How rude, we are pure love!

Long day, long night.

The girl closed her eyes and smiled softly.

*

Monday morning.

Banai saw his father take out the key and open the door.

"I'm back." The man said casually, put on his slippers, and prepared to go back to his room to pack up and go to work.

But just as he passed the living room, the head of the family suddenly stopped and swept his sharp eyes across the floor and sofa.

He noticed something was wrong.

Humans have a kind of wild animal-like sensitivity to places they are familiar with, and they are extremely clear about whether there are unfamiliar males passing by.

——It seems there are traces left by a boy.

Was it Caojie? No, Caojie had never stayed at their house except in elementary school... Not just today, he had felt this way from time to time in the past month, but he always misunderstood it as the Caojie next door coming to visit.

The man suddenly remembered his daughter who had returned home early, and he took a deep breath, his brows furrowed.

Difficult, could it be said...

*

The illness incident was overcome without any major incident. For Qingye, he obtained several CG pictures of the loser heroine, and for Yanaijian, she had already seen the hidden option to start the next part of the plot, and she had been muttering and planning something these past two days.

"The solution to Kiyono-kun's predicament is—"

She found it!

A new week, in the lounge.

Qingye was reading leisurely in the corner, Xiaoju was huddled in the gap of the cabinet holding her mobile phone. The air was quiet and beautiful, but the next second, the door was suddenly pushed open, and cheerful greetings filled the room.

"Young senior! Let's play chess!"

Under Qingye's gaze, Yanaijian put down her schoolbag, but what she took out today was not snacks, but... a folding shogi board?

"Why do you suddenly want to play chess?" Qingye was a little surprised.

"because……"

Yanaijian smiled slightly, the curve of his lips very naturally. "There's a newly opened chess club holding a student competition recently. If you win, you'll get 50,000 yen! Let's practice together and participate!"

"Do you think this money is so easy to get?" Qingye glanced at her.

"Hey... come play!"

As a companion who had been together for a long time, Banaijian had already figured out the correct way to deal with Qingye. She moved her feet, half-pushed the boy's shoulders, and asked him to sit opposite her.

“I don’t know how to play this.”

Although Qingye looked reluctant, he still gave off an air of "I didn't say I don't want to play".

"It's okay, I'll teach you, it's very simple."

The blue-haired girl smiled as she arranged the shogi pieces.

At this moment, she seemed to have thought of something and shouted to the cabinet on the other side:

"Xiaoju, do you want to come and play with us?"

The sudden bright voice made the dark girl shudder, and she responded weakly like a small animal:

"No, no need..."

She still has to read novels.

Xiaoju turned her attention back to the small screen of her mobile phone, her expression focused and serious, with a silly smile from time to time... This book on the theme of death is really good. Although it is only less than one volume, the touching, gentle and dazzling style completely hit her. It can be said to be her favorite start in the past two years.

If only I could become like this—she couldn't help but think so.

A naive idea flashed through my mind.

*

Whenever he had some free time these past two days, Yanaijian would pester him to play shogi, and he became immersed in the art of chess, and his level improved by leaps and bounds. This feeling of constant improvement made his heart become more rebellious - maybe buddy can really get that 50,000 yen!

And after he inadvertently expressed this to the girl—

Click.

The buzzing sound of the air conditioner and the sound of chess pieces falling on the chessboard rang out together. Banaijian's flying car crossed the seventh section of the chessboard, and his fingertips hovered above the head of the king of Qingye. Victory was already decided.

The blue-haired girl slowly raised her head to look at him, her pretty face covered with a shadow, her eyes cold, as if she were a high and mighty devil.

"Can you do it? It's not that easy to convey your feelings!"

What am I trying to convey? Isn't it all about money?

Under Qingye's strange gaze, Yanai saw that her earlobe was slightly red and coughed softly: "Yes... the world of shogi is not that simple!"

"I'll give it a try. For these 50,000 yen, I'll work hard on special training!"

Qingye put the chess piece back in place, clenched his fist, and spoke with the tone of a passionate protagonist - Speaking of which, Yanaijian's chess skills are surprisingly good! He hasn't even won a single game against him in two days!

"Then come on."

Banaijian stood up, leaving him with a handsome and powerful back.

Thus, the days of special training began.

