Nian Le’s only advantage at the moment was that he had Black and the first move, giving him the initiative. However, as the game progressed, his advantage was gradually being eroded. It might take fewer than a dozen moves for the gap to disappear completely.
While thinking through his strategy, Nian Le lowered his eyes and ate the food in front of him. Someone sat down across from him. When he looked up, he saw Meng Cheng holding a tray.
Meng Cheng wanted to talk, but this was hardly the right time for a conversation. Nian Le had also eaten until he was only half full. The moment Meng Cheng sat down, Nian Le picked up his tray and took it to the collection point.
There were still forty minutes left in the break. Nian Le entered a room prepared by the organizers, put aside his earlier train of thought, and closed his eyes for half an hour of rest. After waking up, he washed his face and returned to the competition venue.
Senior An Shanyue and eighth-dan Zhu Yun returned to the venue together. They had clearly enjoyed their lunchtime conversation. Senior Zhu Yun had a smile on her face, and even when ninth-dan Fang Chun put his foot on his chair again, she didn’t say a word.
Before the game was paused for lunch, it was Nian Le’s turn to make the final move of the morning session. An Shanyue had assumed that after spending the entire lunch break thinking, the young man would have found the right place to play. He hadn’t expected Nian Le to behave as though he were seeing the board for the first time, launching straight into a twenty-minute period of deep contemplation.
The position Nian Le eventually chose wasn’t exactly a brilliant move, but it was better than an ordinary, straightforward play.
An Shanyue nodded, picked up a white stone, and after a brief moment of thought, placed it where Black was about to be captured. With a connecting move, he linked the threatened black stones to the group beside them.
Nian Le considered the position for a moment before placing a black stone with his fingertips. Rather than attacking his opponent, he used the move to extend Black’s liberties, shifting from offense to defense.
Yet that very move seemed to reveal an opening to An Shanyue.
White advanced from below, and Nian Le immediately felt as though someone had seized his wrist and was pulling him along with the force of his own movement, drawing him straight into his opponent’s trap.
His expression remained composed as he fell into another lengthy period of contemplation. Ten minutes later, he placed a black stone on the board. It was a keima—a knight’s-move jump. Like a martial artist driving his elbow into the arm that had seized his wrist, he used the move to break his opponent’s control through a sudden counterforce.
An Shanyue raised his eyebrows slightly and studied the young man for a moment. Then he picked up a white stone and played a large knight’s-move jump, gracefully extending beyond the immediate battle to begin establishing influence along the outside.
On the Go board, it was as though a young swordsman were dueling an old man in white robes.
The swordsman’s attacks were agile and unpredictable, with sword shadows crisscrossing in every direction. The old man assumed his stance. As the sword energy rushed toward him, he remained motionless and executed a single move, drawing the sword into his embrace.
He seized, redirected, loosened, and released.
Borrowing the old man’s force, the swordsman leaped into the air and twisted his body at the last moment, narrowly avoiding a fall to the ground.
The battle was fierce, and both sides still had the strength to fight back.
Nian Le’s expression grew serious as he placed a black stone and pressed his game clock. To his surprise, An Shanyue had also fallen into deep contemplation.
More than ten minutes later, Nian Le faintly heard voices coming from a nearby table. An Shanyue also lifted his head from his thoughts, and the two looked in the same direction.
Eighth-dan Zhu Yun was signing the score confirmation form.
Having defeated his longtime rival, ninth-dan Fang Chun was practically beside himself with joy. He covered his mouth with great effort to keep from laughing too loudly.
After signing the form, Senior Zhu Yun instinctively raised her eyes and looked in their direction. Nian Le bowed slightly, and she nodded in acknowledgment. Her gaze passed over Nian Le, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
When Nian Le turned back, he saw Senior An Shanyue smiling broadly.
It was only after eighth-dan Zhu Yun had left the competition venue that An Shanyue finally came back to his senses and placed a stone on the board.
Nian Le glanced at the position where An Shanyue had played and looked up in surprise.
An Shanyue froze. He immediately realized what had happened. He stared at the board for a long moment before giving Nian Le a helpless smile.
It was a terrible move.
With just one stone—one serious blunder—he had nearly thrown away the entire advantage he had painstakingly built up earlier.
