The world of film and television begins with Hikaru no Go

Time opened its mouth, wanting to refute, but then felt that something seemed off.

Chu Ying, standing to the side, was laughing so hard she was almost choking: "You...you're completely under your brother's thumb!"

"Don't make things worse!" Shi Guang glared at Chu Ying, then looked at the back of Zhang Rui's head. "That won't do either. I'm not going to be a nepotism case."

"So what do you want?"

Shi Guang thought for a moment, then sat up straight: "You have to grant me a few requests."

"explain."

"First, don't tell anyone at the dojo that you're my brother. It's best to pretend you don't know me."

Zhang Rui glanced at him in the rearview mirror: "Okay."

"Second, don't let the teacher give me special treatment. Scold me if I need to, punish me if I need to, just like everyone else."

"OK."

"Third—" Shi Guang thought for a moment, "I'll stay in the dormitory, not at your place."

"You don't need to tell me that. There's only one bed in my room, and I wasn't planning on letting you stay there anyway."

"..." Shi Guang felt like she was being disliked.

"Is that settled then?"

"...It's settled."

As Shi Guang leaned back in the seat, a sudden feeling of nervousness crept into his heart.

What exactly is the dojo like? Will he be able to keep up with the others? What if he gets scolded?

"Don't worry—" Chu Ying comforted her, "I'm here for you."

Shi Guang hummed in response, but didn't dare to make a sound.

Zhang Rui sat in the passenger seat, watching the street scene recede outside the window, without saying a word.

The taxi drove through a shady area, the light and shadows flickering on the car window.

When they arrived at the entrance of the dojo, Shi Guang first peeked out the car window.

"This place... is quite big."

"Let's go."

Zhang Rui paid the fare and got out of the car.

Shi Guang quickly followed, and the two of them walked uphill one after the other.

The dojo's door was an old-fashioned wooden door, with some paint chips on it, but it was very clean.

Zhang Rui pushed open the door and led Shi Guang inside.

Upon entering, there is a corridor with several calligraphy scrolls hanging on the left, all containing characters such as "quiet," "thought," and "chess."

At the end of the corridor, you can see the stairs. Occasionally, people go up and down, their footsteps light, and the whole dojo is quiet.

Time looked around and found everything quite new.

He had never been to a place like this before. There was a faint smell of wood and paper in the air, which made him unconsciously slow his pace.

"Keep up."

"oh."

Zhang Rui led him up to the second floor, walked to the door of an office, and knocked.

"Come in."

Ban Hengren happened to be there. He saw Zhang Rui, smiled, and then his gaze fell on Shi Guang.

"Teacher Ban," Zhang Rui said, turning slightly to the side, "this is time."

"Hello, Teacher Ban." Shi Guang greeted her obediently.

Ban Heng stood up, walked over, looked Shi Guang up and down, and said with a smile, "You're Shi Guang? Zhang Rui mentioned you to us, welcome to our Yi Jianghu Dojo."

Shi Guang was surprised that Zhang Rui would give him a heads-up beforehand, and secretly glanced at him.

Zhang Rui stood to the side expressionlessly, saying nothing.

"Please sit down."

Ban Heng pointed to the chair next to him and sat down as well.

Shiguang sat down, feeling a little nervous.

Have you ever played chess before?

"It rained a little..."

"Where did you learn it?"

"I just... downloaded it for fun."

Shi Guang felt a little guilty; he couldn't very well say that the top chess player in the Southern Liang Dynasty was teaching him.

Ban Heng nodded, not pressing for details, and said gently, "It's like this, our dojo's academic system is a little different from other places. Did you know that beforehand?"

Time shook its head.

"The dojo is open 24/7," Ban Heng explained patiently. "You eat and live here, and every day is spent learning Go, playing Go, and reviewing games. Unlike attending classes at school, there are no winter or summer vacations here. Monday through Saturday is quite full. Sunday is a day off; you can go home or stay at the dojo to practice on your own."

Time blinked, and my mind was still blank.

"Then... what about the school?"

"You need to apply for a leave of absence. Don't rush it. Settle down first, and then have your mother go to the school to handle the procedures. It's usually done once a year in July. You won't be able to make it this year, but you can try next year. If you get into a good program, then continue on the professional track."

Shiguang nodded, feeling a little apprehensive.

A year? He can't even say for sure what tomorrow will bring.

"What if...it doesn't go through with the reservation?"

Ban Heng smiled and said, "If you don't get a professional ranking, just keep learning and take the exam again the following year. Some students at the dojo have been learning for three or four years. You can't rush chess. If you don't want to get a professional ranking by then, you can go back to your studies."

Shi Guang glanced at Chu Ying, who was floating beside him. Chu Ying was listening attentively to Ban Heng, her expression somewhat wistful, lost in thought.

Ban Heng tapped the table lightly with his fingers: "Let's play a game first."

Shi Guang paused for a moment, then asked, "Now?"

"Hmm, let me see your skill level." Ban Heng pointed to the chess table next to him. "It's just a preliminary assessment, play casually, don't be nervous."

Zhang Rui glanced at Shi Guang, said nothing, turned and walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.

The office fell silent, with only the ticking of the wall clock remaining.

As Shi Guang sat down at the chessboard, his heart pounded.

"Do you need my help?" Chu Yingpiao asked softly beside him.

Time hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

He recalled Zhang Rui's words—"Do you even like Go?" If he didn't even dare to play a game to test his understanding, then what was he doing at the academy?

"Okay." Chu Ying stepped aside and didn't say anything more.

Ban Heng pushed the basket containing the black pieces in front of Shi Guang, and took the jar containing the white pieces for himself: "You play black and go first."

Time placed the chess basket on its right, then picked up a black piece and suspended it above the chessboard.

He stared at the chessboard for a long time, unsure of where to place his piece.

Ban Heng waited quietly, without urging him.

Shi Guang gritted his teeth and placed the black piece in a position he found somewhat pleasing—the bottom right star position.

Ban Heng responded with a gesture, landing on the small eye in the upper left corner.

Time pondered for a long time and settled on the lower left corner of the star.

Ban Heng responded with another move, a small eye in the upper right corner.

After making five or six moves, Ban Heng's expression didn't change much, but his eyes held a more scrutinizing look.

Time's eleventh move landed in a strange place—neither in a corner nor in a corner, but in the middle, a lone piece with no support in front or behind.

Ban Heng's finger hovered in mid-air. He looked at the seed for two seconds, then at the time.

"Xiao Guang, how could you get down here?" Chu Ying couldn't stand it anymore.

Shi Guang blushed: "Shut up."

"Are you too nervous? It's normal that you can't beat me. Just play to your true level. Usually, only 6.8% of the people who sign up can beat me in this game, but 18.2% of them actually pass. But today we're just testing each other out. Winning or losing doesn't matter. Let's take it slow."

As Ban Heng spoke, he placed a white piece, which steadily occupied the last empty corner.