The Rice Pot Next Door

Untitled Part 15

In my opinion, the first one-third of the book is comparatively less interesting than its middle so I"m glad to be finally at our dart's competition. Besides more Lan Shan-Qiao Feng cuteness, we finally have Qiao Feng and Song Zi Cheng in the same room and I sincerely hope the latter will give Qiao Feng a run for his money since it is never easy to defeat a genius in most romance novels.

Tan Zi uses the phrase "不怕虎一样的对手，就怕猪一样的队友" which I happily found an English equivalent which is is "never fear that your opponent is a tiger. Worry only if you have a pig as partner". The phrase is meant to refer to someone else but in the end, Tan Zi ends up the Pig in question. No matter what happens to him, I think you will enjoy this chapter. Have a nice week!

Chapter 30: Final Battle

Everyone has 3 tries and Lan Shan gets her feel of the darts fairly quick. Although her first 2 throws are average, she manages to hit a high score of 40 in her third throw.

What is the equivalent 40? The dart board is divided into slices like a watermelon and there are multiple rings radiating from the centre which subdivides the board into rings where your points can be multiplied if your dart lands in the ring itself. The highest point one can score in this watermelon board is 20 and Lan Shan manages to land her dart a 20 point square within a tiny arc, to achieve 40.

Lan Shan shoots Song Zi Cheng a challenging look and is surprised to find him looking at her in the same way. Tan Zi is outright impressed by her mix of beauty and skill and claps loudly for her. This woman, he thinks, is a real lady although she is not soft. But while she is tough, she does not make a guy feel threatened.

Song Zi Cheng is next. All his 3 throws land in the outermost sections and he scores 32 points, which is not a bad start.

Qiao Feng is next and under Lan Shan's careful guidance, he throws 3 darts and get... 0 points. 2 of his darts did not even stick to the board and this last dart lasted less than a second before dropping off the board. According to the rules of the game, no points can be awarded for such throws.

Tan Zi can't help laughing in glee which cause Lan Shan to frown in annoyance. This is probably Qiao Feng's first zero in life and when he sees Lan Shan's frown, he felt a bit guilty. "Sorry."

Lan Shan waves him off. "It doesn't matter since it is your first time playing."

Tan Zi is up next and he pulls their scores further apart. Feeling proud of himself, he says playfully. "Never fear that your opponent is a tiger. Worry only if you have a pig as partner."

Lan Shan is not someone who has to win every time, but she is seriously annoyed with this idiot. Song Zi Cheng also shots Tan Zi a look, hoping that he will tone down. Really, this friend of his is such an embarrassment sometimes. There is no need to degrade your love rival in front of the lady in question – she is not blind. If he keeps up like this, what does it matter that he wins some verbal advantage when he loses the respect of the lady?

Next is Lan Shan's turn again. She focuses and throws – smack in the bull's eye. 50 points. She is so pleased, she laughs out loud. When it is Qiao Feng's turn, he still did not manage to land any darts on the board. Just before he throws his third dart, Tan Zi flops down on the sofa and mocks. "My dear lady, you must use more strength."

That finally got Lan Shan's goat. That little twerp, all he knows is to bully Qiao Feng! Taking Qiao Feng's dart from his fingers, she turns and aims her dart at Tan Zi with a cold accuracy.

When Tan Zi sees a shiny missile coming his way, he is scared stiff into immobility. In a split second, his bead is beaded with sweat and his heartbeat pounds unevenly and even his goose pimples stands out. Just when he thinks that he is going to die, the dart pierces into the sofa, no more than 2 inches from his ear. The sound is so loud, it nearly bursts his eardrums.