Translator's Note:
The story continues with Li Ge now stepping into the high-stakes nightlife scene. This chapter blends tension and subtle revenge—keeping the same protagonist and tone as previous chapters, despite evolving character dynamics.
As soon as Li Ge sat down, someone called out his name.
"Boss Hao, Li Ge's here!"
The shout immediately drew everyone's attention away from their games.
Li Ge frowned slightly and cast a disinterested glance at the speaker—Yu Wenzhou, one of Zheng Shaohua's most loyal lapdogs at the company.
Li Ge could tell just from Yu's flushed face and tipsy demeanor that the guy had already been drinking quite a bit. Clearly, he was trying to shift the spotlight and set Li Ge up to take the heat from Hao Jianwei.
"Well, look who finally showed up! Come on, don't just sit there—join us!" Hao Jianwei waved Li Ge over with a grin.
Besides Hao and Wen Ruyu, the other girls in the booth were already glancing at him with curious eyes.
Wen Ruyu, though, barely acknowledged his presence. She kept her gaze fixed on her phone screen, aloof and indifferent, carrying that same cool goddess aura as always. To her, Li Ge was a non-entity—just another underachiever in the office.
"Sure," Li Ge replied with a smile.
He glanced briefly at Yu Wenzhou but didn't respond directly. Instead, he stood and walked over—though he didn't take the open seat next to Hao Jianwei. He chose the spot to Hao's right, beside three women.
Coincidentally, that put him directly across from Wen Ruyu.
The three women around him were all done up with flawless makeup. While none of them could match Wen Ruyu's natural beauty, they were still undeniably attractive.
One wore a low-cut tank top and denim shorts, the second rocked black stockings and high heels, and the third had a sultry, older-woman vibe, complete with a cigarette in hand. They looked like something straight out of a nightlife magazine—a parade of seductive sirens.
Li Ge, however, had zero interest in them. He scanned them briefly and immediately clocked them as the typical club-going types—beautiful, yes, but shallow and chaotic.
Not that he minded the view.
"Let's play dice—the usual rules," Hao Jianwei said cheerfully, pushing a dice shaker toward Li Ge.
Li Ge smiled as he picked up the shaker but turned to Yu Wenzhou instead. "Boss Hao, isn't this a little too tame?"
He paused just long enough for everyone to turn toward him.
"How about we make it interesting? Just me and him—whoever loses a round takes off a piece of clothing. First one to lose everything has to streak out of the bar."
The room went silent for a beat—then erupted in laughter and shouts.
Hao Jianwei raised an eyebrow, his interest clearly piqued. The lighting had been too dim earlier for him to see Li Ge clearly. But now that Li Ge was up close, he noticed something had changed.
The guy looked… different.
He couldn't say exactly what it was—maybe the eyes, the posture. The usual submissiveness was gone. There was a quiet confidence now, one that rubbed Hao a little the wrong way.
Still, the idea thrilled him.
"Hah! Now that's a game!" Hao roared with laughter. "Let's do it!"
The girls cheered in delight, all caught up in the chaos.
Yu Wenzhou's face darkened.
He hadn't expected Li Ge to fight back—much less throw him under the bus so publicly. Was this guy really that confident he'd win?
Yu had never even heard of Li Ge being good at dice.
But with Hao watching, and everyone fired up, there was no backing out now. He forced a grin. "Alright, Li Ge, just don't regret it when you're the one running out naked."
Li Ge ignored him and turned to Hao again. "To make sure no one cheats—if someone refuses to take something off, mind having your bodyguards assist?"
Hao Jianwei was momentarily stunned. Then he burst into laughter. "Of course! A bet's a bet. If someone doesn't pay up, they're disrespecting me."
Yu Wenzhou paled again. Li Ge had just cut off all his escape routes. This guy wasn't just confident—he was dead serious.
"Let's go, then," Li Ge said with a casual smile. He grabbed the shaker and rolled the dice.
Yu Wenzhou scowled and did the same, placing his cup on the table with a clatter.
The game they were playing was known as Liar's Dice—a favorite in bars and nightclubs. The rules were simple: you guess the total number of a specific face value across both sets of dice, including your own. Bluffing was key, and if you challenged incorrectly, you lost.
Yu peeked at his roll, then called out confidently, "Five fives!"
Li Ge chuckled. He'd played this game countless times with clients and could immediately tell what kind of player Yu was—intermediate at best.
Yu had announced his bet confidently, avoiding hesitation or telltale glances—clearly trained to minimize giveaways.
Li Ge looked at his own dice, then spoke calmly. "Six fives."
Yu squinted, trying to read Li Ge's face.
But he saw nothing—no flicker, no hesitation, no sign of a bluff.
It unsettled him. This was not the Li Ge he remembered. When did this guy learn to be so composed?
Yu hesitated. Around them, others were watching intently.
These weren't amateurs. They could read the flow of a dice game just by watching body language and reactions.
And right now, everyone could see it: Li Ge was calm. Controlled. Unreadable.
Yu, on the other hand, was starting to crack.