Chapter 36 - Billiards

Qin Lu was taken aback by the arrogance Mo Li showed even outside of school.

This Qin Lu used to be Zhou Xi's sidekick but not out of choice. Qin Lu's family was on equal footing with Zhou Family, the reason she submitted to Zhou Xi's lackey was because the latter was too aggressively abrasive.

Qin Lu had been biding her time for Zhou Xi to fall so she could assume her place so in a way, she had Mo Li to thanks for exposing the Zhou Xi's real identity. Qin Lu was now out to take over the power void the former Sister Xi had vacated and what better way to do that than to defeat the adversary who Zhou Xi could not.

"You're only going to a single competition, do you really need so many things?"

Sensing the tension in the air, Lin Fei immediately put down her stuff and scuttled away, "Boss, I'll buy them next time. I need to hurry back home."

"Ah ah ah. Who said you can go? Since you're already playing truancy until so late at night, why not accompany me a little bit longer? Our Great Miss Mo isn't afraid now, is she?" Qin Lu's lackeys immediately moved to block the two girls' exit.

"Qin Lu, what are you doing? Mo Li didn't stay late because of truancy, she stayed because she is required to represent our school..." Lin Fei swallowed the rest of her words when Qin Lu turned to glare at her. The girl shivered and didn't say anything else.

Then to everyone's surprise, Lin Fei slowly took down her glasses, kept them in the case and put it away neatly. Mo Li gave Lin Fei another once-over. Looks like the girl knows how to defend herself despite her fidgety nature. Is she one of those well-hidden martial arts expert? The kind who hid their true power until they were forced to make their moves. Well, this Lin Fei does fit that bill. Now that I think about it, I have not been in a high school fistfight before, I was too busy studying. Finally, I get to witness one in person, this is quite exciting, I have to admit.

Seeing how composed and calm Lin Fei was, Mo Li couldn't help but get a little bit anticipatory. She stared closely at Lin Fei, afraid that she might miss any crucial moment.

Lin Fei began by lifting both of her hands. Mo Li thought to herself, It's finally starting! What school of martial arts is she going to use, I wonder. Tai Chi? Taekwondo? Karate?

Then Lin Fei continued to raise her arms high above her shoulders. She closed her arms over her head and knelt down. While she did so, Lin Fei pulled on the corner of Mo Li's shirt, signalling for her to do the same.

What... What is this?!

Mo Li's brain short circuited for a few seconds before she realized Lin Fei was not preparing to teach the girls a lesson but she was preparing herself to be beaten up!

"I'm sorry! Please don't hit too hard and spare the face! I promise to not do this again!" It didn't look like this was the first time Lin Fei was bullied by this group of girls as she assume the submissive position too readily.

Mo Li's lips fell open but she didn't know what to say. This was definitely not what she was expecting. The anticipation that she had earlier was all shattered.

But knowing that Lin Fei was a constant bullying target by these girls, a fire burned through Mo Li.

"Hit you? The moment we lay a finger on you, this despicable Miss Mo Li over here will immediately report us to the school admin and have us expelled! Do you think we're that dumb?" Qin Lu looked around and then an indescribable smile appeared on her face. "We'll go over there to settle this instead!"

Mo Li followed her pointing finger and saw a billiards pool shop. The fact that such a shop was allowed to run its business around a prestigious school was dubious. Perhaps its owner had some connections to the student body here.

"Miss Mo Li, do you know how to play that game?" Lin Fei got up hesitantly from the ground and asked Mo Li in a whisper.

"No." Mo Li answered honestly, she didn't know anything about billiards. Then again, with the girls crowding around them, forcing them towards the shop, it would appear like now would be the time for Mo Li to get acquainted with the game.

Qin Lu looked smug after she briefly introduced the rules to the two girls. Clearly she was very confident in her own ability.

Qin Lu opened her palm and someone handed her a cue stick. She walked up to one of the tables and knocked into a white cue ball. The ball knocked into one side of the pool table and then bounced off another.

"We're deciding the order using the American 8-Ball Rules. The side the cue ball stops closer to will be the first caller." Mo Li nodded. She didn't know anything about the rules, but the explanation was clear enough.

Seeing how unfazed Mo Li was, Qin Lu rolled her eyes and then added, "By the way, have I told you that we're playing for a bet?"

Mo Li raised her head and asked, "What kind of bet do you have in mind?"

Qin Lu lifted her chin, "The party who loses will have to obey the winner's orders for a whole week. You up for the game?"

Mo Li looked around the shop and took in the games of the other tables. She made some calculations in her mind. When she was done with the math, she turned back to Qin Lu and said, "Fine, I hope you won't regret it when the time comes."

When she heard that, Qin Lu laughed until she bent over. Billiards was Qin Lu's hobby since she was young and she had been playing it ever since.