Chapter 59: The Voice of Youth (3)
Within a minute, both the room phone and Lin Yiyang’s cell phone rang in succession.
One call was from the women’s team captain, Lin Lin, and the other was from Jiang Yang, who was already in the elevator on his way back. Both were reminding Lin Yiyang to send everyone back immediately. The national team had strict rules—private activities were prohibited during the Asian Games. He couldn’t afford to play with fire.
Truthfully, both of them were stating the obvious. This was the Asian Games—of course he understood the gravity of the situation.
If he really had no sense of responsibility, he wouldn’t have answered the calls at all and would’ve just done whatever he wanted.
Lin Lin hung up after finishing her piece. Jiang Yang, having led the billiard club for years, had developed a habit of excessive worrying. He still treated Lin Yiyang like his teenage junior, rambling on and on.
In the past, Lin Yiyang would’ve hung up long ago.
But now, as he listened to Jiang Yang’s endless chatter between puffs of smoke, Lin Yiyang suddenly realized that having someone who genuinely cared about him was a kind of luck in itself.
“Do you understand what I’m saying?” Jiang Yang asked impatiently when Lin Yiyang remained silent.
“Finished?” Lin Yiyang countered.
“…”
“If you’re done, come back. We’ll go test the tables together,” he said. “Any later, and others will take them all.”
On the third day of the schedule, the billiards hall officially opened for competition.
The entire event spanned three days, with ten events running from the group stages straight through to the finals.
Men’s and women’s matches were interspersed, so everyone had to stay together throughout.
In the locker room, the team changed out of their national team uniforms and into their professional competition attire—dress shirts and slacks for the men, standard tournament wear for the women. They took out their cues, leaving the cue cases behind.
Lin Yiyang waited for the team at the entrance of the playing area, just outside the rest area. The group quickly assembled.
The first row consisted entirely of world Open champions—Meng Xiaodong, Jiang Yang, Yin Guo, Lin Lin, Liu Xiran…
The second row was the second-tier players—Li Qingyan, Wu Wei, Chen Anan, Fan Wencong, and others.
The head coach looked at them and smiled. “You’ve all won gold at world Opens. Should I give some half-hearted motivational speech? That’d just mess with your focus. Does the captain have anything to say?”
Lin Yiyang thought for a moment but found nothing worth saying.
Before him stood some of the world’s top-ranked players. If this were the Olympics, a pep talk might’ve been necessary to push them further. But needing a pre-game rally for an Asian tournament? That’d be downright embarrassing.
China had always dominated the Asian Games, topping both the gold and overall medal counts. The billiards team couldn’t afford to drop the ball on their rare appearance.
The head coach coughed, feeling slightly awkward, and waved them off. “Go on, go on. Let’s head in and grab those golds.”
But after a couple of steps, he reconsidered. It felt wrong not to hype things up for such a rare occasion. So the fifty-something coach raised his right hand high and swung it down emphatically. “If we don’t take the most golds, you’re all walking back to China!”
The team played along, responding in unison, “Got it!”
Thus, fueled by the head coach’s fiery words, the Chinese team gripped their cues and marched into the arena.
The corridor was short, and within minutes, the view opened up.
Surprisingly, the entire billiards hall was packed to the brim.At this moment, during the pre-match break, the audience seats were initially noisy and chaotic. However, as the Chinese team entered, the crowd gradually quieted down. This city rarely had the opportunity to host various Opens for billiards, so the appearance of several world top-ranked players in this billiards hall—many of whom were star players in Snooker and Nine-ball—naturally attracted fans from across the city.
The coach led the team to the rest area and shook hands with the nearby coaches from Singapore, Japan, and South Korea, exchanging pleasantries.
"Now, everyone has noticed that our Chinese team has entered the competition rest area," the commentator excitedly began introducing today's heavyweight stars as soon as they arrived. "As you can see, this year's Chinese billiards team is a gathering of stars. In Snooker, we have Lin Yiyang, Meng Xiaodong, and Jiang Yang. These three have registered for multiple events in the Asian Games, with Lin Yiyang signing up for all five men's events, while Meng Xiaodong is competing in Snooker, Snooker Team, and Ten-Ball. Jiang Yang, who underwent major surgery just three months ago, has only registered for the Snooker Team event in this Asian Games, which is truly regrettable."
"Now, turning to the women's team—seated on the far left is Yin Guo. This young player ranked third in the world for Artistic Nine-ball last year and just won the Nine-ball U.S. Open in April. Beside her is Liu Xiran, who is even more remarkable as the newly crowned champion of the Artistic Nine-ball World Championship and the runner-up of the U.S. Open."
"Sitting next to them is Lin Lin, who once announced her retirement but is a formidable player no one can overlook. For this Asian Games, she has made a comeback and will appear in Six-red Snooker and the Nine-ball Team event..."
...
With each name mentioned, corresponding fans in the audience responded.
The small billiards hall erupted in waves of cheers.
Everyone was already getting into the rhythm of the group matches.
Yin Guo had three events and already felt that the three-day schedule—from group matches straight through to the finals—would be exhausting without breaks. Not to mention Lin Yiyang, who was practically running nonstop for three days...
Fortunately, his partners in each event were highly capable. Even if he made a mistake, his teammates would ensure they didn’t lose the gold.
In Snooker, there was Meng Xiaodong;
In Ten-Ball, again, Meng Xiaodong;
In Eight-ball, there was Li Qingyan;
And in the Snooker Team event, he had both Meng Xiaodong and Jiang Yang backing him up.
As for Nine-ball... it was that former Rookie King whom Yin Guo had once soundly defeated. Of course, the young man who had once been defiant toward Lin Yiyang had been thoroughly tamed during the seventy-day training camp.
