A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Who is Xiao Ai in Chapter 33?

Li Mu's real intention was to remind this "master" who loved playing cards, and seemed to enjoy playing all night, that nine out of ten gamblers were cheating, and that it was a losing proposition; it was best to stay away from this stuff. After all, the example of the old cheater was there for all to see, even though he had inexplicably learned this skill and even had a series of "knowledge" pop into his head depending on the situation.

But the nature of gambling remains unchanged.

Moreover, it's incredibly easy for a con artist to scam an ordinary person.

If Brother Bie can understand this principle, then he should quickly quit this gambling habit, or... if he used to make a thousand or so yuan a night, now he can make a hundred or so yuan a night, that would be a way to cut his losses.

But he really didn't expect the other party to ask him if he knew Texas Hold'em.

What is Texas Hold'em?

That was his first reaction, but he immediately "understood".

Five community cards... two hand cards... a straight flush, a full house...

A series of almost instinctive thoughts automatically surfaced in his mind.

This also includes cheating methods.

Seeing that Li Mu remained silent, Bie Yan continued to ask:

"Texas Hold'em, can you manipulate the cards?"

"...Brother, I don't gamble. Besides, if you use cheating techniques in a casino, they'll chop off your fingers."

Li Musheng was afraid that his brother might have some inappropriate thoughts, so he quickly refused.

If I were penniless, that would be one thing, but with 40 million in hand, you want me to go to the casino with you to gamble on whether someone will chop up a radish?

Forget it.

However, Bie Yan quickly denied this after hearing it:

"No, no, no, I mean... you know Texas Hold'em has a dealer, right? The one who deals the cards."

"...Yeah. I know. But, Brother, I don't gamble."

He had to reiterate his principles and bottom line once again.

Until Bie Yan asked a very unusual question:

"Well... if I want you to lose money for me to someone else, you lose for me, and if you don't win, you lose the money to the other person."

"?"

Li Mu was speechless.

"Does that mean we're setting up a scheme and losing money to someone else?"

He thought to himself, "Is this guy crazy?"

This was confirmed by Bieyan:

"Yes, not winning money, but losing money to the other party."

"..."

Li Mu was at a loss for words.

This was the first time he had ever encountered such a request.

"Is it possible?"

"Well... that's possible. If it's a group game with someone else as the dealer, then they'll need to cooperate. But if they let some con artists be the dealers themselves, then they can basically make whoever they want win or lose at will. However... Brother, casinos generally don't let outsiders be the dealers; they train their own..."

"I'm not going to casinos. What would I do at a casino? I mean private poker games. The kind where you play with chips, Li, can you do that?"

"That's possible. Brother, what do you mean?"

He couldn't quite figure out what the other person was up to.

But after a few seconds of silence, Bie Yan said:

"Nothing, just asking. You've been keeping this a secret for a while now... Haha, okay, that's all for now, bye."

"……OK."

After hanging up the phone, Li Mu was a little puzzled, since a normal "gambler" wouldn't make such a bizarre request.

What are they trying to do?

He pondered for a while without figuring it out, but his attention was quickly diverted:

"Xiao Li, go to this address."

Wang Xiaoquan, a senior reporter in the office, came over and handed over a note.

"Brother Quan, what's this?"

Li Mu looked at the community address above and asked, puzzled.

"There's an old man in this neighborhood who knows Qigong. Every day at noon during the hottest days of summer, he leads a group of elderly men and women in practicing Qigong, saying he absorbs the essence of heaven and earth at midday. Go and interview him."

"..."

Li Mu was somewhat confused:

"Noon? The essence of heaven and earth?"

Wang Xiaoquan also seemed to find it absurd:

"right."

"This weather?...Aren't you afraid of getting heatstroke?"

"Hmm, that's a good direction. Go do some interviews, and use this perspective to remind those elderly people to be mindful of their safety. I won't do these kinds of minor news stories; you can practice on that."

Upon hearing this, Li Mu quickly nodded:

"Okay, Quan-ge, thank you."

"Um."

After putting the address away, Li Mu checked the weather outside, picked up his bag, and went out.

And just as Wang Xiaoquan said, when Li Mu arrived at the neighborhood at midday, he saw several old men wearing vests and shorts, standing in the sunlight striking a very serious pose...

The old men were all covered in sweat, which left Li Mu speechless.

Grandpa, you're swaying all over in the sun, aren't you afraid of getting heatstroke?

When interviewed, the old men were quite happy, giving Li Mu a whole bunch of obscure facts about qigong, like practicing in the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer, all very well explained. But the problem is, where in Guangzhou is there any coldest period of winter?

He was speechless. He took the interview back to the newspaper office and rushed out a short article before leaving get off work.

It's still the kind of thing that doesn't offer much substance; it's purely used to fill up space.

But that's life for intern reporters. There aren't that many big news stories every day... Everyone just works their way up from intern to senior level step by step.

Even so, they still have to compete with the local department for news.

But... where did Sui Kuan go?

With this question in mind, the busy week came to an end.

Just as Li Mu was packing up to leave work, Bie Yan suddenly called again.

"Hey, Brother Bie."

"Xiao Li, are you at work?"

Bie Yan's tone seemed somewhat hurried.

"Yes, I'm still at get off work."

"Okay, hurry up and get to the train station. I'll give you a phone number; contact this person when you get there and get your tickets... Oh, and go home first and grab a few changes of clothes. We're going on a business trip to Hengdian! Hurry up!"

Li Mu was taken aback.

On business trip?

Although he was puzzled about what he was going to Hengdian for, he quickly replied:

"Okay, Brother, shall I go get the tickets first?"

"Yes, get the tickets first, hurry up."

"OK!"

Although he didn't know what was going on, Li Mu quickly grabbed his bag and ran out. After hailing a taxi, he headed straight for Guangzhou Railway Station.

Just as he was about to reach the train station, Sui Kuan called:

"Hey, Li Mu... Did Brother Bie call you?"

For some reason, his tone was somewhat flustered.

"I called, but I had to go on a business trip. Did I call for you?"

"Yes, they called me too..."

Before Sui Kuan could finish speaking, Li Mu quickly reminded him:

"Then you should go back and pack your clothes. I'm coming to the station to get my ticket now."

But as soon as he finished speaking, a panicked voice came from Sui Kuan's side:

"I...I can't go back!"

"?"

Li Mu was taken aback:

"Can't go back? What do you mean?"