Chapter 1157 You Can’t Be Like This
Usually, Guo Xuehua, Wang Ma and the others would be asleep long ago. After all, they were already half a century old.
Lin Ruoxi would be putting Lanlan to sleep instead of working until late at night like she used to.
However, tonight, the house was bubbly and joyful. The entire mansion was brightly lit!
Yang Chen pushed the door and went in. Because of his sensitive ears, he could immediately hear the women chattering from the side hall.
“An Xin! Don’t sneak around! You’ve hit it out already! Pong!!” Lin Ruoxi shouted forcefully.
“Ah…Sister Ruoxi, you just let me pass this time…” An Xin pleaded.
“I’ve let you pass once, give me the tile!”
“Oh…”
“Ruoxi, it’s already so late, let’s stop after this round.”
“Mother, you should go to bed first, we are not tired yet!”
“Who said that! I am about to pass out!” Mo Qianni added with a weak tone.
“Qianni, stop pretending. How can you be tired after cultivating for so long?”
“My gracious, show some mercy, please. My mom has been calling and urging me to go home. She has never been like this…”
The women talked in unfamiliar tones, accompanied by the ‘pong’ sound of the mahjong.
Having a stiff face, Yang Chen sneakily went towards the side hall door.
Inside the side hall, Lin Ruoxi’s face radiated as she concentrated on her tiles.
Playing with her at the same table were three women in distress. Aside from pitiful An Xin and Mo Qianni, there was also Rose with a helpless look from drowsiness.
Looking at Guo Xuehua yawning while sitting on a chair next to them made Yang Chen even more speechless. She was sitting there paralyzed as she continued to watch the women play.
Did these women play mahjong until dawn!?
Guo Xuehua finally heaved a sigh of relief as she saw Yang Chen return. She then stood up and called him smilingly, “Hey Son! You’ve finally returned! Come and quickly convince your wife to end this game now. She’s dragged us to play mahjong for over ten hours!”
An Xin pouted and quickly nodded, “Yes dear, please hurry and talk to Sister Ruoxi, I’ve lost over 8 million… it’s equivalent to two villas.”
“What!?” Yang Chen was stunned, “How much exactly did you all bet?”
“Two thousand per round, and a few hundred thousand for bigger rounds. If Yanyan would have seen this, we’d be arrested as gamblers long ago,” Mo Qianni snorted as she rolled her eyes.
Yang Chen started sweating after listening to this. He chuckled, “Such a ‘good mood’, huh? Ruoxi, you as well, why did you place such big bets? It’s late already, let An Xin and the others go home.”
Lin Ruoxi snorted softly and defiantly said, “What’s there to be afraid of? We were just placing it for fun, and I won’t be asking An Xin for 8 million, right? Just give me a few million, and it’s fine.”
“You said it,” Mo Qianni quickly added, “I don’t have that much money to lose, just waive the 2 million I lost.”
“Oh no way!” Lin Ruoxi argued. “Qianni, you can’t be waiving everything at all. If you lose, you lose. Just give one-tenth. If you don’t want to spend your own money, ask for it from the bad guy. He has nowhere to spend, anyway.”
Lin Ruoxi pointed at Yang Chen.
Yang Chen was still unable to understand the whole situation. He gasped, “Why does it sound like Ruoxi was the only one winning? You all have been losing?”
Smiling bitterly, Guo Xuehua explained, “Right! Rose was the one who lost the least among them, just a few ten thousand. And An Xin seemed to have a stiff brain, and she lost every time she played. As for Ruoxi, she just learned this today, but she’s playing like an old fox already. She would never put the tiles we want, and would act mysteriously the whole time. None of us could guess what she would put out next. She had been plotting us all very quietly!”
Mo Qianni also chided annoyingly, “We shouldn’t have played with Ruoxi earlier, it’s just like business to her. Even if we use up all of our brain cells, it wouldn’t be enough to win against her. Can I just go and die!”
Lin Ruoxi said happily, “It’s too late, who told you to make me sit down and play. It turns out that mahjong is so simple. You must call me if you all are playing anytime!”
Lin Ruoxi had a smile as sweet as honey while saying this. She seemed to be covered in the spring breeze.
As Yang Chen listened to Guo Xuehua’s description, he finally got a rough idea of what happened.
It turned out that, after Yang Chen left in the afternoon, Mo Qianni taught Lin Ruoxi how to play mahjong. At first, Mo Qianni’s original intention was to make Lin Ruoxi and her sisters have a more harmonious relationship, but in the end, she made the rest cry.
Although Lin Ruoxi was not good at singing, dancing, and other physical activities, mahjong, a game of gambling that needed skills and luck, was a mental game of Lin Ruoxi expertise!
