novelraw Chapter 136
Chapter 136
Chapter 136: Billiards, Defying Science
“Don’t come over here—hey, hey! Don’t come over! Didn’t you hear me?”
Inside the room, the Sichuan Girl circled around the coffee table like the King of Qin around a pillar, and finally hid in the bathroom, grabbing the toilet plunger. Only then did Wang Chu stop in his tracks, properly intimidated.
“What are you running for? Didn’t Old Mo tell me to develop a pair of eyes good at discovering the beauties around me? I thought about it, and the only one around me worth discovering might just be you!” Wang Chu said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Lin Mo sighed, not even wanting to speak. Fortunately, he and the Sichuan Girl hadn’t reminded this fool beforehand. They’d gone out with him to have fun, and the guy had ended up ogling other girls—how was he supposed to warn him about that?
In this day and age, they’d even gone to a crowded water park. Did he really think people were scared of him?
Watching Wang Chu, who was always shouting about wanting to get out of singlehood but now had the Sichuan Girl cornered in the bathroom, Lin Mo shook his head. As expected, Wang Chu was the kind of person who didn’t even dare boil water alone at home—because if he did, there would be two useless things in the house.
Still, it wasn’t unbearable. After all, living was just waiting to die in one’s preferred way. Being unambitious wasn’t a crime—as long as one was still breathing, that was already impressive enough.
“Old Mo said that, go find him then! Why are you coming for me?” The Sichuan Girl gripped the toilet plunger tighter, using it to give herself a sense of security.
After all, with the size difference between them, Wang Chu could “lift and dry her” in minutes.
Lift up, and dry!
Against Wang Chu’s frame, the Sichuan Girl wasn’t much different from a chick. If things really got physical, she was honestly scared.
“Didn’t you say Old Mo wasn’t wrong? I thought you agreed with him,” Wang Chu sneered.
He just wanted to get back at the Sichuan Girl for what had happened earlier. After all, she was the one who had taken the toilet paper, leaving him sitting on the toilet for a whole hour.
“Alright, don’t drag me into this. You two play slowly, I’m heading upstairs,” Lin Mo said, tidying up his copybook before getting up to leave.
This place wasn’t safe for now. Who knew when those two might start brawling—it’d be way too much for his eyes to handle.
“Eh? Why are you going upstairs? Yuan Jie’s back?”
“Yeah! Why didn’t Yuan Jie call us if she’s back?”
At that, the two of them immediately turned to look at him, their tense standoff forgotten.
After all, for the past two days, while Lin Mo and Miss Yuan were in the city, these two had been at home—either filming material or editing videos—and were just about bored to death.
“No, I’m just going up to deal with something.”
Lin Mo casually picked up the pennant and honorary certificate, planning to throw them upstairs. He would eventually get his own place, taking those along with the Genesis Mountain set.
After all, as time went on, he would be buying more and more things from the shopping mall. He’d need somewhere to store them.
Because of the stock market and Zhang Wei’s blind date recently, he’d completely forgotten about this matter. Next time Miss Yuan came back, he’d have to bring it up.
“Wait a sec!”
Lin Mo: “So?”
“We’re coming too!” The Sichuan Girl said, with Wang Chu nodding repeatedly.
The two of them had been drooling over the Imperial Armor upstairs for days. Since Miss Yuan wasn’t around, they hadn’t dared to go look at it themselves.
Three minutes later, the trio arrived at Miss Yuan’s secret base.
“Clothes make the man, the saddle makes the horse;
Look first at the face, then at the garb;
Yearning by day, weeping by night,
Dreaming of going to the capital outright.
When both feet leave the ground,
The virus gets shut down,
Nothing goes online—howl~”
The Sichuan Girl and Wang Chu both wore constipated expressions as they watched Lin Mo sitting on the sofa, holding the black eight ball from the billiard table and talking to it. Anyone who didn’t know better would think a lunatic had escaped from somewhere.
Of course, Lin Mo didn’t want to be doing this either. But what could he do? The skill had been given—he had to use it.
He’d already watched ten billiard match videos. What was ten more minutes?
He only had to talk to the black eight ball for ten minutes—it didn’t say what he had to say. If Professor Li’s The Shennong Herbal Classic were here, he could at least give the ball a lecture on traditional medicine.
“No injections, no medicine, just chatting while sitting down. This is called ‘talk therapy.’”
