Chapter 30

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 30: Title

[Hahaha, using the calmest tone to say the fiercest words]

[Absolutely merciless, Sister Song]

[So the reshuffle is happening tomorrow? I got so used to these two being together that I forgot about this rule]

[Wuwuwu, CP fans’ hearts are shattered]

[Sister Song personally dismantled her own CP, lol]

Both Song Yutian and Gu Feng remained completely unaware of the CP fans’ self-initiated obsession with their chemistry, nor of their sudden heartbreak.

But in this round, Gu Feng was utterly defeated.

Five minutes later, at Madame Wang’s Mahjong Parlor.

Song Yutian and Gu Feng walked in.

On weekdays, there were fewer young people, and most patrons in the mahjong parlor were middle-aged or elderly individuals with annual scenic area passes. Though curious about the filming crew’s camera, since none recognized Song Yutian or Gu Feng, they merely glanced briefly before refocusing on their mahjong games.

The owner was at the bar counter toward the back of the first floor. The two approached.

"Boss, are there any clues here?" Gu Feng asked first.

As expected, the owner didn’t answer and even deliberately avoided looking at Gu Feng, keeping his eyes on other customers.

Drawing from their earlier experience with the carriage driver, however, Gu Feng knew this meant they were on the right track.

Gu Feng gave Song Yutian a look, signaling: Your turn.

Gu Feng hadn’t realized yet that he had grown accustomed to turning to Song Yutian first whenever he encountered a problem.

Song Yutian said to Gu Feng, "Take out the letter."

Gu Feng opened the carved box, took out the letter inside, and handed it to Song Yutian.

Song Yutian placed the letter on the bar counter and said to the owner, "Sir, we were invited by the madams."

The owner finally turned his gaze to the pair, scrutinized them briefly, then accepted the letter.

After glancing at the envelope, the owner said, "The madams are waiting in the private room on the second floor. You may go straight up."

"Alright, thank you," Song Yutian said, glancing at the letter still in the owner’s hand.

"I’ll keep custody of this letter, and that item as well," the owner said, pointing at the carved box in Gu Feng’s hand.

It seemed the production team wanted to retrieve these two props. Gu Feng handed over the box and walked with Song Yutian toward the staircase.

As soon as the two reached the second floor, they saw a young curly-haired woman wearing a cheongsam, with a graceful figure, standing in the hallway.

Upon seeing them, the woman smiled and said, "Ah, Mr. Gu, Miss Song, you’ve finally arrived! We’ve been waiting so long!"

The main hall of this establishment was already far more exquisite than ordinary mahjong parlors, but the furniture and décor in the private room surpassed even that in opulence. The ceiling featured gleaming crystal chandeliers, the walls were covered in intricately patterned wallpaper, and decorative oil paintings hung all around.

The live-stream audience marveled at the lavish interior as well.

[Wow, this mahjong parlor is decorated so luxuriously! I must visit next time!]

[Did the production team specially design this? The immersion is incredible!]

Aside from the curly-haired woman who greeted them in the hallway earlier, two other women in their thirties were already in the room. They all stepped forward as Song Yutian and Gu Feng entered.

The three women first effusively praised the pair’s looks and outfits before shifting to the main agenda.

"Mr. Gu, Miss Song, which of you will play a round with us?" one woman smiled coquettishly.

It seemed that to obtain the clue, they had to play a round with them first.

Song Yutian looked at Gu Feng, "Should I go, or should you?"

Meanwhile, using the clue obtained from the car chase, Liu Tian paid eighty yuan to a rickshaw driver and boarded the vehicle.

Along the way, he encountered An Xin, who had just run out of stamina. Liu Tian had the driver pause temporarily, pulled An Xin onto the carriage, then continued on to complete the full circle.

Upon reaching the destination, Liu Tian said confidently to the driver, "Master, now you can give us the clue."

The driver replied, "Pay the girl’s fare too. Eighty yuan."

Liu Tian, "Huh?"

After paying An Xin’s share of the fare and arguing with the driver for a long time, Liu Tian finally accepted the fact that the driver wouldn’t give him any clues.

When they walked a bit further away, An Xin immediately started mocking Liu Tian, "Brilliant plan, absolutely foolproof—who was it that said that?"

Liu Tian looked dejected, "There must have been some mistake."

An Xin sneered, "You’re so naive, you’d probably help someone count the money even after they cheated you."

Liu Tian immediately denied it earnestly, "No! Sister Yutian would never intentionally lie to me!"

An Xin snapped back, "How do you know?"

Liu Tian said with firm determination, "It’s a feeling! A gut feeling about people!"

An Xin blinked, looking slightly surprised.

The audience felt the same way.

[Did I miss something? Why does Liu Tian suddenly trust Song Yutian so much?]

[Did Liu Tian develop feelings from chasing the car? Hahaha]

[This should be called a psychological compensation mechanism. Liu Tian can’t accept that chasing the car for so long was all for nothing.]

[Baby Liu Tian is too quick to trust others, wuwu, so adorable.]

