Chapter 55: Mahjong God Part 2

Yan Muyu agreed without hesitation.

She seemed utterly desperate to win, displaying an eagerness the viewers had never seen from her before. It made them wonder if she’d ever tasted victory.

Just then, Yan Muyu’s friend—Shen Tianqing, aka Director Shen—was live on social media, fielding questions from the comments section.

—Hi Director Shen! Does Young Boss Yan often play cards with you all?

Shen Tianqing: She’s too embarrassed to face us—even playing house, she loses to me every time.

—Does Young Boss Yan only stand a chance at mahjong?

Shen Tianqing: Cards? Please. Anyway, when we’re short on cash, we just hit her up.

—Any stories from student days with Young Boss Yan?

Shen Tianqing: She taught her foreign classmates mahjong and ended up emptying her wallet.

……

Shen Tianqing had a gift for stringing together perfectly ordinary lines into something hilariously vivid.

Oblivious to it all, Yan Muyu appeared on the livestream in that dim little supermarket at the village entrance.

The camera work transformed it into a high-stakes casino vibe, complete with pulse-pounding post-production music that left viewers gripping their seats.

Yan Muyu herself was a bundle of nerves, hovering anxiously beside Qiu Chao like a father pacing outside the delivery room.

【Yan Muyu’s face is pure comedy gold.】

【Has she seriously never won a game of mahjong in her life?】

【That’s just tragic.】

【Never thought I’d see mahjong on a variety show.】

【National essence right here.】

【Everyone check Shen Tianqing’s Weibo—that abroad study story with Yan Muyu is hilarious.】

【This angle… Qiu Chao’s fingers are perfection!! Kinda reminds me of Xuan Zhelu’s split manicure.】

【I’m more curious how Qiu Chao even learned mahjong. She’s barely shared anything personal on this show.】

The rhythmic clack of the tiles rang out crisply. This wasn’t some automated mahjong machine; the set looked like an antique, but the material was still in fine shape.

Qiu Chao handled the tiles with intense focus. Her slender fingers contrasted beautifully with their ivory hue, and paired with her stunning features, she held everyone’s gaze captive.

Even viewers who knew their mahjong couldn’t help stealing glances at her.

Yan Muyu was no exception.

She had never felt so distractible in her life.

The surrounding clamor seemed to melt into silence. She could hear Qiu Chao’s steady breaths clearly, track every subtle motion.

The faint furrow of her brow. The unconscious upward quirk of her lips at a good draw.

Her long fingers tracing the tile patterns before playing one with a hint of smug satisfaction.

Behind the mahjong table loomed the supermarket counter.

An old wooden door with rusty handrails. A blue-tinted glass case from some bygone era, its contents blurred and indistinct.

Cigarettes were sold there too. Yan Muyu’s glance caught the Baisha packs.

Cheap smokes. She recalled Qiu Chao smoking them once, years ago.

It was in a summer garden alive with cicada song. Yan Muyu had emerged from the darkroom and run into her.

Qiu Chao’s hands weren’t androgynously sturdy like Yan Muyu’s—they were ideal for art students sketching anatomy.

Long and delicate, they looked impossibly soft to the touch, living up to that boneless ideal.

They seemed so fragile one hesitated to grip them too hard, fearing they might snap.

But Qiu Chao was soft on the outside, steel within—not one to break easily.

Just like their conversation earlier by the mountain path. Qiu Chao had pressed relentlessly, step by unyielding step. Even with Yan Muyu still holding the reins on their relationship’s direction, Qiu Chao carried herself with unshakeable pride.

Cunning. Certain. Confident.

Unlike Xuan Zhelu’s hopeful waiting, Qiu Chao burned with open desire.

Before Yan Muyu could take the initiative, Qiu Chao had argued her case, staking her claim in this battle for control.

Now that the roles were divvied up—with Yan Muyu yielding ground—she wasted no time directing her like a boss.

Like a little girl finally clutching her hard-won candy.

