Chapter 57: The Boy's Voice (1)
Training Room One—filled entirely with Snooker tables.
And also... familiar faces.
Six-red Snooker is a new variant of the game, reducing the original 15 red balls to just 6, which speeds up the match. That’s why it became a women's event at the Asian Games.
Since there weren’t many strong players in this event, Yin Guo secured a spot, aiming for a medal.
Meanwhile, the retired Lin Lin made a decisive comeback, taking the other spot, hoping to bring home another medal for China. After all, she had played Snooker as a child and was more skilled at it than most female players.
For men’s Snooker, the representatives were naturally Lin Yiyang and Meng Xiaodong.
They were also the team event players, with Jiang Yang tentatively set as the third member. However, since Jiang Yang had just undergone surgery a month ago, his participation depended on his recovery before the competition. Li Qingyan was the backup.
Thus, from the very first day, this training room was unusually "lively."
Full of familiar faces, and all with complicated relationships.
When Yin Guo arrived, Lin Lin and Jiang Yang were chatting in the rest area, while Meng Xiaodong sat alone by the door, taking a break.
"Yin Guo’s here, let’s get started," Jiang Yang said upon seeing her, turning to Li Qingyan. "I’ll train with you today."
Jiang Yang couldn’t use a cue yet, but he could still coach Li Qingyan—one of his tasks was to help Li Qingyan make a qualitative leap during the 70-day training camp.
Yin Guo picked up her cue, glanced at her cousin, then looked over at Lin Lin, who was drinking water.
The atmosphere—should I play with my cousin?
From behind, a hand nudged her toward the table at the far end. "You’re with me."
She didn’t need to turn around to know it was Lin Yiyang.
"Are you really letting my brother play against Lin Lin?" she whispered.
Lin Yiyang glanced at her and, in a spot where no one could see, flicked her forehead. "Worry about yourself."
Lin Yiyang took his cue from the rack—a custom-made, all-black one.
He bent down, gathered the balls, and set up a six-red Snooker game for her. "You did decently in the qualifying round. Consider this your introduction."
She had placed first in the national qualifiers… and this was just an introduction?
Fine. Snooker was his specialty, while she was practically a beginner, having picked it up midway for the competition.
"Won’t training with me interfere with your own practice?" she asked, rubbing chalk powder on her cue tip while stealing glances at her cousin’s table.
"Your cousin, Jiang Yang, and I will have separate practice matches. It won’t be a problem," he said, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
He had noticed Yin Guo still sneaking peeks at Meng Xiaodong and Lin Lin’s table. The game had already started, and her cousin didn’t seem to be going easy on Lin Lin at all.
A hand holding the cue ball waved in front of her face. "Hey, eyes here."
Flustered, Yin Guo pointed at the table. "You break first."
"If I break, you won’t get a turn." He handed her the cue ball instead.
Fair point. If he broke, he might clear the table in one go.
Just as she lined up her shot, Lin Yiyang spoke again. "Snooker—it’s about setting up obstacles for your opponent. Even if you’re not in top form, you should still have the skill to make them lose."
As expected, a calculating old fox…
Lin Yiyang tilted his chin slightly, signaling her to begin.
With a crisp crack, she broke the formation of balls.
Four hours of practice matches later.
Everyone was taking a break.Meng Xiaodong placed a black ball in a tricky position and suddenly said to Lin Yiyang, "Come on, show us what you've got."
Lin Yiyang smiled.
He leaned over, seemingly aiming for the bottom corner pocket, but after a powerful strike, the black ball didn’t go into the intended pocket. Instead, it curved halfway across the table and rolled straight into the middle pocket near Lin Yiyang’s hand. A perfect shot.
"Keep going," Meng Xiaodong urged from the side. "Let’s see how many tricks you’ve got."
With the same black ball placed in the same position, Lin Yiyang didn’t hesitate, demonstrating over a dozen different pocketing routes. Some curved halfway around the table, others made a full circle, and some even went around one and a half times. He could sink the ball into any of the six pockets at will.
What appeared to be just one ball turned into a dazzling display of over a dozen pocketing techniques. His solid foundational skills left those unfamiliar with Lin Yiyang’s abilities utterly amazed.
Yin Guo silently rehearsed the moves in her mind. At most, she could execute six different routes, and even then, she wasn’t sure she could sink them all. The precision required was simply too high.
For the final shot, the black ball jumped off the table, landed, took a sharp turn, hit the cushion, and rebounded straight into the bottom pocket.
"That’s about it," he said, putting down his cue.
"That’s it?" Jiang Yang clearly hadn’t had enough. "Set up the balls, let’s see more."
