Going home for Chinese New Year, I squeezed onto a bus with three energetic young women.

"You green-haired turtle, what the hell are you spewing filth from your mouth?"

When Chen Tingting saw Lin Xiaoshuang's frightened appearance, her anger flared up immediately.

She slammed the cue stick on the table, walked over, and pointed at the green-haired youth's nose, cursing him.

The young man nicknamed "Green-haired Turtle" was named Wang Fei, a notorious local hoodlum.

He bullied people a lot because he knew a few so-called "gangsters".

Seeing Chen Tingting step forward, he not only wasn't afraid, but he smiled even more happily:

"Who do we have here? It's Sister Tingting. What, is this pretty boy your new sugar daddy? He looks pretty rich. I wonder how his job is?"

The group of energetic young men behind him burst into laughter.

"Fuck your mother!" Chen Tingting was so angry that her face turned red, and she swung her golf club to charge upwards.

"Tingting!" Bai Li called out to her in a deep voice.

He walked over, pulled Chen Tingting behind him, and calmly looked at Wang Fei in front of him.

Wang Fei's gaze swept over Bai Li's obviously expensive trench coat, and his jealousy and disdain deepened.

As someone who lives on the margins of society, he can't stand men like Bai Li who are handsome, well-dressed, and surrounded by beautiful women.

In his eyes, Bai Li was nothing but a spineless coward who relied on money to show off; if it really came down to a fight, he could take him down with a single punch.

"What? You want to stand up for them?" Wang Fei spat the cigarette butt out of his mouth onto the ground, ground it with his toe, and arrogantly raised his chin:

"Kid, do you know who I am? You'd better not meddle in other people's business in this area."

Bai Li found his blustering yet cowardly demeanor somewhat amusing.

He thought some kind of violent conflict was about to happen and was prepared to call an ambulance, but he didn't expect the other party's opening remarks to be so cliché.

He didn't speak, but instead took out a cigarette case from his pocket, slowly lit one, took a puff, and then slowly spoke:

"Tell me, how do you want to resolve this?"

Bai Li's nonchalant attitude completely enraged Wang Fei.

"Solve it? Fine!" Wang Fei glared fiercely at Bai Li. "How about playing a game with us?"

He pointed to the pool table next to him:

"Let's bet on this. We'll play a round, and whoever loses has to pay for both TV stations tonight, how about it?"

Before Bai Li could speak, Wang Fei, as if afraid he might change his mind, added another sentence, his tone full of self-righteous shrewdness:

"Brother, let me make this clear to you. This is a society governed by law. Fighting will get you arrested and you'll have to pay compensation."

One of his henchmen chimed in, "That's right, we civilized people solve problems with billiards!"

Bai Li almost burst out laughing when she heard this.

He finally understood that this group of energetic young men were just a bunch of paper tigers who looked intimidating but were actually all bark and no bite.

All their actions are based on the premise that they "have no money".

Fighting means paying money, so they won't fight. But they can't lose face, so they choose a way they think they're good at and that can show their masculinity to resolve the dispute.

"Okay." Bai Li nodded and stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

"Big brother!" Chen Tingting and Li Jiaxin looked at him with some concern.

Although they trusted Bai Li, he had been playing in this billiard hall since childhood and his skills were not bad.

"It's alright." Bai Li gave them a reassuring look.

He took off his trench coat and casually handed it to Lin Xiaoshuang next to him, while he was only wearing a simple white T-shirt.

As soon as he took off his trench coat, his tall and slender figure with broad shoulders and a narrow waist was fully revealed, attracting frequent glances from several young women around him.

And so the betting began.

The rules are simple: 8 balls, whoever clears the table first wins.

Wang Fei took a gong, smeared some chalk on his hand, and said smugly to Bai Li:

"Uncle, we'll let you tee off first, so you won't say we're bullying you."