Nian Le could see where Senior An had originally intended to play: one point to the right of the position he had chosen. But the old man had clearly been distracted and had misread the location.
Nian Le looked at An Shanyue with a complicated expression. Senior An waved his hand, signaling for him to continue.
Nian Le immediately began expanding Black’s influence at a rapid pace. For a time, White struggled to respond. Yet An Shanyue refused to abandon the group he had developed with his mistaken move. Even at the cost of losing an advantage elsewhere, he was determined to build up that particular territory.
At last, the white group took shape. What had initially been a blunder now turned around and trapped Black’s formation. Like a wildfire sweeping across the plains, it captured two of Nian Le’s black stones.
Nian Le remained silent for a long time before looking up at An Shanyue.
As though sensing his gaze, Senior An smiled and returned the stone in his hand to the bowl.
“This move is called The Phoenix Returns to Its Nest.”
The final endgame phase came to an end. The referee approached to photograph the board and count the stones. One round of photographs wasn’t enough, so he took another set.
After calculating the result, he looked at the old man and the young man before him with a complicated expression, then slowly announced the outcome.
“Black receives compensation for the komi. White has 176.5 points, while Black has 184.5 points. Black wins.”
Nian Le had won by just half a point.
If White had decisively abandoned the mistaken move and consolidated its advantage in other areas, then with Senior An Shanyue’s skill, he would undoubtedly have defeated Nian Le.
But he had been unwilling to give it up. Even if it meant losing the entire game, he had wanted to protect that one territory.
Having successfully advanced to the semifinals, Nian Le stood up and shook hands with Senior An Shanyue. The old man showed not the slightest displeasure at losing. He gave Nian Le a gentle handshake, signed the score confirmation form, straightened his clothes, and strode toward the exit.
Nian Le sat back down and studied the board in front of him. He picked up his water bottle, took a sip, and closed his eyes to take several deep breaths.
Senior An Shanyue’s strength was undeniably formidable. Making it into the semifinals was the best possible outcome for Nian Le.
With light steps, he left the competition venue. He was just about to hail a taxi by the roadside when he spotted Senior An and Senior Zhu Yun standing at the taxi stand as well.
“Don’t worry about losing. We’re old now. The future belongs to the younger generation,” Senior Zhu Yun comforted An Shanyue. Although he was eight years older than her, he was still her junior brother.
“Mm.” Senior An smiled and nodded before changing the subject. “Senior Sister Zhu Yun, I heard there’s a shop that makes excellent roasted pears. Your throat hasn’t been feeling well, so why don’t we go and try—”
Before An Shanyue could finish speaking, someone beside them suddenly let out an involuntary cough.
Everyone turned to look.
Meng Cheng was standing a short distance away. He seemed to have just been about to approach them, only to overhear something he probably shouldn’t have. The words had practically made him choke.
“Seventh-dan Meng Cheng.” Zhu Yun smiled at him. “Why haven’t you left yet? I noticed you finished your game quite quickly today.”
Meng Cheng coughed several times before finally recovering. He stepped forward and politely greeted both seniors. Before they could strike up a proper conversation, an empty taxi pulled up.
An Shanyue immediately waved it down. Leaving them with a quick, “We can talk more next time,” he ushered Senior Zhu Yun into the taxi and climbed in after her.
Once the area was empty, Meng Cheng turned toward Nian Le. The perfect smile he usually wore disappeared as he walked over to him.
“Hello,” Nian Le greeted him with a smile. “Seventh-dan Meng Cheng.”
“And you?” Meng Cheng’s lips had lost their color. “What’s your name?”
“Nian Le. The Nian Le who wishes to be happy every year.” Nian Le’s smile remained unchanged as he looked into Meng Cheng’s eyes. Deep inside them, something lingered—something Nian Le recognized all too well.
“You can fool everyone else, but you can’t fool me.” Meng Cheng clenched both fists at his sides, his expression twisting into something halfway between a smile and a grimace. A faint glimmer of tears shone at the corners of his eyes.
“If you’ve come back, why didn’t you come looking for me?”
“I’m afraid I don’t quite understand what you mean.” Nian Le looked past Meng Cheng and noticed a white car approaching quickly.
“It looks like your family has come to pick you up.”
