Chapter 61#
Jiang Qin ate and drank well at Guan Feng’s house, gaining three pounds of flesh. He was extremely conflicted when looking in the mirror, feeling that the lines of his arms seemed to have blurred again. He wondered if he should sign up for outdoor rock climbing again.
The family of three had gone climbing years ago. Li Meng, that creature with a developed brain but weak limbs, cried and came down to eat cookies before climbing for five minutes. Jin Yan climbed halfway, complaining “this activity is so boring” while nimbly reaching the top using both hands and feet. As for Jiang Qin, just as he was about to reach the top, his foot slipped and he fell. He hung expressionlessly from the rope, swinging for a long time before being rescued by the staff.
According to Jin Yan’s description, Jiang Qin’s posture of hanging in the wind with a cold face and limbs spread wide was very comical. At that time, everyone who reached the top took out their phones to take pictures as a souvenir.
After many years, Jiang Qin had a whim to climb again, but he couldn’t bring himself to call Jin Yan (actually, he was still feeling guilty about the photo album incident), so he forced Guan Feng and Duan Hanzhi to go with him.
Duan Hanzhi was furious as soon as he heard about rock climbing: “Are you kidding? Do I look like someone who can do that kind of physical labor! If you want to murder me, you don’t have to be so direct!”
Guan Feng, on the other hand, expressed great interest, saying he could go and really wanted to go. He had been kicked out once before, and this time he wanted to wipe away the shame.
Although Jiang Qin had doubts about why Guan Feng was kicked out, under the swift operation of the omnipotent assistant Hellen, he was sitting in the car to the rock climbing gym half an hour later. Duan Hanzhi’s desperate resistance was ineffective; he was tied up by Hellen in the back seat of the car, nervously texting Wei Hong: “I’ve been kidnapped by Guan Feng to the rock climbing gym, what should I do?!”
Wei Hong: “Don’t panic? Take a deep breath?”
“Shut up, Golden Retriever! I will definitely fall to my death!”
“…Woof! You won’t, woof!”
When they arrived at the rock climbing gym, the group went to change clothes. When Jiang Qin came out, he was immediately blinded. The huge venue had been completely cleared. Hellen, wearing twelve-centimeter high heels, pointed her slender hand with blood-red nail polish domineeringly: “Quick, quick! There is a protrusion on the mountain body visually estimated at twenty meters. Crane driver, adjust the angle!”
With a loud boom, the huge hook pulled a genuine leather swivel chair and moved it back another ten centimeters.
Hellen turned around loyally and said, “President Guan, you can sit on it now.”
Guan Feng nodded reservedly and with satisfaction.
“…” Jiang Qin turned to the dumbfounded staff: “…Can you kick him out please…”
On the other side, the beautiful, sharp-tongued, and domineering Director Duan was forcibly put into a safety harness by the staff. While complaining furiously “You guys are trying to kill me,” he reluctantly grabbed the rock and climbed up two steps. Jiang Qin was made a bit nervous by him, afraid that the national treasure director would accidentally fall and splatter blood on the spot. After hesitating again and again, he finally decided to follow behind him, reminding him as he climbed: “Don’t look down! Be careful!”
Duan Hanzhi’s trembling voice came down from above: “Accountant! What grudge do I have with you! I won’t let you off even as a ghost!”
“Focus on climbing! Don’t wet your pants! I’m still below you!”
Duan Hanzhi: “…”
As a result, Duan Hanzhi cursed and scolded while using both hands and feet. Twenty minutes later, when Jiang Qin had only climbed halfway, he looked up and saw that Duan Hanzhi had actually flipped onto the top of the mountain. Poor Jiang Qin was so startled that he almost slipped and fell again.
Duan Hanzhi panted and called Wei Hong: “Ahhh, I really almost fell to my death! So scary! So terrifying! Boohoo, I will never come to a rock climbing gym again!”
“…Director Duan, you say that every time…”
“But it’s really scary! My hands and feet are weak and my heart is beating so fast! Ahhh, am I really going to die? Quick, bark once!”
Wei Hong hurriedly wagged his tail to comfort him: “Woof!”
