Xiao Kai proudly opened the drawer and took out two ballpoint pens. In front of Xiao Guan, he successfully drew a circle and a square with precision. Xiao Guan pondered for a long time, unable to help sighing, "Kai, it's no wonder you could open that wordless book, you truly have great wisdom."
"Well, that's for sure," Xiao Kai said, "But coming up with just one solution is not enough, so let's think of three."
"Yeah, good idea," Xiao Guan said, "Even though I absolutely don't believe Ningyuan can do it, it's always good to be prepared."
This time, Xiao Kai's mind was more agile. After thinking for two minutes, he said, "I've got another one."
Xiao Guan curiously leaned in, and Xiao Kai said, "I want to play poker with him."
"Oh come on," Xiao Guan rolled her eyes, "You think you're a gambling legend like Ho Jun? Poker either involves cheating or skill. Do you think everything shown on TV is real? Do you really think you can remember all the cards?"
"Yes, I can remember," Xiao Kai nodded confidently, "I can remember them all."
Xiao Guan scrutinized his eyes, "Kai, don't get it wrong. I'm not asking you to slowly memorize each card. I'm asking you to remember each card while the deck is rapidly shuffled and cut, which is an impossible task."
"But... but I really can do it," Xiao Kai felt a little aggrieved, "I used to do it like that when I played cards with my classmates, so they stopped playing with me."
Xiao Guan looked quite peculiar, "Let's try it."
Xiao Kai didn't say much and went downstairs to buy two decks of cards. Xiao Guan expertly shuffled the deck, displaying professional techniques resembling those of a gambler. This unconventional fellow, who had only emerged from the mysterious book a few days ago, seemed to have learned everything. Xiao Kai observed this with amazement.
After demonstrating a series of high-difficulty movements, Xiao Guan smacked the deck shut and said, "Shall we get started?"
"Let's go," Xiao Kai said, "I remember them all."
Xiao Kai then proceeded to reveal each card, one by one, without missing a single detail. When he reached the last card, Xiao Guan was already dripping with sweat.
"My goodness, Kai, how did you do that?" she exclaimed, "This surpasses the limits of human memory and reaction!"
"I don't know," Xiao Kai said, "I'm average at everything else, but when it comes to cards, I'm indeed peculiar. No matter how you shuffle or cut, I can see the direction of each card and remember them clearly in my mind."
"An exceptional talent, indeed. It's no wonder you could unlock the wordless book," Xiao Guan sighed and stopped adding anything. "If that's the case, Ningyuan will definitely lose tomorrow."
"Aren't you thinking of a third one?" Xiao Kai asked.
"No need to think. You've already reached the limit with these two. If he can do that too, he would be better off cultivating in the world of spiritual and magical practices. Why bother being a child prodigy in the mortal world?" Xiao Guan smiled.
"But... but..." Xiao Kai always felt uneasy, thinking for a few minutes but couldn't come up with anything. Giving up, he felt his stomach growling. Xiao Guan said, "Let's eat."
Xiao Kai nodded but suddenly remembered Xiao Zhu. The victorious feeling from before vanished instantly, and he went downstairs to eat two buns. His stomach still wasn't satisfied, and he felt disinterested in going home, so he climbed over a half-height railing and sat on the rooftop, staring blankly at the stars.
Xiao Guan saw him sad and decided not to disturb him. Xiao Kai didn't know how long he had been sitting there when he started feeling the night dew seep through his clothes, making him shiver a little. When he checked his phone, he realized it was already past 10 PM, and it was exactly 11 PM now.
He and Xiao Zhu had agreed to meet at 10 AM today, but only a day had passed, and it felt like Xiao Zhu had already left him. She was probably lying in bed now, either dreaming or enjoying her birthday party with no thoughts about him in another part of City S.
Thinking about it made Xiao Kai even more depressed. As he was about to put his phone in his pocket, it started vibrating. He was startled and quickly looked at the screen, seeing Xiao Zhu's name.
"Hello, what's up?" Xiao Kai tried to sound casual, but his voice sounded dry and particularly clear in the night air, "Did you have fun tonight?"
Xiao Zhu didn't answer his question, but after a few seconds of silence, she softly called out, "Xiao Kai."
Her voice was gentle, delicate, and clear, causing Xiao Kai's heart to tremble. His facade of strength crumbled, and he hoarsely said, "What is it?"
Xiao Zhu's voice, light and fragile, yet very clear, asked, "Xiao Kai, do you love me?"
"I..." Xiao Kai swallowed hard, tried to calm his heartbeat, and said in a low voice, "I love you, but..."
"Mm, that's good," Xiao Zhu's voice suddenly turned mischievous, like she was joking with her lover, emanating playfulness and slyness from this usually serene girl, which made Xiao Kai feel particularly electrified, "I'll tell you a secret. I'm actually a spatial magician, and I can teleport."
