“There’s a DIY Magnum shop nearby,” Lin Yiyang explained. “It’s very close.”
A custom shop? Yin Guo’s eyes lit up instantly.
As expected, girls loved this kind of thing.
He had hesitated just now, worried that she might not be able to handle ice cream right after eating cold seafood. But then he reconsidered; that place was more about the atmosphere than the food. Even if she didn't finish it, taking a few photos would be nice.
Actually, he didn't need Wu Wei to send him the location; he had been there once before.
It was that same couple who had performed in the hotel; after they’d had their fun, they insisted on a "pure and romantic" date. They had dragged him to this shop to customize identical ice creams, acting all lovey-dovey while eating them. Lin Yiyang, having finished his coffee, had found them there with a face full of indifference. He had thought at the time: *A shop like this, with hardly any chairs, where you have to stand if it gets even slightly crowded... is it really worth it just for a popsicle?*
But seeing the spark of excitement in Yin Guo’s eyes, he changed his mind.
However, only twenty minutes later, he gained a new understanding of the place.
After walking for nearly twenty minutes in the biting wind, they found only an empty storefront with no staff inside.
The two stood there, staring at each other.
“I’ll ask Wu Wei.” Lin Yiyang turned away and gave Wu Wei a call.
When the person on the other end heard the shop was closed, he finally realized. “Crap, I forgot. It closed in October. I didn't see anything about it on my end... everyone gets lazy in the winter. Where are you guys? I’ll bring her brother over in a bit.”
“I’ll send you the address in a minute.”
Lin Yiyang hung up. “It’s closed.”
He weighed his phone in his hand for a few seconds, then said, “Follow me. Let’s find a place out of the wind to wait for them.”
They continued along the streets of Soho, winding through several turns until they found a restaurant.
Lin Yiyang led her straight inside. It wasn't business hours yet; the owner was sitting alone behind the bar, watching a baseball game broadcast.
Lin Yiyang tapped on the bar.
The owner turned around, saw it was him, and immediately smiled. “You’re in town this week?”
“Yeah. We want some afternoon tea. Help me make an ice cream, something like those custom Magnums.”
“No problem.”
Lin Yiyang led her to a seat to rest.
A short while later, the owner brought over a large scoop of ice cream along with a few tools.
Lin Yiyang had gone out to buy some toppings—a bag of edible dried rose petals and some dried red berries—which he handed to the owner. Vanilla ice cream was coated in a white chocolate shell and sprinkled with the toppings Lin Yiyang had brought.
Finally, the owner specially drizzled it with dark chocolate sauce and pushed the plate in front of Yin Guo with a friendly smile.
“Thank you,” Yin Guo said politely.
“Don’t mention it. This kid is paying anyway.” The owner laughed and patted Lin Yiyang’s arm, asking if he wanted to watch the Dodgers game; he had live tickets. Lin Yiyang shook his head with a wry smile and declined; with graduation approaching, he really couldn't spare the time for a game.
The man glanced at Yin Guo and added with a smile, “I’m going back to the TV. If you need anything, just come over.”
Once he left, she asked softly, “A friend of yours?”
“Met him at a pool hall. He’s a retired baseball player, plays a decent game of billiards too.” As Lin Yiyang spoke, he sent the address to Wu Wei and grabbed a wine list from the neighboring table, flipping through it.
Yin Guo ate her ice cream slowly. “You’re graduating soon. Aren’t you busy?”
“It’s alright,” he replied.
The truth was: he was busy out of his mind. His roommates in Washington, upon hearing he was coming to New York this weekend, all looked at him as if he had gone insane.
She took two bites and asked curiously, “Are you staying here after, or planning to go back home?”
Whether to go back or stay was something he had never quite figured out.
But... he looked at the girl in front of him, hesitated for a few seconds, and then pulled his thoughts back. It wasn't good to overthink. So far, his knowledge of her romantic life was a complete blank; he didn't even know if she had a boyfriend.
“I haven't decided yet,” he answered.
“Have you considered playing professionally?”
“Me?” Lin Yiyang gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Never thought about it.”
He had never thought about returning to the past.
But in Yin Guo’s eyes, with Lin Yiyang’s skill level, it would be a waste not to play professionally.
So, she offered some well-meaning advice: “I think you could try playing in pro tournaments.”
