Rebirth: Making money is a million times easier than falling in love

Chapter 5: Billiards Prodigy Zhang Haozhe

"Ugh... I can't eat anymore."

An Xin only ate five cream puffs before she couldn't eat anymore: "It's so greasy, I'm even a little dizzy."

"Then take it back and leave it outside the dorm window; it won't spoil by tomorrow."

Lin Qi didn't finish a single one himself.

Although it's already spring, the temperature at night is still quite low, so cream products will be fine to leave overnight.

"I brought these, but you can keep the rest of the box and ask your roommates to try them too."

Anxin picked out the smaller cream puffs and put them into a bag.

The larger cream puffs were left in the packaging box.

She put the lid back on, asked the clerk for a bag, put the cream puff box inside, and placed it in front of Lynch.

She wrapped the cream puffs in the packaging bag, held them in her hand, and shook them happily: "I'll take these back and invite Shao Yating and the others to try them."

Thank you, Brother Lynch! This is my first time eating cream puffs!

Seeing her happy expression, Lin Qi's lips also curled into a smile.

"Let's go."

He stood up and pointed across the street: "I'm going to the billiards room across the street to find Haozhe. Do you want to come?"

"OK."

An Xin nodded in agreement without hesitation, then asked, "Is Haozhe across the street? I haven't seen him come home for the past few weeks."

Zhang Haozhe was Lin Qi's childhood friend from the same village, and they were classmates in junior high school. An Xin also knew him.

He also got into the city's No. 1 High School, but only entered the regular class.

With his backpack slung over his shoulder, Lin Qi handed the cream puff box to An Xin: "Take them all home and eat them."

"No need, I've already eaten a lot, there's some here too."

An Xin showed the packaging bag in her hand.

"If you like it, eat more."

Lynch handed her the cream puff and then left the bakery.

Looking at the cream puff in her hand, An Xin hesitated.

She wanted to put the two cream puffs back into the box, but out of the corner of her eye she saw a couple sitting next to her, smiling at her.

Panicked, she quickly grabbed the cream puffs and followed them out the door.

Lin Qi was waiting for her outside the door. When she came out, he led her to the other side of the road.

He went up to the third floor along the corridor and saw the entrance to the billiards hall.

Since Ding Junhui won the world championship, billiard halls in the city have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

This elite billiards club is considered one of the city's oldest and most established billiards halls.

Lynch remembered seeing its sign again when he returned more than ten years later.

However, this was Lin Qi's first time entering.

He remembered this billiard hall because Zhang Haozhe became obsessed with playing billiards when he was in his second year of high school.

Billiard halls charge an hourly fee, so money is inevitably involved.

Moreover, billiard halls in that era were almost always involved in gambling.

It's like a mahjong parlor, where a game costs ten or twenty yuan, and over the course of a day, you can win or lose several hundred yuan.

Zhang Haozhe initially just played billiards with his classmates for fun, but later he started booking rooms.

A private room is a closed-door game where players can play ball in private, and the stakes are usually higher, typically fifty or one hundred yuan.

Lin Qi recalled that two months before the college entrance examination, someone came to the school to ask Zhang Haozhe for a debt.

He lost over three thousand yuan at the billiards hall and wrote an IOU to someone.

Once the matter was traced back to the school, it could no longer be kept secret.

Three thousand yuan is equivalent to two months' salary.

The teacher contacted his parents and handled the matter.

After that incident, Zhang Haozhe dropped out of school.

Later, he retook the college entrance exam and went to a junior college. He worked in a factory for a few years and even had a workplace accident where he almost had his finger cut off.

Fortunately, he was quick-witted and switched to a sales position. After a few years, he became a regional manager with a decent income.

However, when he ate with Lynch, he would always bring up his high school days playing billiards, lamenting that he was foolish back then and ruined his future.

Having been reborn and given the chance to change his fate, Lin Qi naturally wanted to lend a hand to his brothers.

