Chapter 40 – Super Little Rocket

Originally, not many people attended the second round of the game. However, when Sheffield and Zhou Ziyi’s one-on-one was spread, a large group of people silently followed. Because this group of people also regarded themselves as “having some status,” so they booked a pretty good venue. When they went, it was equivalent to renting the whole place.

However, there were not many people who actually played seriously, and most of them were focused on the movements of Zhou Ziyi and Sheffield. Some people even said directly, “I don’t know how to play, I’ll just watch you guys play,” and then sat nearby Zhou Ziyi’s table.

Seeing this situation, the owner of the billiards hall thought that it was basically the same as a competition. The owner, who was having a “busy day,” was also generous, and immediately opened the electronic scoreboard and the camera above the pool table.

The camera’s footage was projected onto the large hanging TV next to it, making the ball’s path clear.

“This is really something…” Tang Shirong sighed, “Is this the scene of a major competition? The surrounding audience is all in the dark, and the game field is the only focus. Ziyi, you are truly deserving of the center stage!”

Zhou Ziyi took off his coat and was testing the range of motion of his shirt. Upon hearing this, he glanced at him and said, “You have so much confidence in me?”
“I used to, but now…” Tang Shirong rubbed his chin, “It’s been several years for you, is your touch still good?”

“Touch, just look for it and you’ll find it,” Zhou Ziyi glanced at the live big screen, “Oh, it’s quite interesting. When I play well, I remember to record it and capture the exciting moments.”

“Hey, I’ll go tell the boss to record all of this,” Tang Shirong said as he was about to leave, suddenly remembering something, “Oh, by the way, keep an eye on the time, do you need to report to Lao Yan?”

“He said no need to report, just play casually,” Zhou Ziyi replied.

“Alright,” Tang Shirong smiled and then walked away.

Without further ado, they began to play. Sheffield took the opening shot, and before doing so, he said to Zhou Ziyi, “Let me go first, don’t be nervous.” Zhou Ziyi thought to himself, “You’re just pretending,” but he remained aloof and didn’t say anything.

Then Sheffield took the shot.

It didn’t go in. After the cue ball hit, it returned behind the green ball, which was basically a standard move. Zhou Ziyi, dressed in a white shirt, chalked the tip of the cue a few times, and then measured the cue stick. He looked quite handsome with his white shirt tucked into his waist, showing off his slim waist and not looking thin on top. He gave a slight smile by the pool table, looking like he was about to shine. Those who knew he was there to play understood, while those who didn’t might have thought he was there to take photos.

Sheffield’s gaze wandered unscrupulously over him.

Zhou Ziyi ignored the others, he had seen clearly earlier. After taking the stage, he didn’t hesitate much and used the long cue to hit a red ball at the side.

Entered, bottom pocket.

The cue feels average. After all, Zhou Ziyi hasn’t touched a cue for several years and started off by thinning the ball. He thought for a moment and potted a blue ball in the middle pocket.

Missed. Not successful, but left a path for the red ball to the bottom pocket.

Sheffield indeed has two brushes. After switching, he quickly pocketed four red balls, two black balls, and a blue ball. He didn’t pot the last red ball well, and instead of calling for the blue ball, he opened up two tightly placed red balls.

Zhou Ziyi came up again, this time seeming to have found some touch, and potted five red balls, two black balls, one pink, one yellow, and one green. Then he felt he couldn’t pot the red balls well and snookered himself.

This snooker is very precise, almost hiding behind the brown ball. Sheffield was a bit surprised, but also just felt it was a coincidence. Zhou Ziyi’s performance in front can only be considered average, and Sheffield doesn’t think it’s particularly amazing.

When Sheffield asked him to play, on the one hand, he really liked his appearance, and on the other hand, he heard that he was quite good. Now it seems, it’s nothing more than that.

Sheffield and Zhou Ziyi defended each other for a few rounds, and then Sheffield found an opportunity first and potted a few balls. But he was a bit absent-minded and made a mistake halfway through. Zhou Ziyi came up again, calculated in his heart, and asked, “Penalty points?”

Sheffield laughed, “Of course, dear, if you want.”

Tang Shirong sat silently on the side, glanced at the big screen a few times, and guessed Zhou Ziyi’s thoughts.

Zhou Ziyi now needs to catch up to Sheffield’s score. Either he will pot all the black balls next and then clear the table in one go, or he will create an opportunity for penalty points to reduce Sheffield’s score. If Zhou Ziyi is not confident about clearing the table, then he will have to create penalty points.

The person helping with the scoring quickly took out their phone and confirmed the snooker penalty rules.

However, Zhou Ziyi unexpectedly, cleared the table successfully!

When he potted all the black balls in front, Sheffield had already foreseen the outcome. However, Sheffield believed that he could handle this situation himself, and didn’t consider it difficult, so he didn’t take it too seriously.

“Really amazing.”

Sheffield looked at Zhou Ziyi getting up from the side of the table, his gaze turned around his waist, then looked into the young man’s eyes: “Amazing, ten thousand dollars just like that. Do you want the money now, dear?”
As he spoke, he clapped his hands, with exaggerated gestures, but there was no sound at all, and his tone was very relaxed. And his tone of asking whether to give the money now was really infuriating.

At least Tang Shirong was very annoyed.

Zhou Ziyi, however, remained calm: “I can accept a checkbook now.”

“Hahaha, good!” Sheffield made a phone call, asking someone to bring his checkbook and a new checkbook holder for him, “I’ll give it to you right away. Shall we continue?”

