Chapter 1098: I will give you a handicap of two stones!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

This was too dramatic!

And it was too unbelievable as well!

How could there be such a coincidence?

Even in television dramas, there wouldn't be such a fucking coincidence!

In an instant, Wu Changhe flew into a rage as he banged on the table and pointed at Zhang Ye. "So you're the rascal that duped my daughter? You still have the cheek to sit here? Huh?"

Zhang Ye sat there in a daze. "Huh? Didn't you tell me to make myself at home?"

Wu Changhe said furiously, "What makes you think that this is your home? Go back to wherever you came from! Get up, get up right now!"

Zhang Ye wiped his sweat away and stood up obediently.

Wu Changhe pointed at him and said, "You got me good, you rascal. Did you plan all of this? You knew that I would be going to the Xuanwumen Go club today? Did you go in advance to lie in wait after my daughter tipped you off? Then insist on following me home, leading to this situation? Huh? Was it you?"

Feeling wronged, Zhang Ye said, "Bro—no, Uncle, I didn't even know where you lived and Old Wu has never even mentioned to me who you are, so how could I possibly know that you were going to the Go club today? And it just so happened that Uncle Lu's son whom you were looking for did not show up? It's not like I'm a fortune teller or something. Besides, I did not insist on following you home. It was you who dragged me here. I didn't even know what was happening!"

Wu Changhe said angrily, "You're still denying it?"

"But it was really you who dragged this young man here," Li Qinqin spoke fairly. "When Little Zhang found out that he was here for a blind date, he even wanted to leave. But you blocked the door and refused to let him go."

Wu Changhe didn't say anything.

It was clear that this was just a coincidence!

Li Qinqin muttered to herself, "Could it really be fate?"

Wu Changhe yelled, "What fate!"

Wu Zeqing smiled. "Dad, let's eat for now." Then she pulled at Zhang Ye for him to sit down and continue eating.

Wu Changhe said, "Do you think I still have an appetite?"

But Wu Zeqing was still as calm as ever. She even gave some food to Zhang Ye. "Try this. My mother is also very good at making chicken wings. She taught me all my culinary skills."

"Oh." Zhang Ye had a taste and said, "Mmm, delicious!"

Wu Changhe shouted, "I won't agree to this anyhow! I won't allow it!"

"Keep it down." Li Qinqin smacked her lips and said, "Little Zhang has come as a guest. Besides, after all's been said and done, you were the one who dragged him to our place."

Wu Changhe quibbled, "I was deceived by him!"

Wu Zeqing looked up. "Dad, can you sit down and eat for now? We'll return to this after dinner. We can't solve anything on an empty stomach, don't you think?"

Wu Changhe sat down angrily. But he did not take another bite of food as he was not in the mood to eat anymore. He had found Zhang Ye to be pretty pleasing to the eye before this. After all, there weren't that many young people who would put in the effort to play Go. But at this moment, Wu Changhe found Zhang Ye to be very unlikable no matter how he looked at him. He wished that he could grab a rolling pin and chase him out of the house!

Wu Zeqing's mother did not have any negative feelings for Zhang Ye. On the contrary, she seemed to be quite interested in him.

Li Qinqin looked at him. "Little Zhang, the two of us don't usually watch television and couldn't recognize you just now, but we've heard a lot about you on more than one occasion. Your reputation precedes you, so I was really curious about you and have always wanted to meet you. But I never expected that we would meet under such circumstances."

Zhang Ye said respectfully, "It's an undeserved reputation that was given to me by the public. Auntie, I've actually wanted to pay you a visit for a long time, but there hadn't been an opportunity to do so. If I knew that I would be here today, I would have brought something along. I feel bad that I didn't get gifts."

Li Qinqin asked, "How many people are in your family?"

Zhang Ye said, "There's only my parents and me."

"You don't have any siblings?"

"I'm an only child."

"How did you get to know my daughter?"

"The first time we met was on a plane. Old Wu invited me to teach at Peking University when she was still the vice president. That was quite a while ago."

Li Qinqin blinked. "How long have you two been together?"

Zhang Ye coughed and said, "About a year."

"We didn't even know about it." Li Qinqin gave her daughter a look.