He closed the wine list and tossed it back onto the next table. “Many people don't participate in international majors; they only play regional circuits. Do you know why?”
She shook her head.
In China, there was no such thing as a "regional circuit," so naturally, she didn't know.
“Some have no interest in world rankings. Some aren't suited for major tournaments because their mental game isn't strong enough.” Lin Yiyang picked up the dessert menu and flipped through it. “I’m the same. I drop the ball whenever I get to a big stage. I’m just not cut out for it.”
“That’s impossible,” she laughed.
“Why is it impossible?” Lin Yiyang countered with a smile.
He knew that if two people wanted to get to know each other, they would inevitably talk about the past.
And since Yin Guo’s cousin was Meng Xiaodong, even if she hadn't thought to look into his past yet, one day in the future, Meng Xiaodong would tell her—exactly what kind of person Lin Yiyang was.
What kind of person was he? He didn't really know himself.
Yin Guo couldn't think of a response for a moment.
“Have you ever had dessert wine?” he asked, as if something had occurred to him.
There was a bottle of dessert wine here that the owner had opened the last time he visited. He wasn't sure if there was any left.
She shook her head. “Is it good?”
“It’s just wine, but it’s listed on the dessert menu, not the wine list.”
Eager to try, Yin Guo nodded with a smile.
He closed the menu and stood up to ask the man watching the game for the wine.
A moment later, he brought back a glass and placed it before her—a slender glass body containing a brownish-red liquid.
“How sweet is it?” She leaned her arms on the table and sniffed it.
“It’s not sweet.” He had tasted a small sip when the bottle was opened last month. “It’s a vintage dessert wine, over twenty years old. It’s quite strong. You’re lucky; this is the last glass.”
Wine is a thing where every bottle is different, especially the aged ones. Once a bottle is finished, that specific wine ceases to exist forever.
Regardless of price, being able to drink it is a unique stroke of luck.
She sniffed it again and, under his encouraging gaze, took a slow sip.
Mm... it really was strong.
It was intense and burned the throat, but it was certainly full-bodied.
She took a breath, thinking that since it was a rare treat and the very last glass of this bottle, she should make an effort to keep drinking.
When Wu Wei and the others entered, they saw Yin Guo and Lin Yiyang sitting across from each other, with Yin Guo sipping from a glass.
The color, the glass—Wu Wei found it incredibly familiar. The moment he sat down, he remembered what it was. The owner used specific glasses for different drinks; this type was reserved for vintage dessert wines.
“This is good stuff. Every bottle opened is one less in the world,” Wu Wei introduced with a chuckle.
*Great. In the time it took to catch a breeze outside, another month’s worth of your food budget is gone. You eat one-dollar pizza slices yourself, but you give her three-hundred-dollar vintage wine. If you say you’re not interested in her, I’ll take your last name...*
Wu Wei sat down and, with a straight face, pulled out his phone.
*No_Way: Why the hell are you giving her vintage wine? It’s insanely expensive, and she won't even appreciate it.*
Lin Yiyang saw the message from Wu Wei but didn't even bother to open it.
Yin Guo drank slowly.
Though it was strong, drinking this after seafood was extremely warming for the stomach.
Meng Xiaotian insisted on treating everyone. The two men across from them both ordered the cheapest champagne. When the glasses were set on the table, they didn't look that different, except that the liquid in Yin Guo’s glass was darker.
Lin Yiyang had asked her about her practice time before they left. Seeing that it was about time, he left Wu Wei and Meng Xiaotian to continue hanging out in Soho and took Yin Guo to the pool hall first.
It was the same private room. Closing the wooden door could block out the view from outside.
However, Lin Yiyang couldn't stay with her today; he had to head back to school. “It’s not peaceful around here. It’s a mixed crowd, and there’s always someone looking for trouble,” he said, patting the pool table. “Everyone knows this table is mine. If anything happens, find me anytime.”
She gave an “Mm.”
It felt like the illusion of being protected.
The man in front of her seemed to want to say something else. She waited.
Lin Yiyang looked at her, opened his mouth, but instead called out to the owner’s fourteen-year-old son outside. He pulled a bill from his wallet, handed it to the boy, and whispered a few words. The teenager nodded and ran off. A short while later, he returned carrying two paper cups of lattes and handed them to Lin Yiyang. He even closed the door for them on his way out.
