NOVEL NEXT Chapter 76 - 76: Quite a Feast, Isn’t It?
Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Quite a Feast, Isn’t It?
Translator: 549690339
Chapter 76 – Quite a Feast, Right?
As the chips were being handed out, Tang Baona seemed to have remembered something. She said, “The two kids we rescued from the traffickers earlier seem to have some significant backgrounds.”
Yang Zhen’er also nodded, “My father said that the kids’ grandpa is a business tycoon in the neighboring province. He went there by invitation last Friday, mentioning something about a potential collaboration.”
Tang Baona nodded, ‘My uncle also mentioned a new client from the neighboring province actively contacted our company for a big deal. It’s pretty much confirmed that it has to do with those children’s family.” Xia Libing remarked, “They apologized to me over the phone.” “Huh? They apologized?” Tang Baona was puzzled.
Xiang Kun and Yang Zhen’er also looked at her, confused.
With a touch of helplessness, Xia Libing explained, “They seemed to have misunderstood that I couldn’t stay in the city hospital, so they pulled strings so I could remain at my current hospital for an internship. Then they found out that I was the one who arranged a transfer to Haixi Province… so now my departure date to Haixi Province has been postponed.”
Unable to hold back their laughter, Tang Baona, Yang Zhen’er, and Xiang Kun began to chuckle. No wonder there was a misunderstanding. Any graduate would dream of staying in a big city or big hospital.
Yang Zhen’er joked, “Looks like the family of those kids is trying to thank us, huh? Nana and I are basking in the glory of Xiang Kun and Old Xia; we didn’t do much, did we?”
“We sure did. Weren’t you the one who called the police? And it was you who pursued them by car… But you’ve got to change your habit of talking and looking around while driving. If you get distracted again while driving, I’ll give you a smack,” Tang Baona voiced out.
“Yes, yes, I’ll definitely change!” Yang Zhen’er nodded like a pecking chicken, and then turned to Xiang Kun, “By the way, did they contact you or your family? How did they express their gratitude? Did they arrange a job for you? Hmm, I guess you would refuse it.”
Xiang Kun touched his nose, “They gave me 200,000 yuan.”
He initially thought upon hearing from Officer Chen that the children’s family had already expressed their “gratitude” to Tang Baona and the others, each person receiving an equal amount of money. He hadn’t expected that the way would differ from person to person.
However, he didn’t believe those two children’s family only gave him money because they looked down on him. Instead, it confirmed that the family actually knew what each of the four would need. “Thanking” him with money was indeed the most appropriate method.
Neither of the three ladies felt this amount was too large. Yang Zhen’er rubbed her hands together, ready to deal the cards, “Since you have money now! I really need to win you over today! You must treat us to three big meals!”
In essence, all kinds of poker games, including Texas Hold’em, are probability games.
But compared to calculations, Xiang Kun felt that Texas Hold’em relied more on understanding the psychology of other players and devising strategies accordingly.
As for his three “opponents”, he had tried them out during a game of “Landlords” last time. Apart from Xia Libing, he could relatively easily guess the psychology and actions of Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er.
Yang Zhen’er was impulsive, and Tang Baona acted honestly. He had a basic understanding of their characters and their style of playing cards.
From their heartbeats, their breathing rhythms, the changes in their body odors, and the alterations in their facial expressions, he could intuitively gauge the quality of their hands.
For example, if they appeared excited or pleased upon just seeing the hole cards before the community cards were dealt, it indicated that they had high cards or a pair. If their emotions fluctuated after the community cards were dealt, it indicated that they had a strong hand. From this, he could easily deduce the probable rank of their hole cards, and decide his own strategy based on it.
Incidentally, he had recently read heaps of psychology books, which gave him the chance to apply and experiment in reality.
Several books on micro-expressions, for example, FACS (Facial Action Coding
System)-related content- Even after learning these methods. Ordinary people
find it challenging to apply them, with low success and accuracy rates. Unlike what’s usually depicted in TV shows and movies, they aren’t that magical.
But Xiang Kun was different. He possessed a strong dynamic visual ability, allowing him to observe very subtle changes in facial expressions in detail.
