Dragon Clan: Lu Mingfei Returns from Japan

Chapter 601 IF Side Story: Assuming Lu Mingfei is a Go prodigy (Part 2)
Do you want to go offline?

Lu Mingfei replied on the keyboard, feeling a slight unease for some reason.

"Yes, it's more convenient to give guidance in person. Or is there some other reason why you can't meet in person?"

I've been tricked! I've been tricked! The other party suspects my identity and wants to meet me in person.

Seeing the message typed on the screen: "If there are no problems, let's meet at the gate of No. 1 Middle School this Friday after school," Lu Mingfei guiltily glanced back at his senior, Chen Motong, who was also silently watching him with her hand on the back of her computer chair.

"..."

"..."

Both of them knew the reason for each other's silence. If it were just a simple matter of reviewing the game, Chen Motong, if he were to offer hindsight advice, could certainly provide some insight. The problem was that their playing styles were completely different, and if he were to offer guidance in person, he would inevitably be invited to play a game or two of instruction.

When the two of them face off... the fact that Lu Mingfei was playing on his behalf will probably be impossible to hide.

In the professional Go world, cheating using AI or hiring someone to practice for you are both very serious matters. Although Chen Motong and her friends are just amateur Go enthusiasts, such behavior is still extremely despicable in Luzhou City, where playing Go is highly valued. Especially since it involved a game of honor between two schools.

If discovered, at best, she might be criticized by the instructor of the Shilan Middle School Go Club; at worst, the Shilan Middle School Go Club would be unable to hold its head high among the Go clubs of various universities in Luzhou City for a long time because of her.

"If there's nothing else, I'll head back to the Literature Club now."

“Come back. This is the literary society. Where else do you want to go?”

Lu Mingfei had just stood up from his seat when Chen Motong reached out and pressed him back down: "Isn't it because you got carried away after someone flattered you a little, agreeing to things like this so easily... What are you going to do next?"

Lu Mingfei sat up straight and looked at Chen Motong. After thinking for a while, he said, "I've thought of two solutions."

"what?"

"The first solution is for me to bite the bullet and go to No. 1 High School on Friday, and say that I am Chen Motong, the owner of the account."

"What kind of crazy idea is this?!" Chen Motong was stunned. "With your big, burly appearance, do you think people will believe your name is Chen Motong?"

“I told them that my parents insisted on giving me this name.”

"What kind of parents would name a boy like that?"

"Of course there is! Senior sister, didn't your parents also name you Chen Nuonuo?"

"..."

Seeing Chen Motong's eyes turn cold and she reach out to push the book away, Lu Mingfei quickly grabbed the girl's hand: "Just kidding, just kidding, senior sister, listen to my second idea."

"What method?" Chen Motong narrowed his eyes. "If you come up with such a bad idea again, I won't be polite."

It's not a bad idea. If you don't change your name to Chen Motong and keep calling yourself Nuonuo, then I can take the blame for you, right?

Although Lu Mingfei thought this in his heart, he didn't dare to say it out loud.

He adjusted his glasses: "There are still three days until Friday. In these three days, I will review the entire game for you, and then I will play a few more games to guide you. Try to imitate my playing style and moves. When you play against your opponent, imitate my style and play against her. This is the only way."

"It sounds like this is the only way."

Chen Motong's expression seemed a little strange for some reason. She struggled slightly and pulled her hand away from Lu Mingfei's grasp. But then she frowned and asked, "But won't it give us away if we lose?"

“It’s okay to lose. Go is all about winning and losing. I often watch live streams of a female professional 2-dan Go player who only won two games in a year in the Women’s Go League. One of those games was against the number one female Go player in China. Besides, your rank on Yicheng is lower than hers.”

Back at the Go club, Chen Motong first declined the club president's offer to hold a celebration banquet for her, and then went to the literature department to help Lu Mingfei tidy up the pile of books that he had knocked over.

With only three days until Friday, she had no time for a celebration banquet. Her immediate priority was to review the chess game she played against Green Bean Ice Cream with Lu Mingfei, memorize the key moments, and prepare for Friday's trap.

The evenings after school are always exceptionally quiet. All the students have left, leaving only empty classrooms. A few boys remain on the playground, playing basketball in small groups.

In the corridor outside the Shilan Middle School Literature Club, Chen Motong, carrying her schoolbag, watched as Lu Mingfei locked the door to the literature club classroom. The literature club classroom was an old classroom, and the lock was covered with mottled rust from the passage of time. Lu Mingfei tried his best but couldn't turn the lock on.

"Anyway, no one will come to the literature club to steal anything, so we can just close the door, right?" Chen Motong said.

