Lucky Star

At first glance, it seemed like there were many cards, but in reality, there weren’t that many.

If they let Shen Yi keep playing his cards unchecked, he’d be done in no time.

Soon, Cheng Jun couldn’t hold back any longer and threw down four Kings, breaking Shen Yi’s rhythm.

“Bomb.”

“No thanks.”

With his goal achieved, Shen Yi cautiously replied.

Fu Nanzhi closed her cards and added, “Since you’ve already played a bomb, we’ll let you have this round. No thanks.”

Shu Yunyi glanced at her biggest bomb — four 10s — which still couldn’t beat Cheng Jun’s cards, so she could only let Cheng Jun take the lead.

A smirk curled on Cheng Jun’s lips as she tossed down five cards and said, “Three with a pair.”

Eyes brightened immediately, someone chimed in, “Hey, I have that.”

“Right into your hands, crushing you.”

Cheng Jun frowned, frustrated. “Huh?”

“Who plays like that, just crushing right away?” Fu Nanzhi chuckled.

“Want it or not?”

Pouting in disappointment, Cheng Jun said, “No, you go first. Let me see what you can play.”

Fu Nanzhi winked at Shu Yunyi, then threw down a single card with a playful flourish: “Just a six to go.”

Shu Yunyi seemed to understand her role — to make things tough for Cheng Jun — and quickly threw down a card that was neither too big nor too small.

“A King.”

That card would make Cheng Jun incredibly uncomfortable; her small cards wouldn’t be able to beat it.

Sure enough, Cheng Jun soon followed with a two.

Shen Yi pulled out a trump card and topped it.

“Little Joker.”

Cheng Jun had no choice but to throw down her last big Joker, snatching the lead back.

Seeing that no one else wanted to play, Cheng Jun’s eyes darted around as she said, “I don’t believe you have any bigger cards to beat me.”

Then she threw down five small cards.

“Three with a pair.”

Shen Yi didn’t have that combination and naturally passed. Fu Nanzhi had just played her biggest ‘three with a pair,’ so she shook her head as well.

Cheng Jun was about to show a pleased smile but turned to Shu Yunyi.

“Bomb.”

Unexpectedly, Shu Yunyi didn’t hesitate at all and threw down her bomb.

Looking at the four 10s on the table, Cheng Jun was shocked. “Ah?”

“You’re willing to use a bomb on such small cards?”

Normally, no matter what Shu Yunyi played next, Cheng Jun could still take over and control the game.

But Shu Yunyi didn’t follow the usual playbook — she just blew it up.

Shu Yunyi looked innocent and said, “I’m just holding my ground.”

Shen Yi twitched at the corner of his mouth — using a cannon to kill a mosquito wasn’t wrong, just that a novice was matched against a pro.

Fu Nanzhi didn’t care about all that. Seeing her teammate rise, she happily clenched her fists and cheered, “Well played, Yunyi!”

Cheng Jun gritted her teeth, pinching her cards then putting them down again, finally holding back.

“Alright, I’ll let you have this round.”

“Let’s see what you can play.”

Shu Yunyi shuffled her cards left and right, finally deciding to play a pair.

“Pair of 5s.”

“Heh heh...”

“Whether you play or I play, it’s the same.”

Cheng Jun gave a sly smile and casually threw down a pair of 7s.

Shen Yi quickly followed with a pair of 10s.

Fu Nanzhi passed, and Shu Yunyi followed up, crushing with a pair of 2s.

“No thanks, you go.”

Cheng Jun didn’t even hesitate—she chose to pass immediately.

She could already tell that Shu Yunyi only remembered one tactic: always counter with the biggest card. No matter what was played, she’d pick the largest card to block it.

But every deck has an end, and Cheng Jun refused to believe that Shu Yunyi held only high cards.

Shu Yunyi picked and chose again, then played a small pair.

This back-and-forth went on for several rounds, and Cheng Jun’s small cards were almost all cleared out.

“Play by the rules—no whispering,”

Shen Yi tried to say something several times but was silenced by Cheng Jun’s sharp glance. In the end, it was Fu Nanzhi’s bomb that finally took the trick.

But the downward trend was irreversible; Cheng Jun’s cards were nearly all played out.

Soon, Cheng Jun threw down a bomb and declared,

“Bomb.”

“I still have five cards left~”

Shen Yi desperately played his treasured four Aces to stop her, trying to make a last stand.

“Aces aren’t enough; I have five 3s,”

Unexpectedly, Cheng Jun’s remaining five cards were also a bomb.

“Hahaha.”

“I win~”

Cheng Jun clapped her hands, delighted as she cleared all her cards.

