Unlike regular Mahjong, Erba✦ translator's noteErba (二八 / Qia Er Ba · 掐二八): A fast-paced, high-stakes gambling game using only specific mahjong tiles — the bamboo suit (One through Nine) plus four White Dragon tiles, totaling 40 tiles. Popular in certain regions of China. only uses four suits from the bamboo tiles (One through Nine), plus four White Dragon tiles, totaling 40 tiles.
It requires at least four players, but there is no upper limit.
The necessary four players are divided into one Dealer and three Players. The other spectating players can place bets on any available betting spot during the game.
Song Ci had just stepped down from the Dealer's position. He had great luck today, but chose to stop while he was still on a hot streak.
Without asking a waiter for help, Song Ci grabbed a few glasses of tequila from the bar himself, then returned to sit alone in the corner.
His quiet solitude lasted less than a minute before a frivolous voice approached: "You haven't given me a good look since you walked in the door! Are you still mad?"
Song Ci didn't even need to look up to know who it was.
Even if this culprit—who had been spreading rumors everywhere about his "unspeakable pain" as a man—turned to ashes, he would still recognize him.
Xu Kai sat down affectionately beside Song Ci, took one of the tequila glasses Song Ci had just brought over without asking, and clinked it against the glass in Song Ci's hand.
"Don't be mad! Once you're all better, I'll introduce you to a dozen pretty and obedient ones. Consider it an apology, alright?"
"Mad at you? Do I even have the energy to be mad at you?"
"Then why are you ignoring me?"
"Because I think you're boring."
"Then why aren't you playing cards?"
At the gambling table situated right in the middle of the room, a new round was about to begin.
A crowd of well-dressed, fashionable men and women of all types were enthusiastically placing their bets around the table.Song Ci swept his gaze over his young, gambling-addicted peers and looked down, saying, "I just find everything really boring lately."
The Mahjong room kept its scorching, intense spotlights on twenty-four hours a day. These top-down spotlights were universally mocked by selfie-loving women as "Death Lighting"✦ translator's noteDeath Lighting (死亡灯光): Slang for harsh, unflattering lighting (usually direct overhead lights) that casts terrible shadows on the face, making people look bad in photos.. Only those with flawlessly perfect skin and bone structure could withstand its ruthless, overhead illumination.
The young man, whose outstanding looks weren't hindered by the "Death Lighting" in the slightest, stuck out his tongue, slowly licked clean the salt poured onto the web of his hand, and then handsomely downed the tequila in the shot glass in one gulp.
Xu Kai, who had spread the rumors and was afraid of being hated by the victim himself, immediately acted like a sycophant and handed him a wedge of lemon. Song Ci didn't stand on ceremony, taking the lemon directly from his hand with his mouth.
Tequila was the most popular distilled spirit in this little clique. The spicy liquid felt like a knife slicing down the throat and instantly ignited a ball of fire upon reaching the stomach. Perhaps only this kind of stinging pain could make these spoiled rich kids—who drifted through their days like walking corpses—slightly realize they were still alive.
The glass Xu Kai took was a Tequila Slammer✦ translator's noteTequila Slammer: A cocktail shot where you cover the glass with your palm and slam it on the table, causing the drink to fizz, then drink it quickly while it's still bubbling.. Covering the rim with his palm, he slammed the expensive rocks glass hard against the table. The liquor instantly surged with a massive amount of bubbles.
He raised his glass toward Song Ci, who had just finished one and was preparing to drink the next, then quickly tipped his head back and downed it in one gulp.
He looked as effortlessly cool as if he had merely drunk a small glass of sweet, bubbly carbonated soda.
Alcohol relaxes people.
Slightly tipsy, Song Ci and Xu Kai casually chatted about their past "glorious deeds."
After Song Ci complained for the third time that "life these days is nowhere near as fun as it used to be," Xu Kai suddenly said, "Actually, the most thrilling time was that time!"
His face practically screamed You know what I mean without me having to say it! His eyes also carried a hint of tacitly understood implication.
But he quickly remembered the disastrous consequences of that momentary whim. The deliberately exaggerated, wicked smile vanished from his face instantly—like a tire that was suddenly punctured by a long nail mid-inflation, rapidly deflating.
"But we both fell hard that time! You got exiled to the rural village of Melbourne by your brother, and me? Let alone getting the shit beaten out of me by my old man, my credit cards were frozen for three months. It was an absolute human tragedy..."