She was surprised. “You should have said if you wanted a drink... I should have treated you.”
She felt like she had been eating and drinking on his tab since she woke up. Lin Yiyang was too polite. Truly.
He raised his paper cup. “I wanted one, so I grabbed one for you too. I pulled an all-nighter on a paper last night; I’m a bit sleepy.”
Had he pulled an all-nighter?
She remembered the lights in the living room going out quickly; perhaps he had just moved to his room.
While Yin Guo was distracted by her thoughts, he had already held out the paper cup.
She reached for it absentmindedly and, without noticing, gripped his hand.
Startled, she jerked her hand back, gave an apologetic smile, and was too embarrassed to speak.
Lin Yiyang also looked a bit uneasy. He cleared his throat and said with a smile, “I have a train to catch. I’m off.”
He set his paper cup on the edge of the pool table and slid the hand Yin Guo had touched into his trouser pocket. He pulled the door open.
Outside, there were people at every table.
Some who knew him called out greetings loudly. Lin Yiyang responded briefly and, before closing the door, gave a serious reminder: “I won't be coming by next week. Like I said, if anything happens, find me anytime.”
“Mm.” Watching the door close, Yin Guo breathed a sigh of relief.
She walked around the table, pulling the balls out of the pockets one by one.
Outside, there was music, the rowdy noise of people drinking, and the scent of fried chicken wafting through the crack in the door. None of that mattered to her; what she was listening for was whether he had actually left.
He seemed to still be there, talking to the owner and others.
Soon, everyone was saying goodbye to him, and the sounds of lively small talk gradually faded.
Lin Yiyang was gone.
She pulled a cue from the rack and arranged the colored balls into a diamond.
As her hand touched the felt of the table, her heart slowly settled. *Alright, time to train. Stop being distracted.*
Unfortunately, her training efficiency wasn't very high today. She played on and off until seven o'clock without really getting into the zone. Finally, she had to stop and consider whether she should just focus on practicing jump shots for an hour.
The notification for a voice call interrupted her; it was Coach Chen.
This coach was responsible for the 9-ball division at the club, mostly managing the girls' daily lives and training. For this trip, Yin Guo’s private itinerary had been set two months in advance, so the coach hadn't come along yet, but she still called daily to keep track of her training progress.
After Yin Guo picked up, they didn't waste words. They started with training progress, moved to today's task completion, and discussed the main focus for tomorrow.
After ten minutes of business, Coach Chen’s tone relaxed. She asked with a laugh, “I saw the news. Did you get hit by another blizzard?”
“It snowed, but it’s stopped now.”
She rarely chatted with her coach about personal matters, but today she especially wanted to ask: “Coach, have you heard of Wu Wei? He’s a player in this Open.”
“I’ve seen the name on the entry list,” Coach Chen said. “But he hasn't played in 9-ball tournaments, so I don't know much.”
At their club, they played everything—9-ball, Chinese 8-ball, Snooker. They had experts and champions of all kinds, and seven or eight coaches. At this moment, the coaches were all gathered in the gym for morning exercise.
One of the snooker coaches heard the name "Wu Wei" and chimed in: “Wu Wei is from Dongxincheng. He’s got good potential, but he hasn't competed much in the last two years, so he’s not on the world rankings yet.”
“What about Lin Yiyang? Have you heard of Lin Yiyang?” Yin Guo followed up immediately.
Someone laughed.
Coach Chen simply turned on the speakerphone.
Coach Fu from the men’s 9-ball team said, “I remember that kid. He played snooker. The year he won the championship, my wife was the referee.”
“He played professionally?”
“He did, but that was many years ago.”
Yin Guo was surprised. “What tournament did he come out of? What was his best result?”
“Champion. He took the title the very first year he showed his face. Your cousin came up during the same period; you can ask him.”
Yin Guo paused.
“That was when they were in their teens. If you ask Meng the Sixth, he definitely won't remember,” Coach Chen said, knowing Yin Guo was afraid of her cousin and smoothing things over with a laugh. “Which club was he with? I haven't heard of him. Does he still compete?”
“He retired over ten years ago. He was also from Dongxincheng,” Coach Fu suddenly remembered. “A new coach joined us the day before yesterday who came from that same club. Hang on, I’ll call him over to ask.”
