So Meng Xiaodong pretended to sigh helplessly. "Your skills haven't slipped much, which means you've kept practicing. But you're clearly rusty on the rules of snooker. If you carry on like this, you're no longer fit to compete."
As he said this, Meng Xiaodong turned to Wang Yue and praised him. "Still, it all depends on talent. Some people are gifted enough to remember the rules after hearing them once. Others aren't, and they forget rules they've played by before.
"My sister's boyfriend here played snooker for the first time today. He'd only just learned the rules, yet he followed them to the letter and scored 157 points.
"Lin Yiyang, you've really disappointed me. It's snooker—the very game you won a world championship in—and now you don't even know the rules.
"Honestly..."
As he spoke, he went over to the wall, picked up his down jacket, and put it on. Shaking his head with a sigh, he turned and headed out of the club.
Yin Guo hurriedly put on her own down jacket, picked up her cue, and followed after him.
Wang Yue hadn't expected his brother-in-law to use him as a prop to rekindle another man's competitive spirit. It felt a little strange. He shook his head helplessly, then turned and left too.
After they were gone, Wu Wei patted Lin Yiyang on the shoulder and said, pretending to be resigned, "If you don't want to play, then don't. You got a job at Xinhua News Agency, so just focus on that.
"I'll tell our teacher later that you really can't cut it anymore. You've got a good job now, so I'm sure he'll be at ease."
After patting Lin Yiyang on the shoulder, he turned and walked out.
Once everyone had left, Lin Yiyang stared at the table