A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Although the Lisboa Casino is a casino, it is a comprehensive casino, so the hotel rooms are naturally top-notch in terms of facilities.

Li Mu slept very soundly.

The night of playing the con artist had taken a toll on his brain, causing him to sleep soundly until nearly 11 a.m.

When he woke up, Fan Bingbing had already sent him a message.

"Good morning, Brother Li. I'm awake. Contact me when you're awake."

It was sent before 9 o'clock.

So, after Li Mu finished taking care of his personal hygiene, he called her.

"Beep beep... Hey, Brother Li, are you awake?"

"Um, sorry Fan Bingbing, I didn't see your message last night."

Looking out the window at the bright sunshine in Macau, he quickly apologized.

Fan Bingbing sounded quite relaxed:

"Haha, it's nothing. Brother Li, what are your plans for this weekend? Are you busy? I'm going to Guangzhou on Monday to sign the contract for this movie, and I happen to be free these two days. How about we play chess?"

"I'm in Macau."

"what?"

Fan Bingbing paused for a few seconds, then tentatively asked:

"You went to Macau again? That place... besides casinos, there doesn't seem to be much else, does it?"

"I was indeed at the casino."

"Brother Li, you really should avoid gambling, it's really..."

"I don't gamble, but I had to come. My friend invited me to join in the fun, so I just came to watch."

"Oh, that's good then. Gambling is really bad; many people in my hometown have lost everything..."

"Um."

"So... Brother Li, when are you coming back?"

"It's not clear yet, at the latest by the weekend. Are you coming on Monday?"

"I was even saying I wanted to play chess with you. And..."

Fan Bingbing's tone changed slightly:

"Brother Li, have you seen the news? On September 3rd, the IOC announced the host city for the 2008 Olympics in Moscow... To be honest, I haven't been eating or sleeping well these past few days, I'm extremely nervous."

Today is October 1th.

And the 3rd is Monday.

Li Mu could naturally understand her feelings. After all, as the wheelchair-bound man had said, he couldn't guarantee that the flapping of Li Mu's wings wouldn't cause a storm...

He wasn't sure either.

But hearing the change in her tone, Li Mu thought for a moment and could only say:

"Then let's wait until the 3rd and witness it together. Let's see if my judgment is truly brilliant."

"……Um."

Fan Bingbing gave a somewhat hesitant response.

After a few seconds, she said:

"Then I won't be going this week, Brother Li. See you on Monday?"

Okay, see you Monday.

The phone hangs up.

Li Mu glanced at the date September 1st on his phone and pursed his slightly chapped lips.

……

Sister Zhang does indeed enjoy gambling... or rather, playing cards.

Just as Li Mu finished lunch with Brother Bie, she called, inviting him to play mahjong.

Li Mu didn't come along this time.

Of course, mahjong can be cheated, but the preparations need to be more meticulous. Even techniques like "sweating" need to be adjusted according to different situations. The best way is to use the power of technology.

For example, contact lenses and photochromic inks.

So, after Li Mu explained the reason to Bie Yan, the other party nodded:

"That's alright, I'll go play. I'll call you when it's time to switch to another game."

"Okay, then I'll hurry up and finish the press release about the start of the school year."

"Um."

So, after a busy afternoon, Li Mu was finally called over to be a croupier in the evening.

This time, however, they weren't playing Texas Hold'em; instead, they were playing Texas Hold'em.

It's the Hong Kong-style five-card deck like in the movie "God of Gamblers".

But for con artists, this is essentially the same thing in a different guise; there's basically no difference.

After another all-nighter, the card game ended.

This time, Sister Zhang lost.

Li Mu helped her establish an advantage in the early stages, and then in the second half, Bie Yan suddenly stopped playing and took over his croupier position.

Everyone started playing normally, but this woman managed to lose all of her 700,000 yuan...

He's started swearing again...

But that's how casinos are; no one can win forever except the house.

Not gambling is the best option.

But he truly had Zhang Jie's heart in his grasp.

As the game ended, Sister Zhang smiled and said:

"No way, I still prefer Xiao Li for winning. Don't even mention it, we lost everything. Next time, I'll just lock you out and not let you in. Xiao Li will handle it."

"Haha, dream on."

"Hahaha……"

Amidst laughter and chatter, everyone left the gambling table, ending the game for the night.

After having a late-night snack, Li Mu fell into a deep sleep again.

The weekend ended with the return flight departing on Sunday noon.

On the way back from Shawan Town, Li Mu remained indifferent, as if the matter of Macau was confined to Macau. Bie Yan didn't say much either. After arriving in the city, Li Mu got off the bus at the nearest stop and returned home.

November 3th, Monday.

In the morning, after revising the press release and submitting it to Fang Xiaofang, he began asking the older colleagues in the office about the Olympic bid.

Reporters from the Ministry of Culture and Sports always pay close attention to such major events, and several of them rushed to Beijing today to get firsthand information about the public's reaction after the results are announced.

Therefore, they are naturally very familiar with the process of bidding for the Olympics.

Today is the day the results will be announced in the host city, and there is a 5-hour time difference between Moscow and Beijing. As is customary, the IOC will announce the results around 5 PM local time, which means around 10 PM Beijing time. The outcome hinges on this.

After that, Li Mu sent a message to Fan Bingbing.

However, the other party did not reply.

She took a 10:50 flight this way and arrived around 1:00.

After lunch, around 1:00 PM, Li Mu's phone rang:

"Brother Li, I've arrived. I just saw your message. I'm heading to the hotel now... Brother Li, are you free tonight? Come see me?"

"Sure, shall we have dinner together?"

"No, no, no, it's not about dinner. I'm having dinner with people from the TV station tonight. I mean... I should be done around 9 pm. I'll call you after I'm done, and we can... witness it together, okay?"

Her words were fine at first, but towards the end, her tone suddenly became somewhat empty.

Clearly, a feeling of unease began to spread.

But it did not infect Li Mu.

Li Mu was indeed worried, but he knew that from the very beginning, he was already in an invincible position with this investment.

Because housing prices in Yanjing will always rise; it's just a matter of how much profit one makes.

The reason this big star was so uneasy was simply because she had staked her entire fortune on the real estate industry.

But as a partner, he naturally had to respond.

So he readily agreed.

"Okay, then I'll wait for you to finish tonight and then come find you."

"……Um!"

At the airport, Fan Bingbing, who was traveling in a low-key manner, felt inexplicably relieved.

The heartbeat slowed down.