Era: Rise from the Wilderness

Lü Ruoxi followed his gaze, her brows immediately furrowing, and a clear look of disgust appeared on her face: "What do you think of them?"

"Gao Fu is no good person, stay away from him."

Her tone carried a hint of admonition, as well as a trace of confusion and hidden worry about Li Yunjing's sudden attention to that group of people.

"I know, I'll just take a look."

Li Yunjing smiled, a faint and fleeting smile, but his gaze swept over the few banknotes under the shade of the tree again. "I just suddenly realized that there seem to be quite a few ways to make money in this world."

His words were vague, but they only intensified Lü Ruoxi's unease.

She looked at Li Yunjing's profile, which showed no signs of impulsive passion, but rather an overly calm, almost evaluative focus.

This is not the Li Yunjing she knows.

"Ruoxi,"

Li Yunjing suddenly turned his head, interrupting her thoughts, and said in a low voice, "Do you have any money on you right now? Just some pocket money will do."

"I have...I have fifty dollars."

"What are you going to do?"

Lu Ruoxi was taken aback and subconsciously touched the small pocket on the side of her skirt.

There are usually a few coins there for emergencies.

"Lend me twenty."

Li Yunjing spoke quickly, almost without hesitation, "I'll return it to you in a moment."

"twenty?"

Lü Ruoxi was stunned again.

Twenty yuan is not a small amount. If it were for other things, Lü Ruoxi would naturally lend it. But she sensed something was wrong. Could Li Yunjing also want to go and have fun?

She glanced warily at Gao Fu in the distance, her voice tense: "What do you want to do? Li Yunjing, don't do anything rash!"

"I'm not going to do anything, just... take a look."

Li Yunjing twitched the corners of his mouth, but there was no warmth in his smile. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. It'll be twenty, let's go big."

"Want to go big?"

Lü Ruoxi's heart skipped a beat. "You wouldn't be thinking of..."

"Don't ask anymore."

Li Yunjing interrupted her, his gaze filled with an undeniable insistence, and a sharpness she had never seen before, almost a desperate gamble. "To lend or not to lend? If not, then forget it."

Lu Ruoxi bit her lip and looked at him.

The heatwave on the playground seemed to distort the air, making Li Yunjing's figure appear somewhat blurry and unfamiliar.

Two voices were fighting inside her. One warned her not to get involved, while the other, inexplicably, felt that maybe...maybe Li Yunjing really knew what she was doing.

Finally, she slowly pulled two neatly folded ten-yuan bills from her pocket, brand new and still slightly damp from her palms.

She handed it over, her fingers trembling slightly: "You...you mustn't..."

Thanks.

Li Yunjing took the money, pinched the brand-new bills between his fingers, and the paper made a crisp sound.

Without saying anything more, he turned and walked towards the old locust tree.

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

Lu Ruoxi panicked and tried to grab him, but stopped halfway through her outstretched hand.

After hesitating for a moment, she stamped her foot and followed, but deliberately lagged a few steps behind, nervously watching Li Yunjing's back.

Li Yunjing walked straight to the old locust tree.

The dense shade of the trees blocked out the scorching sunlight, but also cast an even thicker shadow.

The pungent smell of tobacco and sweat hit me.

"Hey, isn't this our 'model student'?"

Gao Fu was holding a few cards, his brows furrowed. Hearing footsteps, he looked up and glanced sideways. Seeing it was Li Yunjing, he snorted, "What, want to join the fun too?"

The group of young men next to him also stopped what they were doing, cigarettes dangling from their lips, and looked Li Yunjing and Lü Ruoxi, who was standing not far behind him, up and down with ill intent.

Enemies meeting are bound to be filled with hatred.

If the three of them hadn't been unable to defeat Li Yunjing even when they joined forces last time, Gao Fu would have already led his men to swarm him and beat Li Yunjing half to death.

Seeing Li Yunjing walking with the school beauty, anger and jealousy surged to his head, and only under the final suppression of reason did he stop his plan to take action.

Li Yunjing's face remained expressionless. He simply took out the two ten-yuan bills, held them between his thumb and forefinger, and waved them in front of Gao Fu.

The brand-new banknotes reflected an alluring luster in the dappled light.

"Gao Fu, I heard you guys are playing pretty big games?"

Li Yunjing spoke, his voice soft but clear, "Can I come with you?"

"Hahaha!"

Gao Fu was taken aback at first, then burst into a loud, strange laugh as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, which made his companions laugh along with him.

"Li Yunjing, are you fucking crazy?"

Gao Fu threw down his cards, stood up, and stood up. He was a head taller than Li Yunjing, exuding a roguish and unruly air. "You? You dare to sit at the table? Do you know how high the stakes are? Your twenty yuan, how many cigarettes can you buy?"

"Whether it's enough or not, you'll only know after you've played it."

Li Yunjing was not intimidated by him. Instead, he took a step forward, almost face to face with Gao Fu.

He was not as tall as Gao Fu, but his back was ramrod straight and his eyes were calm, which gave off an indescribable sense of pressure.

"What, you're scared? Afraid of losing to me, your 'good student'?"

These words were barbed, hitting precisely where Gao Fu cared most.

When you're out in the world, saving face is the most important thing.

Now Li Yunjing is publicly humiliated!

Gao Fu's smile vanished, and his eyes darkened.

fight?

He fought with Li Yunjing, but didn't gain the upper hand.

This option was abandoned.

But playing cards?

He's not afraid.

This bookworm in front of me probably doesn't even know all the cards!

Besides, the people around him are all his friends. They set up a trap, four against one, and even with Li Yunjing's great skills, he couldn't win!

"Damn! You think you're so great, huh?"

Gao Fu spat, "Want to play? Sure! But I'm afraid you'll lose everything, down to your underwear! Twenty, right? Enough for a round's minimum bet!"

"Li Yunjing!"

Lu Ruoxi called out anxiously from behind, her voice trembling.

Li Yunjing didn't turn around, but gently placed the twenty yuan in his hand on the greasy old newspaper on the ground.

"Let's begin then."

He said.

"Deal the cards! Let our Li University students see what's what!"

Gao Fu stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. He sat down again and waved to one of his underlings beside him: "Let's play something simple, 'Bullfighting'! You know how?"

"Bullfighting" is a simple and straightforward poker game that involves a bit of luck and psychology.

"I'll shuffle the cards!"

Li Yunjing nodded and squatted down in a clean spot next to the newspaper.

Lu Ruoxi, standing behind, was terrified.

"Fine, I'll wash it!"

Gao Fu scoffed, but before he could speak, a thug next to him impatiently pushed the cards in front of Li Yunjing: "Stop dawdling!"

Li Yunjing didn't say anything, but stretched out his hands.

His hands were steady, his fingers were long and slender, and his nails were neatly trimmed.

He picked up the worn deck of cards; the plastic cards were sticky and the edges were frayed.