The way they play cards here is a bit different.

At first, Jiang Yichu didn’t understand.

 

She stood behind Liang Heng and watched the game for two rounds before she got the hang of it.

 

With a brain sharp enough to get into a top-tier medical school at the age of fifteen, card counting was a piece of cake for Jiang Yichu.

 

Sure enough, less than an hour later, someone at the card table lost all their money and left.

 

Jiang Yichu immediately stepped in.

 

Everyone was here to gamble, so no one cared that Jiang Yichu was a girl.

 

For three straight days, as long as Liang Heng was there, Jiang Yichu would be at the card table too.

 

“This is really weird!”

 

It was another round where three people were all putting in money. Jiang Yichu’s teammate had enough and cursed, throwing his cards down and looking at Liang Heng.

 

“South, your luck’s been so good these past few days?”

 

Three whole days! No matter how good Liang Heng was at cards, there’s no way he could win while everyone else lost, right?

 

At the table, they were all Westerners.

 

Jiang Yichu lost the least, about thirty-something. He, on the other hand, had lost over a hundred in three days.

 

The other big guy was even more unlucky—he had already lost almost three hundred!

 

To put it in perspective, a worker’s monthly wage was only about fifty.

 

If Liang Heng kept winning like this, no one would even be able to afford food.

 

“I’m done!”

 

That guy was furious, tossing his cards aside and leaving.

 

With nightfall approaching, Liang Heng also stood up, signaling that he was done.

 

When they reached the door, Liang Heng purposely paused and looked back.

 

“Hey.”

 

Jiang Yichu could tell he was calling her and stopped.

 

For the past few days, she had been too focused on counting cards, and only now did she look closely at Liang Heng.

 

Jiang’s mother was right; Liang Heng was indeed good-looking, a typical charming playboy with a bit of a rogue vibe.

 

“You called me?” Jiang Yichu asked Liang Heng.

 

Liang Heng didn’t answer right away. He just nodded, signaling her to follow him.

 

The two of them walked down a less crowded alley.

 

When they were out of sight, Liang Heng finally spoke. “You’ve been feeding me cards for three days. Do you recognize me?”

 

He couldn’t let his father know he was running around the black market.

 

When Liang Heng came here to play cards, he used an alias.

 

The black market was full of all kinds of people, and it was a different class from the military district. Even after playing for a month, he hadn’t met anyone who knew him.

 

But this girl…

 

Liang Heng found it amusing, but he wasn’t stupid.

 

She’d been feeding him cards for three days and practically handing him money. The only reason she could have for doing that was knowing his real identity.

 

Jiang Yichu’s silence was the perfect answer.

 

Liang Heng smiled but didn’t want to dig deeper.

 

“Alright, whatever you’re up to…”

 

He pulled out the two hundred he’d won today and handed it all to Jiang Yichu. “Take the money, and pretend you’ve never seen me.”

 

He came here to blow off some steam, not to win money.

 

He couldn’t let his father find out, and he didn’t want anyone using him to climb the social ladder by getting close to General Liang.

 

After handing her the money, Liang Heng turned to leave.

 

“Wait a minute.”

 

Jiang Yichu stopped him but didn’t speak immediately.

 

She paused for a second, her expression serious.

 

“There’s someone following you.”

 

Liang Heng didn’t believe it. “Your ears are sharper than a dog’s?”

 

A few days ago, the boomerang had hit him right in the chest.

 

Jiang Yichu glanced at him and then introduced herself. “I’m Jiang Yichu, Jiang Zhiyuan’s daughter. Now shut up.”

 

Jiang Zhiyuan?

 

Liang Heng froze. Wasn’t that the person his grandfather had arranged a betrothal for him with?

 

He looked at Jiang Yichu… and pulled a face.

 

“No wonder they arranged a betrothal. What kind of daughter does the Jiang family have?”

 

Couldn’t find a husband without a betrothal?

 

He didn’t say the latter part, but his words were enough.

 

Jiang Yichu was speechless.

 

Was this guy even using his brain? Didn’t he hear her say someone was following them?

 

They were walking down an alley with hardly any people, and the sound of footsteps behind them was now especially obvious.

 

“Big brother…”

 

“You hate ugly, but I hate stupid.”

 

Jiang Yichu had expected that the burly man she’d heard of would wait until they were near Liang Heng’s house before making a move.

 

But as the footsteps got closer, she realized the guy was planning to make a move in the black market!

 

Not wanting to deal with this idiot Liang Heng, Jiang Yichu quickly asked him, “Is there a police station nearby?”

 

“Police station?”

 

Liang Heng looked at her as if she’d just said the funniest thing in the world.

 

“Is your black market next to a police station?”

 

“I should just gamble in the interrogation room—it’d be more convenient that way, wouldn’t it?”

 

?

 

Was he trying to be funny?

 

Jiang Yichu was speechless.

 

She asked again, “You should be good with your hands, right?”

 

After all, he grew up in a military district. If he wasn’t being ambushed, one-on-one should be fine, right?

 

“Good with my hands?”

