I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 350 You think I can't beat Yu Shao?
The following day, a report titled "A Strange Injustice Throughout the Ages, A Chronicle of Blood and Tears for Generations" was published as the front page in the brand-new Go magazine, "Go Blood and Tears."

With the publication of this report, the second game between Yu Shao and Zhu Xinyuan was hotly discussed by countless people, and many began to repeatedly analyze and study the game.

Even the Donghai Chess Hall, where the two played this game, had the game record printed out the next day and posted on the wall of the hall.

The main tournament of the title match already garnered a great deal of attention, and the second game between Yu Shao and Zhu Xinyuan further increased the hype surrounding it.

The title match main tournament is a stage for the strong; all the players who make it to the title match main tournament are top-level masters.

Yu Shao not only defeated Li Congyou, but also Zhu Xinyuan. In fact, he even played a stunning game against Zhu Xinyuan in private, which impressed everyone and caused Zhu Xinyuan to suffer another defeat.

Everyone is starting to wonder how far Yu Shao can go in the title match main tournament, and whether he can ultimately reach the position that all players dream of.

title!

……

……

Inside a high-end apartment in Donghai.

Jiang Changdong looked at the chessboard in front of him, which was densely covered with chess pieces. It was the same chess game that Yu Shao and Zhu Xinyuan had played at the Donghai Chess Hall yesterday.

Across from Jiang Changdong, Chu Jingfeng stared at the chessboard with a somewhat solemn expression. After a moment of silence, he asked, "So, Professor Jiang Changdong, you watched the entire game?"

"Ah."

Jiang Changdong's face showed no emotion, and he nodded slightly.

Chu Jingfeng stared at the chessboard, then suddenly looked up at Jiang Changdong again, his expression becoming even more serious. Finally, he took a deep breath and said, "I understand."

"You knew already?"

Jiang Changdong looked up at Chu Jingfeng with some confusion and asked, "What do you know?"

"There is still one month until the National Team Challenge."

Chu Jingfeng reached out and, while tidying up the chess pieces, said, "From today onwards, I will work with you to continuously study and analyze all of Yu Shao's chess records and find his weaknesses!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Changdong's expression suddenly changed, and he asked, "Chu Jingfeng, what do you mean?"

Chu Jingfeng paused slightly, then immediately shook his head and explained, "Professor Jiang Changdong, I didn't mean that, I—"

Jiang Changdong, like an enraged lion, showed a hint of anger on his face and interrupted Chu Jingfeng before he could finish speaking.

Jiang Changdong stared at Chu Jingfeng and questioned, "You mean, if Yu Shao makes it to the title challenge, you think I can't beat him with my current skill level?!"

“Professor Jiang Changdong, I don’t have that idea.”

Chu Jingfeng immediately denied it, saying, "However, only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle."

"Compared to others, Yu Shao has left behind very few game records, and we don't know enough about him. Since he has the potential to enter the title match main tournament, we have to start preparing now!"

"No matter what, he has indeed never lost a single game of chess until now!"

Hearing Chu Jingfeng's explanation, Jiang Changdong's anger intensified. He stood up abruptly and said, "So you're saying I can't beat Yu Shao?!"

Chu Jingfeng opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. Looking at Jiang Changdong, he felt completely unfamiliar with him.

"Teacher Jiang Changdong..."

"Why would someone lose their composure like this?"

He had never seen Jiang Changdong so out of control.

Honestly, he didn't really think Jiang Changdong was bound to lose to Yu Shao, but to say that Jiang Changdong was guaranteed to win against Yu Shao was just nonsense.

After all, Go is an incredibly unpredictable game. No one can win all the time. In Go, even the strongest player isn't necessarily the winner, even if everyone knows there's a significant difference in skill between two players.

However, there have been instances where title holders have lost to first-dan players!
Moreover, Yu Shao is not just a first-dan player; his skill has already been proven. This game alone demonstrates his extraordinary ability, and it's likely that no one can underestimate the name Yu Shao anymore.

"I did consider the possibility that the veteran driver Jiang Changdong might lose to Yu Shao, but why is the reaction so strong?"

"There is indeed a possibility of losing, and Mr. Jiang Changdong himself should be well aware of this!"

"I can't exactly say that Teacher Jiang Changdong will definitely beat Yu Shao, can I?"

"Why so excited?"

Chu Jingfeng looked at Jiang Changdong, his eyes full of confusion.

