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A KFC in Guangzhou, 2000.

In this day and age, KFC is probably the most fashionable place to shop.

Under the bright lights, stylish young people gathered in twos and threes.

Having just transmigrated, Su Ning sat by the window, gazing at the endless stream of people outside, her fingers lightly tapping the table.

At this moment, Su Ning, who had just transmigrated, felt a little melancholy, really not knowing how to get into the story.

This time, I've transmigrated into the crime drama "The Chess Player," and the male lead, Cui Ye, is a high-IQ criminal who is also a Go teacher at a children's palace.

Cui Ye also has an older brother, Cui Wei, who is the captain of the criminal investigation team. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game between the brothers.

"Hello! Are you Mr. Su Ning?"

"Hello, Teacher Cui! I'm Su Ning."

"You said on the phone that you had something to talk to me about?"

"Yes! Please have a seat!"

"Thank you!"

"Teacher Cui, I didn't know what you wanted to eat, so I ordered a little bit of everything."

"Thank you."

“Teacher Cui, let’s get straight to the point. I want to open a Go master class and hold an ‘Amateur Go Tournament’ to make a profit by charging participants’ registration fees. In addition, I want to attract wealthy businessmen to join the master class and provide them with customized services, such as helping them win some big prizes.”

"Isn't this... isn't this cheating?"

"Making money is fine as long as it's not illegal!"

"No! Mr. Su, you've got the wrong person. I can't do such a thing."

"No rush! Teacher Cui, you can think about it carefully."

Cui Ye, however, hesitated. After all, his job at the Children's Palace was stable, and although the salary wasn't much, it was enough to support his family.

However, seeing the various KFC dishes on the table that were almost untouched, Cui Ye couldn't help but feel a bit more favorably disposed towards Suning.

"Waiter, could you please pack this up for me?"

"Okay! Please wait a moment."

After the KFC staff packed up the food for Cui Ye, he happily carried the KFC home.

When her son Yan Yan saw the KFC he had been longing for, he was overjoyed, and his mother Lu Qiuping also had a rare smile on her face.

Cui Ye is now in dire straits. Not only is he being bullied in the workplace by Principal Zhang Yingjie at the Children's Palace, but his wife Gao Shuhua is also making a fuss about divorcing him.

Watching his son Yan Yan happily eating KFC, Cui Ye couldn't help but think of Su Ning's suggestion again.

"Cui Ye, where did you get the money to buy KFC? These must cost a lot of money."

"Mom, don't worry! This was a treat from someone else. We were so busy talking about business that we barely ate anything, so I packed it all up and brought it back with me."

"Is this for real? I'll try it too."

"Mom, Yan Yan definitely can't finish all this food, so you should eat some too."

"Mmm, it tastes really good! No wonder foreigners are all tall and strong."

"Haha, I'll buy it for Yan Yan often in the future."

"Cui Ye, how's things going with you and Shuhua?"

"Mom, Yan Yan is here, let's not talk about these unhappy things."

"it is good."

In fact, Cui Ye's wife, Gao Shuhua, is a very career-oriented woman who doesn't care much about her family.

This can be seen from the behavior of Cui's mother, Lu Qiuping, who is particularly arrogant and unreasonable.

She thought that Wang Hongyu valued her because of her personal abilities, but little did she know that it was all a trap set by Wang Hongyu.

It's not that Gao Shuhua didn't realize Wang Hongyu's feelings for her, but she didn't have many reservations about it.

Perhaps in her heart she still felt she had wasted too much time on Cui Ye...

……

The celebration venue was filled with colorful balloons and banners. A red banner with white lettering read, "Warmest congratulations to Teacher Cui Ye for winning the Yueming Cup, the provincial amateur Go tournament."

Cui Ye stood in the corner, his fingers unconsciously stroking a crease on the cuff of his suit sleeve.

This is his only formal jacket suit, which he has worn for five years.

"Distinguished teachers and guests," Principal Zhang Yingjie's resounding voice echoed through the auditorium through the microphone, "Today we gather here not only to celebrate Teacher Cui Ye's award, but also to thank Chairman Wang Hongyu for his strong support of our school's Go education!"

Cui Ye looked up and saw Zhang Yingjie, all smiles, handing the microphone to Wang Hongyu, who was dressed in a suit and tie, standing next to him.

Wang Hongyu took the microphone and spoke eloquently about his love for Go and his concern for education, drawing continuous applause from the audience.

Cui Ye's gaze fell on the empty seat in the front row, which should have been his seat.

