Half an hour later, Li Chang'an was seated at a square table with Golden Crocodile Douluo and two other worship elders. In front of them lay a pile of small jade tiles, each carved with various intricate patterns.
Li Chang'an glanced at the three bigshots across from him, then stood up and respectfully cupped his fists in salute. After all, these three were all elders of the Worship Hall—ranked among the top ten in status. Even though Li Chang'an held the title of Holy Son, he still had to show proper respect.
"Elders, before we begin this game, I'd like to first explain a few rules. First, spiritual power probing is not allowed during the game, or it would defeat the purpose entirely. Second, there is no hierarchy at the mahjong table—this is purely for fun..."
Such were the unique drawbacks of playing mahjong in a cultivation world—when spiritual power could see everything, the game lost all its charm. And since Golden Crocodile Douluo was the highest-ranking among them, Li Chang'an had to lay down the rules clearly in advance.
After all, without stating the rules first, how could he in good conscience win all those gold soul coins from the elders?
When it came to mahjong, Li Chang'an was no amateur. In his previous life, when visiting his girlfriends' families, he'd often have to charm the mothers. Naturally, he had worked hard to learn a few essential skills—chief among them was mahjong.
His mahjong skills had reached a terrifying level. It wasn't just that he could win whenever he wanted—he could also control who would win, and make it look perfectly natural.
After all, the purpose of playing mahjong wasn't to make himself happy, but to let the mothers of his girlfriends win and feel good—and he had mastered the art of helping them win without arousing suspicion. That was the difference between him and your average guy!
"Of course. Let's begin, youngster," Golden Crocodile Douluo nodded, showing his agreement. The other two elders visibly relaxed and began to look forward to the game.
Li Chang'an cleared his throat and continued, "Now then, I'll first explain the rules of mahjong. To begin with…"
---
Ten Minutes Later
"Two Dots!"
"Haha, sorry, Elders—I win this round!"
With a cheerful grin, Li Chang'an laid down his tiles.
"Wha—what?!" Golden Crocodile Douluo's eyes widened.
How did he win already?!
As Li Chang'an tucked away a promissory note worth 1,000 gold soul coins into his storage soul tool, the three elders looked visibly annoyed—and promptly demanded a rematch.
---
Ten Minutes Later
This time, Golden Crocodile Douluo laid down his hand with a beaming smile, and collected three promissory notes from the others. It wasn't about the money for him—he had become quite enchanted by the thrill of winning.
---
Half a Day Later
Golden Crocodile Douluo, now standing with one foot on a stool and frustration written all over his face, slammed a red gold soul coin storage card onto the table.
"One more game! Just one more! This time, I will beat you!"
"Of course, Elder. Please," Li Chang'an replied solemnly.
Truly, the allure of mahjong was terrifying—even these mighty bigshots of Douluo Continent couldn't resist its charm.
---
Another Half a Day Later
Golden Crocodile Douluo slapped the table again and pointed at Li Chang'an.
"You! Come back here tomorrow! I will win!"
"Uh… alright."
Li Chang'an scratched his head awkwardly.
He had already won over 100,000 gold soul coins today. No wonder the Worship Hall elders were so filthy rich!
Still, he did regret one thing—that he wasn't able to take Hu Liena out to dinner tonight and follow up with a little "abalone transaction." That would've made the day perfect.
But thinking about it, how much time had actually passed? Was it one day, half a day, or a day and a half?
Either way, the benefits were clear—he had officially established connections with the Worship Hall elders. Golden Crocodile Douluo, in particular, was a man of his word. With him on Li Chang'an's side, the resistance to his proposed policies in future Spirit Hall meetings would be significantly reduced.
---
After resting for half a day, Li Chang'an went to find Hu Liena to apologize—with a very sincere attitude.
"Talk! Why did you leave me hanging all day after promising to go out with me?"
Hu Liena sat on a classroom bench, glaring at him with fire in her eyes.
It was lunchtime and the classroom was empty, so she wasn't worried about being seen. And if someone had been around, she wouldn't have embarrassed him publicly.
"I—I was wrong, Na-Na…"
Li Chang'an lowered his head and spoke with a pitiful tone, looking like a wronged puppy.
When a girl is angry, the last thing you should do is argue with her. The only correct move is to admit fault sincerely. Once she calms down, then you can try to explain yourself.
"Hmph! You think saying 'sorry' is enough after standing me up all day?"
Hu Liena was still pouting, clearly not ready to forgive.
Though she did like Li Chang'an, she was still the Holy Maiden! Hu Liena had her pride, and her bottom line.
"No, of course not. That's why I've decided—I'll have dinner with you every night from now on. And also…"
As he spoke, Li Chang'an took out an exquisite little box from his Nullspace.
"This is a limited edition rouge. I know you love this brand, so I bought it specially to make it up to you. I hope you'll like it."
First, make a promise. Then, give her something she truly loves—this is the fastest way to melt a girl's anger.
"Hmph… alright. But you better not do this again. This time, I'll forgive you—reluctantly!"
Seeing the box, her anger visibly deflated. With Li Chang'an's promise and the gift, she decided to let it go.
"Thank you, Na-Na,"
Li Chang'an smiled, raising his head to admire Hu Liena's alluring face.
For some reason, it reminded him of his senior sister. He felt it was time to find a proper opportunity to "get closer" to her.
"So… you're not going to explain what happened?"
Hu Liena now asked gently. She wasn't the unreasonable type—once her temper cooled, she was always willing to hear him out.
Li Chang'an sighed lightly and began:
"It's all because of the resistance to my proposal for a civilian subsidy plan. Elder Golden Crocodile was against it, so I went to the Worship Hall yesterday to persuade him…"
He made it sound like a painful uphill battle, emphasizing all the hardships and his dedication, especially how hard it had been to sway Golden Crocodile Douluo.
By the time he finished his tale, a soft hand was already massaging his shoulders.
"I'm sorry, Chang'an… I didn't know you were doing all that for Spirit Hall. Please don't be mad at me…"
Once the girl has calmed down, you must find the right moment to tell her about your efforts and hardships—this makes her feel for you more deeply, makes her regret being mad, and also helps you regain control of the situation.
(PS: Doesn't matter whether it was your fault or not!)
Just then, the classroom door suddenly opened.
Mu Xi walked in holding a lunchbox.
"Xiao Li, you haven't eaten yet, right? I heard from your classmates that you were here…"
___
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