"Okay, then teleport yourself here right now," human emotions are indeed strange, as one minute ago, Xiao Kai was in agony, but now, he suddenly felt elated, "Xiao Zhu, I miss you."
"Alright then," Xiao Zhu giggled on the other end, "Since you are so sincere, I'll fulfill your wish."
"Really?" Xiao Kai opened his mouth wide.
Xiao Zhu was laughing so hard on the other side that she couldn't even speak, her clear laughter echoing in Xiao Kai's ears. In those few seconds, Xiao Kai felt that the greatest happiness in life was at this moment. After a while, he heard Xiao Zhu scolding him, "Idiot, couldn't you have guessed? Hurry up and open the door."
Xiao Kai was only stunned for a second before rushing down like a flying bird, and with a "bang," he opened the door.
Outside the door, Xiao Zhu was wearing a white dress, bathed in the moonlight, standing quietly, warmly, and with a faint smile in front of Xiao Kai. As the night breeze blew, her black hair gently swayed, with a few strands brushing Xiao Kai's cheek, tickling and cool. In this situation, Xiao Kai immediately felt intoxicated.
"Fool, do you really not trust me? Do you think I'm the kind of girl that would push you away?"
"..."
"Fool, do you really think I'm avoiding you?"
"..."
"Fool, do you know that there really was something wrong at my house, and we didn't host a birthday party at all?"
"..."
"Fool, you really don't know that I sneaked out, risking so much danger, and you would blame me, misunderstand me, and get angry at me."
"I..." Xiao Kai couldn't say another word. He reached out and tightly held this girl who seemed like an elf under the moonlight in his arms. He felt that her touch was icy, her body fragile, and Xiao Zhu seemed like a startled snow rabbit, trembling lightly in his embrace. He felt infinite pity rising in his heart.
In fact, Xiao Zhu had only stayed in Xiao Kai's room for a few minutes before hurriedly leaving, but Xiao Kai's mood was like night and day compared to before.
He gently picked up a long hair from the chair, the jet-black hair shining with elasticity, he brought it to his nose, faintly smelling the aroma of the beautiful woman. He wrapped the hair around his fingers, entangling the threads of longing in his heart.
That night, Xiao Kai slept particularly soundly.
**Volume Two**
**Chapter One: A Genius's Preference (Part 1)**
Early the next morning, Xiao Kai rushed to the Feilun Port. It was only 8:30, still thirty minutes before his meeting with Ningyuan, but Ningyuan was even earlier. He was wearing a sky-blue sports suit, doing warm-up exercises at the port, displaying the elegance of an athlete. Xiao Kai looked at his own outfit—a floral shirt, shorts, and a pair of leather sandals—and had to admit that the other party had thought things through better than he had.
"Are we going to compete here?" Xiao Kai looked around and asked Ningyuan. "It doesn't seem quite fitting."
"I have my arrangements," Ningyuan smiled faintly, pointing to a luxurious medium-sized yacht anchored in the port. "We will compete on that."
It was a very stylish and luxurious yacht with a pink wooden deck, white railings, light blue walls, and a streamlined structure, illuminated by the rising sun, making it look splendid. Xiao Kai couldn't help but feel envious.
Ningyuan seemed to have noticed Xiao Kai's expression, chuckled scornfully, and said, "For today's competition, I have specially invited a famous international referee, Mr. Dao." On the yacht, a bearded man waved to them and greeted them in broken Chinese, "Hi, Mr. Ning, are you ready?"
"Just wait a moment," Ningyuan shouted, "Someone else is coming."
"Who else?" Xiao Kai asked curiously.
"Miss Xiao Yun said she would come," Ningyuan said with a smug look, "She said she would bring a friend too."
Just as he said that, Xiao Yun's familiar car drove up from a distance. Xiao Kai frowned, wondering, "Why didn't she tell me yesterday?"
The car door opened, and the first person to get out was actually Chi Xiaozhu. She was slightly surprised when she saw Xiao Kai, and Xiao Kai was even more surprised to see her.
"Director Xiao, what's going on?" Chi Xiao seemed also confused. "Didn't you bring me here to watch the show?"
"Yes," Xiao Yun smiled charmingly, "The show is about to begin."
"What's going on exactly?" Chi Xiao looked at the eager Ningyuan and the shrinking Xiao Kai. "Xiao Kai, tell me."
"It's nothing," Xiao Yun giggled, "Xiao Kai and Young Master Ning are going to have a duel for me today. Whoever loses will withdraw from the competition."
As soon as she said this, Chi Xiao's face paled.
