Within a single minute, both the room phone and Lin Yiyang’s cell phone rang in succession.
One was from Lin Lin, the captain of the women’s team, and the other was from Jiang Yang, who had already entered the elevator on his way back. Both were reminding Lin Yiyang to let Yin Guo return to her room immediately. The national team had strict regulations; all private activities were prohibited during the Asian Games. He shouldn't play with fire.
In truth, both were stating the obvious. This was the Asian Games; he naturally understood the gravity of the situation. If he truly lacked self-control, he would have stopped answering his phone long ago and done whatever he pleased.
Lin Lin hung up as soon as she finished speaking. Jiang Yang, however, had developed a habit of worrying over everything after years of leading the club. He still treated Lin Yiyang like a teenage junior disciple, prattling on incessantly.
In the past, Lin Yiyang would have hung up long ago. But now, listening to Jiang Yang talk nonsense while smoking on the other end, he suddenly realized that having someone worry about him so purely was a form of luck.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?" Jiang Yang asked impatiently when he heard no response.
"Are you finished?" Lin Yiyang countered.
"..."
"If you're finished, get back here. We’re going to test the tables together," he said. "Any later and the others will beat us to it."
***
On the third day of the competition schedule, the billiards hall officially opened for matches.
The competition would span three days, covering ten events. Everything from the group stages to the finals would be played in one continuous stretch. Men’s and women’s events were interspersed, as were the different disciplines, so everyone remained gathered together throughout the process.
In the locker room, they changed out of their national team tracksuits and into their professional match attire. The men wore shirts and trousers, while the women wore their standard match clothes. They took out their cues one by one, leaving the cases in the locker room.
Lin Yiyang waited for everyone outside the lounge at the entrance of the arena tunnel. The team assembled quickly.
In the front row stood those who had all won championships in World Opens: Meng Xiaodong, Jiang Yang, Yin Guo, Lin Lin, Liu Xiran...
The second row consisted of the second-tier players: Li Qingyan, Wu Wei, Chen An'an, Fan Wencong, and others.
The head coach looked at them and smiled. "Everyone here has won gold at a World Open. If I give a formal speech now, it might actually mess with your heads. Captain, do you have anything to say?"
Lin Yiyang thought for a moment. There really wasn't much need for a pep talk. Before him were the top-ranked players in the world. If this were the Olympics, they might need to psych themselves up and fight for every inch. But to need a motivational speech before playing in the Asian circuit? It would be embarrassing to even mention.
The Chinese team had a long history of ranking first in gold medals and total medal count at the Asian Games. It was rare for the billiards team to be included; they couldn't afford to drop the ball.
The head coach coughed, feeling a bit awkward, and waved them forward. "Go, go, go. Go in there and get those golds."
After taking two steps, he felt something was missing. It was a rare occasion, and it felt wrong not to show some passion. Thus, the fifty-something-year-old man raised his right hand high and gave a heavy downward swing. "If you don't take the top spot for gold medals, you're all walking back to China!"
The team played along, answering in unison, "Understood!"
And so, fueled by the passion ignited by their head coach, the Chinese team entered the arena, each gripping their own cue.
The tunnel was short. Within minutes, their vision opened up to a vast space.
To their surprise, the entire billiards hall was packed.
It was currently a pre-match break, and the stands were noisy and chaotic. However, as the Chinese team entered, the crowd gradually fell silent. This city rarely had the chance to host various billiards opens. It was a rare treat to see a group of world-class players—including stars of both snooker and 9-ball—appearing in this hall. Naturally, it had drawn fans from all over the city.
The coach led them to the rest area, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with the coaches from Singapore, Japan, and South Korea.
"Everyone has noticed by now—our Chinese team has entered the rest area," the match commentator began excitedly introducing today’s heavyweights as soon as they appeared. "As you can see, this year's Chinese billiards team is star-studded. We have snooker's Lin Yiyang, Meng Xiaodong, and Jiang Yang. All three have registered for multiple events. Lin Yiyang has signed up for all five men's events, while Meng Xiaodong is competing in snooker, team snooker, and 10-ball. Jiang Yang, who underwent major surgery just three months ago, has unfortunately only registered for the team snooker event."
"Turning to the women's team, sitting on the far left is Yin Guo. This young player was ranked third in the world for 9-ball last year and just won the US Open 9-Ball Championship in April. Beside her is Liu Xiran, who is even more formidable—the newly crowned champion of the World 9-Ball Championship and runner-up of the US Open."
"Sitting next to them is Lin Lin, who once announced her retirement. She is a powerhouse that cannot be ignored. For these Asian Games, she has made a comeback and will appear in the six-red snooker and 9-ball team events..."
With every name mentioned, fans in the stands responded accordingly. Waves of cheers echoed through the small billiards hall.
Everyone began transitioning into the mindset for the group stages.
Yin Guo was competing in three events and already felt that playing continuously from the group stages to the finals over three days would be exhausting. Not to mention Lin Yiyang, who was essentially working around the clock for all three days...
Fortunately, his partners in each event were highly capable. Even if he made a temporary mistake, his teammate would be there to ensure the gold wasn't lost.
In snooker, there was Meng Xiaodong.
In 10-ball, it was also Meng Xiaodong.
In 8-ball, he had Li Qingyan.
In team snooker, he had both Meng Xiaodong and Jiang Yang to coordinate with.
And in 9-ball... it was that "Rookie King" whom Yin Guo had once soundly defeated. Of course, the young man who had once been defiant toward Lin Yiyang had been thoroughly tamed during the seventy days of intensive training.
***
The first day consisted entirely of group stages.
At 3:00 PM on the second day, the billiards hall produced its first gold medal. It was the one with the least suspense: Men's 9-ball.
