Chapter 7

The Two-Way Mirror of Fate (3)

Luo Wei’s body felt as if it were frozen by magic, unable to move. She nervously glanced away, unwilling to meet his gaze. The first man to sit at the dealer’s position at the baccarat table was an old man with buck teeth, looking like a stump of a tree. He only had hair on the back of his head, and he kept it long, covering one side of his head and reaching to the other side, immediately reminding people of slipping black stockings. Seeing the high pile of pale yellow chips in front of him, Luo Wei lowered her head, wishing she could die right there and then.

They were playing baccarat. After the dealer was set, the other players took their seats on both sides of the buck-toothed man. The gamblers prepared, the banker shuffled the cards, and one of the players helped cut the deck, placing them in the platinum tray on the table. Then, the dealer announced, “The opening bet is seven yellow chips.”

After a few rounds, only two people who had lost left the table, while the others kept increasing their bets. The line of gamblers waiting outside the table kept growing longer, and as the stakes climbed, the tension in the air thickened. The man in the purple shirt, sitting above them, showed no interest. He simply puffed on a cigar, turned his head for someone to light it with a blowtorch, and looked on as if watching a group of children playing house.

The man with buck teeth lost several rounds and temporarily left the table to regain his luck. Next, a thin, frail man took the dealer’s seat. He showed no expression at all, only mechanically dealing the cards. Before long, he had eliminated about twenty players, and the chips in front of him had piled up like a mountain. Seeing that fewer and fewer people were joining the game, it seemed that the winner was about to be determined. Luo Wei thought, if this man wins, he’ll probably take her away, right? What will he do with her? There are so many weird people here, and he looks very eerie—he couldn’t possibly be a serial dissection freak or want to use her for a biological experiment, could he? The thought sent cold sweat down her back.

Suddenly, a spotlight shone on her head. She became the center of attention again. Looking up, she saw that the man with the monk-like haircut was directing the lights. He smiled crookedly and said, “If this is the finale of the evening, it’s quite boring, isn’t it? Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, we’ve prepared a little surprise for you!” Under his direction, the Black Duke walked over to her cage, tore off a silver tag from a nameplate, and handed it over. The man with the monk-like haircut smiled and said, “That’s right, the true name of this wager is ‘Toy Xie Xinqi!’ I’m sure the clever ones here have figured out the meaning behind ‘toy,’ haven’t you?”

He raised his hand and clapped twice. The Red Queen, accompanied by two black bodyguards, walked over. She held a small syringe filled with blue liquid. The two bodyguards crouched down, opened the cage and handcuffs, and pulled Luo Wei’s arm out.

“What are you going to do? What is this?!” Luo Wei struggled with all her might, trying to retreat, but they forced her down. The Red Queen pushed the syringe, spilling some liquid, and pressed her icy hand on her arm, searching for a vein. Luo Wei nearly cried out, “No, no! I’m really not Xie Xinqi, I can prove it to you! Let me go…” She couldn’t finish her sentence, as the bodyguards covered her mouth.

At that moment, the phone of the monk-like man rang. He answered respectfully, “Hello, Sixth Brother, don’t worry. We’re just giving our clients some entertainment... Besides, she’s the daughter of that person, so there’s no need to show her any mercy, right? You’re right; her parents’ issues have nothing to do with her. I’ll keep things in moderation, just scare her a bit, we won’t really inject the drug…” He clearly wasn’t very obedient. Before hanging up, he made a gesture to order them to change Luo Wei’s position, and they still injected the needle into her skin.

“Mm-mm! No… ugh…”

As the drug was slowly pushed into her, Luo Wei could even feel the cold liquid flowing into her bloodstream. Fearful tears rolled down her face. The Red Queen pulled out the needle, and the bodyguards removed their hands from her mouth. They shoved her back into the cage and locked it again, but this time, they didn’t handcuff her. The drug left her feeling completely weak, and she collapsed on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably, “I’m really not Xie Xinqi… I’m Luo Wei, just an ordinary design assistant… How can you frame an innocent person like this…”

Upon hearing her words, the monk-like man, who had been on the phone, straightened his back, then turned and continued speaking on the phone, “This is just nonsense she’s making up. Miss Luo isn’t even in Gongzhou, is she…”

The Black Duke, oblivious to the commotion, had already stepped out and loudly announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, in half an hour, Miss Xie Xinqi will become a toy that fully obeys your commands, ready for you to enjoy at your leisure!”