Wu Zeqing laughed. "How would I dare let you two know when Dad is like this?"

Li Qinqin smiled. "That's true."

Wu Changhe raged and addressed her by name, "Li Qinqin, whose side are you on?"

Li Qinqin replied, "I think Little Zhang is quite good. I don't know much about the entertainment industry nor do I know any of those celebrities. But I've still heard of Little Zhang's name many times before. Even though he is young, he has many accomplishments. Moreover, I heard that Little Zhang helped out a lot with Little Mo's and Little Chubs' (Fat Sis) companies. It's all because of his help that their companies managed to do well. Didn't they mention that during our last meal together? They were especially thankful to Little Zhang, saying that if not for him, their companies would have gone bust! Little Zhang has given his best and really done a lot for our family."

Zhang Ye was extremely touched!

He did not expect that Wu Zeqing's mother would actually speak up for him!

Wu Changhe said angrily, "I'm telling you, I will declare this first: I will not accept this, definitely not. So what if he is very accomplished? No matter how accomplished he is, he is still someone in the entertainment industry! Don't you know what sort of people are in that industry? There are hardly any good people in there! That industry is just a messed up place! The age difference and earnings are both not issues here. But no matter what, she mustn't get married to someone in the entertainment industry! Are you trying to push our daughter into a fiery pit of suffering?"

Wu Zeqing smiled. "Then you can think of him as a university professor."

"I can't do that." Wu Changhe said, "That is not his main career!"

Wu Zeqing said, "Aren't you making things difficult for me this way? When I said that I found someone, you told me that you were not fine with it. Alright, now that you've brought someone back and I accepted him, you're telling me no again? Dad, I can make my own decisions and know what I'm doing. If it's someone I like, no one can talk me out of it."

Wu Changhe said angrily, "Why are you so naïve? Don't you know what kind of reputation this Zhang Ye has? His character is already questionable. How can you marry a person like him?"

At this, Zhang Ye could no longer just listen quietly.

Zhang Ye's eyebrows jumped as he interrupted, "Uncle, I won't say anything if you criticize me on other matters. But if you say that my character is questionable, I won't accept it."

Li Qinqin looked at Zhang Ye in surprise.

Wu Changhe had a bad temper, but so did Zhang Ye.

There were issues that he could back off on.

There were issues that he could give in to.

But some things, he had to speak up when something needed to be said!

Wu Changhe stared at him. "You won't accept it?"

Zhang Ye said slowly, "It's not that I don't respect my elders. But if you say that my character is questionable, I must definitely take it up with you. I can't pretend that I didn't hear it."

The two of them immediately started to quarrel!

They had quite an exchange of words, but neither of them was willing to give in!

Li Qinqin quickly mediated by saying, "There's no problem with Little Zhang's character. He saved a lot of people during the plane hijacking incident back then. Didn't you also say it just now? That he plays Go exceptionally well. You've said that those who can play Go well never have bad characters."

Wu Changhe sneered, "He plays well? You really believe the words that I casually said? By that skill of his and me giving him a two stone handicap, I can still beat him by 6 points and above without needing to wrack my brains. His Go skill is so lousy. How well could he possibly play! Judging by his Go technique that was full of rashness and unsteadiness, it would be a wonder if his character can be good!"

Wu Zeqing put down her chopsticks and wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin in an even manner. "Enough. Little Ye, let's go."

Li Qinqin said, "Stay awhile longer and eat more."

Wu Zeqing smiled and said, "If we continue eating, these two will soon start a fight. Little Ye and I will go back."

However, Zhang Ye was not about to leave just yet. "That won't do. We have to clear up this matter about my character first. Uncle, I can sense that you're deliberately targeting me."

Wu Changhe couldn't help but laugh. "You still don't want to admit that you play a lousy game of Go?"

Zhang Ye said, "Does that mean that a person who can play Go well will automatically have a good character?"

"Of course. Go is a kind of self-cultivation. Those who exploit others by taking advantage of the situation and people with questionable characters would never be able to play it well." Wu Changhe grunted.

Zhang Ye nodded. "Alright then, let's use Go to sort it out. We'll play another match. Are you fine with that?"

