Chapter 20: Back to the Casino!

No one knew how Xiao Fen had left, but he led Ou Yu on a twisting path, brushing past undercover vice squad officers several times without being spotted.

Soon, they spotted Big Sister Li.

And Fang Si Ting as well.

Big Sister Li argued urgently, occasionally blurting out things like, “No merit, but there’s hard work; even providing clues deserves money.”

The man beside her held two massive backpacks—the ones they had left at the house that morning.

He took a closer look. When Big Sister Li handed the bags to Fang Si Ting, Xiao Fen’s was bulging, but his own held only half its contents. From the way the officers rummaged, he saw that several of the most expensive clothes and a watch were missing.

If he hadn’t locked the door last night, Big Sister Li probably would have made her move on them sooner.

This morning, with them out of the house, she had rifled through the bags. She must have assumed all the money they won last night was inside. Finding none, she figured they themselves were valuable and planned to drug them and hand them over to the pursuit team.

But did she really need to steal even the clothes he had worn?

Ou Yu gained a deeper understanding of Big Sister Li’s character. Then a weight settled on his shoulder—a hand rested there.

“The pursuit team will soon learn my whereabouts from the casino people.”

“Why?”

Xiao Fen said nothing. He pulled out the pack of cigarettes from last night, shook one loose, put it in his mouth, and lit it with a lighter.

Ou Yu remembered: last night, in his daze, he vaguely recalled Xiao Fen handing the winnings to Brother Zhu and asking him to handle something.

Xiao Fen exhaled a slow plume of smoke. His face and expression blurred in the gray haze, his smile faint and elusive. “Do you want to stick with me, or go our separate ways?”

“You’re still going even knowing you’ll get caught?”

“Yeah. So, let’s split up for now.”

“Fine.” The usual mild smile faded slightly from Ou Yu’s face.

Since he knew he’d get nabbed, he had no reason to walk into the trap.

“If you run into trouble, call me.” Xiao Fen seemed uneasy. He thought for a moment, then stuffed some more money into Ou Yu’s hand.

“You think I’m that weak?” Ou Yu shoved the money back and said goodbye before leaving.

“Before we split, should we set a meetup spot if neither of us gets caught?” Xiao Fen flicked ash from his cigarette tip and glanced at him.

Ou Yu was surprised, but the disappointment in his heart filled up again. “Yeah, escaping alone isn’t as fun as doing it together.”

Xiao Fen chuckled, tossed the cigarette to the ground, and ground it out with his toe. He pointed casually at the braised meat shop behind Ou Yu. “Tomorrow morning at nine, breakfast here together.”

Ou Yu smiled again. “Deal.”

His departing figure was dashingly carefree. In just a few steps, he vanished into the crowded street.

He suddenly realized this was just a variety show. Getting caught wasn’t a big deal—how could he miss it?

These past two days of “fleeing” had felt too real, tricking him into thinking he was a real fugitive.

Too bad—he couldn’t catch up now. Xiao Fen was already gone.

++

At 7 p.m., City A glittered with lights.

Xiao Fen’s sneakers stepped onto the casino’s red carpet. He snagged a glass of champagne from a server’s tray, took a sip to wet his throat, adjusted the heavy black-rimmed glasses on his nose, and exchanged his remaining cash for a few thousand in chips.

The people inside wore suits or formal gowns. Passersby couldn’t help glancing at this young man in a shirt and casual pants.

This was City A’s largest underground casino, frequented in secret by many prominent figures. The atmosphere was worlds apart from last night’s dive.

Xiao Fen juggled his meager chips between hands, wandered around, tried a few rounds of dice and games of high-low. No cheating—he won some, lost some. In the end, he pocketed a few thousand profit.

After nearly an hour, he finally spotted his target.

His high school classmate, Hu Juan.

Hu Juan haunted City A’s various casinos and clubs, his whereabouts unpredictable. Xiao Fen hadn’t seen him at the underground casino last night because he’d leveled up.

That million from Brother Zhu was never meant to leave with him anyway. Better to trade it for intel on Hu Juan. High-end or low, casinos drew the same crowds—especially underground spots where info flowed freely. A little asking around revealed where he’d been lately.