The billiard hall was bustling with activity. All five billiard tables in the main hall were full, and the surrounding area was filled with onlookers.

Most of them had cigarettes in their mouths, and the smoke was very pungent.

Lin Qi and An Xin were both wearing the school uniform of the No. 1 Middle School of the city, making them very conspicuous in the crowd.

Soon, the owner at the front desk came over.

"Young man."

The boss was a middle-aged man in his thirties, quite tall, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, a square mouth, and a stubble around his mouth.

He glanced at Lin Qi and An Xin behind him, smiled, and asked, "What are you two doing here?"

"I'm here to see a friend."

Lin Qi didn't beat around the bush and asked directly, "Which private room is Zhang Haozhe in?"

"Zhang Haozhe?"

A hint of surprise flashed in the boss's eyes, then he gave him a meaningful look and pointed to the innermost private room: "That one, the one furthest inside."

Lin Qi nodded, then pulled An Xin along and headed towards the private room.

There were many girls in the billiard hall, but An Xin, wearing a school uniform, was one of a kind.

She followed Lin Qi through the crowd, feeling as if she were surrounded by wolves, with pairs of green eyes staring at her.

Nervously keeping her head down, she dared not look to either side, and followed closely behind Lin Qi's steps.

Fortunately, the people on both sides only glanced at it and no one tried to talk to or provoke them; they just laughed and talked a little louder.

Upon arriving at the door of the private room, Lin Qi pushed the door open but found it wouldn't budge, so he knocked on it.

The door was unlocked, and a fat man stood guard at the door, cautiously peeking inside.

He looked puzzled when he saw Lin Qi and the other person wearing school uniforms.

Lin Qi pointed to the doorway, indicating, "I'm looking for Zhang Haozhe."

Upon hearing this, the fat man turned around, glanced at the door, and then reached out to open it.

Lin Qi pulled An Xin into the private room and immediately saw Zhang Haozhe, who was leaning over the table, intently aiming at the black eight.

There were seven or eight people in the private room.

Besides Zhang Haozhe and the fat guy guarding the goal, there were three men on the other side, all around twenty years old.

They were all accompanied by a female companion, some embracing, some sitting, and some leaning against the windowsill.

Zhang Haozhe's opponent was a man with a bulbous nose and a buzz cut, who was leaning on his cue and watching Zhang Haozhe play.

Seeing Lin Qi and his companion enter, he was somewhat surprised. Just as he was about to ask, the man in the leather jacket by the window spoke first: "Lin Qi? What brings you here?"

Lin Qi only noticed the man in the leather jacket when he heard him speak.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Qi remembered who he was.

"Ma Chao?"

The man in the leather jacket is named Ma Chao, and he's a taxi driver from the same village as Lin Qi and Zhang Haozhe.

He was five or six years older than Lynch and the others, but they had played together when they were kids.

"oops!"

Zhang Haozhe exclaimed in surprise.

The black eight ball on the billiard table was hit by the white ball, bounced around the bottom hole, and then spun out.

"Lin Qi? An Xin?"

Ignoring his frustration, Zhang Haozhe turned around and looked nervously at Lin Qi and the other man, his expression very unnatural: "Why are you two here?"

Lin Qi walked up to him, glanced at the billiard cue in his hand, and asked, "You didn't go home this weekend, so you came here to play billiards with Ma Chao?"

Zhang Haozhe opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Ma Chao, sitting by the window, spoke with a somewhat displeased expression: "Lin Qi, you went to the city's No. 1 High School, and you don't even call me 'Brother Chao' anymore? Did you waste your education?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Qi merely glanced at him indifferently before continuing to ask Zhang Haozhe, "How much have you lost?"

Seeing that he was being ignored, Ma Chao's expression immediately darkened.

Across the pool table, the man with the bulbous nose and buzz cut glanced at them like he was watching a show, said nothing, leaned over, and gently swung his cue, pocketing the black eight into the bottom pocket.