Chapter 162 : Mahjong Is So Damn Fun!
"Ling Ning, let's play mahjong!"
It was late in the evening, and Zhou Xiaoxiao knocked on Ling Ning's door. After dinner, Zhou Xiaoxiao's parents and Qian Xu's parents had once again started playing mahjong. She really didn’t understand why everyone found mahjong so entertaining.
Without supernatural powers, without the potential to take lives, mahjong just seemed dull to her.
And being stuck in her room watching TV all evening was way too boring. After some thought, Zhou Xiaoxiao decided to look for Ling Ning to play mahjong. She also called Qian Xu, since mahjong required four players. Given that Ling Ning's little sister was still too young, it was better to keep her away from gambling activities like this.
"Mahjong?"
Ling Ning looked at Zhou Xiaoxiao with curiosity. She had no idea why Zhou Xiaoxiao suddenly wanted to play mahjong. However, she was feeling bored herself, with nothing interesting on TV. Even though she had brought her laptop, she didn’t feel like playing on it, and since she had enough chapters saved for her novel, she was even less inclined to work.
The mention of mahjong reminded Ling Ning of her past life. Every New Year, she’d play mahjong with friends her age, but her skills were terrible, and her luck was always bad, so she often ended up losing money.
But recently, her luck seemed to have taken a turn for the better. Perhaps it was worth giving it a shot.
The only problem was, mahjong required four people. There was no way she was going to let her daughter join in, which left only three—so they were short one person.
"I already called Qian Xu over. He was in the middle of a shower, but he should be here any moment now." Zhou Xiaoxiao explained, seeming to have read Ling Ning’s mind.
As they were talking, Qian Xu arrived, looking all excited. Judging by his wet hair, he must have rushed over as soon as he heard the invitation. After all, it wasn't every day that a girl he liked invited him out—of course he’d hurry.
"We need one more for mahjong. Are you in or not?"
"I'm in! Absolutely in!"
Qian Xu smiled slightly. He had practiced mahjong before, thanks to his roommates, who loved the game. They would play whenever they had free time, and over time, even a beginner like Qian Xu picked up quite a few tricks. At the very least, he figured he was better than this group of beautiful girls who seemed to have hardly ever played.
"It’s time to show off my skills in front of Xiaoxiao~" Qian Xu thought to himself confidently.
"Xia You, do you know how to play mahjong?" Ling Ning turned her head and asked Xia You, her curiosity piqued.
Xia You nodded. She had learned the game during her research for commentary work, and a few games she played even had mahjong minigames, so she felt comfortable enough.
They decided to play in Ling Ning's room. The spacious suite came equipped with an automatic mahjong table, and before starting, Zhou Xiaoxiao laid out some ground rules, given that mahjong had many variations and needed some standardization.
After explaining the rules, they were about to begin, only for Zhou Xiaoxiao to stop them again.
"Don't you think it’d be a bit boring to just play without any stakes? How about we add a little twist?" Zhou Xiaoxiao paused to think, then seemed to have an idea. She pulled a pen out of her pocket and said, "The loser will get a line drawn on their face by the winner. This is just a normal marker, it can be wiped off easily. What do you think? If someone 'self-draws,' they can choose anyone to draw on."
No one objected to Zhou Xiaoxiao’s suggestion, so the game began—and Qian Xu's nightmare started.
In the first round, Qian Xu found that he had an excellent hand. Within just two rounds, he had almost completed his set—just waiting for a self-draw or for someone to deal into his hand. Today’s luck seemed good, and he anticipated a successful start.
"Kong! Self-draw! Ling Shang Kai Hua!"
The crisp voice from across the table froze Qian Xu's smile in place. He hadn’t even finished speaking when Ling Ning declared her win. Did she really need to slap him in the face like that? And her luck—it was almost too good.
Feeling the marker trace across his cheek, Qian Xu was unfazed. His dorm buddies had always told him that the person who wins the first round often crashes afterward. He refused to believe her luck would hold.
Round two began.
Qian Xu found himself with an even better starting hand—everything was in place, just waiting for the right tile to complete it. He felt confident and decided to wait patiently.
However, Ling Ning declared another kong, and as she reached out to draw the replacement tile, Qian Xu couldn't help but feel an unsettling sense of foreboding.
"Kong! Another kong! One more! Self-draw—pure suit, all pairs, three concealed pungs, three kongs, one dora, Ling Shang Kai Hua!"
Seeing Ling Ning lay her hand down on the table, the dazzling array of character tiles nearly blinded Qian Xu. He had never won such a beautiful hand in all his time playing mahjong. And she was winning by the second round—was that even fair? The automatic table hadn’t even finished shuffling the tiles!
Round three.
This time, at least there was no completed hand from the outset. The game seemed to proceed normally, and Qian Xu thought perhaps it had just been Ling Ning’s luck earlier.
Soon, the tiles were nearly gone, and Qian Xu still hadn’t completed his hand. He sighed in resignation—it looked like the game was going to end in a draw.
"Self-draw—last tile draw!"
"What!?"
Qian Xu looked at Ling Ning in disbelief. It was the last tile, and Zhou Xiaoxiao and Xia You had already given up, yet Ling Ning still managed to complete her hand. It was just too strange.
Round four.
"Self-draw—Nine Gates."
Round five.
"Self-draw—Big Three Dragons."
Round six.
"Self-draw—Thirteen Orphans."
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It wasn’t clear how much time had passed. Feeling the pen trace across his cheek yet again, Qian Xu's expression was completely blank. Anyone who understood mahjong would look like this after witnessing every rare winning hand in a single night.
As Qian Xu opened his eyes and looked across the table at the beautiful girl before him, she seemed to have left an indelible impression in his mind. In his imagination, her left eye blazed with fire, her right eye flashed with lightning, her hair defied gravity, and every draw was like a drill spiraling upward, though her expression remained blank—like some kind of bewildering demon lord.
"Sorry, Xiaoxiao, ladies... I'm not feeling very well tonight, so I'll head back first."
With that, Qian Xu shakily stood up and walked out of the room. On his way out, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror—his entire face was covered in drawings and writing, with not an inch left untouched, not even his neck.
"Ling Ning, was that really your first time playing mahjong?" Zhou Xiaoxiao asked.
"In a way, it really was my first time!" Ling Ning seemed just as bewildered as Qian Xu. She had no idea she was this skilled.
"Oh no! I grabbed the wrong pen! This one’s a permanent marker, the kind that’s really hard to wash off! The regular marker is still in my pocket!"
Hearing Zhou Xiaoxiao's words, Ling Ning couldn't help but picture Qian Xu's face, covered entirely in marker. She silently observed a moment of pity for him in her heart.
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
Author's Note:
I really want to go play mahjong, but we're one short—three players only, haha. Why does this make me feel so sad?