Love Began with the First Meeting
Chapter 746 Could She Win (Part Three)

"Master," said Molly, "just imagine how humiliating it will be if you lose." Then a cunning smile appeared on her face, taunting her master.

"It's one thing to be confident," said Chester, unaffected. "But conceit is a different matter."

Her smile widened. "We'll see."

While unmoving, Chester said in a nonchalant voice, "Whether you go back for him or not today, it depends on your performance in this game. There won't be another round."

"Master, I can't wait any longer." The smile that had been on her face earlier had disappeared, replaced by a serious look. "It's been two years. Many things can happen during that span of time. It would be impractical to take longer than that."

The air grew intense in the room. A lot of big decisions were going to be made in the next few minutes.

Meanwhile, Vincent leaned against the wall outside, his arms crossed over his chest while he fixed his eyes on the closed door. Despite being still, the look on his face revealed that he was just as anxious as Molly. Although his opinion of her had changed, going back to XK Intelligence Agency was his sole goal, and it all depended on what was happening in the other room.

Mark, who was playing a game on the iPad while seated on the sofa, noticed the man's demeanor. Without looking up from the new game that Ling had recommended recently, a game that she said was more difficult than all the games he had played so far, he said, "Vincent, don't worry. Mommy is going to win."

Frowning, Vincent looked at the child. "Chester was the best card sharp while your mom had only been learning the art of cheating for half a year." True as that might be, the child did not show any sign of worry.

"You're right," said Mark, still playing the game. "So normally, she would lose against a great opponent. But today is special. She will win. What Uncle Chester wants is for Mommy to go back and trouble Papa Brian. He isn't really cultivating a great card sharp." Then he paused, his fingers swiftly running over the screen. "Oh, no," he said distractedly. "I win again. I was expecting this one to be interesting." Shaking his head in disappointment, he then looked at Vincent for the first time and said, "Vincent, let's go pack and book the earliest air ticket to A City." With that, he stood up and left the room.

For a moment, the young boy reminded Vincent of Brian as a kid when he had just been brought to XK Intelligence Agency. The apple, it seemed, did not fall too far from the tree.

*

"Flight XXX bound for A City has stopped boarding," the radio at the airport announced.

London was enveloped in a morning mist. As she sat in her seat on the plane, Molly looked through the window, muttering to herself, "Thank you, London. Thank you, Victor. Thank you, Chester and five Golden Flowers."

"Mommy." Mark tugged at Molly's sleeve, gaining her attention at once. "Someone is staring at you."

Upon hearing the child's observation, Vincent was instantly alert. When Molly looked across the aisle, she saw a foreign man in his fifties. Her eyes lit up in recognition. "Gary? Is that you?"

"It's really you, little girl." Gary said, smiling good-naturedly.

After Molly requested to switch seats with Vincent, the foreign man continued to talk. "What a delightful surprise! I never thought I'd see you again. Johnny and I still talk about you sometimes." Stealing a glimpse at Vincent and Mark, he thought they were her family and added, "Seeing that you are fine, I am very much relieved."

After a while, when everyone had settled down, the plane took off. Molly and Gary continued to have a chat. When she had first come to London, and met Gary in a strange street, she had mistaken him for a bad guy. Fortunately, he had not taken the allegation to heart, and still helped her out. Now after many years, they were fated to meet again. Somehow, that made Molly feel hopeful. 'Everything would get better,' she thought.

Gary had become a well-known abstractionist. As he became more renowned over the years, he had been invited to do an artistic exchange at a few universities in A City and T City.

By noon, the plane had arrived in A City. A person from one of the universities was gracious enough to pick Gary up at the airport. After a quick exchange of contact information with Molly, he bade goodbye and left with the person.

After his departure, Molly took a deep breath and looked around. The air was cold. Under the overcast and hazy sky, the city was encased in mist, palely dotted with lights coming from houses, and greenery.

"Miss Molly, where do you want us to go?" Vincent asked. Now that he was working for Molly, he was to do everything that she said. At the moment, nobody knew that they have returned.

Glancing at Mark, the mother and son shared a smile. "Smile Hotel!" they said in unison.

The group of three arrived at the hotel in a cab. To protect her identity from others, Victor took the liberty of getting her a green card through his royal status. Thanks to that, Molly managed to check in smoothly.

"Mark, I have to replace myself a suitable outfit. I won't be able to stay with you later. Even though you're familiar with this place, if there is somewhere you'd like to go, let Vincent accompany you, okay?" Molly said, hanging her clothes in the closet. The boy complied and said with crossed fingers, "Mommy, go! I'll be waiting for your good news!"

Opening the door, she smiled at him fondly. "Tonight, Mommy's first goal is to win some money for our new house. Living in a hotel might be fine for now, but it won't be good for us in the long run. It can be sometimes inconvenient too." Mark nodded in agreement.

With a playful wink at him, Molly turned on her heels and left. In a matter of hours, the show was about to begin. Now she just had to replace the perfect outfit to match her objective.

*

It was a lovely evening, and A City was lit with neon lights.

Despite it being the winter time, the streets of the metropolis were still swarmed with vehicles and people.

Contrary to the cold outside, however, Grand Night Casino was jam-packed and bustling with enthusiastic gamblers.

As five card stud was the most popular game in the casino, those who possessed deep pockets flocked towards these tables, and brought out their sturdy briefcase containing chips and thick wads of cash. While some bet their money to their hearts' desire, others decided to sit down and watch the game.

A white half mask with a flower made of spun silk and feathers covered her true identity. Wearing a red tight strapless dress, with a white mink wrap on, she was dressed to be noticed despite the whole covertness.

Ever since she sat down, she had been the center of attention at the casino. The busy five card stud table was already overcrowded.

"One hundred."

She tossed a green round chip. Her shiny lips were slightly open, tempting those that dared to look.

After the rest of the people at the table called, the dealer then dealt the next card for each player. Molly got a pair of Qs, which was the highest value at the table. "Wow, a pair," she exclaimed.

"In this case, one thousand for good luck." Then she tossed a yellow round chip on the table.

Two of the players dropped out of the game. Then the dealer continued to deal the cards. This time, Molly got a five, while someone at the table got a pair of aces. When the person with aces bet, Molly called. Two more players decided to quit the game, leaving only seven players at the table. The bet had been raised to ten thousand.

As the game progressed, more cards were dealt out. The players turned over their face-down cards. The person with the aces earlier, had two pairs now. Meanwhile, Molly got three Qs, and more people had folded. Now it was only Molly, and the person with the pairs. The man glanced at his hole card. An ace. He looked at Molly's three Qs, and thought it was a small chance for her to have four Qs.

"Twenty thousand!" he said.

At this point, Molly did not look at her hole card. "I call. And I raise your twenty thousand to fifty thousand."00000000☐☐☐☐☐☐☐