Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2632 Still Vigorous in Old Age 13.0
Shen Cha stared blankly at Jin Miaomiao, who also looked numb. The two of them seemed to have no feelings for each other as they went back and forth, restoring the game of chess once again.

The others huddled in a corner, trembling as they watched Shen Cha, whose demeanor was clearly tense, creating a stark contrast with Shen Haolin, who was calmly sipping his tea.

Bai Meng glanced at the group of people playing chess and judging, then cautiously sidled up to Shen Haolin and tugged at his sleeve.

Shen Haolin turned around and saw the dignified commander of the Imperial Guards had curled up into a ball and was hiding behind him. He couldn't help but laugh.

"Why are you acting the same way you did when you were little?" He shook his head helplessly. "It's just playing chess, why are you so scared?"

"Let me put it this way, from the time we grew up together, apart from mentioning those scumbags, she's never been in such a bad state," Bai Meng said in a low voice. "Look at her now, doesn't she look remarkably like she did back then?"

“That’s not the case at all.” Shen Haolin shook his head gently. “She’s just feeling helpless and powerless right now. After all, all afternoon, everyone has been nagging her, saying that she’s not good at chess. You can ignore it once or twice, but hearing it all the time makes her feel powerless.”

“Only you would think that way. Look over here.” Bai Meng tugged at Shen Haolin, making him look to his right. “No one would think that way.”

Shen Haolin turned his head and saw a group of people huddled in a corner, all looking nervously at the few people playing chess. He shook his head helplessly.

"Right?" Bai Meng sat down directly behind Shen Haolin, only her head sticking out, and continued to stare ahead. "Look, look, Xiao Cha's hands are clenched into fists, and she's frowning."

Shen Haolin raised an eyebrow slightly, glanced at Bai Meng, and poured himself a cup of tea.

"Isn't this normal? What nonsense are you talking about?"

"I'm just worried," Bai Meng peeked out again, glanced at Jin Miaomiao, and seeing that her expression wasn't good either, said, "Haolin, do you think they'll start fighting later?"

"Impossible." Shen Haolin shook his head slightly. "It's just a game of chess, not a life-or-death battle. There's no way a fight could break out."

"What if?"

"There's no such thing as a 'what if'," Shen Haolin smiled and said. "No matter how difficult these people are, they are all elders, and they are all elders that Cha'er respects. She knows what she's doing."

“That makes sense.” Bai Meng rubbed his head. “But I’m still worried. After all, these old men can be quite torturous. Haven’t we all been through this?” He tilted his head to look at Shen Haolin. “I don’t believe His Highness the Eagle King hasn’t treated you like that.”

"That's definitely possible."

Shen Haolin looked at Shen Cha's tightly clenched hands, shook his head helplessly, hoping that this game of chess would end soon, as Cha'er's patience was probably running out.

Just as Shen Haolin had hoped, the game ended quickly. In fact, it wasn't really over yet; there were still at least twenty moves left to go. But the three old men didn't intend to watch any further, because they only needed to watch the first fifty moves to determine the outcome.

"Why?" Bai Meng asked, puzzled. "Is there some explanation? I remember there are games where a team can turn the tide against all odds, right?" "Yes, but they are rare. This game is clearly not an isolated case." Shen Haolin turned to look at Bai Meng. "Alright, this game is over. The crisis is over. You don't need to worry anymore."

"Yes, I can finally relax." Bai Meng breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This incense stick's time was really too long to endure."

Shen Haolin looked at him rubbing his leg, shook his head, stood up, pulled him to sit on his low stool, and walked to Shen Cha's side, placing his hands on her shoulders.

Shen Cha raised her head, looked at Shen Haolin, and her tense body finally relaxed.

"Relaxed now?" Shen Haolin patted Shen Cha's shoulder, glanced at the three old men, raised an eyebrow, snorted, and said, "Did you enjoy it?"

"That was so much fun!" Old Master Jiang stretched and said, "I haven't had this much fun in a long time."

"It was quite satisfying, and I enjoyed it too. It's been a long time since I've been scolded like this!" Shen Cha rolled her eyes, took the tea Merlin handed her, took a sip, and looked at Jin Miaomiao, who looked pale and sickly, across from her. "Miaomiao too, right?"

"Don't talk to me yet, I'm feeling dizzy." After finishing her tea, Jin Miaomiao leaned into Mei Lin's arms, who was sitting next to her, and whimpered, "Little Lin, give me a massage, I feel uncomfortable all over."

Merlin chuckled as he watched her act coquettishly and reached out to rub her forehead.

"Look, look, look what you've done to our cheerful and talkative young lady!" Xue Ruitian limped over, unable to bear the numbness in his legs any longer, and sat down on the ground with a thud. "Sorry, I squatted for too long, and my legs went numb."

Shen Cha looked at Xue Ruitian, then at the other people who were also massaging their legs, with a puzzled expression. She then looked up at Shen Haolin.

"They were so nervous when you were playing chess. They were huddled in that corner, afraid you'd get angry and flip the chessboard," Shen Haolin chuckled. "Don't you think they were just being overly anxious?"

"Their prediction was actually quite accurate. They did try to overturn the chessboard just now." Shen Cha glanced at the smug old men beside her. "If you didn't know they were just killing time, you'd think they were deliberately making things difficult for people. Playing the same move over and over again would drive even the most patient person crazy."

"I agree." Jin Miaomiao raised her hand and said weakly, "I also wanted to flip the chessboard just now. I don't want to play anymore."

"It's snowing heavily outside, so we can't go out. We can only do something fun in here. You guys have provided some interesting things, so why don't we go with the flow?" Yan Bo said with a chuckle. "But I still have to say, Xiao Cha, your strategy..."

"I know, I didn't play well. I've been talking about it all afternoon. Please let me go, okay?" Shen Cha leaned against Shen Haolin, raised her hands, and said with a wronged expression, "My head is about to explode."

“That’s not what I meant.” Yan Bo waved his hand. “I meant that you’re using the wrong method. I know you’re trying to avoid your usual way of playing chess, but the way you’re doing it now clearly tells your opponent that it’s been hidden. If your opponent were an ordinary person, they might have been fooled, but this guy is no ordinary person. He’s a master and can see through you at a glance.”

"To be honest, this game was just a joke. He didn't even go all out." Master Jiang patted Shen Cha's arm. "If there's a next time, I'll let you see his true strength."