To the dismay of everyone following the match, it was a tedious affair, with the score inching up agonizingly slowly as both players adopted overly cautious attacking styles. Even with seven or eight reds still scattered across the table, the pair inexplicably lapsed into a tactical game of pure snooker.
Snooker, by its very definition, means "obstruction," but the audience had paid to see fluid, unstoppable potting—a seamless cascade of successful shots. Who wanted to watch endlessly as players maneuvered the cue ball into infuriatingly difficult positions for their opponent?
Shen Kai’s style, in particular, drew scorn from the crowd. By sheer talent, he held a slight edge; when Anqi was performing well, she could match him, but an off day saw her distinctly outmatched. Yet, under these circumstances, he played defensively, lacking any trace of dominance or flair. He was underwhelming!
However, the astute observers noticed his strategy. It was undoubtedly the correct one. Anqi’s exceptional performance at the end of the first frame had revealed the volatility of her skill. Against a player whose level fluctuated so wildly, Shen Kai’s steady approach offered greater pressure. Furthermore, the longer the match dragged on, the greater the advantage became for him; Anqi was a female player, and her stamina surely couldn't match his.
Shen Kai’s tactic was to grind down Anqi’s sharpness through attrition, then seize a swift, decisive victory. But Anqi’s strategy was alarmingly similar to his, and she possessed an extra trump card: stamina that even Wang Zhuo found breathtaking!
Turning a snooker match into a contest of endurance and attrition was uncommon in the world of billiards. If not for the two luxury car keys displayed prominently on an unremarkable stainless steel side table, the charms of the beautiful player alone might not have been enough to hold the audience's attention—they would have long since migrated to other tables.
An hour into the match, Shen Kai began to sweat. He glanced at Anqi and noticed tiny beads of perspiration forming on her nose as well.
He resolved to stick to his original plan.
An hour and a half in, Shen Kai’s composure finally frayed. He felt his concentration beginning to wane—a clear precursor to performance decline caused by prolonged play.
When he observed Anqi, the young woman, whose figure hadn't even fully matured, still looked exactly as she had half an hour prior, though a slight, calm smile now graced her lips.
Shen Kai was momentarily stunned. Distracted, he glanced toward her "supporters’ corner," only to find the man and woman there displaying expressions of calm, hopeful expectation, and tension—but absolutely no anxiety or urging. A sudden realization flashed through his mind; he shouted inwardly, I've been tricked!
Just then, Anqi executed a snooker of moderate difficulty against him. But Shen Kai no longer had the mental space to consider how to handle the shot. Instead, he requested a brief leave from the referee, turned back, and whispered to Jing Yunquan, "The strategy has failed. Her endurance is likely superior to mine."
"H-how is that possible?" Jing Yunquan was flabbergasted. He had been standing right behind Shen Kai and hadn't noticed his champion was teetering on the edge of collapse.
"She is the opponent with the best stamina I have ever faced," Shen Kai said quickly. "We assumed endurance was her weakness; instead, it’s her strength."
"What do we do now?" Jing Yunquan was suddenly lost, his gaze instinctively darting towards the car keys on the steel table. Sweat immediately broke out on his brow!
How could he not be nervous? That brand-new car, a cool two million!
"End it quickly!" Shen Kai stated coldly. "While my condition is still acceptable, I need to secure the win now!" Jing Yunquan’s eyes spun, but he couldn't devise any superior tactics, so he simply clenched his jaw and nodded.
Only then did he regret his earlier overconfidence. Had he foreseen this situation, he would have preferred to offer the referee some 'incentives' beforehand, or moved up the timeline for his bet with Wang Zhuo, giving Shen Kai ample time to wrap up the first frame. Regret was absolute!
Shen Kai returned to the table with the resolve and momentum to finish quickly. However, billiards demands a calm and even temperament for consistent play. His current state was already impeding his normal level of performance.
He understood this principle; he knew he needed to calm his mind before striking the ball. But this match had already stretched over three hours; most of the other tables had already declared their winners. He had wasted time talking to Jing Yunquan when it was his turn to shoot, and the referee was growing visibly impatient. As he stood before the table, hesitating, the referee warned him sharply that another delay would result in a foul call.
A flawed strategy, pressure from the referee, and the weight of a huge wager—Shen Kai’s composure finally shattered. As he bent over the table, eyes set with grim determination, cue drawn back, Wang Zhuo finally broke into a genuine smile.
It was an extremely subtle error, one discernible only to the two players and the referee.
On the line Shen Kai had chosen, a single red ball was positioned precisely to obstruct a critical part of his path. His shot would either miss the intended target without touching the obstacle or strike the red ball, guaranteeing no score and handing Anqi a golden opportunity!
The general audience, unable to view the layout from the players' perspective, could not grasp the situation. But Wang Zhuo possessed the 'X-ray vision' cheat code, having already analyzed the scenario clearly. Shen Kai had chosen a ricochet path; disturbed by his mental turmoil, he failed to thoroughly observe the ball's subsequent trajectory. This led to a seemingly insignificant error that would fatally twist the course of the match.
Crack!
Shen Kai struck the ball with practiced ease—a fluid, textbook motion. However, no matter how excellent his execution, it could not overcome the fundamental flaw in his decision-making.