"No, the club door must be locked from the inside after people leave; that's the rule."

Lu Mingfei pressed his body against the door, fussing over his work: "It's okay, it'll be done soon."

Chen Motong shrugged: "When we were kids playing Go at the Go club, you were clearly the one who didn't follow the rules the most."

A brief silence followed. The only response was a click, the sound of the door locking.

Lu Mingfei walked in front, and Chen Motong followed behind.

When they arrived at the bike shed, Lu Mingfei pushed his bicycle out and handed her the only helmet: "Senior sister, you can wear this."

"Okay." Chen Motong took it and put it on.

Lu Mingfei rode the bicycle in front, while Chen Motong, wearing a skirt, could only sit sideways on the back of the bicycle, leaning slightly against Lu Mingfei's back.

Although it was already autumn, the breeze from the bicycle still felt somewhat hot on Chen Motong's calves. Chen Motong felt this heat was sticky and uncomfortable, and no matter how much she shook it off, it would spread to her face and penetrate deep into her heart.

She lowered her head, watching her skirt sway gently in the breeze. The shadows of the two people on the bicycle were stretched long by the setting sun, as if they wanted to escape from the city dyed orange.

"Na."

Chen Motong spoke up, whether trying to find a topic to ignore the summer heat or facing it head-on, "Junior brother, why haven't you played chess for so many years?"

“I’ve always been here,” Lu Mingfei said, seemingly oblivious to the lingering summer chill in the autumn breeze. “My Yicheng account is almost at the ninth dan level.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.” Chen Motong sighed. “I meant why you’ve stopped playing chess in public and stopped participating in competitions.”

"Well... if you don't like being in the public eye, then you just won't participate in these things."

"I remember when you were little, you loved to show off after beating others. I still remember the smug look on your face after beating a kid three years older than you." "Senior sister, people change."

"The Go club will be next year..."

"Not consider!"

Chen Motong knew that Lu Mingfei seemed easygoing and even somewhat conformist, but he was actually a very stubborn person. Once he made up his mind, it was difficult to persuade him again, so she wisely avoided bringing up the topic again.

Sitting on the back of the bicycle, she pulled out her phone. A news notification from QQ Browser flashed on her lock screen: the newly crowned world Go champion, Chu Zihang, 9-dan, had won the Ing Cup, dominating the headlines of every browser. She probably knew why the reports about Chu Zihang were so widespread.

Every year a world champion is produced, but there are very few 18-year-old world champions in history. Moreover, in addition to being good at chess, Chu Zihang is also very handsome.

The sun had already set, and a cool autumn night had arrived. She looked up and gazed around. The scenery that came into view looked somewhat familiar; it was close to the chess club where they had learned chess as children.

Baidi Chess Club.

……

In the courtesy of Baidi Caiyun, Qianling Jiangling returned one day.

Baidi Chess Club is one of the oldest chess clubs in Luzhou. Legend has it that the history of the chess club can be traced back to before the Ming Dynasty. Chen Motong doesn't know if it's true or not. Anyway, there is still a chessboard in the niche of the chess club that is said to have been used by Fan Xiping and Shi Xiangxia when they played chess.

The story is quite fantastical, but the chess club's actual operation doesn't live up to its glorious history or tales. After all, chess is a popular sport in Luzhou, and chess clubs with similar stories and a sense of history are commonplace. Anyway, chess club owners like to associate their stories with figures like Fan Xiping and Shi Xiangxia, but who knows if your story is true or not?

In Chen Motong's memory, when she was learning chess here as a child, the chess club said several times that it was going to close down. At its worst, the entire chess club only had three and a half students. The reason for saying "half" is that the other half of the student was the owner's sister, so strictly speaking, she didn't count as a student.

The reason she learns chess here is simply because it's the closest chess club to her home; it's only a five-minute walk downstairs, and she's lazy.

Why is Lu Mingfei studying here?
Chen Motong thought to herself that she remembered Lu Mingfei's home was far away from here.

The bicycle stopped in front of the chess club, and the two entered. Xia Mi, who had been lounging on the counter by the door, immediately brightened up, sat up, and greeted the two with a smile: "Senior Brother, Senior Sister Chen, what brings you here today?"

Look. This is the half-student, the boss's sister.

"My senior sister and I played two games of chess."

Lu Mingfei said with a smile, "Can I borrow your place, junior sister?"

"It's alright, it's alright." Xia Mi waved her hand. "But we have to go to the second floor of the backyard. The front yard is already full today."

The chess club is divided into a front yard and a back yard. The front yard is open to the public for business, while the back yard is where students learn chess.

