Chapter 10 Playing Ball

Chapter 10 Shooting Pool

After leaving the restaurant, Jiang Luo was just pissed. He had actively kept his distance from those people, yet he still ran into them while having a meal, and they even took the initiative to bother him.

What did they mean by "Mom and Dad are really worried since you haven’t come home"?

Jiang Luo knew all too well that even if Su Lan and Zhao Guangyuan were genuinely worried—and not just putting on an act—their care and concern for him were still very limited.

Otherwise, their biological son, whom they had recognized and sought out at the silk factory’s old workers' dormitory back in early April, would not still be left unclaimed and not brought home.

To put it bluntly, not loving someone is just not loving someone.

Jiang Luo walked toward the elevator, no longer dwelling on Zhao Shuo and his family, and his expression soon cleared.

He turned his head to look at Huo Zongzhuo walking beside him, his tone lazy and somewhat careless: "Well, we didn’t get to eat, but you got a free show."

Huo Zongzhuo didn’t say much, only replying, "There’s a Western restaurant upstairs, or we can go up and eat there."

"Forget it, I've lost my appetite."

Jiang Luo wasn’t in the mood to eat anymore, and he wasn’t particularly hungry anyway. He could just go back to the cheap motel and have a couple of biscuits.

"I’m heading back. You don’t need to drive me; I’ll catch a cab."

As Jiang Luo spoke, he started to walk off on his own.

But Huo Zongzhuo continued to follow him, even entering the elevator with him.

Jiang Luo glanced at the man, clicked his tongue inwardly, and wondered: "It's not like we're close. What do you see in me? First, you make a bet with me and offer me 100,000 yuan, then you want to get food with me?"

In his usual irreverent manner, he joked: "Go on, tell me. Just tell me and I'll fix it."

He had a real "I don't give a damn" attitude.

Huo Zongzhuo was amused.

Huo Zongzhuo replied naturally: "There's nothing about you that caught my eye."

"The 100,000 yuan wasn’t a gift; it was a loan. That day, I saw you making a bet with someone and found it interesting."

"As for eating, it was just convenient."

"You don’t need to overthink it."

"And you certainly don’t need to change."

Alright then.

Jiang Luo didn’t bother saying more and suggested: "Let’s just find some random restaurant by the road and grab a bite."

"My treat."

"Sure."

Huo Zongzhuo was equally agreeable.

So the two drove away from Huating, spotted a small, hole-in-the-wall joint nearby, parked the car, and went in to eat.

Meanwhile, Zhao Shuo was furious.

Especially since he had clients to entertain. After such a scene, he'd been humiliated but still had to suppress his anger, wipe his face clean, and return to continue dining with his clients. During the meal, he had to explain, saying that the earlier incident involved a younger brother from the family who was being immature, hence the commotion, and asking the clients not to mind, blah blah blah.

The clients naturally smoothed things over, saying young people these days are all like that, hard to control, and so on.

Zhao Shuo divided his attention, entertaining the clients while thinking about what happened with Jiang Luo.

He had been splashed in the face by Jiang Luo and had been utterly embarrassed in front of others, so he was naturally very angry.

But as he gradually calmed down, he recalled Jiang Luo’s cold gaze and the words Jiang Luo had finally said to him: "hypocritical" and "disgusting." Zhao Shuo frowned inwardly, beginning to somewhat understand that Jiang Luo must harbor some resentment toward them.

As for what exactly he resented, Zhao Shuo could more or less figure it out:

As early as the beginning of April, they had learned about the baby mix-up, approached Jiang Jianmin’s family, explained the situation, and reunited with Jiang Luo.

But now it was late April, and neither family had made any further moves.

Hypocritical.

Hypocritical.

Zhao Shuo chewed on those words, realizing that Jiang Luo had actually sensed Su Lan and Zhao Guangyuan’s dislike and lack of acceptance toward him.

Was that it?

So that was why Jiang Luo had acted that way earlier.

