Love For You - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Do You Also Teach Other Girls to Play Like This?

Ever since Lu Zhengsi entered the picture, the two of them would often get together on weekends, and Miao Jing’s extracurricular activities became much richer.

Back during her business trip in Jincheng—"boyfriend," "two or three months," "a family member fell critically ill"—at the time, Miao Jing had only offered those brief explanations, yet Lu Zhengsi had nodded and accepted them the very next day. Compared to the vague, ambiguous advances from other male colleagues, he considered himself to have already gained an advantage by being close to the action.

Miao Jing offered a gentle, dimpled smile and extended her hand to Lu Zhengsi. She didn't doubt for a second that he would refuse, and as for a more detailed explanation, she just smiled radiantly: "You'll know in time."

The two didn't announce their relationship to the world. After a vague understanding, they just slipped into a state of "friends-or-maybe-more." From the 8:00 AM company morning meeting to the 10:00 PM overtime sessions, they were always in the same camp. Combined with their private time on weekends, Lu Zhengsi felt that Miao Jing was someone who could make anyone feel comfortable, whether in a professional or personal setting. She carried a sense of cool, detached distance, yet she was easygoing and free of airs; she was earnest and serious, yet knew how to care for others; she was firm and strong, yet capable of gentle compromise.

She actually didn't love to talk much. Lu Zhengsi rarely heard her mention her own affairs. He only knew that she had moved to Tengcheng with her mother after a remarriage, that Chen Yi was the son from that blended family, and that after her stepfather passed away and her mother remarried, she had returned to Tengcheng again after finishing college.

It was a story told in a few short sentences, yet very convoluted. Miao Jing spoke of it lightly, and before Lu Zhengsi could even digest it, she shifted the topic back to work. With a straight face, she said, "Confirm clearly with the processing team. Is the welding and assembly feasibility for these sheet metal parts a match? If we issue the mold-opening order and have to backtrack later, the resulting mess won't be easy to clean up."

Such a cold, beautiful girl, yet she worked with such serious, desperate intensity. Everyone in the department took care of her to some degree, but Miao Jing was truly outstanding—even far surpassing the male colleagues.

Lu Zhengsi was utterly captivated, completely dancing to her rhythm.

Because of the group dinner and the movie on the day they went bowling, Lu Zhengsi had added Tu Li and Chen Yi on WeChat. Knowing Chen Yi ran a pool hall, Tu Li had laughingly suggested that everyone get together to hang out again; the pool hall had mahjong tables, so the four of them could form a table.

With Miao Jing going out on dates during the weekends, Tu Li naturally goaded Chen Yi into going on dates, too. She had a certain feminine intuition—Chen Yi wasn't quite normal.

What wasn't normal was that ever since Chen Yi went to Yunnan during the summer break, it had been three months, and he hadn't slept with her once.

Furthermore, he had been much quieter lately. He rarely went out drinking or loafing with his pack of scoundrel friends, and he seldom took the initiative to flirt with her. When she called, he was basically always at the pool hall practicing. When Tu Li asked Bo Zai about the recent happenings at the pool hall—and whether Chen Yi was being entangled by other women—Bo Zai said that Chen Yi had been heading straight home after closing the shop lately and hadn't been playing around with any girls. Wasn't that quite normal?

She had wanted to spend the night, but Chen Yi hadn't been in the mood. She wanted to stay at his place for the evening, but Chen Yi had kept a sullen face and refused. Tu Li thought he was still bothered by the awkward scene from last time in front of Miao Jing, so she laughed and said Miao Jing was an adult, so what did it matter? Besides, they could go to a hotel. Chen Yi had coldly tossed his cigarette away, knowing she wasn't lacking other options, and told her to go find another man.

They had met at a bar in the beginning, and Tu Li had assumed Chen Yi was just a player—they were just fooling around. She hadn't expected Chen Yi to give her the title of "girlfriend" straight away. Tu Li, of course, grabbed onto that and wouldn't let go, and that’s how they had stayed together until now. Now that Chen Yi had let those words slip, her elegant brows were tightly knit, her heart suspicious and unable to make up her mind.

In fact, Tu Li had also tried to subtly sound out Miao Jing about Chen Yi’s movements, but Miao Jing seemed to refuse to take the bait, only replying very politely, "I don't know. Perhaps you can ask Chen Yi directly."

