AaSoL 05

Chapter 5: The World Beneath the Snow (1)

Lin Yiyang was very familiar with the area and quickly found the store.

It was a modest shop, only the size of a palm. On the right, a glass display case and the checkout counter were connected. On the left, there were a few small shelves with coffee-related products, and dozens of burlap sacks filled with brown coffee beans, each with hand-written labels.

Inside the shop, there was a young couple, also selecting coffee beans.

They were pointing at the white wall above the burlap sacks, quietly discussing the names, origins, and flavors of the coffee beans. The girl picked a bean, put it in the boy’s mouth, and let him taste it.

Lin Yiyang picked out two beans and placed them in her palm. He pointed to her mouth.

“Try it,” he said.

She hesitated for a moment, then obediently put the coffee bean to her lips and gently chewed.

She had intended to savor the flavor, but as Lin Yiyang kept watching her, she became increasingly uncomfortable and slowed down. He seemed to sense her unease and shifted his gaze away. He pulled out two berries with a sweet and sour flavor from a nearby sack and placed them in her palm.

Yin Guo took them, holding them in her hand, but this time, she didn’t dare to try them.

After the couple left, the shop was left with only the three of them as customers—she and Lin Yiyang near the coffee beans, and her cousin at the far end, selecting souvenirs.

Yin Guo wasn’t used to tasting beans, so she pulled out a tissue and spat the residue into it, crumpling it into a ball in her palm.

The whole time, this man beside her watched her.

He pointed to a small corner to the left of the counter, indicating that the trash bin was there.

Yin Guo tossed the ball of paper and heard him ask, “What does your friend want?”

Several things.

Just a moment ago, she had wanted to check the pronunciation and look it up in the dictionary before asking the staff. Lin Yiyang’s question had saved her from that.

She showed him the names she was considering, and he called over a staff member, pointing to a few bags of coffee beans. The staff member smiled and chatted with him for a moment, and Yin Guo overheard that these were the best-selling options.

When it was time to pay, Lin Yiyang raised his right arm, checking his watch.

Yin Guo immediately said, “If you’re in a hurry, you can go ahead. I’ve already finished my shopping.”

He had checked his watch several times since leaving the café.

First, he had rushed to get here, skipped lunch, and hastily finished his coffee and panini. He brought them to the shop, but despite not saying anything, his actions gave the impression that everything was urgent. It seemed like he had come from Washington.

“Shall we meet again sometime?” He knew time was running out.

Yin Guo nodded.

Lin Yiyang didn’t say much more and pushed open the door to leave.

Through the glass, Yin Guo watched him cross the street, not taking a taxi, but presumably heading to a nearby subway station.

This scene of him crossing the street reminded her of the night they first met.

The man with glasses had led the siblings onto the car, settled their luggage, and Lin Yiyang had paid the bill at the bar.

From the car window and through two layers of glass, she had seen him finish the rest of his half-drunk glass of wine, sign the card slip, put on his winter coat, and step out.

A gust of wind had swept the snow off the street, wrapping the cars and pedestrians in a white mist, which quickly dispersed. He ran a few steps, crossed the street, and circled to the right side of the car, sitting down.

The driver had asked, “Where to?”

He had said, “Queens.”

The driver had been surprised. In this weather, going around?

He had replied, “Yes, detour.”

…

“Sis?” Her cousin came back with two souvenirs and was surprised to see that Lin Yiyang was gone. “He left?”

“Yes, he’s in a hurry.” Yin Guo took out her wallet to pay.

She still had two berry-flavored coffee beans in her hand. She thought about tossing them back into the burlap sack but stopped herself. After holding them for so long, she didn’t want to throw them in, in case someone else picked them up to taste. It wouldn’t be very hygienic.

Not finding a place to throw them, she slipped the two coffee beans into the small pocket inside her backpack.

After buying the coffee, she and her cousin went their separate ways.

Meng Xiaotian continued to wander around the area, and Yin Guo headed straight back to the hotel. She grabbed her cue stick, packed her phone, wallet, and room key into a small bag, and went to the billiard hall.

The last time she was in the U.S., she had signed up for the youth division of the American Nine Ball Open.

Typically, the youth and junior divisions of major tournaments are more for encouragement, with prize money but no official world ranking points. The registration fee and travel costs don’t even cover the prize money, so after trying it last year, she had decided to enter the professional division this year. It marked her first step into the professional arena.

Last year, she had made some friends in the youth division. This year, only one of them, a girl from Singapore named Su Wei, was also competing in the professional division. Su Wei had recommended this billiard hall to Yin Guo. For just $15, you could play for the entire afternoon, which was a great deal.

The two of them met there every day to train.

One reason they chose this American billiard hall was that they could meet many local world champions. Everyone practiced like regular people, occasionally holding small tournaments, which was quite interesting.

Before leaving, Yin Guo checked the weather forecast again—another cold front was coming, and there would be scattered snow showers.

As expected, it was still sunny when they left the café, but by the time they reached the billiard hall, it had already turned dark before 3 p.m.

When she walked in, she heard someone call, “Yin Guo.”

Su Wei gestured with her eyes to a corner, where an American local champion, Barry, was sitting on a pool table chair, watching an opponent play. “Yesterday, you wanted to see him in person. Now you’re here.”

Su Wei smiled at Barry and greeted him in English. “This is my friend, the one I told you about—Xiaoguo.”

Yin Guo dropped her bag onto the pool table chair and greeted Barry.

