Chapter 56: Chen Yufeng, You Big Rookie

At this moment, the spacious billiards room was already bustling, with many people playing and nearly every table accompanied by beautiful women. The main clientele here consisted of young heirs from wealthy families and affluent, nouveau riche businessmen; the women who played alongside them were all of striking quality—tall, alluring, and each possessing a captivating charm. Naturally, the costs reflected their caliber. But for those who came here seeking pleasure and amusement, money was never a concern.

Liu Teling was intimately familiar with this place. As soon as they entered, she handed her platinum card to Xie Jun so he could secure a table for them. Fortunately, there were still two or three tables available, and soon they had one to themselves. There was no need to summon any of the professional companions, not with two remarkable beauties already present.

Indeed, in terms of looks, Liu Teling and He Meixuan were every bit as stunning as the women who worked here, if not more so. The aura of privileged daughters from wealthy families was unmistakable in them.

By contrast, the man standing between these two beauties, Chen Yufeng, seemed rather ordinary. While he was reasonably good-looking—sunny and handsome, with a certain boyish charm—his cheap, street-market clothes were hard to miss. In the eyes of all the young heirs and wealthy patrons, he’d already been labeled an underdog, yet here he was, flanked by two extraordinary women, drawing plenty of envious, resentful, and begrudging stares.

The more envy and jealousy he sensed, the more Chen Yufeng relished it. He was secretly delighted, mentally egging them on: Come on, come on, just try and pick a fight with me. He almost wished some fool would come over and give him a chance to earn some reward points.

However, security here was exceptionally tight, and incidents like fights or scuffles between customers were almost unheard of. Even if someone took a dislike to another, they wouldn’t act on it lightly. Besides, those who could afford to spend time here were no ordinary people. No one would be so bored or foolish as to cause trouble over a woman—that was the pastime of street thugs, not this crowd.

So, for the time being, no one came over to provoke Chen Yufeng.

After the table was set, Liu Teling eagerly handed Chen Yufeng a cue, a hint of challenge in her voice. “Handsome Feng, how about a game or two?”

She hadn’t brought him here just to play; she also wanted to show off a little, perhaps regain some sense of superiority. She’d lost to him at dice; surely, she could beat him at billiards.

“Sure, let’s play. Who’s afraid?” Chen Yufeng cheerfully accepted the cue, exuding an air of fearless confidence.

“I’ll let you break first,” Liu Teling said, clearly confident in her own billiards skills.

The table was a standard small one, not a full-sized snooker table, and they’d be playing the regular version: fifteen balls, split into stripes and solids, and whoever cleared their set first would win.

“All right, I’ll break,” Chen Yufeng replied.

He gripped the cue, took a moment to get a feel for it, then prepared to break. Just then, he turned back to Liu Teling with a teasing warning: “Better let you break first. If I clear the table in one go, you won’t even get a shot. That’d be awkward, wouldn’t it?”

Liu Teling noticed his form was impeccable, almost on par with a professional. The confident smile on his face made her wonder if he really might be some kind of billiards prodigy.

Could he possibly be a pool shark, too?

But she’d already said her piece and couldn’t backtrack now. She simply replied, “Just play, will you? Enough talk.”

“All right, but remember, you asked for it. No regrets!” Chen Yufeng grinned, stopped talking, and executed a stylish, textbook-perfect break.

Standing to the side, He Meixuan and Liu Teling both thought the same thing: His grip and posture were flawless, every movement fluid and impressive. Surely, he must have some serious skills—could it be that he was a billiards ace as well? Was there anything this guy couldn’t do?

But with a sharp crack, Chen Yufeng’s break, though stylish in form, produced a shockingly different result. The cue slid right over the ball, missing completely—a spectacular miscue.

Damn!

That was embarrassing.

“Are you here to joke around? Can’t even manage a break? Just how terrible are you?” Liu Teling snapped. She and He Meixuan were both exasperated, but secretly pleased. If he was this hopeless, it was finally her turn to shine. Watch how I crush you!

She gave him a dramatic eye-roll, full of mockery. All that posturing, all that swagger, and you can’t even break properly? What a rookie!

“Give me another chance, will you? Let me try again,” Chen Yufeng pleaded, unwilling to accept defeat. He was determined to make a good break.

“All right, one more chance. Hurry up,” Liu Teling said, resetting the cue ball for him.

With a sharp crack, something even more embarrassing happened: Chen Yufeng’s cue ball flew off the table, nearly hitting a wealthy patron at the next table.

The man, sporting a gold chain as thick as a thumb, was almost struck by the ball and erupted in anger, shouting at Chen Yufeng, “What the hell are you doing? You almost hit me, idiot!”

“Oh, sorry, sorry! That was an accident, my mistake,” Chen Yufeng apologized with an awkward smile. The truth was, he’d hardly played billiards before, so his skills were truly lacking—though his grip was certainly textbook.

Both Liu Teling and He Meixuan were at a loss for words. They’d expected him to have at least some ability, but never imagined he’d be this hopeless—he couldn’t even perform a basic break. Growing irritated, Liu Teling said, “Little brother, are you sure you can do this? If not, let me.”

“No, big sis, just give me one last chance! I have to get this right,” Chen Yufeng pleaded desperately. Surely he could manage a decent break—anything else would be just too humiliating.

“All right, but this is your last shot. Third time’s the charm,” Liu Teling said, resetting the ball for him one more time.

With a sharp crack, Chen Yufeng finally managed a proper break. He jumped for joy, even though none of the balls sank. At least he’d split them, and that was some improvement.

“What are you so happy about? You didn’t even pocket a ball. I swear, you’re unbelievable,” Liu Teling said, rolling her eyes. Now she felt that playing against such a hopeless rookie was almost an insult to her own abilities.

For the next twenty minutes, Liu Teling put on an impressive display, playing with flair and precision. She completely dominated Chen Yufeng, making it look effortless.

After three games, Chen Yufeng hadn’t won a single one, and his losses were abysmal. For all his stylish moves and handsome form, his actual skills were simply disastrous—he pocketed only two balls in all three games, averaging less than one per round.

He’d been utterly crushed by Liu Teling.

She set her cue down, feeling a surge of satisfaction at her overwhelming victory, and patted Chen Yufeng consolingly on the shoulder. “Don’t be too disappointed, little brother. After all, you ran into a master like me. Losing to a policewoman isn’t really shameful, is it?”

Then, unable to suppress her amusement any longer, she added, “But I must say, your skills are truly… unique. Ha!”