Chapter 122 - 122 118 Learn Now Sell Now Part 1

122: Chapter 118: Learn Now, Sell Now (Part 1) 122: Chapter 118: Learn Now, Sell Now (Part 1) Yonghui Private Club was inherently a place half for entertainment and half for gambling, and as Ye Fan and Zhou Shijie were betting, Yonghui Club naturally acted as the mediator. An on-duty manager immediately had the clerk draft the gambling agreement between Ye Fan and Zhou Shijie on the computer, and printed it out on A4 white paper, in triplicate. After the Yonghui Club confirmed that both parties had three million in chips, Ye Fan and Zhou Shijie signed the betting agreement, followed by the signature of the mediator, Yonghui Club, with each party receiving a copy of the contract. “The current time is 9:21, and the official showdown will begin at 9:31, best two out of three,” announced the manager of Yonghui Club. “Ha ha, Ye Fan, you’re doomed to lose. Get ready to go bankrupt and jump off a building,” Zhou Shijie could no longer hide his arrogant laughter. Ye Fan merely glanced indifferently at Zhou Shijie and calmly said, “Really? We’ll see after the match.” He then turned away from Zhou Shijie and said to Bobo, “Bobo, teach me how to play billiards.” “Yes!” Bobo replied solemnly. This whole incident had arisen because of her; if Ye Fan lost, he wouldn’t just lose three million, but also his dignity, having to kneel and kowtow in apology to Feng Yanyan. Ye Fan and Bobo made their way to a billiards table, and the crowd automatically parted to let them through, though their eyes were all fixed on Ye Fan. Everyone was curious why the formal showdown was to start only ten minutes later. Under the watchful eyes of the public, Ye Fan and Bobo approached an unused billiards table. From the rack of cue sticks nearby, Ye Fan and Bobo each took one, and then Bobo began explaining how to play billiards to Ye Fan. Billiards and snooker are considered refined indoor activities, and Bobo, who came from a remarkable background, had received professional instruction in both. Therefore, purely in terms of theoretical knowledge, Bobo was quite competent. The onlookers curiously watched every move Ye Fan and Bobo made, assuming they were just warming up before the bet to get a feel for the game. But soon, they were shocked to discover that Ye Fan actually didn’t know how to play billiards at all, and was now letting Bobo teach him! “Oh my God! He doesn’t know how to play billiards!” Everyone felt like they were losing their minds, staring agape, unable to believe what they were seeing. They all thought that Ye Fan, being so bold as to bet big, must have some real skills, and if not assuredly beating Zhou Shijie, at least be a match for him. However, Ye Fan had never played billiards before! Not only were the onlookers completely stunned, even Zhou Shijie and Feng Yanyan were petrified. Ahahaha… Zhou Shijie suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter, his face turning red, bending at the waist, one hand covering the stomach that ached from laughing and the other hand pounding on the green baize of the table. “…ha ha, Bobo, look at the boyfriend you’ve got yourself, turns out he’s just a big-talker with no substance! You really have quite the eye! Ahahaha… I’m dying, ha ha, I’m dying of laughter, ha ha…” Feng Yanyan also laughed like a madwoman. As the onlookers regained their senses from the surprise, those who had mentally sided with Ye Fan began shaking their heads and sighing in disapproval, now looking down on Ye Fan for his baseless claims. Bobo’s face also didn’t look too good. She actually wasn’t very optimistic about Ye Fan winning either. She had systematically learned how to play billiards and knew that there’s a big difference between theorizing and the actual game play. After all, billiards is an experiential sport. No matter how good the theoretical knowledge is, once you actually hold the cue and play, especially if it’s your first time, you might not even be able to hit the cue ball without a miscue, let alone strike the ball you aim for and pocket it. Faced with the laughter of everyone except Bobo, Wang Shuo remained unruffled, his eyes bright and steady, exuding calm confidence. Indeed, he had never played billiards; he hadn’t even touched a cue stick before this. But he knew that playing billiards was a game of controlling force and mastering the angles. As a master of the dark energy, he had long since perfected his control over strength down to the finest detail, not to mention his accuracy. In the midst of a mad and deadly hail of bullets, he could instantly shoot out a pebble and pierce the fontanelle of an enemy lurking dozens of meters away, such accuracy was definitely a terrifying presence. Ten minutes had been enough for him to learn and master the skill of playing billiards. Two minutes later, Bobo had explained most of the key points of billiards and started to demonstrate with a shot. “Brother Ye, you should try shooting once,” Bobo said to Ye Fan. “Mm,” Ye Fan responded, positioned the white cue ball properly, gripped the cue stick the way Bobo had explained, and leaned forward. Bobo had casually placed a “12” ball on the other end of the billiard table in the center. Following the key points Bobo had explained, Ye Fan’s wrist and arm remained steady, his shot swift and without a tremble, the cue tip striking precisely at the center line’s midpoint of the cue ball. Bang! The cue ball rolled swiftly and sharply, accurately hitting the center of the “12” ball. Bang! The two balls collided, then rolled back and forth on the billiard table. Because Ye Fan had hit the balls a bit too hard, the white cue ball and the “12” ball bounced and rolled around the table for quite a while before gradually coming to a stop. “Good!” Bobo couldn’t help but exclaim. For Ye Fan to shoot like that, many who had played billiards for two to three years might not be able to make such a clean, strong shot. Subsequently, Bobo began to teach Ye Fan how to perform high shots, draw shots, side spins, jump shots, stop shots, angled draws, curve balls, and other techniques like masse shots. Ye Fan learned very quickly; once Bobo explained a key point and demonstrated once, Ye Fan got it right the first time. Onlookers were all astonished by the sight. The news that Ye Fan was betting three million with Zhou Shijie on a game of billiards quickly spread throughout the entire club, with many onlookers rushing to watch. The crowd of spectators grew larger and larger. New onlookers who knew Ye Fan couldn’t play billiards scoffed and laughed, but those who had been watching Ye Fan learn how to play for a while didn’t think the same. They had a premonition that Ye Fan, who had never touched a billiard cue before, might very well win. Even if he didn’t win, it would still be a glorious defeat. Seeing Ye Fan’s learning ability morphing so drastically, Bobo’s pretty face gradually filled with smiles, brimming with confidence in Ye Fan. The only ones frustrated and going crazy were Zhou Shijie and Feng Yanyan, who witnessed with their own eyes how Ye Fan went from not even knowing how to hold a cue to rapidly mastering the skills of playing billiards with an astonishing speed. They watched helplessly as the scales of a sure victory tipped more and more in Ye Fan’s favor, causing them to grow anxious. Six minutes later, Ye Fan had learned all the techniques of playing billiards; what followed was him playing himself, cultivating the feel and painstakingly experiencing the various outcomes caused by the differing strength applied to each shot. Seeing Ye Fan’s billiards skills becoming more and more proficient, Zhou Shijie could no longer sit still and ordered Feng Yanyan to cause a scene and disrupt Ye Fan’s practiced play. However, as soon as Feng Yanyan barged in, Bobo immediately slapped her away very rudely. Meanwhile, Ye Fan remained unaffected, focusing intently like one experiencing enlightenment, exploring the strength and accuracy of playing billiards, his proficiency level climbing almost every three shots.