Reaching the age of thirty, my income randomly doubled

The so-called mild gambling for pleasure, he personally didn't care, but he was worried about the other three classmates.

All married men, not necessarily able to swallow the loss of tens of thousands from gambling.

"Come on, the old routine—Exploding Golden Flower, a hundred for the base and cap at bluffing five hundred."

If you cap at bluffing five hundred, showing your cards would then be a thousand.

Calculated at a one-to-one ratio.

This kind of win or loss, with bad luck, fifty thousand might only last an hour.

Just play.

Chen Pingsheng shuffled the deck. He hadn't played this game in two years, and he was a bit rusty at first, continually losing money.

Later on, that wasn't an issue, after all, losing over a hundred thousand was trivial for him.

There was no such thing as feeling tense.

Actually, the most feared thing when playing Golden Flower is becoming frantic after losing money, as that only leads to bigger losses.

If one can control their emotions, then it's not so bad.

After all, everyone's luck has its phases.

Take these ten minutes for example, with exceptionally good luck you'd keep getting strong hands.

Then the next ten minutes, when your luck has passed, you catch nothing.

Those who play often generally understand how to manage these intervals of time, that is, to continuously bluff during their lucky streaks.

Just keeping betting without looking at the cards.

There's a good chance of winning.

And when the lucky streak is over, just throw a bet or two and look at your cards right away.

That way, it's usually possible to control your wins and losses.

Those who are frantic after losing, those are the oddballs, throwing large bets recklessly in hopes of recouping losses, often ending up losing everything including their underpants.

Even the most skilled are susceptible to an unexpected beating.

Like Chen Pingsheng now, he wasn't short of money.

He was simply going along with your gambling, it was good if luck was on his side, no big deal if it wasn't.

That was a bit problematic.

Half an hour went by, and he was down over forty thousand.

After an hour, on the contrary, he was up ten thousand.

The more he played, the smoother it went, to the point where he felt embarrassed by his winnings.

"Crap, this really is a game where the cards flock to the rich."

Chang Fu lost all fifty thousand, but he didn't give a damn, after all, earning money from women comes easy.

The other three were clearly more cautious now.

"So, where are we heading to have fun after we're done here?"

"Let's go for a KTV, I know a place where the hostesses charge a lot but are really open to having fun."

"They even freaking open beer bottles with the door handle."

That would take some skill, not something you can do without regular practice.

"You guys go if you want."

Chen Pingsheng was the first to decline, "I can pick up the tab, but I can't go with you."

"Man, that's being henpecked."

"My wife doesn't control me, but I've got to respect her, don't I? After all, I could potentially charm someone like Yang Mi, so what's the point in playing around with those things?"

A chill swept through, and the aces in hand suddenly lost their appeal.

Chang Fu cursed, "Don't go too far, dude. A little boasting is fine, but Yang Mi is a celebrity from TV dramas, the top diva, my idol!"

"Believe it or not, that's up to you. When you get to Capital City someday, I'll take you to meet her. Yang Mi might look gorgeous on TV, but she's absolutely more beautiful in person, guaranteed to make you drool."

Everyone had noticed that the girlfriend Chang Fu brought along was not the serious type, what kind of normal girl would suggest going to a KTV in front of her boyfriend?

Isn't that like asking for trouble?

She didn't care at all, no big deal, she'd just watch on the side while you guys got your girls to play with.

Quite open-minded indeed.

"Don't talk about the future, I'll join you in Capital City after the holiday. If I can meet Yang Mi, I'll even call you Dad!"

"Don't, I don't have a kid as big as you."

"I'm gonna strangle you, winning my money and still making sarcastic remarks!"

Luck was a bit too good, he had won a bit too much.

"Ding, congratulations Host, today's earnings are sixty-eight thousand. Would you like to activate the random multiplicator?"

Is that even possible?

Chen Pingsheng resisted the temptation, as one must not gamble recklessly.

Gambling is a bottomless pit, and even with the Golden Finger, it's unsustainable.

"Old Chang, with your crappy skills, you think you can win my money?"

Chen Pingsheng was smug, it didn't matter how much he won or lost, the main goal was to have fun.