And why he had left home without a word, cutting off contact with everyone?

Zhao Shuo silently sighed, feeling that Jiang Luo might be acting out with them.

At this point, Zhao Shuo couldn't even blame Jiang Luo for being upset.

Because he knew deep down that after visiting the silk factory, they had indeed somewhat neglected Jiang Luo due to their dislike of his appearance—a fact none of them could deny.

Zhao Shuo then began to wonder if Jiang Luo had any money on him or where he had been staying lately.

Thinking about the man in the suit from earlier, Zhao Shuo also worried that Jiang Luo might be mixing with the wrong crowd and end up being deceived.

What Zhao Shuo didn’t know was that, on the other side, Jiang Luo and Huo Zongzhuo had finished their simple dinner and gone to a nearby outdoor pool hall to blow off some steam—

Jiang Luo had brought Huo Zongzhuo along.

He himself was itching to play and wanted to have some fun.

Since Huo Zongzhuo was there, he brought him along.

The pool hall was outdoors, in a small open area with many green-felt tables set up. Strings of lights were hung overhead, though the lighting was rather dim, casting a glow over the area. There were quite a few people there, all holding cues and gathered around the green-felt tables playing pool. Coincidentally, a table had just opened up.

Jiang Luo asked the owner for that table, paid, and walked with Huo Zongzhuo toward it.

Jiang Luo asked casually: "You know how to play?"

Jiang Luo knew Huo Zongzhuo did—in his previous life, they had socialized with people at a pool hall together, and Jiang Luo had seen Huo Zongzhuo play.

"Yes, but I’m average."

Huo Zongzhuo replied as he took off his suit jacket.

When they reached the table, the owner had already set up the balls for the first game. Jiang Luo picked up a cue, didn’t even chalk the tip, went to one end of the table, positioned the cue ball, bent over the table, lined up his shot, eyed the balls, and pushed the cue forward to strike the cue ball. With a "crack," the cue ball forcefully hit the cluster of colored balls, which scattered and rolled rapidly from the impact. Soon, two colored balls sank into the pockets.

The owner hadn't left yet and, upon seeing this, couldn't help but praise, "Nice shot!"

Jiang Luo straightened up, studied the table, walked around to one side, almost immediately decided which ball to aim for next, took his stance, bent over the table, aligned his cue with the white ball, and struck—"thump"—another ball sank precisely into the pocket.

At the same time, Jiang Luo said casually, "I'm not much good at anything else, but I'm the best at eating, drinking, and having a good time."

Huo Zongzhuo watched Jiang Luo, a slight smile tugged at his lips, admiration in his eyes.

Jiang Luo quickly sank the second and third balls, his technique smooth and efficient, clearly showing he knew how to play.

He missed the fourth shot, failing to go in. Jiang Luo straightened up, and Huo Zongzhuo stepped forward, leaned over, and with a sharp "thump," sank the ball cleanly into the pocket.

Jiang Luo stood to the side and gave the man a couple of claps. "Nice shot."

Then, as Huo Zongzhuo passed by him, he teased, "Pretty modest, saying you only play average."

"Truly, I only play average," Huo Zongzhuo replied while taking his shot.

Jiang Luo planted his cue stick on the ground, leaning on it like a lounge lizard, lazily and bluntly saying, "I never say I play average."

"I always say, even if God himself showed up, he wouldn't play half as well as me."

Huo Zongzhuo laughed.

Just like that, Jiang Luo and Huo Zongzhuo played pool for two hours. As it turned out, Jiang Luo really was skilled—he won almost every game.

When he won, he even said to Huo Zongzhuo, "Sorry about that. Even though you're loaded and you're paying me, when it comes to pool, it's every man for himself at the table. If I win, I win."

Huo Zongzhuo laughed again. Jiang Luo's personality was truly captivating.

He especially, particularly liked it.

By the time they finished, it was already past nine. At this hour, most ordinary families were already in bed.