Clunk.
The rebounding red ball narrowly skirted the obstructing red, but instead of sinking, it kissed the edge of the nearby pocket and stopped dead. Shen Kai froze on the spot. A collective groan rose from the audience stands.
Gah-ba-ba... Jing Yunquan unconsciously squeezed the soda can in his hand until it was crushed into a hard, dense core. The sharp aluminum edges dug into his palm, yet he felt nothing. Following that shot, the cue ball ended up perfectly nestled between the black ball and another red. The table arrangement was now open—it was practically set up for a clearance!
The score stood at Shen Kai leading by twenty points. If Anqi cleared the table now, the score would swing back, putting her ahead by fifty or sixty!
Anqi slowly rose and looked toward her mentor, Wang Zhuo. Six reds remained on the table—though scattered, it was still a formidable challenge for an amateur. She would need to pot six reds, followed by six colors, and then pot the final six colors in sequence. Conservatively, she needed to sink thirty-six balls in one go—a task of immense difficulty.
Should she attempt the thirty-six-ball clearance now, or pot a few more balls and revert to the endurance battle? She needed to see her master’s signal.
"Wang Zhuo, what should she do with this shot?" Guan Yingying asked anxiously, clutching Wang Zhuo’s arm tight.
Anqi cautioned gently, "Master, clearing the table entirely will be quite difficult for Xiao Qi’s current level."
"How will she improve without the challenge?" Wang Zhuo smiled faintly at her, patted Guan Yingying's tightly clasped hands, and made a sharp, decisive throat-slashing gesture toward Anqi.
Anqi’s bright eyes flashed with comprehension. She nodded vigorously and walked toward the cue ball with a light, purposeful stride!
Tap!
Tap, tap!
Tap-tap-tap! The surveillance footage faithfully recorded Anqi’s steady performance as the match neared its conclusion. Her first shot chose the optimal angle, employing the most precise power. The cue ball spun out flawlessly—clean, sharp, pragmatic, and without flourish. In just three minutes, she potted the final eighty points!
Snooker totaled one hundred and forty-seven points, plus penalties for fouls. Yet, in the first hour and a half of this game, the two had only scored seventy points combined—less than what Anqi scored in her final three minutes!
Applause erupted thunderously. Compared to the preceding ninety minutes of dullness, Anqi’s final burst was remarkable. It brought a perfect conclusion to the wager, and the crowd sighed in relief that the car-betting drama was over; they wouldn't have to endure another hour-long frame to know the result!
Shen Kai’s face was ashen. Competitive sports are often like this: a gap in skill can influence the outcome but cannot entirely dictate victory. Often, a single small mistake leads to an irreparable consequence—one misplaced move, and the whole game is lost.
Though he lost the match, Shen Kai gained a profound lesson. But Jing Yunquan’s lesson was far deeper, as that Jaguar, still bearing temporary plates, was now heading to another owner...
"Young Master Jing, thank you very much!" Wang Zhuo waved cheerfully across half the stands toward the utterly crestfallen Jing Yunquan.
Anqi had already rushed onto the playing area to embrace Anqi. This victory had been hard-won. Beyond advancing to the top eight, the greatest joy was that Anqi had achieved an outstanding score of eighty points in a single run, and she had also helped Wang Zhuo win a Jaguar!
Guan Yingying excitedly wove through the crowd, arriving at the high stainless steel table. She first slipped her own Audi keys into her bag, then snatched the Jaguar keys, tossing them once in the air before throwing them toward Wang Zhuo.
The keys to the avant-garde, luxurious vehicle, spinning in the air, looked like the beloved car itself bidding him farewell as they flew past Jing Yunquan's eyes. Unable to bear the immense shock of the loss, he finally threw his hands over his head and sank back onto his chair.
"Someone else's mistress?" Wang Zhuo tossed the Jaguar key up and down, a playful smirk playing on his lips.
A car is a man’s most intimate lover. Jing Yunquan hadn't just lost two million; he had handed over his 'mistress.' His current misery was entirely understandable.
There were now more people around the stands than at any previous moment. It turned out that this best-of-three knockout match had concluded entirely. Anqi’s 2-0 victory had been the last match to finish, much to the relief of the organizers, who would have faced logistical problems if the second match had gone to 1-1.
Anqi was about to rush to Wang Zhuo for a celebratory high-five when she was quickly pulled away by a staff member. She was now one of the eight quarter-finalists and had other scheduled events to attend.
"Give this car to Anqi. The little girl performed brilliantly," Guan Yingying suggested quietly, giggling, into Wang Zhuo’s ear.
Wang Zhuo had intended the same, but it was difficult for him to say aloud. That Jaguar was worth two million; just throwing it to his female apprentice seemed to risk exposing their ambiguous relationship!
"Are you really giving it to her?" he asked tentatively.
"That depends on whether you have other intentions for her," Guan Yingying winked. "You are her Master, after all. Rewarding your apprentice occasionally, and getting something in return, seems appropriate, doesn't it?" As Wang Zhuo was about to reply with a wry laugh, he saw Shen Kai, Anqi's vanquished opponent, approaching with a tall young man who had a long face. Wang Zhuo paused slightly, finding the young man vaguely familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.