Chapter 218: Second Self-Introduction [2in1]
When she got on the boat, Ye Shuang realized that she had missed out on some big business. Zuo Yuanhang’s annual cruise party could be said to be famous across the nation. The waiters and chefs hired were normally from Zuo Yuanhang’s own hotelier business. In other words, they were professionals and experts. Other than that, even the sailors and captain were on a long-term contract. After all, the Zuo family would use the s.h.i.+p for other uses normally.
However, other than these people, Zuo Yuanhang also needed to hire security for the party. After all, this was a gathering for the rich and famous. The greater the security level, the better. Therefore, they needed the best of the best.
Perhaps it was a problem in Chaohai, or maybe Zuo Yuanhang could not find the necessary channel. In any case, from Ye Shuang’s observation, the security guards on the s.h.i.+p were about of the same level as the ones hired at the hotels. There were security cameras on the deck and public area, and the patrolling guards were very united and neat, but they looked more like honor guards. Based on Ye Shuang’s a.n.a.lysis, their muscle density should not be that high, and the muscle of their limbs was not that developed, lacking explosive power. Of course, they were enough to handle small issues like contained altercations, but if there was an expert, the group of security guards could be taken down quite easily.
“If Mr. Zuo plans to have important party like this in the future, I will be able to provide a recommendation for security firms that are not so bad. There are experienced mercenaries or security groups. After all, there are so many important people attending this party, and it is much too lacking to use the hotel security as the security here.” Ye Shuang could not help herself from writing this message to mock the man.
The message was received by the a.s.sistant on his phone, and it was thus relayed to Zuo Yuanhang. Zuo Yuanhang read the message on the phone and looked over to see Ye Shuang raising her hand to wave at him gracefully.
Lu Shaoyue chuckled lightly. “You also know Mr. Zuo?”
“We’ve met a few times.” Ye Shuang maintained her female grace. Her eyes scanned the entrance to the s.h.i.+p, and she realized that Han Chu and Albert had successfully gained entry. She smiled at the both of them silently and then moved her gaze away. “The official party will start much later. I plan to return to my room to unpack my luggage first. What about you?”
Lu Shaoyue very cleverly removed his arm from around Ye Shuang’s and said, “Then I shall go to my room and do the same. Shall I wait for Miss Ye at the first-cla.s.s deck’s Zone A?”
Ye Shuang nodded with a smile. Lu Shaoyue added, “Then I will come get Miss Ye before we move to the dinner today at around… shall we say 8:30 pm”
Since this was an invitation-based party, all the food and accommodation provided for the guests was free. The restaurant was a buffet-style set up that was taken from the hotel. During dining hours, there was various food and drink for the guests to enjoy. The restaurant would be open the whole time, but if it was not during dining hours, while there was still food, the guests would have to make an order and wait.
The first-cla.s.s deck was on the top floor. The floors underneath it had all the facilities that were common in a five-star hotel. Other than that, there was a casino, bar, swimming pool, gym, spa, clinic, theatre, movie cinema, and basketball court. To make a simple a.n.a.logy, the s.h.i.+p was like a small town.
The s.h.i.+p was not entirely a product for Zuo Yuanhang to show off his wealth. Other than this annual party, the rest of the time, the s.h.i.+p would be a tourism s.h.i.+p around the country. Naturally, the fee was much higher than a normal s.h.i.+p. Furthermore, most of the visitors’ expenses would be concentrated on the s.h.i.+p, so it was actually quite a profitable endeavor.
One of the reasons Zuo Yuanhang held this annual s.h.i.+p party was because he wanted to increase the popularity of his s.h.i.+p. After all, the higher the reputation and the higher the scale of the visitors, the higher the fee that could be collected from the visitors. It had been that way since the Si Hai Organization ventured into the field of tourism, especially tour s.h.i.+p. To attract high-end customers who were willing to spend, other than to use some time to gather good remarks, organizing upscale parties was the fastest solution.
