Massimo was dumbfounded.
Janet roared with laughter. “Gideon is right though! Massimo, it looks like you’d better drink a bit more tonight. You can come back and counter him after you marry the little lady beside you.”
Massimo aggressively chugged a glass of red wine before turning to look at Gregory.
“Just you wait! So what if we’re not married yet, huh? Look at these people bullying us, Gregory! When you decide to get married, I’ll immediately follow!”
Gregory gave him a look but did not exactly reject him.
After the rowdy bunch of people ate their food, Janet started bugging everyone to go outside and have fun since it was her first time here. She was unfamiliar with the culture.
Nell, Massimo, and many other people did not really want to go out, so with no choice left, Liam went out with her.
After she left, the rest stayed in the living room playing poker.
They played using local rules, so it took some time for Nell to pick it up. After a few rounds with some guidance from Vickie though, she understood the game perfectly now.
Vickie even deliberately took out a huge chest of cash and said, “Alright everyone! No money gets returned tonight. Whether you win or lose, you must accept your fate!”
Massimo’s jaw dropped when he saw the stack of cash she had.
“My f*cking God, Vickie! Did you just rob a bank? Where did you get so much cash from?”
It made sense since in this day and age, people did not use much cash anymore. Most people would not have so much just lying around in the house.
Just looking at it, one could estimate it was about a few hundred thousand!
Vickie shot him a look and said, “Why do you care where I got it from? Where’s your money, huh? Come on!”
Massimo flinched.
“Hey, I'm a guest. I’ve only got about 10,000 on me. This amount of money pales in comparison to yours!”
He grumbled as he took out his wallet.
Nell also chimed in, “I don't have much cash on me either…”
Vickie frowned at the situation.
In the end, Gideon spoke up, “Why don't we just transfer money to each other if we lose? Cash is a hassle and we have to count it as well. It's a waste of time.”
Vickie thought about it and agreed.
“Oh, fine. But that means I gotta add you on WeChat first.”
Thus, after exchanging their contact info, they started playing poker.
After a few rounds, Nell was half-winning and half-losing. She ended up breaking even.
As for Vickie, her skills kept her on a winning streak and Massimo was suffering from it.
The whole night was just him spectacularly losing to Vickie.
Massimo snapped a bit and yelled, “Vickie! Spill the beans, you've been cheating haven't you?”
Vickie roared with laughter. He pushed his hand away so that he could not look at her cards. “F*ck off, man! I don’t need to cheat when I'm playing with you. I can win against you with my eyes closed!”
Massimo screeched, “Hey! That's not fair!”
“Come on, a deal's a deal. Give it over!”
The crowd was laughing and screaming happily, filling the whole house with their joyful mood.
Not too far off, Gregory was watching the whole scene with the corners of his mouth curled up.
He did not interrupt them and silently walked outside.
Nell noticed him and paused for a split second. She was not sure why, but he was acting a bit odd tonight.
Nell paused and thought about it. “I’m not sure. Let me ask them. Give me one moment.”
Vickie nodded while Nell went to the chess room to ask.
Before Nell even got to the chess room, she spotted Gideon and Liam standing in the courtyard.
Puzzled, Nell was going to ask what they were doing when Gideon spotted her.
He quickly put a finger to his mouth and signaled for her to stay silent before motioning for her to walk over.
Nell was taken aback and was still as confused as ever, but she walked over anyway.
Only after she walked over did she notice that they were standing in a flat empty space.
She just saw Gregory kneeling there, seemingly focused on some sort of game.
Nell curiously asked, “What's he doing?” Gideon grinned. “You’ll find out soon.”
He eluded the answer, making Nell raise an eyebrow.
At the same time, Gregory seemed to be done with what he was doing on the floor and turned around to ask, “So, are you ready?”
Gideon lifted the iPad in his hand, glanced at it, and gave him the OK sign.
Gregory then turned to walk over to realize that Nell was there.
Nell was curious and asked, “What were you tinkering with over there?”
Gregory smiled. “Nothing much. It's a useless little gadget.”
Nell raised her eyebrows.
Her gut told her he was lying, but if he did not want to say, then she would not pry.
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