Xiao Fen didn’t rush over. He just watched from afar.

Hu Juan’s table played blackjack with four decks. Cards 2-10 counted at face value, J, Q, K as 10, A as 1 or 11 at the player’s choice. Over 21 busted. Under 21, highest total won. A natural blackjack—ace plus a 10-value card—was the top hand.

Five players at the table, plus a voluptuous, glamorous dealer. Hu Juan’s luck was hot tonight—a single win netted several thousand, and after a few hands, he’d doubled his buy-in.

Luck like that? Xiao Fen rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

As one round ended and a player stood to leave, Xiao Fen headed for the table—but someone beat him to it, sitting right next to Hu Juan.

Fang Si Ting.

Xiao Fen smirked. So legs made you special?

Inspector Fang wore a pure black suit again tonight, shirt buttoned to the top, black satin tie knotted neatly. His expression was like a businessman closing a multimillion deal—completely out of place among the thrill-seekers.

Gotta say, he really did look like a purebred black cat.

He quickly sensed a gaze on him and turned, but saw only the stream of gamblers.

He grabbed cards from the table and fanned them out awkwardly, mimicking the others.

Last night, he’d deliberately flashed the wanted notice to Big Sister Li. Sure enough, the gambler had schemed for the reward and tracked down Xiao Fen.

The pursuit team had successfully tailed her to the neighborhood and spotted them, waiting to close the net during the day. But she’d thrown a wrench in it.

Under interrogation, Big Sister Li spilled their haunt from last night—the place was empty by then. They thought the pair had strong counter-surveillance skills until they learned Brother Zhu and his crew had already been nabbed by the local inspection office. Further questioning revealed Xiao Fen would show here tonight.

Xiao Fen—his target—was Hu Juan.

So tonight, they lay in wait.

Fang Si Ting had a hunch this guy was crucial to Xiao Fen. Even if he stuck to Hu Juan like glue, Xiao Fen wouldn’t skip this casino.

He peeked at a corner of his cards—13 points. He folded.

After a few hands, players rotated. Soon, Xiao Fen noticed someone.

A man in his fifties, short, balding with a big gut, looking like a jolly Buddha, always smiling. First hand, he folded. Second, he called and won.

A few rounds in, Xiao Fen spotted the issue.

From earlier, the table’s fixtures were Hu Juan, a scarred Scarface, a scruffy Bearded Bro, and Fang Si Ting. Now a new Fat Guy joined.

When Xiao Fen arrived, Scarface dealt. The dealer shuffled, he cut, and play went on until fewer than 30 cards remained—then fresh decks. The order stayed fixed in between.

Fang Si Ting started strong, winning small pots. In the first hour, he even cleared over a hundred thousand.

First hand: Hu Juan showed 18, Fang Si Ting 19—Fang took ten grand plus.

Second: Hu Juan busted at 23, Scarface hit 20 with a smug grin, but Fang Si Ting’s 9-K-2 tallied 21. He swept the table, raking in over fifty thousand.

Scarface glared coldly. “Where you from? Never seen you here before.”

Fang Si Ting stared them down steadily. “We playing or not?”

Next, the unassuming Fat Guy struck, flashing an A and 10 for blackjack—4:1 payout. Everyone but Fang Si Ting’s measly thousand-chip bet lost tens of thousands.

After that, Fang Si Ting traded wins and losses. But whenever he dealt next, he tanked—and Hu Juan or Scarface often hit blackjack to clean up.

Curiously, Fang Si Ting varied his bets—big sometimes, small others. On losses—even with 17-plus—he’d bet minimum.

Xiao Fen figured with his years in criminal investigation and interrogation, reading micro-expressions, he could gauge their hands even without spotting cheats.

Still, chips dwindled before Fang Si Ting.

It bugged Xiao Fen—he couldn’t quite read this game.

He was sure Hu Juan and Scarface cheated, but subtly. Over an hour, no tells.

Cheating split into martial cheat and literary cheat.

Martial cheat used gimmicks—like sleeve rigs for swaps—crude stuff.