Ye Shuang did not bring that much luggage with her—after all, she did not need that much on the s.h.i.+p. She only needed to bring several sets of clothes for her to change, and it would be more than enough. Other than the clothes that she had brought, the stuff that she had brought included her wallet, phone, and laptop. If even the lady was so lightly packed, it was more convenient for Albert and Han Chu. Therefore, Ye Shuang had just entered the room and sat down to rest when the two came over to visit her.
“Hey, do you know, they serve fried chicken set on this cruise liner!” Albert walked in with a bucket of chicken in his arms. Once he stepped into Ye Shuang’s room, he walked to the fridge to rummage for several cans of c.o.ke. He shook them excitedly and exclaimed, “c.o.ke with fried chicken, isn’t this the life‽”
“…Well, you enjoy that.” Ye Shuang was too lazy to remind the man that he had just shaken the can of c.o.ke. Seeing Albert going to open the can, Ye Shuang turned her face away to address Han Chu. “Is there anything that I can help with?”
Following the gasp of surprise and the burst of bubbles that occurred next to him, Han Chu nodded calmly. “It’s nothing serious. I just came to confirm the schedule for tonight. You should be Lu Shaoyue’s date, right? I know that Lu Shaoyue is quite a character in Jing Hu City, so quite a few guests will be coming over to interact with him. However, I hope that the schedule will be handled by you and not him… or at least you have to make sure you will not be led away by his rhythm.”
Ye Shuang nodded to show her understanding and acceptance. Since they had already decided that it was her responsibility to cooperate with Albert as he tried to gain contact with the six suspects, if she was unable to free herself during the crucial moment, then it would affect the success rate of the plan greatly. In other words, she had to be able to guarantee that she was able to move freely.
Enough had been said about Lu Shaoyue’s status. There were a few locations in China that were very hard to infiltrate. One was the international cities like Beijing and Shanghai. Due to the rapid economic development there, the hierarchy of the members of the upper society was very complicated. It was not easy to gain a voice within such circles within a short period of time. People of great power and position would appear from the woodwork every few days, and someone without a powerful company or family to lean back on would have a hard time carving a place themself.
The other place was naturally Jing Hu City. This type of location placed emphasis on history and legacy. In other words, one would have to trade time for position. If one did not have enough experience, no matter how large one’s a.s.sets or how big one’s name was overseas, it would be hard to gain the approval of the locals.
In fact, breaking into the circle at Jing Hu City could be said to be more difficult than breaking into the circle at Beijing. At the time, if not for Ye Shuang’s luck for grabbing Lu Shaoyue’s attention and gained his approval first, even if she had the ability to fly into the sky, it would have been impossible for the private clubhouses there to accept her.
Therefore, it was also because of this that these four cities—Beijing, Shanghai, Jing Hu, and Shenzhen… carried a certain weight all over the nation. Since it was not easy for them to be seen in public, with the opportunity that came from the cruise party, it was easy to imagine how many people would try to approach Lu Shaoyue to endear themselves to the man. If Ye Shuang really wanted to be the man’s date for the entirety of the schedule, she basically would not have to do anything for the remaining four days and three nights. Just the meal invitation, visiting, and the coincidental ‘meeting’ on the deck would be enough to fill up the whole schedule.
“I will only show up with Lu Shaoyue at the larger events,” Ye Shuang explained. “He will not come out of his way to invite me during private time. After all, we are just friends—if we stick together all the time, the message will be too obvious, and people will have some misunderstanding.”
Han Chu raised his eyes to look at Ye Shuang. He picked up a piece of chocolate from the table. The long finger slowly peeled off the packaging and then popped it into his mouth to slowly chew on it. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Ye Shuang meaningfully. “Just a misunderstanding?”
“What else could it be‽” Ye Shuang tossed the question back to the man.
Han Chu shrugged and said softly, “As long as it will not affect your work.”
Then he took out a pair of earrings and a bracelet. “This is Tony’s handiwork. It is mainly for communication purposes. The earring is for reception and the rose on the bracelet is the transmitter. I’ve gone over this with Zuo Yuanhang. The frequency has been set so that it will not be interrupted by the signal isolator on this s.h.i.+p.”