Wu Changhe was amused. "You still want to play against me? You're far from as good as me! Even if you practiced for another 50 years, you still won't be a match for me! You couldn't beat me even if I gave you a handicap of two stones!"

However, Zhang Ye's next line stunned everyone in the house!

Zhang Ye said, "This time around, let me give you a handicap of two stones!"

There was a Go board with specialized seats in the house. Having said that, Zhang Ye walked right over and sat down. He took the white stones 1 and looked at Wu Changhe. "Go ahead."

You're giving me a handicap?

Of two stones?

Wu Changhe nearly burst out laughing!

Li Qinqin gave a bitter laugh. "Little Zhang, your uncle here was ranked as a 9th dan in Go back in his day."

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Auntie, I know that."

Wu Changhe laughed in anger. He sat down heavily on the side of the black stones. "Alright, you think that you can beat me just because I didn't play seriously just then? Haha!"

Zhang Ye said with a smile, "What a coincidence. I wasn't playing seriously either."

The atmosphere became really tense!

The conflict between these two escalated!

Li Qinqin knew that she could not dissuade them, so she did not say any more and spectated. She was no stranger to Go. Although she was not good at playing, she still knew how to watch a match of Go.

It was the same for Wu Zeqing. She quietly walked to the rear of Zhang Ye. She understood Go as well, of course.

Wu Changhe didn't try to be polite nor have the bearing of a one-time 9th dan professional player. He grabbed two black stones and slapped them down on the Go board with a sneer. "You're giving me a handicap of two stones, right? Good! Let's see how you're going to play!"

Li Qinqin frowned. "Changhe, what are you trying to do?"

Wu Changhe said, "He was the one who spoke arrogantly first and gave me a handicap of two stones. I'm just abiding by his wishes." He said to Zhang Ye, "Come, let me see what you look like when you get serious!"

Taking the white stones, Zhang Ye's expression had already changed. It was a completely different look from the way he was while at the Go club in the afternoon. It was as though he had totally become another person now.

Clink!

Zhang Ye placed his stone!

Wu Changhe glanced at him as he laughed and placed his stone too.

Knight's move.

A move followed.

Horizontal stretch 2 .

Placement 3 .

Another knight's move.

Followed by another move.

Extension 4 .

As he played, Wu Changhe kept mocking, "What lousy moves. Do you even know how to play? You even want to make a diagonal move over here? What's the point of doing that? Have you ever seen any professional players play like that? You're a total amateur!"

But gradually, Wu Changhe's words lessened until he did not have anything to say.

Li Qinqin was stunned!

Wu Zeqing suddenly smiled!

That "diagonal move" that Zhang Ye made just now had made Wu Changhe break out in a cold sweat!

Holy shit!

What kind of move was that?

This way of playing had rarely been employed by anyone in the past!

Wu Changhe's expression changed.

...

Two hours later.

Their match lasted a full two hours.

Zhang Ye placed the last stone down with a loud clink.

Wu Changhe's face had turned green from anger!

How could that be possible!

Just how could that be possible!

Li Qinqin also looked at Zhang Ye in disbelief!

He lost!

Wu Changhe had actually lost!

And he even lost after given a handicap of two stones!

Zhang Ye said, "You were saying earlier that those who can play a good game of Go would surely have a good character? So it looks like my character isn't that bad after all, huh?"

1. Black stones go first, white stones go second. Essentially, going second means you're at a disadvantage from the start.

2. 并/Bìng/Narabi - A Japanese Go term, is a specific type of stretch (solid extension) in which neither the stone extended from nor the extension touches other stones. | https://senseis.xmp.net/?Narabi

3. 点/Diǎn/oki - A placement is a play inside the opponent's group, mostly but not necessarily on a vital point, weakening the group.

A placement is disconnected from one's existing stones from one's group; to succeed it should be difficult to defend against. It's more of a clever play than a speculative invasion. | https://senseis.xmp.net/?Placement

4. 拆/Chāi/hiraki - An extension is a big opening point that extends an existing configuration of one or more stones along the side, leaving several spaces between the played stone and the existing stones. It outlines potential territory towards the edge and/or blocks the opponent's extension. | https://senseis.xmp.net/?Extension

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