【Yan Muyu, at the 1:36 mark—weren’t you stunned by Sister Qiu’s skills too?】

【What luck!! Who knew Qiu Chao was this slick?】

【Is Yan Muyu even watching the tiles? Feels like she’s staring at Qiu Chao.】

【Qiu Chao just exudes depth. Not shading anyone, but she has that heavy-story aura standing there.】

【The kind that draws photographers, painters, writers.】

【Isn’t Yan Muyu an artist? Wait, didn’t she major in product design?】

Qiu Chao played like a seasoned pro. In two rounds, she not only covered the debt but recouped all of Yan Muyu’s prior losses.

In the end, though, Yan Muyu shelled out for snacks for the shop kids.

As the two departed, a trail of children followed them a good twenty meters.

Qiu Chao draped over Yan Muyu’s back, the camera feed wobbling slightly as if capturing her perspective.

“Pretty impressive, right?” she murmured, arms looped around Yan Muyu’s neck.

Yan Muyu replied, “Impressive. Absolute Mahjong God.”

She twisted around to shoo the kids. “Don’t stare—head home now.”

“Never seen you play before,” Yan Muyu remarked.

Qiu Chao said, “I’m a busy woman.”

Fair enough. Those years at the Yan Family marked Qiu Chao’s career ascent, while Yan Muyu was studying abroad. They only overlapped during holidays—when Qiu Chao could steal time off work.

“You don’t play even on your breaks?” Yan Muyu pressed casually.

The viewers couldn’t detect any shift in her tone, clueless to whatever understanding the two had reached.

“Mahjong takes four,” Qiu Chao explained.

She nestled against Yan Muyu’s back, surreptitiously inhaling the scent of her perfume for the camera’s benefit.

Yan Muyu switched fragrances often, but that never stopped Qiu Chao from loving them.

“You never said to join when I was playing,” Yan Muyu pointed out.

She reflected: her own vacations were a whirlwind—script murder games today, escape rooms tomorrow, picnics the next.

Qiu Chao, as a public figure, wasn’t always easy to bring along. Yan Muyu had invited her to hang with close friends plenty of times, only for Qiu Chao to decline.

“Work wears me out,” Qiu Chao said. “And mahjong isn’t exactly relaxing for me.”

“Where’d you learn?” Yan Muyu asked.

Carrying her felt effortless. Qiu Chao looked flat and gangly, like a skinny lamppost at first glance, but she packed real strength and loved her workouts.

Unlike the total shut-in Shen Tianqing, forever homebound, moping over the departed and ignoring all calls.

Lately, Yan Muyu had been smashing tennis balls with Lin Chi, who’d teasingly accused her of dodging that climbing gym coach.

The way back wasn’t far, but Yan Muyu’s meandering route stretched it out.

Qiu Chao wasn’t eager to return. She clung tightly. “You really don’t know?”

“How would I?” Yan Muyu retorted.

“You’ve seen my background file, haven’t you?” Qiu Chao prompted.

【What background? Spill the tea!】

【Here come the chaebol secrets?】

Yan Muyu scoffed. “It wouldn’t go into detail on your mahjong lessons, would it?”

“Want to know?” Qiu Chao murmured.

She leaned into Yan Muyu’s shoulder, her breath hot against her ear as she deliberately rubbed closer.

Yan Muyu wasn’t having it. She gave a sharp bounce, and after Qiu Chao let out a yelp, she said smugly, “This is exactly how I handled Tianxing when she pulled this nonsense.”

Qiu Chao protested, “I’m not your niece!”

【Heh, and you’re no straight girl anymore either.】

【This a romance show? Here to watch six ladies fall in love?】

【Yan Muyu lives up to the hype as prime catch… feels like she could handle anything…】

Yan Muyu said, “I’m really curious. Won’t Teacher Qiu tell me?”

Her voice still carried a hint of laughter as she jostled Qiu Chao on her back before settling her steadily again.

Qiu Chao replied, “I’m not telling.”

Yan Muyu let out an “oh.” “Then hold on tight. I’m running back.”

Before Qiu Chao could react, Yan Muyu actually started running.

