（作者一拍脑袋突发奇想，想试着用英文写一章，写着玩的）
Two days after his short trip to the sea side with Yukinoshita Yukino , Oboro arrives at his old back alley poker house. It is a grim, dark Thursday afternoon, just as usual. The city itself has some sort of magical power that’s always reeling him in, igniting his passion to card games. It was exactly what he felt when he agreed to play some Mahjong with the CSSA crew. A feeling of reminiscence.
When he walks into the little doorway reaching all the way upstairs to the VIP room, he stops at the front desk, where the middle-aged lady with curvy blonde hair calls him over:
“Well well well, look who we have here. Isn’t it Ian Dai, the prodigy?”
“Hey, Lizzie.”He answers while reaching into his pocket for some cash,“How are things?”
“We all miss you, it’s been years! Your school is just nearby, why don’t you come more often? Oh, the table’s ready by the way, just your old usuals and a few more.”
“Eh. Just don’t feel like it no more.”
He answers with a casual shrug, while putting a few green bills in to the lady’s hand. She then passes him a tray full of chips, smiling vibrantly:
“Well what changed honey? Found a new match? I’m always wondering how you are ever gonna replace someone like Haley.”
“Maybe I’ll tell you next time, Lizzie.”
Oboro takes the chips and walks off, never looking back.
——————————————————————
“Would you look at that. Lone wolf returning to his natural habitat. How’s it going, big Dai?”
James, a tall black man in his 40s, greets Oboro with a handshake as he found his seat at the table. Oboro has known him for years, since his poker grinding times at High School P. He also recognizes some other familiar faces: his high school Economic teacher Ms. Jones; basketball captain Brian; old Jackie, who was the cashier at the biggest casino in Vegas. There is also that one Chinese student who Oboro does not know, he is sitting in the corner quietly, staring at his phone.
Isn’t this is the perfect demographic for a micro stakes poker table?
However, there is that one pro looking dude in between James and Jones. Oboro recalls his face immediately.
Kevin Negreanu, who is often times known as the cousin of one of the biggest names in poker history, Daniel Negreanu. Last time Oboro saw this guy was on a large open tournament with millions of dollars at stake. And right now, he is sitting at this table full of amateurs, playing only for blinds worth a couple cents, instead of grinding online for the next big title.
What the actual fuck is happening.
Oboro greets everyone on the table politely, the engages in a conversation with Kevin.
“Here to pick on us common folks?”
“Not at all,”Kevin answered with a big smile on his face,“I have heard things about you, glad to finally meet the local shark.”
This is fucked up. I’m sitting on his right.
Oboro thinks to himself,
“So Ian, why did you suddenly returned?”
Ms. Jones holds a cigarette in her left hand, and a few chips in her right. Her sharp glaze glances over the young man’s shoulder. Just as everyone else, she was startled and confused when Oboro suddenly sunken into deep melancholy in his senior year at P High School. Without any hint or notice, he just dropped out of all of his social obligations, as well as the poker table. And today, his unannounced comeback is also a mystery.
“Nothing special, Ms. Jones. Just wanna play a few hands, helps clearing my mind, you know?”
Oboro tries his best to be as casual as possible. He has a professional player sitting on his left, it is better to not show any emotions.
But Yukino... Man, she really did a number on my mind, didn’t she?
“All right. Let’s play some poker then.”
Jones knows it’s probably not as random as he describes, but she’s not here to gossip, she’s here to play cards.
So it begins, a table of six.
The professor.
The old man.
The jock.
The Asian kid. (Obviously not Oboro)
The pro. (Not exactly Daniel Negreanu but close relative)
And last but not least, our protagonist, our hero, the man who deems himself as someone who has figured out the entire material world, but somehow caught up in a strange relationship with a glamorous young lady from a parallel universe.The lone wolf, the young poker prodigy. The one and only, Oboro!