Chapter 45: When Glory Returns (4)
Upon landing in New York, Lin Yiyang received dozens of interview requests.
When Yin Guo heard about these calls, she truly grasped one fact—even if he had stepped away from Snooker, Lin Yiyang, who had claimed nearly ten Nine-ball titles last year, had long become an undeniable celebrity here.
Unfortunately, he turned down all the interviews, replying uniformly that it was a private trip.
Lin Yiyang brought her and Chen Anan back to his old apartment.
Nothing in the apartment had changed. Everyone’s rooms were still there, untouched—including Yin Guo’s.
Over the past year, Lin Yiyang and Meng Xiaotian had grown quite close. So much so that when the brown apartment door swung open and Lin Yiyang and Yin Guo stepped inside together, Meng Xiaotian’s first words were, "Brother-in-law!"—leaving Yin Guo, his actual sister, momentarily forgotten.
Of course, his next sentence was: "Brother-in-law, can you help me revise a paper? I’ve got to leave soon."
"Where to?" Yin Guo asked, noticing the suitcase he was dragging—clearly prepped for a long trip.
"Back home. My brother summoned me."
And so, after just five minutes together, the siblings bid each other goodbye.
...
Lin Yiyang rummaged through the fridge and cabinets, taking stock of what groceries they needed. Yin Guo sat behind the counter, resting her chin on her hand as she watched him. Both of them were used to long flights by now, so they weren’t tired.
Only Chen Anan was completely exhausted. With retirement approaching in the next couple of years, he had fewer competitions and even fewer long-haul flights. Jet-lagged to the point of barely keeping his eyes open, he skipped showering entirely and went straight to Lin Yiyang’s room, locking the door before collapsing into sleep.
Thus, just ten minutes after arriving at the apartment, the living room was left with only the two of them.
Yin Guo glanced at the closed door of Lin Yiyang’s room and asked softly, "If you let him sleep in your room, aren’t you basically telling him… that you’re sleeping with me?"
Lin Yiyang shut the fridge door, puzzled. "If not with you, then who?"
The facts were one thing, but she wasn’t close to Chen Anan. During their month of training together, they had exchanged fewer than ten sentences. Suddenly living under the same roof and blatantly sharing a room with Lin Yiyang right in front of Chen Anan—
"It’s weird." Just thinking about it made her uncomfortable.
To Lin Yiyang, Yin Guo was already his future wife, so he didn’t quite grasp the "weirdness" she was referring to.
"I’ll shower first. You can sit here for a bit."
What he was actually considering was the state of the bathroom. Meng Xiaotian had lived here alone for a month—it probably wasn’t very clean. He’d have to tidy it up before letting her use it.
Lin Yiyang stepped out from behind the counter and went to the couch, opening his suitcase to pull out a fresh pair of jeans and a T-shirt. As he did, he casually moved a stack of short-sleeved shirts to the other side of the suitcase.
Yin Guo followed him, crouching down to sift through the clothes he’d brought—all old, all familiar.
This man was ridiculously extravagant when it came to cars but painfully frugal with clothes. Aside from the formal wear required for competitions, the only branded item he owned was still the one Yin Guo had given him—just that single piece. A straight-laced man through and through.
"That short-sleeved shirt—the one I took from you," she suddenly asked, "why did you buy it back then?"
Given how tight money had been for him at the time, suddenly buying something like that was strange.
"Didn’t buy it," Lin Yiyang said, unbuttoning his white dress shirt and tossing it into the red plastic laundry bin. "A kid at the pool hall won a regional championship and used the prize money to get it for me. A student’s gift to his teacher."Given Lin Yiyang's temperament, he definitely wouldn’t have accepted it, but the kid was Canadian and later returned to his home country, so it ended up being a keepsake.
No wonder.
He was about to take off his suit pants and had already undone his belt.
“Go inside to change. Do it in the bathroom.”
Lin Yiyang was once again amused by his girlfriend’s “unreasonable request.” It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen him before?
She had, of course.
But the same logic applied—what if Chen Anan suddenly came out and saw Lin Yiyang stripped down to his cotton boxers, standing in the living room talking to her? That wouldn’t be appropriate either.
After Lin Yiyang went into the bathroom and the sound of the shower started, Yin Guo was still lost in thought—turns out, no matter how handsome and dashing a man is, once he becomes “yours,” he’ll happily strut around the house stark naked every day, completely disregarding any sense of decorum.
With the sound of running water in the background, she leaned against the counter, scrolling through Weibo and her social feed.
