Dimensional Storekeeper

Chapter 235: Even Hao Can’t Win This One

Elder Tang Sheng, on the other hand…

He stood there with one hand stroking his beard, brows slightly raised, expression deep and unreadable. Every bit of his posture suggested he had already figured it out.

Lin Yijun narrowed his eyes slightly.

…His master must’ve already been making plans.

Perhaps even thinking ahead on how to approach Bai Chen in case the Wing Blast truly got turned into a pill form.

The Cola Pill had already proven itself – if Bai Chen could make that, then what couldn’t he achieve?

This was what set elders apart. People who looked beyond the moment, always a few steps ahead, already preparing for what others hadn’t even dared to imagine.

Compared to them, who were still new to the battlefield of life, this was the natural gap created by experience.

But the reality was completely different…

Inside Elder Tang Sheng’s mind was not a blueprint of schemes, nor thoughts of Wing Blast-Inspired Pill breakthroughs.

No.

He was still sour he hadn’t made it to the semi finals.

Forget winning.

He hadn’t even gotten a single product to take home.

Just thinking about it made his chest ache.

Two. Just two prizes would’ve been perfect.

One to keep by his side on lonely nights, and one to hide in his storage ring for emergencies.

Instead, what he had waiting for him was a scroll of pending sect errands longer than his arm. A request to oversee the outer disciples’ fire-starting exams.

A broken array node in the cold storage room. And in three days, he’d be dragged off on a tiresome tour to a bunch of backwater branch sects for some cross-sect alliance conference. No Sovereign City comforts. Just bad tea, hard beds, and too much bowing.

Who had time to come back to the store anytime soon?

Winning today… would’ve been so clutch.

To make things worse, Sect Master Jiang Xianwei was going with him. Which sounded great – until his so-called brother-in-arms betrayed him by becoming a semifinalist.

Now the man had a stash.

And Elder Tang Sheng? He couldn’t even ask for a single can. There was no product sharing. Everyone knew that.

Besides, Sect Master Jiang Xianwei would never give him any. And honestly, if the tables were turned… Elder Tang wouldn’t share either.

So no – he wasn’t thinking about tactics.

At the same time, Yue Xueyan’s expression shifted. Not exactly a furrow of the brows, but something in her face tightened.

She hadn’t missed it. The barely-there change in Lin Yijun and Xiao Lianfeng.

Just for a second. But long enough.

They’d grown quieter. More… careful.

Her gaze locked on the two men, as if a tracking formation had just activated behind her pupils.

She didn’t have proof. She didn’t have answers.

But she knew it had something to do with Bai Chen.

A certain instinct told her.

Call it sixth sense. Call it intuition.

Call it the sacred, ancient art of A Girl Knowing Her Man Is Up To Something.

Others might say it was the gut feeling of a girl who just knew when boys were being suspicious.

Especially the mysterious ones.

Boys could practice concealment arts, fake emotions, even seal memories.

Girls?

They had intuition forged by generations of knowing when someone was hiding something.

And Yue Xueyan had the full set.

Hao clapped his hands together once.

A loud, crisp pop echoed across the billaird room.

“Alright, everyone!” Hao said with a small smile.

“That wraps up today’s event!”

A wave of mixed reactions rose – clapping, a few cheers, some people still finishing snacks, others picking up their dignity from where they lost it during the billiards match.

“Thanks for coming, for participating, and honestly, for not blowing up the tables. That alone deserves a round of applause.”

Laughter scattered across the courtyard.

Hao raised his hand in a half-joking salute. “Let’s all give ourselves a good clap for surviving the chaos – especially our brave contestants. And of course, our winners!”

More cheers. Louder this time.

“There’ll be more events in the future.”

‘Hopefully.’ he thought, glancing at the air. If the system allowed it, or if he figured out a way to run one on his own.

“But for now.” Hao continued. “You’re all welcome to hang out here for another half hour.”

“The store’s closing after that so we can clean up, rest, or cry in peace.”

A few chuckles rippled through the small crowd.

He made a lazy gesture toward the wall clock. “Tomorrow, the opening time might be a bit later than usual.”