They were all old classmates, no need to play for too long; it wouldn't be good to get too caught up.

"You think winning is a good thing, quickly make arrangements."

The winner booked the venue, and at their age, if they went to a bar, it would be too rowdy.

He didn't want to go to a touch-and-sing place.

"How about this, I'll open a place for you guys to play on your own, don't ruin everyone's fun, I have to go back at 12, but you guys don't have to."

"That works." Chang Fu nodded.

Chen Pingsheng booked a large room at KTV for them and chose seven or eight princesses from dozens.

Still, they took their time picking them out.

If you want to have a good time, you must also spend money freely.

The way KTVs are played now is beyond what the youngsters from a few years later could imagine.

Singing songs, playing drinking games.

Dancing dances, belly dances.

The main attraction was how lively it could get with one person.

By middle age, they've seen it all, and the only things that could still get them excited and thrilled were these.

Guessing they wouldn't come back at night, he also booked two large suites in a hotel.

He then drove home.

Song Yanxi at home hadn't slept yet, she was four months pregnant and sometimes still felt a bit nauseated.

She needed someone to take care of her.

When he left, he took a car, but when he returned, he drove a new car. Song Yanxi wasn't surprised for herself, but was surprised that her mother, Peng Ying, who had been waiting for him to come home, was.

"Whose car did you drive back in!"

"Just bought it, this is an X5 for Dad and I bought an X6 for you as well."

"Wasting money, your dad doesn't even have a driver's license."

"How can this be called wasting, Dad is this old and shouldn't enjoy some luxury? He can go get a license."

Peng Ying stayed up specifically to open the door for him; Chen Pingsheng thought that next time he wouldn't play so late anymore.

To avoid his mom waiting at home.

"We have to go to your grandfather's house for dinner tomorrow, go to sleep early."

Peng Ying admonished him and then went to sleep.

Chen Pingsheng went upstairs, and Chen An'an had taken his spot, currently keeping her mom company in bed.

And sleeping soundly at that.

"What did you guys do tonight?"

"Played cards, I won tens of thousands, can't play this big next time."

"You shouldn't play so big."

Song Yanxi said, "Don't play to the point where it affects these classmates' relationships."

"I know, I know, that was all Chang Fu's idea, he alone lost fifty thousand."

"It's better if he loses a bit, but if one of those guys with a wife loses tens of thousands, wait and see if their wives don't come looking tomorrow."

Song Yanxi didn't oppose playing cards, but she absolutely disagreed with playing for high stakes.

If it were in Capital City, with her husband's status, gathering a table where losses and wins could amount to hundreds of thousands wouldn't matter at all.

It wouldn't cause anyone serious harm.

It would just be the cost of a meal at most.

For someone who earns just one or two hundred thousand a year, coming home for the New Year and losing tens of thousands playing cards with him.

That would truly affect a couple's relationship.

At least, before they made it, they definitely wouldn't have been able to accept it.

"And here I was in KTV spending tens of thousands for them to have fun."

Song Yanxi turned over, pushing him away with her behind, not being naive, she knew what was what even if she hadn't tasted pork before, hadn't she seen pigs run?

"You should do less of that kind of stuff."

"Cut it out, like I wanted to do all that. They only wanted to play those games; look, didn't I come straight home."

"As long as you know to come home. An'an is six years old now, and I have another one in my belly; you better not forget you're a dad."

"Of course, I know. No wildflower smells as sweet as my wife's glance back with a smile."

"Hmph, don't think about all that nonsense, I definitely can't do it now, at most I can use my hands to help you a little."

Little An'an was left in the main room while they went to a smaller room on the side.

The night deepened, and the husband and wife's bedtime conversation didn't go on for too long.

They still had to visit grandfather's house for the Little New Year the next day.

He hadn't come back in two years, and now that he had just returned, there was still quite a bit to do.

The day after tomorrow, he'd have to accompany Song Yanxi to her grandparents' house.

Her maternal grandparents lived in Capital City, but her paternal grandparents were from this region.

Song Huamin and his father had known each other since they were young, although they hadn't interacted much.