Chapter 655: Subtle

“Round four, begin.”

Di Hou’s firm voice rang out.

Qi Xia didn’t pay attention to Di Hou’s expression and instead immediately turned his gaze to the wooden box at the center of the table.

Just as Qi Xia had expected, the moment Di Hou finished speaking, the wooden box at the center of the table changed color again.

This time, the change was subtle, but after three rounds, the box’s overall hue had shifted completely, making it impossible for anyone to miss.

At this moment, Qiao Jiajin patted Qi Xia on the shoulder. “Liar… you were right! That box really is changing color!”

Qi Xia, of course, already knew the box was changing color. However, the situation was still unclear. He had noticed this anomaly two rounds ago but had no way of guessing the reason behind the color shift.

By now, the wooden box had taken on a golden-yellow hue, as if the light tube inside had reached its brightest setting. Placed at the center of the table, it resembled a beacon in the room.

Everyone had noticed the change, yet no one had immediately figured out the reason.

This round, the dealer was Xiao Cheng. After shuffling the cards, he placed one face-up in the center of the table.

This was the “community card”—**”Spring Festival.”**

“First day of the first lunar month,” Qi Xia murmured, already foreseeing how this round would unfold.

They needed to collect more “ones,” or else defeating Di Hou would be difficult.

The best outcome would be to obtain a **”November”** card. That way, with four “ones” in hand, they could easily overpower Di Hou.

After revealing the community card, Xiao Cheng dealt himself another card and flipped it over.

**”Minor Snow.”**

“Twenty-third day of the tenth month…” Qi Xia’s lips moved slightly. “One-zero-two-three.”

This card was neither high nor low. While it didn’t provide many “ones,” it was moving toward forming a “straight.” Right now, everyone’s hands would likely be leaning toward “pairs.” If Xiao Cheng could complete a straight, he’d have the potential to sweep the table.

Next was Chen Junan. He drew **”Start of Spring”** from Xiao Cheng—sixth day of the first month.

“Damn it, another ‘Start of Spring’?” Chen Junan frowned. “I feel like I’ve gotten this card before. Do I just have a ‘Start of Spring’ face or something?”

Qi Xia remembered that Chen Junan had indeed drawn “Start of Spring” in the first round. However, the situation was different now. Back then, the community card had been **”Ghost Festival”**—”seven-one-five.”

“Start of Spring” had been useless in that round. But this time, the community card was “Spring Festival.” With “Start of Spring,” Chen Junan already had three “ones.” If his next hidden card also contained a “one,” he’d have **”four of a kind,”** giving him a strong advantage.

Moreover, all the solar terms in the first half of the year were “twenty-one,” and the latter half included November and December—both of which contained plenty of “ones.” The odds of Chen Junan drawing a “one” were very high.

Qiao Jiajin drew **”Ghost Festival.”**

Qi Xia himself received **”White Dew”**—eighth day of the eighth month.

This card didn’t have a strong connection to “Spring Festival,” but it wasn’t a weak card either. Right now, Qi Xia’s hand was effectively **”two pairs”**—a pair of “eights” and a pair of “ones.”

All eyes then turned to Di Hou. After all, he was their opponent, the one they were gambling against.

When Di Hou revealed his hand, everyone let out a quiet sigh of relief.

**”Qingming Festival”**—sixth day of the third month.

This card was a terrible match for “Spring Festival.” Whether pairing or forming a straight, the numbers were too far apart.

“Three-six and one-one…?” Qi Xia narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing something amiss.

If the previous rounds were any indication, Di Hou would fold.

But this was already the fourth round. If Di Hou kept surrendering, would they still have a chance to turn the tables?

Next, Zheng Yingxiong drew **”Start of Autumn”**—eighth day of the seventh month.

Tian Tian drew **”Minor Cold”**—eighth day of the twelfth month.

Most of the players had decent hands, with Zheng Yingxiong’s being the weakest. His “seventh month, eighth day” was no better than Di Hou’s “third month, sixth day”—neither could pair effectively with “first month, first day.”

Tian Tian scanned the table and realized her **”Minor Cold”** was the highest month in play. She began considering the possibility of raising the bet.

“Minor Cold” was the twelfth month, meaning it could combine with “Spring Festival” to form three “ones”—a fairly strong hand. No matter what, it would beat Di Hou’s, so she decided to raise by one chip.

Xiao Cheng looked at his **”Minor Snow”** and had a similar thought. Since “Minor Snow” was from the tenth month, it currently gave him three “ones.” He matched the bet.

Chen Junan and Qiao Jiajin, both holding “ones” in their hands, followed suit.

After Qi Xia also matched the bet, he glanced helplessly at Di Hou.

If Di Hou folded, no matter how much they raised, it would be pointless.

To Qi Xia’s surprise, Di Hou kept his head lowered, staring at his cards. Then, he reached under the table and pushed forward a single **”Dao”** chip.

“I call.”

“Call…?” Qi Xia froze, then double-checked Di Hou’s hand—it was indeed “Qingming Festival.”

A nagging suspicion lingered in Qi Xia’s mind. He couldn’t fathom what Di Hou was planning.

Before the game began, Di Hou had explicitly stated the rules: players had to combine their hands with the community card to compare values. Logically, even if the rules had changed, they couldn’t possibly allow “Qingming Festival” and “Spring Festival”—two wildly mismatched cards—to overpower the well-structured hands of the others.

Even if the rules had shifted to simply comparing raw numbers, “Qingming Festival” and “Spring Festival” were among the smallest possible combinations.

Yet Di Hou had clearly said, **”I call.”**

Next was Zheng Yingxiong. After looking at his **”Start of Autumn”** (“seventh month, eighth day”), he folded.

Hearing this, Di Hou slowly lifted his eyelids, glanced at Zheng Yingxiong’s card, then lowered his head again without expression.

Qi Xia noticed Di Hou’s lips had been trembling slightly the entire time, as if he were calculating something.

While this game did involve some arithmetic, was it really necessary for a seasoned gambler like Di Hou to keep his head down and calculate nonstop?

Once all bets were placed, Xiao Cheng began dealing the second round. Everyone except Zheng Yingxiong received a face-down **”hidden card.”**

Qi Xia kept his hidden card covered and looked up at Di Hou—only to find the latter also staring back at him, his own hidden card concealed beneath his palm.

“Di Hou,” Qi Xia challenged. “Care to bet without looking at your card?”