Chapter 68 of 100
Chapter 68
12 min read3,064 words
Chapter 24: Cao Hu's Complete Defeat
Cao Hu, who was not far behind Fang Mingyuan, also stopped his car with his small group of people. Cao Hu stared at Fang Mingyuan, his eyes filled with a hint of smugness. He had been playing pool in Tongchuan City for almost a year. Although he wasn't a famous expert, he wasn't a pushover either. In the street where his school was located, he was quite a well-known figure. Fang Mingyuan was just a first-year middle school student from Hai Zhuang Town. No matter how smart and quick-witted he was, it was impossible for him to be good at pool right away, right? That was pure fantasy! Cao Hu himself had played for nearly a year to reach his current level. At the beginning, he was often beaten so badly that he didn't know what to do.
"But I'll tell you, in the northern part of Tongchuan, I, Cao Hu, am also quite famous for playing pool. Don't say I'm bullying you!" Cao Hu said with a hint of smugness.
"Sure, Cao Hu. So, are you going to play French pool, English pool, or American pool? Best of three or best of five? I don't have time to play more than that," Fang Mingyuan shrugged, indifferent. In his previous life, although he wasn't particularly interested in pool, he had played it before and watched countless snooker matches. He might not be able to play at a professional level, but he was confident he could handle Cao Hu. Fang Mingyuan had been observing Cao Hu's behavior over the past few days. If he didn't show this kid a thing or two, he might cause trouble one day.
Cao Hu's heart trembled. Could this kid really be good at pool? How did he sound so familiar with it? He didn't even know these terms, and there were so many types of pool. But pool had only become popular in Tongchuan in the past year, and it had just appeared in Hai Zhuang Town. Where could this kid have played?
"None of those. Let's just play snooker! Best of three!" Cao Hu gritted his teeth. With so many people watching and him being the one to challenge, he couldn't back down. Even if he lost, he had to lose like a man; retreating without a fight was out of the question.
"No problem!" Fang Mingyuan snapped his fingers. "Since we're playing pool, there should be a stake. How about the loser pays?" Cao Hu naturally wouldn't back down; such a small amount of money was nothing to him.
Fang Mingyuan propped up his bike, looked at the few pool tables, chose one, and picked out two cues, placing them in front of Cao Hu. "You choose one, and I'll take the other." Cao Hu carefully examined the two cues and picked one.
Fang Mingyuan took the other cue and tried it out on the table. Hmm, it felt okay.
Cao Hu watched this series of actions and felt a bit uneasy. This didn't look like someone who had never played pool before. But looking at his own group of friends and then at Zhao Ya and Feng Qian standing beside Fang Mingyuan, he had no choice but to tough it out. "Who goes first?"
"First? What are you talking about?" Fang Mingyuan laughed. "Boss, where are your chalk, extension, rest, spider, and triangle?"
Chalk, also known as talc, is used to coat the tip of the cue to increase friction between the cue and the cue ball. Talc is usually pressed into a cube.
The extension is a short rod added to the end of the cue to increase its length, helping the player strike the cue ball when it is far away.
The rest is a wooden rod with a copper X-shaped head used to support the cue when the player's non-cue hand is not long enough to reach the cue ball.
The spider is similar to the rest but has a larger, arched head, allowing the player to strike the cue ball over another ball.
The triangle is a device with a V-shaped or semi-circular opening used to position the balls accurately. It helps to return the balls to their original positions after they are wiped during the game.
These are all the equipment needed for playing pool.
The owner of the pool table, a middle-aged man, looked at Fang Mingyuan with surprise. "You're quite the expert, kid. But let me tell you, street pool places don't usually have all this stuff. I do have a set, but it costs extra!"
Fang Mingyuan looked at Cao Hu, the meaning clear.
Cao Hu's eyes were wide with shock. When he played pool, he never needed so many things, at most just the white block for the cue tip. But at this point, he could only grit his teeth and pretend he knew what he was doing.
"How much?" He hoped the owner would ask for a ridiculous price, so he could say he didn't have enough money, refuse to use the equipment, or even give up the game! Looking at Fang Mingyuan's confident demeanor, Cao Hu's heart was pounding.
"Use everything, and it's an extra fifty cents per game!" Unfortunately, the owner's price wasn't outrageous. Fifty cents was a lot, but it wasn't much for Cao Hu. However, Cao Hu no longer had the confidence he had before. Seeing Fang Mingyuan's confident look, he really wanted to back out.
"Cao Hu, are you going to play or not?" Zhao Ya, growing impatient, called out. "You're the one who wanted to play, and you're the one wasting our time!"
"Cao Hu, we're in a hurry to eat. Can you hurry up?" Liu Yong added, "Don't be such a wimp. If you can't afford the fifty cents, I'll pay for it!"
Cao Hu felt his blood boil. He turned to Liu Yong and shouted, "Shut up, Fang Mingyuan, let's play!"
What happened next left Cao Hu stunned.
In the first game, Cao Hu broke, but his nervousness led him to only pot a few balls before giving up his turn. Although Fang Mingyuan's skills were still a bit rusty, his deliberate play to make it difficult for Cao Hu to score ultimately led to Fang Mingyuan winning by thirty points.
In the second game, it was Fang Mingyuan's turn to break. Using the same strategy, he didn't give Cao Hu any chance to turn the game around, and Fang Mingyuan won without a doubt.
In the third game, there was no real need to continue, but Cao Hu still hoped to win at least one game to save some face. Just then, a bike came from the direction of the town center. The rider, spotting Zhao Ya, turned and came over.
"Mingyuan, why are you still playing here? Something happened at the restaurant, and your uncle asked me to find you quickly!" It was Fang Mingyuan's aunt, calling out anxiously.
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