Chapter 52
Chapter 52 Rescue in the Casino
They both took a taxi all the way to the casino. Zhu Liya appeared very calm on the way, which was totally beyond Xiao Bing’s expectations. He considered her as a truly great woman since she calmed herself down in such a short time.
They both sat in the back row and the distance between them was no wider than a fist. Xiao Bing could not take his eyes off her since they were so close. He was still amazed by this woman’s beauty. Although she was only a few years older than Xiao Bing, the mature charm she gave off was rare for a woman of her age.
There was music playing in the taxi and the driver sang along with it. Then the driver suddenly asked, “Are you two trying to find someone in the casino?”
Xiao Bing was finally relieved. He still could not believe that a woman could be this seductive. Yezi was spiritually attractive and Su Xiaoxiao was beautiful because of her delicacy, which made men want to protect her. But Zhu Liya was different from both of them. It was a pure temptation to his hormones, which was a feeling he had before, but it was never this intense.
Xiao Bing looked at him and smiled, “How did you know?”
“Well, drivers like me meet all kinds of people. You two don’t seem like gamblers to me. So what else would you do in a casino? You must have a gambling relative or friend here. And as we all know, most gamblers lose.”
Xiao Bing sighed, “Yeah, most of them lose… But aren’t casinos illegal? The police here just don’t do anything about it?”
“The police can’t do anything about it. They have business licenses, which they use as a cover for the gambling. Even I know how things work here. How can the police not know? Frankly speaking, it’s all because they have powerful allies behind their backs.”
“Oh. What kind of allies?”
“Well, that’s beyond a taxi driver’s knowledge.”
When they were talking, Zhu Liya was quiet all the time. Soon, they arrived at the casino, but it looked like a small hair salon from the outside. They found several men and women playing cards after they walked in.
Seeing Xiao Bing and Zhu Liya walk in, one of the women spoke in a languid voice, “We’re closed today.”
Looking stone-cold, Zhu Liya said, “We’re here for Zhang Gui. I’m his wife.”
After hearing that, they looked her up and down. A yellow-haired young man sneered and jumped off from his bed. “Come with me,” said the young man in a casual voice.
He walked to a wall and tapped it three times in a rhythmic way, and he did it again. Soon someone answered and it turned out that there was a door in the wall. A man opened it from the inside.
“Come on in,” said the young man, sluggishly. He took a glimpse of Zhu Liya and murmured, “Truly a flower on a piece of dog shit.”
Xiao Bing followed her into the door and they met two sturdy men. The two men sized them up them. Then they looked at Zhu Liya and asked, “He’s your friend?”
Zhu Liya nodded.
“Alright then, come with us.”
As they walked further, they found themselves in front of a stairway to a basement. Xiao Bing looked around and was amazed that they could make the casino this untraceable. It seemed that their secret allies were not as simple as he had thought.
It was quite an open place down in the basement. There were punchboards, mahjong tables, and poker tables everywhere, each with rackety gamblers surrounding them. Someone saw Xiao Bing and Zhu Liya, and immediately he walked to a room in the corner.
“Please follow us. Our boss is waiting for you.”
Zhu Liya and Xiao Bing followed him into the room and found about six sturdy men smoking in the room. Some of them were standing and others were sitting, all swaggeringly. But there was a man, who was tied neck to heel and lying on the floor.
A black-skinned, bald man smiled after he saw Zhu Liya, “You must be Mr. Zhang’s wife. I apologize for the trouble. I know it’s a long way down here.”
Zhu Liya frowned. It seemed that she really did not like this place. She turned angry when she had a closer look at the man on the floor. The man on the floor seemed to have found his lifesaver after seeing Zhu Liya, “My dear wife, help me. Give them the money now. Otherwise they will chop my fingers off.”
Xiao Bing was shocked by the height of this man. Zhu Liya was about 1.7 meters tall and this man was no more than 1.6, which made Zhu Liya taller by a head. He was not very good-looking and he looked like a hooligan. “Is the beauty and a beast a thing now?” He wondered why Zhu Liya, a sexy woman who had a perfect body, a beautiful face, and a fascinating aroma, was married to such a loser.
