Dad, Please Try a Little Harder - Chapter 27
Chapter 27 Encountered “One Nine Equals Nine”
Li Zihe and Zhao Baiyu stood for nearly 10 minutes until all of Li Zhiyi’s ongoing Chinese chess games were concluded.
Four games, all victories, with just a slightly longer match against the professor.
“I never thought even doing this wouldn’t let me win against you. I completely acknowledge your skills,” the professor said, a sheen of sweat on his forehead but contentment on his face.
Li Zhiyi pursed her lips but didn’t say anything.
“Ajiu,” Li Zihe called out to his sister.
Li Zhiyi turned to her brother, a hint of joy in her eyes. Then, she turned back to the professor and said, “My brother’s here.”
“Go ahead,” the professor waved his hand.
Li Zhiyi walked toward her brother and asked, “Why did you come?”
“Just to check up on you and to introduce a friend to you.” Li Zihe’s tone was gentle as he extended his hand to introduce Zhao Baiyu, “This is Zhao Baiyu, my junior, also the daughter of one of Dad’s friends. She’s studying at Azure Bay University.”
Zhao Baiyu greeted Li Zhiyi, “Hello, Ajiu.”
Li Zhiyi sized her up, sensing an air of distinctive boldness and spirit that set her apart from other girls. She had a well-proportioned and upright figure, a half-head taller than herself. She was certainly quite the presence with a long braid and large, bright eyes.
“Let’s take a stroll around this campus,” Li Zihe proactively suggested, knowing his sister wouldn’t engage in small talk.
The three of them wandered around the campus.
Zhao Baiyu asked Li Zhiyi, “Did you just play Chinese chess with those four simultaneously?”
“Yes.”
“And you won all of the games?”
“Yes,” Li Zhiyi nodded slightly.
“Very impressive.”
“Professor Wang is impressive; the other three are not.”
Zhao Baiyu thought, “That’s just your opinion.”
Li Zihe continued the conversation, “Are they all from your Chinese chess club?”
“Yes.”
Zhao Baiyu added, “During summer vacation, I met a guy at my grandfather’s place. He’s my grandfather’s chess friend and plays Chinese chess really well. My grandfather said he’s at the level of a professional player.”
Li Zhiyi’s eyes lit up. “Where is he?”
“He seems to have gone to Seacoast Normal University.”
Li Zhiyi stared at Zhao Baiyu intently, with a meaning of whether she could help arrange a meeting.
With a hint of apology, Zhao Baiyu said, “I don’t play Chinese chess and didn’t exchange contact information with him, but I can ask my grandfather.”
Li Zihe chimed in, “No need to go through the trouble. He’ll probably join their Chinese chess club since he’s studying at Seacoast Normal University. There will be intercollegiate competitions, and they’re bound to meet.”
Zhao Baiyu nodded. “That makes sense.”
Li Zhiyi fell silent once again.
The three of them wandered around the campus, engaging in casual conversation. Most of the talking was between Li Zihe and Zhao Baiyu, with Li Zhiyi listening.
Finally, following Li Ziehe’s suggestion, Li Zhiyi and Zhao Baiyu exchanged contact information.
…
“Qian Quan, how did you end up staying as an interviewer?”
Guo Hongyi was curious when he saw Qian Quan sitting with the other interviewers during the martial arts club interview. As soon as the interview was over, he came to Qian Quan.
“They thought I performed exceptionally well during the interview, so they asked me to stay.” Qian Quan spoke frankly.
“Exceptionally well? What did you do?”
“I showcased both theory and practical skills.”
Guo Hongyi looked at his roommate incredulously. “You’ve practiced martial arts?”
“Yes.” Qian Quan smiled and struck a questioning hand gesture. “Wing Chun, with a top-tier level.”
“You’re pulling my leg.” Guo Hongyi found it hard to believe, thinking that Qian Quan was probably valued more by Bai Yuanzhi due to the popularity of the video.
Qian Quan chuckled, not offering further explanation. The two of them headed toward the sports field.
As they reached the basketball court, three people blocked their path.
It was Qin Shenglong and his two companions.
Upon seeing this, Guo Hongyi immediately showed signs of nervousness, while Qian Quan remained quite composed.
“On the day of recruitment, we might have been a bit offensive. We came here today to apologize, please don’t mind,” Qin Shenglong said with a sincere attitude while looking at Qian Quan.
“Oh, it’s fine. You don’t have to be so polite,” Qian Quan responded politely.
“Okay then, we won’t keep you from playing. If you need any help in the future at the school, feel free to let me know.”
“Sure, thank you.”
Qin Shenglong and his group left. After a moment of bewilderment, Guo Hongyi turned to Qian Quan and asked, “What was that all about?”
“Probably they found out about my true identity as a Wing Chun disciple,” Qian Quan explained.
“Don’t talk nonsense. Do you think it was Wang Tongyu or Bai Yuanzhi who spoke up for you behind the scenes?”
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter. At least we no longer have to worry about them causing trouble.”
“You’re right,” Guo Hongyi nodded in agreement and then sighed, “Being handsome really lets you get away with a lot.”
As the two reached the basketball court and were about to join a team, Qian Quan received a call from his mother.
“Hello, Mom. What’s up?”
“Nothing. Your dad is participating in the school faculty basketball match next weekend. I was thinking of finding a pair of basketball shoes of yours for him to wear. Which pair do you think would be suitable?”
