Chapter 211

“You lost? Let me help you.” Yannis sat down on the sofa next to Zinnia.

Zinnia frowned and asked in doubt, “Can you?”

“Yannis can do everything. Go Fish is a piece of cake for him. He won a whole estate once when he played it with someone,” Jackson said with a laugh.

“He’s that good?” Zinnia asked in surprise.

“Well, I’m not bad,” Yannis nodded modestly.

“Yannis, if you join, we’ll keep losing,” Maisie slowed down as she drew a card.

“Yannis, she’s right. If you come in, we probably won’t win at all,” Isaac smiled, too.

“Then you shouldn’t join. Your skills are too scary. We want to play by ourselves.” Zinnia didn’t want Yannis to join, either. He was too smart. If he played, everyone else would lose their fun.

“I’m just guiding, not playing,” Yannis said.

“Isaac, you can ask Jackson to guide you. He’s right behind you.” Yannis smiled and slowly turned to Maisie. “As for you—”

“Who should guide me then?” Maisie scratched her head. She thought she was no match for Jackson or Yannis.

“Grandma.” A nice voice came from behind them. Everyone turned and saw Charlie.

Charlie was wearing a camel-colored trench coat, a black turtleneck, and black cropped pants. His face was delicate, and his legs were long. As he walked, a soft breeze seemed to pass by everyone’s hearts.

“Charlie’s here. Now we can match up, and it’s fair,” Yannis said with a small laugh.

“Charlie, come help me.” Maisie’s eyes lit up when she saw Charlie.

“What’s up?” Charlie asked with a charming smile on his face.

“Zinnia’s new at this and not very good at Go Fish. Yannis said he’d help her win back, but Isaac and Maisie said they weren’t a match for him, so they were looking for help.”

“Your timing’s perfect. There are three of them. Each of you can help one,” Yvette explained with a smile.

Dinner was set for 6 p.m., and it was a little past 5 p.m. now. They could play a bit more and then eat dinner.

“I can’t win against Jackson and Yannis.” Charlie was not that good at this.

“It’s okay. We’re just playing. If you lose, you just get a sticky note on your face. Charlie, if you don’t help me, I’ll be two against one.” Maisie casually waved her hand.

“Okay, I’ll try.” Charlie hadn’t been able to say no. He sat down on the sofa next to Maisie.

“Now you’re not worried, right? It’s two against two. Nice and fair.” Yannis ruffled Zinnia’s hair.

“If I lose, the note goes on your face,” Zinnia turned back toward him.

“Deal. Stick it on me. Draw a card,” Yannis smiled.

Zinnia drew a card. It was a 6.

Yannis looked at her hand: 4, 5, 8, 9, 10—all small cards; the highest was a 10. Her cards were a mess.

“Zinnia, it looks like you’re a bit unlucky,” Yannis could barely hide his smile.

Zinnia sighed. “Maisie said I’m the unluckiest beginner they’ve ever met.”

As they spoke, it was Zinnia’s turn to draw again. This time she got an 8.

After a round, Zinnia only had two cards with the same number. Now it was her turn to draw again.

“Zinnia, ask Maisie if she has a 5,” Isaac said.

“Seriously?” Zinnia looked at her cards. She thought she’d have a better chance if she asked for an 8. She wasn’t sure whether to listen to Yannis.

“Trust me. I’m never wrong,” Yannis said.

And sure enough, Zinnia got all the 5s and immediately ended her bad luck. She hadn’t gotten this lucky before. It was no wonder Maisie and Isaac made fun of her.

“Your luck’s better than mine,” Zinnia said.

“It’s because you’re sitting next to me. That’s why my luck is so good.” Yannis turned slightly and placed Zinnia’s set face-up beside her.

Zinnia didn’t say a word, but a small smile crossed her face. Everyone liked compliments, especially Zinnia, who was always unlucky. Yannis’s words made her happy.

In a new round, Zinnia was the dealer, so she went first.

Zinnia picked up her five cards, hoping at least two of them were the same. But this time all her cards were different.

She asked Isaac, “Do you have a 2?”

With Yannis guiding her, Zinnia turned things around even with a weak hand. Slowly, sticky notes started piling up on Isaac and Maisie’s faces.

“Isaac, you lost. Stick it on,” Maisie said. The dealer, Isaac, had gotten the worst of it this time.

“Put it on Isaac,” Yannis handed Zinnia a sticky note and nodded toward him.

Isaac leaned forward, and Zinnia pressed it on his cheek. She smiled when she saw his ridiculous face.

“One more game, then we eat,” Yvette called.

“Okay,” everyone answered.

“Yannis, how’d you do it? Did you somehow know everyone’s cards?” Isaac sighed.

Then he turned back toward Jackson. “Jackson, how come you kept losing to Yannis?”

Isaac hadn’t expected Jackson, who seemed to know everything, to be awful at Go Fish. His guidance made him lose faster.

“What can I say? I tried my best. Remember this: never challenge Yannis in a card game.” Jackson was not much of a card player.

The rest listened to Isaac’s dramatic complaints and tried not to laugh.

“You’re amazing.” Zinnia looked at Yannis with pure admiration. Sometimes, when she drew a card, she didn’t even know what to do with it because all the numbers were a mess.

“It’s all luck. Zinnia, you bring me that luck.” Yannis’s deep, charming eyes glimmered.

“I’ll shuffle,” he said, leaning forward to gather the messy cards on the coffee table. His hands were well-defined, and the cards in his grip.

“Here, draw again.” Yannis placed the stack back in the center of the table.

Zinnia was the winner, so she drew first. She turned over her five cards and found three were the same number.

Surprised, Zinnia looked up at Yannis. She hadn’t gotten a hand this good before.

Yannis’s gaze softened a little when he saw her happiness.

A new round started, and Zinnia quickly collected all four of the same number.

This time she was the dealer. Maybe it was because she knew Yannis could turn things around no matter how messy the cards were, Zinnia no longer avoided being dealer.

Before long, Zinnia won again. She widened her eyes in disbelief at her own luck.

Suddenly, she wanted to play a few more rounds.