[04] She had already pictured him as a scumbag who often took girls for rides.
The white ball flew across most of the table, hitting the lone red ball. The latter headed straight for the pocket and, as expected, landed in it. "Good shot," Tan Xu exclaimed heartily. Liang Zhiyao let out a long breath. After hitting the red ball in the middle of the table, the black ball was surprisingly well-placed. Her touch surprisingly held up, and her luck was also quite good. She scored four more colored balls and four red balls in a row, only to lose control of her power on the black ball and interrupt her attack. Tan Xu took the cue from her, briefly planned the order, and began to pick up the balls one by one. Liang Zhiyao had to admit that tall and long-legged people were indeed pleasing to watch when playing snooker, and they had an advantage—after all, the table was really huge. She was considered tall for a woman, but she often had to use a cue to reach some awkwardly placed balls. In comparison, her opponent, who was definitely over 185cm tall, had a much easier time. After Tan Xu had scored over twenty points, he mishit a red ball, causing it to land in the pocket. The red ball was now in a better position on the table than before. They weren't professional players, and they weren't planning on dragging out the match, so they weren't particularly focused on defense. Liang Zhiyao first scored the red ball that Tan Xu had missed, and then his attack around the black ball became incredibly comfortable. After scoring a few more red and black balls, they quickly surpassed the score. "Do you want to keep going?" she asked. "No, we're already ten points ahead," Tan Xu said, his face showing no sign of embarrassment at the loss. Instead, he was excited: "You're so good, it won't make any difference if you keep going." Boring. She was a little disappointed that she didn't get to see the "slap in the face." He was more indifferent to winning than she'd imagined, and he seemed quite happy about losing, like a punch to cotton. Liang Zhiyao glanced at the club in his hand again, reluctantly returning it to him: "I played exceptionally well today. I'm not usually this good." This wasn't self-deprecation. She'd always lacked a competitive edge, relying on her quick wit and reasonable intelligence to be content with just doing a decent job most of the time. It was only when she felt negative emotions or held her breath that she could cross the chasm from good to great. If she'd known he'd be so composed after losing, she wouldn't have held her temper and played so aggressively today. If her accuracy had been even slightly off, a few shots would have been completely lost, and she'd have been ridiculed as a reckless person. She was always like this, ready to argue when she got emotional, then self-reflect when things calmed down. Although Liang Zhiyao initially tried to convince herself it was because Tan Xu was so...
The white ball crossed most of the table and hit the lone red ball, which ran straight to the pocket and fell into it as expected.
"Good shot." Tan Xu praised sincerely.
Liang Zhiyao let out a long breath.
After hitting the red ball in the middle of the long table, the black ball was surprisingly well placed. Her touch was surprisingly maintained, and her luck was also good. She hit four more colored balls and four red balls in a row, until she lost control of the force on the black ball and interrupted her attack.
Tan Xu took the golf club from her, planned the order a little, and then started to disassemble it one by one.
Liang Zhiyao had to admit that it was indeed pleasing to watch for tall and long-legged people to play snooker, and it was also an advantage - after all, the table was really too big.
She is considered tall among girls, but when she encounters some balls in awkward positions, she often needs to use a cue to reach them. In comparison, the opponent's height must be over 185 cm, so it is much easier for her to play against him.
After Tan Xu scored more than 20 points, he made a mistake when hitting a red ball and it stopped at the mouth of the pocket.
The red ball was now in a better position than before. They were not professional players, and they did not intend to drag out the battle for too long, so they did not pay much attention to defense.
Liang Zhiyao first scored the red ball that Tan Xu had missed, and then his attack around the black ball became extremely comfortable. After scoring several more red and black balls in succession, he quickly surpassed the score.
"Still going?" she asked.
"No need, we're already over ten points." Tan Xu said, his face showing no embarrassment of losing the game. Instead, he was in high spirits: "You're so good, it won't make any difference if we keep playing."
Boring.
She was a little disappointed: she didn't get to see the "slap in the face". He was more indifferent to winning or losing than she thought. He was quite happy after losing the game, like a punch on cotton.
Liang Zhiyao took another look at the club in his hand and reluctantly returned it to him: "I played exceptionally well today. I'm not usually this good."
This isn't self-deprecation. She's always been a bit of a competitive spirit, relying on her quick wit and reasonable intelligence to settle for a decent performance in most situations. It's only when she's faced with negative emotions or holding her breath that she can cross the chasm from good to great.
If she had known he would be so calm after losing, she wouldn't have held back her anger and played so aggressively today. If her accuracy had been even slightly off on a few balls, it would have been a complete loss, and she would have been ridiculed as a reckless person.
She is always like this. When she is emotional, she likes to argue with others, but when she is calm, she reflects on herself.
Although Liang Zhiyao initially tried to convince herself that it was Tan Xu's serious comments about her playing that had aroused her competitive spirit, a deeper look revealed that it was probably her inexplicable self-esteem that was at work.
Just because people he knew discovered that he was making money by betting on football with strangers, he felt as if he was inferior. He thought of using his football skills to save face, as if that could cover up the shameful nature of this "illegal" behavior. Thinking this way, it is still a bit naive.
Fortunately, I won in the end, otherwise I would have looked like a fool.
Tan Xu naturally didn't know that Liang Zhiyao had so many twists and turns in his mind. While packing up his golf clubs, he asked, "Where did you park your car?"
She paused for a moment. "Um... I wasn't driving." While not everyone at their college was spreading such outrageous rumors as the two people in the elevator, many knew that Liang Zhiyao's financial situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse and that she was facing financial difficulties in studying abroad. It wasn't that she had intentionally publicized it, but she had suddenly sold her car, taken the free school bus to and from classes, and suddenly started working as a teaching assistant and working part-time at a coffee shop. The international student community was so small, and such a change would quickly become known to everyone.