Lu Zhengsi and Miao Jing had plenty of activities—board games, ball sports, hiking, and jogging. Sometimes they simply worked overtime at the company or went to the vehicle testing track. Tu Li knew they were going on dates, so she would ask Chen Yi to go along. Chen Yi’s expression would always be a bit sour. He had refused twice, but in the end, he came along, albeit begrudgingly.

He held a very detached attitude toward Lu Zhengsi, not at all warm or welcoming. He was somewhat lazy. When the four of them were together, he just sat there like a temple guardian, wearing a defiant, world-weary face, crossing his legs while playing games on the side, or else he would simply disappear.

The time when the atmosphere was best must have been when they went go-karting. Men are naturally passionate about cars, and with two automotive engineers in the group, Miao Jing and Lu Zhengsi ended up huddled together, discussing chassis, steering, shock absorption, tires, and from there, pivoting to work, workshop emergencies, and project technical documents. Tu Li and Chen Yi played their own game, competing on the track. The booming roar of engines sped past their conversation like background noise. In the gaps between speaking, Miao Jing raised her eyes, her soft gaze sweeping over. Lu Zhengsi followed her gaze to see Chen Yi drifting on the track.

"Brother Yi drives quite coolly. He has a strong sense of rally and handles it very steadily. He must play with cars often."

Miao Jing didn't know how it was lately, but she remembered the past: "He used to speed on his motorcycle; he’s very slick with this sort of thing."

"Is that so?" Lu Zhengsi laughed. "Brother Yi is quite impressive. Sister Lili says he’s very good at pool, too."

Miao Jing asked him, "Do you know how to play pool?"

"I know a little."

"When you have the chance, you two can spar a bit."

When Tu Li came off the track to rest, Lu Zhengsi was eager to get on. The track was already running a rally race. Lu Zhengsi’s speed wasn't bad, either, as he followed behind Chen Yi, weaving left and right. Miao Jing and Tu Li sat on the rest platform. Tu Li pulled out her foundation to touch up her makeup, also staring at Chen Yi for a while. Seeing him driving with such speed and passion, with dust billowing on the track, she felt her heart race and turned to ask Miao Jing, "Don't you think Chen Yi is very cool?"

"No." Miao Jing’s voice was flat, unimpressed. "He’s just acting cool."

Tu Li giggled. "You’re quite good at taking him down a peg."

Miao Jing smiled. "There are too many pegs to take him down."

Later, when Chen Yi and Lu Zhengsi came off the track, they were both drenched in sweat after taking off their helmets. Chen Yi had enjoyed himself thoroughly; his buzz cut was soaked, and his T-shirt clung to his body, revealing every line of bone and muscle—wet, handsome, and sexy.

After the four had eaten, Chen Yi dropped Lu Zhengsi and Tu Li off. Miao Jing was sitting in the backseat scrolling through her phone when she looked up and asked, "In those few years, did you still go motorcycle racing?"

Chen Yi kept his hands on the steering wheel. "Didn't you tell me not to?"

"So you really didn't play?"

"I’m not seventeen forever. I don't love that blood-boiling, life-risking stuff that much anymore." His tone was idle. "There’s plenty of money to be made. Playing pool is enough to support myself."

"All your intelligence is used on these things." Miao Jing said slowly. "You certainly live well."

His dark eyes smoldered. "What else would you have me do? Be like you and Lu Zhengsi, go to college, and become an engineer?"

"I didn't mean it like that." Miao Jing lowered her eyes and replied to a phone message. Chen Yi glanced at her in the rearview mirror, shifted his shoulders, and drove home.

The last time they chatted about pool, Lu Zhengsi had become genuinely curious about Chen Yi’s pool hall. He and Miao Jing found a time to go check it out. When Chen Yi found out, he naturally wanted to be a good host and specifically reserved a table for Lu Zhengsi.

Lu Zhengsi had occasionally gone to pool clubs with friends in college, but he didn't play often and his skills were mediocre. Chen Yi played along lazily, intentionally holding back and letting him stay in the game a little longer.

Miao Jing and Bo Zai sat at the bar chatting. The pool hall only had eight tables and two or three mahjong tables. Revenue relied on soft drinks, cigarettes, and fruit platters, with daily turnover between one thousand and fifteen hundred yuan. Bo Zai’s salary was eight thousand a month—which was actually the same as Miao Jing’s, but there were off-seasons during winter and summer breaks. Calculating this, Miao Jing asked Chen Yi if he had other income. Bo Zai chuckled, "Brother Yi doesn't let me say."

