Chapter 132: Susan - Take My Word for It, Chuck's Too Cold for You!
Casino lobby.
"Why don't you just go upstairs?"
Susan couldn't help but tease Jane as she watched her staring after Chuck.
"Why would I go up there?"
Jane pulled her gaze away, looking flustered.
"Whatever you need to... discuss," Susan said with a knowing smile. "Of course, if you're not ready for that conversation, you could always hang out with me instead."
"What do you mean?" Jane suppressed the urge to chase after Chuck upstairs. She knew it would be pointless anyway—Chuck was probably doing his evening workout routine and wouldn't want to be disturbed. So she feigned indifference and asked, "I wasn't going to play slots anyway."
"Let's try blackjack," Susan suggested. "At least that requires some actual skill."
"Alright." Jane hesitated for a moment, then agreed.
She wanted to use this opportunity to figure out exactly how far things had progressed between this attractive woman and Chuck.
The two walked into the gaming area side by side. Susan scanned the tables and pointed to one, smiling. "That one looks good."
Jane looked over and saw a young Korean-American female dealer shuffling cards. A lone Korean-American tourist sat at the table playing by herself. Jane nodded and followed Susan over.
"Mind if we join?" Susan smiled at the two women.
A flicker of discomfort crossed the Korean woman's face, but she smiled and shook her head politely.
Susan sat Jane down, exchanged cash for chips, and began playing. As they settled in, she chatted with Jane casually. "So you and Chuck were set up too, huh?"
"Mm-hmm," Jane said, glancing at Susan. "You as well?"
"Yeah." Susan tapped the table, signaling the dealer for another card. She smiled at Jane. "My supervisor insisted on the introduction. His wife was worried their son would end up a bachelor forever. What about you? What was your matchmaker's reasoning?"
"My aunt thinks Chuck is perfect husband material," Jane smiled, remembering their first meeting.
"Aunt?" Susan's eyebrows raised slightly.
"...Yes, my aunt," Jane said, understanding the implication behind Susan's tone.
"We're both women in law enforcement, and I've got a few years on you," Susan continued asking for cards while smiling at Jane. "You seem like a sweet, straightforward girl. Take my advice—Chuck is too emotionally distant. You can't handle someone like that, and you'll end up being the only one who gets hurt."
"I know," Jane said, catching the dealer's eye and waving off additional cards. "But no matter how cold he might be, it can't be colder than the wind in Wyoming."
If it hadn't been for Chuck, she would have frozen to death—literally and figuratively.
Compared to that, no matter how emotionally distant Chuck was, it couldn't be worse.
Besides, in her experience, Chuck was only cold on the surface but warm underneath.
"You poor thing," Susan glanced at Jane, who was lost in fond memories with a soft smile, and sighed.
"Smart people live such exhausting lives," Jane said sweetly. "There's nothing wrong with being a little naive. Besides, compared to Chuck, most people aren't that brilliant anyway. We're all just average—what's the difference between a little more or less?"
"...as long as you're happy," Susan was caught off guard by that radiant smile.
Seeing that Susan didn't seem to be competing with her, Jane's smile grew even brighter.
"Would you ladies care for a drink?" A cocktail waitress approached with a tray, asking politely.
"No!" Jane and Susan said simultaneously.
"They're complimentary," the waitress reminded them.
"No, thank you," Jane shook her head firmly.
Susan also declined with a shake of her head.
"Alright then." The waitress smiled and moved on without pushing further.
Jane and Susan exchanged a glance, and Jane quickly looked away.
The earlier camaraderie suddenly evaporated, and tension filled the air.
Jane's sweet smile faded.
When out in public, she made it a habit never to accept food or drinks from strangers, especially free offerings like casino cocktails. This was a precaution Chuck had taught her.
So what about Susan? Why had she reacted the same way?
'Take my advice, Chuck is too cold for you to handle'—those words echoed unconsciously in Jane's mind, and she instinctively felt something off about them.
You're telling me I can't handle him, so why are you trying to manage him yourself?
If you're not trying to control him, why are you unconsciously mimicking his habits?
Besides, when it came to temperature preferences, they were Americans. If they felt uncomfortable, doctors typically advised going home and drinking more ice water.
Including for menstrual cramps—that was the standard medical advice for almost everything!
She'd thought Susan was genuinely nice just moments ago, but the more Jane considered it, the more she felt Susan was being manipulative and couldn't be trusted.
"Damn it!" Susan cursed internally.
She'd been speaking honestly. She genuinely believed a sweet, innocent girl like Jane wasn't suited for someone as emotionally detached as Chuck—she'd only get hurt. Susan truly had no romantic feelings for him. But for some inexplicable reason, she'd instinctively refused the free drink.
This was so unlike her!
