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

"Heroes emerge from among the young!"

Xiang Hongan was truly delighted and did not hold back in praising Yu Zhe: "Young friend, there is absolutely no need to be modest! I made some minor mistakes, which is due to my lack of ability. Rather, it is your ability to seize these minor mistakes that truly demonstrates your skill."

He put his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky, as if the distant mountains were where he would retire to.

"It's just a pity... my long-cherished wish to come out this time still hasn't been fulfilled. But then again, life is full of ups and downs, it's the norm."

It's probably a pity about the bonus.

In response, Yu Zhe also stood up and said, "Senior, I don't know if I should say something."

"Please speak freely, young friend."

"It's about the prize money. Although you didn't make it to the finals, I'd like to donate the prize money in your name, based on the champion's prize money. Would you be willing?"

Surprise gradually appeared on Xiang Hong'an's face, which then turned into delight.

"Young friend, are you serious? You can really make this decision?"

"No problem, by helping you with this act of kindness, I'll benefit from it too, won't I?"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Hong'an could not hide his relieved smile.

"Haha, then I won't stand on ceremony. This trip has been worthwhile. In life, nine times out of ten things don't go smoothly, but sometimes there are one or two things that go well! How delightful!"

Xiang Hong'an knew this was not charity, but an opportunity—a rare and precious opportunity to realize one's life's value.

Since this young friend Yu Zhe is willing to help him fulfill this long-cherished wish, why should he refuse?

The match here has come to an end. Yu Zhe looked towards the west area, where the two players have not yet decided the winner.

Xiang Hong'an also looked over. Although he had confidence in his junior brother, after the game with Yu Zhe, he really couldn't say for sure what the outcome would be.

But the suspense eventually comes to an end, and with the cheers of the audience, it can be seen that the game has entered its final stage.

39. Your emotional intelligence isn't very high.

Xiang Hongan also looked over and said to Yu Zhe, "To be honest, I really can't predict how things will turn out over there. Although my junior brother is impetuous, his chess skills are by no means low. But after seeing your level, young friend, I really can't say that he can easily beat the young man."

Yu Zhe smiled and said, "After all, the opponent is a well-known figure in the chess world right now, hmm? It seems the result is out."

While the two were speculating, the audience had already begun to shout and discuss.

"General. The match is over."

After confirming the results, the referee announced: "The West Division match is over! Blue team wins! Lü Jun advances to the final!"

Hmm, it seems the opponent for the finals has been determined.

From afar, Yu Zhe could see the situation over there.

Xiang Hong'an's junior apprentice, the old man, looked at his captured "general" piece with disbelief and astonishment on his face. All the tough talk he made before the game had become an embarrassing blow to his own head.

The clown was me.

The victor, Lü Jun, sitting opposite him, confidently pushed up his glasses, nodded slightly to him, and then stood up and walked out of the arena, apparently to rest.

Xiang Hong'an could only say that this result was both unexpected and expected.

He hadn't expected that young people these days would have such a level of skill... No, that's not quite accurate. It would be more accurate to say that only a very few young people have abilities that are beyond imagination.

Xiang Hongan stroked his beard again, looked at Yu Zhe and said, "Good luck, young friend. It seems your opponent in the finals is no ordinary opponent either."

"Yes, thank you, senior. But I think winning or losing doesn't matter. Just enjoy the game, right?"

"Hehe, of course."

.....................

Halftime break.

"Brother Yuzhe! You're such a strange old monster!"

"..."

This was Xiao Lizhi's first sentence after Yu Zhe returned to the audience.

Why do you always talk so rudely?

Sure enough, before Yu Zhe could even make a move, Zi Xiao had already started hitting her.

A slap on the back of the head produced a resounding, crisp sound.

"You're the old monster! What are you saying?!"

Little Lychee looked up at Zixiao with a pitiful expression: "Waaah... But, even those old masters from the deep mountains and forests have never won."

"Brother Yu Zhe, someone even stronger than the old master, isn't that just an old monster...? I've read about him in novels."

"How can that be the same!"

Punishing Xiao Lizhi has practically become a required course for Zixiao these past few days. Seriously, why doesn't this girl ever learn from her words?

Yu Zhe shrugged helplessly and saw that Yu Che had already sat down next to him.

She blinked her big eyes and gently tugged at Yu Zhe's sleeve: "Brother, are you tired? If you are, let's go home. We won't compete in the finals. Just make sure you've had enough fun."

"That won't do. Leaving so easily would cause trouble for Sister Ye. Besides, who said I'm tired? I'm having a great time."

"Is that so? Then let's continue. Just arrange things however makes you happy, brother."

Yu Che was thinking about the intense game of chess that had lasted for nearly an hour, and he was probably quite tired.

She didn't think about the competition having to follow the procedures. In Yu Zhe's case, the competition was insignificant. Besides, even if Yu Zhe went back to rest, Yu Che had many other ways to make the competition complete.

In short, the younger sister just wants to make sure her older brother doesn't get too tired in every way!

However, since he said he wanted to continue playing chess, Yu Che didn't say anything more.