Since Chu Zihang was promoted from 8-dan to 9-dan last year, becoming the second professional player under the age of 18 in the country to achieve this feat, his story has been unearthed. Some people have discovered that Chu Zihang first learned Go at a Go club called "Baidi Go Club" in Luzhou.

As a result, the business of Baidi Chess Club improved overnight, and now the number of people coming to play chess is so great that reservations are required in advance.

However, the backyard was deserted, indicating that Chu Zihang's prestigious reputation had not attracted many new students to the chess academy.

The two walked along the cobblestone path, passing through an empty, overgrown courtyard. Chen Motong, with her hands behind her back, turned her head and saw the courtyard under the setting sun, where the weeds grew tall and the birds sang. She suddenly felt a little dazed, as if she had been transported back to a long time ago, to the time when she had just started learning chess.

Back then, it was just like now. There was hardly anyone in the backyard of the chess club. Outside the chess club, you could hear other children playing and laughing. Inside the chess club, she and Lu Mingfei sat opposite each other at the chessboard, studying chess scores.

At that time, her name was Nuonuo.

……

To be honest, she bears some responsibility for the poor business of Baidi Chess Club back then.

After all, Luzhou is a city with a good Go atmosphere. Although fewer and fewer parents are willing to send their children to learn Go nowadays, there must still be some.

Before Nuonuo joined the Baidi Chess Club, there were already twenty or thirty children learning chess there. It wasn't a particularly large number, but it was enough to keep the club afloat.

Nono had just graduated from kindergarten and entered the first grade of elementary school, but she was already a fearless little queen.

Her glorious deeds included, but were not limited to, playing the game of Eagle Catches Chicks. Whenever she was the eagle, she would deliberately tease the children she caught, saying that they would be eaten by the teacher after the game ended, scaring them so much that they cried.
When faced with the boy king Shao from the neighboring Sunflower Class who had monopolized the slide, she executed a beautiful over-the-shoulder throw, making Shao Gongzi her loyal little brother from then on;
And during lunch break, instead of sleeping, he secretly got out of bed and, while passing by the office, caught the kindergarten's female boss and principal kissing.

Her parents thought she was too noisy and decided to send her to extracurricular classes to burn off her boundless energy.

Dance class won't work. Although Nuonuo is naturally beautiful with a slim waist and long legs, and every dance teacher says she's a natural talent for dance, if she goes to dance class, she'll probably just become more and more energetic.

A piano? Nuonuo's fingers are slender and nimble, and she does have a talent for learning the piano, but given his daughter's energy, he's afraid no piano could withstand her energy. In the end, Mr. Chen, a Go enthusiast, made the decision and decided to send Nuonuo to learn Go.

Go is said to have been invented by Emperor Yao, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Emperor Yao's son, Danzhu, was impatient, so Emperor Yao invented this game to temper Danzhu's temperament. Sending Nuonuo to learn Go will also help temper my daughter's temperament, making her more calm and skillful.

However, there were two things that Mr. and Mrs. Chen hadn't expected.

First, her daughter unexpectedly showed talent in Go. On her first day at the Go club, she became familiar with all the rules of Go. In the first week, she beat all the children in the dojo, including those who were three to five years older than her.

Secondly, the troubles that followed going to the chess club did not end.

Although Nono is pretty and sweet-looking, her playing style is fierce and ruthless. She shows no mercy when playing, often crushing her opponents with a large advantage of dozens of points, leaving them heartbroken and crying bitterly. As a result, her classmates in the Go club gave her the nickname "Little Witch".

Many students, feeling hopeless about their future in Go due to their crushing defeats, gave up learning the game. This led to a decline in the number of students at the Baidi Go Club.

Although Mr. and Mrs. Chen had reminded Nuonuo that it was okay to hold back a move when playing chess, and not to always give their opponent a crushing defeat, and to show them some respect, Nuonuo felt that chess was just chess, and why should she let them win when she could win big?
Nono's nickname "Little Witch" was becoming increasingly well-known within the chess club, and many local chess academies knew that "White Emperor Chess Club" had a little prodigy. After only a few months of learning chess, she had beaten students who had been studying for years to tears, and even won several local children's Go championships. If she continued to develop like this, she could definitely pursue a professional career.

Nono hadn't thought about whether it was a professional or not; she simply felt that playing chess was getting more and more boring, and she couldn't find a single opponent among her peers to play against.

Until that day, two new children came to the chess club.

One of them was named Chu Zihang. He had a chubby face and was quite handsome, but unfortunately, he had a poker face.

One of them, Lu Mingfei, wasn't expressionless anymore, but when they first met, he had a rather cheeky remark: "Hey, your name is Nuonuo? Aren't you a girl?"

……

(End of this chapter)