The phone went silent for a moment.
Soon, the new coach was brought over. Upon hearing the question about "Lin Yiyang," he laughed. “He Wenfeng—you guys know Master He, right?”
Who wouldn't? He was the most respected coach in the industry. Although he didn't take many formal disciples, he had been the foundational teacher for many. Many of the top players in Yin Guo’s club cited Master He as their first teacher.
The new coach continued, “Lin Yiyang was Master He’s closed-door disciple. But I never met him; I joined the club late. Everyone says he was a genius, but also a real bastard—the kind no one could keep a lid on.”
The new coach gave a brief summary:
In his youth, Lin Yiyang was incredibly arrogant. He had infuriated his master so much that he eventually packed his bags and left. Yet, the younger generation of fellow disciples all had a great relationship with him. Back when Master He hadn't retired, no one dared mention his name to his face. After Master He retired, the one in charge of that generation was Jiang Yang. He is Lin Yiyang’s senior fellow disciple, and he absolutely forbids anyone in the club from saying a bad word about Lin Yiyang. Gradually, people stopped mentioning the events of over a decade ago.
In Dongxincheng, people still refer to Lin Yiyang as "Sixth Brother" or "Young Master Yang."
“If you really want to know about him, I can ask Master Yang for you,” the new coach suggested.
As soon as Yin Guo heard about asking Jiang Yang, she immediately surrendered. “No, no, no need to ask specifically. And please, whatever you do, don't tell my cousin I was asking about them.”
Jiang Yang was her cousin’s arch-rival; she didn't want to go looking for a scolding.
After hurriedly hanging up, Yin Guo still wasn't satisfied with the tiny bit of information she had heard. She tried searching for him online.
Someone had written a commentary on the people of the Dongxincheng club; among the dense rows of names was a "Lin Yiyang." Someone else had recorded the domestic majors from those years, listing the names of the champions, runners-up, and third-place finishers; his name appeared once among a dozen others. Aside from that "Lin Yiyang" on those old webpages, there was no further introduction, not even a photo.
The name Lin Yiyang had long been forgotten by the public.
There are so many sports in China, but very few are popular. In niche sports, thousands upon thousands of athletes struggle; as long as they don't make a name for themselves in international majors, few people pay attention. Moreover, Lin Yiyang’s championship was over a decade ago. It was hard to leave a trace back then, unlike now, where it’s easy to leave a digital footprint.
Thinking of Jiang Yang as his senior fellow disciple made the gap between success and failure feel even wider.
The two of them were taught by the same master. Now, one was ranked among the top in the world, while the other didn't even have a profile left domestically. Aside from the people within the Dongxincheng club, no one remembered him or mentioned him.
Yin Guo closed the search page and opened Lin Yiyang’s WeChat. She stared at it for a full thirty seconds, wanting to say something, but eventually closed it. Yet, she had an uncontrollable urge to express something, to do something, to say something.
Finally, she found the photo of the vintage dessert wine she had taken that afternoon and posted it to her Moments. She edited the caption for a long time, but nothing felt right. After going back and forth, she only wrote: *Forgot to ask the year.*
At this time, everyone back home was awake. Comments and likes poured in.
She didn't look closely, entering and exiting the app restlessly. After several times, she finally clicked on the notification for a comment.
Her finger suddenly froze on the screen. There, was a short comment—
*Lin: The year you were born.*
Another new comment appeared. She refreshed.
*Lin: I mean the wine.*
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
:--- | :--- | :---
东新城 | Dongxincheng | The name of the pool/snooker club/academy Lin Yiyang originated from.
贺文丰 | He Wenfeng | A legendary and highly respected coach in the billiards/snooker world.
关门弟子 | Closed-door disciple | The last disciple taken by a master, often the most favored or talented.
江杨 | Jiang Yang | Lin Yiyang's senior fellow disciple and a top-ranked professional player.
六哥 | Sixth Brother | Lin Yiyang's seniority rank/nickname within the Dongxincheng club.
小扬爷 | Young Master Yang | A respectful/fearful nickname for Lin Yiyang in his youth at the club.
掉链子 | Drop the ball / Choke | To fail at a crucial moment (literally "to have the chain fall off").
朋友圈 | Moments | The social feed feature of WeChat.
