What? You're a notorious bandit? What a coincidence, me too!

The three of them walked out of the alley.

Wang Xiulan didn't think she had been deceived, and was still muttering to herself:

"Old Liu must have had something come up, that's why he didn't answer my call. Chang'an, what's wrong with you? You're usually so tough, but when trouble comes, you chicken out and just hand over the money, making it seem like we're easy to bully."

Fang Qingzhu rolled her eyes and couldn't help but say, "Mom, that Liu Jitai is a liar, why are you so stubborn!"

"What do you know!"

Wang Xiulan frowned impatiently: "Old Liu is a company owner! How could he lie to me? He must have had an emergency, that's why his phone is unreachable!"

Fang Qingzhu was speechless with anger at Wang Xiulan's words and stomped her feet in frustration.

She knew her mother cared about her reputation, but she never expected her to still be so stubborn even now.

Five thousand yuan! That's no small sum.

Lin Chang'an walked at the front and glanced back at the mother and daughter.

He could tell that Wang Xiulan was just being stubborn; in fact, she had known all along that she had been deceived, but she was too ashamed to admit it.

"Alright, it's getting dark, let's go home first." Lin Chang'an's tone was flat, revealing neither joy nor anger.

The group returned to the downstairs of Fang Qingzhu's house. Wang Xiulan went back to her room without saying a word, her face pale.

Fang Qingzhu watched her mother's retreating figure and sighed helplessly, "Chang'an, I'm sorry, it's all my mother's fault... I'll find a way to pay you back the five thousand yuan."

Lin Chang'an reached out and gently flicked her nose, his tone tinged with amusement: "Silly girl, why are you apologizing to me? My money is your money, why distinguish between yours and mine?"

"But……"

Fang Qingzhu wanted to say something, but Lin Chang'an interrupted her.

"Don't frown!"

Lin Chang'an pulled the other person into his arms: "Money can be earned back, as long as your mother is alright. Consider this a lesson learned, so she won't easily trust strangers again."

Looking into his gentle eyes, Fang Qingzhu was filled with emotion.

She nodded: "Are you hungry now? I'll cook for you."

Lin Chang'an shook his head, glanced at the time, and said, "No, I have to go see my third uncle, so I won't eat here."

"Then be careful on the road," Fang Qingzhu instructed.

Don't worry.

Fang Qingzhu bit her lip and gave the other person a deep kiss on the lips.

Lin Chang'an patted her butt, chuckled, started his motorcycle, and said, "I'm off."

Fang Qingzhu sighed as she watched Lin Chang'an's motorcycle disappear at the intersection.

She knew in her heart that although Lin Chang'an spoke lightly, five thousand yuan was no small amount, and he must be feeling bad about it.

I should cut back on buying hardware myself and just buy a ring to make do.

Ugh……

…………

Lin Chang'an rode his motorcycle and turned the corner. The gentleness on his face was gone, replaced by a chill.

When they returned to the alley, the sleazy-looking young man who had stopped them earlier was still squatting at the entrance smoking. When he saw Lin Chang'an return, his eyes instantly became wary.

The young man stepped forward and reached out to stop Lin Chang'an.

Lin Chang'an wasn't annoyed, and smiled: "What? Your card room is open for business, and you won't let people in for a couple of rounds?"

The young man glanced out of the alley and saw that Lin Chang'an was alone. He relaxed, but hesitated whether to let Lin Chang'an in.

Lin Chang'an chuckled, pulled a wad of cash from his pocket, weighed it in his hand, and said, "Don't worry, I'm here to win money."

Upon hearing Lin Chang'an's words, the young man scoffed inwardly and lowered his guard.

"Go in."

Lin Chang'an put away the money and went into the card room.

The room was still filled with smoke and noise, with people crowding around all eight gambling tables, their clamor so loud it hurt your ears.

Lin Chang'an looked around the hall and saw Bald Tiger sitting at the card table, playing with playing cards in his hand. There was a thick stack of cash in front of him, at least a thousand yuan.

The middle-aged man opposite him had a livid face and a vacant look in his eyes; he had clearly suffered a crushing defeat.

Lin Chang'an watched for a while, a playful smile appearing on his lips.

He walked to the card table, grabbed the middle-aged man who had lost everything, and casually tossed him aside.

The man was already furious and was about to lash out when he saw Lin Chang'an's tall and imposing figure, and immediately fell silent.

Tiger looked up at Lin Chang'an, and when he saw it was him, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

As several of his underlings were about to step forward, Tiger stopped them.

"Oh? What's wrong, brother? You're not satisfied with the money and are causing trouble?"

Lin Chang'an lit a cigarette, puffing out smoke as he looked indifferently at Tiger Brother, and pulled out two wads of money from his pocket.

It was slammed onto the table with a "thud!", leaving everyone around stunned.

This looks like it costs 20,000 yuan!

The other tables were playing small-scale games, and I didn't see anyone suddenly pull out 20,000 or 30,000 to play.

"Want to play?" Lin Chang'an squinted.

Tiger's eyes widened instantly when he saw the 20,000 yuan on the table.

He looked Lin Chang'an up and down, wondering what kind of person this kid was.

This kid was scared in the afternoon. He just gave me five thousand yuan, and now he's back probably trying to make up for it and earn it back.

These kinds of people are the easiest to fool.

"Let's play!"

Tiger rubbed his hands together, a greedy smile spreading across his face. "What do you want to play?"

"casual."

Lin Chang'an flicked his cigarette ash and said casually, "Just the Texas Hold'em game you were playing earlier will do."

Tiger's eyes lit up. This kid was really courting death, practically offering himself up for money. "Five hundred as a base fee, how about it?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chang'an scoffed, casually picked up ten thousand yuan from the table, and threw it into the middle of the pool: "Five hundred is too much trouble, ten thousand is the bottom line, dare to play?"

The onlookers immediately erupted in uproar.

"Ten thousand yuan for the bottom line? That's insane!"

"Is this kid really rich or stupid? He threw in ten thousand yuan before the cards were even revealed!"

"I think they're just rich and stupid..."

Tiger's expression also changed.

The biggest bet he ever made was 500 yuan; nobody had ever dared to bet that much.

He looked at Lin Chang'an with some doubts, but the ten thousand yuan on the table was like a piece of fat meat, making him really reluctant to give it up.

"What? Tiger doesn't dare to follow?" Lin Chang'an exhaled a smoke ring, his tone laced with sarcasm.

Tiger sneered, "What's there to be afraid of! It's just ten thousand yuan, right? I'll play along!"

He also threw 10,000 yuan into the pot, then winked at his henchman next to him: "Deal the cards."

The younger brother understood and began dealing cards to the two of them.

Lin Chang'an squinted, took the cards in his hand, rubbed them together, and examined them.

Tiger looked at his hand, a smug smile on his lips, and threw another thousand dollars into the pool.

"How about it? Want to join?" Tiger asked Lin Chang'an, his tone provocative.

Lin Chang'an sighed, and the people behind him, seeing Lin Chang'an's situation, couldn't help but shake their heads.

"I won't follow."

As he spoke, he threw his cards onto the table, indicating that he was folding.

Tiger was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter and reached out to scoop all 20,000 yuan from the bottom of the pool to his side.