Fu Nanzhi shook her head helplessly. She still had bombs, but her small cards were almost impossible to play—there was simply no way out.

“Don’t block every card,”

“Let me get through once.”

Shen Yi’s cards were neat, but he couldn’t seize the lead or control the game.

Shu Yunyi had exhausted her firepower early, left with nothing but a bunch of numbers—essentially half-disabled.

She felt heat rising and bit her lip, unwilling to give up.

“Again!”

“I’ve learned now. Next round, I definitely won’t make the same mistakes.”

She took off her jacket, revealing slender straps hanging over her fair shoulders.

A single hand of cards couldn’t decide the winner, so Shen Yi gathered the cards and shuffled for the next round.

The three women discussed briefly and updated the score: Cheng Jun, as the landlord, gained three points; the others lost one point each.

The next round began quickly, and this time Shen Yi was first to call landlord.

He assessed his hand—it was mediocre—so he passed the right to Fu Nanzhi.

Fu Nanzhi had been eagerly waiting and didn’t hesitate to take the landlord position.

This round ended quickly; the three of them barely had a chance to play before losing. They hardly played more than a few cards the entire time.

Fu Nanzhi’s luck was extraordinary—almost a perfect hand—and their loss was well-deserved.

“Giggle, giggle...”

“Just luck, that’s all.”

Fu Nanzhi smiled as she shuffled the cards, modestly attributing it to luck.

Happy times always flew by quickly. Since finishing dinner, the four had been playing for over two hours in the blink of an eye.

Shu Yunyi gradually became more skilled, even calling landlord several times, playing with ups and downs—winning some, losing some.

Shen Yi deliberately controlled his score, always staying at the bottom. Whenever he accumulated a few points, he’d call landlord and intentionally lose.

Cheng Jun’s skills were solid—quick-witted and good at counting cards. Logically, she should have been the big winner, but unfortunately, her luck was poor tonight, so she stayed in the middle of the pack—neither high nor low.

In stark contrast was Fu Nanzhi. Her skills were average at best, and she played cards entirely by instinct, yet it was as if the gambling gods had possessed her—luck was overwhelmingly on her side.

When she was the landlord, her cards were surprisingly good; when she was a farmer, she often won without even trying. Back and forth, she ended up being the big winner of the night.

Before long, with Fu Nanzhi dominating yet another round, the game finally came to an end.

“What lousy cards, I’m done.”

Cheng Jun threw down her hand in frustration; her luck tonight was just terrible.

“It’s already past eleven. Let’s play again next time,” Shen Yi suggested as he gathered the scattered cards.

Since Fu Nanzhi was the big winner, she was naturally indifferent and said, “I’m good with whatever.”

Shu Yunyi looked at Cheng Jun curiously and asked, “What place am I?”

Cheng Jun puckered her lips, checked her phone, and replied, “Nanzhi’s first, you’re second, I’m third, and Shen Yi’s last.”

Despite all her careful calculations and strategies, Cheng Jun had only managed third place, narrowly beaten by Shu Yunyi by just two points. That showed just how unlucky she had been tonight.

Even though it was just a card game, for someone like Cheng Jun who loved playing and had a strong competitive streak, it was hard to keep her spirits up.

“I actually got second? Not bad,” Shu Yunyi said in surprise, covering her mouth with a light laugh.

Being a beginner, she had expected to come in last, so she was quite pleased with the result.

Fortunately, Cheng Jun soon let it go. She stood up and said decisively, “I accept my loss. I’m last.”

She then walked over and picked up a bag, saying, “I’m heading upstairs first.”

“All four sets are here. Take two sets each to take home, and keep some for changing,” Fu Nanzhi said.

“Okay, I’ll have a look,” Shu Yunyi replied, moving over to choose.

She squatted down and picked two sets with patterns she liked, then tucked a pillow under her arm and turned around.

“I’m going upstairs to make the beds. I’ll leave the cleaning up here to you guys,” she said.

Hearing this, Fu Nanzhi nodded and hurriedly picked up some clothes Shu Yunyi had left on the sofa.

“Yunyi, wait, your shawl,” she called out.

“Oh, just drape it over my shoulders,” Shu Yunyi stopped and shrugged, unable to free her hands.

Watching Shu Yunyi hurry upstairs, only Shen Yi and Fu Nanzhi were left in the living room.

Cheng Jun and Shu Yunyi had left quickly, deliberately giving the two some space.

Shen Yi gathered the cards, cleared the table, then looked at Fu Nanzhi with a smile and teased, “So, you’re the gambling god, huh?”

“Cut it out,” Fu Nanzhi retorted with a laugh, lowering her head to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re just teasing me. It’s all luck.”