Song Ci leaned lazily against the sofa, his hands resting behind his head, watching Xu Kai animatedly recount their absurd past deeds, as if he too were lost in reminiscing about the old days.
The alcohol Song Ci brought over wasn't even enough to fill the gaps between Xu Kai's teeth. After finishing several more glasses brought over by the waiter, Xu Kai—who had been pulling up ancient history—suddenly sighed with infinite sentimentality, "It's just that, seeing you again recently, I suddenly feel like you're quite unfamiliar sometimes. How do I put it... you don't really seem like you, so I feel quite emotional about it..."
Song Ci, who had been silent for a while, suddenly interjected, "Emotional about what? Emotional about my impotence?"
Xu Kai, who had just been feeling a bit melancholic, burst into a "pfft" of laughter and gently nudged Song Ci's calf with his foot. "I'm talking about serious stuff here, don't interrupt!"
Song Ci glared at him in annoyance. "Who's interrupting? I'm just asking because I don't understand. What did I ever do to you? Did I stimulate you so much that you had to go around spreading rumors about me everywhere?"
Because of Song Ci's interruption, Xu Kai forgot what he was about to get sentimental about. He had no choice but to fake a heartless eye roll. "Seriously though, because of what happened to your brother, I was actually pretty worried about you. But seeing you still have the energy to run your foul mouth, I'm relieved."
Song Ci nodded.
Xu Kai stared at his face for a long time. He suddenly felt that his playmate really seemed to have grown up. Although his features remained the same, the vibe he gave off was different from before.
He couldn't exactly pinpoint what was different. But Xu Kai couldn't shake the feeling that the Song Ci before him was no longer the same kind of person as they were.
Feeling sentimental again, Xu Kai raised his hand, scratched his head vigorously a few times, rubbed his itchy nose, and asked in a low voice, "You're not actually going to take over your brother's company, are you?"
Looking at Xu Kai's arm, which was as skinny as a macaque demon's, Song Ci answered a question with a question: "Have you been touching that stuff again lately?"
Xu Kai froze for a second, crossed his arms over his chest, and sighed. "What do you mean 'again'? I've never been able to quit." He suddenly understood the deeper implication of Song Ci's previous question. His eyes widened in disbelief as he asked, "You didn't actually manage to quit, did you?!"
"Pretty much," Song Ci gave an ambiguous answer casually.
Xu Kai curled his lip and muttered to himself, "Makes sense, you never touched sea cabbage or pork✦ translator's noteSea cabbage and pork (海带 / 猪肉): Slang terms used by drug addicts — "sea cabbage" (海带) refers to marijuana, and "pork" (猪肉) refers to methamphetamine. Industry jargon. anyway."
"Yeah, my brother didn't allow it."
Although Song Shi didn't restrict his spending and rarely questioned his younger brother's decadent private life, when it came to drugs, his stance was always firm and resolute.
As long as Song Ci still wanted to acknowledge him as his older brother, drugs were absolutely forbidden.
Song Ci yawned lazily. "A while back in Canada, someone told me they were trying a new trick. I saw the stuff looked just like postage stamps. The foreigners called it 'zombie.' Do we have it domestically?"
"As expected of Brother Ci! Truly well-informed!" Xu Kai gave him a thumbs-up and leaned in mysteriously. "That stuff is still very rare in Jianghu, and incredibly expensive. I've only heard of it. But domestically, it's not called 'Songbi'✦ translator's noteSongbi (怂逼): A highly derogatory Chinese swear word meaning "coward" or "spineless loser." Xu Kai hilariously mishears the English word "zombie" as "Songbi.", everyone calls it 'Jiangshi' [Zombie]."
"Oh..." Seeing that Xu Kai—this idiot with perfect misheard-English skills—had never eaten pork and had only seen pigs run✦ translator's noteNever eaten pork, only seen pigs run (没吃过猪肉、只见过猪跑): An inversion of the common Chinese idiom "Never eaten pork, but have seen pigs run" (meaning even if you haven't experienced something directly, you have basic knowledge of it). Here, Song Ci uses it to mock Xu Kai, meaning he only knows the rumors but has zero actual experience., Song Ci instantly lost interest in this "Zombie."
But Xu Kai had more to say. "However, it's not like you can't buy it if you want to. I remember someone telling me—"
Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly stopped, his eyes darting toward Song Ci's pocket.
"Huh? Song Ci, I think your phone has been ringing..."