Somewhere off to the side, Kurome made a sound that suspiciously resembled a yawn.

In the back of his mind, Hao let out a sigh.

His employees hadn’t even gotten to participate. They should at least get a break tomorrow, right?

Even for a little bit.

And maybe next time… maybe the next event could be different.

More relaxed.

Open to everyone.

Even him.

If the system allowed it.

He sent out a little nudge in his mind, a sweetened thought draped in honeyed optimism.

‘System – ‘Hao drawled internally, stretching the word out.

‘Next event, maybe this humble host can also join? Just once?’

‘It’s good for morale. Builds unity. Fun, laughter, shared trauma, that sort of thing…’

“…”

No outright rejection. Yet.

Promising.

A little.

Time passed, and eventually, the store quieted down.

The last few customers gave their thanks, and exited with leftover tournament hype still buzzing in their veins.

The noise finally faded.

Hao glanced around the now-peaceful store. Just him and his employees.

He looked at them. They could take a break tomorrow, he said.

Go out, explore, relax, train, or just sleep in for once.

He could manage the store for a day.

They’d earned it. They deserved it.

But their response wasn’t quite what he expected.

No one agreed.

Not because they didn’t appreciate it. But because they didn’t feel like they needed it.

They all had free time after their work shifts.

The outside world held no real appeal.

And besides… the store had already become part of their rhythm.

A strange, comfortable rhythm.

Not a prison. Not even a job.

Just theirs.

Hao stared at them for a moment.

Then smiled.

Just a little.

Half a smile, crooked at the edge. He shook his head.

“Really.” Hao murmured softly to no one in particular.

“I’ve got good employees, huh?”

“Alright.” Hao said lazily, raising his arms.

“Since you all didn’t get to join the contest, why don’t we hold a little mini tournament of our own?”

They didn’t even hesitate, all gave various nods or sparks of interest.

What surprised Hao the most, though, was when a shadow wobbled up from the floor.

Two, actually.

Yoru and Tsuki – no longer tiny balls of fluff – had clearly been learning from their mother.

They had grown noticeably bigger in recent days, closer to chonky housecats now. Both were surrounded by faint, shimmering shadows. It wasn’t quite elegant.

But it worked.

They could actually control and hold the cue stick now, their little shadows manifesting enough to awkwardly poke the cue ball in the right direction.

It wasn’t long before the little siblings faced off against each other in their own round.

Tsuki, who had a calmer temperament, won narrowly. Yoru’s aggressive pokes sent more balls flying off the table than in the pockets.

Tsuki merely bounced on her paws, tail curled, and chirped with quiet pride.

Of course, her victory celebration was short-lived.

Because the next match was against Kurome.

The mother cat did not go easy.

With one swish of her tail and a flick of a perfectly timed shadow cue, Tsuki’s hopeful break was crushed. The board cleared in five perfect shots. Tsuki sat down, blinking, as if wondering where the game had gone.

She was then rewarded with a head pat and a gentle lick between the ears.

Tsuki accepted her loss with a sleepy yawn and promptly rolled over.

In the corner, Yan Shu’er sat on a chair with her chin resting on both palms, eyes burning as she watched.

She couldn’t join this time – after all, she’d already participated in the official tournament earlier – but she cheered as loud as she could every time her big brother Yan Zhi took a shot.

“Don’t you dare lose to Xixi!” Yan Shu’er shouted with fiery passion, nearly falling off the chair.

“Hit it – hit the ball!! That one! The red one!”

“No wait – no, NOT THAT ONE – !”

Let’s just say, while Yan Shu’er might have had natural instincts for billiards, her big brother… did not.

Each time Yan Zhi aimed, he had the dead-serious focus of someone attempting a life-changing breakthrough – except the cue stick clearly wasn’t cooperating.

And then came Mo Xixi.

She didn’t even blink as she absolutely demolished Yan Zhi in the first round. By the time Mo Xixi last ball dropped, Yan Zhi had gone quiet, gently shaking the cue as if hoping it would apologize.

The mini-tournament carried on with chaotic fun.

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