Huo Zongzhuo and Jiang Luo walked out of the open-air pool hall, Jiang Luo holding a bottle of soda and sipping it, head down.

Huo Zongzhuo then said, "It's getting late. Let me take you back."

He added, "So, Jing'an isn't actually your home."

The last time they had steak together, he'd dropped Jiang Luo off at an alley in Jing'an and assumed that was where he lived.

Then, in a natural tone, he remarked, "You must not be on great terms with your family, huh?"

This naturally referred to the glass of water Jiang Luo had thrown during the incident at Huating.

Jiang Luo sipped his soda, showing no displeasure at Huo Zongzhuo bringing this up.

He replied just as naturally, "Yeah. And it's more than just unpleasant—with them, I plan on cutting them off for good."

As they walked toward the car, Huo Zongzhuo didn't press the topic further. Instead, he glanced at the young man and asked, "Where are you staying? A friend's place?"

"A small hotel."

Jiang Luo had no reason to hide it. He figured Huo Zongzhuo was just making conversation, so he answered casually.

Then he glanced at the man and added, "What, worried I'm sleeping on the streets?"

Huo Zongzhuo hummed in acknowledgment.

Jiang Luo was no stranger to sleeping on the streets.

Jiang Luo sipped his soda and said softly, "Don’t worry, I’d never shortchange myself."

Huo Zongzhuo looked at Jiang Luo. Just then, they passed under a streetlight, casting their shadows beneath them and illuminating Jiang Luo’s face, making the young man’s handsome features fully visible.

Huo Zongzhuo watched in silence as they walked.

At that moment, Huo Zongzhuo was still making plans for tomorrow, the day after, or later in the week when he had free time—to take Jiang Luo to another nice restaurant for a good meal.

He was also thinking how fun Jiang Luo was, and that after eating, he could take him out somewhere fun.

However—

The next day, Jiang Luo arrived early at Jing'an Branch munching on a steamed bun. The branch was bustling with people, the counters crowded, and even the entrance was full.

On the hall’s screen, everything was a deep, blazing red, as all stocks were skyrocketing.

The investors inside were ecstatic. No matter how many shares they had bought or how much money they had invested, with this momentum, they were sure to make a killing!

Local aunties and uncles chatting in groups were all beaming with joy.

Not only had they bought stocks themselves, scraping together money from everywhere and investing every last bit, but they had also called their relatives and friends to join in, everyone making money together.

The stock market and the investors were going crazy that day.

In front of the counters, people crowded together, holding trading slips and waiting for their turn, packed tightly without an inch to spare.

Among them were some who knew Jiang Luo, aware that he had taken a hundred thousand or ten thousand from someone to make a bet. When they saw him, they said, "Young man, you’ve struck it rich! With such a huge rise, you’re about to become a millionaire!"

Jiang Luo remained calm. With no seat available, he stood with his arms crossed, silently watching the stock prices on the screen.

His expression showed patience, composure, and a hint of boundless ambition that dismissed everything else.

That day, before the market closed and the branch shut its doors, Jiang Luo took his trading slip and squeezed through the crowd to the counter—he filled out a sell order, selling off all his stocks.

That night, in a room at the Jing'an Hilton.

There was a knock at the door. Huo Zongzhuo went to answer it.

As the door opened, the hotel manager stood outside, politely handed over a plastic bag. He said to Huo Zongzhuo, "Mr. Huo, hello. Someone just brought this to the front desk and asked us to pass it to you."

Huo Zongzhuo reached out to take it and asked, "Did they say what it is? Or who sent it?"

The hotel manager replied, "They didn’t say who they were or what it is. They just mentioned your name, said they knew you were staying here, and asked us to give it to you."

Huo Zongzhuo said, "Okay, thank you."

The bag had a bit of heft, and he had no idea what was inside.

Closing the door and returning inside, he opened the large bag. To his surprise, the first thing Huo Zongzhuo saw was a neatly folded suit.

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