Barry looked to be around forty, very mature and warm, and came over to chat for a while.

Most of the people in the billiard hall were men, with only Su Wei and Yin Guo competing as female players this time. At another table, there were two blonde girls just there for fun. Su Wei had some mixed blood and was taller than the local women, who were long-legged and well-endowed. Among the four women in the hall, Yin Guo was the shortest.

When she first came, people had asked if she was competing in the junior division for under-14s.

But after that, no one asked anymore.

Her skills, though not enough to instantly beat the regional champions and top players in the hall, were certainly on par with them.

On the pool table, skills spoke for themselves.

Besides, in billiards, there’s no age difference.

The only age limit for competition was for the junior division, which had an upper age limit of 14, and the youth division, which had an upper age limit of 21, to ensure fairness.

There was no lower age limit, though. Meng Xiaotian’s older brother, Meng Xiaodong, started competing in the professional division at 14.

Today, she arrived late due to her afternoon coffee, and she had planned to extend her training time until 8 p.m.

But, of course, plans changed. By 6 p.m., Barry had packed up and enthusiastically invited Su Wei and her to dinner near Flushing. It was an area known for being a gathering place for Asians and Chinese people, often called New Chinatown.

Yin Guo hadn’t been there before, and it was a bit far.

Su Wei’s boyfriend lived there, and she could just stay over, which meant Yin Guo would have to go back alone after dark, which she wasn’t too keen on.

“I’ll tell you, in Flushing, my boyfriend’s family runs a Chinese restaurant, and the Sichuan water-boiled beef is amazing.”

Water-boiled beef was indeed a famous Chinese dish worldwide…

It made her crave the food. After being here for more than a week, she hadn’t had any hometown dishes, and her taste buds were almost dying from Western food. But even if it sounded delicious, she didn’t need to go there so late; she could go on her own tomorrow.

Seeing her hesitation, Barry whispered something to Su Wei.

Su Wei found a new reason to tempt her. “He said, because of the open tournament, there’s a gathering tonight. You’ll meet a lot of people from the professional division, from all over the world. You’ll get to meet them in advance.”

That hit the mark. She had to go.

She quickly confirmed her cousin’s whereabouts on WeChat, and while telling him to return to the hotel early and put the cue stick in the tube, she left with Su Wei and Barry.

It took some time to get there, and by the time they reached the restaurant, Su Wei had just started ordering. But Barry had already taken seven or eight calls, urging him to return to the billiard hall quickly. Reluctantly, they abandoned the water-boiled beef and ordered fried rice instead.

They barely ate a few bites, paid, and rushed off to their next destination.

The gathering tonight was at a Chinese billiard hall.

The owner was Chinese, a former snooker champion who had opened the hall after retiring. It was quite a large hall, catering to regular customers. The entrance was at the street corner, and when they arrived, there were a few people smoking by the trash can at the door. One of them, recognizing Barry, flicked away his cigarette and pointed inside with a smile: “Go on, enjoy the show.”

Barry nodded knowingly, pushed open the glass door, and led them inside.

There were neatly arranged pool tables from the entrance all the way to the back.

Most of the tables were green, with a few blue ones at the back, and about 2 meters of space between each table for cueing.

The chairs around the tables were all brown.

As they walked in, they noticed that all the pool tables were set up with unfinished games. The players had all gathered around the farthest blue table. People were chatting excitedly, clearly ready to watch a match.

Barry loudly asked his friend who was playing.

Someone answered, “The regional champion is betting on the game, $3,000.”

Barry asked again, “Who’s playing?”

Someone answered a name, and Barry got excited, smiled, and put down his bag and cue stick before walking toward the crowd.

From Barry’s reaction, it seemed he was a well-known local player too. She stood behind and hadn’t even had time to take off her coat before she saw, through the gaps between two men, a familiar face…

Was it him?

It was just a fleeting glance, but in a crowd full of locals, it was easy to spot a Chinese face. Black hair, short, wearing the black hoodie he had on when they met at noon, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his back to her.

Could it be a mistake?

Barry saw them coming and smiled, parting the two friends so the girls could get a better view.

Yin Guo was pushed to the front of the crowd, facing the back of the man.

The game hadn’t started yet.

He was applying chalk to the tip of his cue stick, gently rubbing the small blue block over the tip, doing it slowly and evenly, showing he was very skilled.

“The betting limit for today is $5,000,” he said to the curious crowd in English. “I’ve only got $3,000. If anyone wants to raise the stakes, feel free.”

It was him, it definitely was him, the same voice that had been talking to her about struggling writers in the afternoon.

But now, everything was different—the content, the tone, and the whole attitude. It was as if he was casually saying: he would win this round, and anyone who added to the bet would only guarantee his victory.

The chalk was placed on the edge of the pool table.

He turned his head.

His gaze stopped on her.

…It really was him.

Later, Yin Guo thought back to that night and always believed that was when she and Lin Yiyang truly met. Here, in this Chinese billiard hall, was where she saw him—lazy, talented, indifferent to the rules, always winning his opponents with an attitude that was carefree, as if the outcome didn’t matter to him at all.

Lin Yiyang held his cue stick with his right hand, slowly leaning against the edge of the table, extending his arm to pick up two balls from the table, tossing one to his opponent, the regional champion. “Come on, let me see your skills.”

He hadn’t had dinner, and his mood wasn’t high, but now, everything had changed.