Chapter 36 Heart palpitations
"Thank you."
Yu Shu knew that Qi Shichen was not a kind-hearted person, and that he did these things only because of him.
The haze in Yu Shu's heart dissipated considerably; he couldn't let his own actions affect others.
When they turned around and walked towards the dining table, everyone stared at them as if they were frozen in place.
Qi Shichen stood in front of Yu Shu to block him.
"Do you want some candy too? Should I feed them to each of you?"
Qi Shichen narrowed his eyes and scanned everyone present.
"No, no."
The group shook their heads repeatedly and quickly lowered their heads to eat.
Qi Shichen led Yu Shu to sit down and continue eating. Yu Shu had been in a bad mood and hadn't eaten much, and Qi Shichen himself hadn't eaten much either.
After lunch, everyone gathered together to play cards in the afternoon.
They brought mahjong sets, and the group played a fierce game, their eyes bloodshot, using playing cards as their chips.
Yu Shu asked Qi Shichen and learned that the numbers on the playing cards represented money, with 3 representing 30,000 and 9 representing 90,000.
Their performance left Yu Shu speechless.
Yu Shu didn't participate. Firstly, he wasn't very good at it, and secondly, he wouldn't participate in such a large-scale game. He could play for small amounts of fun, but he wouldn't come if the amount was too big.
Qi Shichen sat on a stool with a row of mahjong tiles scattered in front of him. He held a cigarette between his left index finger and picked up a mahjong tile with his right hand.
Yu Shu sat next to them and watched them play cards.
There were quite a few people watching, and some were even buying horses.
After several rounds, Qi Shichen won a lot of poker cards.
Many times, before Yu Shu could even see what cards Qi Shichen had won, he would turn over the cards and say that he had won.
After playing for more than an hour, Wang Cheng and Chen Tianhua were having a run of bad luck and almost lost all their cards, while Xiao Zhong didn't lose much.
Wang Cheng and Chen Tianhua exchanged a glance, a mischievous idea forming in their minds, and they immediately hit it off.
“Little painter, sit next to Brother Qi and see if he’s made a 'baccarat' (a type of bamboo).”
Yu Shu was suddenly called out, and then subconsciously followed the other party's instructions to look at Qi Shichen's cards.
Qi Shichen's hand in this round was easy to identify; it was indeed a winning hand of eight of bamboo.
Yu Shu was unaware that the other party was saying this on purpose and judging from Yu Shu's reaction.
Yu Shu didn't say anything after reading it; he was unaware that he had already revealed his information.
Next, Qi Shichen could no longer see the eight of bamboo, and the opponent would not play it even if they got it. Now that the game was coming to an end, there were only a few cards left on the table, so even if he wanted to change the hand, he couldn't.
Qi Shichen took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled the smoke.
He gave an ambiguous smile.
Yu Shu wouldn't react if asked once, but after being asked many times, he would catch on. Especially after several times, Qi Shichen never won.
"You cheated."
After Yu Shu realized what was happening, she spoke to the two people opposite her.
Xiao Zhong and Chen Tianhua are shameless; even when accused, they refuse to admit their guilt and instead respond with an innocent expression.
"No, we didn't see our partner's cards. Brother Qi has won so much, it's time for him to give us some back."
Yu Shu wasn't as eloquent as them; he couldn't win an argument with them.
He felt that if he stayed any longer, Qi Shichen would likely lose by a large margin, so Yu Shu got up and prepared to leave.
Qi Shichen reached out and grabbed the person. He stood up, pressed Yu Shu's shoulder, and led him to his own seat.
"You fight, I'll give the orders."
Qi Shichen moved his stool behind Yu Shu to make sure he couldn't see anyone else's cards, only the cards in front of Yu Shu.
He must prove his innocence.
After doing all this, Qi Shichen put the cigarette in the ashtray and stubbed it out. Then he chuckled and glanced at the two people who had just tricked him.
"You wanted to ask, right? Ask away! I'll answer any question you have."
After saying that, Qi Shichen helped Yu Shu shuffle the cards in front of him, then pointed to one of the cards and told Yu Shu to play it.
Yu Shu knew that they had just plotted against him and conspired to frame Qi Shichen. Now, with the two armies facing each other, Yu Shu had become the mascot in charge.
Qi Shichen sat behind Yu Shu. He didn't say what cards to play, he just pointed and told Yu Shu to play.
Unbeknownst to Yu Shu, each time Qi Shichen reached out, it was as if he were being gently embraced.
Although Yu Shu was a mascot, he was very dedicated and focused on the cards, intending to teach them a lesson together with Qi Shichen.
They were utterly annihilated, leaving no one alive.
In less than two hours, innocent Xiao Zhong was also drawn into the battle. The other three people at the table lost all their chips and ended up owing a lot of money!
"I'm not coming anymore, I'm not coming anymore. If I keep losing like this, I'll lose my underwear to you."
Xiao Zhong was the first to surrender. He was joking, of course. This was clearly a suicide mission. If he didn't leave now, he would be waiting to have his throat slit and be bled dry by Sister Qi.
Qi Shichen knew when to quit while he was ahead and took Yu Shu off the mahjong table.
Qi Shichen counted the chips in his hand, calculated how much money he had won, and then put the playing cards aside.
"When they give me the money later, they'll give you half. After all, you got a share of the medal."
Yu Shu didn't mince words and nodded with a smile.
After the two of them left the card table, the others took their place and continued playing. Yu Shu and Qi Shichen wandered around the village.
