Go: The live broadcast queen launched a gorgeous rebellion against the dog

Uesaka Rei tilted her head, a hint of pure confusion flashing in her eyes. She was trying to understand this strange statement, which literally translates to "You were born before I was born."

However, her voice was quite loud, and it seemed to have clearly reached Nie Yunyi's ears, who had not gone far away!

The young player from the Suhu team froze abruptly, then reflexively reached for the pocket of his suit jacket—it was empty!
The next second, he turned around abruptly like a cat whose tail had been stepped on!
When he saw that the pendant he cherished was in his opponent's hand, Xiao Nie Eighth Duan's face turned deathly pale!

Without a word, he rushed back in one stride! Before Uesaka Rei could fully react, he had already snatched the dark blue purse charm back from her hand like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey!

His actions were rough and lacked any manners!
"ah!"

Uesaka Rei was startled by the sudden snatching and immediately frowned, looking at Nie Yunyi, who seemed to be facing a formidable enemy, and said:

How could you be so rude?!

"I picked up your dropped things for you, and you didn't even say thank you?!"

Nie Yunyi was taken aback by this righteous question, his face turning red and white in turns, clearly realizing that his behavior just now was indeed impolite.

He clutched his recovered purse tightly, and after a long pause, reluctantly squeezed out two words through gritted teeth:

"Thanks……"

"...That's more like it!"

Seeing his awkward expression, Uesaka Rei snorted and reluctantly accepted his insincere thanks—but her curiosity was not quelled.

The Poyang Lake team's foreign player raised his delicate eyebrows, his gaze falling once again on the purse in the other player's hand, and casually asked:

"By the way, what does that mean?"

"Literally, it means that the other person was born before you were born?"

Uesaka Rei had only asked casually—it looked a bit like a line of Chinese poetry.

However, Uesaka Rei, being from Japan, naturally did not understand the meaning of this phrase, which literally translates to "You were born before I was born."

Little did she know that her unintentional question would be like a bomb exploding in Nie Yunyi's ear!
Nie Yunyi shuddered as if struck by a high-voltage current, and his words became stammered!
"...Why are you asking this?!"

"I want you to take care of it!!!"

???

I had already said I accepted his apology! But then he came back again?!

What kind of attitude is that?!

Uesaka Rei was taken aback by his sudden overreaction, and then a surge of anger and offense welled up in her heart!
Her eyebrows shot up, and she retorted without any politeness:
"Hmph! If you don't want to talk about it, then don't!"

"I can just look it up myself when I get back. It's not like nobody knows how to use AI..."

After uttering those words, which were clearly spoken out of spite, Uesaka Rei ignored the strange fellow and started walking straight toward the Go room.

But what she never expected was—

Just moments ago, Xiao Nie, the eighth-dan, seemed to have been stung by something. Almost without thinking, he quickly stepped forward and blocked her way again!

"Wait, wait, wait a minute!"

Nie Yunyi's voice was more urgent than ever before, and his words clearly carried a pleading tone:
"I was wrong just now! I apologize, I apologize!"

"I'll explain it to you, okay?!"

...Huh?!
Uesaka Rei was completely bewildered by his sudden 180-degree change in attitude!
She stopped and looked the guy up and down suspiciously, as if he had done something terribly wrong.

How can he change his expression faster than turning the pages of a book?

Just a moment ago he seemed unwilling to say a word, but now he's apologizing in a humble voice and saying he wants to explain?
The contrast before and after is too great!
However, before Uesaka Rei could ponder the oddities involved, Xiao Nie, the eighth-dan, as if afraid she might change her mind or actually investigate the AI, preemptively stammered:

"Ah, um, that..."

"The meaning of this poem is...is..."

He swallowed hard, as if to bolster his courage, then suddenly raised his head and, in an almost desperate tone, clearly stated:

"It's to express my respect for Brother Ruixin!"

"A feeling of reverence?"

Kogami repeated it, clearly somewhat surprised by this explanation.

"Correct!"

Little Nie Miao nodded vigorously, as if grasping at a lifeline:
"It means... I deeply regret that I couldn't be born in the same era as Brother Ruixin and compete in the chess world together!"

As he spoke, he secretly observed Uesaka Rei's reaction, his eyes filled with tension and anticipation.

Seeing his confident and resolute demeanor, as if he were reciting a standard answer, and recalling his usual high regard for Lin Ruixin, the young master of Dongying's doubts dissipated considerably.

"Is this, like this?"

Rei Uesaka pursed her lips, barely accepting this explanation:
"Then you'd better get out of the way! Don't block the way!"

Nie Yunyi felt as if he had been granted a pardon!
He visibly relaxed, but a hint of unease lingered in his eyes, as if afraid that Uesaka Rei would ask him something else.

He opened his mouth as if to emphasize something, but in the end he said nothing. He just gave Uesaka Rei a deep look, his eyes filled with an indescribable complexity.

Then, he turned around quickly and almost ran towards the chess room! His figure quickly disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

"Humph!"

Uesaka Rei scoffed again in the direction Nie Yunyi had disappeared. Sure enough! That little show-off was still Lin Dazui's die-hard loyalist!

I'm going to remind Sister Rui Zhao later that we must be extra careful around Nie Yunyi! He might just be a modern-day Mitsuhide!

However, the thought of the upcoming round of 16 match against her captain instantly brightened Xiaoli's mood!
She hummed an unknown tune, completely forgetting about the strange purse charm and that annoying guy.

Sunlight streamed in through the window at the end of the corridor, casting a warm glow on Uesaka Rei.

She straightened the hem of her light blue dress and, with light and expectant steps, continued walking towards the chess room.

However, at this moment, Uesaka Rei was unaware of...