Lin Ruoxi quickly understood that just as she used to be in the business world, keeping an expressionless face and making it hard for people to guess your thoughts or playing hard to get were similar skills that she needed at the mahjong table.
After learning the strategies of the game, the woman quickly learned some tricks, and delved into it surprisingly fast.
After a short while, Lin Ruoxi didn’t need Mo Qianni to help her anymore. She remembered all the rules, and as long as her tile setting was decent, she won almost every round.
The entire round, Lin Ruoxi could calculate so quickly about who was playing which part, whether they played nothing at all or who wanted to eat, and who tried to ‘pong.’ She grasped it all just like a humanoid computer.
Other women were just treating it like a game and having fun, but to Lin Ruoxi it was a competition she was unwilling to lose in. Since she started playing, she would strive to win!
Generally, in all other games she would strive hard to win against An Xin no matter what it took, but this time, the other women were not her opponents at all!
A rich little lady like An Xin, who was too lazy to use her brain while playing casually, lost like a mess.
As for Rose, she had previously worked in the underworld, and gambling was an everyday activity, so she did not lose much. But if she wanted to win against Lin Ruoxi, it was still tricky.
“Son, you didn’t know this, but initially, Zhi Qing and Ming Yu took turns to play, but later on they really couldn’t keep up. Zhi Qing relied on her mother, Yulan’s relationship, and ran back home to rest. As for Ming Yu, her father sent someone to pick her up. Jing Jing was lucky because she didn’t know how to play, so she left early. Only me, your mother, Rose and the rest were left. I’ve lost over 300,000 today. Money isn’t a big deal, but I’m afraid of losing. It was already so late and if Ruo Xi continues, it will be morning already!” Guo Xuehua grinned bitterly while enduring so much dissatisfaction.
Yang Chen touched his chin and said to Lin Ruoxi, “All right, Ruoxi, since mom said so, let’s stop here today. There’ll be many chances to play, right?”
Lin Ruoxi bulged her mouth, unwillingly, “I am not done yet…”
“You are constantly winning, that is why you feel happy, right? But you are wrong, and you can’t be building your happiness on the pain of others though,” Feng persuaded. “Be good, go upstairs and go to bed, how can a mother be gambling through the night?”
Lin Ruoxi saw everyone staring at her so eagerly, so she had to put down the tiles in her hand, “Well, then let’s dismiss it for today. We shall come again next time.”
The women finally heaved out a sigh of relief, especially An Xin, who was completely exhausted.
Yang Chen sent Rose and the rest out. Before they parted, Mo Qianni whispered, “Honey, you should tell Ruoxi that playing mahjong at home is not the same as doing business against competitors. It hurts people. We all were deliberately letting mother win so she can be happy, but as soon as Ruoxi started, mom began losing. She said nothing, but she would be feeling uncomfortable. She enjoys playing mahjong, and we can’t be playing behind Ruoxi’s back in the future, right?”
Yang Chen pinched the woman’s hand and smiled, “You are so thoughtful, no wonder mom favored you so much.”
Mo Qianni rolled her eyes at him, “An Xin and the rest understood this, and everyone thinks the same way. It’s just that Ruoxi is just so straight-minded. What good is there in fighting against her mother-in-law?”
Yang Chen sighed. Afterall, Mo Qianni said so just to help her sister have a better relationship with her mother-in-law.
He didn’t know if Lin Ruoxi was too innocent, or that this woman was just too serious. But it was often not a good thing to be too dangerous.
After seeing them out, Yang Chen went back to the second floor of his home to check whether Guo Xuehua had already taken a rest. Then he walked to the door of Lin Ruoxi’s room and knocked.
Lin Ruoxi had just finished cleaning up and was going to rest. She opened the door and saw Yang Chen standing there. Then she asked curiously, “Honey, do you need anything?”
“Nothing much, just wanted to tell you not to be so serious while playing mahjong…”
Yang Chen reiterated what Mo Qianni said, but after listening, Lin Ruoxi frowned and seemed to disagree.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate to do so. If I already know which tile will let my opponent win and I still give it out, isn’t it cheating? Even if the family is playing, it should be fair and honest. If we are letting each other win, then why are we even placing bets? Might as well just play for free. Plus, I didn’t demand them to lose money, we need not lose to make mother lucky, right? Mother can’t act like that, and if she as an elder wants to be angry with me about such a matter, then I think she’s too stingy. It’s not like I did anything wrong.”
Looking at Lin Ruoxi’s natural expression, Yang Chen smiled bitterly. When it comes to playing games, his wife was the boss of all.
“You silly girl, how can you play games so harshly? Telling you anything is just meaningless, go, go to sleep.”
Yang Chen had no idea how to convince her, so he did not bother much. He went straight to his room while shaking his head.