Ye Shuang had just put the earring on when the phone in the room rang. She picked it up to answer it. It was a call from Zuo Yuanhang’s a.s.sistant. The man had probably called the room shared by Han Chu and Albert before this, but there had been no answer, so he had called Ye Shuang’s room.
After hearing what the a.s.sistant had to say, Ye Shuang ended the call. “Brother Han, Zuo Yuanhang’s a.s.sistant said that there is someone playing golf at the golf course now.”
Han Chu looked Albert, who just finished one of the chicken wings and was licking the seasoning of his fingers. Seeing this, the man moved his shoulders. “Looks like it’s time for me to go for some exercise.”
“I hope you’re a good golfer.” Han Chu nodded and calmly explained the situation. “The one at the golf course now should be the second biggest shareholder. Normally, he will not chat with random strangers. If you do not share similar interests, it is difficult to initiate a conversation with him.”
Albert walked out from the toilet after was.h.i.+ng his hands. As he wiped the water stain from his hands, he said, “I don’t need to initiate a conversation with him, I just need to observe. Remember, I’m a professional; you should have more confidence in me.”
“I don’t think a professional would show up at a golf course with a bucket of chicken.” Ye Shuang could not help but point that out.
Albert looked at the paper bucket, which he had left on the table. After a series of mental combats, he looked away from his dear chicken and sighed. “Fine, I admit you have a point there.”
Albert was the first to leave Ye Shuang’s room. After the man left, Ye Shuang walked over to grab the bucket of chicken Albert left on the table. She pulled out a chicken wing and munched on it. The flour casing and the spices—this chicken wing was not the stock that had been left in the freezers for years, and even the frying oil was fresh. The stuff under Zuo Yuanhang’s name definitely had its quality guaranteed. It looked like she would not need to worry about food for the next four days and three nights.
She finished a whole chicken wing in three to four mouthfuls. As Ye Shuang reached for another, she asked, “Is there anything else, Brother Han?”
“Temporarily, nothing.” Han Chu stood up, nodded, and left. After everyone had left her room, Ye Shuang started to focus on filling up her stomach. The whole bucket of chicken was taken care of swiftly. After Ye Shuang put away the trash, she called room service to come clean the carpet that Albert had dirtied after he spilled the c.o.ke on it earlier. Before room service people arrived, the phone rang again. It was still the responsible a.s.sistant. This time, he was calling to inform Ye Shuang of Zuo Feiyang’s movement. He had been joined by his invited guests at the casino on the cruise.
Ye Shuang immediately relayed this fresh news to Han Chu, using the device designed by Tony. “Xi Hwa’s people are now at the casino—Zuo Feiyang is accompanying them.”
“Albert has already headed for the golf course, and he cannot walk away now,” Han Chu said. “Since it is the casino on the s.h.i.+p, it should be fine. They will be going there more than once, so there’ll be more opportunities. Plus, Zuo Feiyang has the home advantage here. He’s not going to get bullied.”
“You have a point. The dealer and the waitresses are his big brother’s employees. It is going to be difficult for them to cheat. In fact, if Zuo Feiyang really wants to get revenge, it is not impossible for him to liaise with the dealer to cheat the person back.” Ye Shuang chuckled wickedly.
Han Chu was silent for a moment. “I would’ve forgotten about this if you didn’t bring this up. I heard that ‘Mr. Ye’ once saved the Zuo family’s second young master from the local casino. He would have gotten into great trouble if not for Mr. Ye.”
“Cough!” Ye Shuang was also just reminded of that. The benefit of having a second account was that she was able to do bad things without being blamed for it, but on the other hand, after she was exposed, all the bad things that her second account had done would be pinned on her. Therefore, she calmly said, “That was such act of heroism, to save the young man from a life of depravity.”
Han Chu seemed to be smiling in response to the vindication in Ye Shuang’s answer. “Unfortunately, ‘Mr. Ye’ is not with us now. After all, Zuo Yuanhang is our client, so I suppose you’ll have to go to help look after his little brother.”