When one day she finally understood the deeper meaning behind the phrase "You were born before I was born"...

What a terrifying mental shock I will endure.

...

...

"...Hey, thank you, Little Dragon Castle, here we come!"
"To all of Sister Rui Zhao's fans! And to all our supporters of Japanese Go!"

"After two days of waiting, we've finally got the game that everyone's been looking forward to!"

At 12:35 PM on December 18th, in Higashi City, the capital of Japan, Kanako Akiyama, a 5th Dan player, was live-streaming from her home.

Under the soft lighting, Kanako Akiyama's adorable baby face flushed with excitement. Wearing a loungewear outfit with a cartoon cat pattern, she waved her arms vigorously at the camera, her voice rising several octaves with excitement.

"China's reigning chess master, the contemporary Zhaojun! And our Japan's universally acknowledged once-in-four-hundred-years genius girl!"
"These two are undoubtedly the two most sought-after stars in the world of chess!"
"However, because they were teammates in the Chinese Weiqi League, and because Li Jiang's strength was not strong enough to frequently compete in world competitions, the last time the two faced off was at the Lakeside Cup last year, which is more than a year and a half ago!"

"Now that Lijiang's strength has improved, the two are finally able to compete on the same stage in the World Championship!"

"I feel so happy I could faint! Just imagining their upcoming duel on the chessboard... makes my heart race and I can't breathe!"

Akiyama, a 5th dan player, was enthusiastically cheering for his idol and friend. In the live stream, the chat was flooded with comments like a waterfall! Various support slogans, heart emojis, and exclamation marks almost drowned out the screen!

Although the previous failure of Go's application to be included in the Olympics was a major blow to Go fans around the world, the recent outstanding performance of the young Japanese champion and the world's number one player's almost touring performances have further fueled the enthusiasm of Go fans worldwide, resulting in Kanako's fan base exceeding one million!

After calming his overly excited emotions slightly, President Akiyama, still speaking with enthusiasm, began to introduce the background of this highly anticipated battle to the audience:

"As you all probably know, our Li-chan has been performing exceptionally well lately!"
"Just last week! She won her first open-ended title in her professional career—the Korean Grand President Cup! She successfully advanced to 8th dan!"

"Moreover, in the Nongshim Cup, she achieved a long-awaited three-game winning streak for Japan! Defeating many Chinese and Korean 9-dan masters!"

"Li-chan! She now possesses the strength of a world-class Go player! She is the undisputed pride of Japanese Go!"

After excitedly praising her friend, Kanako's gaze shifted to the left side of the screen again, her tone instantly becoming more devout and obsessive:
"And Sister Rui Zhao..."

"Ever since that astonishing game in the quarterfinals of the Changqi Cup, every game she has played since has been a spiritual feast!"

"The game is full of brilliant moves, and every game is so captivating that it's breathtaking!"

"Sister Rui Zhao's chess skills have now transcended winning and losing! They have reached an artistic realm that is truly awe-inspiring!"

"When I chatted with Lijiang before the match, she said she was really looking forward to today's game!"

"Winning or losing is secondary. The most important thing is to witness Sister Rui Zhao's amazing performance once again. Li Jiang really admires and respects Sister Rui Zhao very much!"
"Look at them! They seem to be having a really good time chatting!"

As Chairman Akiyama said: In the live broadcast at this moment, Rui Zhao and Uesaka Rei seemed to be whispering to each other.

Rui Zhao wore a gentle smile, while Uesaka Rei's face was filled with excitement as she chattered incessantly.

"...So today's match..."

"Absolutely! It's going to be a spectacular and unforgettable match!"

Akiyama, fifth dan, suddenly raised his voice, his tone filled with anticipation and certainty:

"Li-chan will definitely do her best! And Sister Rui-zhao... will definitely show her amazing chess skills once again!"

Please wait and see!

"Alright, the game has now begun. Let's move on to the game itself."

As soon as the game began, Kanako Akiyama immediately stopped chatting, her expression instantly becoming focused and professional, and her voice regained the clarity and stability expected of a live commentator:

"In this game, Li Jiang played black and Rui Zhao played white. Both sides opened with a small-eye move against a small-eye move. After that, each side developed half of the board and set up a siege formation."

"On the 11th move, Lijiang chose to make a shoulder hit in the lower left corner, exchanged moves with White, and then returned to the upper right corner to complete her move!"

"But Sister Rui Zhao immediately retaliated with a shoulder hit in the upper left, almost mirroring the previous move, and then returned to the bottom to seize a large area on the side—this move really seemed to be testing Li-chan!"

After expressing her thoughts, Kanako tidied herself up a bit and added a few unrelated remarks:

"...I have to say, in the last two months, Sister Rui Zhao's games have always had the feel of an exhibition match or a coaching game, as if she doesn't think winning is that difficult at all!"
"Of course, you have to admit it—after all, she is undeniably the number one player in the gap between the two generations! Even now, we professional Go players are privately discussing whether Rui Zhao has the ability to 'give the world a handicap'... Uh, I know that sounds a bit outrageous!"

"But if you look at Sister Rui Zhao's games over the past two months, you'll know that we weren't thinking about this topic for no reason..."

Seeing a series of question marks pop up in the comments, Kanako naturally offered a brief explanation.

However, seeing another black piece quickly placed on the board, she immediately brought the focus back to the board:
"...Ah! We've gone off on a tangent!"

"We see that Miss Zhaojun seems to want to test her skills, so Lijiang decisively takes the lead and leaps towards the center! And Sister Ruizhao..."

"Another almost mirror image of the choice followed! The current situation has taken on the feel of a fierce battle in mid-air, with wide-ranging and dramatic exchanges!"
Just as I predicted...

"This game is bound to be incredibly exciting!" (End of Chapter)