“What right do you have to speak?”

Yao Zhengxing’s eyes were dark and vicious. The ruthless pressure radiating from him was enough to make anyone feel a tremor of fear, enough to make them hesitate before acting.

His gaze seemed to say: Men are speaking here. What business does a woman have interrupting?

In this era, women held a lower station. Especially as a companion in a setting like this — she had no standing to speak at all.

And yet Rong Qian showed not the slightest reverence for his authority. She stepped forward — poised, confident, entirely self-possessed — and said: “Whether or not I have the right to speak is not, I think, yours to decide.”

“Are you looking to die?!”

A hulking, rough-built man bellowed and surged forward, fierce and aggressive, moving to lay hands on Rong Qian.

But just as he was about to act, Shen Yi — who was in the middle of loading the bullet into the chamber — said, lightly and almost casually: “Try touching her. See what happens.”

The man froze, wary of the gun in his hands.

“A’Meng, stand down.” Yao Zhengxing spoke. Reluctantly, the man withdrew.

Yao Zhengxing looked up at Rong Qian, his expression unreadable. “With someone protecting you, you do have grounds for that confidence. Fine — I can tell you. The first shot is his to take. Any problem with that?”

“No problem at all. I’d just like to request that when the cylinder is spun, you allow me to be the one to do it.” Rong Qian made her request.

Yao Zhengxing was indifferent. “Do as you like — either one of you, it makes no difference. But if you try anything, if you cheat right in front of me, I’ll make sure neither of you gets out that door.”

“Rest easy,” Rong Qian said. “I guarantee the bullet will stay in the cylinder throughout.”

As she spoke, she reached out her hand toward Shen Yi to take the gun. Shen Yi said nothing and passed it to her without hesitation.

Everyone present was desperately curious what she intended to do. More than a dozen pairs of eyes fixed on her, unblinking.

After confirming which position the bullet was loaded in, Rong Qian began to spin the cylinder. She held her breath, focused with absolute precision — then, at a certain point, she seemed to confirm something. She pressed down to stop it and handed the gun back to Shen Yi. “Fire,” she told him.

“Alright.” Shen Yi curved his lips into a smile.

This was enough to terrify Xu Mo out of his wits. Fire what?! This is life and death — why are they treating it like a game?!

Xu Mo rushed to intervene, only to be silenced by an impatient warning from Yao Zhengxing: “If he refuses to shoot, none of you are walking out of here alive!”

“Boss…” Xu Mo was nearly in tears. This was beyond reckless.

Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Yi raised the gun toward his own forehead and prepared to fire. At that, Yao Zhengxing immediately called out, “Hold on!”

Xu Mo thought there was hope, and was just about to murmur thank goodness — when he heard Yao Zhengxing say: “Pointing it at your head really is taking it too far. Aim at your arm instead.”

Shen Yi had no objection. He leveled the barrel at his own wrist and pulled the trigger.

“Boss!” Xu Mo cried out — and yet, there was no gunshot. No sound at all.

This round was empty. No bullet.

“Now it’s your turn.” Shen Yi passed the gun across.

Yao Zhengxing gave a long, meaningful chuckle and accepted the gun. At that moment, the hulking man from earlier abruptly coughed — drawing everyone’s attention toward him.

Click.

Yao Zhengxing had already fired at his own arm. No shot. Empty again.

Xu Mo’s forehead was breaking out in a cold sweat. There were ten chambers in all. Two had now been used. The odds of hitting the bullet were climbing.

Yet neither side showed any intention of stopping. The gun passed back and forth — second round, third round — no bullet struck either of them. Even the fourth round passed by, and still no one was hit.

Until the final round.

Yao Zhengxing produced a pipe and grinned with smug satisfaction. “Ha! This last shot — if you take the bullet, I win. If you don’t, then I lose. Either way, I come out ahead. Shen Yi — go ahead. Fire.”

“Old Uncle,” Rong Qian said, settling herself into the seat beside Shen Yi and propping her chin on one hand with a look of bored indifference, “if you’re going to cheat, there’s no fun in it for anyone.”

Yao Zhengxing denied it. “Who said I’m cheating? Wasn’t this what you all agreed to?”

