Even as a "normie," I'm completely oblivious to it.

She hurriedly sat down and pressed the confirmation button. There were only a few seconds left in the game. After she pressed the button, all the notification sounds disappeared, and both players saw a synchronized chessboard on the monitor.

"Red goes first."

The machine speaker gave the instructions. The red team was the girl's side. Following the most basic strategy, she moved a pawn first.

Yu Zhe followed suit, descending the stairs calmly, seemingly unfazed.

After a few rounds of playing, Yu Zhe got a little bored, so he started chatting while playing.

"Excuse me, are you also a senior in high school?"

"Yes, yes! I'm a senior in high school!"

She was very happy that Su Yuzhe had finally spoken up. It was such a good opportunity, but she didn't dare to start a conversation herself; that would take a lot of courage.

"Really?" Yu Zhe didn't even look at the chessboard, moving a rook forward to the opposite side. "So you're about to take the college entrance exam, and you're still participating in a chess competition? Are you very good at this?"

"Ah... chess is actually my hobby. I only participated in this competition to relieve some pressure because the college entrance exam is coming up soon. It would be even better if I could get a good ranking."

"Really? Then you'd better play carefully. This competition is an elimination tournament. If you lose one game, you lose immediately. There's no such thing as a revival round."

"General."

As Yu Zhe made his move, the computer emitted a notification sound. This notification only appears when the opponent directly threatens the opponent's shogi piece.

The girl was taken aback. She noticed that Yu Zhe's chess style was calm and unhurried, and she didn't know when he had already made a checkmate.

Although playing chess is indeed a hobby for her, she has been doing it since she was a child.

Influenced by the chess-playing elders in my family, I have also done some research on chess scores and strategies...

But... this is too outrageous. Su Yuzhe only took less than three minutes to show signs of wanting to checkmate.

"..."

The girl didn't have much time to chat anymore. She immediately moved her pieces back to defend, and after four or five rounds, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that she had neutralized the attack.

However, this was the next round, and after Yu Zhe placed his piece, the notification sound rang out again.

"General."

"?"

The girl stared wide-eyed at the chessboard, completely unaware that there was a gap in her defense.

That's indeed hard to notice, after all, the game has only been going on for a few minutes, and there are still so many pieces on the board...

You could say that Su Yuzhe observed for a long time before taking action, but he didn't pause at all...

After making his move, Yu Zhe nodded and said, "Okay, let's get started. We've pretty much finished the early game management of our pieces."

Are you serious?! I'm clearly surrounded on all sides! And you're saying it hasn't even started yet?!

The girl's mind raced; she felt that even the final exams a few days ago hadn't required this much brainpower.

Finally, she found a chance to survive and moved the cannon back, but Yu Zhe ate it without hesitation.

"General."

The computer notification sounded for the third time.

For some reason, cheers and applause erupted from the audience, growing louder and louder.

And there's a faint "Wonderful!"

Ok?

Yu Zhe guessed that it must have been some amazing move by another table. Well, it certainly wasn't my table. My game was so boring.

The round then turned to the girl, and she was dumbfounded.

Ah... there's absolutely no chance of a counterattack.

Is this chess?

The girl was confused; this didn't feel like playing chess at all.

The current situation is like Yu Zhe directly picking up a chess piece, crossing the chessboard, and shoving it onto her chess piece, as if he has transcended the rules and is flexible and unpredictable.

But to everyone's dismay, he still moved the pieces exactly according to the rules.

The girl looked left and right, as if no matter which piece she moved, she would be checkmated.

Um... I was just saying I wanted to get a good ranking.

She felt that if she were to face other opponents, her chances of winning wouldn't be too low; she would at least be able to pass the first round.

But then I ran into Su Yuzhe...

It was worth it!

To play chess on the same stage as the school's idol! How many people in this school have that kind of opportunity?!

Suddenly feeling completely relieved, the girl smiled with relief and pressed the surrender button without hesitation.

Yu Zhe was still thinking about the next step when suddenly the word "win" popped up on his screen.

Huh? You won just like that?

The girl stood up, her eyes sparkling: "Su Yuzhe is really amazing! I've learned something new!"

"Um... okay, okay then, that'll do for now..."

No, why did you vote?

In Yu Zhe's opinion, although this girl was at a clear disadvantage, she could still win a few more rounds.

Are you really not going to put up a fight?

Just as the outcome was decided, the audience erupted in cheers once again.

