Lin Chuan nodded in greeting, "Expert Chen, we meet again."
"Yesterday, I heard Old Zhang say that he was going to bring in some external help, and I guessed it would be Writer Lin. Sure enough, it’s really you," Chen Ming said with a laugh.
"I’m just here to broaden my horizons, see the world, and learn a few things about your anti-gambling experience," Lin Chuan said politely.
You don’t hit a person who’s smiling at you.
This Chen Ming, his attitude was still quite good.
Chen Ming smiled, "Are you preparing to write a new book?"
Lin Chuan just laughed.
Then, Chen Ming pulled Lin Chuan over. At this time, another person beside the tea table stood up, his gaze turning towards Lin Chuan.
Chen Ming then introduced, "This is President Yao, quite famous in our Anling business community. President Yao, let me introduce you, this is the King of Cheating of Anling City, Lin Chuan."
Yao Jie immediately showed a smile, "The King of Cheating? I’ve long admired you."
Lin Chuan nodded in greeting.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they took their seats, Lin Chuan sitting opposite Yao Jie.
Chen Ming chatted casually with Old Zhang for a while before quickly getting to the main topic.
"President Yao, I hear you’ve got quite the gambling addiction?"
By then, Lin Chuan had a deck of cards in his hand, idly shuffling them as he asked.
President Yao laughed awkwardly, "I can’t help but play a little, and my wife made this appointment with the Anti-Gambling Association. No choice, she’s very strict."
Chen Ming and Old Zhang both laughed.
The atmosphere on both sides became much livelier.
"It seems that quitting gambling is definitely on the agenda," Lin Chuan said half-jokingly.
Yao Jie tried to maintain his composure and said with a smile, "Unless someone can persuade my wife, the boss at home."
"Haha."
Lin Chuan laughed, "President Yao, actually, quitting gambling is really quite simple."
"What do you mean?" Yao Jie was taken aback.
"I’ve seen many, many gamblers. To get them to quit naturally is very, very difficult. But, these people all have one thing in common," Lin Chuan said with a smile, looking at Yao Jie.
"What’s that?" Yao Jie asked, playing along.
"They’re not afraid of their wives."
Lin Chuan’s lips quirked upward, his deep eyes fixating on Yao Jie.
Suddenly feeling a jolt in his heart, Yao Jie’s mouth twitched imperceptibly, Lin Chuan’s gaze making him uneasy.
Since learning he was going to face Lin Chuan yesterday, he had started to practice how to face him without showing weakness or giving himself away.
Now, facing Lin Chuan ’head-on’, he realized that even Lin Chuan’s casual questions were accompanied by a stare that was deep and sharp, as if he wanted to see right into Yao Jie’s thoughts.
Yao Jie felt enormous psychological pressure!
Curious, Chen Ming asked to liven up the mood, "Writer Lin, now that you say it, it does seem to make sense! But why is that?"
Lin Chuan chuckled and explained, "That’s what separates the real gamblers. A true gambler is someone who doesn’t care about anything else, his mind filled only with gambling, wanting to win back everything, to win it all through gambling. Such a person has little room in their heart for anything other than gambling. He Qiang goes fishing without fearing the Sichuan wives, let alone gamblers, right?"
"That does seem somewhat reasonable," Old Zhang said, stroking his chin, contemplating.
Lin Chuan continued, "So, a man who fears his wife will be made to quit by her. He probably doesn’t need the Anti-Gambling Association."
With that, Lin Chuan’s gaze casually fell on Yao Jie.
Clearly, this was meant for Yao Jie.
Yao Jie’s eyes darted away before he lifted his head to meet Lin Chuan’s gaze, "Does this mean I don’t need to quit gambling?"
"If your wife stands at the entrance to the casino, and you’re already afraid, do you think you need to quit gambling?" Lin Chuan asked without giving a specific answer, still watching Yao Jie.
Yao Jie’s mouth twitched, "It seems, maybe not."
"As for all those gambling techniques, cheating tricks, they’re secondary now!" Lin Chuan said with a light laugh, "Are you still going to gamble in the future?"
Yao Jie shook his head, "I might play a hand or two."
"Big or small?" Lin Chuan asked again.
"Small, just small ones. A little gambling is entertaining, it shouldn’t be a problem," Yao Jie replied in a daze.
