"Movies really are just movies—so fake, with no real skill involved." Adrian Desmond didn’t possess any special abilities, but his powers of observation were far beyond ordinary.
"Are special effects used in movies?"
"What do you think?"
Sienna Johnson just smiled and said nothing.
Adrian continued, "Actually, the key to playing cards is the ability to observe subtle details. You’re so smart; I’m sure you don’t need to teach you this."
"Thank you for your praise, Sixth Master."
Apart from cards, Adrian also taught Sienna how to play dice.
"...As for the magical sight of twelve dice lining up in a row inside a dice cup, all showing one point up, I’ve seen the best players manage to line up twenty-four in a row, with the first die also showing one point up. That’s because the angle of the dice can be completely controlled when throwing them in. But why do the twelve connect with only one point up? It’s because the one-point and six-point sides have magnetic powder, and the poles attract each other. None of the other sides do. That’s the Cheating Technique."
"..."
"If you want the dice to do your bidding, you must understand them. As the saying goes in Orienta: ’Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will be undefeated in a hundred battles.’ It’s just like when I pursued you initially. I used the wrong thods, so you ran away. Now I understand you, I know what you want, and I don’t need to send people to follow you for you to stay."
Sienna didn’t expect him to draw such conclusions from just playing with a small die, even extending it to chasing won.
"Sixth Master, you’re really good at summarizing. Even from playing dice, you can co up with essential techniques for picking up girls."
"I’ve spent so much energy on you, so I have to keep you trapped firmly by my side. If I let you run away, I’d be at a significant loss."
"I’ve already given you two children. Where would I run to?"
"It seems having a few more kids is a good idea then; at least you won’t run away so easily." Adrian pondered seriously, leaving Sienna speechless.
"Adrian, just how insecure are you?"
"You’ll know once you’ve been abandoned."
"Stop it. If you keep talking like that, I’ll sound like so fickle, heartless woman."
"If you run again, you’ll be abandoning your husband and children."
Sienna covered her face, unable to bear looking at him. If she kept looking, she couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t want to punch this man who seed to suffer from an abandonnt delusion.
"Are you going to teach or not?"
"Teach, teach, aren’t I teaching you right now?"
Adrian threw the dice as if he were cheating. He made them show whatever numbers he wanted. Even though Sienna knew the principle—that the one-point and six-point sides had magnetic powder, causing the poles to attract each other—she still couldn’t make the dice land on the numbers she wanted.
"Gambling also has a most important point: ntal fortitude! As I just said, even those who are good at gambling may not always win. That’s the reason."
"Why is gambling related to psychology? I think gambling is entirely about skill. As long as you have excellent gambling skills, how could you not win?"
The little tricks Adrian had just demonstrated had completely fooled her, a layperson. She couldn’t understand how he could possibly not win.
"To gamble is to care about winning or losing. The mont you gamble, you’ve already lost."
"I find your words today quite philosophical."
"Are you starting to admire a lot?"
"Get lost!"
"Go die over there? Which side are you pointing to?" Adrian joked.
Sienna pointed outside the cabin and said, "Go die out there."
"Alright, I’ll die outside, dead as a doornail."
"No sincerity at all!"
"If you’re sincere, you’d die for to see."
"You’d want to die?"
"Of course, I wouldn’t."
"If you wouldn’t, then why did you say it?"
"I was just kidding. You’re not foolish enough to actually go die, are you? You tell others to die, but you wouldn’t die yourself..."
"Sixth Master, you really do know well."
The two of them were being affectionate. Brett Jacobs ca out of the cabin and saw them gazing at each other, lost in their own world. He felt too embarrassed to interrupt.
"Sixth Master, we need to land soon," Brett Jacobs ca over to remind them.
Sienna asked in surprise, "So soon?"
"Yes, Madam. You and Sixth Master have been playing cards for two hours."
Two hours? Sienna hadn’t realized they had been playing for so long. "It’s been that long? I thought it had only been half an hour."
"It seems I can’t let you play cards in the future. I’m starting to think you have the potential to be a gambler. You’ve only just started, and you’ve already lost track of ti. If you get really into it, we’ll have a problem."
"You sure talk a lot."
The plane landed slowly at a small airfield. The group disembarked. People were already waiting at the airfield with five business vans, their interiors completely hidden from view. Adrian helped Sienna, while behind them, Samara and Pauline Briggs assisted the old lady.
Having finished playing mahjong, the old lady had slept well and was now in good spirits.
"All things considered, Abyanabad’s environnt really is better than Sileria City’s. This air... why do I feel it’s sweet too?" the old lady comnted.
Sienna replied, "Granny, is this what they call ’the moon is rounder in foreign lands than in Orienta’?"
Pauline Briggs also chid in, "The environnt here is indeed better than in Orienta."
The blue ocean, clear sky, white clouds, seagulls, and distant ships on the sea ford a truly beautiful scene.
When Sienna was held captive in Abyanabad, she’d had no heart to appreciate the beautiful scenery. Back then, she felt this place was rely a cage she yearned to escape. Now, with her status and mindset changed, she found the landscape captivating.
"It really is beautiful."
"Then stay, and we’ll settle down here together."
The two stood there, gazing together at the ocean. The sea breeze, carrying the moist scent of the sea, caressed their faces, feeling very comfortable.
"When I retire, I’ll co back to Abyanabad with you to settle down."
"That’s still many years away..."
"Can’t wait, Sixth Master?"
"Even if I can’t wait, I have to. Who told to fall in love with you?"
His hand on her waist, he guided her into a separate car, while the others boarded another. Inside the spacious vehicle, it was just the two of them. Sienna asked, "Why are we the only ones in this car?"
"This is our honeymoon! I don’t want too many people disturbing us."
This man was truly persistent, still fixated on this matter even now. Sienna didn’t want to spoil his mood, so she asked, "So, what activities have you planned?"
"Simply put: eating, drinking, playing, and having fun!"
"I’ll follow your lead."
The cars split up on the road, heading in opposite directions. Sienna kept her head turned, watching the car carrying her daughter until it disappeared from sight, a sense of unease settling in her heart.
"Do you think it’s wrong for us to leave the children behind and sneak off to have fun like this?"
Once a woman has children, she develops attachnts and can no longer be as carefree as before. The children are like the ones holding the kite strings, and she is the kite soaring in the sky.
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