After Liu Tian finished speaking, An Xin finally retracted her mocking expression, "Alright. Then tell me, how did Sister Yutian explain it to you? Let’s analyze it together."

Liu Tian thought for a moment, "She said they just took that rickshaw, and then the driver gave them the clue."

An Xin pondered for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed, "I’ve got it!"

"What?" Liu Tian asked.

An Xin patted Liu Tian’s head, "Are you stupid? We need to find our own car!"

After a brief exchange of eye contact, Song Yutian could tell from Gu Feng’s gaze that he had something in mind.

Gu Feng’s eyes were confident, as if he were deliberately waiting for Song Yutian to ask him.

Song Yutian didn’t give him that chance and said directly, "Then you take over."

Gu Feng, "…Fine."

Since mahjong has many variations, the curly-haired woman explained the rules beforehand. The rules were nothing special—just basic "self-draw win" scoring, meaning a round ends immediately when someone declares a winning hand.

Then, under the three women’s enthusiastic welcome, Gu Feng took the dealer’s seat.

Though Song Yutian hadn’t given Gu Feng an opportunity earlier, the show’s NPCs considerately started conversing with him.

The short-haired woman asked, "Mr. Gu, do you play mahjong often?"

Gu Feng said, "Hmm, occasionally during company team-building events. I also play a few rounds with peers during Chinese New Year."

Another woman, her black hair coiled up at the back of her head, said, "Oh, then Mr. Gu must have been quite skilled when playing alone before, right?"

Gu Feng pretended to be composed and cleared his throat, "Hmm, not bad. My track record is decent."

The curly-haired woman immediately chimed in, "Seems like Mr. Gu is an old hand. You should go easy on us then~"

The three women took turns speaking, noticing Gu Feng’s confidence in his mahjong skills and intentionally encouraging him to talk and show off.

They chatted while keeping their hands busy. It was clear they weren’t particularly keen on winning against the candidate, as they drew and discarded tiles quickly without much deliberation.

However, as the game progressed, Gu Feng began taking longer to make his moves.

Finally, when there were only a few tiles left to draw, the short-haired woman knocked over the tiles in front of her. "I win!"

Gu Feng looked slightly uneasy. "Haven’t played in a while…"

The curly-haired woman said thoughtfully, "Oh, this is just one round. Besides, Mr. Gu hasn’t played in so long—his hands are out of practice. Does Mr. Gu want to play another round, or shall we let Miss Song take over?"

Gu Feng glanced at Song Yutian, who was leaning against the sofa by the wall.

Song Yutian watched him leisurely, her expression seeming to say: Beg me, and I’ll come.

Gu Feng gritted his teeth. "Ahem, no need. I’ll play another round."

Fifteen minutes later—

Gu Feng’s face looked rather grim. He had played two more rounds after the first, losing three times in a row without a single win.

Although mahjong depends on the luck of the draw, losing three rounds in a row wasn’t uncommon. But thinking back to how confidently he had claimed to be skilled, Gu Feng still felt a bit embarrassed.

The curly-haired woman asked again, "Mr. Gu, would you like to take a break and let Miss Song play?"

Gu Feng looked at Song Yutian again.

She remained lounging on the sofa, showing no intention of stepping in.

Gu Feng gritted his teeth and prepared to start another round. He was too proud to actively ask Song Yutian to take his place.

Just as Gu Feng was about to speak, Song Yutian said, "How about I take a turn? You go rest for a bit."

Gu Feng hesitated for only a second before rising from his chair.

If he kept losing, it would start looking too pathetic. Since Song Yutian had given him an out, he took it immediately.

But Gu Feng couldn’t resist remarking as Song Yutian stood from the sofa, "Let’s see how your luck holds up."

Implying that even if she won, it would just be luck.

Song Yutian completely ignored him and walked over to take his former seat.

[Sister Song looks pretty confident. Could she actually win right away?]

[Overthinking it. If she were really that skilled, she would’ve played from the start.]

[I bet Song Yutian’s mahjong skills aren’t great either—otherwise, why let Gu Feng go first?]

[Seems like the NPCs aren’t going easy on her. Song Yutian’s chances of winning are slim.]

Five minutes later—

Song Yutian toppled the tile wall in front of her. "Mahjong."

Gu Feng, who had been lounging lazily on the sofa, immediately straightened up at the sound but pretended not to care, though his eyes kept darting toward the mahjong table.

The audience was equally stunned.

[That’s it? She won?]

[Huh? It’s over already?]

[So fast? Does Song Yutian really have such good luck with the tiles?]

[Is this luck or skill? Any mahjong experts care to explain?]

The curly-haired woman remarked, "Miss Song is truly amazing, completely dominating the game."

The short-haired woman added, "Exactly. Let’s play another round. If Miss Song and your team win two more games, we’ll stop."

Song Yutian understood immediately—if she and Gu Feng won three games in total, they would clear the scenario and obtain clues.

"Alright," she said. "Continue."