Shen Xizhou glanced at the remaining cucumbers on the plate and unconsciously sat up straight.

She quietly moved a little further away from Xue Qing. "Alright, it's the first group activity, so I won't spoil your fun, senior. Let's keep our friendship going and not delay the official event."

The implication is that he chose to take the stage himself.

Instead of being Xue Qing's strategist!

Everyone wasn't stupid; in just a few words, they all realized that Xue Qing had feelings for Shen Xizhou.

No wonder, a single, learned man with a handsome appearance and a clean reputation—how could a man like that not attract women?

Who knows, Xue Qing might have come all the way from Beijing to S City ostensibly to gain experience and accumulate grassroots knowledge, but actually she was just looking for a man?

The more I look at it, the more I realize that's how it is.

Where their eyes met, a silent, ambiguous gossip rippled through the crowd.

However, Shen Xizhou had barely sat down and hadn't even touched his cards when he called out, "Clerk Xiao Yuan, come here for a moment."

"Hmm?" Chu Yuan instinctively turned her head, but didn't move.

She thought that if he dared to ask her to pour water at this moment, she probably wouldn't be able to control herself and would just pour it on his face!

It wasn't that she was jealous, but rather that he had never mentioned the existence of childhood sweethearts!

...

Shen Xizhou's next sentence made everyone's ears perk up!

"Come here. You and Clerk Meixin will have a go at the two presiding judges."

Chu Yuan paused. What did that mean? Was she being told to go play mahjong?

Could this be a test? Her persona is that she vehemently opposes gambling; how could she possibly touch mahjong willingly?

He immediately shook his head, "Judge Shen, I...I can't."

"It's okay, I'll teach you."

Shen Xizhou's voice carried a gentleness he himself was unaware of, "If I lose, it's on me."

Everyone: ? ? ?

What incredible thing happened?

Before anyone could get their imaginations running wild, a gentle voice added, "When I first arrived, I was a little carsick, so just think of it as taking the taxi for the boss."

He politely inquired, "Senior Shu, Meixin, you have no objections, right?"

The two people being asked were focused on their cards and both shook their heads.

Judge Shu laughed heartily as he arranged the cards, "Great! I'd be more than happy to replace the formidable Judge Shen with a novice."

Xue Qing, "..."

She pouted and narrowed her eyes, giving Chu Yuan a dangerous look.

Subordinate to Xizhou?

The girl looked to be in her early twenties, youthful and fresh-faced, quiet and well-behaved. Although she was pretty, she didn't seem to fit the type that Xizhou would like.

This was Xue Qing's first impression of Chu Yuan.

But she did not lower her guard against Chu Yuan because of this. Perhaps analysis is one thing, and intuition is another.

He said jokingly, "Xizhou, you're being unfair! I asked you to be my strategist just now, but now you're offering to teach this young lady?"

"Have your tastes changed since we last met?"

The way she said that made it sound like she knew Shen Xizhou very well, or even that there had been something between them.

Chu Yuan's hand, which was on the table, trembled, and by sheer coincidence, it knocked over the tiles in front of her, turning an 80,000 tile from standing upright to lying flat...

Shu Tingchang's eyes lit up, and he slammed down his tiles, "You're playing an 8 of Wan, right? I won! Dragon Seven Pairs!"

Chu Yuan, "..."

Shen Xizhou, "..."

He stared silently at the two fallen figures, one of 80,000 and the other of 70,000.

"I..." Chu Yuan wanted to say that she didn't want to play that card.

Before she could finish speaking, Shen Xizhou reached out a large hand onto the table and shoved all the cards in front of her into the shuffling chamber.

Not only was he not annoyed at all, but he also smiled encouragingly at her, saying, "It's okay, let's try again."

For Xue Qing, not only did she not get the answer she wanted, but it was like being forced to eat dog food!

But she didn't believe it. How could Xizhou possibly like a girl who only had good looks but no substance?

In terms of beauty, my alma mater was full of beauties back then, but I never saw Xizhou take a fancy to any of them.

She came here with a solemn promise to her parents: she would definitely win Shen Xizhou's heart. One reason was that she had liked Shen Xizhou for many years, and the other was that their families, one in politics and the other in business, were a perfect match.

After the college entrance examination, she chose to study law, partly because her aunt Shen had told her that Xizhou would most likely choose this major.

Who would have thought he would come to City S after graduation?

Second-tier cities like these were never on her radar. After much deliberation, she did not choose to pursue them. Instead, she applied for the qualification to support grassroots areas only after she had achieved success in her career and secured a position in the Supreme Court.

...

Ten rounds of cards were over in the blink of an eye.

Chu Yuan lost five or six thousand on behalf of Shen Xizhou. Xue Qing, whose heart was set on Shen Xizhou, was so focused on figuring out Shen Xizhou's feelings for Chu Yuan that she also lost quite a bit.

Qiao Meixin and Shu Tingchang, on the other hand, had a good harvest.

When accepting the WeChat transfer, Judge Shu's mouth was practically stretched to his ears with a grin. "Very good, very good. I like this combination. Let's continue tonight!"

He didn't care about young girls or grown women; winning money was the most important thing.

If Chu Yuan had lost her own money, he might have gone easy on her, but wasn't she being ordered to play for Shen Xizhou?

Shen Xizhou's official rank was higher than his, his salary was higher, and he was younger and more handsome...

This money deserves to be won!

After it was over, Chu Yuan stood up, and everyone thought she would be embarrassed.

After all, the leader lost so much money.

As a result, Chu Yuan didn't even glance at Shen Xizhou, and turned to leave as if she were fleeing or had something urgent to attend to.

Shen Xizhou, "..."

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