Meng Cheng froze. He stared intently at the young man in front of him, quickly brushing a fingertip across the corner of his eye. After taking several deep breaths, he turned around and forced himself to put on that perfect smile again.
“Big Brother!”
The white car pulled over, and a teenage boy climbed out, happily throwing his arms around Meng Cheng’s neck.
“Big Brother, you’re amazing!”
Nian Le turned slightly to avoid the boy’s gaze. Listening to his bright, cheerful voice, he maintained his usual calm expression.
“Big Brother, I never thought you’d make it into the semifinals! Dad definitely won’t criticize you this time.” The boy was absolutely delighted. “Big Brother, didn’t you say you were going to give me an unforgettable coming-of-age present? Is this it?”
“How could this possibly count as your present?” Meng Cheng’s voice was filled with affection as he patted the boy’s head, his eyes brimming with smiles.
“What I’m going to give you is the best thing in the world—something even Mom and Dad can’t give you.”
“Oh, right! Your assistant gave me a form earlier. It asked me to write down the things I like and dislike. Does that have something to do with it?” The boy’s voice carried a hint of anticipation. “I wrote down so many things!”
“I’ll read it carefully.” Meng Cheng led the boy into the car and reached up to close the door.
Nian Le continued walking in his original direction. The white car sped past, its tires sending a few fallen leaves swirling toward the pedestrians’ feet.
Meng Cheng watched Nian Le discreetly through the rearview mirror until the young man’s figure disappeared from sight.
After walking only a short distance, Nian Le spotted an unusually familiar black car parked nearby. The driver had clearly been waiting for quite some time. As soon as he saw Nian Le approaching, he hurried forward and opened the car door.
Nian Le got into the car and only then realized that he was being chauffeured everywhere he went. Wasn’t this treatment a little too luxurious?
When he returned to the villa, Nian Le changed out of his suit. Dinner was already prepared, and Huo Weiran was waiting at the dining table. Only when he saw Nian Le coming downstairs did he take his seat.
Nian Le had barely settled into his chair when a cake was brought over. Written across the top were the words: “Congratulations on Reaching the Semifinals!”
It wasn’t surprising that Huo Weiran had sources who could keep him informed of Nian Le’s results. But actually preparing a cake to celebrate was something Nian Le truly hadn’t expected.
Since it was his younger brother’s thoughtful gesture, Nian Le couldn’t very well refuse. After dinner, he even ate another slice of cake, bringing himself to a full ninety percent.
There was no need for either of them to clean the kitchen, and Nian Le was thinking of taking a walk around the residential complex to help digest his food. The next moment, however, Huo Weiran pulled him upstairs and into his bedroom.
Nian Le hadn’t even had time to react to the enormous whiteboard in the room before Huo Weiran pressed him into a seat. He turned the whiteboard around, revealing densely packed writing that left Nian Le deep in thought.
“This is the Huo family relationship chart.” Huo Weiran held a marker in his left hand and tapped the whiteboard twice. “I wrote it with my left hand, so if there’s anything you can’t read, feel free to ask me.”
Something wasn’t right.
Nian Le fell silent for a moment.
He had only come to stay at the Huo family’s home for a few days. Why did he need to know the Huo family’s ancestors for eighteen generations?
And that wasn’t even the point.
Was this really appropriate?
With a single glance, Nian Le even spotted the Huo family’s business partners on the chart.
Was this really information he was supposed to know?
“Am I learning a little too much?” Nian Le asked in confusion, tentatively voicing his objection. “Isn’t this a bit inappropriate?”
“It would be much worse if you knew nothing at all.” Huo Weiran’s expression was serious.
Looking into the earnestness in those gray eyes, Nian Le realized that Huo Weiran was completely serious.
Last night, they had only discussed the matter involving the servant. Nian Le had no idea how the conversation had somehow expanded into something this extensive.
“Because of the incident orchestrated by that servant, the housekeeper and the other servants all had an excuse to leave the villa. And during that very period, I was attacked by a so-called obsessive fan.” Huo Weiran’s expression turned cold.
“I also have a few suspects in mind when it comes to the forces backing those servants.”
Huo Weiran held the marker beneath one of the names. Nian Le focused his gaze, only to see three unmistakable characters written in black against the whiteboard.
Huo Huohuo.
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