Next, the accountant spoke up: “In the next round, the dealer will still be Mr. F087. Other players, please take your seats.”

F087 was the same thin, frail man from earlier. He remained as lifeless as before, but a uniform murmur rose from the crowd, all directed toward the air—where the man in the purple shirt was walking down the steps.

The gambling hall fell silent, and the crowd automatically parted to make way for him. A group of attendants added a chair for him. After the dealer placed the chips, he extended his finger and lightly tapped twice on the table. The accountant adjusted his large top hat, slightly raised his chin, and announced in a tone full of honor, “Mr. K001 is joining.” He used a scraper to deal cards to both the dealer and K001. K001 took his cards, flipped them over briefly, gave them a casual glance, then placed them back without a change: “No hit.”

This move caused the thin man, who was skilled at hiding his emotions, to lose his advantage. From her angle, Luo Wei could clearly see his hand. He flipped over his two cards—an Ace of Spades and a Four of Spades. He held them up to the air for a moment, then hid the cards under his chin, leaning forward slightly, observing K001 silently, torn over whether to hit. K001 didn’t seem to have a very good temper. After waiting for a few seconds and seeing that the other man didn’t respond, K001 leaned back, crossed his legs, and folded his arms, looking bored. Behind his mask, the thin man narrowed his eyes. He finally lowered his voice and said, “Hit.”

The accountant slid a card to him. He looked at it—it was a Nine. It only made the situation worse. But he showed no reaction, simply flipped the card over. The accountant announced, “Four.”

K001 also revealed his cards. He had a Nine of Hearts and a Six of Diamonds.

“Five,” the accountant said, pushing the chips toward K001.

Luo Wei felt a chill run through her. It was only five points, but K001 made his decision without hesitation. Where did that confidence come from?

The thin man crossed his twig-like hands on the table, then pushed forward double the chips he had earlier. It seemed this man was calm on the outside but very competitive inside. K001 didn’t hesitate and said, “Call.”

Another two cards were dealt. This time, the thin man’s luck wasn’t bad—he drew a Three of Diamonds and a Three of Hearts. He glanced at K001. The latter’s reaction was the same as before: a quick glance and then placing the cards back without a change. Luo Wei thought he wouldn’t fall for it again. He pondered for two or three seconds, then slowly said, “No hit.”

K001 extended his long fingers, pinched the two cards, and flipped them over.

One was a Joker, and the other was a Nine of Hearts.

“A natural big hand,” the accountant announced, pushing a large pile of chips toward K001.

This was clearly a provocation—normally, when people have a natural big hand, they’d flip it over immediately. But K001 didn’t show any joy on his face, and it seemed he was using his natural big hand to taunt the thin man. This behavior infuriated him. By the final round, he pushed most of his chips onto the table. However, after the cards were dealt, the cards in his hand turned out to be two Kings of Spades. He stiffened for a moment, then discreetly hit for another card. Unfortunately, the card he drew was a Two of Spades. The two Spades on the table resembled the Black Duke’s eyes, but they stared ominously in the opposite direction. K001 tapped the table, drew one more card. His final hand had a total of four points. The thin man took a deep breath, gathered the remaining chips, and left the table.

The dealer became K001. A dead silence lasted for a while, until a breathless voice came from the door: “Count me in!”

The buck-toothed man, carrying a heavy plastic bag full of stacks of chips, sat down in the position next to the dealer. “Today, I’m definitely taking Miss Xie Xinqi with me. Let’s go,” he said. Then, he glanced at Luo Wei. She was frightened by his eager, bean-shaped eyes, and instinctively tensed up.

K001 seemed to ignore him and pushed nearly a hundred chips onto the table. A commotion broke out in the crowd. The buck-toothed man paused for a moment but gritted his teeth and matched the amount of chips K001 had pushed out. This became the highest bet of the night. The crowd paid even closer attention to the game.

The winner of the first round was the buck-toothed man, whose mouth nearly stretched up to his ears in a grin. However, K001 showed no interest in the pile of chips. He didn’t even glance at it, as if he had lost just a couple of coins. In the second round, he pushed all of his remaining chips onto the table. Luo Wei thought to herself, This K001 is really reckless, but soon she started feeling increasingly unwell. She tugged at her collar and waved her hand at her neck. Despite the air conditioning, why did she feel so hot? Could it be… the effects of the drug were starting to kick in?