Ye Shuang, who had lost her second account, immediately left her room to race to the casino. As she moved there, she kept the phone conversation going with Han Chu. “This casino is under Zuo Yuanhang’s name—anyone with a brain knows that no matter what Zuo Feiyang does, he will be fine. Even if he lost, he is technically losing to himself. Brother Han, what do you think the people from The Xi Hwa Organization is up to?”
Did they fall into the sea before they got on the s.h.i.+p‽
Han Chu did not think too much of it. With the sound of keyboard typing and the sea breeze in the background, he said, “Cultivating a habit is something important as well. Make him get used to the atmosphere at the casino first before pulling him in with a big one. When the man is trapped in their web, they will slowly pull it close. They do not need to make Zuo Feiyang immediately fall into their trap; they can take it slow, starting with making the man get used to the environment. Furthermore, there are games at the casino that do not need the dealer, and that is where they can do some tricks.”
“Cultivating a habit is possible, but I don’t think they’ll do something like betting matches. It is doable at the outside casino but with Zuo Yuanhang close by, if Zuo Feiyang suddenly loses a large amount of money at the casino, it definitely would have tipped off Zuo Yuanhang.” The casino door was just right before her, so Ye Shuang swiftly ended the call. “Okay, I’ll go take a look. I’ll talk to you later, Brother Han.”
Talk to me later? About what? Does she really think this is a chatroom? Han Chu groused internally.
Han Chu had already introduced Ye Shuang’s female form to Zuo Yuanhang in the email about the working information, so it was not weird for Zuo Yuanhang to recognize her. However, Zuo Feiyang had not met Sister Shuang before. It had always been Brother Shuang who appeared before Zuo Feiyang. Therefore, after the gender swap, even though Ye Shuang was already standing less than half a meter away from the man, Zuo Feiyang still had no idea who Ye Shuang was.
“Please place your bets,” the dealer said with an official smile. Even though the young master of the Zuo family was sitting at the table, he treated everyone equally. The person from the Xi Hwa Organization was still the bespectacled man. However, this time, he did not bring Zuo Feiyang to play cards. Perhaps he still had emotional scars from what happened to him earlier at the cards table. So, this time, he brought Zuo Feiyang to ‘learn’ dice.
The game was mostly in the dealer’s favor. It was rare for the players to win big at a game like this. Furthermore, the players could not drag the other players to raise their bet. However, the positive thing was the speed of the match was very fast. The gambling method that was entirely based on luck would give certain people that rush of excitement, and it could be more intense than playing cards. Nervous because of the unknown, which caused antic.i.p.ation, and antic.i.p.ation led to focus, which careened into addiction.
Ye Shuang listened closely to the sound of the dice rolling, and she could basically tell the points. If there was no accident, the result should be a ‘small’, but Zuo Feiyang, the unfortunate child, moved all of his chips to ‘large’. It was fine if one did not have talent, but how could he also lose all of his luck?
Ye Shuang shook her head with a sigh, and Zuo Feiyang turned to look at her with confusion on his face.
“1, 3, 1. Small!”
The dealer showed the result, and it immediately drew Zuo Feiyang in. When he saw it was a ‘small’, his eyes widened with disbelief. “How could it be a small again‽”
The bespectacled man comforted him with a smile. “It’s just bad luck, but after so many smalls, I’m sure the next one will be different.”
They could not cheat at dice, so the bespectacled man very rationally and carefully placed several chips onto the betting table to spice things up. However, Zuo Feiyang seemed to have forgotten the pain after the wound recovered. He appeared like he was slipping again. Probably wanting to turn things around, he was slowly sucked in by the dice.
“The so-called probability of the result being big after so many smalls… That is something only an outsider would say.” Ye Shuang could not resist saying something, and she managed to attract the attention of Zuo Feiyang and the bespectacled man. She continued in her graceful tone. “The probability is the same every time. Every single game is a new one, so no matter the history, the previous match’s result will not affect the result of the future match.”
After she said that, her lips curved into an angle as she turned to the two. “Placing the hope of success on the back of the earlier failures is something losers do to lie to themselves.”