But Tan Xu was in business school, so he probably didn't know anything about it. It was so far from Fortune that no one would take public transportation.
"Then take my car back," he suggested. "You should live near the school, too. It's on the way."
“…Okay, thank you.”
The domestic media has exaggerated the public security issues in the United States, but it is not an exaggeration. The economic situation has been bad in the past two years, and even in relatively safe cities like theirs, there are many homeless people on the streets.
After dark, Liang Zhiyao would never dare walk to the station to catch the light rail. If he wanted to go back to school, he could only bite his teeth and spend his entire day's meal money on an Uber. Now that there was a free ride, it was of course a better option.
As for whether the car owner had inadvertently hurt her fragile and sensitive self-esteem, it actually didn't matter much when it came to saving money. People still have to be realistic, and being noble also requires prerequisites.
This Friday seemed to last an unusually long time. It wasn't until she got into Tan Xu's car that she felt the day was finally coming to an end. However, the time in his car system seemed to be messed up. It had just been a little after nine o'clock in the evening, and suddenly it showed 22:43, which startled her.
"Seat belt." He reminded her. Seeing that she didn't react, he turned his head and reached out to help her fasten it.
A masculine scent hit me in the face, the same woody scent as in the classroom during the day.
Liang Zhiyao suddenly came back to his senses and took the cold buckle back from his hand: "...Thank you, I can do it myself."
She realized belatedly that the time displayed in his car should be the Eastern Time in the United States, which was one hour ahead of theirs.
He drove very steadily, and the songs playing in the car stereo were rather lyrical. Her nerves, which had been tense all day, suddenly relaxed. If it were an Uber, she would have fallen asleep in minutes.
But now it is impossible. I have to keep the "politeness" string tight and force myself to be in high spirits.
"Do you often come to Fortune to gamble with others?"
Just when Liang Zhiyao was blinking desperately to stay awake, the other party suddenly said this.
"Oh...I come every Friday."
She clearly thought this was a shameful and opportunistic trick, but once her sore spot was touched, she felt rebellious and asked, "Do you despise this kind of behavior?"
He shook his head. "No, I'm just confused. Since you like snooker so much and are so good at it, why do you often come here to play American pool? I don't understand why."
“…too few people play snooker,” she said. “You can’t make money like this.”
Tan Xu was silent for a moment, as if considering whether to ask: "Are you short of money?"
For two people who don't know each other very well, this question seems a bit beyond the line.
Liang Zhiyao didn't want to answer at first, but then he suddenly felt that there was nothing to hide, so he said honestly: "Well... there is a severe shortage, the kind that can barely even afford tuition."
The disadvantage of talking too much to someone you just met is that any normal person wouldn't know what to say when faced with such an answer, and the atmosphere in the car was a little heavy for a moment.
Instead, she pretended to be relaxed and changed the subject, as if to save the situation: "I haven't played snooker in a long time. I had a lot of fun. And thank you for lending me the cue."
He smiled: "You're welcome, I'm happy to be abused."
They reached a section of highway with almost no streetlights, and the night was slightly foggy, making visibility very low. They didn't talk anymore. Tan Xu turned up the volume on the stereo a little and focused on driving.
It is actually very troublesome to strictly follow politeness. You can't fall asleep or look at your phone, so Liang Zhiyao looked at the interior of the car boredly.
For a man whose golf clubs cost as much as a year's tuition, his car is quite modest. Not the standard blue and white checkered car worn by wealthy second-generation international students, or the even more outrageous Porsche, but a Mercedes-Benz SUV.
However, the chassis and seats of the sports car are too low, which makes driving it a torture for people with tall height and long legs.
It had a full set of leather seats and no unnecessary decorations. There was a car incense placed above the dashboard. It was a little more aggressive than the woody scent he sprayed on his body, but not too pungent.
Continuing my exploration, I found another unexpected discovery. A few strands of a girl's hair were tangled around the passenger seat. Whether it was the curly shape or the dark brown color, it definitely didn't fall from her head in the past ten minutes.
The storage compartment inside the right door contains the finished takeaway coffee. The cup is labeled with the girl's username "Thea Liu" used when ordering online. I wonder if it is the same owner as the person with brown curly hair.
Tan Xu didn't know that in just a few minutes, she had already sketched out the image of him as a scumbag who often drove girls for a ride in her mind, just like reading a mystery novel. As they got off the highway, she casually asked, "Which apartment do you live in? I'll take you to the door."
The school actually has dormitories for undergraduates, but there are not many of them, and you have to rush to apply for them. Moreover, the prices are ridiculously high. The old dormitories are not cheaper than living in newly built apartments off campus, so most international students find nearby apartments to share in groups of three or four, and Liang Zhiyao is no exception.
However, she and Ye Xin each occupied one of the bedrooms in the two-bedroom apartment for the past two years. Although she renewed the lease of the original house this semester, she found a third roommate to live in her original bedroom during the summer vacation.
She herself bought a large screen from a second-hand furniture store and moved her bed to a corner of the living room, becoming the so-called "room manager." Although she no longer had much privacy, at least she saved a few hundred yuan in rent each month.
She first gave the address, and then, worried that Tan Xu didn't recognize it, added, "It's the one diagonally across from Q Supermarket—the apartment is called Reserve."
"I know." He showed a rather surprised and amused expression. "I live there too. I just moved there at the end of August."
This way, even the detour was no longer necessary. He drove directly to the underground parking lot, and the two of them entered the apartment elevator from the basement level and pressed the buttons for the 3rd and 6th floors respectively.
As the elevator slowly ascended for several dozen seconds, Tan Xu took out his phone and said to her, "Add me on WeChat."
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