So Duan Hanzhi was satisfied and hung up the phone. Wei Hong squatted on the set with a thousand emotions, thinking that he should take out Director Duan’s rock climbing champion crystal trophy from the cabinet and wipe it tonight, and then apologize to the accountant. After all, being frightened by Director Duan like this would probably shorten his life by at least ten years.
Jiang Qin was full of resentment after climbing. He deeply felt that bringing Guan Feng (“Hellen, complain to their manager, why can’t I take a crane?”) and Duan Hanzhi (“Don’t look at me like that, actually I’m also very scared, okay? I don’t know how to rock climb at all!”) out was a huge mistake. Indeed, everyone has moments of brainlessness.
The three of them swayed in the car on the way home from the rock climbing gym, passing through the city center, and decided to get out for tea. Wei Hong had also finished filming and came out from the set at this time, happily driving over to pay the bill for Director Duan, and suggested over the phone: “The crabs at that hotel we went to last time were excellent! Let’s go eat a crab feast together!”
It was the season for eating crabs. The group went to the hotel. As soon as they entered the intersection, they saw a banner on the magnificent gate: Welcome to the Huashuo Cup China-Korea Go Tournament held grandly in this hotel! A row of smiling beauties in cheongsams stood on the steps to welcome guests; the standard looked quite high. Duan Hanzhi took several photos with great interest, saying he would take them back to show little student Li Meng.
When Li Meng was young, he was often held by Director Duan, who would stroke his fur and pinch his tail, causing his calves to tremble whenever he saw Duan Hanzhi. Later, he showed great prowess in chess, winning thirty stones against Guan Feng, which delighted Director Duan. From then on, whenever they met, Director Duan would reward him with candy and often encouraged him to play chess well, striving to one day anger Guan Feng to death on the chessboard.
Li Meng, who only remembered the food but not the beatings, forgot the deep hatred of the past after eating two candies. Later, whenever he saw Director Duan, he would wag his tail and pounce on his thigh to beg for affection, acting incredibly obsequious.
Hellen went to park the car, and Jiang Qin’s group entered the hotel through the side door and went straight to the private room on the second floor. Passing by the elevator, they suddenly saw a promotional poster in the corner with photos of the participating players and an introduction by the organizer below.
Jiang Qin’s gaze fell casually on the poster, and then he froze.
In the middle of the third row was actually Li Meng!
In the photo, Li Meng had black clothes and black hair, a tender and handsome face, a determined gaze, and tightly pursed lips. The short player profile printed on the bright red poster page read: “Li Meng, 3-dan, a rising star with real strength, champion of the Three Kingdoms Hegemony Tournament! Looking forward to his performance!”
Jiang Qin: “…”
Jiang Qin dazedly took out his phone: “Hello, Jin Yan, I seem to have seen something incredible…”
Jin Yan was sitting in the conference room listening to a report, looking like a decent person. Seeing the caller ID was Jiang Qin, he immediately imagined that his wife was giving in and apologizing, so he asked triumphantly: “Hmm, what is it? Miss your man?”
“…” Jiang Qin said: “I saw Li Meng’s participant profile at the Huashuo Cup Go Tournament. Did you know this is a China-Korea bilateral confrontation match?”
“Oh, I heard Li Meng mention it last night, but he was mumbling while eating cake and I couldn’t hear clearly. When I asked again, he wouldn’t tell me… What’s wrong, wifey? You can’t just want the son and not the husband. Killing the chicken to get the eggs is immoral, you know?!”
Jiang Qin said angrily: “Killing the chicken to get the eggs is not used like that! Be careful or I’ll clean up the house for your elementary school Chinese teacher!”
“Oh, then burning the bridge after crossing it. Anyway, where would you get a son without a husband!”
Jiang Qin almost threw his phone against the wall.
