Aiura Kokoro was about to offer some insincere comfort to Saotome, but then she saw Saotome's shoulders shaking, and the shaking grew more pronounced.
Was she secretly laughing? The classmates in her class couldn't help but look at her in surprise.
Anyone with eyes could see she was about to lose, so why was she still laughing?
"Heh heh… Hahahaha…!"
Saotome seemed to stop hiding it. Her laughter grew louder and louder. She laughed heartily with her head down, almost to the point of tears.
"Saotome, are you alright?" Aiura Kokoro couldn't help but ask.
The gambling game isn't over yet, if Saotome goes crazy like this, will this game be ruled invalid? After all, mentally ill people have many exemptions, maybe Saotome is deliberately pretending to be crazy to escape this gamble?
"I'm fine... our game isn't over yet."
Saotome wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, raised her head, with a strange smile on her face, as if... still holding back laughter.
"Saotome, hurry up and play your card, don't waste our time," Aiura Kokoro urged her.
What's so funny? Aiura Kokoro inexplicably felt a surge of irritation; she also wanted to end this game.
Like an elementary school student eagerly awaiting the end of class, Aiura Kokoro sat up straight, smiling brightly at Saotome, anticipating her next move.
Until... Saotome gently rubbed the card in her hand, and suddenly, the one card in her hand became two.
The extra card that suddenly appeared was... another "joker."
"...!" Aiura Kokoro's pupils constricted; how could this be!
How could she still have two cards in her hand!
Without a "3," the joker is invincible, and as a wealthy person, Aiura Kokoro could never have gotten this smallest card face up.
Before Aiura Kokoro could question her, Saotome directly threw the two cards onto the gambling table one after another.
"Joker, and a 7."
Saotome's face bore a smug smile, and even the tone of her voice was rising: "Sorry, I won this gamble."
Aiura Kokoro could no longer hide her shock; she jumped up from her chair, not like a young lady, but rather like a shrew, pointing at Saotome and shouting.
"Impossible, how do you have two cards in your hand! Where's your 3? Why didn't you play that card!?"
Now it was Aiura Kokoro who was throwing a tantrum and slamming the table; she refused to accept this result.
Why did this happen? She was clearly the one with the advantage, so how did Saotome win the game in the blink of an eye!?
"Idiot!"
Saotome leaned forward, propping her chin with her hand, revealing the victor's smug smile in front of Aiura Kokoro: "Haven't you figured it out yet? That '3' was just a card I picked up from the discard pile; it was used in a previous gambling game!"
"...When did you!?"
Aiura Kokoro's pupils constricted, and she recalled when Saotome was leaning over the gambling table inspecting the cards for marks; she had already planned to take that card at that time!
As if to confirm what Aiura Kokoro said, Ayanokoji flipped the card over. Indeed, it was a "3."
This was a card Saotome had hidden several gambling games ago.
At that time, everyone's attention was focused on her back, and no one noticed that she used the opportunity to look at the cards up close to secretly hide this card.
Saotome had endured until she obtained two jokers in this game, only then did she reveal this "trump card" she had hidden long ago.
What Ayanokoji saw at that time was Saotome's subtle movement of secretly hiding a card.
He anticipated that Saotome already had a winning strategy in mind, which is why he remained silent on the side.
Aiura Kokoro refused to accept the game's outcome; she wanted to prove that Saotome was cheating, and she shouted loudly: "Aren't you cheating!?"
"Why? I just had someone help me pick up a discarded card, why would that be cheating?"
Saotome deliberately tilted her head with a puzzled expression: "After all, that card has nothing to do with the gamble, unless someone was peeking at the cards."
Peeking at the cards... Aiura Kokoro's eyes flickered, and she couldn't help but feel guilty; her momentum suddenly weakened.
"Oh, right..." Saotome suddenly clapped her hands with a smile, and after attracting everyone's attention, her eyes sharpened the next moment.
"Speaking of which, how did you know that card was a 3? How did you figure that out?"
Saotome slapped the table forcefully and shouted loudly: "Aiura Kokoro, and you still say you weren't cheating!?"
Aiura Kokoro was overwhelmed by Saotome Meari's presence and instinctively took a step back. She bit her lip, refusing to admit it.
"You're overthinking it, I didn't cheat, I just figured out your scheme!"
Aiura Kokoro pointed at the card in Ayanokoji's hand, her expression resolute: "Only a 3 can beat a joker, so it's normal for me to guess that. After all, there's no other possibility!"
No, actually there's also "cyclone."
Ayanokoji silently added a thought to himself.
"Forget it, you can be stubborn," Saotome snorted, not lingering on the topic.
As if to make Aiura Kokoro "die knowing," she smugly revealed her plan.
"Since I knew you were cheating and could always see my cards, when my hand was good, you would definitely deliberately avoid it and end it quickly. So, to make you bet everything like me, I could only use your cheating method against you."
"That card was a trump card specifically for you. In your eyes, I must have been planning to use a 3 to take out the joker, so you didn't suspect anything when I proposed a high stake. It just so happened that you deliberately used a provocation on me at that moment. I deliberately feigned anger and said I wanted to make a big bet with you, and you, in turn, thought I fell for it and eagerly agreed."
Saotome looked at Aiura Kokoro and sneered: "And in reality, that's exactly what happened, you never suspected me, did you?"
The method Saotome used was not complicated, in fact, it was very simple—she stacked two cards together when she picked them up.
No matter what cheating method the opponent used, it would be impossible to learn X-ray vision and see the value of another card through one card.
Very simple, and very effective.
Aiura Kokoro, arrogant from her continuous wins, had always underestimated Saotome, especially when Saotome "lost a good hand"; she felt Saotome was a fool, but in reality, that was just a trap Saotome had "set" for her.
As if to retaliate for all the humiliation she had suffered before, Saotome mercilessly shamed Aiura Kokoro with her words.
"Aiura Kokoro, did you think I didn't know you saw my cards in the previous game? I deliberately played the King first, just to make you think I was an idiot, but in reality, you're the biggest idiot!"
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