Surprisingly, there were even photos of Lin Yiyang at the airport today…
Some were taken by passersby from the second floor, others from the first. In the overhead shot, Lin Yiyang was facing away from the camera, looking out at the tarmac—only the distant silhouette of his white dress shirt, black suit pants, and black leather shoes was visible. The first-floor shot, likely taken from the southwest corner, captured his profile. His high nose bridge lifted the upper half of his black mask slightly, and his downcast eyes, fixed on his phone, revealed nothing of his mood.
She thought the photos had a certain artistic quality and saved them to her album without a second thought.
In her feed, someone had reposted the post-match press conference with the caption: This guy’s got it made—his girlfriend’s one lucky woman.
Yin Guo’s heart skipped a beat, and she tapped to watch.
The video was chaotic, filled with background noise as reporters murmured among themselves. It wasn’t an official recording, so the footage was shaky, and the person filming could be heard complaining, “Stop bumping me, the shot’s all wobbly. Lin Yiyang’s here!”
A burst of camera flashes lit up the scene.
Lin Yiyang and the association president followed the host to the long red interview table and took their seats.
The empty chair to his left was likely reserved for the coach, while the right was occupied by the billiards association’s leadership.
As he sat down, his first instinct was to undo the buttons at his cuffs—but then, as if remembering something, he subtly aborted the motion, clearing his throat quietly before straightening up to face the questions.
Yin Guo noticed this little moment and couldn’t help but smile.
The reporters’ questions were sharp, but his answers were concise.
“You’ve had over a decade away from the scene—unfamiliar with the tournaments, unfamiliar with your opponents. Have there been moments when you felt out of your depth?”
“No.”
“You’re already twenty-eight this year, just starting out. Does your age concern you?”
Again: “No.”
…
Finally, someone cut straight to the past—
“It’s said you retired back then because you were disillusioned after being suspended. Is that true? Will you clarify the match-fixing rumors today? Why return after so many years away—to refute those old rumors? Or was it just unwillingness to retire under that shadow?”
After a few seconds of silence, Lin Yiyang gave an uncharacteristically lengthy response: “The past is something everyone has their own theories about. Even if I clarified it a hundred times here today, you still wouldn’t fully believe me—you might just think it’s a polished PR answer. I can’t convince everyone, and neither can anyone here. Leave the past in the past. Truth or lies—it doesn’t matter.” Lin Yiyang continued, "The path of an athlete is arduous. If you persist merely out of 'retaliation' or 'resentment,' you won't last long. Negative emotions can't sustain someone through all the hardships—only genuine passion can make one endure every bitter struggle and reach the end."
"There's only one reason I'm back today—Lin Yiyang's journey isn't over yet," he paused briefly before concluding, "This path is mine, and I must walk it myself."
Yin Guo felt her heart surge with emotion, the applause in the video roaring loudly.
Seizing the moment, the host wrapped up smoothly: "Thank you to all the journalists here today, and to Lin Yiyang for his outstanding performance and post-match interview—"
A reporter suddenly cut in, "We have one final question."
The microphone was passed over.
"As a star athlete, managing your public image is essential, and your personal relationships inevitably come under public scrutiny—something that has troubled many sports celebrities."
The reporter smiled, and the crowd chuckled, sensing the shift to gossip.
Once the laughter subsided, the reporter got to the point: "Before your return, Jiang Yang and Meng Xiaodong were considered the most popular domestic players in this field. Both remain single, which constantly sparks online discussions. Are you mentally prepared to join them as one of the industry's most eligible bachelors upon your comeback? Or do you feel pressured about exposing your future relationships to the public?"
Lin Yiyang leaned his elbows on the red table, fingers interlaced, listening intently. When the reporter finished, he replied half-jokingly, "Whether Jiang Yang and Meng Xiaodong have girlfriends... I wouldn't know."
The audience knew the three had been friends since their youth. His "wouldn't know" response immediately sparked speculation—were there secret relationships?
Instantly, three or four reporters fired questions simultaneously—
"Rumors say Jiang Yang was divorced—is that true?"
"Is Meng Xiaodong secretly married?"
"Someone photographed Meng Xiaodong training overseas this year with his wife and daughter—is that accurate?"
Lin Yiyang waved his hand with a laugh, signaling he was only teasing and wouldn't reveal their secrets.
He steered the focus back to himself, answering bluntly: "But one thing's certain—I'm not single."
Another bombshell.
In an instant, every reporter clamored with questions, their voices overlapping into chaos.
The video abruptly cut off. It had ended.
