Return to the City: The Strongest King
Chapter 175 Another Trouble Comes

Chapter 175: Chapter 175 Another Trouble Comes

Ning Tongda chatted with Song Xiaodong for a bit before standing up and leaving, but it was clear that he already considered Song Xiaodong a friend.

Miao Qingqing looked at the six glasses of wine on the table, smelling and sniffing each of them before taking a small sip from every glass. In the end, she could only shake her head helplessly and said, "I feel like there’s hardly any difference between these six wines. How did you distinguish them?"

Song Xiaodong didn’t answer her but just smiled at her with squinted eyes.

"Hey, I’m talking to you." Miao Qingqing lightly kicked Song Xiaodong under the table.

Song Xiaodong pointed at the wine glasses and said, "I’ve drunk from these glasses."

Miao Qingqing said, "Of course, I know you’ve drunk from them, but I really can’t taste any difference between the wines."

Song Xiaodong rubbed his nose and said slowly, "What I mean is, I’ve drunk from them, and you actually drank from them too?"

"Why can’t I drink if you’ve... ah!" Miao Qingqing suddenly realized something and her face turned dark instantly. She was someone who, even when with Miao Xuanxuan, would always use separate things. Something like drinks, she would never share with someone else.

Now, she had actually shared glasses with Song Xiaodong for drinking wine, and to make it worse, it was six glasses at once, which felt quite awkward.

Song Xiaodong quickly said, "Don’t blame me, I didn’t ask you to taste them."

Miao Qingqing glared at Song Xiaodong and said, "It’s already done, what can I do about it? Right now, I am your girlfriend, after all."

"Alright, you have the final say," Song Xiaodong shrugged his shoulders.

Looking at the smile on Song Xiaodong’s face, Miao Qingqing felt a bit frustrated but set it aside for the moment and said, "Just answer me, how did you differentiate them?"

"I’m a doctor, and on top of that, a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner. Actually, wine is not so dissimilar from medicinal herbs. If I can tell them apart, what’s there not to understand?"

Upon hearing this, Miao Qingqing found it quite reasonable and said, looking at Song Xiaodong, "Then the way you were drinking wine just now, that doesn’t seem like something a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner should know, right?"

Song Xiaodong smiled faintly and said, "Although I’m not a drunkard, I do enjoy drinking wine. Apart from understanding the flavor of the wine, one must also appreciate the ambiance of drinking, which is why I’ve studied it thoroughly."

"Hmph, don’t tell me all of this is something you learned by searching online."

"I admit, I used to know a nobleman from England, and it was he who taught me all of this."

"So that’s how it is. I wondered, the way you were drinking just now had such an artistic sense, it made me look at it..."

"Look at it how?" Song Xiaodong leaned in closer, smiling as he watched Miao Qingqing.

"Looking at it..." Miao Qingqing gave Song Xiaodong a blank look then puffed out her chest, saying, "It was passable, I suppose."

Song Xiaodong laughed heartily and chose not to expose Miao Qingqing’s insincerity. This girl cared a lot about her face, and if he called her out, she would likely become angry out of embarrassment.

After exchanging a few words, Miao Qingqing got up to chat with others. At such an event, looking for opportunities to make money was of the utmost importance.

Chu Jianyang and Zhou Fei came to Song Xiaodong’s table, and upon seeing the deck of playing cards in their hands, Song Xiaodong said, "What’s the plan, to play cards with me again and have me lose money to regain some face?"

Chu Jianyang and Zhou Fei both had a change of expression. Having it pointed out so directly was quite unpleasant. Chu Jianyang sneered and said, "What’s the matter, scared now?"

Song Xiaodong took a bite of food, then picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth and hands. With an effortless stretch of his hand, he had already snatched the poker cards from Zhou Fei’s hand.

Zhou Fei was stunned, not knowing how Song Xiaodong had managed to take the poker cards from him.

Song Xiaodong spread out the deck, casually shuffled the cards twice, and then threw them down on the table before leisurely saying, "I can’t be bothered to waste words with you guys. One card each, the higher one wins, one million per hand."

Zhou Fei and Chu Jianyang were both dumbfounded. This was totally not the plot they had imagined before coming here. They had planned to mock and pressure Song Xiaodong into gambling with them, but Song Xiaodong had straightaway suggested playing big— one million... Although their families did have money, they were still gaining experience in the company, only taking home one or two million a year. They couldn’t afford to play games like this.

Song Xiaodong waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly, and said impatiently, "If you can’t afford it, then don’t stand here pretending to be cool. You’re disrupting my meal."

Zhou Fei and Chu Jianyang’s faces turned beet red, almost impulsively agreeing to the wager, but they also knew they couldn’t afford to lose such a sum, so they held themselves back.

Chu Jianyang was somewhat clever, after taking a deep breath, he scoffingly said to Song Xiaodong, "Big talk for sure, but do you have that much money?"

"Does it matter if I have the money? I won’t lose anyway," Song Xiaodong replied indifferently.

This only infuriated Chu Jianyang and Zhou Fei even more; they were absolutely livid at such arrogance, with no end in sight.

Zhou Fei took a step forward, ready to explode, but Chu Jianyang quickly pulled him back, saying, "A million is too much, I’m afraid you can’t cover the loss. Let’s do ten thousand per hand."

Song Xiaodong flatly refused, "Not interested. Ten thousand a hand is hardly enough for the effort."

Zhou Fei clenched his fists, "Fifty thousand a hand!"

Song Xiaodong still rejected the offer without hesitation, "Not playing, it’s boring."

Chu Jianyang took a deep breath and said, "What about one hundred thousand a hand? That should pique your interest, right?"

Song Xiaodong looked at them and said, "You really are keen on giving me money. Although it’s not a lot, it keeps me from having wasted my trip here. Alright then, one hundred thousand a hand it is. You draw first."

"Wait, are you sure you’ll pay up if you lose?" Chu Jianyang stared at Song Xiaodong.

Song Xiaodong smiled slightly and said, "You’re worried I don’t have the money, right? I might not have money myself, but don’t forget, Miao Qingqing is my girlfriend. Does she lack money? If I lose, she’ll pay you."

Both Chu Jianyang and Zhou Fei’s faces darkened instantly, they had seen shameless people before but never someone quite as brazen as this, brazenly relying on a woman’s money and doing so unabashedly.

Zhou Fei sneered, "Just don’t lose the money and then get dumped by Miao Qingqing."

Song Xiaodong looked at the two and said, "How could I possibly lose to two idiots like you? You better count the money in your wallets one last time, don’t run out of cash and have trouble explaining when you get home."

Zhou Fei glared, "That’s still better than being a kept man like you."

Song Xiaodong shrugged, pointed at the cards on the table, and said, "Then let’s begin."

Zhou Fei and Chu Jianyang exchanged glances. They were indeed a bit nervous now. They had never played for such high stakes, and this direct approach was too thrilling, too violent.