Watching Lin Mo’s posture, the Sichuan Girl couldn’t hold it in any longer and said, “Hey, are you possessed or something? If you’re not playing billiards, just leave it. We’ll play. If that black eight knew it not only had to get hit but also get nagged at, it would’ve rotted away in the factory!”
“Exactly. What are you even saying to the ball? You think it can understand you?” Wang Chu chimed in.
At that, Lin Mo looked up at them. “Don’t you know everything has a spirit? What if it really understands?
Also, if you’re done talking, are you still coming to see the Imperial Armor or not? If not, I’m leaving.”
Hearing that, the two of them froze—then burst out laughing.
The Sichuan Girl: “Everything has a spirit? Since when did you become a man of culture?”
Wang Chu: “Even if you snuggled that black eight into bed, we still wouldn’t admit you can play billiards!”
After three years as dormmates—counting Old Zhao, who hadn’t come back—the four of them had only one shared hobby: gaming. Everything else varied, and in that, Lin Mo truly couldn’t play billiards.
Among the four, Old Zhao was good at basketball, Wang Chu at billiards, the Sichuan Girl had once picked up sheep dung balls, and Lin Mo had only ever played with marbles.
Of course, their hobbies overlapped somewhat. Wang Chu had taught them billiards before. Old Zhao and the Sichuan Girl weren’t as good as him, but they’d learned decently enough to play sometimes.
Old Zhao had also taught them basketball. Wang Chu did fine, while the Sichuan Girl, being short and always getting blocked, lost interest. Lin Mo, however, was completely uncoordinated—he kept traveling every time he held the ball. The three had unanimously decided that he was better suited for rugby—if he wasn’t afraid to die, that is.
As for the Sichuan Girl’s sheep dung ball experience, the three of them hadn’t been too keen—who could mistake that for the black pearls in milk tea?
They were thoroughly disgusted. Though Lin Mo claimed he could play ping pong—having once placed seventh in a junior high internal class tournament—none of them had seen him play in the past three years.
In short, other than marbles, Lin Mo seemed completely devoid of any talent in mainstream ball games.
The three had even openly mocked him before—forget ball games, they’d said. Instead of that, he’d better hurry up and find a girlfriend; that way, at least he’d have one kind of “ball” to play.
Lin Mo sneered. “You’re challenging me, huh? Fine, I accept your challenge! Referee!”
The Sichuan Girl raised her hand. “Here!”
“A bet, then. What are we betting on? I’ll go first!” Wang Chu said confidently—it was his specialty, after all.
Lin Mo: “Whoever wins is the best!”
Wang Chu: “Deal!”
The Sichuan Girl: …
Honestly, men really loved making pointless bets—with not even a wager attached.
“What do you mean ‘whoever’s the best’? Fine. How about this—whoever loses has to cross-dress on my livestream,” the Sichuan Girl suggested.
Friendly bets between friends rarely involved money—at most, a meal. But since the three of them were all lazy and the weather was unbearably hot, it was better to stay in and have some fun like this.
At her words, Lin Mo and Wang Chu exchanged a glance. Sparks practically flew between their eyes. Clearly, things had just escalated.
This was no longer an ordinary bet.
It was a battle for dignity.
Wang Chu waved his hand boldly. “Alright, deal!”
Lin Mo: “No problem, my sword has never failed either!”
Come on, he had a cheat now—how could he possibly be afraid of a normal person?
“Then let’s start?” Wang Chu was already a little impatient.
Lin Mo shook his head. “Wait a second!”
“What now? Don’t tell me you’re backing out?” Wang Chu glared at him.
Lin Mo: “Not at all. I just need to chat with Black Eight for a bit longer—the time isn’t up yet.”
The two of them: ???
Finally, ten minutes passed. The two of them listened to Lin Mo muttering to Black Eight for a full ten minutes—they were about ready to lose their minds.
“Old Mo, don’t blame your brother for being ruthless. You forced me to do this.” Wang Chu sneered as he chalked the cue tip.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo closed his eyes, holding the cue, trying to sense the techniques of Zihan’s Cue Method. But clearly, nothing changed. It felt nothing like when knowledge would directly enter his mind before—this time… there was no technique at all.
Still, out of trust in the shopping page, he wasn’t nervous. Anyone could talk big, but whether he’d win or not would depend on skill.
Then he turned to the Sichuan Girl and said, “Referee, are you reliable or not? Watch carefully and don’t you dare blow a black whistle!”
Hearing that, the Sichuan Girl spoke up indignantly, “What are you talking about? I’m professional, okay?
First, absolutely no acting on impulse!
Second, absolutely no missing a single bad call!