Zhou Ziyi took a sip of water and said, “Okay.”

Sheffield smiled meaningfully.

He probably thought that Zhou Ziyi was now accepting money to play with him, and in the future, there might be a possibility of being paid to sleep with him. Tang Shirong, on the other hand, looked at Zhou Ziyi, who seemed carefree and relaxed, and suddenly remembered what the other party had said earlier.

—— “I can bankrupt him.”

Tang Shirong: “Damn, are you serious?!”

The second game quickly started.

Sheffield didn’t know what he was thinking, but he was the one to break the balls, and he made a mistake. The red ball exploded quite noticeably, and the cue ball hadn’t hidden behind the two, three, and four balls, exposing itself in broad daylight.

Zhou Ziyi picked up the cue and entered the field.

He walked two circles around the table, his steps neither fast nor slow, his eyes half-lowered, and he had no expression. Some girls looked at him and suddenly felt that he was like a charming person, unable to resist taking out their phones and taking a few pictures.

Zhou Ziyi heard a “click” sound and just raised his head to say “Don’t take pictures,” but then he noticed that Tang Shirong was also taking pictures.

—— “Alright then.”

Zhou Ziyi smiled and lowered his head. Sheffield, who had been watching him wander around without playing for so long, was a bit puzzled and asked, “What’s wrong? Can’t you play?”

“Not exactly,” Zhou Ziyi raised his eyes and looked directly at Sheffield. “I just want to know, how much prize money is there for a 147 break?”

Sheffield: “…”

“Haha, Sullivan, you really have big dreams!” Sheffield laughed. “Are you confident in making a 147 break by asking this question now?”

Zhou Ziyi smiled calmly. “I’m just asking. So, is there?”
His question about the prize money was actually asking whether Sheffield would pay up or not.

Sheffield had previously quoted both five thousand and ten thousand, so now to say there isn’t any prize money would be undervaluing it. So he said, “Of course there is.”

“How much?” Zhou Ziyi raised an eyebrow. “In ranking tournaments, the starting point is five thousand pounds, but that’s less than winning one game. Why bother?”

Sheffield, feeling that Zhou Ziyi was shamelessly asking for money, narrowed his eyes, but he didn’t really think he could make a 147 break, so he said, “You tell me how much?”

Zhou Ziyi smiled. “How can I say? If I say too little, wouldn’t that be disrespectful to you?”

Sheffield sneered inwardly, thinking that this guy was just showing off, and if he really became his sponsor in the future, there would be plenty of opportunities to deal with him. So Sheffield chuckled, “Then let’s multiply it by ten.”

Someone nearby couldn’t help but quietly remind, “Sheffield, you should think it through…”

Sheffield raised his hand slightly, indicating that he didn’t need to say anymore.

How could Zhou Ziyi let him go, and confirmed, “50,000 pounds?”

Sheffield: “Hmm.”

Zhou Ziyi: “Plus 10,000 dollars?”

Sheffield: “…Of course.”

“Okay.” Zhou Ziyi smiled, “The prize money for singles matches won’t be high, I understand, barely enough.”

Sheffield was almost angered by his disdainful tone.

Five minutes later, Sheffield watched Zhou Ziyi, who was facing away from him and leaning on the pool table, his gaze wandering on the young man’s buttocks, his expression slightly improved.

Fifteen minutes later, Sheffield’s expression really changed.

With the last black ball pocketed, Zhou Ziyi really scored 147 points!

“Oh my god!!!”

Tang Shirong immediately jumped up and rushed towards Zhou Ziyi, giving him a big hug, “147!!! Amazing, bro!”

The onlookers couldn’t help but applaud.

Zhou Ziyi also smiled with raised eyebrows, hugged Tang Shirong, and patted his back.

The only one with a pale face in the whole venue was Sheffield.

He wasn’t worried about the money, but he felt that he had been greatly embarrassed. Zhou Ziyi actually scored 147! This couldn’t be achieved just by luck, Zhou Ziyi’s skill level must be very high!

Why did Sheffield spend money to play against him? Was he paying to be humiliated?

At this moment, someone else said, “I advise you to reconsider, Sheffield.”

Sheffield gritted his teeth and couldn’t help but say something against common sense, “It’s just luck!”

“It’s not just luck,” someone else said, “Zhou Ziyi almost went professional, and his skill level in the circle was well-known, but he usually played just for fun, not seriously… Don’t you really know?”

Of course Sheffield knew.

But he thought it was just the usual boasting of men, but he didn’t expect Zhou Ziyi to be so modest!

When Sheffield’s expression was uncertain, Zhou Ziyi walked up to him, smiled and said, “Thank you for the generous 50,000 pounds and 10,000 dollars.”

In front of everyone’s eyes, Sheffield, due to his pride, had to write him a check.

When he handed over the check, Sheffield couldn’t help but say, “147, really amazing, congratulations.”

“Thank you.” Zhou Ziyi took the check and handed it to Tang Shirong, who had followed along, “It’s mainly because you gave me such a good opportunity, I couldn’t resist, hahaha!”

This remark was quite irritating. What’s more, Tang Shirong added fuel to the fire by saying, “I say, Sheffield, haven’t you carefully considered the name Sullivan?”

Sheffield, in a fit of anger, was taken aback, “What?”

“Sullivan, Ronnie O’Sullivan! Haven’t you realized?!” Tang Shirong laughed heartily, first mentioning the name of the super snooker master, and then revealing Zhou Ziyi’s former nickname.

“He is, ‘Super Little Rocket’!”