Dimensional Storekeeper

Chapter 207: The Legendary Art of Self-Defeat

“Can I do it?”

Yue Xueyan gave a small nod. She had already expected this. If she tried to take the first shot herself, her junior would probably sulk for three days and three nights.

But as they approached the table, both girls suddenly paused.

They glanced at one another.

Their qi… was still within them, but it wasn’t flowing freely. It was as if a soft curtain had wrapped around their dantian, muting the energy inside. Not gone, but unreachable.

Hua Feixue tilted her head. “This must be part of the game too, huh.”

Yue Xueyan didn’t respond. She simply accepted it, standing calmly at the side as her junior stepped forward, cue in hand.

Hua Feixue inhaled, her face going serious.

She recalled Hao’s explanation from earlier. The key was to control the force – not too strong, not too weak. She bent forward, took aim, and struck.

The cue ball smashed into the rest with a satisfying crack, sending them scattering across the table.

But none dropped into a pocket. A solid brushed the corner, a stripe rolled to the edge… then stopped.

Hua Feixue pouted. “Ehhh? What do you mean not even one?”

Yue Xueyan stepped up next.

She mimicked the stance she had just seen, cue leveled and fingers spread, but the moment she leaned in –

Her foot slipped just slightly.

Her back angle was awkward.

And when she thrust forward, her finger didn’t hold the cue right.

Instead of hitting the ball, her stick scraped the felt and awkwardly bumped into nothing.

A long, awkward pause filled the room.

Even she didn’t move for a second.

…Pretending it didn’t happen.

Then Hua Feixue clapped her hands, grinning wide.

“My turn now, right, Senior Sister? You totally missed!”

“That wasn’t even a warm-up swing!”

She circled around her Senior Sister. “Now, let me show you how it’s done.”

“You didn’t even hit the white ball – how are you going to fight anyone like that!”

Yue Xueyan narrowed her eyes ever so slightly but allowed it. Inside, though, her pride cracked just a bit.

Hua Feixue scanned the table, hunting for the easiest shot. A striped ball, number 12, sat barely an inch from the top left pocket.

“This is what Senior Hao did.” Hua Feixue said, bracing with care and adjusting her fingers.

She struck.

The cue ball rolled smoothly forward, tapped the stripe, and the striped ball dropped in.

Thunk..

“YES!”

She threw her hand up in triumph, pointing dramatically at her senior.

“Did you see that Senior Sister?!”

“It went in! It actually went in! I’m built for this!”

Yue Xueyan crossed her arms, cool on the outside. But her gaze followed the fallen ball with quiet calculation.

The battle had only just begun.

The game went on.

Hua Feixue was bouncing with every shot, her movements fast, energetic, sometimes overly dramatic. She poked, leaned, spun the cue like it was a sword, and cheered even when she missed.

Yue Xueyan, on the other hand, was steady. Focused. Still clearly awkward with the mechanics, but catching on quickly.

The others stood at the edge of the room, eyes quietly following the game.

A strange itch had started to creep into the air.

Dou Xinshi shuffled in place. His fingers twitched. He rubbed his palms on his chest, then folded his arms, then unfolded them again.

“Senior Hua should’ve hit the other one.” Dou Xinshi mumbled.

“The angle was better on the three.”

Xiao Lianfeng nodded beside him. “And she’s holding it all wrong.”

“She’s not distributing the force properly.”

Even Lin Yijun squinted one eye at the table. “Why’d she go for that shot”

“She could’ve just banked the five. Too greedy.”

Old Tiger Zhao sat off to the side, soft serve cone in hand. He said nothing, just licked his ice cream with a suspicious level of judgment.

They weren’t just watching anymore.

They were calculating.

The longer the match dragged on, the more it stirred something in their chests – a familiar feeling. That classic thought that sneaks up when you see someone else doing something not-quite-right.

“I could’ve done that better.”

Suddenly, the billiard table wasn’t just a new attraction.

It was a challenge!

By the time Yue Xueyan and Hua Feixue reached the last few balls, neither girl had scored much, but Hua Feixue had declared at least five made-up techniques and three philosophical monologues.

Eventually, it came down to the final shot. Only the black 8-ball remained on the table.

Hua Feixue narrowed her eyes, tongue slightly out in concentration.”

“She crouched low, angled her cue stick, and whispered/ “This is it. My final blossom bloom – Ultimate Victory Strike.”

She struck.

The cue ball sped across the green, kissed the 8-ball perfectly.

The black ball rolled… rolled… “plunk” straight into the corner pocket.

“YES! I win!” Hua Feixue jumped up, spinning with her arms raised.

Plunk.

The white cue ball followed right after it. Right into the pocket.

“…”

Everyone watching blinked.

“…Huh?”

Hao let out the loudest sigh in the realm. “You scratched on the 8-ball, Hua.”

Hua Feixue’s head snapped toward Hao. “I… what, boss?”

“You hit the 8-ball in, then sank the cue ball right after. That’s an auto loss.” Hao said casually.

“Congratulations, Hua. You’ve discovered the legendary art of self-defeat.”

Hua slumped into a chair with a horrified gasp.

Yue Xueyan, silent as always, paused for a second.

A faint smile appeared on her face. Just a tiny curl at the corners of her lips.

It vanished a heartbeat later, but not before everyone saw it.

Not because she won. No. Of course not.

Definitely not because her junior sister fumbled at the last second.

…But also maybe, just slightly, because her soul had already prepared for defeat and was quietly slipping out of her body.

She had been one turn away from a tragic end. She could see it clearly: the 8-ball rolling, the perfect angle, Hua Feixue’s overly confident stance – only to send the cue ball in right after it.

Self-destruction. A gift from the heavens.

Winner by default.

Yue Xueyan didn’t even fully comprehend all the game’s rules yet.

But that didn’t matter. She’d won. Somehow.

A win was a win.

Even if it came with a question mark.

Hua Feixue groaned dramatically. “Noooo… I had it! I had it!”

“Had it.” Hao agreed. “Then handed it away.”

“Truly generous.”