Bai Li didn't stand on ceremony, picked up the cue stick, and flicked his wrist slightly.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, the white ball, like a cannonball, struck precisely at the apex of the triangle area.

In an instant, more than a dozen balls scattered, with two solid-colored balls and one striped ball rolling into different pockets.

An absolutely beautifully executed fried Qing!

The entire billiard hall fell silent instantly.

All eyes were fixed on the pool table, staring in shock at the scattered, perfectly positioned balls.

Wang Fei's smile froze, his hand holding the cue stick stopped in mid-air, and his mouth was agape enough to fit an egg.

His henchmen behind him were also dumbfounded, completely unaware that the cigarettes in their mouths had fallen to the ground.

What the hell is this kickoff? Was it a fluke?!

However, what happened next shattered all their illusions.

Bai Li didn't give them any time to react. He didn't even walk around the pool table; he just stood in place, his posture hardly changing.

"Bang."

A solid-colored ball went into the pocket.

"Bang."

Another one.

His movements were fluid and graceful, each strike clean and crisp, without a single unnecessary movement.

Under his control, the white ball seemed to come alive, stopping precisely in the optimal position for the next target ball after each impact.

That's not playing billiards, that's a performance.

Elegant, precise, and with an absolute sense of control.

The whole process took less than three minutes.

When the last black eight ball landed steadily in the bottom pocket, Wang Fei and his gang of underlings were completely petrified.

A single pole illuminates the clear platform.

To these amateur players, it was nothing short of miraculous.

"It's your turn." Bai Li gently placed the cue on the table, looked at Wang Fei whose face was ashen, and said calmly.

Wang Fei's lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a single word.

What's the point of fighting?! They're not even in the same league!

The onlookers, recovering from their shock, erupted in cheers and discussions.

"Holy crap, who's this guy? He's awesome!"

"Is this a professional player?"

"A clean sweep! I've been playing here for three years, and this is the first time I've ever seen that!"

Chen Tingting and Li Jiaxin also looked at Bai Li with admiration, their eyes practically sparkling with stars.

Lin Xiaoshuang, clutching Bai Li's trench coat, was flushed with excitement, as if she herself had just struck that Qingtai.

Just then, the blond-haired young man at the bar came over with the bill, handing it to Wang Fei with a big smile:

"Brother Fei, that's two hundred and sixty yuan in total."

260.

This number made his expression instantly turn ugly.

He searched all his pockets, and the money he pulled out was crumpled and less than fifty yuan in total.

His face turned from pale to ashen, and cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

He knew today that he had failed.

Under everyone's gaze, Wang Fei's self-esteem was shattered.

He gritted his teeth, his mind racing as he considered countermeasures.

Run? You can't run.

Defaulting on the debt? You can forget about ever working in this area again.

Just when he was in despair, he suddenly saw his girlfriend standing behind him, equally terrified.

A crazy and absurd idea flashed through his mind.

He pulled his girlfriend out from behind and shoved her forcefully in front of Bai Li.

"Big Brother!" Wang Fei's voice was dismissive.

"We really don't have any money today... How about... I have my partner stay with you for the night?"

These words caused an uproar in the room.

The girl who was pushed out stumbled and almost fell.

She steadied herself and looked at Wang Fei in disbelief, her eyes first filled with shock, then with endless anger and humiliation.

She raised her hand and, with all her might, slapped Wang Fei hard across the face.

"Bastard!" The girl's scream pierced the noise of the entire billiard hall.

"What do you take me for! A prostitute?!"

She cried, then turned to Bai Li, her voice filled with desperate accusation:

"Thank goodness! Thank goodness I didn't let you, you bastard, succeed last night! You're not human!"

Chen Tingting and Li Jiaxin also reacted and immediately rushed forward, shielding the girl behind them and pointing at Wang Fei while cursing him.

"Fuck your mother, are you even a man?!"

"You're a fucking animal for selling your girlfriend for a little over two hundred yuan!"

The entire billiard hall was in complete chaos.