“The terms of the bet are fine,” Rong Qian replied in a languid drawl, “but you’ve quietly swapped the gun. That’s a bit poor-spirited, don’t you think?”

Yao Zhengxing’s expression shifted ever so slightly. How did she see through that?

Shen Yi laughed and added: “This gun is the only one I’ve been firing. The one you’ve been shooting, Yao — it should still be tucked up in your sleeve.”

“You sharp little devils — you caught that too.” Yao Zhengxing gave a crafty grin and produced the unchambered decoy gun, casting Shen Yi an admiring look. “You really are ruthless with yourself, aren’t you, kid? You said you’d fire — and you just fired. Weren’t you the least bit afraid of actually taking that bullet?”

“I trust her.” Shen Yi turned to look at Rong Qian. His gaze was tender — still as deep water.

Yao Zhengxing stared at him, jaw dropping. This young man blindly trusted this woman to that degree — even with his life?

He was genuinely impressed. “Alright, alright — you win!”

“Did you enjoy yourself?” Shen Yi asked with a smile.

Yao Zhengxing pursed his lips like a mischievous old boy. “Not particularly — you won’t be my son-in-law. But then again, having you as a friend isn’t too bad either.”

“Boss — what does this mean?” Xu Mo was bewildered. “Was none of this real?”

Yao Zhengxing shot him an irritable look. “What era do you think we’re living in? Firing a real gun is illegal. This is just how we say hello around here. That a problem?”

Xu Mo had been scolded for no apparent reason and stood there with a look of utter innocence.

Rong Qian, too, quietly exhaled with relief. In truth, she had been on edge throughout the entire ordeal. Fortunately, Yao Zhengxing had never intended it to be real.

“The rest of you — clear out. I want to speak with him alone.” Yao Zhengxing said this to He Ji’cheng, who was standing behind him.

He Ji’cheng nodded. Before leading his people out, he glanced back once at Rong Qian and Shen Yi.

“Have them leave too — she can stay.” Yao Zhengxing also sent out Xu Mo and the others, and specifically allowed Rong Qian to remain.

And so, everyone filed out, leaving only Shen Yi and Rong Qian.

Yao Zhengxing addressed Shen Yi. “Of everyone I’ve ever met, you have more guts than any of them. Everyone else who’s heard that — every last one of them ended up a trembling, terrified mess. You — not a flicker of expression the whole way through.”

He had assumed Shen Yi must have had something hidden up his sleeve, which was what gave him the nerve. Who could have imagined it was simply because he trusted this woman?

For their bond to run this deep — Yao Zhengxing didn’t have the heart to tear that apart. And besides, this woman had genuinely made him see things differently.

If they couldn’t become family, then they could at least be friends.

“Yao,” Shen Yi said, getting to the point first, “speak plainly.”

Yao Zhengxing told him: “Shen Yi, you are the finest candidate for a son-in-law I’ve ever found. To be honest, when I heard you’d refused, I was truly furious. But watching you just now, I understand where you stand. Shen Yi — there aren’t many people I can trust. You are one of them.”

These were words from the heart. As he spoke, Yao Zhengxing poured a cup of tea and held it out to him.

Shen Yi accepted it, took a quiet sip, then said: “Does He Ji’cheng not deserve your trust?”

Yao Zhengxing shook his head slowly. “His character is poor.”

He had considered at one point giving his daughter to He Ji’cheng. But He Ji’cheng was one thing on the surface and something else entirely underneath, and Yao Zhengxing had been deeply disappointed. If his daughter married a man like that, she would likely face violence at home every day. Yao Zhengxing would never allow such a thing to happen. He had searched far and wide before finding Shen Yi — someone who, he felt, was genuinely without fault.

And yet… well. A pity.

Meanwhile, outside the VIP room, He Ji’cheng was crouched in the shadows, listening through an earpiece. When he heard Yao Zhengxing’s assessment of him, he clenched his jaw and swore under his breath: “You decrepit old fool.”

All these years of hardship and service — and he was still worth less than a stranger the man had met a handful of times?

He Ji’cheng gave a cold laugh. “As for you, Shen — dare to stand in my way, and I’ll make sure you’re utterly ruined.”