Literary cheat relied on sleight-of-hand wizardry: swap flowers, steal dragons. Demanded mastery. Even body-searched, monitored, or dark lamp-checked, flawless.

Most blended both.

Some marked cards subtly for later—but useless here; decks discarded post-use.

Some rigged the order—seconds of contact was enough if skilled. Outsiders might not spot it.

Not here either: dealer shuffled and dealt. Only the banker cut once; no other touches.

Xiao Fen was confident he’d catch a cut-rig.

But nada.

He knew Hu Juan’s level well; Scarface showed zero tricks.

Watching on, he clocked the Fat Guy leveraging his bulk and baggy clothes for multiple cheats—sloppy ones, cards peeking from cuffs. Under cameras too. Others might miss it, but the house shouldn’t.

Meant Fat Guy was the dark lamp.

That raised issues.

Dark lamps synced with dealers usually. This Fat Guy seemed off with her—that’s why Xiao Fen overlooked it at first.

Dark lamps balanced tables, snagged pros.

This setup was weird.

Fat Guy hammered Fang Si Ting post-wins, clawing back cash—targeted, even. If Hu Juan’s crew won, Fat Guy cheated too, but spotty—letting their stacks grow while his and Fang Si Ting’s shrank.

Either a crap dark lamp with bad dealer sync, or in cahoots with Hu Juan’s group.

Xiao Fen drifted table to table, betting randomly, eyes locked on Hu Juan’s—but from a new angle.

The shift revealed clues.

He’d fixated on Hu Juan, Scarface, Fat Guy—no eye signals or gestures. Now he saw: Hu Juan and Scarface occasionally flicked glances at the dealer.

A few more hands confirmed it.

Post-deal, dealers stacked hands on the table, palms down, awaiting calls—house standard. Left hand up? Hu Juan and Scarface hesitated. Right hand up? Bigger, bolder bets.

No player cheats—the dealer signaled. She fixed the shuffle order.

And overlooked Bearded Bro mirrored them, eyeing her hands.

Three-man pack hunting fish.

The dark lamp went easy on them, laser-focused on Fang Si Ting—letting the trio pile on.

Xiao Fen guessed the house pegged Fang Si Ting as undercover, wanting him broke and gone quick.

Interesting.

Fang Si Ting didn’t notice the twists and turns. He simply observed the changes on the table with his usual approach.

A new round was about to begin. He counted his remaining chips. After half the night, the one million he had brought was down to just over a hundred thousand.

A familiar sharp, slightly bitter scent assaulted him. He instinctively turned his head.

A hand had already landed on his shoulder.

His body reacted faster than his mind. The moment the other touched him, Fang Si Ting grabbed that slender wrist.

“Xiao Fen?” Hu Juan’s body jerked violently in surprise before he looked at him delightedly.

“It’s been a while.” Xiao Fen smiled at him.

He turned to Fang Si Ting. “Big Bro, your luck’s been rotten tonight. Let me play a couple hands?”

Fang Si Ting didn’t move.

He leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Don’t be so heartless. You’ve already got me caught, so let me play a couple hands to scratch the itch. Am I going to run away or something?”

With a gentle gaze, he smiled. “Even if the vice squad officers get word and come rushing, it should still take some time, right?”

Fang Si Ting stared at him, silent for a moment, then stood and sat to the side.

The privately run underground casino was heavily guarded. Vice squad officers carried a strong disciplinary air and were easy to spot, so only Fang Si Ting had infiltrated tonight. The rest waited several kilometers outside the casino.

Xiao Fen excitedly took his seat. When he saw the money left, he immediately gloated.

Ten thousand in chips vanished and flipped between his snow-white fingers. “Just this little left? You’ve thrown your whole year’s salary in here, huh. Tsk, how tragic.”

“…”

Fang Si Ting released his hand and sidestepped to avoid him.

Suddenly, a grip came from the black suit, yanking his upper body forward into closeness.

The rich cliff cypress fragrance exploded in his nostrils.

The tall figure cast half a shadow over Xiao Fen’s face and body, but it couldn’t hide the excitement sparkling in those brandy-colored fox eyes.

“Beg me, and I’ll win it back for you.”

“How about it, Mr. Black Cat?”