“Why does he need to wear my old shoes? I can buy him a new pair.”
“No need to buy, he doesn’t play basketball usually, he’ll just wear them for a week. Buying new ones for that short time is unnecessary. Besides, I’ve cleaned your shoes thoroughly, so wearing them would be almost like wearing new ones. It won’t make him lose face.”
“Well, let my dad choose for himself. He can decide which pair fits best.”
“Okay. Have you had your meal?”
“I’m playing basketball with my roommate. We’ll have dinner after we’re done.”
“Alright, go play then. Don’t forget to eat.”
…
On Sunday, Qian Quan visited the Chinese chess club again to attend their first gathering.
The club, including the newly recruited members, totaled 16 people, with seven boys and nine girls.
The president was the senior he had defeated during the recruitment event, Cao Chuande, a junior and a first-level chess player.
Now, all the members of this club knew that Qian Quan had defeated the president. Therefore, they looked at him with somewhat unusual eyes when he showed up.
Some of the senior members who hadn’t attended the recruitment were curious to challenge Qian Quan. He was open to the idea.
So, under the watchful and somewhat compassionate gaze of President Cao Chuande, one by one, they were defeated by Qian Quan.
Later, some others wanted to continue challenging him. Qian Quan proposed, “How about we have a round-robin match? Anyone who wants to play against me, set up your board. I’ll play against all of you at once.”
These words instantly ignited the determination of the group. Twelve students, including the two who had just been defeated, all expressed their unwillingness to yield. They set up their chessboards and were ready to battle Qian Quan.
Then, Qian Quan extinguished their fighting spirit completely.
Of all twelve students, not a single one even managed a draw. They were all defeated overwhelmingly.
“Let’s end the matches here today!”
President Cao Chuande quickly intervened. If they continued, everyone might be discouraged by Qian Quan’s victories, and the small wound in his heart had just started to heal.
“Today, I brought everyone here for a couple of reasons. Firstly, to get to know each other better and become familiar with one another.”
“Secondly, I want to inform you all that towards the end of this month, our chess club from Jiao Tong University Chinese Chess Association will be hosting a Chinese chess competition among the universities in Minhua District. If any of you are interested, please come find me for registration.”
As the words fell, everyone’s gaze turned to Qian Quan, and he had to raise his hand, saying, “I’ll sign up.”
“Very well,” Cao Chuande nodded and continued, “And the third matter is to introduce a Chinese chess app to our new members. It’s called ‘Journey of Chinese Chess.’ It offers both AI and real-time online player-versus-player gameplay. For those who excel in real-time matches, there’s a chance to make it into the top 100 rankings of the app.”
At this point, Cao Chuande looked at Qian Quan and said, “This app also supports round-robin matches, allowing simultaneous play with up to 20 players.”
“Okay,” Qian Quan responded politely, and he proceeded to download the app as he spoke.
After the Chinese chess club gathering concluded, Qian Quan returned to his dormitory and registered a “Handshake for Peace” account on this app.
He decided to conduct an experiment on this app: no matter who the opponent was, he would attempt to play to a draw with them and see what kind of records he could set by maintaining draws throughout.
Of course, this was a bit of a playful mentality, but isn’t internet browsing about having fun?
After registering his account, he began to match with real players. Soon, he was paired with a player using the ID “One Nine Equals Nine.”
And so, the game began.
Qian Quan observed his opponent’s moves and was surprised that the other side was a skilled player. Judging from the intervals between the moves, it was clear that the other side engaged in round-robin matches, and he was just one of the opponents.
Qian Quan took it a bit more seriously, and in the end, he managed to secure a draw.
However, he had a feeling that this “One Nine Equals Nine” was probably the strongest opponent he had encountered so far.
This app had something to offer.
After the first game, Qian Quan noticed that his score had changed from 0 to 1.
Following the app’s rules, a win was worth 3 points, a draw earned 1 point, and a loss resulted in no points.
Qian Quan intended to play a few more rounds when he saw that “One Nine Equals Nine” directly invited him.
Qian Quan accepted the invitation.
This time, it was a one-on-one match.
Qian Quan didn’t dare to be careless and immersed himself in the game. Fortunately, he managed to draw again without much difficulty.
The opponent seemed unwilling to settle and continued to invite him.
Qian Quan also became intrigued and continued to play against them.
And again, it ended in a draw.
Another game followed.
And another draw.
…
In the end, the two of them drew 11 consecutive games!
Two and a half hours had passed.
The opponent’s skill level was beyond Qian Quan’s imagination. In two games, victory or defeat had been on a knife’s edge. If Qian Quan hadn’t been determined to draw, those two games could have gone either way.
This was the first time since receiving the grandmaster-level Chinese chess skill reward that Qian Quan had felt threatened.
Unusually, he also felt a trace of exhaustion. He typed in the chat window, “I’m stopping now. I need to eat.”
Technically, he could have continued playing and wasn’t worried about losing. But he sensed a hint of obsession in his opponent’s playstyle, an almost compulsive need to win. Going on like this would likely take a while, and he was also somewhat concerned about his opponent’s state.
“Who are you?” the other party replied quickly.
Qian Quan replied, “My name is Rocky, bye.”
Then, he realized that “One Nine Equals Nine” had followed him.
Qian Quan smiled helplessly. Was he targeting him?
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