"It's Lin Yiyang! Lin Yiyang, who registered for five events, has successfully secured the first gold! Congratulations to Lin Yiyang for winning the gold medal in Men's 9-ball!"
"9-ball used to be Lin Yiyang's primary discipline. He took this gold with ease! He has no rivals in the Asian circuit."
"I believe that at this very moment, in the other hemisphere, a large number of Lin's 9-ball fans are watching this live broadcast!"
The commentators' voices filled the venue. The birth of the first gold medal brought the first wave of thunderous cheers to the stadium.
The other Chinese player had been stopped in the semi-finals.
Lin Yiyang ascended the podium alone. Standing at the highest point, he accepted the gold medal placed around his neck by the organizers.
Since it was the first billiards gold of the Asian Games, reporters surrounded him as soon as he returned to the rest area. Lin Yiyang appeared very calm before the cameras. This was only the first gold; the best was yet to come.
"Women's 9-ball is our strongest event," he said at the end of the brief interview, shifting the focus directly to the women's team. "Believe me, both the gold and silver will be ours."
It was exactly as Lin Yiyang predicted.
At 3:15 PM, the hall erupted in applause once more as the second gold medal was decided.
The winner of the Women's 9-ball gold was the thirty-four-year-old Chinese veteran Liu Xiran, who had returned from retirement. The silver went to her teammate, Yin Guo.
Yin Guo ran over from the other side of the table and gave the champion a huge hug. Her hands, still gripping her cue, were covered in sweat, and her eyes were full of smiles. "You truly deserve this. I'm so happy you won this gold!"
Liu Xiran’s eyes were completely red. She couldn't hold back, and her tears fell freely.
As a player who had been retired for several years, she had been so afraid that she wouldn't be able to cut it upon returning to the arena. But throughout this journey, she had proven with her strength that she could do it—that she was even better than before. "Thank you... thank you."
"Don't you dare retire next year," Yin Guo joked softly. "Wait for me to beat you. I'll win back both the World Championship and the Asian Games titles together."
"Alright! I'll wait for you to win them back!" Liu Xiran smiled through her tears and nodded.
Yin Guo stepped back a few paces, allowing the champion to bow to the audience and celebrate this first gold medal.
As soon as Liu Xiran stepped off the stage, the first person she hugged was Jiang Yang, the old friend who had given her the most help. "Thank you for letting me keep practicing at Dongxincheng." Jiang Yang smiled and patted her back. "It’s only right. We’re all family."
Ten minutes later.
Yin Guo stood on the runner-up podium. Beside her, standing a head taller in the champion's spot, was Liu Xiran.
From a distance, she could see Lin Yiyang standing in front of their teammates, watching her. The second she looked over, Lin Yiyang gave her a cool thumbs-up.
The Chinese team had made a brilliant start with double golds in 9-ball. From then on, medals continued to pour in.
At 6:39 PM.
Women's 8-ball: the Chinese team secured a silver medal.
At 8:00 PM.
Women's 10-ball: the Chinese team added a bronze medal.
At 8:40 PM.
Lin Yiyang finally secured the gold medal for Men's 8-ball.
This was his second gold of the day. When he stood on the podium again, the fans in attendance rose to their feet. Whether they had come specifically for him or not, they all congratulated him on clinching his second individual gold.
This was also the final gold medal and the last award ceremony of the day.
After his first win in 9-ball, he had to continue competing and couldn't change clothes. But this time, he had changed back into the official Chinese national team uniform beforehand. He returned from the tunnel alone. Li Qingyan, who had won the bronze, saw that he had changed and also pulled his tracksuit on over his shirt. The midsummer temperature was high; even with the air conditioning in the stadium, he was soon covered in sweat.
Lin Yiyang walked up to Li Qingyan and smiled. "Don't you find it too hot?"
"It's a rare occasion," Li Qingyan replied with a smile. "It's fine."
Li Qingyan was a snooker player, but with three powerhouses present, he had no chance to register for snooker. Instead, he had entered the 8-ball qualifiers. Unexpectedly, he had actually walked away with a bronze medal.
All matches for the day were over, with the outcomes of five events decided.
In the rest area, everyone relaxed. Yin Guo massaged her forearms and shoulders while waiting to see him stand on the podium again. Suddenly, a gold medal swung past her face and was hung around her neck—it was Lin Yiyang’s first 9-ball gold.
In passing, he pinched her round little face and smiled, gesturing a "1" with his finger. Yin Guo knew what he meant: this was the first one, and he was about to go collect the second.
Her man was walking toward his own summit.
Led by the staff, Lin Yiyang, dressed in his tracksuit, stepped onto the highest point of the podium. Beside him were a player from Hong Kong, China, and Li Qingyan. Clad in the Chinese team’s athletic wear and sneakers, Lin Yiyang stood with his hands behind his back and leaned forward slightly as the organizers placed a gold medal around his neck. The official smiled and patted his shoulder. "I look forward to your performance tomorrow."
Tomorrow was individual snooker and team snooker—Lin Yiyang’s other primary disciplines.
Lin Yiyang smiled and nodded.
Last time, there was a single national flag; now, there were two.
He stood on the podium with Li Qingyan, watching the national flags slowly rise above the arena and listening to the national anthem echo through the stadium. He thought of something his teacher had once said:
*We started late, truly too late. Just look at how the sport has developed in other countries.*
And another line:
*Xiao Liu, don't drop the ball. You still have a long road ahead of you.*
...
That night, Lin Yiyang updated his WeChat Moments. It was a photo of today’s two gold medals placed side-by-side on the Chinese team uniform. The caption read: *Dedicated to my mentor, He Wenfeng.*
***