"Let’s see just how lonely you’ve been these past years," Lin Lin added with a laugh.
"I’d like to see too," Meng Xiaodong chimed in.
...
Lin Yiyang gave a helpless smile. "Watching a show costs money."
"Cut the nonsense, just get on with it," Jiang Yang retorted, not in the mood for banter.
Lin Yiyang sighed, picked out nine balls, and arranged them into an equilateral triangle on the table.
This was a common habit among professional players—entertaining themselves by setting up trick shots.
Practice sessions could be monotonous, so this was one way to have fun: arranging balls into visually pleasing formations and then clearing them all in one shot. It was highly entertaining and impressive to watch.
With a sharp crack, the equilateral triangle scattered, and all nine balls were pocketed without a hitch—a perfect break.
Yin Guo also enjoyed playing like this in private, arranging balls into various shapes. Her limit was nine balls.
So when Lin Yiyang set up ten, she held her breath...
Those from East New City had seen Lin Yiyang’s skills as a child—he could clear up to twelve balls at once, arranged in a quadrilateral.
By the time he reached thirteen, even Jiang Yang and Lin Lin were watching more intently.
At this point, Yin Guo couldn’t help but wonder: just how lonely had he been during those years of solitary practice? To come up with so many variations...
Thirteen balls formed an oval.
Fourteen balls traced two symmetrical arcs.
When he set up fifteen, everyone instinctively gathered closer.
Lin Yiyang arranged the fifteen balls into a perfectly layered wave pattern—a double wave.
Aiming carefully in the hushed silence, he struck. The wave shattered instantly, sending balls flying chaotically across the table. One, two, three, four, five... until the fifteenth ball rolled agonizingly slowly toward the pocket. With a soft clink, it dropped in.
Yin Guo’s blood raced with excitement as she joined the others in applause.
But Lin Yiyang wasn’t done. He pulled out sixteen balls and arranged them into a four-pointed star.
"Only tried this once before," he said, adjusting the star’s position for symmetry. "Didn’t succeed last time. Let’s try again today."Lin Yiyang grabbed a piece of chalk powder and rubbed it on the tip of his cue.
After positioning the white ball, he bent down to aim—then suddenly pulled back his arm and struck with force—
The room fell silent.
Yin Guo held her breath as the sound of balls dropping into pockets filled her ears. The table grew emptier... He'd actually cleared them all!
A perfect 16-ball run—absolutely stunning!
Everyone couldn't help but applaud, laughter ringing all around.
Li Qingyan, Xiao Zi, and two players from Beicheng watched with mixed emotions. They all recalled last year when they first met Lin Yiyang—no one knew who this stranger was or where he came from, and they'd thought about how to give him an unforgettable lesson... But looking at him now, they were truly convinced.
Not only was he exceptional in competitions, even his casual play was overwhelmingly dominant.
Just like their coach had said—he'd only been playing with them out of respect for Meng Xiaodong.
At the evening welcome banquet, female and male players sat at separate tables.
Lin Yiyang was whispering with Jiang Yang when he picked up his chopsticks and glanced over—directly meeting her gaze. Among two long tables of dozens of people, with leaders giving enthusiastic speeches, he was locking eyes with her.
Afraid of being noticed, Yin Guo guiltily looked away for a few seconds. When she looked back, Lin Yiyang was still watching her... until a coach patted his shoulder from behind and called him away.
Yin Guo withdrew her gaze only to find Lin Lin had been observing them with amusement.
"You two look like teenagers sneaking around in puppy love," Lin Lin whispered.
Yin Guo flushed, murmuring in explanation: "We agreed on this beforehand. As team captain, he can't openly date."
Lin Lin chuckled, serving her some food. "Do you know why your cousin withdrew from competition when he was 13?"
"Yes."
Meng Xiaodong's official records show him winning at 14, but he'd actually entered the tournament at 13—only to perform poorly and withdraw midway, with no official results.
"There's something you definitely don't know," Lin Lin said quietly. "They both entered at 13. Your cousin lost to Lin Yiyang in the group stage—that's why he withdrew. The next year he came back determined and won the championship, officially making his name."
...
No wonder her cousin had such "special feelings" and "unforgettable memories" about him—that first-year defeat must have left a lifelong mark. It also explained why club coaches always said Lin Yiyang and Meng Xiaodong were from the same cohort.
Lin Lin glanced at Jiang Yang and Meng Xiaodong across the table, sighing. "Jiang Yang also started national competitions at 13. During those overlapping years—first your cousin withdrew, then in the final year Lin Yiyang withdrew. Quite ironic."