Yin Guo's heart pounded wildly. She wanted to rewind and replay the last minute.
"Enjoying the show?" The man from the video spoke beside her ear.
Her heart skipped again as she turned to meet his gaze—only to be kissed in her dazed state. Her phone was taken, his lips still brushing her hair...
"Let me shower first," she suddenly dodged. After a dozen hours on a plane, she reeked.
Lin Yiyang didn't mind—he'd already showered and would never find her anything but sweet. To him, she always was.
But Yin Guo couldn't stand it, convinced she carried the stale scent of airplane seats and cabin air. After much persuasion, she finally shooed him away, grabbing fresh clothes and slipping into the bathroom.
The space was immaculate, the tile floor spotless.
Only the fog on the mirror lingered, not yet faded.She looked down at the sink, his razor and blades—everything seemed to transport her back to the past. Yin Guo ran her fingers over them a couple of times, then glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Thankfully, her hair was straight now, not curled like last year, or she might have truly believed time had reversed.
After a quick shower, she returned to her room.
The furnishings hadn’t been moved an inch.
The bedsheets and covers had just been changed by Lin Yiyang, who was now sitting on the small sofa by the window, correcting an English paper for Meng Xiaotian on his laptop.
Yin Guo wanted to blow-dry her hair but decided against it, not wanting to disturb Chen Anan’s sleep.
“Take a break. You just got here and you’re already helping him with his work.”
He smiled. “Wasn’t I just waiting for you?”
Her fingers danced in front of his eyes.
Lin Yiyang finally looked up to find her half-kneeling before him. Though the upper half of the laptop obscured part of her, it made little difference. She was wearing only a men’s short-sleeved shirt—his shirt—her legs completely bare. The white T-shirt was thin enough to reveal hints of what lay beneath, except… she wasn’t wearing anything. He knew the curves of her body all too well.
The desire that had been suppressed by the academic work was now unmistakably rekindled by the sight before him.
“What do you want?” he asked in a low voice.
“Sleep,” she teased, knowing full well what she was doing. “I’m tired.”
He chuckled.
Snapping the laptop shut, he tossed it onto the sofa.
Without another word, he grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it off in one swift motion. Bare-chested, he pulled her into his arms. Through the thin layer of cotton, their body heat seeped into each other, rising steadily.
The zipper of his jeans brushed against the skin of her waist, the cold metal belt buckle pressing into her.
“Wait,” he murmured against her lips, his palm responding to her eagerness. He was reminding her—they needed to wait. The protection was still in the suitcase; there was none in this room.
But Yin Guo’s tongue delved deeper into his mouth, refusing to let him pull away.
Her hands roamed freely over his jeans, unrestrained… Lin Yiyang was both amused and exasperated. Kissing her, he pinned her to the bed, pulling her hands above her head. “What’s gotten into you today?”
Then, his voice roughened as he added, “Be good.”
“It’s fine…” she whispered almost inaudibly. Since his return, she had been consistently using a secondary precaution as a double safeguard, just in case.
So even without what was in the suitcase, there was still a layer of protection.
Lin Yiyang’s breathing grew heavier. No longer protesting, he lowered his head to kiss her.
His dark, intense eyes remained locked on her face, her body. The light from the window bathed them from above, casting his features in shadow, his short hair edged with a silvery glow.
Her heart raced even faster than the first time, as if this were the real beginning—the moment she gave him her complete trust.
Or perhaps it was a ritual, their bodies accepting each other without any barriers. For a man, the significance of sharing this first unhindered intimacy with the girl he loved was something only those who had truly loved could understand.
……
Everything came in overwhelming waves. Then, silence.
His rough fingertips still traced her face, his breathing heavy and uneven. Yin Guo’s heart beat slowly in the quiet aftermath. Feeling him press his face against hers, she nuzzled him affectionately, then kissed him lightly.
As he started to pull away, she suddenly tightened her embrace, wanting him to stay a little longer.
Lin Yiyang seemed to understand. He smiled.He rubbed the back of his fingers against the nape of her neck and whispered, "I didn't even take off my jeans. If we don't clean up soon, these pants will need washing too."
This time, they'd have to hand wash them—tossing them in the laundry room would be too obvious.
She shook her head, her hair spilling over his arm and onto the sheets. The man didn't move, holding her as they relaxed, no longer thinking about leaving. Staying was fine anyway—Chen Anan looked like she'd sleep until evening with how timid she was.
They still had plenty of time to kill here. Cleaning up wouldn't change that.
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