The Way of the Blind Girl Chess Saint

Chapter 51: Chess Academy [3000 words]

"Sakura, breakfast is ready, get up and eat." Ji Hongyun pulled off Ji Sakura's blanket. Her head was wrapped up like a dumpling by her long, bluish-green hair, making it impossible to see her face.

"Um"

Ji Yingting blinked and slowly got out of bed, wearing a beige nightgown.

She slept very comfortably last night, feeling a little limp all over. It had been more than ten years since her father had held her while she slept.

"Dad, what's for breakfast?"

After washing up, Ji Yingting sat down in a chair and asked softly. She was noticeably more obedient than yesterday, and her attitude towards Ji Hongyun was also very different. Perhaps women are just like eels.

"It's just a regular scrambled eggs with onions... I see you don't have much food in your fridge, have you not been eating properly lately?" Ji Hongyun asked with some concern.

"Hmm," Ji Yingting nodded silently. Actually, she never ate properly when she was home alone, so she often ate the food cooked by Wang Murou.

Ji Yingting picked up a piece of golden, delicious egg with her chopsticks, opened her mouth and swallowed it. It was a little hot and a little soft, melting in her mouth.

"It's so delicious..." Ji Yingting exclaimed.

"Really? But it's not as good as Mom's cooking. Didn't you say that Dad's cooking was terrible when you were little?" Ji Hongyun laughed self-deprecatingly.

Ji Yingting shook her head casually. "I've already forgotten."

"By the way, do you really not want to come home with me to see Mom?" Ji Hongyun looked at Ji Yingting eating, hesitated for a moment, and then said this.

…………

…………

Ji Yingting fell silent immediately. After a few seconds, she lowered her head and whispered, "No."

“Okay…” Ji Hongyun touched her hair helplessly, but her visit to Ying Ting this time did have some practical results, after all, the relationship between the two of them improved smoothly.

Was it because she played a game of chess with her...? No, perhaps it's because she's grown up a bit, and is no longer the little child with only resentment in her heart, Ji Hongyun thought with relief.

"By the way, Dad... does Hongying still... have no memory of me?" Ji Yingting hesitated before speaking.

"Um……"

"So, what about the photos... the photos from when you were little? Haven't you shown her those yet?"

Ji Hongyun shook her head. "Because of her personality, she's become strange after you left... so my mother and I haven't decided whether or not to let her know about you."

"That's strange?" Ji Yingting tilted a strand of her bluish-green hair, looking somewhat puzzled.

"Well, how should I put it... her personality is starting to resemble yours."

"……Yeah"

Ji Yingting lowered her head and silently finished her breakfast.

If there's one person she truly feels sorry for, it's her younger sister... Ji Hongying.

After all, that incident had nothing to do with my sister, yet she said such hurtful things... My sister probably forgot that she never wanted to see me again.

"Dad, take me to school later," Ji Yingting said, snapping out of her guilt.

"Hey? Isn't it the weekend? Do you have club activities today?"

"No, I just made plans to go out with friends and we'll meet at school," Ji Yingting lied. She didn't want her father to know that she was attending Lin Hong's 10th Dan seminar, because he would definitely pester her with a bunch of questions.

"Oh, then you should be careful."

***************************

"Oh, good morning, Sakuraba-senpai. Who was that woman who drove you here?"

When I arrived at the school, Xin Yufei was already waiting for me. She was wearing a thick gray cotton-padded coat, and snowflakes were still falling from the sky.

"Good morning," Ji Yingting greeted softly, and only after her father drove away did she begin to explain.

That's my dad.

"Oh, I see," Xin Yufei nodded in understanding. She had only recently met Ji Yingting, so she didn't know that Ji Yingting had always lived alone.

"Huh? Sakuraba?" Just as Ji Sakuraba was talking to Xin Yufei, a slightly androgynous voice came from behind her.

Just as Ji Yingting was still trying to remember whose voice it was, Xin Yufei called out the other person's name, "Teacher Fei Qiluo!!"

Standing behind the two was a woman wearing a somewhat androgynous brown coat. She had very androgynous features and short, pink curly hair.

"So one of the two female students Chen Xiao mentioned was you, Sakuraba... Sakuraba, are you planning to take the professional exam this year?" After they got into her car, Hikari said with some surprise.

"Well, why is it you, Ms. Fei Qiluo, who came to pick us up?" Ji Yingting asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Oh? Because Lin Hong is my teacher! I was just wondering why Chen Xiao would write a recommendation letter for his student. Oh, by the way, let me tell you, Professor Lin Hong's seminars are every Saturday, and I'll be picking you up and dropping you off regularly during that time..."

Fei Qiluo explained to the two that she was actually quite shocked when she saw Chen Xiao's letter of recommendation yesterday.

It's worth noting that although Lin Hong's chess academy is currently recruiting high-level amateur students.

However, Chen Xiao's letter of recommendation clearly stated that the two should attend the elite seminar, which meant studying with the professional Go players under Lin Hong's tutelage.

In other words, she should now call them both her junior sisters.

Ji Yingting said softly, "That's great. Anyway, the school bus doesn't go to the city center on Saturdays. By the way, Yufei, what about you? Isn't your home in the city center?"

Xin Yufei considered for a moment and then nodded, saying, "Okay, then I'll just have my family take me to the chess academy on Saturdays from now on, so I won't have to come to school anymore."