The houses around here were all small earthen dwellings, and the streetlights—some of which seemed decades old—flickered dimly, some on, some off.

Yan Muyu still preferred weaving through the narrow alleys. The gravel paths were uneven and bumpy, making the ride jostle unavoidably with someone on her back.

The camera crew could only keep up by running too, leaving the footage shaky.

The audience felt as if they were right there, experiencing Yan Muyu’s sudden mischievous streak firsthand.

Qiu Chao was nearly terrified out of her wits. She hadn’t even had much time to savor the warmth of being carried before this ruthless assault hit. She screamed and cursed Yan Muyu all at once.

“Stop running!!!”

Yan Muyu was still laughing. “No way. Are you gonna tell me or not?”

She was truly obsessed with beating Shen Tianqing at mahjong. Even as she ran and talked, her voice was laced with heavy breaths. “Next time, I’m gonna win against Shen Tianqing.”

Qiu Chao asked, “Is Director Shen good at cards?”

Yan Muyu said, “Eh, decent enough.”

Qiu Chao shot back, “Anyone’s better than you, right?”

Yan Muyu let out a “hey!”

Qiu Chao said, “Slow down a bit, and I’ll tell you.”

Yan Muyu retorted, “Am I the one riding you here?”

Qiu Chao replied, “That’s not off the table.”

【Sis, can you dial back the raunchiness a tad?】

【I can’t take it anymore!】

【Just how close are Shen Tianqing and Yan Muyu? Feels like they could scrap any second.】

【One top, one bottom, hanging out with zero sparks—impressive.】

【Yan Muyu doesn’t pair up with just anyone, though.】

【Doesn’t Shen Tianqing have Meng Heng already?】

Yan Muyu pressed, “You really won’t spill?”

She slowed her pace, still panting, and finally reached another street.

Qiu Chao said, “I picked it up watching my mom play as a kid.”

Yan Muyu grumbled, “I even hired a teacher and still can’t get it.”

She muttered to herself, sounding a bit despondent, then sighed.

Qiu Chao leaned against Yan Muyu, closing her eyes briefly. Her voice softened as she mentioned her mother.

“My mom always said that come New Year, the three of us—me, my sister, and her—could play together.”

Three missing one. Back then, her mother had imagined meeting someone she loved.

But she’d crossed paths with wolves instead.

That “three missing one” had cost Qiu Chao her mother.

Yan Muyu knew about Qiu Chao’s mom but also remembered they were still on camera. If Qiu Chao didn’t want to continue, she’d signal Xing Wen off-screen to cut the shot.

Yet Qiu Chao didn’t shy away. “Later, during that time I was on my own, I worked as a shill at a mahjong parlor.”

Yan Muyu gave an “oh.” “No wonder you’re so slick at it.”

That “time on her own,” in Yan Muyu’s memory, was when Qiu Chao was sixteen to seventeen.

She’d seen the records, and their ranges overlapped.

Qiu Chao had dropped out of school, while Yan Muyu’s haunts were mostly around Beiyu High School.

At most, that one KTV.

But Yan Muyu had no memory of Qiu Chao.

She didn’t go singing often—only booked a private room once, for her seventeenth birthday.

And Qiu Chao had quit that gig that same year.

They’d perfectly missed each other.

The idea of being so broke she’d shill at a mahjong parlor was utterly alien to Yan Muyu.

Street-side houses glowed with lights; she could even glimpse elderly folks watching TV inside.

Yan Muyu hitched Qiu Chao higher on her back. “So, Teacher Qiu, got time to teach me sometime?”

Her tone stayed light and cheerful. “Rates gone up? What’s the hourly now?”

Qiu Chao knew Yan Muyu was comforting her.

This woman was such a soft touch. A little show of vulnerability, and she’d melt into care.

Drinking poison to quench thirst couldn’t be more apt.

Qiu Chao’s cheek pressed against Yan Muyu’s neck, soaking in the warm intimacy. As a tractor rumbled past,

she shouted right in Yan Muyu’s ear, “Compensate me, and I’ll teach you my secret moves.”