Third, the referee must be fair and beautiful—Referee and Arbiter Li Shiya, reporting in!”
The two of them: …
Very soon, the match officially began.
Lin Mo took the opening shot, missing three times in a row. He finally broke the rack, but none of the balls went in.
Seeing this, Wang Chu’s grin was bright—this one was in the bag.
Then he easily pocketed three balls before leaving Lin Mo a nearly impossible bank shot at a sharp angle.
Pa!
With a crisp strike, the No.3 ball ricocheted off three others and dropped into the center pocket.
“Ah? Must’ve been dumb luck!” Wang Chu muttered disdainfully at his ridiculous fortune.
Then he saw something that made him doubt reality—Lin Mo was using the “brute-force-miracle” method, not even bothering to aim, yet somehow every ball rolled into a pocket at bizarre, unpredictable angles.
He pocketed six in a row, and if it weren’t for the cue ball following the last one in due to too much force, he would’ve cleared the table entirely.
The Sichuan Girl raised her hand. “Foul!”
“What? Is billiards even played like this? Referee, say something!” Wang Chu said, baffled.
The Sichuan Girl: “He pocketed balls, didn’t he? You never said it had to be the called pocket!”
Wang Chu: …
There was nothing he could do about that. He could only adjust his mindset and get serious. He was convinced Lin Mo’s performance was pure dumb luck—there was no skill in it at all.
After Wang Chu sank two more balls, he suddenly triggered the passive skill from Zihan’s Cue Method—Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix.
Skill description: Once the player commits a foul, the opponent is guaranteed to commit one as well.
The Sichuan Girl: “The cue ball hit the opponent’s ball first—foul!”
Wang Chu was frustrated, but Lin Mo didn’t give him another chance. With two powerful strikes, the black eight that had been heading for the center pocket veered off-course—but coincidentally, the rebounding cue ball hit it straight into the corner pocket.
Seeing that, Lin Mo raised his hand—not to apologize, but in a gesture that said, Little brother, you still need practice.
The Sichuan Girl: “Old Mo wins!”
Wang Chu: …
“I don’t accept that! That was pure luck! I demand best of three!”
Wang Chu was furious—not just about the cross-dressing livestream punishment, but because he felt humiliated in his own game.
It was like Liu Xiang losing a race to a cripple—what kind of logic was that?
The Sichuan Girl turned to Lin Mo. “Does the opponent’s request get approved?”
“Approved! I’ll make sure he’s thoroughly convinced today!” Lin Mo said, brimming with confidence. It truly felt as if the ball had a will of its own—every shot went in, though he couldn’t predict which pocket it would fall into.
Soon, the second round began. This time, Wang Chu broke, pocketing two balls right away.
He then chose the small-numbered balls and cleared five more before stopping.
Lin Mo picked up his cue, closed his eyes, and hit with full strength—only for the No.3 ball to drop neatly into the pocket.
The Sichuan Girl: “Foul! Old Mo, why are you hitting his balls?”
Lin Mo: …
Seeing that, Wang Chu burst out laughing. He had two balls left, but Lin Mo had just pocketed one for him. Now only the No.1 ball remained before the black eight—victory was in sight.
The key point was that the No.1 ball was right by the corner pocket, a perfect angle—a guaranteed shot. The black eight sat near the center pocket, wide open. With his skill, this was an easy win.
“Give up?”
Lin Mo turned to the Sichuan Girl. “What does that mean?”
The Sichuan Girl sighed, wondering how he had even won the first round. “Wang Chu’s paying his respects to your ancestors—he’s asking if you surrender or not.”
“Get lost! Let him play!” Lin Mo roared angrily. The world’s not yet settled—you and I are both doomed.
At that, Wang Chu sneered confidently and struck hard. With a crisp pa!, the No.1 ball sank neatly into the pocket—but the cue ball took a strange bounce, hitting the black eight dead-on and knocking it into the center pocket.
That’s right—he had triggered the third passive skill of Zihan’s Cue Method: Flawless Defeat.
Skill description: When the opponent has a large lead, there’s a high chance the opponent will pocket the black eight mid-game and automatically lose.
The three of them: …
The Sichuan Girl: “Foul! Lin Mo wins!”
“Damn it, that’s not scientific!” Wang Chu yelled, collapsing over the table in disbelief, dizzy from shock.
At that moment, Lin Mo patted his shoulder. “Billiards defy science. I’ve already thought of your cross-dressing name—it’s Bashu Baby!”
Wang Chu: …