He glanced down at his watch; it was already past his scheduled time to speak.

As Wang Hongyu on stage said, "I am willing to continue investing in the development of the Go class at the Children's Palace," another round of enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience.

“Teacher Cui,” Zhang Yingjie walked up to him at some point and said in a low voice, “When we take the group photo later, stand next to President Wang and remember to smile a lot.”

“…” Cui Ye nodded, his throat tightening.

He recalled the match last week, the seven-hour battle he fought, and the excitement of turning the tide with a brilliant last move.

Now, that heavy trophy is placed in a prominent position on the podium, becoming a prop for the school's publicity.

After the group photo, Cui Ye quietly walked towards the trophy. Just as his fingers touched the cold metal surface, he was stopped by Director Li from the finance department.

"Teacher Cui, the principal asked me to inform you that the prize money has been directly transferred to the school's account and will be used to upgrade the equipment in the Go classroom." Director Li pushed up his glasses. "As you know, the school provided a lot of support for this competition."

Cui Ye's fingertips trembled slightly as he slowly withdrew his hand: "I understand."

It was already dark when I walked out of the Children's Palace.

Cui Ye stood at the bus stop, took out his wallet and counted the money inside—seventy-eight yuan and fifty cents.

Remembering how happy his son Yan Yan was when he ate KFC last week, Cui Ye wanted to buy his son a new KFC burger. He had planned to take his son there today after receiving his bonus.

Unfortunately, he once again faced workplace bullying from Zhang Yingjie.

At this moment, the pager on Cui Ye's waist suddenly vibrated. It was a message from his mother, Lu Qiuping: "Yan Yan said she wants to eat KFC. Buy it for her on your way back."

Cui Ye stared at his phone screen until it automatically locked.

He sighed and turned to walk towards the bank ATM across the street.

"Excuse me, sir, this machine is under maintenance." The security guard stopped him. "If you need to withdraw money, you can do so at the counter."

There was only one young female employee at the bank counter, who looked to be in her early twenties.

Cui Ye handed over the bankbook: "I'd like to withdraw one hundred yuan, thank you."

"Please wait a moment." The female employee frantically operated the system. "I'm new here, I'm not very familiar with it yet..."

Ten minutes later, Cui Ye finally received a crumpled 100-yuan bill. As he walked out of the bank, a light rain began to fall; he hadn't brought an umbrella.

The next morning, Cui Ye took Yan Yan to the cemetery in the suburbs.

Just after the Qingming Festival, a few withered flowers still remain in front of the tombstone.

Cui Ye squatted down and carefully wiped his father's tombstone.

"Grandpa, are you good at chess?" Yan Yan asked, tilting her little face up.

Cui Ye's lips curled up slightly: "Very impressive. He taught me my first game of chess when I was six, and I haven't beaten him since I was ten."

"Is Dad more capable than Grandpa now?"

Cui Ye paused for a moment: "I don't know, maybe."

"Cui Ye!" His mother, Lu Qiuping's voice came from behind him. She was carrying a plastic bag filled with incense and paper money. "Why are you arguing with your older brother again? At the last family dinner, you publicly said that he played chess terribly. He lost face!"

Cui Ye stood up and took the bag from his mother's hand: "I'm telling the truth. My older brother can't even remember the basic opening moves, yet he always likes to brag at the dinner table about how much he knows about Go."

"Can't you be a little more accommodating to him?" the mother sighed. "He's the head of the criminal investigation team now, he knows so many important people, maybe he can help you..."

“I don’t need his help,” Cui Ye interrupted his mother, his voice somewhat stiff.

Just then, Yan Yan suddenly let out a scream.

Cui Ye turned his head and saw his son fall down the steps, clutching his right leg and curling up in pain.

"Yan Yan!" Cui Ye rushed over and carefully examined his son's leg.

A large lump had swelled up on his knee, and the skin had turned an unnatural bluish-purple.

The hospital diagnosis came back quickly: a fracture of the right tibia, requiring immediate surgery.

“There are two options,” the doctor said, adjusting his glasses. “The basic surgery will cost about five thousand yuan, using domestically produced materials; if you choose imported materials and a more refined surgical method, the cost will be around twelve thousand yuan.”

Cui Ye stood in front of the payment window, looking at the last number on his passbook: 1836.50 yuan.

The streets were wet after the rain. Cui Ye turned into a small alley and stopped in front of a shop called "Old Chen's Tobacco and Liquor".

Behind the glass counter, the owner was looking down at his phone.

