The Land Rover's imposing and powerful appearance made it stand out conspicuously at the entrance of the dilapidated alley. So, as soon as Chen Yang got out of the car, the eyes of everyone at the billiards stand were immediately drawn to him.
Yue Lei squinted and sized Chen Yang up and down. Upon seeing a stranger, a hint of wariness immediately appeared in his eyes. This alley was an old neighborhood; Yue Lei knew almost everyone coming and going, and it was rare for a stranger to be here.
Ignoring Yue Lei's unabashed gaze, Chen Yang walked straight into the store and bought a bottle of ice-cold mineral water. As he unscrewed the cap, he muttered to himself,
"This damn weather, it's so hot!"
He gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, then pulled out his phone and pretended to dial a number, loudly announcing,
"Old Liu, why aren't you here yet? I've been waiting forever… Okay, okay, hurry up! I'm at the pool table at the alley entrance!"
Yue Lei's eyes lit up again when he saw the iPhone 4s in Chen Yang's hand. He exchanged a glance with the crew-cut man and leaned forward, saying,
"Brother, waiting for someone?"
Chen Yang looked Yue Lei up and down and nodded,
"Yeah! What's up?"
Yue Lei chuckled dryly, rubbing his hands together, and said,
"Brother, we're just killing time anyway, how about we play a few rounds?"
He pointed to the pool table. Chen Yang glanced at the simple pool table, a hint of hesitation in his eyes.
"Playing pool? I'm not very good!"
"It's okay if you're not good, none of us are very good either. How about we bet a hundred a round, just for fun!" Yue Lei said with a smile, his demeanor all smiles.
If Chen Yang hadn't seen Yue Lei's arrogant and domineering face earlier, he might have been fooled by his appearance.
"Sure! I'm just killing time anyway, and who knows when Old Liu will be here!" Chen Yang placed his bottled water on the edge of the table and said readily, "Who wants to play with me?"
"I'll play a few rounds with you, brother!" Yue Lei said with a grin.
He spent all his time in this area, spending more time at the pool stalls than at home, and his skills were the best among the group. Having finally found a sucker, Yue Lei naturally took the initiative and ripped him off.
"Ah Biao, where have you been! Come and set up the balls! Didn't you see Brother Lei wants to play?" the crew-cut man shouted from the side.
"Coming, coming!" The grocery store owner jogged over, quickly set up the balls, gave Chen Yang a pitying look, and then went back into the store without saying a word.
"Brother, you're a customer, you should tee off first!" Yue Lei said, picking up a club.
Chen Yang nodded without hesitation, stepped forward, and took a powerful shot. His momentum was strong, but unfortunately, his shot was off target, resulting in a bad shot. The cue ball bounced up and rolled slowly forward, barely touching the pile of balls.
What a novice!
The crew-cut man and his henchmen gleamed with delight. They could make some extra money today.
"Brother, haven't played in a while, are you rusty? How about we tee off again?" Yue Lei suggested.
"No need, I've already hit the pack of balls, you can keep playing!" Chen Yang said, feigning embarrassment.
Yue Lei, being somewhat clever, tried to scatter the pack with his first shot, but missed every ball. The two began playing back and forth. Yue Lei's technique was clearly excellent, but he would deliberately miss, giving Chen Yang a chance.
However, Chen Yang's accuracy was terrible. Sometimes Yue Lei would deliberately position the cue ball perfectly, but Chen Yang still couldn't pot it. The game lasted for over ten minutes, until almost all the balls on the table were potted, before Yue Lei finally potted the black eight, ending the game.
"Haha, not bad luck!" Yue Lei said with a laugh after winning.
Chen Yang took out his wallet, pulled out a hundred yuan and handed it to Yue Lei, cursing, "Damn it, I almost beat you! Let's play again!"
Yue Lei was overjoyed; this was exactly the effect he wanted. If Yue Lei had easily beaten Chen Yang in the first few rounds, Chen Yang definitely wouldn't have played a second game. Yue Lei deliberately acted like his skills were mediocre, creating the illusion of a narrow victory in the first game to make Chen Yang think their skill levels were similar and that he too had a chance to win. This was the only way to entice him to keep playing!
So, they rearranged the balls and started playing. They played five games in a row, each one a hard-fought victory for Yue Lei, fueled by a bit of luck. In the blink of an eye, Chen Yang had lost five hundred yuan, and his face grew increasingly grim.
"Damn it! I don't believe it!" After rearranging the balls, Chen Yang slammed his cue on the ground, staring into Yue Lei's eyes, and said, "Playing small games isn't fun at all! Let's play something big! You dare?"
Yue Lei was secretly overjoyed. He hadn't expected this little lamb to actually cooperate, practically begging for his money! But his face remained impassive as he said,
"Brother, you've already lost five hundred. It would be unfair if I didn't play now! Tell me how you want to play!"
"One thousand a game, how about it? Dare to play?" Chen Yang raised his eyebrows, asking provocatively.
"Sure! Since you've said so, I'll naturally play!" Yue Lei said with a smile, a hint of joy in his eyes.
The crew-cut guy and the others were also delighted. The shop owner, A Biao, shook his head helplessly, looking at Chen Yang as if he were a fool.
