When it was Wang Zhuo's turn, he checked again, placing a red chip face down. The Boss Huang in the next seat, who held a pair of Kings, immediately found himself in a tough spot.

True, the chip count wasn't overly high in this round yet, and he held a pair of Kings—a strong hand. But Wang Zhuo was checking, and the rich second-generation heir, Bao Hua, had also called, even seeming to scare off the dealer, Wei Mingrong. This made things suddenly uncertain.

After a moment’s consideration, Boss Huang tossed in two more chips on a hunch. He knew Bao Hua held strong cards, but a pair of Kings was nothing to scoff at. Since he had already called once, he felt spending another two hundred to see the next development was worth the risk.

Bao Hua was unaware that his clumsy acting had signaled to nearly everyone at the table that he held a powerhouse hand. Maintaining his composure, he dropped two more chips and looked toward Wang Zhuo.

"I'll check one more round," Wang Zhuo said with a smile, tossing in a single chip.

The advantage of betting face-up is knowing your hand is good; the advantage of checking is avoiding doubling the bet. Both ways had their merits; no one was losing out.

"This hand is strange," Boss Huang decided to play conservatively, seeking Bao Hua’s opinion before betting: "Hua-zi, how about we show our cards now for five hundred?"

Bao Hua shook his head with a slight smile: "One thousand."

Boss Huang froze for a beat, then curtly threw his cards toward the center of the table: "Then I fold."

Having scared off Boss Huang, Bao Hua couldn't help but smile smugly, completely unconcerned about missing out on the five hundred Boss Huang might have paid.

Wang Zhuo thought to himself, what a massive sucker this guy is. Having just secured a five-thousand-yuan 'happy money' win, he suddenly didn't care about the five hundred Boss Huang was offering. Moreover, his display was too obvious; playing bluffing poker (Zha Jin Hua) with acting skills like that was just serving up money to everyone else.

"It's just you and me left. I might have to blind you with brilliance," Bao Hua picked up a stack of chips, looking at Wang Zhuo with a half-smile: "Interested in raising the stakes?"

Raising the stakes—'Chang Mao'—meant increasing the bet significantly. Bao Hua rarely got such a good hand and clearly intended to go big.

Wang Zhuo nodded and smiled: "Sure, you go ahead. I’ll call."

Immediately, the sound of coughing, water drinking, and cigarette lighting rippled through the surrounding crowd. A big scene was brewing; everyone was excited.

Ji Yunlei, sitting diagonally opposite Wang Zhuo, made exaggerated faces—winking and grimacing—vigorously trying to signal that Wang Zhuo shouldn't play this way. Everyone knew Bao Hua was the type of hunter who wouldn't let go until he saw the rabbit. If he dared to raise the stakes, he must have a seriously good hand. Wang Zhuo challenging him with a checked hand had slim chances of success.

"Pass me a cigarette," Wang Zhuo beckoned to Ji Yunlei.

Ji Yunlei handed him one. Seeing Wang Zhuo tuck it behind his ear without lighting it, he knew his friend had made up his mind to clash with Bao Hua. He could only sigh inwardly, praying Wang Zhuo would draw a good hand.

"Then I'll put up a blue one," Bao Hua dropped a blue chip worth five hundred yuan.

Wang Zhuo smiled, remaining seated: "How about adding another one? You put up five hundred, I can't exactly counter with two hundred fifty, right?"

Bao Hua blinked, then burst into hearty laughter, shouting "Good call!" and tossing out another blue chip.

Wang Zhuo matched him with one of his own. The two went back and forth; Bao Hua used a gold chip each time, and Wang Zhuo used a blue one. In moments, the table was piled high with brightly colored chips.

Shaking the small basin of remaining chips, Wang Zhuo looked up at Ji Yunlei: "Brother Ji, the smoke is too heavy. Take Xiao Qiong out for some fresh air."

Ji Qiong started to speak, but Wang Zhuo gave her a sharp look. She reluctantly followed Ji Yunlei out.

"Handsome, you certainly know how to handle things," a woman sent a flirtatious wink, causing a burst of laughter from the onlookers.

Wang Zhuo smiled at her. This was just fitting in—ignoring her openly would be rude and spoil the atmosphere.

Boss Huang asked, "Younger brother, I see your chips are running low. What do you think of this hand?"

"Let me see my cards first."

Wang Zhuo leaned over the table and slowly revealed one card. His eyes lit up: "This one is good."

He revealed another: "This one is good too; I have a pair."

As everyone eagerly awaited the live broadcast of his third card, they saw him sit up instead of revealing it. He asked, "Is there anyone here willing to lend money?"

Lending money here meant taking out a high-interest loan, referred to as 'Tai Qian' (raising money). Wang Zhuo was preparing to go all in.

The short young man who had been standing silently outside the circle walked over and asked expressionlessly, "Brother, how much are you raising, and what are you putting up as collateral?"

Wang Zhuo glanced at the small half-basin of chips remaining in front of Bao Hua and laughed: "That looks like about two hundred thousand, right? I’ll raise two hundred thousand then."

"Deal. Nine in, eleven out, three days. How does that sound?" Seeing Wang Zhuo nod, the short man asked, "What are you putting up as collateral?"

Nine in, eleven out meant borrowing ten units and only receiving nine, but having to repay eleven. In essence, the loan shark could profit by twenty percent over three days using the borrowed principal.

Wang Zhuo held up a finger, dangling a remote control key fob from it: "Q7, brand new, parked downstairs."

"Got it. Let me finalize this. Be right back." The short man didn't take the key, walking aside to make a phone call.

A moment later, a dark-faced old man knocked and entered, delivering one hundred eighty gold chips. Wang Zhuo handed the car key over to the short young man as temporary collateral for the high-interest loan.