"Very well, President Yao, congratulations on successfully quitting gambling!" Lin Chuan extended his hand.
Yao Jie, playing along, stood up and shook hands with Lin Chuan.
The fast-paced question-and-answer session between the two left Chen Ming and Old Zhang on the side staring dumbfounded.
This... Is it over already?
The two sat down, and it hadn’t even been five minutes!
No!
It hadn’t even been two minutes!
Had he successfully quit gambling?
Chen Ming and Old Zhang glanced at each other, both seeing surprise in the other’s eyes.
This scene was far from what they had imagined. They had thought that Lin Chuan would display his awe-inspiring cheating techniques and completely shatter Yao Jie’s psychological defenses, and then Yao Jie would quit gambling.
Not like now, where Lin Chuan said a few words, and Yao Jie claimed he wouldn’t gamble anymore, or if he did, it would just be for a little fun.
"Congratulations, President Yao! You’ve been enlightened by Writer Lin and escaped from the bitter sea!" Chen Ming came back to his senses and said in a timely manner.
Yao Jie nodded, "Indeed, I was too engrossed to see clearly. Writer Lin is not only a master in literature but must also be skilled in cheating techniques. With just a few words, you’ve opened my eyes. I admire you!"
Chen Ming chimed in, "President Yao, what you don’t know is that, apart from being a literary creator and an expert in cheating techniques, Writer Lin is also the leading figure in Anling City’s network security."
Lin Chuan waved his hand away, "You flatter me."
Surprise appeared on Yao Jie’s face, "The leading figure in network security?"
Chen Ming then enthusiastically embellished his knowledge of Lin Chuan and the 720 Company.
Yao Jie was very engrossed, and looked at Lin Chuan with a hint of ’admiration,’ "Director Lin, I had no idea you were such an expert. If there is a chance in the future, I must ask Lin Chuan for help. I hope you won’t find my bothering you troublesome!"
Lin Chuan waved his hand again, "You flatter me."
The two then exchanged business cards and chatted amiably.
The topic of gambling seemed to have turned a page suddenly.
This puzzled Old Zhang.
After walking out of Yueming Tea House, Old Zhang couldn’t hold back and asked, "Lin, what kind of magic did you use?"
"Magic is a Western concept, I used the mysterious powers of the East!" Lin Chuan laughed.
Old Zhang was torn between laughter and tears, "I just want to know how you managed to make President Yao quit gambling with just a few words?"
"Why would you want to know that?" Lin Chuan asked.
"It’s pretty cool!"
Old Zhang said frankly.
In his mind, he thought how cool it would be if he could also use a few words to persuade someone to quit gambling!
Lin Chuan laughed, "Actually, President Yao wasn’t here to quit gambling, so he doesn’t need to quit."
"Ah?"
Now Old Zhang was even more confused.
"The theory about fearing his wife, I actually made that up." Lin Chuan said with a light laugh, "However, he did play along with me, so to you, it looked like I managed to make President Yao quit gambling in just a minute or two."
"I’m a bit lost with what you’re saying." Old Zhang scratched his head, "Why would he play along with you?"
"Maybe, I give off a strong deterrence?" Lin Chuan joked.
Old Zhang shook his head, still somewhat disbelieving.
Lin Chuan simply smiled and didn’t continue to explain, but instead took out the business card from his gray suit jacket and glanced at it, thinking to himself,
"President Yao, your acting skills are too poor!"
The business card showed that the company Yao Jie worked for, Heart Language Company, managed entertainment businesses like game centers and e-sports internet cafes.
From the start, Lin Chuan had been watching Yao Jie.
Yao Jie’s eyes would occasionally dart away, giving off the feeling of having a guilty conscience.
Plus, with Lin Chuan’s made-up claim that ’real gamblers aren’t afraid of their wives,’ it was clear Yao Jie felt guilty.
Thus, he kept giving in, ’quitting gambling’ rapidly, just so that he could state his aim while speaking less, wanting to exchange business cards.
That might be his current mission.
Lin Chuan combined the information from Squirrel with his own analysis and could roughly guess that Yao Jie might be someone sent by the Baisheng Group.
"Just, why did he exchange business cards with me?"
Lin Chuan was also puzzled.
Merely exchanging a business card certainly wouldn’t reveal any problems.
Could it be that they would use this business card to proceed to the next step?

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