"It's strange that you're so sure you'll win."

"Yu Shao may win, and Teacher Jiang Changdong may also win. Isn't that obvious? There is never a guaranteed winner in Go."

Suddenly, Chu Jingfeng glanced at the chessboard in front of him and finally realized something.

"Could it be because of this game of chess?"

“Unlike me, who only saw the game record, Professor Jiang Changdong was there and witnessed the entire game.”

"Was this game putting too much pressure on Coach Jiang Changdong?"

"Therefore, Professor Jiang Changdong himself felt that he was no match for Yu Shao."

"But Professor Jiang Changdong himself refuses to accept this, which is why he's so sensitive?"

"How can this be?"

"He's Jiang Changdong, a national champion!"

Even Chu Jingfeng himself found it hard to believe after realizing this.

After a long while, Jiang Changdong gritted his teeth, finally calmed down, and suddenly asked, "Haven't we played chess in a long time?"

Chu Jingfeng snapped out of his daze and immediately nodded: "It's been a long time."

"Let's play the next round."

Jiang Changdong sat back down in his chair and began tidying up the chess pieces: "If you think Yu Shao can beat me, then let's play a game of chess!"

Hearing this, Chu Jingfeng was somewhat taken aback. He wanted to explain, but seeing Jiang Changdong's aggressive gaze, Chu Jingfeng's expression became more serious.

Finally, Chu Jingfeng nodded and agreed: "Okay."

The two quickly finished tidying up the chess pieces, then guessed who would go first, and bowed to each other.

In this game, Chu Jingfeng played black and Jiang Changdong played white.

"Teacher Jiang Changdong, we haven't played since the last Tianwang Cup."

Looking at the chessboard, Chu Jingfeng suddenly said, "In that game, you, Teacher Jiang Changdong, won in the end."

Jiang Changdong did not reply.

Chu Jingfeng didn't continue speaking. Looking at the chessboard in front of him, he quickly reached into the chess box, picked out a chess piece, and made his first move.

Hey!
Sixteen columns, four rows, stars!
Seeing Chu Jingfeng make his move, Jiang Changdong silently took another piece from the chess box and quickly placed it down.

Hey!
Three columns and seventeen rows, three times three!

Da da da……

The sound of pieces being placed began to echo continuously in the quiet chess room.

Time passed steadily amidst the frequent sounds of pieces being placed.

I don’t know how long it took.

Chu Jingfeng stared at the chessboard, his face pale. In the end, he reached into the chess box again, grabbed two black pieces, and then slowly released his grip on the pieces in the center of the chessboard.

"Da da."

Two black pieces slowly fell onto the chessboard, making a crisp sound.

"I lost." Chu Jingfeng stared silently at the chessboard for a moment before finally speaking.

Jiang Changdong slowly stood up and said, "You also have your own competitions to attend to, so you don't need to come and review the games with me."

"Even if he makes it to the title challenge match, I can still beat him!"

After saying that, Jiang Changdong turned around and left the chess room.

……

……

the other side.

"Yu Shao, you've been making quite a stir lately."

On the basketball court, Zhou De dribbled the basketball with a resentful look on his face, saying, "I see you on the news every now and then."

"Didn't you just say that maybe I'll see you on the news in a few days?"

Yu Shao glanced at Zhou De and asked, "I never thought I could still not shake you off in the East China Sea."

Recently, Zhou De was coming to Donghai to participate in a long-distance running competition, and since he was currently in Donghai participating in a title match, the two of them arranged to play basketball together today.

"Hey, what are you saying? You've made it big and forgotten about your brothers, haven't you? Shouldn't you be jumping for joy to see your brothers in the East China Sea?"

Zhou De immediately bristled and glared, cursing, "I'm just a sports student and I haven't even been specially recruited yet, but you've already been specially recruited by Peking University! You're such a beast!"

After saying that, Zhou De suddenly started dribbling between his legs, then turned around and, mimicking Brother Chicken, dribbled the basketball from his left shoulder to his right shoulder. Afterward, he proudly raised an eyebrow at Yu Shao and asked, "Can you do that?"

"What if I never play this game anymore?"

Yu Shao rolled his eyes, reached out and snatched the basketball from Zhou De, then threw it toward the hoop.

Three points, right in the middle.

Zhou De whistled, gave a thumbs up, and said, "Old Yu, not bad, you actually have some skills!"

