The world of film and television begins with Hikaru no Go

The afternoon sun was lovely, warmly shining on the steps at the entrance of the dojo.

Zhang Rui moved a deck chair outside and sat down, holding the latest issue of "World Go" magazine in his hand, but he didn't really open it. He just squinted and basked in the sun.

Below the steps, pedestrians occasionally pass by, bicycle bells jingle, and in the distance, the shouts of scrap collectors can be heard.

Zhang Rui seems to enjoy this time quite a bit; he doesn't have to think about anything or do anything, which is great.

Feeling sleepy, I covered my face with the magazine, put my coat over my shoulders, and fell asleep without worrying about catching a cold.

"that……"

After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Rui, who was half asleep, vaguely heard someone calling him.

I put the magazine aside, squinted, and found a figure standing in front of me against the light.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a boy.

He was wearing a dark blue suit jacket, his back was ramrod straight, and his posture was very proper.

Yu Liang, whom Zhang Rui knew, was the son of Yu Xiaoyang, a 9-dan professional dan player.

When I was a child, I played Go with Shi Guang, or more precisely, with Chu Ying. I think I was traumatized by the game, so I went to South Korea to learn Go. When did I come back?

When they went abroad for a competition last month, Yu Xiaoyang even took him to visit her.

"Zhang Rui, 9th Dan." Yu Liang bowed slightly, his manner impeccable.

Zhang Rui sat up, placed the magazine in his hand on his knee, and nodded in return.

"Um..." Yu Liang hesitated for a moment, "Zhang Rui, 9-dan, is Time here?"

"Why are you looking for him?"

"I...I came to play chess with him."

"He hasn't played Go in a long time."

"Impossible, I don't believe it."

"I'm his brother, and he really hasn't touched Go in the past few years."

"How could someone who plays Go like that give up Go? He must love Go very much." Yu Liang suddenly became extremely excited. "When I was a child, I played two games with him. After losing to him, I went to South Korea and studied Go day and night for six years. The first thing I did when I came back was to find him to play Go. I went to his house, only to find that he had moved. Later, I heard that he was studying at No. 13 Middle School, but when I went to the school, he was nowhere to be found. But when I found out that he was at the Yijianghu Go Academy, do you know how excited I was?"

Zhang Rui looked at him without saying a word.

The trees on both sides of the steps rustled in the wind, and a few leaves fell and swirled on the ground.

A car horn sounded briefly in the distance, then fell silent again.

Yu Liang remained silent for a long time before continuing, "I want to tell him in person that I've become stronger. If I haven't given up, he can't possibly give up on Go!"

"Six years have passed. In these six years, I've been going to school, playing games, hanging out with friends, and causing all sorts of trouble. The only thing I haven't done is play chess."

Yu Liang stood there, his lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

His facial expression shifted subtly—from surprise to disbelief, and then to a complex emotion that was hard to define.

"Then...is time here?"

"Yes." Zhang Rui didn't beat around the bush and gave an affirmative answer. He then said, "He just picked up Go again a few days ago. After six years without playing, as a Go player, you should know how much you would have deteriorated."

"But……"

"I suggest you wait. He came to the academy because he wants to become a professional Go player. You can definitely meet in professional matches in the future. There's no point in winning against him now."

"I don't understand how someone could play chess like that when they were a child, and then just give it up like that, and then stay away for six years."

Zhang Rui looked at him and remained silent for a while.

"So you want to seek justice for Go?"

Yu Liang paused for a moment, then said, "That's not what I meant—"

"I know you're not," Zhang Rui stood up and placed the magazine on the recliner. "But I really don't recommend that you play chess with time right now; it won't do either of you or him any good."

Yu Liang's eyes darkened, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Then I'll come another day."

He turned around, took two steps, then suddenly stopped and returned to Zhang Rui: "Zhang Rui, 9th Dan, may I ask you a question?"

"ask."

"Your playing style in the first few years after you became a professional Go player..." Yu Liang carefully chose his words, seemingly looking for a way to avoid offending anyone, "was very similar to my childhood."

Zhang Rui didn't say anything.

"I know this request is presumptuous—" Yu Liang's voice was a little tense, but he still tried to remain polite, "but I've been wondering if there's any connection here. If it's convenient for you, could we play a game of chess?"

Zhang Rui raised an eyebrow but did not reply immediately.

"I know you're a 9-dan, the same level as my father," Yu Liang continued, speaking a little faster than before, as if afraid of being directly rejected. "I haven't become a professional player yet, so I'm not really qualified to be your opponent. I also know there are many people outside who are willing to pay a lot of money to play a game with you. But—"

He paused for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts.

"But I think if I could play a game with you, I might understand some things."

Zhang Rui had to admire Yu Liang; he was truly serious about Go.

The person who was with him six years ago was not Shi Guang, but Chu Ying.

I've always been playing chess for Chu, so our styles are naturally similar.

Later, Chu Ying incorporated many modern Go ideas, which made a big difference compared to before.

Yu Liang was able to perceive the connection, which must have meant he had carefully studied his past game records.

Zhang Rui found it difficult to refuse someone like that.

Although Chu Ying has returned to Shi Guang's side, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to call him back to play for me. But playing against the Go AI should give him some inspiration, right?

It seems that many professional chess players used AI to hone their skills in their past lives.

"You can ask if you want."

Yu Liang looked up, his eyes lighting up.

"But I have one condition."

"What are the conditions?"

Zhang Rui turned around and glanced at the dojo: "There are sixteen students in group one, all of whom are the most promising young players to achieve professional rank this year. Go and play a game with each of them. If you win against them all, I'll play with you."

Yu Liang was stunned; he hadn't expected Zhang Rui to make such a request.

"You'll be participating in the ranking tournament later, right? Just treat it as practice. Besides, if you can't even beat them, playing against me is pointless."

"Okay." Yu Liang knew in his heart that Zhang Rui wanted to find sparring partners for the students in the dojo, but after a moment of silence, he nodded in agreement.

"No rush, you can go back and discuss it with your father first."

Yu Liang nodded and turned to walk down the steps.

After taking a few steps, he stopped and looked back.

"Zhang Rui, 9-dan, has he really not played any Go for six years?"

"Um."

"Then why did he suddenly come to the temple again?"

"You'll have to ask him that."