The scent of his T-shirt beneath his jacket acted like a sedative, gradually steadying Yin Guo’s racing heart.
He released her, noticing the tip of her nose was flushed, her eyes still rimmed with red. "You seem to have blossomed. You're even more beautiful now. When I first walked out, I almost didn't dare recognize you."
She knew he was just saying sweet things, but she enjoyed them nonetheless.
After they gazed at each other for a few seconds, his eyes brushed over her forehead—reddened from where he had held her so tightly—before shifting to the friends standing behind her.
Jiang Yang smiled from behind Yin Guo. "You two talk. We’ve seen him a few times already; the novelty’s worn off."
"Exactly," Wu Wei chimed in. "Though we haven't had a chance to see An'an since he got back from the States. And Lin Lin, you haven't seen him at all, right?"
Lin Lin stood with her arms crossed, peering at Lin Yiyang through the gap between the men. "He hasn't changed much. Alright, I've seen enough. You two carry on."
The group laughed, intentionally giving the young couple some space to talk.
Only Chen An'an was earnestly doing the math for them. "With such a tight tournament schedule, you and Sister-in-law haven't really seen each other, have you?"
Chen An'an truly considered Yin Guo his sister-in-law, and he looked at her as he spoke.
"No, not really," Yin Guo said. "My brother has probably seen him more than I have."
This past year, Lin Yiyang had been on the circuit, and so had she. It was as if they lived in two parallel worlds.
Athletes like them were similar to F1 drivers or professional golfers; they had their own systems of tournaments and sponsors. Their lives consisted of signing up for as many association-recognized majors as possible to earn prize money and ranking points.
Snooker and Nine-ball belonged to different associations—one centered in the UK, the other in the US. They didn't share a ranking list; they were entirely different systems. Therefore, the tournaments he entered had nothing to do with Yin Guo.
The only overlap was that he still played Nine-ball, but the events Lin Yiyang entered were US-based domestic tournaments and regional state opens. These also had little to do with Yin Guo, much like how her participation in domestic or provincial tournaments was strictly internal.
Of course, there were complex mixed tournaments, but those often suffered from issues like lack of association recognition, no ranking points, poor management, or low prize money. Since Lin Yiyang and Yin Guo were already highly ranked on the world stage, they generally avoided such events.
However, now that Lin Yiyang was back in China, if there were major tournaments where they needed to represent the country, there would be opportunities to train and compete together—provided they both made the national team.
But that was all in the future.
***
Jiang Yang had arranged for cars. The group left the airport together and headed for the underground parking lot.
The elevator was packed. When Sun Yao pushed a large luggage cart inside, Lin Yiyang saw it was about to exceed the weight limit, so he led Yin Guo toward the down escalator instead.
Yin Guo could only see him as far as the parking lot. The club had a night-shift driver waiting to take her home. Unless she was away for a tournament, she wasn't allowed to stay out overnight, no matter how late she arrived.
She was still thinking about how to tell him when they reached the bottom, only to find her cousin waiting there.
*Why is he here?*
Over the past year, Meng Xiaodong had hired an overseas coach for closed-door training and competitions. He hadn't returned to China either, so Yin Guo hadn't seen her cousin any more than she had seen Lin Yiyang. Seeing him suddenly appear, dressed unusually in casual clothes and standing at the foot of the escalator, gave her a start.
It was after three in the morning.
The parking lot's unique scent—a mix of gasoline and damp air—permeated the surroundings. Yin Guo realized her cousin’s gaze wasn't fixed on her or Lin Yiyang, but on someone behind them. She turned to look.
It turned out Lin Lin and Chen An'an hadn't squeezed into the elevator either; they were trailing a dozen steps behind on the escalator. Lin Lin was quite tall for a woman, roughly the same height as Chen An'an. Yin Guo’s first impression of her, back at the tournament venue in Hangzhou, had been profound.
