"You made it yourself?" The three female classmates all cast surprised glances.
Jiang Ning replied calmly, "Yes."
Wang Xue took a sip of her milk tea, marveling at its rich flavor while also agreeing with Jiang Ning. This kind of milk tea wasn’t sold in Wamiao Town.
Ji Yan took a sip of the milk tea, glanced at the cup, and thought she never knew Jiang Ning was soone who indulges so much.
"Since you bought the milk tea, I’ll cover the billiards fee for tonight." Ji Yan said with a fist, generous and straightforward.
She handed over twenty yuan, "Boss, this table is mine."
The boss, a middle-aged woman, ran a pool hall that appeared to be a front for an illegal internet café with a dozen computers inside.
Recognizing Ji Yan, the boss smiled warmly, "Still charging you four yuan an hour."
Ji Yan replied, "It’s fine. Didn’t the price go up? Just charge according to the increased price for four hours."
Compared to future billiard halls with nice decor where group bookings would cost at least fifteen yuan an hour, and private tables even more at thirty or forty, Wamiao Town was really affordable now.
Wang Xue pursed her lips, "You made twenty yuan seem like two hundred.
However, Jiang Ning just laughed and said, "Sister Yan is generous."
After all, having these three naturally charming girls willing to co out to play with him at night, if compared to future billiard coach prices, this was definitely high-end.
"The usual rules, Black Eight."
The rules of Black Eight involve 16 balls on the table: 1 black, 1 white, 7 solid balls, and 7 striped ones. The first to clear their balls and sink the black wins.
Jiang Ning said, "Sure."
So Ji Yan placed her steaming milk tea on the nearby pool table. She picked up the cue and broke.
Wang Xue and Li Jing watched from the side, they were drinking milk tea and had no free hands to play, plus they weren’t very skilled.
In the eyes of many, a small town’s pool hall is similar to an arcade, a place where juvenile delinquents loiter and smoke, not sowhere good students frequent.
They preferred watching to playing.
Ji Yan’s father is Ji Tie Tou, so unlike most girls, she was not afraid of any place in town; no one would bully her.
Therefore, Ji Yan was skilled at pool, although not yet close to a one-hit win in Black Eight, her accuracy surpassed ordinary people.
Looking at Jiang Ning, who seed rather suave now, Ji Yan’s lips curled into a smile, wondering what his expression would be if she defeated him at pool.
Ji Yan hadn’t forgotten how Jiang Ning teased her during lunch.
’Ti to show so skills,’ Ji Yan thought silently.
As for Jiang Ning, he played leisurely. He didn’t cheat using Divine Sense, using less than 10% of his sight, lazily poking the balls.
Even so, one ball after another went into the pockets.
Unlike the intense confrontations of basketball or football, in pool, when it’s the other person’s turn, you just quietly wait for their mistake, bringing a gentlemanly deanor to the ga.
Wang Xue was getting a bit restless. Being outgoing, she couldn’t hold back: "Jiang Ning, why didn’t you call Shen Qing’e?"
In her mory, Jiang Ning used to hang out with Shen Qing’e every day, even fought for her once, a well-known story at school.
Unfortunately, Jiang Ning lost, and with his average looks, the girls weren’t too envious.
Jiang Ning answered truthfully, "I did call. You all agreed first; it’s too many people."
Wang Xue thought, ’Jiang Ning, you’re a bit of a flirt.’
She asked again, "Are you not as close with Shen Qing’e as before?"
For Wang Xue, liking soone was always a primary choice, not a backup.
Jiang Ning smoothly pocketed the ball and leaned his cue upright, looking indifferent, "People change as they grow, don’t they?"
Li Jing, holding her milk tea with both hands, said, "You’re becoming better, but she hasn’t changed."
Wang Xue gazed at Jiang Ning, suddenly sensing a trace of world-weariness in him as if life’s experiences had etched deep within him. She said, "Yes, she can be poor or not pretty, but she can’t lack drive."
Jiang Ning grinned, "Hey."
Li Jing comnted, "It shouldn’t stop you from finding soone more suitable."
Both of them, going back and forth, seed to define Shen Qing’e.
Ji Yan was engrossed in the ga, focusing on the four solid-colored balls and a Black Eight on the table.
She gave a cool smile, raising an eyebrow, "I’m down to my last ball, do you need a break?"
Wang Xue also saw the crisis in the situation and said, "Ji Yan, aren’t you bullying Jiang Ning? Give him a break, maybe?"
Ji Yan shook her head, "Too bad, I never play fake gas."
"No need." Jiang Ning stood up straight, carried his cue to the table, and gave a shove, sending the four solid balls scattering on the table.
Ji Yan thought Jiang Ning had given up, but in the next mont, those seemingly randomly scattered balls all pocketed from that single shot.
Ji Yan was stunned, ’What a joke?’
Jiang Ning held his cue and sat on a nearby table, leisurely saying, "I won’t continue, have a go."
...
The milk tea Jiang Ning brought was large, and he had cast a warming Array on it to keep it from getting cold on a winter night.
The three girls from the small town were reluctant to finish it quickly, so they sipped slowly, and as ti leisurely passed by, it gradually approached 9 o’clock.
Jiang Ning’s mories of youth, especially in middle school, were mostly gray, with an unremarkable appearance, scant pocket money, unreachable girls, bottom-tier sports achievents; it seed nothing went his way.
He envied many people, was angry about his diocrity, and this pent-up frustration slowly turned into resentnt over the years.
He longed for a breakthrough that would astonish everyone, making those who once looked down on him regret deeply, and those who bullied him kneel and cry.
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