She enjoyed her work and knew how to live well, and at events like this, even if she didn't order a dry martini, she'd always have champagne or wine.
She belonged in a cocktail dress with red lips, holding an elegant glass—that was her identity!
Why had she suddenly turned it down?
What the hell was wrong with her?
"Waitress!" Susan cursed under her breath while raising her hand to the departing server. "I'll take a vodka."
"On the rocks?" the waitress asked with a smile.
"No!" Susan shook her head decisively.
She actually preferred her drinks chilled, but something told her to avoid anything cold right now.
Jane remained motionless, lost in thought, staring at the cards on the table.
The Korean woman sitting with Jane and Susan stole glances at them, then looked at her cards. She noticed a handsome young man approaching from across the casino floor and gave a subtle, bitter smile.
Not far away, a good-looking young man in an expensive suit strolled through the gaming area, scanning the tables and players. As he passed Jane and Susan's table, he glanced first at the Korean woman, then at Jane and Susan, his eyes suddenly lighting up with interest.
"Well!" Susan, always sensitive to male attention, looked sideways and exclaimed in surprise. "Nice upgrade!"
She recognized the handsome young man as the same guy who had tripped at the entrance earlier while gawking at her. Not only was his attire more upscale now, but he was even wearing subtle makeup.
"Thank you," the young man smiled, glancing around at other tables, clearly wanting to sit down somewhere.
The Korean woman immediately reached up to smooth her hair, tucking a strand behind her ear.
The young man's gaze lingered on her, and he paused, smiled politely at Susan, then walked away.
The three women continued their game.
A drunk man wandered over to bother them, but once he spotted Jane's FBI badge, he sobered up quickly and tactfully retreated.
People came to Vegas to have fun, not to get arrested.
The Korean woman quietly left the table.
By the time Susan looked up from her cards, Jane was gone too.
Inside a hotel suite.
"What happened?" the handsome young man looked at the Korean woman in confusion. "Why did you signal to abort so early?"
"Are you serious?" the Korean woman scoffed. "You really don't know what went wrong?"
Seeing the young man's genuinely puzzled expression, she couldn't help but slap her forehead. "Men! When you see a pretty woman, your brain just shuts off. Didn't you recognize who that gorgeous woman was sitting with?"
"Chuck Wolfe," the young man said, realization dawning.
"Who's Chuck Wolfe?" another female team member asked.
"..." The young man was speechless, as if suddenly understanding something.
"We don't blame you for not recognizing Chuck Wolfe when you first arrived," a male teammate shook his head at the young man. "But you literally fell on your face in front of him at the entrance. After you came back, didn't we explain who Chuck Wolfe was?"
"You did," the young man said miserably. "Top accountant, mathematician, legend in the card-counting world."
"Good, you remember," a middle-aged man with a receding hairline and serious expression emerged from the shadows. "He can do the work of our entire team single-handedly, and do it better than all of us combined. He didn't even come to the casino to count cards—he was automatically granted Supreme VIP status and banned from gambling for life. People like that deserve our respect and a wide berth, because whenever he appears in a casino, he's under constant surveillance. Get close to him, and you'll be observed and investigated too. We can barely operate under normal scrutiny, let alone under a microscope."
"Not only that," the Korean woman added, "but that beautiful woman is FBI! Under those circumstances, no matter how perfect my setup was, how could I let you come over and win money?"
"FBI?" The middle-aged professor's expression changed dramatically. "Diana, you're absolutely right! We formed this team to make money quietly and steadily. One night without profits is nothing compared to our safety—that's what matters most."
"Professor Richardson, what do we do now?" the young man asked anxiously.
That's right—the middle-aged man with the receding hairline was a university professor, even taught at MIT. He was skilled in applied mathematics and used card-counting techniques to profit from casinos.
However, casinos had dedicated personnel monitoring for card counters. When Dr. Chuck Wolfe's reputation spread throughout the gaming industry, all casinos not only increased their vigilance but also began upgrading their systems, hiring developers to create facial recognition software to identify card-counting customers.
Reportedly, this idea came from analyzing Dr. Chuck Wolfe's case data.
Now card counting was becoming increasingly difficult, especially for individuals. The risk of detection was growing. So he leveraged his professorship to recruit students with exceptional mathematical abilities, forming teams to count cards and generate income.
"Don't panic," the professor with the receding hairline reassured them. "Let's wait and see. They're not targeting us."
Meanwhile.
After Susan noticed Jane had left, she played a few more hands. After finishing her drink, she felt bored and left as well.
When she returned to the presidential suite, she heard familiar yet oddly modified country music with what sounded like a Japanese accent coming from another guest room. She couldn't help but mutter, "You've got to be kidding me!"
(End of Chapter)
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