Chapter 196: Break Shot Showdown
The man's words held no attempt to hide his disdain for Wyatt. Yunice clearly felt Wyatt's anger intensify. She quickly pinched his arm, then rose on tiptoe to whisper something in his ear. The bunny girl perked her ears to listen, but heard nothing. This time, Wyatt didn’t stop Yunice. She walked over to the rack and picked the lightest cue stick.
The bunny girl exchanged a quick glance with the middle-aged man, then strolled to the table. Without so much as a glance at the rack, she casually grabbed a cue and broke. Everything was routine. The bunny girl sank a shot with ease. Yunice, on the other hand, fumbled—she didn’t just miss; she didn’t even hit the cue ball properly.
The bunny girl had initially thought Yunice might have a trick or two and was ready to test her. But realizing she was dealing with a complete newbie, she immediately lost interest and shot again with lazy indifference. Except this time, the ball came flying—hard—straight at Yunice’s face.
In pool halls, injuries weren’t rare. A flying cue ball like that could easily break someone’s nose or worse. “Ms. Saunders…” Jordan called out nervously. The middle-aged man took a sip of tea, glancing at Wyatt, whose expression remained unreadable. The bunny girl curled her lips, already bracing for Yunice’s scream.
Just a naive little girl. In the face of something unexpected, she probably wouldn’t even move. Good—maybe she’d learn a lesson from this. But before the bunny girl could finish the thought, her eyes narrowed sharply. Yunice moved. At the last possible second, she lifted her hand into a palm block, tilted her head to one side, and spun on her heel.
There was no loud thud. No cry of pain. Yunice opened her hand and gently placed the now energy-drained ball back on the table. With a smile, she nudged it gently toward the bunny girl. “Your ball. I’m returning it.” The bunny girl’s face turned green as she watched the ball roll to a stop just three inches from her.
“How did you do that?” she asked, dumbfounded. “Javelin mechanics. Middle school PE. Reverse the force.” If Yunice had blocked it with raw strength, her fingers would’ve been wrecked. But by timing it just right and redirecting the momentum, she had absorbed the force without injury.
Of course, dodging would’ve been safer. But she wanted to show off a little. Now, instead of looking like a flustered amateur, she had the upper hand—and the bunny girl couldn’t read her anymore. Seeing her opponent rattled, Yunice added with a smile, “Even though that flying ball was technically a foul, I’ll let you go first. Shall we continue?”
“Let me?” the bunny girl’s expression cracked like a porcelain mask. That sloppy shot, and she still had the nerve to say she was letting her go? Determined to crush Yunice, the bunny girl bent down and played seriously. In one clean sequence, she sank the remaining four solids. Only the black eight remained.
Yunice, on the other hand, hadn’t sunk a single ball. She still had all seven stripes on the table. The bunny girl sneered. Yunice was done for. She was about to pocket the eight when Yunice suddenly piped up sweetly, “Could you give me one more chance, Lady?”
The bunny girl scoffed. “What, afraid of losing? Worried Mr. Cooper will be disappointed?” Yunice made a pitiful face. The bunny girl, now fully amused, leaned back and handed over the cue. “Fine. I did nearly smack you earlier. Call it an apology.”
But if she still couldn’t land a shot? Even more humiliating. “Thank you, Lady.” Yunice stepped forward, narrowed her eyes, and struck. The hit echoed sharply. The bunny girl’s eyes widened in shock as a ball hurtled directly at her. She dodged in a panic, flailing awkwardly—only for the ball to knock her bunny-ear headband off and mess up her carefully styled curls.
She snapped, “Are you blind?!” But before she could keep yelling, she looked back at the table—and froze. The middle-aged man hadn’t expected anything either. When he glanced over, he caught sight of the bunny girl looking like she’d seen a ghost.
Wait… hadn’t Yunice just had all seven of her striped balls on the table? Now, aside from the eight ball, the table was empty. As if to answer his unspoken question, the quiet room suddenly filled with the low rumble of rolling. Seven striped balls dropped one by one into various pockets, before gently clicking into the ball return tray—lined up perfectly. The entire room was silent.