Song Ci was speechless. He wished he could kick this idiot—who couldn't prioritize and never finished a sentence in one breath—right back into his mother's womb.
While digging in his jacket pocket for his phone, Song Ci prompted, "Someone told you what?"
This call was clearly not an important one. Song Ci merely glanced at the caller ID and hung up.
"Who was it? A scam call?" Xu Kai was very curious. Aside from him and the gang in this room, who else would be calling Song Ci at this hour?
After all, Song Ci had just returned to the country; hardly anyone domestically should know his number.
In front of Song Ci, Xu Kai felt no need to feign politeness. If he was curious, he would just peek.
He righteously craned his neck, trying to sneak a peek at Song Ci's phone screen.
Song Ci was actually quite open about it, generously waving the phone screen in front of Xu Kai's eyes. "Psychologist. I left in a hurry to make it to your party tonight, so I didn't have time to book the next session. Calling me now is probably to hurry up and ask me to throw more money at him! Tsk, professor-level expert, 3,000 an hour. That's enough to hire a cheap gigolo✦ translator's noteGigolo / Duck (鸭子): In Chinese slang, a "chicken" (鸡) refers to a female prostitute, and a "duck" (鸭子) refers to a male prostitute or gigolo.."
"Then why didn't you answer?"
The name "Chang Qing" glowed brightly on the phone screen. Xu Kai thought to himself: Seeing a shrink for erectile dysfunction... is this psychologist a man or a woman?
Song Ci glared at him, gritting his teeth. "Do you think I'm stupid? I just told you this morning I was going to see a psychologist. It's only been one day! Let me ask you, is there anyone in this room right now who doesn't know I went to see a doctor? If I answer this call in front of Your Elderly Highness... with your efficiency, by tomorrow, the entire city's population will be thoroughly informed!" He tossed the phone onto the table in annoyance. "I wasn't castrated, okay?"
Xu Kai couldn't help but burst into "ruthless," uproarious laughter. Met with another vicious glare from Song Ci, he immediately and cooperatively reined in his smile. He raised his glass and feigned deep sorrow. "I genuinely repent! A toast to my little brother✦ translator's noteLittle brother (小兄弟): Slang for a man's penis. Xu Kai is making a toast to Song Ci's "dead" equipment., who exists only in name but not in function!"
Not wanting his mood to be ruined further by this idiot, Song Ci steered the conversation back to the topic that had just been interrupted by the phone. "You just said someone could buy that 'Zombie'?"
"Someone did say that, it's just—"
"Spit it out, stop keeping me in suspense."
"Why would I keep you in suspense! Sigh, who was it that told me they could get it? I really can't remember right now..."
"Then take your time and think about it. I'm going to get some more drinks."
The moment Song Ci stood up, Xu Kai remembered. He slapped his thigh and pointed at the Blonde Lion King, who was currently the Dealer at the card table. "Right! It was Huang Chenghao who told me!"
Song Ci gave an "Oh," and got up to get the drinks.
"I'm going to the restroom." Song Ci placed the newly fetched red wine on the table.
He was afraid the tequila was too strong. If he drank too much, he absolutely wouldn't be able to get up before tomorrow afternoon. Lin Huo always looked for him in the morning or at noon; oversleeping would definitely mess things up. Therefore, he only picked a bottle of red wine.
Xu Kai stood up from the sofa. "Alright, you go to the restroom. I'm going to check on Huang Chenghao. It looks like he's about to lose his pants."
Continuing tomorrow after midnight! My cuties, see you in the comments section~
Death Lighting (死亡灯光): Slang for harsh, unflattering lighting (usually direct overhead lights) that casts terrible shadows on the face, making people look bad in photos.
Songbi (怂逼): A highly derogatory Chinese swear word meaning "coward" or "spineless loser." Xu Kai hilariously mishears the English word "zombie" as "Songbi."
Never eaten pork, only seen pigs run (没吃过猪肉、只见过猪跑): An inversion of the common Chinese idiom "Never eaten pork, but have seen pigs run" (meaning even if you haven't experienced something directly, you have basic knowledge of it). Here, Song Ci uses it to mock Xu Kai, meaning he only knows the rumors but has zero actual experience.
Gigolo / Duck (鸭子): In Chinese slang, a "chicken" (鸡) refers to a female prostitute, and a "duck" (鸭子) refers to a male prostitute or gigolo.
Little brother (小兄弟): Slang for a man's penis. Xu Kai is making a toast to Song Ci's "dead" equipment.