Chapter 831 — Activated Billiards

Wei Zhao had never taken Shen Yushu for a fool—quite the contrary, he thought her clever—and so her current recklessness in provoking Zhen Yingjun was most likely born of the confidence that he was there beside her.

"Ten thousand yuan, one match. Dare you?" Zhen Yingjun, his greatest pride—his billiards skill—just insulted to his face, was furious.

"But we didn't bring that much money. We can't play you!" Shen Yushu said with some regret.

"You don't need to pay. If you lose, all you have to do is admit my billiards are superb, and then learn the game from me!" Zhen Yingjun was not so foolish as to blurt out something like "if you lose, you sleep with me." He believed in courting a girl step by step.

"Oh?" Shen Yushu considered it and decided the terms were rather favorable after all. She turned to Gu Mengyao. "Sister Mengyao, should we play him?"

"Play what? Are you sure you can win?" Gu Mengyao was not at all sure of beating Zhen Yingjun. If he boasted of his billiards skill, he was probably not bluffing, so she had no intention of taking him on at all.

"I don't know…" Shen Yushu thought it over and had to agree—the two of them together might not beat Zhen Yingjun alone. But the bold words had already been spoken, and to back out now would look like fear of him. At that thought she lifted her head to Wei Zhao. "Brother Arrow, will we win?"

"We should…" Wei Zhao shrugged. "…"

"Fine, we'll play you! But it's Sister Mengyao and me together against you, and if we win, you have to give each of us ten thousand yuan!" Hearing Wei Zhao's words, Shen Yushu took them as absolute confidence on his part, and nodded her acceptance of Zhen Yingjun's challenge.

Wei Zhao gave a bitter smile. He had not finished speaking—what he meant was "we should… but maybe not…"—but Shen Yushu had cut him off.

"Fine, no problem!" To Zhen Yingjun, money was no issue. "How shall we play? You name it. Snooker?"

"What's snooker?" Shen Yushu did not understand.

"It's a way of playing billiards…" Zhen Yingjun sneered inwardly. You don't even know what snooker is, and you dare play me? Isn't that courting death?

"Oh, you're playing me, so naturally we play my way!" Shen Yushu did not mind. "Our way is that each of us takes one suit of balls, and whoever clears their own suit first wins!"

"I see…" Zhen Yingjun thought: this is much like eight-ball, only without the scoring rules. But no matter—even so he could easily beat these two girls. "Fine, we'll play it however you say!"

A master reveals himself at the first stroke. Though Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu found Zhen Yingjun repulsive, his skill was genuinely good. Once the game began, without any suspense, Zhen Yingjun potted every ball of his own suit, while Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu sank only a single ball between them—and that by sheer blind luck.

"Well?" Zhen Yingjun had not expected to win so easily. These two were plainly utter novices with not a shred of technique, flailing at the balls at random.

"Proper matches are best of three! You've only won one game, what's there to gloat about?" Shen Yushu was dumbstruck. Hadn't Brother Arrow said she could win? Why had she lost? She turned anxiously to Wei Zhao.

"Fine, best of three it is!" Zhen Yingjun did not mind. With Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu playing at that wretched level, they would lose a hundred games out of a hundred, so he did not care whether he won in one or two. Certain of victory, he wanted these two girls to submit wholeheartedly. "Next game, I'll take one shot, and the two of you can take one shot each in turn! As long as the two of you together pot all the balls of your suit, I'll count it your win!"

Having won the first game, Zhen Yingjun now knew Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu's true level, and so did not mind making grand promises.

"All right…" This time Shen Yushu had lost her confidence. She had hoped Wei Zhao would step in and turn the tide, but in the end Wei Zhao never appeared, and she had lost beyond any doubt…

There was nothing for it—Wei Zhao rose and walked over, took his place at the edge of the billiard table, and leaned both hands on it.

"What are you doing?" Zhen Yingjun had not expected Wei Zhao to suddenly interfere. He had conducted himself as a gentleman throughout, resorting to no force—what business did Wei Zhao have poking his nose in?

"Nothing. Just watching." Wei Zhao spoke coolly. "What—you two play, and I can't even watch? I'm watching to see whether you cheat."

"Fine! Watch, watch all you like!" Hearing that Wei Zhao only meant to watch—and that he was watching for cheating—Zhen Yingjun paid him no more mind. What could he possibly see? Besides, driving him off would only make it look as though he had something to hide.

Earlier, Zhen Yingjun had assumed Wei Zhao meant to play on behalf of Gu Mengyao or Shen Yushu, and that he would never have allowed—because Zhen Yingjun had no idea of Wei Zhao's skill, and who was to say the man was not a billiards ace? How could he let Wei Zhao ruin a beauty who was all but within his grasp?

But Wei Zhao showed no intention of interfering, and Zhen Yingjun paid him no further mind, addressing Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu directly: "You two break first. I'll spot you three shots!"

Normally, a skilled billiards player could sink a ball on the break, but Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu plainly could not—they simply did not have the technique yet, so the opening gave them no advantage whatsoever. Still, Zhen Yingjun had declared that he would spot Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu three shots apiece, which made six shots in all—a generous handicap indeed, and proof enough of how conceited Zhen Yingjun was.

"Crack!"

Shen Yushu broke, scattering the balls in the middle of the table into chaos, yet not a single one dropped into a pocket.

Then it was Gu Mengyao's turn. She too aimed at a ball of her own suit and struck, but her aim and her force were both off, and the ball wound up nowhere near the pocket.

After that it was Shen Yushu's turn again. Yet this light, gentle shot of hers, though it failed to sink a ball of her suit, sent that ball caroming wildly back and forth across the table, as though it had come alive...

Shen Yushu was dumbstruck, and so was Gu Mengyao, while Zhen Yingjun, standing to one side, gaped at the scene as well! What on earth was going on? Would this ball never stop? How could Shen Yushu possibly have put that much force into it? To send the ball flying like this and still it would not stop? RO