Unexpectedly, Wang Dong stood up as well.

  Guo Dalu reached out his hand in front of Wang Dong.

  Wang Dong gnced at him and asked, “What are you doing? Want me to read your palm?”

  Guo Dalu forced a smile. “No need for that. I was born with bad luck. Worst of all, every time I want to treat someone, the money in my pocket seems to disappear.”

  Wang Dong said, “Are you asking to borrow money to pay the bill?”

  Guo Dalu coughed awkwardly. “You know, I did something very expensive st night.”

  Wang Dong was about to ugh, but after gncing at Lin Taiping, he sighed instead. “You’re asking the wrong person.”

  Guo Dalu was startled. “Don′t tell me you′re broke too.”

  Wang Dong replied, “Yeah.”

  Guo Dalu asked, "How... how did you spend it all?”

  Wang Dong said, “I also did something very expensive st night.”

  Guo Dalu asked, “What were you doing?”

  Wang Dong said, “There′s only one thing in this world more costly than women—gambling.”

  Guo Dalu asked, “You lost everything? Who did you lose to?”

  Wang Dong replied, “The waiters in this restaurant.”

  Guo Dalu stared in shock for a moment, then couldn′t help but burst out ughing.

  “No wonder they′re treating you so well. Waiters are always extra nice to big losers. If you had lost all your money to me, I′d treat you just as well.”

  Wang Dong said, "I′m not the only fool who got swindled."

  Guo Dalu asked, "Who else?"

  Wang Dong gnced at Lin Taiping, then at Yan Qi.

  Guo Dalu suddenly kicked up his leg and said, "Don′t tell me you all lost all your money."

  No one answered. Their silence was the response.

  Guo Dalu slumped back into his seat with a bitter smile and said, "So, does that mean these waiters have all struck it rich?"

  Wang Dong said, "They won′t get rich either. Sooner or ter, they′ll lose it all to someone else."

  Guo Dalu nodded hesitantly and said, "That′s true. Easy come, easy go—just as it came, it will leave."

  Wang Dong said, "But at least we′ve made some contribution to humanity."

  Guo Dalu asked, "What contribution?"

  Wang Dong said, "The faster money circutes, the more prosperous the market becomes. That′s how human progress works."

  Guo Dalu thought for a moment and gave a bitter smile. "What you′re saying... almost makes sense."

  Wang Dong said, "So there′s no need for you to feel bad."

  Guo Dalu said, "Fell bad about what? I didn′t even lose—"

  Wang Dong interrupted, "The unfortunate thing is, we lost your money too."

  Guo Dalu was stunned.

  Wang Dong said, "Even a cy Buddha in a rundown temple wouldn′t charge for spending the night with someone."

  Guo Dalu′s eyes slowly widened. "You knew? You were all in on it from the start? The thief who stole from me was actually...

  His finger suddenly jabbed straight at Yan Qi′s nose as he shouted, "It was you!"

  Yan Qi said, "Correct."

  Guo Dalu grabbed him by the colr, gritting his teeth. "Why would you do this?"

  Yan Qi didn′t say a word, but his face seemed to redden slightly.

  Wang Dong said coolly, "He did it for your own good. He didn′t want his friend to catch a venereal disease."

  Guo Dalu slowly let go, slumped back into his chair, rubbed his head, and muttered, "Oh, heavens... how did I end up with such good friends?"

  He suddenly kicked again, gritting his teeth. “Since you all knew we were completely broke, why did you still sit here feasting like this?”

  Wang Dong said, “To make you happy.”

  Guo Dalu couldn′t help but shout, “Make me happy.”

  Wang Dong replied, “A person is always especially happy when they′re the one treating others, isn′t that right?”

  Guo Dalu clutched his head. “Yes, yes, yes! I′m so damn happy I might as well just drop dead.”

  Just then, a waiter walked over and said, “Brother Wang, no need to worry about the bill—it′s already been settled.”

  Guo Dalu sighed. “I didn't expect there′d actually be a kind-hearted person here.”

  The waiter blushed slightly and smiled. “I really did want to cover the bill for Brother Wang, but unfortunately, someone else beat me to it.”

  Wang Dong asked, “Who?”

  The waiter said, “That guest is sitting over in the corner.”

  He turned around to point the person out but then froze.

  The table in the corner still had dishes and wine on it, but the person was gone.

  Guo Dalu was the st to leave. After walking a few steps, he turned back and patted the waiter on the shoulder. “I have a question for you.”

  The waiter said, “Go ahead.”

  Guo Dalu asked, “After winning all that money, how do you pn to spend it?”

  The waiter said, “I don′t pn to spend it.”

  Guo Dalu stared at him as if he had just seen a saint.

  Then the waiter suddenly smiled and added, “I pn to use it as capital to win even more. My luck has been pretty good tely.”

  Guo Dalu was still staring at him, then suddenly burst into ughter—ughing so hard he bent over, nearly rolling down the stairs. Still ughing, he patted the waiter′s shoulder and said, “Great idea! Fantastic idea! This is how humanity progresses. On behalf of the entire world, I thank you.”