Rolling dice was the first skill that Ye Shuang had practiced after she was exposed to the art of gambling. Compared to cards, which required calculation and luck, Ye Shuang was more confident at the dice table because this was something that was completely dependent on skill. The points before the die were shaken, the distance between the die, the weight of the die, the size, the friction and power between the die and the casing, the angle of the casing, the speed and the strength… As long as it was something that required calculation and skill, Ye Shuang had confidence that she would make no mistake.
The bespectacled man coughed and moved his head away like he was trying to stop himself from getting into an argument with the lady. Zuo Feiyang was getting mad from the embarra.s.sment. The affection that he felt when he first saw Ye Shuang was slipping. “The lady sure has a beautiful way of putting things.”
“I have a beautiful way of playing things as well.” Ye Shuang winked her right eye. Just as Zuo Feiyang was stunned by that wink, she turned around naturally to ask for the die from the dealer. “May I?”
The s.h.i.+p had just started its journey, and the first party had not even started yet. Most of the facilities were empty, and even the casino only had more than ten people in it. They were dispersed around the table, and naturally, few people were paying attention to the dice table. Since it would not affect the normal running of the casino and he knew that the guests that had been invited on this s.h.i.+p were all from impressive backgrounds, the dealer took a step back and allowed Ye Shuang to take his place.
Ye Shuang picked up the casing to measure its weight. After considering the volume and the material of the casing, she picked up the dice and did the same thing. Zuo Feiyang and the bespectacled still did not understand what Ye Shuang was up to when Ye Shuang dropped the dice back onto the table. She did not move her hand that much, so it appeared like she had just swiped the casing across the table when all the remaining die were swept into the casing. The rhythmic sound of die bouncing against one another and the wall appeared.
Based on that, the bespectacled man became alerted. Zuo Feiyang just thought the trick was quite handsome, but he did not think too much on it. Noticing the focus in the bespectacled man’s eyes, Ye Shuang merely smiled. Then the sound of the collisions became more intense and rapid.
The bespectacled man panicked; he was not given the time to adjust. Actually, even if he had been given the time to adjust, he was not going to reach Ye Shuang’s standard. The casing dropped on the table, and all the crisp sound of collisions disappeared. Only the casing sat quietly on the table.
Ye Shuang opened her lips to ask, “How many points?”
“Huh‽” Zuo Feiyang was shocked. Shouldn’t she ask big or small‽
The bespectacled man gritted his teeth and hissed. “I bet it’s a… big.”
There was an apparent lack of confidence in his voice.
Ye Shuang smiled as she placed her hands on the casing. She purposely toyed with the two. “Would you believe me if I say it is three 6s?”
Even though they were in a shaky relations.h.i.+p, at that moment, Zuo Feiyang and the bespectacled man moved in such unison. They both tossed a condescending look at Ye Shuang without even communicating beforehand.
The bespectacled man naturally did not believe that someone would be able to get the points that they wanted after such a violent shake. There was a chance of that happening, but that would require such an amount of skill that was only achievable by actual aliens.
Zuo Feiyang though was reminded of the casino knowledge that he had learned from Brother Shuang. Based on skill and professional calculation, certain results could be reached, but the results were based on probability—no one could guarantee the precision of every round. Skill needed a long time of practice, but even so, there was still a chance for slip-ups. As Brother Shuang’s die-hard fan, Zuo Feiyang believed that no one would be able to turn this theory on its head.
Then… there was no then.
The casing was pulled up, and three die, each with the 6 facing up, sat on the table quietly like they were mocking the two. Even the dealer who stood to the side almost had his eyes jump out of his face.
Who said that there were no experts in the world‽
“However strong you are, there is always someone stronger.” Ye Shuang clapped her hands slowly. She looked at Zuo Feiyang and uttered, “No matter the type of game, it is not something that is winnable by luck alone. If you cannot control the game, how are you going to win?”
Zuo Feiyang was fazed for a moment. He felt that sounded so familiar like he had heard it from someone’s lips before.
Zuo Feiyang became subconsciously serious and carefully asked, “I’m sorry, but you are…?”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Ye Shuang.”