At the time, Yin Guo’s first thought had been: *No wonder they call them the 'Double Lin' of Dongxincheng.* Both possessed faces that were impossible to forget. As they matured, calling them "good-looking" felt too shallow; there was a distinct aura woven into their presence.
As Meng Xiaodong looked at Lin Lin, she didn't look away. She gave a faint smile and asked, "Here to pick up your sister?"
"Yes." Meng Xiaodong stared at her. "How are you? Your health?"
"Quite good."
Yin Guo saw Meng Xiaodong frown, his eyes lingering on Lin Lin’s waist. Prompted by her cousin's gaze, she noticed that under Lin Lin’s white lambskin leather jacket was a high-waisted short-sleeved top. A sliver of skin was visible, though one wouldn't notice without looking closely.
She thought to herself that in the story Lin Yiyang and Wu Wei had told that morning, they must have left out the most important parts.
However, after that one look, Meng Xiaodong ignored Lin Lin and made a show of being in a hurry to leave.
"If we don't leave now, your mother is going to call me again," Meng Xiaodong explained to Lin Yiyang. "I originally intended for the club driver to pick her up, but I was afraid the driver would see the flight number, realize the timing was off, and let it slip later. So I came myself."
It was a clear clarification: he was here for his sister.
Before Lin Yiyang could respond, Lin Lin remarked airily, "You're her brother. It's only normal for you to come."
"Yes," Meng Xiaodong said after a half-beat pause. "Normal."
With that, the exchange between Meng Xiaodong and Lin Lin ended.
Their abrupt conversation caused the surrounding atmospheric pressure to drop sharply.
It felt as though they should have been the protagonists today—as if Lin Lin was the one returning from abroad and Meng Xiaodong was the one welcoming her home. Yin Guo and Lin Yiyang had somehow become the supporting cast.
Realizing she had to go home immediately, Yin Guo didn't have time to analyze the clues between her cousin and Lin Lin. Her fingers tightened in Lin Yiyang’s palm as she explained, "My family doesn't allow me to stay out overnight. I have to go back."
Even though leaving the airport at this hour meant she wouldn't get home until dawn, the rules couldn't be broken.
Lin Yiyang, who video-chatted with her every few days, had long ago realized she lived at home whenever she wasn't competing. He wasn't surprised. He said to Meng Xiaodong, "Give us a couple of minutes."
With that, he took Yin Guo’s hand and led her to a slightly more distant lane.
The airport's underground parking lot offered no private corners. Aside from the traffic and crowds being halved late at night, it was no different from usual. The escalators carried a constant stream of passengers, and the interconnected lanes were filled with queues of cars and commercial vehicles. At most, they could step away from Meng Xiaodong and the others to share a few whispered words.
Yin Guo looked at Lin Yiyang’s hair; it had grown a bit. When she had gone to celebrate his birthday, he’d had a buzz cut, looking exactly like someone you’d see in a prison in an American TV show. He looked much better now.
Though, on second thought, that hairstyle suited his true nature better. The dissonance was only heavy when he wore a dress shirt and slacks for a match.
Lin Yiyang had hidden it well at first, but after spending more time with him, Yin Guo could clearly feel his aura—a world-weariness from growing up in the streets, mixed with a defiance that was etched into his very bones. He had spent years burying this temperament under layers of books, but a leopard doesn't change its spots. Beneath it all, he was still that same vibrant man.
She quietly grabbed the zipper of his jacket and slid it down, revealing the white handwritten "Saint Laurent" script on his black T-shirt. As expected, it was the one she had given him this year. The white version was in her own suitcase; she always carried it with her.
"What are you doing?" he asked, knowing full well. "Unzipping me the moment no one's looking?"
Flustered by his words, she tried to zip it back up, but then heard him say, "Don't mention me to your family yet. Give me some time."
"I haven't mentioned you at all. My brother told me to keep it hidden for now, too," she said softly. "I was afraid you'd be angry, so I didn't dare tell you directly."