"good."

Yu Shao smiled and asked, "How's your training going lately? Do you think you'll get a special admission?"

"I don't know. For the rest of the time, I may have to give up Go and focus on training."

Zhou De sighed, somewhat wistfully, "In the blink of an eye, I'll be a senior in high school soon."

"You should be able to do it. After all, as the Chess Saint of Jiangling, you may not be good at playing chess, but you are definitely good at it."

Yu Shao smiled faintly, dribbled the basketball twice, jumped lightly, and shot it towards the basket again.

Bang!

I didn't win this time.

"Maybe I'm not good at chess, but can I play chess?"

Zhou De looked completely bewildered and asked, "What the hell?"

Yu Shao patted Zhou De on the shoulder with a serious expression and said, "Zhou De, let me tell you, you are different from others. Never waste your time playing chess."

Yu Shao paused for a moment, then said earnestly, "You should know that sometimes, the outcome of a game of Go is determined not only on the board, but also outside of it."

"Depend on!"

Zhou De finally realized what was happening and bared his teeth, ready to charge at the man with the ball: "You look down on your brother, huh?"

"No."

Yu Shao spoke with great certainty.

Zhou De, who had originally intended to fight Yu Shao to the death, suddenly sighed, "Alas..."

"What are you sighing for?"

Yu Shao glanced at Zhou De with some curiosity. In his memory, Zhou De always grinned foolishly with his big teeth showing, and he almost never sighed.

After thinking for a moment, Yu Shao asked again, "Which girl is so unlucky as to have caught your eye?"

"Get lost."

Zhou De seemed a little emo, not taking Yu Shao's sarcastic tone to heart, and said, "Honestly, I really envy you."

"how?"

Yu Shao frowned slightly and asked.

"You've already been specially admitted, and to Peking University at that. I'm about to be a senior in high school, and to be honest, I don't know if I'll be specially admitted in the end."

Zhou De sighed again and said, "I'm actually doing a little better, but the others aren't. Everyone is under a lot of pressure right now."

"You should remember Zhang Wenbo, right? He used to call us to go to the internet cafe to play games every day, but now he doesn't call us anymore. He's sitting there doing practice problems. He's actually started studying."

"And then there's Feng You, that kid. He was a complete wreck last year, his grades were terrible, and he seemed beyond saving. It seems his parents are planning to send him abroad to study, and now he's memorizing vocabulary every day."

A rare look of melancholy crossed Zhou De's face as he said, "I'm afraid no one will be able to play with me next year. Everyone is starting to think about their future. Even those who used to clamor for dating every day have settled down now."

"Unlike you, you just need to keep walking forward, but we don't even know how to get there!"

After hearing Zhou De's words, Yu Shao fell silent.

From the moment he embarked on the path of a professional Go player again, he and everyone else were already from two different worlds.

Things like university and livelihood have never been issues they need to consider.

As a professional Go player, all you need to do is constantly explore the path ahead in the infinitely deep and dark world of Go, and keep moving forward to pursue a higher level of Go skills.

Victory or defeat.

Life and death.

A professional Go player's life revolves around just these few words.

At this moment, Zhou De seemed to remember something and said, "Oh right, did I forget to tell you? Not long ago, there was a transfer student who used to be a promising young player."

"However, he has given up on the goal of becoming a professional and is preparing to go back to school. He said that this path is too difficult. A genius like you is one in a million, and he doesn't have that talent."

“He really loves Go. He told me that he really wanted to dedicate his life to this world, but there was no place for him in this world.”

"He tried his best and worked hard, but it's time for him to give up. He needs to find another way out and consider going to university."

As Zhou De spoke, he fell silent.

Yu Shaozang stood aside, looking at Zhou De, and suddenly felt that Zhou De seemed to have matured a bit.

"Forget it, don't talk about this."

A moment later, Zhou De grinned again and said, "You better keep up the good work and make sure you get a title. If you can get a title this year, damn, I'll be getting all the praise!"

After saying that, Zhou De stood up, dribbled the ball twice, and then leaped up to throw the basketball toward the basket.

"I'm going to try harder too!"

Bang!

It went in!
"Let's try to be specially admitted to Peking University as athletes, so we can both go to the same university!"

…………

P.S.: The transition was a bit choppy; I reached 4k today. I apologize profusely.

　Asking for a monthly ticket!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)