Qi Xinye handed over a bottle of water. As the person in charge of the event, she had something she wanted Yu Zhe to decide.

"Xiao Zhe, look at the time, it's 11:10. We have two options: one is to let everyone leave first, go have lunch, and then hold the finals in the afternoon; the other is to finish the competition now so that we don't have to come back in the afternoon."

"Hmm? Wasn't this decided before the competition started?"

Yu Zhe was puzzled. Shouldn't the schedule have been arranged in advance?

Qi Xinye hesitated for a moment when she said this: "There was a plan... We originally planned to finish the competition this morning, but chess competitions are different from other sports. The duration is uncertain. The semi-final just now lasted a long time. I'm still worried that it's not good to continue the competition past noon."

As the person in charge, she still has to consider many details. The audience also needs time to eat lunch. If the final is like the semi-final, lasting for more than an hour, the audience will be stuck at lunchtime, unable to leave or stay. It would also be bad to suspend the competition.

Therefore, Qi Xinye prefers to reschedule the match for the afternoon.

But Yu Zhe doesn't see it that way.

"Let's proceed as planned." He handed the unfinished water bottle back to Qi Xinye. "Actually, changing arrangements at the last minute is a big no-no for organizing an event. Although it may create convenience, it can easily cause complaints from the audience. What if someone comes specifically for the morning but has something else to do in the afternoon?"

"So, Xiao Zhe, what do you mean?"

Yu Zhe stood up: "I think we should start now and try to finish as quickly as possible, before noon. What do you think, Sister Ye?"

"Okay, just listen to Xiao Zhe."

After saying that, Qi Xinye didn't delay at all, picked up her phone and called the department in charge of arranging the competition schedule.

However, the guide received the message shortly afterward and immediately returned to his post.

The commentator is a chess enthusiast, and he is quite excited to be able to continue watching and commentating on the matches.

"Welcome back, viewers. This is the city center stadium. This competition has truly exceeded our expectations, with so many top players. The semi-finals were already so exciting, so the finals are even more anticipated. But let's ask our professional chess appraiser for details. Mr. Zhang, what are your thoughts?"

An elderly man with gray hair, sitting next to the commentator, nodded and turned on the microphone in front of him.

"All I can say is that we'll just have to wait and see in the final. The result is unpredictable. In fact, the result of the semi-final has already exceeded our expectations. Even as a top-ranked player, it's no small feat for Lü Jun to have made it to the final. His so-called 'aggressive' playing style has once again proven his strength."

"But what we really didn't expect was that Su Yuzhe, as a guest, could defeat Mr. Xiang Hongan. It's unbelievable. And we just saw in the replay that Su Yuzhe's moves, for a full several tens of minutes, seemed to have no mistakes at all. That's astonishing."

After describing the situation of both sides, the chess appraiser concluded: "In short, I can't say for sure which side has a better chance of winning this final. If I had to say, Lü Jun has more experience as a player, that's all."

"So, can I take that you mean Lü Jun has a better chance of winning?"

The chess expert glanced at the young commentator and smiled without saying a word.

Sigh, this young man doesn't have much emotional intelligence.

40. Making harsh statements before the game?

Although the chess expert did not answer, the commentator did not have time to ask any more questions, as the organizers had just sent a message requesting that the competition begin as soon as possible.

"Alright, everyone, the match is about to begin. Both finalists, please assemble in the center of the field!"

The scene is incredibly lively right now. Everyone is busy discussing who will win and the game, but the busiest thing is placing bets on the software. Like the ball game, this match has a betting function. Although the upper limit for betting is not high, it's all about having fun.

It's worth mentioning that during the semifinals, very few people bet on Yu Zhe to win, but now, Yu Zhe and Lü Jun are almost evenly matched. Because of what the chess expert just said, the percentage of people betting on Lü Jun to win has started to rise again.

This time, Yu Zhe didn't hesitate and quickly ran to the waiting area for the competition.

His opponent, Lü Jun, had just arrived, and his condition was still at half-full.

During the finals, he had that arrogant attitude.

He's just pretending to be an expert by not saying anything.

That's not right... This person was originally a master.

He didn't speak, and neither did Yu Zhe. Sigh, were they competing to see who could be more aloof?

But after a while, Lü Jun actually spoke first.

"Su Yuzhe, you really didn't disappoint me."

His very first words left Yu Zhe completely bewildered.

"what?"

Lu Jun pushed up his black-rimmed glasses again: "To be honest, I came to participate in this competition because of you. Now that you have successfully made it to the finals, that is enough to prove your strength."

What are you talking about?

Shouldn't this be the traditional pre-match trash talk? Why are you acknowledging your opponent first?

"However, Su Yuzhe, you should know that there are always people more capable than you, and there is always something beyond your understanding."

Alright, as expected, the pre-match trash talk is still unavoidable.

Yu Zhe felt uncomfortable with his way of speaking, so he retorted, "I know there are always people more capable than you, but what does that have to do with this competition?"

Finally, Lü Jun revealed his purpose for participating in the competition: "Of course it's related. I will beat you in this competition and prove who the real genius is."