If Wang Zhuo won, repaying the short man two hundred twenty chips would settle the debt. If he lost, the repayment was due within three days. After three days, the Q7 would be at the lender's disposal, and redeeming it would cost significantly more than two hundred twenty thousand.

Watching the old man come and go, Ji Yunlei, standing by the doorway, felt his heart sink. He gambled often and recognized the man who specialized in delivering high-interest money. Even in his most desperate times, he had never dared touch that. Gambling and drugs were already bottomless pits; adding this debt would be inviting death.

Seeing Wang Zhuo fold first in several consecutive hands, then immediately betting big, even calling in loan sharks, the atmosphere in the room turned subtly strange.

At first, everyone thought Wang Zhuo was a minor rich kid brought by Ji Yunlei, a novice who didn't know the game. But seeing how casually he used loan sharks, speculation grew. Was he a seasoned gambler who just hadn't played Zha Jin Hua? Or was he a true master hiding his skill, coming in hard from the start?

However, one thing everyone agreed on was that Bao Hua’s hand had to be exceptional—at least a strong straight or a flush, possibly even a straight flush or three of a kind. Wang Zhuo had already thrown in nearly twenty thousand yuan after checking several rounds, and nearly sixty thousand yuan was already on the table. He was likely trapped now, forced to gamble everything even if his hand wasn't strong.

This is the disadvantage of being the newcomer, everyone thought. Had it been any of the regulars, they wouldn't have gone head-to-head with Bao Hua this round. Young Master Bao clearly held a massive hand; everyone could see it. But this guy was new; didn't he know?

When Bao Hua saw Wang Zhuo raise back eighteen thousand, his eyes lit up with excitement. He had always been the fat sheep being slaughtered; now it was finally his turn to butcher one!

"Brother, take it easy, don't play too high?" Bao Hua offered a hypocritical courtesy, but his hand immediately tossed out five gold chips. This single raise pushed the bet to five thousand.

Seeing Bao Hua show no mercy, Wang Zhuo decided to drop any pretense of politeness. After all, the money of rich second-generation heirs was practically free, so why not take it?

Smiling, Wang Zhuo asked, "How about we open the cards at fifty thousand?"

"There’s already sixty thousand in the pot. Isn't fifty thousand a bit low for an open bet?" Bao Hua looked at Wang Zhuo with a smirk. Seeing Wang Zhuo raise eighteen thousand but only bet fifty thousand to open, he assumed Wang Zhuo lacked confidence.

"Then let's just go all in," Wang Zhuo slammed his small basin onto the table. "I have one hundred eighty thousand here. Consider the remainder a tip. Do you dare to call?"

Bao Hua was immediately startled. His full confidence wavered slightly. One hundred eighty thousand was no small sum. Did the opponent truly have a monster hand?

Boss Huang kindly reminded him, "Younger brother, you haven't seen your last card yet?"

"It's fine. I doubt he has a big hand either," Wang Zhuo said to Boss Huang while watching Bao Hua, adding with a smile, "Besides, it’s not that big of a stage; I can afford to play."

Is he mocking me for not being able to afford it? Bao Hua instantly felt annoyed and sneered, "Others dare to raise after seeing two cards. If I dare not call, won't I become a laughingstock? It’s only one hundred eighty thousand. I won't take advantage of your tip. I'll call at one hundred ninety thousand!"

Saying that, he grabbed gold chips from his basin, stacking them into piles of ten on the table, lining them up. He quickly arranged nineteen such stacks, spread his hands to show everyone, and then swept them into the center of the table.

With a snap, the three cards were revealed and slapped onto the table. Bao Hua sneered triumphantly: "Three Eights. Your turn to reveal!"

"Damn it, he hit three of a kind!"

"This round's pot is huge! One thousand yuan in happy money—"

"Three Eights winning over four hundred thousand. That’s impressive."

"Watching the fun cost me one thousand yuan. Bad luck."

The gamblers complained one after another, each placing a gold chip into Bao Hua's small basin.

Boss Huang shook his head, handing over a thousand yuan in 'happy money,' and looked at Wang Zhuo with a wry smile: "Younger brother, hitting three of a kind—you’re unlucky. Reveal your cards."

"Is three Eights really that big?" Wang Zhuo chuckled, his face unchanging, and called out towards the door: "Brother Ji, come back!"

As he spoke, he slapped down his first card—the Nine of Spades.

When Ji Qiong and her brother walked back into the room, Wang Zhuo threw down his second card—the Nine of Diamonds. A pair of Nines wasn't huge, but it instantly focused the attention of every gambler.

Bao Hua’s smile had become somewhat rigid. Everyone wondered if this was a revenge hand—Three Nines beating Three Eights—a rare sight.

Seeing the pile of gleaming gold chips and the two exposed hands on the table, Ji Yunlei’s eyes went wide. In the short time he was outside catching a breeze, the game had escalated to a white-hot pitch!

Wang Zhuo smiled and beckoned to Ji Qiong: "Help me turn this one over, see what it is."

Ji Qiong nervously walked forward, reached out, and flipped the final card. The bright Nine of Hearts completed a dazzling set of three of a kind, exactly one rank higher than Bao Hua's Three Eights. The situation was reversed; Wang Zhuo had won.

Bao Hua's rigid smile instantly collapsed, followed by a chorus of complaints. Boss Huang was the first to offer his happy money, asking Ji Qiong with a mixture of laughter and tears: "Your luck is incredible. Did you not need to pray or rub your hands before revealing the card?"

Ji Qiong knew Wang Zhuo had won, and it looked like a massive victory. She said sheepishly to Boss Huang, "I... I don’t believe in Bodhisattvas or anything. Once the card is there, it doesn't change. I'm a materialist..."