As the two walked, they left the village and came to a small field of wildflowers. The flowers were wild and had grown to the height of a person's calf because no one had cleared them.
The children were chasing and playing, and the child who stole their candy was isolated by the other children and looked longingly at them.
When the children saw their older brother coming over, they wanted to play with him, but they were afraid of Qi Shichen following behind Yu Shu.
Seeing this, Yu Shu told Qi Shichen to wait for him.
Qi Shichen inwardly disliked those kids, but he didn't show it on his face. He even nodded magnanimously to indicate that he understood.
Who told him he was only a friend?
They had no right or standing to express their dissatisfaction.
Yu Shu walked towards the children. There were five children, three boys and two girls, who were playing house. The boys were the guests and the girls were the chefs.
They laid out a lot of food made of mud and wild grass in front of them. After the food was cooked, the boys picked it up, pretended to eat a few bites, and then gave serious comments on whether the food was delicious or not.
Girls get happy when they hear something is delicious, but if they hear something is not, they immediately say you don't know what's good for you and don't know how to eat.
Yu Shu smiled as she watched them play the game.
The girls even invited Yu Shuye to try it, and showed it to the boy who said it wasn't good, proving that he was the one who didn't know how to eat it.
Yu Shu picked up a leaf with a clay snack on it. He pretended to eat a few bites, like a child, and then gave a serious critique.
"Mmm, it's really delicious."
Yu Shu's serious and earnest demeanor boosted the children's confidence, but then Yu Shu continued with the next sentence.
“I really like this kind of food, but this child doesn’t. Maybe it’s because everyone’s tastes are different, just like some people like sweet food and some people like spicy food.”
Yu Shushui managed to be fair and not offend any of the children.
When the children heard Yu Shu say this, they nodded in sudden understanding, looking very enlightened. Then one of the little girls went to ask the little boy who had just said it didn't taste good.
Ask him what he likes to eat.
After the little boy told her what he liked to eat, the little girl made it for him.
Qi Shichen stood at a distance, watching Yu Shu play with the children. In the end, the children even made a flower wreath for Yu Shu and put it on his head.
The flowers are pale pink, and the leaves are woven into a circle. The children's handicrafts are very immature, and in some places, Yu Shu even helped them complete them.
Yu Shu sat in the sea of flowers, his light flaxen hair falling around his ears, a flower wreath on his head. When he played with the children, he would occasionally turn around and glance at Qi Shichen.
Greet him with your eyes.
Just like carrying water, we won't forget our good friend.
Qi Shichen rarely waited so quietly for someone, waiting for them to do something tedious or even boring. At this moment, he felt that he could no longer see the scenery around him.
All you can see is that one person in the sea of flowers.
Yu Shu was like an elf who had descended from the top of a snow-capped mountain. He was captivated at first sight and became even more bewitched as he got closer.
After playing with the children for a while, Yu Shu got up, said goodbye to them, and walked towards Qi Shichen.
As he left, he saw a little boy in the distance who kept glancing at them as they played.
Yu Shu only lingered on him for a few seconds before walking towards Qi Shichen.
When Yu Shu reached Qi Shichen's side, she took off the flower wreath from her head and said to Qi Shichen, "I've kept you waiting."
Qi Shichen took the flower wreath from Yu Shu's hand, examined it carefully, and then put the wreath back on Yu Shu's head.
Yu Shu did not understand.
"It looks good, I'll wear it a little longer."
After putting on the flower wreath, Qi Shichen carefully etched the image of the person in front of him into his mind.
"It looks good, why aren't you wearing it?"
Yu Shu countered with a question, as Qi Shichen had made him a bit more lively these past few days, so he directly asked him the same question.
Qi Shichen smiled and raised his hand to indicate that he had misspoke.
Then he took off Yu Shu's flower wreath, put it on his own head with a cool look on his face, and asked him if it looked good.
Qi Shichen has a very rugged appearance. When he wears pretty things like flower wreaths on his head, it looks like a flower is pinned to the side of a tiger's head.
Yu Shu couldn't help but laugh.
I couldn't stop laughing.
Seeing that he was laughing so hard he could hardly breathe, Qi Shichen took off the flower wreath and put it on Yu Shu's head again.
"You look better in it."
When Qi Shichen said this, he looked into Yu Shu's eyes.
As Yu Shu was laughing, she was suddenly startled by his gaze.
It was a very serious look in his eyes.
Yu Shu hurriedly looked away.
He sensed something was wrong.
After looking away, he saw the isolated little boy again, and Yu Shu seemed to remember something.
He was talking to the people around him.
“Mr. Qi, what you said may not be wrong, but I have a different opinion at this moment. We cannot look at children with the perspective of adults. Children have their own rules of survival, and what we adults do does not apply to them. Bamboo is bamboo, and plum is plum. The wind and rain along the way will not change their essence.”
"The storm is just a trial for them. We can't back down because we're worried about this or that. Even if they don't get the candy I give them, they'll find another 'candy' in the future. Everyone has their own destiny."
"Why should we stand in the shoes of adults, be self-righteous, and try to figure out their lives?"
Yu Shu spoke very softly.
However, every word of it served as a wake-up call for Qi Shichen.
He was arrogant and conceited. It turns out that his arrogance had never been restrained; it was just that as he grew older, he put on a convincing facade.
He prides himself on being mature and composed.
In reality, he was no different from his unruly companions; the only difference was his own wickedness.
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