Oh, it seems like another amazing move has happened at one of the tables, Yu Zhe guessed.

25. Are there any experts here?

"My brother is so amazing!"

When she returned, Zixiao suddenly said this.

"Yes, Xiao Zhe's chess skills have improved a lot since he was a child, although I can't really understand them..."

"In short, Brother Yuzhe is invincible!"

Even Qi Xinye and Xiao Lizhi praised Yu Zhe immediately after he returned, and Lu Ling and Lu Yao were full of admiration. This left him completely bewildered.

"Huh?" Yu Zhe was very confused. "Isn't the only thing you'll see in this competition? Don't tell me you saw the game I played."

"Yeah, Brother Yuzhe, weren't you under table number 666?"

Zixiao confirmed, "Yes, table number 666 was displayed first on the big screen just now. Although we didn't quite understand it, the audience's reaction was very enthusiastic!"

Okay, it seems that's confirmed.

Yu Zhe shifted his gaze to Qi Xinye, his eyes seeming to say, "Sister Ye, didn't I tell you not to project my match onto the screen?"

Sensing the suspicious gaze, Qi Xinye quickly waved her hands in denial: "Ah no no no! Xiao Zhe, you misunderstood me. I really didn't do anything. They can all testify for me. This is purely an excellent match automatically collected by the machine."

"But why don't I find it that exciting..."

The main problem is that the opponent gave up too quickly.

They didn't need to testify. Yu Zhe still believed Qi Xinye's words. If she said no, then no.

Yu Zhe turned to look at the big screen. Goodness, there it was! The screen was still showing the exciting replay of table 666!

The host, who was in charge of explaining, was now extremely excited.

"I'm rooting for player number 666! His playing style is absolutely ferocious! Every move is a killing blow! Absolutely flawless. I told you, this competition is packed with top players! Everyone's tickets were definitely worth it!"

Your slogan was outrageous enough, but the fact that it was met with such enthusiastic support afterward is truly outrageous.

The preliminary rounds only broadcast the games themselves, not the players playing in front of the game.

The audience seats were too far from the venue, and it wasn't easy to see the people below clearly.

If the audience finds out who the player at table 666 is in the next round of the competition, there will probably be another uproar.

Turning his gaze back, Yu Zhe smiled.

He said, "Then let's leave it at that, Sister Ye. Is that it for today's competition?"

"Okay, get some rest. Tomorrow is actually the official start. Think of today as a warm-up for Xiao Zhe."

"Then you can go ahead with your work, Sister Ye. I'll take Zixiao and the others back first. We'll meet at this time tomorrow too?"

"Huh?" Qi Xinye was taken aback. "Are you leaving already? Xiao Zhe, don't stay any longer... But if you feel tired, then go back and rest first."

To be honest, Qi Xinye really didn't want him to leave so soon. With Yu Zhe here, she felt she had inexhaustible motivation for her work. Recently, she had been busy with the Qi family's affairs, and there were very few opportunities to meet.

As for Yu Zhe, he could tell from Qi Xinye's subtle change in expression that he had said the wrong thing.

I thought I would be bothering Sister Ye because she was busy here, but I could tell from her reaction that she really didn't want me to leave.

Just as I was about to suggest staying a little longer, Yu Zhe's phone rang.

"Wait a minute, I need to take this call. Hello?"

"Okay, I understand. I'll wait for you a little longer."

"I'll give you one hour. If you can't make it, I'll go back. Hehe, I don't care. I'm hanging up now."

Zixiao leaned closer and asked, "Is anyone coming over?"

"Yes, Yu Che called and said she's on her way. She told us to stay a little longer and not to leave yet."

"Why?" Zixiao asked, puzzled. "She could have come to our apartment to find us; then she wouldn't have needed to come here."

In response to this question, Yu Zhe smiled wryly and said, "Who says otherwise? But she just said something about the competition I'm participating in, how could she not be there on the first day? That's roughly what she meant."

"My brother spoils her too much."

"Haha, if you're Zixiao, I'll wait for you too. It's okay, it's okay, it's just sitting a little longer, watching the game, it's no big deal."

After saying this, Yu Zhe winked at Qi Xinye and led the others back to their chairs.

Qi Xinye breathed a sigh of relief. She really had to thank Yu Che this time; at least her fuss kept Xiao Zhe here a little longer.

On the other hand, Xiao Zhe could have asked Yu Che to come to his apartment directly, but he chose to stay there...