The balls were set up again, and Yue Lei, like in the previous games, deliberately concealed his strength, even more obviously than before, intentionally missing some balls that were within reach. The two played back and forth until, in the end, both only had one ball left.
Just as Yue Lei was about to end the game with his next shot, an unexpected event occurred.
It was Chen Yang's turn. His only ball was a good half-table distance from the cue ball and far from the pocket. This was Yue Lei's design; even if it was intentionally giving Chen Yang a glimmer of hope, it was to ensure safety. But this seemingly safe shot led to a dramatic turn of events.
Chen Yang bent down, muttering curses under his breath, and slammed the shot. To Yue Lei and his team, this was a stroke of incredible luck, considering Chen Yang had missed many straight, short pocket shots earlier, and this shot was extremely difficult; he had no hope of potting it.
But the last ball, the seven-ball, after being struck by the cue ball, bounced twice off the cushions and rolled smoothly into the middle pocket!
And the cue ball bounced back, knocking the black eight-ball, which had been resting on the cushion, to the pocket.
"Haha! My luck has finally returned!" Chen Yang exhaled his cigarette butt and shouted excitedly.
The final black 8 was a foregone conclusion; the cue ball was incredibly close, practically at the pocket's edge, easily pocketable even by a beginner.
Chen Yang, having blasted the black 8 into the pocket, exclaimed triumphantly,
"I won! Pay up!"
The frustration of losing five consecutive frames vanished, replaced by a smug, self-satisfied smile.
Yue Lei smiled insincerely and said,
"Brother, your skills are pretty good! Let's play a few more frames, then we'll settle the bill later!"
Chen Yang had been paying upfront for every frame he lost, but now that Yue Lei had lost, he was unwilling to part with his money. However, Chen Yang seemed oblivious, nonchalantly replying,
"Sure! Let's set up the balls! Let's continue!"
Just then, Chen Yang's phone rang.
"Excuse me, buddy, I need to take this call!" Chen Yang said to Yue Lei, pulling out his phone. Then he went to answer the call. "Brother Lei, is there something wrong with this kid?" The crew-cut man was worried because Yue Lei, who had been winning so well, had suddenly lost this round—and by a whole thousand yuan! He'd won five rounds for nothing and now had to pay out five hundred.
"Don't worry! He's just a newbie. That last shot was pure luck!" Yue Lei lit a cigarette and stared at Chen Yang's back. "This kid uses the latest iPhone, drives a luxury car, and you saw his wallet? It was bulging, at least ten thousand yuan. It's rare to have such a fat sheep delivered to our door; how can we not rip him off?"
"Hehe, Brother Lei's right!" the crew-cut man chuckled obsequiously.
The phone rang from an unknown number. Chen Yang walked aside to answer it.
"Hello, is this Chen Yang?" the voice on the other end was steady.
"Yes, it is. Who is this?" Chen Yang replied. "Hello Chen Yang, my name is Guan Weiping. I work in the Provincial Party Committee Office. We met before." The caller was Guan Weiping, Fang Hongda's secretary. Secretary Fang had asked him to invite Chen Yang to his home for dinner yesterday, and he had rushed to finish his work this afternoon. He was now on his way to pick up Chen Yang.
"Oh, Director Guan, hello! What can I do for you?" Chen Yang said politely.
Guan Weiping said they had met once, at the banquet following the calligraphy and painting competition. Guan Weiping had accompanied Fang Hongda, so he had seen Chen Yang, but they hadn't spoken much.
In fact, in his previous life, Chen Yang and Guan Weiping had a very good relationship. Guan Weiping was Fang Hongda's secretary and an absolute confidant, while Chen Yang was Fang Hongda's nephew. Their relationship was naturally close, and although there was a more than ten-year age difference, Chen Yang always called him "Brother Guan." However, after his rebirth, Chen Yang was a poor student from the countryside, while Guan Weiping was a high-ranking official at the deputy provincial level, the top secretary of the provincial party committee. Since they didn't have a close relationship, Chen Yang naturally had to maintain a certain level of politeness.
"Oh, it's like this, Secretary Fang would like to invite you to his home for a casual dinner tonight. Do you have time?" Guan Weiping's voice was resonant, slightly deep but still incredibly approachable, making one feel as if bathed in a spring breeze.
Although Chen Yang was just a student, and Guan Weiping had already set off to pick him up, he knew Chen Yang wouldn't refuse the provincial party secretary's invitation. However, Guan Weiping still used a questioning tone, and his attitude was very amiable.
This was one of the basic skills of a secretary, especially for someone like Guan Weiping working closely with the provincial party secretary, where every move was under scrutiny. If these details weren't paid attention to, it was easy to gain a reputation for arrogance.
There was another, more important reason: Guan Weiping knew very well that Fang Hongda had initially intended to investigate Chen Yang, but for some reason, Fang Hongda had suddenly changed his attitude. Guan Weiping knew that only a handful of people in the entire Southeast Province would be personally invited to dinner by the Party Secretary, and that alone made it worthwhile for Guan Weiping to humbly befriend him.
Upon hearing that it was Fang Hongda who wanted to invite him to dinner, Chen Yang was momentarily stunned. Then, thinking it might be because of his teacher Bai Yan, he readily agreed:
"No problem, Director Guan, I'm free tonight."
"That's wonderful! Where are you now? I'll bring a car to pick you up."