Chapter 67 The God of Gamblers Strikes Again (2/2)

At almost noon, another group of people dropped in; the mechanic Stephen, with some other people around his age. Hannah hugged them happily. From their conversations, Li Du inferred that they had been classmates in middle school.

Li Du was a quiet person. The house was full of born and bred Americans. He didn’t really feel at ease there, so he volunteered to prepare food in the kitchen.

Hans saw him as a brother and pulled him back, saying, ”Why would we need you to cook? We can just grill some meat or call some take-out. Come, let’s get you introduced to your new relatives.”

”My new relatives?” Li Du noticed that Stephen’s face had turned pale, and he was staring intently at Li Du.

Hans seemed quite matter-of-fact. ”Yeah. You’re my brother. Doesn’t that make my relatives yours as well?”

Stephen’s face resumed its normal color. The dark clouds in the sky outside brightened as well.

Li Du insisted on going into the kitchen. Hannah asked if she could help, but he said to leave everything to him.

Stephen and some of his classmates also came into the kitchen. A guy with a head full of dreadlocks piped up, saying, ”It’s almost half past eleven. There’s barely enough time for you to make one dish. What is this? Are you putting on a show?”

Hannah glared at the dreadlocks guy. ”Clyne, don’t say that.”

Stephen shook his head at Clyne. ”Li was in the kitchen all morning. That wasn’t very fair to him.”

In a low voice, Clyne said, ”You idiot, Stephen. You’re just as daft as you were in middle school. Do you want to just watch as Hannah gets snatched away? You should be using every chance you get to put him in his place!”

The kitchen was quite small, so everyone heard him. Stephen hastily waved his hand. ”Don’t, Clyne—for the sake of Mother Mary, don’t say things like that.”

Li Du looked at the dreadlocks guy with interest. ”Your name is Clyne? It’s now half past eleven. How about having lunch at twelve? I’ll prepare a feast for you guys. A Chinese banquet.”

”In half an hour?” Clyne sneered. ”On your own? Impossible!”

”How about this—let’s bet. The one who loses has to do something for the winner. Of course, it can’t be too large a favor. Do you accept?”

Dreadlocks Guy wasn’t a brash person. Seeing Li Du’s confidence, he hesitated.

Some of his classmates egged him on.

”Go on, Clyne—there’s no way he can whip up a feast in half an hour!”

”There are more than 30 of us! A feast for that many in half an hour, on his own? Ha! Not unless he’s the magician, David Copperfield!”

”Beat him, Clyne, for Stephen!”

With so many people egging him on, Clyne couldn’t back down. He folded his arms arrogantly and said, ”Fine. Let’s bet.”

Stephen tried to stop him. ”Don’t, man. Hans told me that Li has a nickname called Gao Jing among the Chinese.”

Dreadlocks Guy looked confused. ”Who is Gao Jing?”

”The Chinese call him Gao Jing—the legendary God of Gamblers,” explained Hannah.

Smiling, Li Du pushed them out of the kitchen. ”Alright, the bet has started. Everyone give me some space. I’m going to start now.”

On his way out, Dreadlocks Guy asked, ”Are you really the God of Gamblers? Who’s better—you, or Peter Eastgate?”

Peter Eastgate was a Danish man who was extremely well-known in the American gambling world. In 2008, Las Vegas held an international poker competition where Peter won the championship—his prize was 915,000 dollars and fame throughout America!

Li Du just smiled. ”You’ll find out in half an hour.”