Xiao Bing inwardly felt pity for her.
Zhu Liya was slightly embarrassed at first, then it changed to helplessness and unwillingness. Obviously, she was not happy about this marriage as well. Who knew why she married this man.
Xiao Bing took out the 100 thousand after Zhu Liya took a look at him. Then he gave it to her. Looking at the man who seemed to be the leader, Zhu Liya said coldly, “Brother Biao, we’ve already met once and I trust you. I’ll give you the money now. I hope you can set him free as soon as you get the money, just like what you told me.”
Brother Biao came over and grabbed the money, then he handed it to one of his followers to count. After he finished counting, he gave the money back and said, “Boss, it’s 100 thousand.”
“Well, you really keep your words. I like you. Now you can go back, but your husband still stays.”
Zhu Liya looked terrible after hearing this. She was both humiliated and infuriated. “What do you mean by this? You said you would let him go when you got the money. Now you have the money. He has no value to you now. Why do you still want to keep him?”
Xiao Bing was confused as well. Even a male prostitute needed a pretty face. His husband looked like the modern version of Tyrion. He wondered that maybe some of them were just into this type of man.
Xiao Bing could not help but speak for her, “Don’t you think you’re being very unfair? And what use is Tyri… this man for you? You need another worker here?”
“A worker?” Brother Biao sneered, “I don’t need a worker like him even if he was for free. Let me tell you the truth. This Tyri… No, this man, your husband, got into big trouble. He didn’t just lose all his money. He stole our boss’s wife’s clothes when she was asleep.”
Looking pale, Zhu Liya tightly bit her lips and gritted her teeth.
Xiao Bing’s mind went blank for a moment. While he was intending to criticize Zhang Gui, he remembered the thing in his pocket and gave up the idea. Then he argued, “It’s just clothes, can’t we just compensate you?”
“Well, if only it was that simple… He tried to violate her when she was asleep.”
Zhu Liya’s body wobbled after hearing this and Xiao Bing instantly helped her stand. She gently pushed him away and gave him a glimpse of gratitude. She made a long exhalation and said to Brother Biao, “Indeed he did something terribly wrong this time. I apologize for him. There are other ways to make things up for your wife. How about I give you another 10 thousand?”
Even though she was extremely angry, she still maintained her sanity. The words she said were perfectly organized. No wonder she was greater than most women, both in ability and temperament.
Brother Biao laughed out loud, “Well, woman, you must be mistaken. Our boss doesn’t care about your money. All of your assets would just be a drop in the ocean to him. This time it’s about dignity. If people find out that someone violated his wife and walked away intact from it, he’s gonna lose face.”
Frowning, Zhu Liya asked, “What do you want then?”
“It’s very simple. I want to break his hands and legs. I want him to be disabled for the rest of his life!”
“No!” Zhang Gui was struggling and shouting on the floor. “My dear wife, you must save me! Please!”
One of Brother Biao’s followers immediately gagged Zhang Gui. But he still tried to shout and his eyes were filled with terror. He even peed his pants in panic.
Zhu Liya was embarrassed, annoyed, and terrified. On one hand, she wished there was a hole in the ground so that she could hide in it, because her husband was so embarrassing. On the other hand, she was afraid that these people would do the things they just said. Though the one on the floor was not much better than these rascals, he was still her husband.
It was obvious that she did care about this man since she was willing to give all her money to save him.
While Zhu Liya was at a loss, Xiao Bing held her by her soft shoulders. Upon feeling his warm, big hands surrounding her, somehow Zhu Liya restored her confidence. Gradually she calmed herself. Then she turned to Xiao Bing and saw him stepping in front of her. He stared at these men in the room and asked, “And what if we insist on taking him with us? What will happen then?”
“Nothing will happen,” said a man who was at the door. The man looked like he was in his thirties and was wearing a pink suit. Followed by two bodyguards in black, he stepped into the room with a coquettish beauty in his arms.
Brother Biao and his fellow men instantly stood up and bowed with great respect. “Boss.”
The man in the pink suit raised his cigar-holding hand and pointed at Zhu Liya, “If she can sleep with me for one night, I’ll let her husband go!”