Moreover, his brain had a strong ability to remember and process various pieces of information, enabling him to record and compare expressions under different circumstances, summarize them, and form a basis for judgement.
For example, the subtle changes when he got a good card or a poor card, the bluffing raises, the reluctant folds, and finding the differences and characteristics within.
Furthermore, with the help of supplementary information such as heart rate, changes in scent, rhythm of respiration, his judgement skills were even stronger than a high-speed camera attached to an Al system.
However, when the game actually started, Xiang Kun found that his theories were not applicable to Tang Baona and Yang Zhen Er at all—because the two of them were easy to guess what they would do next without even observing; whether they got a good or a bad card, their bodily reactions were so conspicuous that he could make a judgement without looking at their expressions at all.
So, his main attention was on Xia Libing.
This woman, who had done two master’s degrees, was much more calm than her cousin and Tang Baona.
Whether she got a good or a bad card, the changes in her heartbeat and scent were very slight, her emotions were stable, and her facial expressions were more or less the same—her eyes squinted, the corner of her mouth slightly raised, it was a smile that was not quite a smile.
The pacing of the game was much faster than Tang Baona and Yang Zhen Er had anticipated, especially for the two of them, who almost always lost their
200 chips first, and could only stand by and watch Xiang Kun duel Xia Libing.
But the results were always the same, Xiang Kun always won.
Although, compared to Tang Baona and Yang Zhen Er, it was harder to observe any emotional changes in Xia Libing, and harder to gauge the situation of the cards in her hand.
But as time went on, Xiang Kun, who now had a strong memory and analytical ability, was gradually getting a hold on her small habits, subtle movements, tiny expressions, slight changes, and his judgements were becoming more and more accurate.
When he judged that Xia Libing’s cards contained a high chance of winning, Xiang Kun would fold early; when he judged that Xia Libing was bluffing, he would strategically increase his stake; when his cards were good, he would set up traps and make her miscalculate.
Moreover, in the initial rounds after each restart, he always won more chips from the two women, Tang and Yang, and always entered the IVI duel with Xia Libing with a greater chip advantage. Hence, for the entire afternoon, he was always the one who won all the chips in the three women’s hands in the end.
Fortunately, Xiang Kun had no intention of making things difficult for them, as he only proposed simple and relaxing demands such as imitating a pig’s snout, bouncing off each other’s foreheads, singing children’s songs with a pinched nose, making ten consecutive funny faces, and so on…
By five-thirty, the three women who had never won before duly excused themselves. Initially, they had intended to win at least once against Xiang Kun and then stick to him to treat them to a meal, but they didn’t even win once.
This wasn’t just for Tang Baona and Yang Zhen Er, even Xia Libing was a bit dazed and felt it was a bit unrealistic.
After Xiang Kun had sent them to the elevator, he returned to his room. However, he stopped before he went in because he heard Shiling’s Mom, who happened to be in the elevator with the three women, mention him.
“You are Mr. Xiang’s friends, right?” Shiling’s Mom smiled at the three beautiful girls with diverse charms and asked.
Shiling’s Mom continued with a smile, “Mr. Xiang is a fantastic chef. Being his friend must be a treat, isn’t it?” They saw that Xiang Kun was still single, and it was rare to see any women around him, so instinctively thought that there might be a chance for some developments between some of these women and Xiang Kun. As a good neighbor in China, she naturally had to say a few good things for him.
“Xiang Kun is a good cook?” Yang Zhen Er widened her eyes to ask, then added after a pause, “We really haven’t known him for long, so we don’t know him very well yet.”
Shiling’s Mom nodded emphatically: “Yes, quite good! He’s given us food that he has cooked twice, and it was very tasty, better than the restaurants outside. He’s definitely chef-level, he must cook often. My daughter and I both really enjoyed it. He seems to be especially good at cooking rabbit. Both spicy rabbit and braised rabbit are very delicious, you should definitely let him cook it for you if you get a chance!”
Just then, the elevator reached the ground floor. After saying goodbye to Shiling’s Mom, the three girls left.
But Tang Baona, Yang Zhen Er, and Xia Libing all exchanged glances: “Rabbit…’
They all thought of the three large, chubby rabbits they had seen in Xiang
Kun’s kitchen..