In this chapter, we meet Alan Jones, the world-class professional snooker player, and his fiancee, the British noblewoman , who is also a professional tennis player. Alan tells his fiancee that he has been waiting for her to come to the city of Sheffield, where he is training, and that he will be happy to introduce her to the world of professional snooker. He tells her that he is the only player in the world with "the talent that I lack" . He compares her to a "British noble lady" , whose father is an accomplished "Hollywood movie star" and who is a "semi-pro" in tennis. He adds that he was beaten by Morrison five times at the world championship. He says that he does not need to worry about his own talent, as he is "the one with relatively" and that his talent is that he "lacks" the talent of a "middle-class" British noble lady , his father's father is a famous "hollywood movie star," and he is also "an accomplished tennis player." He explains that he wants to be a professional so that he can enjoy food, drink, and "eulogize love." He tells his friend that he heard about a young boy with a "heart condition" who was willing to "sacrifice his life" to pursue the sport of snooker because he wanted to see if he could become a professional. The two men agree to challenge each other in the coming year's Shanghai amateur masters' tournament, and they invite each other to visit their home for Christmas.