Before she could finish, he cupped her face with both hands, shattering whatever thought she was about to voice. As their eyes met, Yin Guo’s heart hammered as if they had never been intimate before. Being held so simply, gazing into his eyes, her breathing became very, very shallow.
In the lane to their right, one car drove past, then another. The smell of exhaust grew heavier.
His face drew closer. "Can I see you tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow the whole family is going to visit the ancestral graves. A lot of people are coming over."
Silence fell for a long moment. She felt pressure on her forehead as he leaned his against hers, looking down as if to speak.
In the end, he said nothing and did nothing more. He just gave a small smile.
Later, as Yin Guo got into the car with her cousin and buckled her seatbelt, she was still thinking about Lin Yiyang’s final gesture. She wondered if she had said something wrong; that final smile had seemed uncharacteristically dejected.
But since the day she met Lin Yiyang, every passing day revealed new, subtle facets of him she hadn't seen before.
Meng Xiaodong wasn't one for small talk while driving, and Yin Guo, having just parted from Lin Yiyang after such a brief reunion, wasn't in the mood to chat. The car sped unimpeded down the airport expressway. After a while, she thought of a practical question and messaged Lin Yiyang on WeChat.
*Fruit in the Woods: Where are you staying tonight?*
*Lin: I rented a place. Haven't cleaned it yet, so I'm just going to crash there tonight.*
*Lin: Everyone’s here, so we probably won't sleep anyway.*
*Fruit in the Woods: Are you going to drink?*
*Lin: Not necessarily.*
*Fruit in the Woods: Don't drink too much.*
Thinking back to the time he got drunk, she still felt a lingering fear.
*Lin: Okay.*
*Fruit in the Woods: When I saw you just now, I was so nervous. It felt like we just started dating.*
*Lin: :)*
*Lin: Same here.*
"Zongzong..." A voice suddenly broke the silence in the car. It was Meng Xiaodong. He gripped the steering wheel and flicked on the turn signal to exit the expressway. "Did she mention me to you?"
Yin Guo had heard from Wu Wei that Lin Lin’s nickname was "Zongzong." She had assumed only those within Dongxincheng called her that, just as only his close brothers called Lin Yiyang "Dunzuo."
"No." She couldn't lie to her cousin.
Meng Xiaodong fell silent. Yin Guo stole a glance at him.
"You have something to ask?" Meng Xiaodong actually invited her to speak, as if he had a sudden desire to confide.
"Why didn't you like Lin Lin back then?" Since her cousin had opened the door, Yin Guo asked what was on her mind. "That's what they told me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have even known you two had a history."
Meng Xiaodong was silent for a long time—so long that Yin Guo thought he wouldn't answer.
"It wasn't just one 'history,'" Meng Xiaodong said. "I've dated three times."
Three times? Three girlfriends? And then there was Lin Lin, who had pursued him?
Why had there been no news of this? If they were his girlfriends, he couldn't have hidden every single one of them; it wasn't like it was a shameful secret. No one mentioned it during family gatherings either, and usually, relatives would gossip in private.
"All three times were with Zongzong," Meng Xiaodong finally said.
So her cousin's first love was Lin Lin? And they had broken up and gotten back together three times?
Her curiosity was piqued, but the man behind the wheel clearly didn't intend to say more. However, there was someone else she could ask.
The moment Yin Guo unlocked her phone, Meng Xiaodong saw through her. "Want to ask Lin Yiyang? He might not know. I doubt anyone in Dongxincheng knows." Since her cousin put it that way, she couldn't very well ask in front of him. She carried her questions all the way home.
Meng Xiaodong dropped her at the door. Only after she watched his car drive away did she message Lin Yiyang.
*Fruit in the Woods: I'm home. Are you there yet?*
*Lin: Almost.*
*Fruit in the Woods: Did you know? My brother just told me he and Lin Lin used to be together.*
*Lin: I know.*
*Fruit in the Woods: My brother said you might not know.*
*Lin: I walked in on them once.*
*Fruit in the Woods: I thought you told Wu Wei last time that you weren't sure if my brother liked Lin Lin?*
*Lin: You're very interested in those two?*
*Fruit in the Woods: He is my brother, after all. This is the first time in his life he's confided in me. It made me feel a bit sad for him.*
*Lin: Meng Xiaodong has his own life.*
*Lin: Focus more on me.*
This sounded like jealousy. Yin Guo thought she might be overthinking it until Lin Yiyang sent another message.
