Chapter 166: Chapter 166: King’s Game
Ashley Shaw placed the two dice cups on the marble table while smilingly declining.
"Knock, knock." Warren Prescott tapped the marble table gently with his long index finger.
Even though the room was filled with the sound of people singing loudly and chaotically, Ashley Shaw could still clearly hear the sound of him tapping the table and saying, "If you don’t know how, I can teach you. Sit."
The word "sit" was like he was commanding a dog.
Ashley Shaw felt that perhaps in a past life she was Warren Prescott’s dog, which is why she couldn’t refuse when he said "sit" in this life.
But if that were true, shouldn’t she be the one calling the shots in this life after doing his bidding for two lifetimes?
Why was she still being overpowered by Warren?
Life is unfair.
Ashley Shaw reluctantly sat next to Warren Prescott.
It was the only empty seat next to the marble table.
"Someone come over here and teach her the rules first."
Ashley Shaw listened to what Warren said and really felt like he was training a dog.
She kept a stiff expression as the person next to her explained the simplest version of their game to her.
Ashley originally thought it was complicated, but then realized it was pretty simple.
—Of course, it was because the version being explained was indeed the simplest one.
One person shakes the dice cup, which has six dice inside, and after shaking, you guess if the total is big or small.
If the total is 15 or more, it counts as big; less than 15 counts as small.
If you guess wrong, you have to drink a cup.
Ashley nodded, indicating she understood.
So the two extra dice cups were removed, leaving only one cup with six dice.
"Warren, you want to shake?" the companion said.
Warren didn’t refuse, taking the dice cup in one hand and starting to shake it up and down, moving so fast that Ashley could only see a blur.
The sound of the dice clattering inside the cup made Ashley’s heart race.
She didn’t want to drink, so she was very afraid of guessing wrong.
In the next moment, Warren slammed the dice cup upside down on the table with a "bang."
"Ladies first," Warren said.
As soon as he spoke, everyone else fell silent.
Ashley had originally planned to guess following others, but she ended up having to guess first.
Swallowing hard, she said, "Then... big."
Warren gave a half-smile, opening the cup as he asked, "Are you sure?"
"No!" Ashley quickly changed her mind, "Small, I guess small."
"Are you sure this time?" Warren asked.
Ashley gritted her teeth, "Yes, small."
The cup opened to reveal six ones.
Small.
Ashley let out a sigh of relief.
She didn’t have to drink.
Just when Ashley thought she could bail after playing once, she heard Warren say, "Now that you know the rules, let’s officially start."
Ashley twitched the corner of her mouth: "..."
So earlier was just a warm-up?
Was all her nervousness for nothing?
Warren covered the dice with the cup, sweeping the table with his arm to gather all the dice back into the cup, then started shaking again and quickly set the cup upside down again.
"Ladies first again."
Ashley’s expression darkened.
It was the first time she felt upset about being a "lady."
"Then... big."
Statistically, it should be big now.
"Are you sure?"
Warren showed that same sly half-smile.
Ashley felt there was something deceitful in Warren’s smile this time, so she hurried to nod, "I’m sure."
"Then I’ll guess small," Warren said.
Others started placing their bets, but almost no one followed Ashley in betting on "big."
Ashley had a bad feeling.
In the next moment, the cup was opened.
All six dice were stacked vertically, only the top one showing a "one."
Small again.
The smallest possible small.
She immediately felt Warren was messing with her, gritting her teeth as she asked, "Does it still count if they’re stacked together like that?"
"Why don’t you ask them?"
Ashley turned to look at the companion, who gave her a sympathetic look and said, "It counts. That’s why whenever Warren rolls the dice, we bet small."
Ashley: "!!!"
Such important information, and you didn’t tell me earlier!
The companion noticed Ashley’s look, innocently saying, "You didn’t ask me..."
Ashley laughed.
A laugh of frustration.
"Come on, drink up! Accept the consequences of your bet!"
A guy said, passing over a cup of wine.
Even before drinking, Ashley felt dizzy just holding it.
She really couldn’t handle alcohol.
But not drinking wasn’t an option; they were already this far along, and risking Warren’s displeasure would ruin it all.
With that in mind, Ashley took a deep breath. She was just about to take a sip when a large hand took the glass from her.
In surprise, she looked at the owner of the hand and met Warren’s dark gaze.
"?"
She looked at him inquiringly, only to see Warren say expressionlessly, "Didn’t you say you were treating us? You picked the most expensive one to drink yourself?"
Ashley immediately frowned.
What was that supposed to mean?
Did she need to drink herself into oblivion just to regain a little footing?
Besides, he was the one who had her playing dice, wasn’t he?
Utterly baffling.
But Ashley held back her anger, pushing down the frustration in her chest as she said, "How about I substitute tea for alcohol?"
"Whatever you want."
So that’s a yes?
Ashley immediately poured herself a glass of cool water and downed it.
Although Warren’s words were infuriating, not having to drink was a relief for her.
She was known for her poor alcohol tolerance, and with so many people around, who knows what could happen, so in a way, this oddly helped her out.
With that in mind, she felt much better.
After playing dice for a while, people started getting bored.
Because as long as Warren was rolling the dice, betting with him on big or small was a sure win.
Ashley learned from experience and started betting with Warren, so they played six or seven rounds with no "casualties."
She was wondering what fun there was in such a dull game when the companion suddenly suggested, "How about we play the King’s Game?"
Everyone quickly agreed, except for Ashley, who was confused.
"What’s the King’s Game?"
The companion looked at her in surprise and asked, "You’re kidding? You’ve never played the King’s Game?"
Even Warren glanced at her, visibly surprised.
Ashley noticed the look in Warren’s eyes and was puzzled.
Is it really so strange that she hasn’t played the King’s Game?
She really had never heard of it.
"Here’s how about you join us for a round. You won’t count even if you draw the short stick; just play alongside us once, and you’ll understand. It’s a very simple game, but explaining it is a bit complicated, so this is the easiest way to learn."
Ashley nodded.
She actually didn’t want to play this so-called King’s Game because it didn’t sound like anything proper.
But having stuck it out this long, she didn’t mind hanging on a little longer.
Giving up now would be a shame.
Soon, a guy brought a deck of cards, enthusiastically saying, "Then let’s start!"