She didn't ask further. Her gaze swept over the row of pink claw machines—there were no girls in the shop today, so the claw machines were quiet. Seeing Miao Jing take a few extra glances, Bo Zai gave her a big bucket of game tokens and told her to go play. Miao Jing did indeed go hug the tokens to catch dolls.

They were free tokens, so she didn't feel bad about playing; she only picked the dolls she liked best to target, though the ratio of effort to reward was very low.

"How long have you been catching? Only these two?" Chen Yi went to the bar to get water and stopped to ask on his way back.

"Zhengsi likes sea turtles; I’m catching that one for him." She stared at the glass cabinet. "It’s hidden inside; the angle is hard to catch."

"Want me to do it?"

"No." She refused point-blank.

Chen Yi hummed and returned to the pool table.

To be honest, Chen Yi’s pool skills had already exceeded Lu Zhengsi’s expectations. Lu Zhengsi wasn't a master, but he knew the basics and had watched matches. Chen Yi’s power and ball control were incredibly precise. Lu Zhengsi guessed that his skills were likely the best in the district. Some other patrons watching nearby laughed and told him to guess even higher.

The first prize for the monthly friendship match at the pool hall had been hanging there since the day the shop opened, and no one had ever walked away with it.

Even coaches from other pool clubs who had won first place in university pool championships had never beaten Chen Yi.

Pool is a game where the real masters are among the common people—perhaps a street vendor selling grilled gluten could scare you to death with his skills. The gap between professional and amateur players wasn't that thick. Chen Yi hadn't participated in competitions, but he had held cues with national players, and he had never lost in Tengcheng.

Miao Jing finished catching dolls and walked over to stand by the table to watch. Chen Yi was already teaching Lu Zhengsi, demonstrating aiming methods and shooting rhythm, from short-distance straight shots to narrow-angle shots, finishing with a clear table. Lu Zhengsi had an epiphany and, full of enthusiasm, started another round, immersing himself in the actual practice and almost forgetting Miao Jing was watching from the side.

She didn't know how to play pool. She had seen it and touched it, but for all these years, she had never actually picked up a cue. There had been a few chances in college to stand by a table, but she had never thought to try, nor had she ever thought to ask anyone to teach her.

"Miao Jing, want to try?" Lu Zhengsi raised his brows and laughed. "I’m not qualified to play with Brother Yi, but how about we two beginners play a round?"

Chen Yi handed his cue to Miao Jing, arching a brow. "Want to try? Should I teach you?"

Miao Jing thought about it, took the cue, chalked the tip, and followed suit.

She wore simple, flowing wide-leg trousers and a silk shirt, originally looking as quiet and elegant as a reflection of flowers in still water. Now, she rolled her sleeves to her elbows, revealing porcelain-fine arms, and leaned over to get close to the table. As she bent her waist, the simple clothing accentuated the exquisite curves at the various pivot points of her body. She set her bridge, tried sliding the cue: "Is this okay?"

The wall mirror reflected her posture perfectly—clear and bright, almost impossible to hide.

There were quite a few people in the pool hall; a number of boys sat or stood nearby. Lu Zhengsi reached out from across the table to measure the angle of the ball. Chen Yi stood beside her, his broad frame blocking her slender body. His eyes slid across the mirror’s surface, his sharp Adam's apple bobbing. His dark, sword-like brows pressed against the corners of his eyes, and his pupils were unfathomable. Without an expression, he reached out and supported her sharp elbow bone with his fingertips, the scorching temperature lingering on her smooth skin.

"Straighten your arm." His fingers slid from her elbow all the way up to her shoulder, pressing down with two fingers, his voice low and deep. "Don't hunch your shoulder. Keep it flat."

He corrected her movements, teaching her how to move the cue and strike. His tall body leaned in, both hands resting on either side of her, leaving her just enough room to move. Their breath and scent were close at hand, diffusing in each other's ears.

She felt a body pressing against her back—a broad, solid physique with a heavy sense of oppression that almost walled her off into a private space. She tilted her head slightly, and beyond the noisy crowd, her autumn-water-like eyes curved into a charming arc. A soft, light chuckle escaped her throat silently: "Do you also teach other girls to play like this?"

Her warm breath spilled against his neck, slightly reddening Chen Yi’s ears. He rolled his Adam's apple heavily, his jawline taut and rigid. He pressed down on her wrist and whispered hoarsely: "Relax your wrist!”