K001 lost again in the second round. All his chips were transferred to the buck-toothed man by the accountant. When the buck-toothed man saw the chips he had won, he seemed almost unable to believe it was real. He froze for about three or four seconds, then suddenly covered his mouth and laughed wildly: “So, how about it? Want to continue? If you’re out of money, you can leave now. I can see Miss Xie Xinqi is already eager to go…” Gradually, the arrogant smile faded from his face, because another attendant came over with a tray piled high with yellow chips. The attendant placed them next to K001. K001 once again pushed all the chips forward: “Call.”

The crowd couldn’t help but gasp in awe. They had no idea who this person was, or how he could afford so many chips, and spend them so freely.

In the third round, K001 lost again, but the buck-toothed man was no longer smiling. His fat fingers lingered over the chips like ants, but his eyes never left K001. Until the attendant once again brought an even larger stack of chips to K001, sweat began to trickle down from beneath the buck-toothed man’s mask. K001 pushed all the chips forward again, his expression unchanged: “Call.”

At this moment, Luo Wei could no longer continue watching the game. It felt as though an anesthetic had been directly injected into her brain. Her head grew heavier and heavier, her thoughts gradually became disoriented, and her reactions slowed. There was a furnace burning fiercely inside her body. Large beads of sweat dripped down from her forehead. She shook her head forcefully, trying to stay awake, but she found that she could barely hear their voices anymore... The world around her spun uncontrollably. The black-and-white checkered floor, the golden chips, K001’s purple shirt... all swirled before her eyes. The last sound she could hear was the buck-toothed man’s roar and the loud clapping. The buck-toothed man, like a monster, stood up, throwing all the chips into the air. His face first turned a deep purple, then pale. Finally, clutching his chest, he collapsed, suffering a heart attack, and fell to the ground...

Finally, the cage that had confined her was opened. She staggered to her feet. The Red Queen placed a cat-ear headband on her head, put a collar around her neck, and then handed the iron chain attached to the collar to K001. With the last bit of rationality, she raised her hand and swatted away the chain, stepping back two paces, but accidentally bumped into someone. That person pushed her, and she nearly fell to the ground, but her wrist was grabbed. Turning her head, she saw K001’s king mask right in front of her. She struggled a couple of times, but the strength of that hand was even greater than the handcuffs from earlier. Furious, she bit down on his arm. He looked down at her, and not only did he not let go, but he also tightened his grip. She looked towards the door and desperately tried to run towards it, but before she could take a step, her body was lifted into the air. He threw her over his shoulder like a sack. The reversal of blood flow caused her great pain, and she weakly beat against his back: “Let… let go of me…”

He turned to the man with the monk’s head and said, “Don’t arrange blind dates without my permission, no matter what the purpose is, this is the last time.”

Even in her confused state, Luo Wei could tell the monk-head man shivered. He meekly responded, “Y-yes…”

Like this, in full view of everyone, he carried her out from the 46th floor, all the way into the elevator. But after only a few floors, the elevator stopped at the hotel’s floor. The attendants, bowing respectfully, led them to the presidential suite. Luo Wei felt tears welling up, her heart sinking. She started pulling at his suit, “I... I’m not Xie Xinqi... I really am not her, I’m not…”

“I know.” He strode into the room, threw her onto the bed, and then pulled out his belt, tying her hands to the headboard.

Once she was bound, her mind became even more unclear, and she muttered some incoherent nonsense. He removed the cat ears and collar, then brought over the champagne bucket from the table, pouring the ice-cold water directly onto her head. Her brain immediately cleared up. She opened her mouth, but it was so cold that she couldn’t even take a breath. He slid one hand into his suit pants pocket and bent down, slapping her face twice: “Are you awake?”

She shook her head groggily, staring at him, “You injected me with that strange drug, and you expect me to talk to you?”

“As long as you’re awake, that’s all that matters.” He pinched her cheek, “This night is going to be very long.”

[The following is the Rose Garden skit, coming soon]

Luo Wei: “Why am I being subjected to this abuse?”

Xie Xinqi: “The female lead should stop causing trouble. I strongly request that Ze Ge add more scenes, but she’s only your biological mother, it’s all about you and Xiao Ying! This is just not scientific! Stepmother, where are the scenes for me and my brother?!”

Xie Xiuchen: “I don’t mind, as long as you’re happy.”

Xie Xinqi: “This is unfair!”

Luo Wei: “There’s nothing unfair about it. Just think about Xiao Ying, who still hasn’t even made an appearance…”

Su Jianian: “Having no screen presence is still better than me.”

King: “Heh.”