“I have no idea,” Shen Qianshu said in a very confident tone. Ye Ling squinted. She did not seem to be lying, so he took a deep breath and bore with it.
Meanwhile, Tong Hua could not hold it in. “Oh? Never thought that Mommy was this kind of silly person.”
“Even this dumb little one could tell that your Master [1. In Chinese culture, the term ‘shifu’ is used as a respectful form of address for people of the low class engaged in skilled trades.] **had other motives.”
Tong Hua was energized instantly, and he slapped the table hard. “You either call me annoying brat or dumb little one. Can’t you have a better nickname for me!”
Zhong Ran pressed his little shoulders and hugged him. “Young Master, calm down… calm down.”
Shen Qianshu laughed. “No matter what motives he had, I would not be at a loss as long as I got the money I wanted. This has nothing to do with me, and I even learned a new skill easily. If I lose my job in the future, I can go to Macau or Las Vegas. I’m not at a loss. Master treats me pretty well too. He never forces me to do anything, and we just gamble at the competition once a year.”
Zhong Ran asked out of curiosity, “Miss Shen, I’m really curious about something. Before you met your Master, you won a lot too. Have you practiced somewhere before?”
Shen Qianshu scratched her head, feeling slightly ashamed. “Just a small skill. When I was in France, I learned from a youngster. I can memorize cards.”
“Damn, there’s such a tactic!”
“I didn’t play much. I usually played Sic Bo or Blackjack. If you could memorize all the cards and predict the odds, playing Blackjack is an easy game. Of course, there were times when I lost. There are both winnings and losses. After I had this Master, he taught me how to gamble since I knew how to memorize cards. After that, I seldom lost,” Shen Qianshu said. In important gambles, she would occasionally help out so it could help her remember more clearly. When He Guan shuffled the cards, she could memorize the cards while sitting at a side. She got rid of everything that was of no help for her and took the ones that benefited her. This made the odds of her winning larger.
“What’s the name of your Master?”
Shen Qianshu shook her head lightly. “I have no idea either. After he taught me the skills, he rarely appeared. He only appears a few times a year, and he’s always secretive of his whereabouts. There have been a few times when he asked me out for dinner and go…”
She scratched her head. “And go shopping together.”
“…” Zhong Ran stared at Shen Qianshu.
Miss Shen, your cover-ups only make things worse. You can’t even convince me, let alone Master.
“Okay, okay. I’m just afraid that you’d get jealous. So we have dinner and sometimes watch some concerts and musicals. He liked watching musicals. Then, we would both go on our separate ways. I’m confused about it too,” Shen Qianshu said. “But Shifu and I had a pretty close friendship. If not for that sum of money, I might not have been able to afford Tong Hua’s hospitalization fees. Xiaojuan was not doing very well with making connections back then. To me, that sum of money really helped us in times of crisis, and I’m really grateful for my Master. He’s like a big brother to me.”
Ye Ling laughed. “Big brother?”
Zhong Ran was surprised. “Your Master isn’t an old man?”
“What old man? My Master is charming and young. Of course, not as charming as Master, however. He is definitely not an old man. He’s probably about thirty years old.” Shen Qianshu moved closer to Ye Ling. “Master, whatever that happened the other time was… Everything happened so suddenly… Tang En put me at gunpoint, so in a moment of fluster, I said that I was your man.”
“Hahahaha.” Tong Hua slapped the tables and laughed hysterically. “So now there are rumors everywhere going on about how he likes men?”
Zhong Ran told him softly. “This matter is being suppressed on the media.”
“Hahahaha. This is crazy!!! This joke would never get old even when I’m eighteen!” Tong Hua was so happy that he almost jumped out of joy. He was not intending to give Ye Ling any form of respect. Zhong Ran hurriedly carried this little sweetheart far away from Ye Ling to prevent any mishaps from occurring.