Xiao Kai felt itchy with anger and somewhat embarrassed as he walked up to Chi Xiao. "Xiao Zhu, it's not what you think..."
"You don't need to say," Chi Xiao raised her head and smiled at Xiao Kai, saying softly, "Although I don't know what's going on, I believe you."
Half of what Xiao Kai wanted to say got stuck in his throat. His mind was in turmoil, and he just smiled at Chi Xiao, "I'll explain later, I'll go compete with him first."
"Okay, Xiao Kai, cheer up." Chi Xiao's eyes sparkled, while Xiao Yun looked at her from the side and suddenly felt inexplicably depressed, uncomfortable, and... jealous?
"What's wrong with me?" Xiao Yun bit her tongue hard and forced herself to come to, then smiled gently, "Let's go, the competition is starting."
As soon as Xiao Kai stepped onto the yacht, it sped away, very fast, and in the blink of an eye, it was quite a distance away. Looking back, the port had only a vague outline remaining. Ningyuan then ordered the sailors to stop and said, "Alright, this should be quiet enough, let's have the competition here."
"Okay," Xiao Kai spoke confidently. "Let's decide. I'll propose three different competitions. If you lose at any one of them, it's considered your loss."
"Of course," Ningyuan looked deeply at Xiao Yun, full of confidence, "For Miss Xiao Yun, I will definitely not lose."
"Alright," Xiao Kai said. "The first competition I'll challenge you to is poker."
When he mentioned poker, Ningyuan was taken aback for a moment, and then burst into laughter, "Did you not even check my situation online yesterday?"
"Why should I check?" Xiao Kai said nonchalantly. "I'm sure I can win."
Then someone brought a gambling table and some brand new decks of poker cards. Ningyuan clapped, and someone brought two chairs, placing them at either end of the gambling table for Xiao Kai and Ningyuan to sit down.
"How much are we betting?" Ningyuan inquired calmly, "Is it 100,000 per round, or 200,000 per round?"
"Um... Ten yuan per round," Xiaokai's face turned slightly red, but he spoke confidently, "We are focusing on winning and not gambling with money."
"But I don't have any change," Ningyuan casually took out a stack of hundred yuan bills and shook it in his hand, "What should I do?"
"Oh, it's okay," Xiaokai casually took out a thicker stack of ten yuan bills, "I have plenty, I'll lend it to you."
Xiaoyun looked at Ningyuan's somewhat pale face and suddenly felt that Xiaokai, in fact, was not as despicable as she had imagined, and seemed to be somewhat calculating.
Mr. Dao stood in the middle skillfully and asked, "Are you both ready?"
Xiaokai nodded, "You deal the cards."
Mr. Dao was obviously skilled in this, and took out a deck of cards, skillfully shuffling them. Xiaoyun and Xiaozhu watched on the side, marveling at the display, when suddenly Xiaokai interjected, "Mr. Dao, one deck is not thrilling enough, why don't you deal two decks?"
Ningyuan's eyes were fixed on Mr. Dao's hands, not blinking, but he smiled and said, "Two decks are not interesting, if we're going big, let's go for four decks."
"Okay," Xiaokai nodded, "Four decks it is."
Mr. Dao seemed taken aback by the two, and asked cautiously, "Are you sure?"
"Of course," they both replied together.
Mr. Dao didn't say much and brought out three more decks, making a total of 216 cards, shuffling them became much more difficult. However, Dao's hands were quite skilled, and the cards seemingly danced in his hands like magic. Xiaoyun and Xiaozhu couldn't keep up with the shuffle, and Xiaokai's eyes were fixed on the cards, sweating on his forehead. The current situation posed a significant challenge to his memory and concentration.
In contrast, Ningyuan remained relaxed and seemingly unaffected.
After shuffling for about five minutes, Dao closed the cards with a snap and said, "Mr. Yan, Mr. Ning, can we start?"
Xiaokai nodded slightly without speaking, his mind filled with the order of the over 200 cards, not daring to make any mistakes. Ningyuan, on the other hand, smiled lightly and said, "Sure."
In the first round, Xiaokai had two A's and one K, while Ningyuan had three, five, seven, a scatter of cards with little prospect of winning. Surprisingly, Xiaokai discarded his cards without hesitation, "I fold."
Ningyuan looked at Xiaokai with some surprise, smiled faintly, and folded his cards as well.
Xiaozhu frowned and whispered, "What is he doing?"
"He's not wrong," Xiaoyun explained, "If they draw two more cards, Xiaokai would definitely lose."
"How do you know?" Xiaozhu asked, "Do you gamble too?"
Xiaoyun smiled, "Of course not, but I can imagine that both of them actually know the sequence of the entire deck. From our perspective, it looks like they're gambling on luck, but for them, it's like playing with their cards face up."