When he turned around, Duan Hanzhi was actually stretching his ears to eavesdrop, nodding while listening: “He’s right, where would you get a son without a husband…”
Jiang Qin suddenly understood why Guan Feng once said to him with deep feeling: “Sometimes I really want to strangle Duan Hanzhi to death, then drag him out to burn the corpse and destroy the evidence…”
The crab trio decided not to eat. They each bought a hamburger and ran to the venue to watch Li Meng play chess. Those who could participate today had already passed the cruel preliminary selection, and only a dozen or so people were shortlisted. When they went up, Li Meng was sitting in the game room, and the observation room outside was crowded with spectators.
As a China-Korea bilateral confrontation match, the Huashuo Cup was a considerable event. Perhaps because Li Meng was a dark horse that had recently emerged, attracting more attention, there were even reporters from well-known media doing live broadcasts in the observation room.
Jiang Qin was stunned when he saw the electronic live board on the big screen.
The player playing against Li Meng was actually the Korean 6-dan Kim Dae-sung—this person had a brief encounter with Li Meng at a street chess club before. In the middle game, his two dragons were slaughtered consecutively, and he suffered a crushing defeat in the endgame. Unexpectedly, only half a year later, the two met again. Enemies really do meet on a narrow road.
Duan Hanzhi was good at movies but not at Go. He poked Jiang Qin and asked: “I see a lot of white stones. Is Li Meng about to win?”
“Golden corners, silver sides, grass belly. Li Meng’s big dragon has been surrounded, very dangerous.”
“Ah? Then what to do now?”
Jiang Qin frowned and looked at the screen for a while, shaking his head: “If it were me, I would give up this territory.”
Li Meng was wearing a small suit without a tie, his white shirt unbuttoned at the top two buttons, resting his chin on his hand and staring at the chessboard for a long time. Kim Dae-sung seemed slightly smug, taking a sip from his teacup. Immediately after, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Li Meng pick up a stone and place it on the board!
He didn’t jump out of the hinterland to find another way out, but used a previous wasted move to cleverly create a ko threat!
Kim Dae-sung was startled, thinking, does he not want to give up the big dragon?
If it were any other budding new player, even with a glorious record, Kim Dae-sung would think this move was youthful impulsiveness. After all, there are too many new players with a tough and sharp style now. Young players are simply synonymous with bold and unscrupulous moves.
However, the opponent was Li Meng, so he didn’t think so. He had played against Li Meng, and his deepest impression was that this teenager had a terrifying correctness—he never clung to a fixed style. His style always changed according to the actual situation, but if you reviewed the game afterwards, you would find that he always played the move most suitable for the situation, the one that solved the problem best, the most correct move.
This requires a person with extensive knowledge and a strong memory, and a huge volume of games accumulated over time to achieve.
Kim Dae-sung dared not underestimate this small ko threat and responded very cautiously with two moves. The commentator in the observation room also noticed his attitude and said with a smile: “It was rumored on the internet that when Li Meng, 3-dan, was still in middle school, he once won a great victory against Kim, 6-dan, on the roadside, sending the opponent back in a miserable defeat. It seems our Kim 6-dan has a psychological shadow, and his response now is very careful.”
However, before the voice fell, a sudden change occurred in the middle game!
Li Meng suddenly had a strange idea and gave up the big dragon, actually handing over a full thirteen stones!
There was a gasp in the observation room, and the commentator didn’t understand either: “This… Li Meng 3-dan voluntarily gave up the hinterland. As long as Kim 3-dan plays another stone, he can eat all the big dragon… Then what was the previous tough entanglement for? It’s really confusing.”
Duan Hanzhi was also nervous and turned to ask: “Is Li Meng hungry? Can we send him some food?”
Guan Feng moved to the side with an indifferent face, as if he didn’t know him at all.
Jiang Qin looked at the chessboard carefully and shook his head after a while: “I don’t know. Li Meng’s current style is very different from when he played against me… But this approach is a bit familiar to me. When he was in elementary school, we played a game like this. This is actually a simple diversion.”
“How so?”
“He didn’t want this big dragon in the first place, but used it as bait to create ko threats and make the opponent reveal flaws. In fact, the purpose is to penetrate the opponent’s center and seize territory to create a large framework.”