 

Liang Heng looked at Jiang Yichu as if she had said something even stranger.

 

He shook his head. “I don’t know martial arts.”

 

Jiang Yichu was shocked. “You grew up in the military district, and you don’t know martial arts?”

 

“Didn’t General Liang teach you any self-defense or combat skills?”

 

They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, but Liang Heng didn’t seem like he was much of a fighter—just a barker.

 

Ignoring the questioning look from Jiang Yichu, Liang Heng slowly raised his hand.

 

“Look.”

 

“This is the hand of a refined boy.”

 

The footsteps were getting closer.

 

Jiang Yichu felt her vision go black.

 

This idiot was unreliable. She held her breath, controlled her thoughts, and pulled out a syringe with anesthetic from the space-based operating room, hiding it in her sleeve.

 

Then she moved quietly to the side, silently distancing herself from Liang Heng.

 

“What are you doing?” Liang Heng asked in confusion.

 

Jiang Yichu glanced at Liang Heng’s “refined” hand and sighed regretfully.

 

“I guess it’s not going to be so refined much longer.”

 

Jiang Siro had asked her to hurt Liang Heng, but if he was going to be unable to fulfill the betrothal, it would at least have to be a broken bone, right?

As for whether it’s a broken arm or a broken leg, that depends on the mood of the big guy behind them.

Jiang Yichu quietly retreated to the wall.

 

She muttered some random words and made some inexplicable movements, but Liang Heng didn’t understand.

 

“I’m telling you, it’s fine—”

 

But before he could finish his sentence, Liang Heng was knocked over by a punch and slammed onto the ground.

 

“I’m fine. Now it’s you who has a problem.”

 

Jiang Yichu stepped back another two paces, putting herself at a safe distance.

 

She watched as the big man climbed on top of Liang Heng and pinned him down.

 

With muscles like that, this guy looked like someone who worked with his hands.

 

“Give me back the money you won, and I’ll go easy on you.”

 

The big man threatened, choking Liang Heng by the neck.

 

“Hah.” Liang Heng chuckled.

 

“You can’t handle losing, huh?”

 

Jiang Yichu couldn’t help but admire Liang Heng for still talking back at a time like this.

 

Dude, someone’s beating you up!

 

“Get better at the game, and if you can’t handle losing, don’t gamble.”

 

Liang Heng kept yapping, giving the guy pinning him a disdainful look.

 

“In broad daylight, and you’re still trying to go easy on me?”

 

“Come on!”

 

Liang Heng turned his head, challenging, “Go ahead, hit me, let me see.”

 

Assaulting a military family member was a serious crime—fifteen years minimum. Who would dare?

 

Really, this guy was getting on her nerves!

 

Jiang Yichu covered her eyes—she couldn’t bear to watch.

 

Why wasn’t this young master paying up and just avoiding the trouble? Ughhh!

 

A hard object scratched her face.

 

Jiang Yichu opened her eyes to find that she was clutching the money Liang Heng had given her earlier.

 

Oh, right, Liang Heng had no money.

 

At this point, she was totally out of hope.

 

Meanwhile, the big guy still hadn’t gotten the money, so his fists kept pounding into Liang Heng with rhythmic, brutal force.

 

Jiang Yichu didn’t even think about stopping him, and honestly, she couldn’t have. She closed her eyes and listened to Liang Heng’s cries of pain, but she was starting to lose it!

 

What kind of person was Jiang Siro hiring—was this a thug or an assassin?

 

Jiang Yichu kept her cold gaze fixed on them. The big guy didn’t even try to avoid hitting vital organs—if this went on, Liang Heng might bleed out from internal injuries, and things could turn deadly!

 

There was no choice.

 

Jiang Yichu moved around to the back of the two men, staying out of their line of sight.

 

Just at that moment, Liang Heng managed to land a kick to the big guy’s crotch.

 

The big man let out a low grunt of pain, his eyes immediately turning bloodshot with rage. In a fit of fury, he pulled out a fruit knife from his waistband.

 

The cold gleam of the blade reflected on the red brick wall.

 

It made Jiang Yichu squint instinctively.

 

“Shit! He’s pulling a knife!” Liang Heng gritted his teeth, struggling to hold the big guy’s wrist back.

 

But the strength gap was too wide. The big guy hadn’t gotten his money, and his sanity had already snapped.

 

It didn’t take much effort for him to start pressing the knife closer, inch by inch.

 

The knife was just about to pierce Liang Heng’s collarbone.

 

Without thinking twice, Jiang Yichu rushed forward.

 

She jammed the syringe with anesthetic into the man’s neck and pressed down on the plunger.

 

The speed of the injection was so fast that the man immediately rolled his eyes and passed out.

 

Liang Heng struggled to get up, looking at Jiang Yichu with wide, terrified eyes.

 

“You—you—killed him?!”

 

“Stop shouting. It’s just an anesthetic.” Jiang Yichu tossed the needle to the ground and wiped her hands off.

 

“Idiot.”

 

“You go call the police, but remember—don’t sell me out!”