Projects like F1 are pretty much the same, talent requires a lot of learning too.
Snooker is the most likely option.
Huang Kaiwen’s hands and feet are flexible enough, he has good control of strength, and his mind is clear enough, compared to other sports where he’d just be running along, playing snooker might not guarantee a championship, but at least he wouldn’t embarrass himself.
So Huang Kaiwen decided to obtain professional snooker player qualifications.
Some competitions take place during the summer transfer period, so he could definitely participate.
At lunch, Inzaghi kept pulling Huang Kaiwen aside to ask all sorts of questions.
In the afternoon, Inzaghi followed him on a flight to London.
He had no holiday plans anyway, so he might as well join in on the fun.
"Meeting the greatest player in the world is such an honor. I’m very pleased to meet you, Miss Berlusconi, Miss Collins, and the ghost of the offside line. God really isn’t fair. I wasn’t this handsome when I was young, nor did I have dates with such beautiful ladies."
Barry Hearn stood up and shook hands with Huang Kaiwen, then greeted the others with a smile.
Huang Kaiwen, looking at the familiar Chinese-style decor, said, "I’m also delighted to meet you, thank you for going through all the trouble."
"It’s what I should do. Isn’t there a saying in China, ’to extend the host’s hospitality’? Since you’ve flown to London, of course, I have to make proper arrangements," said Barry Hearn, with a radiant smile.
As an outstanding businessman, he had long wanted to meet Huang Kaiwen.
When he heard Huang Kaiwen wanted to achieve snooker professional qualifications, he almost thought it was an April Fool’s joke.
He was a key proponent of snooker’s golden era and also a director at the World Snooker Company.
Currently, snooker only had O’Sullivan as a star player, and the others lacked appeal; there were also many fewer audiences for snooker than in the 80s.
The world’s number one athlete over the past few years, suddenly partaking in the selection for professional snooker players—could there be a better advertisement?
He didn’t have high hopes for Huang Kaiwen to give up football for snooker.
But the mere fact that Huang Kaiwen was participating in the competition already had him very excited.
Once seated, Barry Hearn took the initiative to pass the menu to Huang Kaiwen, saying he wasn’t picky, and waited until Huang Kaiwen had finished ordering before speaking.
Barry Hearn said with a smile, "Kevin, you may not know, but I also own a football team. My team is in London, called Leyton Orient, and I’ve always been a super fan. When I heard you wanted to become a professional snooker player, I was so excited that I haven’t slept well all day."
"You flatter me," said Huang Kaiwen with a smile.
"Not at all, any praise is not too much for you, as you are the greatest player in history," Hearn stated. "Don’t worry about the competition, I’ve already seen your playing videos, and I think you’ll have no problem standing out in the selection."
"That’s great, the matches start in early July, right? I saw it in the newspaper today," asked Huang Kaiwen.
"Yes, don’t worry," Hearn said. "Though it’s just a contest for professional player qualifications, since the news of you participating has spread, we’ve sold the broadcasting rights to Sky TV, who distributed it further. The attention this event will get won’t be much less than the Copa del Rey final. Many people are curious about your performance in the snooker arena."
"Kevin is entitled to a share of the broadcast revenue, right?" asked Miss Berlusconi.
"Yes, we’ve already signed the contract. Rest assured, not a penny of Kevin’s money will be missing," Hearn said with a smile.
He couldn’t claim to be particularly honest.
But he certainly wasn’t foolish.
If Huang Kaiwen could play snooker, then he could participate in other events as well.
Hearn was involved with sports promotion, not only as a director of the World Snooker Company but also as the chairman of the Professional Darts Association, and there might be opportunities for collaboration in the future.
Cheating Huang Kaiwen would be of no benefit to him.
It wasn’t a problem if Huang Kaiwen didn’t retire from the football field.
They could always arrange matches during the football transfer period.
As long as there was money to be made, nothing was a problem. As long as Huang Kaiwen was interested, he could arrange matches anytime.
He’d even prepared a nickname for Huang Kaiwen; as long as Huang Kaiwen performed reasonably well in the matches, he would be crowned as the new O’Sullivan!