Back then, it was Li Meng who fell for this trick in that game. Now, it was Kim Dae-sung. Before Jiang Qin finished speaking, sure enough, Kim Dae-sung couldn’t resist the temptation and captured Li Meng’s big dragon. A large empty space instantly appeared for the white stones in the middle game—immediately after, before the sighs in the observation room could sound, Li Meng raised his hand and dropped a stone, snapping a white stone into Kim Dae-sung’s hinterland!
“—Good move!” The commentator blurted out: “This step lays a very good foundation for a counterattack. Although the big dragon is lost, the overall shape is more rigorous!”
Kim Dae-sung’s expression changed drastically. He stared straight at the chessboard, and after a while, a bit of cold sweat seeped out on his forehead.
Li Meng’s face remained unchanged, looking at his nose, his nose looking at his heart, his gaze lowered like water.
In that instant, he seemed to have transcended the mundane world. The whole world silently turned to ashes, leaving only him sitting there, neither happy nor angry, forever calm.
Kim Dae-sung subconsciously looked up at him, but the more he looked, the more panicked he became. Although it wasn’t obvious on the surface, he knew in his heart that his pace was already messed up.
The Chinese low-dan teenager in front of him was performing too steadily, simply crushing forward openly like a great army pressing down on the border. No one could keep their formation from falling into disarray!
“It’s really hard to imagine that Li Meng, 3-dan, possesses such vision at such a young age. That move just now was truly brilliant! How will Kim 6-dan respond next?”
The commentator paused, just about to simulate the game for the audience, when a bell rang in the distance: “—Oh! The bell for sealing the game today has rung! Audience present, what we are holding today is the first game of the semi-finals of the Huashuo Cup China-Korea Confrontation Match. The two sides in this game room are the Korean 6-dan ‘Blood Hand’ Kim Dae-sung and the only sixteen-year-old Chinese 3-dan young player Li Meng. The situation on both sides is deadlocked, the middle game is obscure, and it is still very unclear who will win in the end. Welcome everyone to continue to come and watch the battle tomorrow, thank you!”
When the bell rang, Kim Dae-sung was sweating on the tip of his nose. Hearing that the game was to be sealed, he breathed a sigh of relief for some reason.
He slumped back in his chair, only to realize that his back was soaked with sweat.
This was actually very abnormal. After all, he was a professional player who had fought in hundreds of battles. Although his rank was only 6-dan, promotion to 7-dan was only a matter of this year.
He had experienced so many competitions and met so many difficult players, winning and losing against each other. He had seen all kinds of strange situations. Before meeting Li Meng, he even felt that his vision was no different from top masters.
However, today he realized that playing chess with this teenager was such a psychologically stressful thing.
Clearly, he still had the upper hand, but he felt like he had already lost.
Li Meng pushed the board and stood up, bowed with good grace, and walked out the door.
Just then, Kim Dae-sung had a thought and impulsively stood up and called out: “Please wait, Mr. Li!”
“Hmm?”
“Can… can you review the game with me? If I review it with you…”
Li Meng seemed to think for a moment, then shook his head and smiled: “Better not. My mind is very messy, and it might not be helpful to you.”
Kim Dae-sung stood stiffly in place, watching helplessly as he turned and walked out.
As a result, as soon as Li Meng got outside the game room, he saw Jiang Qin standing in the corridor waiting for him—the rising 3-dan Go star immediately lost his composure and pounced with lightning speed, wailing like a ghost: “Mom—! I’m starving to death—! They abused me and didn’t let me eat enough. At noon, they actually let me gnaw on stea-stea-stea-steamed bu-bu-bu-buns—!”
Organizer: “…”
Reporters gathering around to interview: “…”
Jiang Qin: “…”
Li Meng hugged Jiang Qin’s thigh in a panic, wagging his tail while crying and howling: “I want to eat crayfish! I want to eat crab noodles! I want to eat mango cake! Take me to eat quickly or I’ll starve to death right now! I’ll starve to death right now for you to see!”
Jiang Qin instinctively wanted to roll up his sleeves and beat Li Meng up, but seeing the forest of camera lenses around him, he finally lowered his head to cover his face, hurriedly picked up Li Meng, and fled in defeat.