The first day was all group matches.
By 3 p.m. on the second day, the billiards hall witnessed its first gold medal—the most predictable one, the men's Nine-ball gold.
"It's Lin Yiyang! Lin Yiyang, who registered for five events, has smoothly secured his first gold medal! Congratulations to Lin Yiyang for winning the men's Nine-ball gold!"
"Nine-ball was once Lin Yiyang's main event, so this gold came easily to him! In the Asian circuit, he has no rivals."
"At this very moment, on the other side of the globe, countless of Lin's Nine-ball fans are surely watching this live broadcast!"
The commentators' voices filled the venue, and the first gold medal brought the first wave of cheers to the stadium.
The other Chinese player had been eliminated in the semifinals.Lin Yiyang stepped onto the podium alone, standing at the highest point as the organizers placed the gold medal around his neck.
After all, this was the first gold medal for billiards in the Asian Games. By the time he returned to the rest area, reporters had already swarmed around him. Lin Yiyang remained composed in front of the cameras. This was only the first gold—the best was yet to come.
"Women's 9-ball is our strongest event," he said at the end of the brief interview, shifting the focus directly to the women's competition. "Trust me, both the gold and silver will be ours."
Just as Lin Yiyang had predicted.
At 3:15 PM, the crowd erupted in applause once more as the second gold medal was secured.
The winner of the women's 9-ball gold was Liu Xiran, a 34-year-old Chinese veteran who had retired and then made a comeback. The silver medal went to her teammate—Yin Guo.
Yin Guo ran over from the other side of the table and gave the champion a big hug. Her hands, gripping the cue, were slick with sweat, but her eyes sparkled with joy. "Well-deserved! I’m so glad you won this gold!"
Liu Xiran’s eyes were completely red, and she couldn’t hold back her tears.
As a player who had been retired for years, she had been terrified that she wouldn’t measure up upon returning to the competition. But throughout this journey, she had proven with her skill that she could—even better than before. "Thank you… thank you."
"Don’t you dare retire next year," Yin Guo whispered playfully. "Wait for me to beat you. We’ll take the World Championship and the Asian Games together."
"Deal! I’ll wait for you to win them back!" Liu Xiran nodded through her tears, smiling.
Yin Guo stepped aside to let the champion bow to the cheering crowd, celebrating this first gold.
The moment Liu Xiran stepped off the podium, the first person she hugged was Jiang Yang, the old friend who had given her the most support. "Thank you for letting me keep training at East New City." Jiang Yang patted her back with a grin. "Of course. We’re all family here."
Ten minutes later.
Yin Guo stood on the silver medalist’s podium. Beside her, towering a head taller on the champion’s spot, was Liu Xiran.
From afar, she could see Lin Yiyang standing at the front of their teammates, watching her. The moment their eyes met, he flashed her a handsome thumbs-up.
With the double gold in 9-ball, Team China had made a spectacular start.
From then on, the medals kept pouring in.
6:39 PM.
Women’s 8-ball—Team China secured a silver.
8:00 PM.
Women’s 10-ball—Team China added a bronze.
8:40 PM.
Lin Yiyang finally clinched the gold in men’s 8-ball.
This was his second gold of the day. When he stepped onto the podium again, fans in the stands rose to their feet—whether they had come specifically to watch his match or not—all congratulating him on his second individual gold.
This was also the final gold medal of the day, the last awards ceremony.
After his first victory in 9-ball, he had still had matches to play and couldn’t change clothes. But this time, he had switched back into Team China’s uniform in advance. Walking back alone through the corridor, Li Qingyan, who had won the bronze, saw his attire and pulled his own team jacket over his shirt despite the summer heat. Even with the air conditioning in the arena, he was drenched in sweat almost instantly.
Lin Yiyang walked up to Li Qingyan and smirked. "Not afraid of the heat?"
"Once in a lifetime," Li Qingyan replied with a laugh. "No big deal."Li Qingyan was a Snooker player, but with three formidable opponents present, he had no chance to compete in Snooker. So he switched to the 8-ball Qualifying round instead. Unexpectedly, he actually clinched a bronze medal.
All of today's matches had concluded, with winners determined in five events.
In the rest area, everyone was relaxed. Yin Guo massaged her forearm and shoulder, waiting to see him step onto the podium again. Suddenly, a gold medal was draped around her neck, bypassing her face—it was Lin Yiyang's first 9-ball gold medal.
Casually, he also pinched her round cheek and flashed a "1" with a smile. Yin Guo understood his meaning: this was the first one, and soon he would go claim the second.
Her man was ascending to his peak.
Dressed in his team tracksuit, Lin Yiyang followed the staff to the podium, stepping onto the highest position. Next up was a male player from Hong Kong, China, while Li Qingyan took the third-place spot. Lin Yiyang, clad in the Chinese national team's tracksuit and sneakers, clasped his hands behind his back and bent slightly as the organizers placed a gold medal around his neck. The official patted his shoulder with a smile. "Looking forward to your performance tomorrow."
Tomorrow—Snooker singles and Snooker team events—was Lin Yiyang's other forte.
Lin Yiyang nodded with a faint smile.
Last time, there had been only one national flag. Now, there were two.
Standing on the podium alongside Li Qingyan, watching the national flag rise slowly above the venue and listening to the anthem resound through the stadium, he recalled a remark his mentor once made:
"We started too late—far too late. Look at how other countries have developed their programs."
And another:
"Xiao Liu, don’t drop the ball. You’ve still got a long way to go."
...
That night, Lin Yiyang updated his social media with a new post—a photo of today's two gold medals placed side by side on the Chinese team uniform, captioned:
For my mentor, He Wenfeng.
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