177 A Game of Life POV (2/2)

I response dejectedly.

I cannot ask him to shuffle the cards again because he said it was a one-time thing. It is also unfair if I keep asking him to reshuffle because I am unable to keep track of where the Queen of Heart is.

In response to my answer, mister Max chuckles and shakes his head.

”I suppose that it is, at least for you, Christina. But do you know? Sometimes in life, you just don't have the leisure of knowing for certain which option is the right one. Sometimes, you just have to make do with your gut. What does your gut tell you, Christina?”

Mister Max asks.

”Um. It tells me that I am hungry?”

I answer him, puzzlingly. Gut is just another word for stomach from what I remember. But then again, why did he ask me about my stomach when we are playing a card game?

Mister Max laughs, making me giggle as well. I really don't know why he is laughing at what I had just said, but it could be because he is hungry as well.

Most people usually have dinner around 6pm to 7pm, and it is already passed 9pm. I have dinner at 8 since daddy often comes home late from work. Even when he does come home early, I still have dinner at 8pm.

”Heh. I don't really mean your stomach or belly, Christina. And yes, I am is as hungry as you. I wonder when they will bring out something to eat, and hopefully, it is edible.”

Mister Max looks around the room briefly, trying to find someone. Aside from other customers, there is no one else he can call.

”Anyway, I mean your intuition, Christina. Um. It is a feeling of sort, and it doesn't need to be right or wrong. It just needs to feel the most correct to you. What I am trying to say, Christina, is that you often don't know the correct choice in life, so sometimes, you will just have to go with what you feel like the most correct one. In other word, you just have to take a leap of faith without hesitation.”

Mister Max tells me as he taps on each of the facedown cards.

”Can you do that?”

He asks.

I nod before speaking up, telling him that I can.

”Good girl. You also have nothing to lose at the moment and everything to gain, so think very hard to yourself where the Queen of Heart is and give me an answer. It is just a game, after all.”

Mister Max smiles as he said that. And somehow, I don't think he is just talking to me. It is as if mister Max is talking to everyone, which is sort of weird.

His eyes remain completely on me though. He is asking me to choose a card even if I don't know where the Queen of Heart is. He tells me to take a leap of faith.

I understand what a leap of faith is. It is one of those special phrases. It means to believing something without reason.

I think mister Max is telling me to believe in myself and my choices.

And with confidence, I pick a card that I believe where the Queen of Heart will be. It is just a guess, as I honestly do not know where the Queen of Heart is.

The people nearby shake their head lightly, telling me that my choice is incorrect. Unlike me, they are able to keep track of the Queen of Heart during the shuffling, thus they know exactly where the Queen of Heart is.

I frown slightly and about to change my mind.

”This one, huh? Are you sure, Christina? You can change your mind right now, but do you really want to?”

Mister Max asks, almost cryptically.

I blink at his question. Didn't hey said that I have to take a leap of faith without hesitation. And if I was to change my mind now, it wouldn't be called a leap of faith. I think so.

But if I am wrong, I would lose… actually, I don't have anything to lose like mister Max has said. This is just a game right now. I do have something to gain though. Something special from mister Max.

And while I want to win, I don't want to win by cheating. I want to win on my own.

”Yes, mister. I choose this one.”

I answer mister Max with confidence.

He nods and lifts the card up for me to see. It is the first time that he did, as he only flipped them over on the table in all the previous round.

The Queen of Heart stares at me, making me so happy. I didn't think I have chosen correctly, honestly.

The other people look questioningly at the revealed card. They appear to be rather surprised. I didn't expect everyone to get it wrong since they seem to be so certain.

”Certainty huh? Nothing is truly certain until it happens. If you have changed your mind just because of other people, Christina, you would not appreciate the victory that you have earned. I am glad that you stick to your gut in the end because what appears to be the right choice, isn't necessarily the right choice.”

Mister Max places the Queen of Heart back on the table faceup. He then flips each of the other three facedown cards, revealing each of them to me. Two of them are Queens, but one is a Joker.

That is strange because I had saw him taking out four Queens from the deck.

Also, it is not like any joker card I have seen in a deck of card before. The joker on this card is a depiction of a jester who sticks out his tongue as if he is making fun of something.

The unveiling of the Joker has caused a lot of chatters amongst the people in the restaurant. They are more shocked than surprised now. And I wonder why. Is it because the card is where they thought the Queen of Heart to be?

”To be honest, Christina. I did cheat a little bit too, just to see what kind of choice you will make. I am very proud of you, for making the right choice. And if you are feeling down for whatever reason in the future, you can take out this deck of card and remind yourself of the choices you have made.”Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

Mister Max tells me as he puts the cards back into the deck and handling the deck to me.

I accept it with both hands, feeling the metal container on my fingers. Like I have thought before, the cards are made of metal instead of paper or plastic.

The edges of the cards are blunted so I will not cut myself.

Yumiko also brought out some of the dishes that we ordered, so we didn't have anymore time to play another game even though I want to play one more.

But there is a problem.

”What's wrong, Christina? I thought you said that you are hungry?”

Mister Max asks when I am fiddling with the deck of card instead of eating.

I am counting how many cards there are.

There should be 52 cards in total, excluding the two Jokers.

”Um. I think one of the Queen is missing from the deck, mister.”

I answer his question even though I am unsure if he had taken out four Queens in total or just 3 Queens and a Joker. My gut is telling me that he did indeed take out four Queens from the deck. That means one of the Queen is currently missing.

With all the Queens, it is not a complete deck.

”One of the Queens isn't missing. She is no longer around.”

Mister Max comments with a smile and passes me the missing Queen of Diamond. He seems to expect that I would ask for it.

And strangely enough, his statement causes the room to become eerily silence again.