Return to the City: The Strongest King
Chapter 177: Miao Qingqing’s First Kiss

Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Miao Qingqing’s First Kiss

Song Xiaodong nodded and said, "Alright, go ahead and draw."

Just as Zhou Fei was about to make his move, Xiao Zhiming eagerly said, "Wait!"

Everyone immediately turned their attention to Xiao Zhiming, who took a deep breath and said, "This time, you draw first."

Song Xiaodong squinted his eyes and replied, "If I draw first, you guys basically won’t stand a chance."

Xiao Zhiming, with a stern face, retorted, "Hmph, every time you draw last, you always end up with a higher card than Zhou Fei. I suspect there’s trickery involved, so this time you draw first."

Song Xiaodong chuckled and responded, "The cards were brought by you guys, and you also shuffled them, so do you still have doubts?"

"This..." Xiao Zhiming was somewhat at a loss for words and said, "Just draw first, anyway."

Song Xiaodong nodded and said, "Since that’s the case, to put your mind at ease, I’ll let Qingqing draw."

Miao Qingqing’s face darkened as she said, "I... I don’t know how."

Song Xiaodong waved her over, and Miao Qingqing bowed her head. Song Xiaodong then whispered in her ear, "I’ll let you know which card to draw in a moment; just draw that one."

Miao Qingqing felt the warm breath from Song Xiaodong’s mouth on her ear and cheek, which made her a bit uncomfortable and quite embarrassed. However, she was more concerned about the gambling game at that moment, and turned her head to look at Song Xiaodong with some difficulty.

Song Xiaodong winked at Miao Qingqing and said, "Don’t worry, it’s all money we’ve won anyway. If we lose, at worst we break even, so what’s there to be afraid of?"

Miao Qingqing hesitated a moment before nodding slowly.

Song Xiaodong stood up, letting Miao Qingqing sit down, while he placed his hands on her shoulders, leaning down so their faces were close together.

"This jerk!" Miao Qingqing cursed inwardly; he was clearly taking advantage of her. Yet, she couldn’t just push Song Xiaodong away at this moment—after all, she was currently his girlfriend, and besides, the bet was one million. Even with her family’s wealth, she couldn’t just disregard such an amount.

"Alright, now spread all the cards out," Song Xiaodong whispered in Miao Qingqing’s ear, glancing sideways at her face where he could clearly see the small details of her skin, including the fine hairs, which also made him feel the softness of her skin and gave him an impulse to kiss her.

Miao Qingqing felt Song Xiaodong looking at her, which made her cheeks turn red. She resisted the urge to push him away and reached out with both hands to spread out the cards, a gesture completely without reproach.

"Alright, the card under your index finger, no, one down, yes, that one, draw it out," Song Xiaodong instructed softly in Miao Qingqing’s ear, his voice so low only she could hear.

To the outsiders, Song Xiaodong seemed to be whispering sweet nothings to Miao Qingqing, showing off their affection. However, everyone was more focused on the cards, as one card was worth a million—who would care about anything else?

Miao Qingqing carefully drew the card then cautiously peeked at it, and upon seeing the card, she involuntarily gasped in surprise and turned to look at Song Xiaodong.

So surprised was she that she forgot how close Song Xiaodong’s face was to her own, and as she turned, her lips, lightly coated with lipstick, suddenly pressed against Song Xiaodong’s.

The kiss surprised not just Miao Qingqing but also Song Xiaodong; both froze, their eyes locked, and they maintained this for about five seconds.

Suddenly realizing she was kissing Song Xiaodong, Miao Qingqing tried to push him away fiercely, but somehow, Song Xiaodong’s arms had wound around her shoulders, preventing her from raising her arms.

Feeling the pressure on her lips again, Song Xiaodong had just lifted his lips from hers as his voice reached her ear, "I was only playing along with your act, my performance wasn’t too bad, right?"

Miao Qingqing’s face darkened again, this guy had taken advantage of her and still had the nerve to say such a thing. Could he be any more shameless?

What mattered most was that this was her first kiss. To lose her first kiss like this was utterly dumbfounding, let alone to such a shameless person.

Yet, at that moment, she was in no position to erupt; she reached down and fiercely pinched Song Xiaodong’s leg, that was the only way she could secretly let off some steam.

Everyone seeing Miao Qingqing and Song Xiaodong kissing thought that Miao Qingqing must have drawn a high card.

That’s what Xiao Zhiming and his companions thought too. Suddenly, all their hearts sank at once, each of them looking at one another. None dared to make a move—after all, it was a million on the line. If they lost, who would bear the responsibility and pay the money?

Song Xiaodong was still half-leaning behind Miao Qingqing, his face close to hers, and said with a smile, "You guys don’t need to struggle anymore. No matter how you choose, you will lose just the same."

Zhou Fei glared and snapped, "Stop your annoying chatter; you’re distracting us from picking cards."

Song Xiaodong grinned slightly and said, "Even if I gave you the remaining fifty-three cards, you would still lose."

"What?" Xiao Zhiming and the others all widened their eyes.

Someone immediately exclaimed, "Didn’t she draw the Joker out?" Everyone’s eyes simultaneously turned to the card Miao Qingqing had drawn.

At that moment, Miao Qingqing flipped the card over, and it turned out to be the only Joker in the deck, which had the highest value. No matter which card Xiao Zhiming and the others chose, they were bound to lose.

"Impossible! This can’t be possible!" Zhou Fei shouted, his eyes bulging.

Standing up straight, Song Xiaodong put his hand on Miao Qingqing’s shoulder, shook his head helplessly, and said, "Every time I let you draw first is to give you a greater chance of drawing the highest card, yet you insist on letting me draw."

The onlookers were silent, and Zhou Fei, now a desperate gambler, slammed the table and bellowed, "Let’s go again."

Song Xiaodong squinted his eyes and said, "You want to continue? It’s two million now. Do you still have enough money to lose?"

"My family’s worth over a hundred million; do you think I care about these two million?" Zhou Fei bellowed ferociously.

Song Xiaodong shrugged his shoulders and said, "Whatever you want, I can keep you company no matter how many rounds you want to play."

Zhou Fei fumed, "Then let’s go again! I don’t believe I can’t win even a single round against you."

Xiao Zhiming put his hand on Zhou Fei’s shoulder and said, "Mr. Song, I never expected your cheating techniques to be so masterful."

Song Xiaodong wagged his finger and said, "You don’t need to falsely accuse me. This is genuine gambling skills, not cheating techniques. It all depends on my own abilities. Besides, Qingqing was the one who drew this card; do you think Qingqing would cheat?"

Seeing Song Xiaodong so brazenly defending himself, Xiao Zhiming’s face darkened. The strategy he had prepared seemed utterly useless now. It was like two martial arts masters competing, and every move he tried was instantly countered just as it started, leaving him completely unable to act, which was incredibly frustrating.