"..."

No one would believe such a thing, not even a ghost.

Xu Fan gave Feng Huang a disdainful glance and said, "Feng Huang, quit it with the act."

"You, who can't even play five-in-a-row, have fallen for Go?"

If a woman's lack of talent was considered a virtue, then Feng Huang was the quintessential example.

She was adept at fighting and killing, but playing chess?

Complete bullshit.

"Hmph, how annoying."

Her ruse exposed on the spot, Feng Huang's face flushed with anger, and she pulled out a ticket from her belongings.

"Oppa, I've given you the ticket. Whether you're willing to join me inside or not is your own business," she said.

Throwing the ticket into the car, Feng Huang didn't wait for Xu Fan to get out, heading straight to the entrance of the Black and White Chess Club.

This woman was no less beautiful than Xia Yanyu; her walk towards the entrance of the chess club also caused quite a stir.

Seeing Feng Huang tease the naive sons of the landlords before entering, Xu Fan shook his head and could only pick up the ticket and get out of the car.

Having come all this way, it made no sense to leave now.

With the ticket, Xu Fan entered the chess club and chased after Feng Huang.

"Where did you get this ticket?"

The entitled sons at the door, each worth over ten million—none of them could get a ticket. Xu Fan was curious where Feng Huang had gotten hers.

"Take a guess?"

My guess is your... never mind.

The methods used to obtain the ticket inevitably involved all kinds of trickery and deceit.

"Shh, Oppa, they're in the middle of a match. Let's not talk now," she said.

As the two walked, they reached the outside of the competition venue. Feng Huang gestured for silence with her finger to her lips, then proceeded inside.

"..."

At this point, Xu Fan could only keep his cool and follow Feng Huang inside.

The competition had indeed invited some spectators, mostly those knowledgeable about the game. Having settled down in the seating area designated for the audience, Xu Fan took a moment to observe the situation in the center of the room.

The thirty invited players were now engaged in their games at different tables, and the only sound that filled the space was the clack of the pieces as they were played.

The surrounding audience watched in total silence, their focus on the large screen displaying the progress from each table.

Those who were qualified to be here were renowned players, and for those who understood Go, it was a veritable Taotie feast. But for Feng Huang, who knew nothing about it, it was utterly boring.

She was straightforward about her disinterest. Taking out her phone, she began to play a casual game.

"..."

Xu Fan was speechless, but it didn't feel appropriate to say anything.

"Hmm?"

Having accompanied Feng Huang for only a short while, Xu Fan saw an elderly man with a smile approaching him.

"Young man, we meet again," he said.

The visitor was none other than Xia Yanyu's Go mentor, Mr. Kang.

They had previously met because of the Bingdilian incident.

Mr. Kang gestured towards the door, clearly indicating that he wanted a word with Xu Fan outside.

With the match underway and the inside ill-suited for loud conversation, Xu Fan glanced at Feng Huang, who was absorbed in her game, nodded, and followed Mr. Kang outside.

"It was an oversight of mine that you were not invited to participate in this China-South Korea match," Mr. Kang said.

The stunning display of Go skills Xu Fan had shown at the Xia Family villa was still fresh in Mr. Kang's mind.

This time, in the China-South Korea match, he felt that if Xu Fan could be invited to participate, the chances for China to seize the championship would definitely increase substantially.

"Old Master, I actually just came to watch the fun..."

At that moment, Old Kang looked full of regret, leaving Xu Fan somewhat bemused.

Had it not been for Feng Huang, he wouldn't have known about this affair at all. To him, Go was merely a pastime. Even if he was actually given a spot to compete, he wasn't sure he would attend.

"Oh? Could it be that, young brother, you came for...?"

Old Kang's gaze was somewhat ambiguous at that moment, probably mistaking him for one of those rich, idle fellows, which left Xu Fan feeling a bit helpless.

The relationship between himself and Xia Yanyu was much more complicated than what your old self might think.

"Actually, my disciple isn't very fond of Go..."

Talking about Xia Yanyu, Old Kang chuckled and brought her up.

Xu Fan listened and couldn't help but frown.

Xia Yanyu didn't like Go?

Xu Fan didn't quite understand. Although he hadn't spent much time with Xia Yanyu, he had seen the woman's fanaticism for Go.

"Old Kang, at this age, to reach the level of a professional 6-dan, if she wasn't passionate, how could that be possible...?"

At her age, to have reached that level, even with exceptional talent, would have required a significant amount of time invested.

If she didn't like it, why would she spend so much time on it?

"Heh, young brother, thanks to your help, she is now a professional 7-dan."

The last time she played against Xu Fan, Xia Yanyu had a breakthrough and seemed to have advanced by a rank.

Old Kang reminded him and then sighed, "The one who likes Go is not her, but her father, Xia Hengzhou."

"The Black and White Chess House was established by her father and had made a considerable reputation. This child grew up under her father's mantle."

"To be honest, since Xia Hengzhou's disappearance, the Chess House's strength plummeted, no longer boasting of the feat of consecutively defeating seven South Korean Go masters."

"The reason she practices chess so fervently is simply because she doesn't want to see the Chess Club her father founded decline. She could easily sell off the Chess House, but her choice is to defend the glory her father once had."

"The same goes for the Xia Family. Young brother, these are words I can only share with you. The child is too stubborn, shouldering everything on her own. She's living too hard."

"..."

As Old Kang expressed his heartfelt sentiments revealing this unknown information, Xu Fan felt somewhat wooden.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered what Xiaodie had said in his arms.

She told him that her sister was actually very tired, carrying too much on her shoulders.

Now, it seemed to be true indeed.

Being born into a very wealthy family, she didn't enjoy the wealth as much as she bore the responsibilities.

With her father's disappearance, for the sake of her sister and for the Xia Family, she silently took on everything.

"Alright, let's not chat outside anymore, let's go in," said Old Kang, interrupting Xu Fan's train of thought and pointing inside, motioning to continue watching the game.

"Ah, who knows if she can claim the first prize this year."

"You know, her father had great expectations for her," said Old Kang with a meaningful sigh just before entering.

He had high hopes for Xia Yanyu to take first prize this time, and at the same time, he was very worried.

Xu Fan furrowed his brow, paused, and then asked, "Old Kang, it should be no problem, right?"

Considering Xia Yanyu's talent, Xu Fan thought, winning first place shouldn't be an issue, right?

Old Kang shook his head and sighed before saying, "It's hard to say..."

"Who knows whether she'll be able to overcome her Heart Demon and beat that archrival?"

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