Me After Meeting You

Ansell was worthy of being called Ian’s friend, given how well he understood Ian’s behavior. As Ian walked away, he stayed behind to explain the situation to Amber. “We’re missing a player, but conveniently enough, you’re right here. So please, come join us.”

Amber asked him. “Can I refuse?”

“Probably not.” Ansell’s tone was tinged with sarcastic humor as he explained, “Generally speaking, anything that Ian wants to be done, has to be done. Otherwise, everyone will suffer. Aren’t you his partner? Don’t you know at least this much?”

In the end, Amber got out of the car, because she would rather play mahjong with unfamiliar men than walk home alone.

Ansell consoled her by saying, “Don’t worry. Oh, don’t be afraid of losing money. If you win, it’s yours but if you lose, Ian’s the one who’ll pay. Think of it as going through a program with him.”

“A program?”

“Yeah, like a computer program. Once you hit the “go” button, you can’t stop it. Isn’t he just like one?”

Amber laughed at this comparison, it really was accurate.

By this time, they had reached the doorsteps. As the doors opened and Amber entered, she finally realized that this wasn’t a private manor, but rather a rebuilt clubhouse where the ground floor living room had been transformed into a large lounge. Beautiful women in cheongsams elegantly walked forward to greet them. “Director Ansell.”

Ansell waved them off lazily before they could say anything else. The women retreated quickly and Amber followed him into a room upstairs.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

When they walked inside, they heard the sound of running water coming from the restroom to the side. Ian was washing his hands. Inside the room sat a bald man, seemingly overcome with boredom as he listlessly scrolled through TV channels. Upon seeing the two of them enter, he threw the remote to the side and his gaze landed on Amber. “Ey, Ansell, where did you find such a beautiful girl and when did they start having such innocent girls here?”

Amber had dressed up for the wedding, but it still seemed rather simple and unadorned to these people. She was dressed in a white sweater and black pants, with a brand new orange jacket draped around her shoulders, culminating in an elegant and refined look. Her face didn’t have a single dab of makeup on, contrasting sharply against the rest of the women in the club, it wasn’t strange that he would make such a comment.

Amber remained silent. Ansell said, “Don’t speak such nonsense. This is Ian’s partner.”

This time, the Billy started choking in shock. “Damn, Ian’s partner?” His tone was exaggerated. “You’re Boss Axton’s rumored partner who got drunk after a single shot?”

It seemed like she had already made a name for herself in a single night. For lack of a better option, Amber explained herself once more. “Mr. Axton’s just joking. I’m not his partner.”

But the people who hung out around Ian were probably unlikely to listen to others or at least the person in front of her seemed that way. He stood up, circled around Amber with a look full of interest and then shouted into the bathroom, “Boss Ian, did you guys just come from hotel?”

Amidst the running water came an indifferent grunt of confirmation.

“Then you guys are moving rather quickly,” Billy said with a devious smile. “You’ve remained a virgin all these years, so are you finally unable to control your urges now that you’ve found someone? How did a fifteen minute drive turn into a forty five minute one? You guys couldn’t possibly have gone at it on the road, right? Success in love leads to losses everywhere else, you know. Be careful not to lose your pants while gambling today.”

Amber decided to make Billy eat his words, specifically, to make him lose his pants while gambling.

Ian walked out of the bathroom, ignored Billy and directly say down in front of the mah jjong table. He then rearranged the stools that had been somewhat out of place, chose one and sat down.

Billy couldn’t help but comment on his antics. “Why do you insist on arranging them so nicely if we’re just going to sit on them anyway?” But he too went over and sat down on a stool. Amber noticed that, despite his sloppiness, he didn’t dare to touch Ian directly. Instead, Billy took a mah jjong tile and lightly tapped it on the table in front of him. “Aren’t you going to introduce your partner?”

“Her name is Amber.” He rang the bell on the table and lifted his eyes up to look at Amber. “Do you need someone to carry you to a seat?”

Billy jeered, “She probably wants you to carry her.”

Ansell also sat down. “Ian, the doctor says that she doesn’t have any money on her.”

With a leer, Billy said, “Then why don’t you use your body as collateral? As a rational man, Ian would definitely be in high spirits then.”

This man in front of her really couldn’t seem to keep his mouth shut and Amber had already formed a distinctly bad impression of him. At this point, an attendant came into the room, bringing a whole tray of poker chips with him that he neatly placed in front of the three people. Without looking, Ian took half of his stack and pushed it to the empty seat next to him. “Come here.”

His tone wasn’t particularly commanding, but it brooked no refusal. Patients suffering from emotional detachment generally didn’t have much patience Amber thought for a moment before obediently sitting down without further ado.

Billy rubbed his fingers together, clearly eager to get started. “Two on two. Ansell, do you think we can win?”

Ansell, smiling and then replied, “Take it easy. Our good doctor’s unfamiliar with this game.”

“Heh, really?” Billy glanced at Amber disbelievingly.

Amber smiled and didn’t reply, but her awkward tile handling spoke volumes by itself. Just as Billy was about to say something to Ian, her phone rang. It turned out to be from Calvin.

“You drove off?”

His voice was concerned.

“Yes ….” After saying just this one word, Amber was interrupted as Silvia’s voice suddenly rang out from the other end.

“Why are you being so gentle with her?” She shouted toward the phone, “Hey, Dr. Amber, why are you taking so long? Are you sending him to outer space?”

Amber didn’t want them to overthink anything, so she said, “Something urgent came up, so I won’t be able to make it back. Please let Trysta know that I left the car with Frank’s friend.”

Silvia immediately started jumping up and down. “Damn, you’re really leaving me halfway? What happened to staying up the entire night? Amber, you’re really disloyal! I don’t care, if you aren’t coming back, your crush is mine!”