*Lin: It doesn't feel great when my wife is constantly worrying about other men.*
***
Lin Yiyang hopped out of the commercial van.
His sneakers hit the ground as he faced a row of dark, shuttered storefronts on a commercial street. To the left was a milk tea shop, its glass windows plastered with photos of various large drinks and discount promotions. To the right was a jewelry shop.
How many years had it been? He had gone to a different province for university, and for the two years after graduation, he hadn't thought of coming back. Aside from a brief visit to handle paperwork before going abroad, he’d had no connection to this place. It had been nearly ten years.
"This staircase leads to a hotel; it used to be an old-brand hotpot restaurant," Jiang Yang was saying. "Prime location, better than our spot at Dongxincheng. It's just a bit small. The second and third floors are all yours."
Actually, it wasn't small. It was much larger than the pool room in the basement of the Washington hostel—two large, open floors.
But the one saying this was Jiang Yang, and the brothers getting out of the car were the pillars of Dongxincheng. Compared to that place, this was indeed a bit modest.
"Not bad." Sun Yao looked up, gauging the width of the building. "Yang-ge, you've done well. A major property as soon as you return."
"Rented, not bought," Lin Yiyang said.
In the early morning light, the area was deserted. The stairwell was narrow, piled with bags of construction waste yet to be hauled away—broken bricks and cement. You couldn't even tell if the floor had once been tiled or just concrete; it was covered in a messy layer of old newspapers. The elevator shaft was empty, a dark, square void.
The whole building was being partitioned for new tenants and renovated.
Lin Yiyang climbed the stairs to the second floor. At the main entrance, a simple, old-fashioned black padlock hung from the red-painted doors.
Lin Yiyang took the key from Jiang Yang, opened the lock, and tossed the heavy metal in his hand twice. "This thing could be pried open in a second. Is hanging it here just for show?"
Jiang Yang laughed. "It's just for show, to keep people from coming in to sleep on the floor for free. There's nothing left inside anyway."
It was as Jiang Yang said. When he pushed the door open, the space was empty.
The previous hotpot restaurant had moved out, but the things that couldn't be moved remained—like the wooden tables and long benches built into the walls, and the decorative red-painted pillars.
"Why not just open a hotpot restaurant? Everything's already here," Wu Wei joked from behind him.
Lin Yiyang smiled. In the morning light filtering through the row of windows on the left, he looked at the space before him. In his mind, he could already see the positions of the pool tables, the bar, the cue racks, and the chairs—even where his own room would be.
"Call the brothers back," Lin Yiyang said, stepping into the dust-filled room and looking back at Wu Wei. "The ones who haven't been doing so well."
From the time he joined the pool club in second grade until he left in his first year of high school, he’d had far more than just these few brothers. But those with true talent, those who could make a name for themselves, were few—only a handful each year. Most kids who came to the club were those who didn't do well in school; like sand in a sieve, they became the sediment, scattered into every corner of the city.
Wu Wei and Lin Yiyang had talked about the brothers who were struggling but still loved pool and didn't want to give up. He remembered them. He remembered them all.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 双林 | Double Lin | Refers to the famous duo Lin Lin and Meng Xiaodong. |
| 总总 | Zongzong | Lin Lin's childhood nickname. |
| 顿挫 | Dunzuo | Lin Yiyang's nickname among his close friends/brothers. |
| 东新城 | Dongxincheng | The name of the pool club/sect Lin Yiyang and the others belong to. |
| 扫墓 | Visiting ancestral graves | Refers to the traditional practice of cleaning graves and honoring ancestors (often during Qingming Festival). |
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