"Then teacher, could you just drive your car to my house on Saturdays from now on? It would be more convenient."

"Okay," Fei Qiluo nodded. After driving for more than twenty minutes, the three of them successfully arrived at the chess academy in downtown Yongyue City.

"Wow...the interior decoration has such a traditional Chinese style!" Xin Yufei looked inside curiously, slightly excited.

"Just leave your boots at the door, and go inside and wait for me while you put on your socks."

Fei Qiluo turned around, went out, and parked her car.

"Clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter," as soon as you enter the room, you can hear countless neat sounds of chess pieces being placed and colliding. It must be the students from the chess academy playing a game.

"Wow, Sakuraba-senpai... there are so many kids inside who are about our age..." Xin Yufei's eyes kept wandering around.

Twenty or thirty children were playing chess against each other; some were younger than them, while others looked like adults.

A very young-looking female teacher was patrolling the corridor; she was wearing a light purple uniform.

She looks to be under twenty years old and has a very sweet appearance. She is very popular among students.

"Huh?" Hearing a sound at the door, the female teacher looked up and immediately saw Xin Yufei and Ji Yingting standing at the door.

She walked over slowly and said softly, "Are you two new students at the chess academy? Do you want to register? Or would you like to observe for a while first?"

……

Upon hearing the female teacher's voice, many students who were playing chess looked up.

"Wow, there's a super pretty girl! Is she a new student at the Go academy?"

"Probably. That little green-haired girl is so pretty. I wonder how good she is at Go?"

"Could she be a beginner? My crush might change from my teacher to her!!"

A murmur rippled through the student crowd.

"Hey, you two focus on your game of chess and don't get distracted. You two come with me to register," the female teacher turned and scolded the students.

"Ah...ah," Xin Yufei said awkwardly. She was about to explain that she was waiting for someone when she suddenly heard the door open behind her.

Splash...

Upon seeing the newcomer, the female teacher immediately nodded respectfully, "Good morning, Ms. Fei Qiluo."

"Good morning, Xiaoyu. These two aren't here to register at the chess academy; they're the teacher's new students. They'll be coming every Saturday from now on," Fei Qiluo said, taking off her boots at the door.

"Oh! Really? Teacher Lin Hong's new students? Are they professional Go players?" The female teacher, whom Fei Qiluo called Little Fish, was extremely surprised.

It should be noted that although she was a student of Hikari Kira and a professional Go player with a 2-dan rank, she was never qualified to attend the seminar hosted by 10-dan Lin Hong.

Lin Hong, a 10-dan player, has students who are at least professional 4-dan players, and most of them are high-ranking professional players.

Fei Qiluo shook her head. "No, it's not that. It's a special case. I'll explain it to you later. Alright, you two, hurry up and follow me. Don't disturb the other students' games."

After saying that, she led Xin Yufei and Fei Qiluo around the room where the students were playing chess, under Xiaoyu's shocked gaze.

The chess academy's architecture is quite retro, with wooden floors and doors throughout the interior. However, it is a very large place, and Fei Qiluo led the two of them through many places along the way.

There were other rooms where the sound of chess pieces being placed could be heard continuously. Fei Qiluo explained to the two that the students of the chess academy were also divided into many different groups.

There are four groups: A, B, C, and D. Each group has more than 20 students. Every two months, five students from each group will be demoted and five students will be promoted... Group A only demotes, and Group D only promotes.

"Oh, if you want to eat lunch, you can eat with the students in the cafeteria. However, there are only three amateur 3-dan players in the Go academy, and even in Group A, there are only nine amateur 9-dan players."

After speaking, Fei Qilu shook her head helplessly. There were too few new generation of genius chess players in Yongyue City. An amateur 5-dan player in Yongyue City would only be considered a 4-dan player in Huangyue City.

Chapter 52: The Jade Mother-Child Tree of Tianluo Star

"Alright, this is where Professor Lin Hong's seminar is being held. Remember, it's in the second room on the second floor. The restaurant is on the first floor," Fei Qiluo said, specifically addressing Ji Yingting.

"I'm a little nervous..."

Ji Yingting and Xin Yufei followed Fei Qiluo inside.

"Good morning, teacher." Fei Qiluo pushed open the door, and there were several figures sitting scattered inside, each with a cushion under them.

"Okay, sit over there...you three," a stern voice came from the front.

Xin Yufei was stunned as soon as she entered the door. The interior decoration was very elegant, and the understated style seemed to calm her down.

But... in the center of this room is a huge tree that grows out of a hole in the ground, with countless thick trunks splitting into layers, and hundreds and thousands of large, oval green leaves.

As if shimmering with green light, in this fairly large and elegant room, many large leaves are adorned with exquisite chessboards that resemble jade. These chessboards seem to have grown out of the leaves, perfectly fitting and beautiful.

At the very top of the trunk is a small opening, like a hot spring, from which a tributary of a stream flows down, constantly soaking all the leaves in its cool water.

When the water droplets at the end of the stream flow into the leaf chessboard, the lines and squares on the jade chessboard sparkle like beautiful fireflies and diamonds.

"The Jade Mother Tree of Tianluo Star...it's amazing..."

Xin Yufei couldn't help but stare, her eyes wide open. It was the first time in her life that she had ever seen such a beautiful scene.