Born the same year, Lin Yiyang was a few months older than Meng Xiaodong, both ranked sixth in their groups—both prodigies.
No wonder they were fierce rivals yet held mutual respect.
By dinner's end, Lin Yiyang hadn't returned.
Hoping to see him before bed, Yin Guo deliberately stayed until last. When everyone had left, she exited the cafeteria disappointed.
Stepping outside, she saw several girls walking ahead in the moonlight. As she moved to catch up, his voice called from behind: "Yin Guo."
She stopped—and so did the girls, instinctively turning.
"Let me walk you back to the dorm," he said, coming to her side.
The girls immediately faced forward again, barely containing their gossipy excitement as muffled laughter escaped."Did you come back just for this?" She felt self-conscious under his teasing gaze.
It was her own boyfriend—why should she feel self-conscious at all...
Lin Yiyang didn’t deny it, instead gesturing for her to walk toward the field. Yin Guo followed his lead.
After two leisurely laps around the field under the moonlight, Yin Guo was just thinking how nice this stroll was when Lin Yiyang pulled her into a secluded spot under the trees, hidden from view.
Standing beneath the tree, Yin Guo looked up nervously. "Won’t bugs fall from here?"
Lin Yiyang shielded her head with his hand. "Still scared of bugs?"
Yin Guo hummed in agreement. "I got bitten by one when I was little, right under a tree like this on a field." She reached behind her back, pointing to a spot. "Haven’t you noticed? There’s a scar here."
He chuckled softly. "Never paid attention. I’ll take a closer look next time."
Ignoring the old rogue’s "hint," she pretended not to understand and fiddled with the zipper of his training jacket.
"What’s with you, always tugging at my zipper the moment we meet?" he teased in a low voice.
But since the old rogue had dropped a hint, he certainly wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip. Having finally found a secluded spot, Lin Yiyang braced his hands against the tree trunk and leaned down to kiss her.
Suddenly, something darted out from the bushes.
Yin Guo’s heart skipped a beat as a small black shadow scurried past—too fast to make out. Before her racing pulse could settle, his shadow blocked her view again as Lin Yiyang kissed her once more.
...
When they finally parted, he lingered close, brushing his lips against hers. But her thoughts drifted back to dinner. "Lin Lin said my brother withdrew from the competition because of you? Hearing that made me admit—you really are better than him."
He nodded. "Your brother admitted it when he was thirteen."
"...No modesty at all."
"Modesty doesn’t belong on the field," he said.
Their time together was short. Ten minutes later, he walked her back to her dorm.
By the time Yin Guo finished showering, the lights were already out at eleven. Moving like a thief in the dark, she dried her hair for two minutes, then took her toiletry bag to bed, applying skincare while chatting with Lin Lin.
Rooming with Lin Lin was the biggest surprise—she got to hear so many stories about Lin Yiyang’s childhood. But there was a downside too. No matter how bold his youth had been, his family background cast a shadow over those memories. Every tale Lin Lin shared left Yin Guo with a pang of sadness.
Around eleven-thirty, Lin Lin fell asleep.
Yin Guo muted her notifications, about to send him a "goodnight" on WeChat. Just as she picked up her phone, a message from Lin Yiyang popped up.
Lin: Done chatting?
Fruit in the Woods: ...How did you know we were talking?
Lin: Easy guess.
Fruit in the Woods: Guess what we talked about?
Lin: Probably selling my sob story.
Fruit in the Woods: ...Scarily accurate.
Lin: :)
Lin: Open the window.
Yin Guo’s heart lurked at those words—was he outside her window?
But that couldn’t be. Lights-out at eleven was a rule, and as team captain, he’d never break it. Still, with her pulse unsteady, she quietly slipped out of bed and lifted the curtain.
The window slid open softly, pushed to the left.
Outside, green shrubs swayed slightly in the late-night breeze. No one was there—but on the windowsill lay an unopened bar of dark chocolate.
When had he left it? While she was showering?
Yin Guo quietly took the chocolate inside, closed the window, and locked it.
Fruit in the Woods: When did you leave this?
Lin: Before I left.Lin stood by the window for two minutes.
She guessed that he probably considered this row of rooms to be the girls' dormitory and didn’t want to linger too long in case someone saw him. He didn’t call out to her either, just placed the dark chocolate he had brought with him on the windowsill—a little surprise.
Fruit in the Woods: If you ever wanted to pursue someone in the past, you probably could’ve gotten anyone.
That was an honest thought.
Lin: ?
Lin: Ask Lin Lin more about what I was like in the past.
Lin: Other than you, there’s no one else I could’ve pursued.
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