Chapter 255 Returning the Favor?
Qi Xia curled his lips into a smile, slowly walking over.
Qin Dingdong and the da ge before her were both clearly stuck in a standstill, with only a push needed to tip the scales.
"Da ge, as much as I hate to say it, you have no other choice," Qi Xia said calmly to the Sichuan-Chongqing da ge. "If you don't follow what she says, I’ll make sure we have a scuffle right here."
"You think you can beat me, ya little dumbass?" The man gritted his teeth, glaring at Qi Xia.
"I don’t even need to win against you," Qi Xia sneered. "Do you believe...once I start, there will be a steady stream of accomplices showing up to help me?"
The man felt a chill run down his spine at Qi Xia's words. He knew Qi Xia wasn’t bluffing.
At this moment, he was like a truck overturned on the side of the road—once the first person stepped forward to grab something, countless others would surely rush in to seize whatever they could.
The man pondered for a long time, weighing the pros and cons before finally spitting out two words, "Forget it..." He lowered his head and pulled out two fans from his handbag. "Missy, let me make it clear from the get-go. Once I hand you these two fans, if you dare back out, I ain’t gonna care about my own life—I’ll make sure to end both of yours."
"Of course, da ge," Qi Xia nodded, "If you don't make it out this time, I'll stand here and let you beat me to death."
After Qi Xia’s words, the Sichuan-Chongqing da ge showed no immediate reaction, but Qin Dingdong couldn’t hold back her frustration. "You—"
"Come here, I have something to say to you," Qi Xia beckoned.
Qin Dingdong thought for a moment before nodding and walking over to Qi Xia’s side in three steps.
Qi Xia pulled her aside and whispered, "You should go."
"Huh?" Qin Dingdong lowered her voice, "What do you mean?"
"You've already failed," Qi Xia said. "Leaving now is your best choice."
"Y—You want me to leave now?"
"Qin Dingdong, have you ever participated in this game before?" Qi Xia asked.
"No," Qin Dingdong shook her head, "I've only heard about it."
"I have a feeling that you won't have a better opportunity to escape," Qi Xia thought for a moment before continuing, "Leaving now will maximize your gains."
Qin Dingdong quickly calculated her profits. After deducting the two fans used for pairing, she would still have four left, which meant twenty {Dào}. While the gains were already quite substantial, a normal person would never be satisfied once they knew there was a chance to earn more.
"Qi Xia, I don't want to leave," Qin Dingdong said. "I think I can still take a bit more..."
"You'd better value your life," Qi Xia replied. "Your schemes are not only clumsy, but they also risk making you countless enemies. If you manage to steal this man's entire stash of fans and stay here, you'd become a newly minted {rich individual}. At that point, everyone will turn their attention to you. What will you do then?"
"I—I can have you protect me."
"There are dozens of people here," Qi Xia said. "Do you really think I would risk my life to protect you?"
Qin Dingdong fell silent after hearing that.
"Besides... I can't pair up with you to escape," Qi Xia said, cautiously glancing around. "What I want is far more than what you have."
"So, take this chance and get out," Qi Xia said. "Considering you gave me three {Dào}, I'll help you one last time."
Qin Dingdong carefully pondered Qi Xia's words, feeling that what he said wasn't untrue. But for some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that this was all part of Qi Xia's scheme.
After thinking for a moment, she returned to the side of the Sichuan-Chongqing man and spoke, "Da ge, I have to confess something to you."
The man's expression darkened noticeably. "Missy... think real hard ‘fore you speak."
"Yes, I've thought it through," Qin Dingdong nodded. "Originally... I planned to deceive you again, but I don't want to deceive you anymore. This time, I'm ready to put my two fans into the machine."
The man watched her cautiously and asked, "Then why ain't ya done it yet?"
"I've decided I want three fans," Qin Dingdong said with a solemn expression. "Two are no longer enough for me. Three. As long as you give me three, I will definitely..."
Before she could finish her sentence, the man immediately reached out and grabbed her by the neck. "You motherf*cker... you're really askin’ for death..."
"Hey!" Qi Xia's gaze turned cold as he hurried over, reaching out to grab the man's arm, unsure of what to do next.
Though he had spoken confidently earlier, the reality of a confrontation would undoubtedly result in a lose-lose situation.
Whether it was Qi Xia seizing the fans from him or the man killing Qin Dingdong right there, the {participants} would certainly spiral out of control.
"What are you doing, Qin Dingdong?" Qi Xia asked, bewildered. "You could just take the two fans and leave. Why make things more complicated?"
"No..." Qin Dingdong gritted her teeth, "I want three."
Qi Xia had never anticipated that the woman before him would be so greedy. He had already mapped out a clear path for her—why was she suddenly making such a sharp turn?
"Since that's the case..." Qi Xia had no choice but to shift his focus back to the Sichuan-Chongqing man. "Xiōngdì, if you don't let go, I'm really going to take your fans."
"I'll count to three," Qi Xia demanded, frowning. "In three seconds, one of us will have to pay the price."
A severe look crossed the man’s face, as though he were carefully weighing Qi Xia’s true depth.
Before {three} even escaped his lips, the man had already released his grip.
As the saying goes, "The barefooted fear not those with shoes." Qi Xia had only three fans—he could afford to lose, but this man could not.
"Three… fans..." The man gritted his teeth. "You two are really pushin’ yer luck."
"Is that a yes or no?" Qi Xia immediately interrupted. "I don’t want to hear any more complaints."
The man paused for a moment, then muttered, "Fine... but this here’s the last time."
Upon hearing that, Qi Xia let out a slow breath of relief.
The man roughly threw the three fans into Qin Dingdong's arms. Although he still had eleven fans in his possession, this pairing had cost him five.
Qin Dingdong smiled faintly as she took the fans and then promptly placed two into the machine.
"Pairing Successful."
At the emergence of those two words, a shared breath of relief escaped the trio.
Qi Xia, still baffled, asked, "Qin Dingdong, what exactly are you up to? We clearly..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Qin Dingdong handed one of the fans to Qi Xia. "For you."
"Huh?" Qi Xia paused, momentarily taken aback.
The man beside them also seemed somewhat stunned.
"For me?" Qi Xia confirmed once more.
"You've helped me several times. This fan is for you," Qin Dingdong said, rubbing her neck. "With this fan, we're square."
Qi Xia took the fan in disbelief. Just moments ago, he thought Qin Dingdong had added another fan out of sheer greed, but now it seemed...she was actually repaying him?
Did she not realize he was deceiving her?