"Mr. Chen," Cui Ye knocked on the glass, "do you buy alcohol?"

The shopkeeper looked up, squinted at Cui Ye for a moment, and asked, "What kind of wine?"

Cui Ye carefully took out three beautifully packaged boxes from his backpack: "Moutai, 15-year aged. And two bottles of Wuliangye, both prizes won in the competition."

The shop owner took the wine box and glanced at it casually: "Do you have an invoice?"

"This is a competition prize, where would you get an invoice?" Cui Ye frowned.

“That’s not a good idea,” the boss shook his head. “The checks are strict now, and things without invoices are of dubious origin.”

Cui Ye gritted his teeth: "Name your price."

The shopkeeper held up five fingers: "Five hundred for one bottle, one thousand five for three bottles. That's already a very high price."

“This Moutai is worth at least three thousand on the market!” Cui Ye’s voice rose eight octaves.

“Then take it to the market and sell it,” the boss shrugged. “Let’s see who dares to buy high-end liquor without an invoice.”

Cui Ye clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms.

After a long silence, he released his grip: "Deal."

Holding a thin wad of banknotes, Cui Ye stood in the hospital corridor, looking through the glass window at his sleeping son on the hospital bed.

My phone vibrated again; it was an unknown number.

"Is this Teacher Cui? This is Su Ning." A clear male voice came from the other end of the phone. "Would you be interested in talking about Go training?"

Cui Ye initially wanted to refuse, but looking at the numbers on the payment slip, he changed his mind: "When?"

The next day at noon, Cui Ye met Su Ning at a quiet teahouse.

The other person looked to be in his early thirties, wearing a simple dark blue shirt, and exuded the composure characteristic of a professional Go player in every gesture.

Su Ning poured Cui Ye a cup of tea before smiling and saying, "Teacher Cui, I watched your match last week. That 'small fly guarding the corner' move was so beautiful."

Cui Ye nodded slightly: "Mr. Su, why did you choose me?"

“Because I’m a former professional 3-dan player who retired five years ago,” Su Ning smiled. “I not only know that you’re a good player, but I also know that you’re currently in dire straits, so you’re the most suitable partner for me.”

Cui Ye frowned but did not reply.

“I know you desperately need the money right now! There’s really no need to keep being stubborn, because it’s completely pointless,” Su Ning said in a low voice.

Cui Ye suddenly stood up: "Who exactly are you?"

“A chess player who can change your future,” Su Ning said calmly. “Your son will have a successful surgery in three days, and the cost has already been prepaid. This is my sincerity. I hope you can contact me within three days.”

After saying that, Su Ning left an envelope and turned to leave.

Cui Ye opened the envelope, inside was a hospital payment receipt and a mysterious phone number.

Cui Ye stood at the entrance of the teahouse, the sunlight so bright he could hardly open his eyes.

After parting ways with Suning, Cui Ye dialed the phone of his elder brother, Cui Wei.

"Brother, it's me." He sat down next to his home phone and lowered his voice. "There's something I'd like you to help me look into..."

In the Criminal Investigation Division office, Cui Wei put down the case files in his hand, frowned, and looked at his younger brother: "Cui Ye, is there something wrong with this Su Ning?"

“I don’t know either! But he recently contacted me, wanting to cooperate with me. His proposed cooperation plan is…” Cui Ye hesitated for a moment, “but something just doesn’t feel right to me.”

Cui Wei picked up a pen to take notes: "Hmm, it is indeed quite strange! Tell me more about it."

After listening to his younger brother Cui Ye's account, Cui Wei pondered for a moment: "From a legal perspective, as long as it doesn't involve cheating in the competition, it's not illegal. But morally..." He shook his head, "You decide for yourself."

"What about Suning's background check?"

“There are no problems.” Cui Wei flipped through the file. “Former professional 3-dan, after retiring he worked as a Go coach and did business for a few years, his background is clean.”

Cui Ye nodded silently, his gaze falling on the family photo hanging on the office wall.

In the photo, the young boy and his brother stand on either side of their father, who is holding a Go board.

At that moment, Cui Wei on the other end of the phone suddenly said, "Cui Ye, Yan Yan's surgery fee..."

Cui Ye interrupted him, turned and walked towards the door, "Thank you, brother! But it's already resolved."

"That's good! Remember to call me if you need anything."

"Don't worry! I definitely will."

After hanging up the phone, Cui Ye looked at the gloomy sky.

Then he took out the hospital payment receipt from his pocket, which showed a total of 12,000 yuan.

……

...(End of chapter)