Chapter 51

Stella turned to Dahlia out of reflex.

Dahlia indifferently said, “Mrs. White is talking to you.”

Stella pursed her lips.

“I’m not that good at it,” she said.

Mrs. White laughed.

“I like people who aren’t good at it.”

And so, Stella took over Mrs. Wood’s place and played Mah–Jongg with the three women.

Mrs. White discarded a 3 of Bamboo. “I haven’t seen Aurora the entire day. Where did that girl go?

She’s graduating this year, right?”

Mrs. Chapman laughed, “Where else would she be? She must’ve gone to your nephew’s law firm. Why don’t you play matchmaker and tell your brother and his wife? After they get engaged, you and Dahlia will be considered in–laws in the future.”

“My sister–in–law likes Aurora. Naturally, she’ll agree. As for Marshall, it’s hard to say. That boy usually seems soft–spoken and easy to talk to, but he’s actually very opinionated. I’m afraid we can’t make decisions for him,” said Mrs. White.

“They can bond after they get married. Didn’t we go through the same thing?”

Dahlia responded coolly, “Aurora is still young. There’s no need to rush things.”

Stella listened to their conversation carefully and discarded a 30 thousand tile.

“Mah–Jongg!”

Mrs. Chapman beamed, “A 30 thousand tile. I thought I would have to wait for a while.”

Mrs. White looked up and clicked her tongue, “You’re really not that good at it. Why would you discard that tile when there aren’t that many tiles from that suit?”

Mrs. Chapman was over the moon because she had won the round. She even defended Stella in her own stead. “It’s just the first round. Maybe she’s still not familiar with it. Let’s continue, let’s continue!”

The last time Stella played Mah–Jongg was when she was still in school. It was one of her housemate’s birthday, so they went out to celebrate and did whatever the housemate wanted for a day.

Her housemate was Chinese, so she brought them to a cardroom and played an entire night of Mah-

Jongg. It was then Stella learned how to play Mah–Jongg.

After Stella graduated and married Keegan, she rarely attended her friends‘ invitations and did not even play Mah–Jongg once. Even now, she could, at most, identify what a winning hand looked like. As for guessing what tiles others had, she had no experience in that at all.

As a result, Stella lost nine out of ten rounds. She eventually lost almost all of the chips in her drawer.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Chapman won countless times. Her makeup–caked face beamed. Then, she finally felt that it was time to stop, “Shall we settle our chips and continue another day?

Dahlia glanced at Stella, “How many more chips do you have left?”

“Two,” answered Stella.

“460 thousand dollars. You can transfer them to Mrs. Chapman first.”

Stella was dumbfounded.

‘460 thousand dollars? Did I hear it wrong? How much were we playing for me to lose 460 thousand dollars within two hours? What’s the difference between this game and gambling?’ she wondered.

Stella suddenly wanted to cry.

‘If I had known that we’d play such a high value, then I would’ve said I don’t know how to play,‘ she thought again.

Seeing how Stella remained unmoved for a while, Dahlia called out to her. “I can pay for you first if you don’t have the amount.”

“I do…”

‘If I said I don’t, Dahlia might give me trouble after I leave. If she was genuinely willing to pay for me first, then she wouldn’t have asked,’ Stella thought.

Stella bit the bullet and transferred the money.

Mrs. White said, “You’re in luck. Aren’t you going to play a little longer?”

Mrs. Chapman collected the money and quipped, “I’m worried that you’ll all lose your chips if I continue playing.”

Before Mrs. White could speak, a man’s husky voice sounded outside. “Judging from Mrs. Chapman’s tone, you must’ve won quite a lot today.”

Stella was startled. She lifted her head and saw Keegan in a suit, as he strode toward the Mah–Jongg table.

Mrs. Chapman laughed, “I only won some pocket money. It’s not even enough for me to buy a shirt.

Why did you have the time to come over today, Keegan? I haven’t seen you in a while.”

Keegan placed the bag in his hand on the table.

“I just met with a client and passed by, so I swung by and brought over some pear jam. Just as I entered the door, I heard Mrs. Chapman talking. Looks like she won quite a bit.”

Mrs. White gave Stella a once–over and suddenly smiled, “Right? Mrs. Chapman’s really good at this game. She won the most rounds.”