The Villain's Wife

Meanwhile, Lily stared at the ceiling with a grim face. She had been awake since Zhou Jingren had called her. For some reason, she could not fall asleep again. She had been tossing and turning, thinking about everything that had been going on lately. From Mrs. Brooke's words to her grandmother and grandfather's photograph. It seems that she really needed to visit that mansion again, she thought before letting out a long sigh. She then sat on her bed and started reading Grandma Ye's diary. At this point, Lily was positive that she had memorized most of its contents.

Another sigh left her lips as she got out of her bed and walked towards her walk-in closet. Zhou Jingren must be really busy right now, she thought. Marrying someone that was associated with the Yakuza surely had its bad side.

Lily had been expecting something like this to happen. After all, she married someone dangerous like Zhou Jingren. This was her choice. It's just that sometimes, the feeling of worry overwhelmed her logic.

She wanted him to be safe, away from all the bloodshed.

That was the only thing that she could think of right now. However, going with him in China was too risky — this was something that she understood. Still, she could not help but think about him and worry about his safety. She immediately wondered if she should just call him. However, what if her call disturbs his serious discussion with Bei Tian?

In the end, Lily decided against calling Zhou Jingren. Instead, she got her violin out of its case and started playing.

......…

"Fifty million." Zhou Jingren's words woke him up from his stupor. He grunted and raised his eyebrow.

"Fifty?" Harringfort asked. "You are raising fifty million? Hah!" He then started laughing again. "Then… let's make it a hundred. A hundred million!"

"Hundred and one." Zhou Jingren answered almost immediately.

"Are you sure about that? You probably know that I will raise it to a hundred and fifty, right?" Seeing Zhou Jingren just stare at him, Harringfort let out a burst of mocking laughter. "President Zhou… to be honest, I never liked you. If given a chance, I would ask my men to kill you as painfully as possible."

"And yet, you are here. Ah…" Zhou Jingren nodded as if coming to a realization. "Let me guess… The Spectre does not want to see me dead." He said with a smug face.

Harringfort did not respond. This was true. The council even said that Zhou Jingren's death would have a devastating effect on Lily. However, he believed that it could also strengthen her. Still, they did not believe that killing Zhou Jingren would give them more benefits than the disadvantages it would bring. He eyed his cards once again. 

After exchanging two cards, his initial plan still applied. This time, he is planning to choose, 'Higher'. With his ace, he was bound to win this round as well. Harringfort thought about Zhou Jingren exchanging pairs of three's. The man must have thought that this would fool him. "Hundred and fifty million," Harringfort said. "Are you going to raise?"

"No." Zhou Jingren shook his head. "I will call."

This action only made Harringfort smile. "Then… I choose 'higher'." This Zhou Jingren does not know how to play poker! This could be the easiest win that he could ever have while playing this game!

"Reveal your cards now." The dealer said. Without any hesitation, Zhou Jingren revealed the card. Just like Harringfort, he too had an ace with him. However, this time, he still lost.

Harringfort had an ace, then followed by a jack while Zhou Jingren had an ace and a ten of spades. This made Harringfort laugh in glee. "How close!" He beamed, amusement apparent in his eyes as he ignored the fact that his initial suspicion about Zhou Jingren's moves had been wrong. "However…. I won again! President Zhou… you should tell me — I mean… be honest. If you don't know how to play this game. We can always choose another one! After all, I am a very kind gambler! I might just even let you choose the game!"

Instead of answering him, Zhou Jingren gestured at the dealer, telling him to open another box of cards for the next game. He had spent a lot of time dealing with this lunatic. "Mr. Harringfort… how about we bet something more… extravagant?"

"Like what?"

"Well… it seems that this organization is really important to you. So, why don't we bet about our seats instead? The person who will lose the next game will leave the organization. How about that?"

"Hah?" Harringfort said, making sure that he dragged the exclamation to emphasize his surprise. "Are you kidding? Do you think… did you think there is such a thing as leaving the organization? President Zhou… the only time that your seat will become vacant is if you die. There is no other way to leave The Spectre."

"Well then… let's bet on something else."

��Whatever you say…" Harringfort beamed. "As long as it's reasonable then, I have no problems with it."

"Then… how about this." Zhou Jingren leaned towards Harringfort as the dealer started giving them their new set of cards. "If I win… you will give me some time to think about this."

"How much time are we talking about?"

"Half a year." That should be enough for him to do his research about these people.

Harringfort narrowed his eyes. "Is this because of your wife's pregnancy?" Zhou Jingren nodded in response. This was indeed part of the reason why he chose a time limit of six months. "Hah! And you really think you would win against me?"

"To be honest… I am not very good at gambling. But I am very confident that I can beat a seasoned player like you."

As expected, his statement made Harringfort laugh. "You? Beat me? Are you — are you perhaps hallucinating?" He laughed for a few seconds before he continued. "And if I win?���

"I do anything that you say."

"Anything?"

"Anything." Zhou Jingren nodded. "As long as it's reasonable."

Harringfort chuckled. This bet was quite tempting, ah. After all… having a divorce is one of those reasonable requests, right? He gave another chuckle. "Alright… let's bet everything that we have left. Money and the deal that we just made right now. Let's end it all in one round!" He declared as he raised his chin as excitement shrouded his gaze.