst into laughter.
His laughter was triumphant, arrogant, and even somewhat unrestrained.
I knew why he was laughing; it was undoubtedly to avenge the humiliation he suffered on the Yunshuang, where I had him completely at my mercy.
His sudden laughter shattered the quiet atmosphere of the living room.
As the laughter echoed, the crowd gathered around looked at Feng Xihua with expressions of astonishment.
Some people repeatedly murmured in admiration, saying that Xu Qihan, who had been silent for nearly three years, had truly made a spectacular return, and that even the members of the Qimen Cheat Group were masters capable of handling things independently.
And not a small number of onlookers agreed with this assessment.
Hearing more and more people praising him, Feng Xihua made no effort to hide his smug expression. His eyes glinted with ferocity as he sneered at me, "Heh heh heh... Chen Xiang, you're doomed to lose!!!"
Upon hearing this, after exhaling a large puff of smoke, I frowned and replied, "There's no loss in gambling until the cards are revealed! Until the moment the cards are shown, nothing is decided!"
"Hmph! Still stubbornly refusing to admit defeat when death is at your doorstep!"
With a heavy huff, Feng Xihua said coldly, "Fine! Since you still want to stubbornly refuse to concede, I'll make sure you understand exactly how you lose!"
The moment he finished speaking, Feng Xihua reached for the deck, decisively drew a card, and flipped it face up on the table.
"I originally wanted to save you some face, but you insisted on coming forward and letting me slap you in the face!"
"Look, isn't this the diamond Ace!"
As he said this, Feng Xihua was full of confidence and swagger, not even bothering to look down.
The self-satisfied Feng Xihua was beaming, looking at the surrounding onlookers, seemingly expecting more praise.
But unexpectedly, in the more than ten seconds since the card was revealed, not a single person spoke to congratulate him.
What's more, everyone seemed to be looking at him with a strange gaze.
Sensing more and more eyes focusing on him from all directions, as if realizing something, Feng Xihua immediately looked down...
It was better not to look, but when he did, he was truly startled!
It wasn't the winning diamond Ace at all, but a bright red... Two of Hearts!
In an instant, Feng Xihua, with disbelief written all over his face, froze in place.
"How could this be?!"
"Impossible!!!"
"I was clearly aiming for the diamond Ace!"
Muttering in disbelief, Feng Xihua, upon regaining his senses, suddenly stumbled without warning, almost tripping himself.
No one in the living room, including myself, spoke. They were all watching Feng Xihua's "performance" after losing his composure.
"There's no reason! Absolutely no reason!!!"
Unable to accept the reality before him, Feng Xihua shouted again in panic.
As he shouted, he shook his head frantically and chaotically.
Seeing this, Xu Qihan, from within the crowd, furrowed her brows and said to Feng Xihua in a deep voice, "Xiao Hua, calm down!"
"Sister Han, this is impossible! I was clearly aiming for the diamond Ace, how could it be a Two?!"
After a pause, Feng Xihua suddenly stared at me with fierce eyes and asked sharply, "Speak!!! Did you do something?!"
Hearing this, Xu Qihan also involuntarily turned her gaze to me.
Clearly, she suspected that I had orchestrated this Two of Hearts.
I didn't avoid the gazes of Xu Qihan and Feng Xihua. Instead, I said meaningfully, "Didn't your cooperation go well? And your tricks were quite slick!"
"Why are you reneging as soon as I counter-tricked you?"
Hearing this, the almost frenzied Feng Xihua stared at me dumbfounded and asked, "You, how..."
Before he could finish, I raised my hand to interrupt him, "Did you really think your petty little tricks could fool me?"
"Let me tell you something my master once taught me: those who arrogantly treat their opponents as fools are often the fools themselves!"
"From the very beginning, didn't you just want to gain the right to draw first without arousing my suspicion?"
"You knew very well that drawing the Ace of Spades first wouldn't help, because it would give up the initiative of the board."
"With me drawing last, I could immediately break your Straight Flush, or take the cards I want first, and then find an opportunity to cut you off in the middle!"
"So, you used the Ace of Hearts as a feint, a retreat to advance, to lure me into your trap and let you have the Ace of Spades, following your rhythm."
"If you succeeded, you naturally assumed I had fallen into your trap, right?"
Exposed, Feng Xihua angrily cursed, "Damn you! You, you're shameless!"
"You have the nerve to call me shameless?" I said, stubbing out my cigarette butt forcefully in the ashtray, and looking at Feng Xihua with a disdainful cold smile, "You're the most shameless one!"
"Take a good look at your Two of Hearts, it's my turn to draw!"
The moment I spoke, I drew the Ace of Diamonds from the deck.
At this point, my first four cards were: Ace of Spades, King of Hearts, Three of Hearts, Ace of Diamonds.
And Feng Xihua's first four cards were: Ace of Hearts, King of Spades, Ace of Clubs, Two of Hearts.
According to the rules of showdown, only when the five cards are identical in rank do you compare suits, starting from the highest card.
That inconspicuous Three of Hearts actually provided me with significant assistance.
Therefore, in terms of both rank and suit, I firmly held the absolute advantage and initiative.
No matter how I drew the fifth card, I couldn't lose!
Because the card that truly decided the outcome was the Ace of Diamonds I had just casually picked up.
Unless I suddenly lost my memory, there was no need to continue this game.
Knowing that the situation was decided, Feng Xihua gnashed his teeth in frustration, his face a picture of displeasure and defiance.
Just then...
"Xiao Hua, there's no need to dwell on being outmatched! Step down, I'll take over!"