In the library, Kiyono kept flipping through "The History of Shogi" and "Introduction to Shogi", while Yanami supervised him like a strict mentor;

In the cinema, Yanami accompanies Kiyono to watch a movie about shogi;

Inside the shogi hall, Yanaimi, with a white bandana with the word "devil" tied on his forehead, strictly points out his mistakes;

The two continued to play chess, the sound of chess pieces colliding with the chessboard becoming clearer and clearer, and light and shadow flickered between the chessboard squares;

The two people who have been almost inseparable these days have also aroused the curiosity of the seniors in the restaurant, and they are all whispering about what new tricks the young couple is playing.

——A few days later.

In the lounge, the blazing sunset cast an amber hue on the chessboard. Thirty-three pieces cast long shadows across the yellowed paper. Qingye's infantry, gilded with gold, pointed directly at the general, like a dagger at his throat. The two men stared down at the chessboard, speechless.

——You are pretending, and you are pretending quite well. If someone doesn’t know, they would think you are fighting for the title of Dragon King!

These two are really a good match, in terms of being pretentious and stupid.

Xiaoju poked her head out of the gap and couldn't help but complain.

At this moment, Qingye's right hand holding the chess piece moved. A drop of sweat fell along the boy's tense wrist and "popped" onto the "Dragon King" chess piece, which symbolized victory and honor.

The wind blew, and Banai saw the scattered hair behind her ears being lifted by the draft, and the setting sun dyed the ends of her hair a translucent orange-red.

The chess piece falls.

The outcome is decided.

The blue-haired girl stared at the chessboard, then suddenly stood up and pulled open the curtains. With a rustling sound, a waterfall of crimson light wrapped in dust shot into the room. The girl just looked at Qingye and said calmly.

"well done."

"I finally beat you." After a long silence, Qingye breathed a sigh of relief.

Da, da, da, Banaijian walked up to him and smiled.

"I have nothing left to teach you. You've graduated."

"Banaijai..."

Qingye was stunned, his expression somewhat complicated, as if he was recalling his long student life. Finally, he stood up, bowed to the teacher in front of him, and said in a deep voice:

“Thank you for your guidance these days!”

—Hey! Are you guys acting out a funny cartoon?

Xiaoju couldn't hold it anymore.

"Next, as long as you defeat one person, you can officially enter the battlefield!" Teacher Banaijian patted his shoulder.

Today's wins and losses:

It is a victory for Qingye.

*

Four p.m.

Before meeting his next opponent, he was clearing the table in the front hall while thinking about shogi in his mind. He was determined to get the extra 50,000 yuan - if he could get the talent of a go saint in the future, he would strive to achieve the achievement of the youngest dragon king in history!

But at this moment, a strange guest in front of him broke his fantasy.

He was a man whose specific age could not be determined. He could only be described as a handsome uncle. He had neither the temperament of a successful middle-aged man nor the calmness of an ordinary uncle. He was somewhere between middle-aged and young. At this time, the man had his hands folded on his chin with a deep expression.

...I don't want to have anything to do with him for some reason.

Qingye glanced around and found that it was not yet time for other people to go to work, so he could only greet them and hand over the menu:

"Sir, please tell me what you would like to eat."

Hearing the voice, the man raised his head, glanced at him up and down, and said calmly: "A regular signature set meal will be fine, plus a cup of coffee."

"Please wait a moment." Qingye took note.

"Wait a minute, little brother, can I ask you a question?" the man called him.

"Anything I can answer."

"If you were pursuing a beautiful girl, what would you do? Where would you take her on a date? As a man myself, I've been there, so I understand you."

Who would ask a waiter such a question?

Qingye complained in his heart, but on the surface he remained impeccable, with a peaceful smile, like a waiter among the noble manor owners. He thought for a moment and replied:

"Sincerity, courage, respect, and the ability to guarantee the material basis of life... As for the place to play, it depends on the girl's personality. They will probably choose places like parks, libraries, and restaurants."

The man seemed to have not expected his answer to be so perfect. He paused for a moment and then asked:

"What if, just what if, the person you're dating in the future is a girl who loves to eat a lot and demands to eat snacks that exceed the standard every day, what would you do?"

...This description seems strangely familiar.

Kiyono continued:

"Then I will stop her and make a plan for her so that she can satisfy her appetite without causing any harm to her body. True love is about making lovers better, not catering to them without restraint."

"You passed the preliminary examination."

What am I testing?

The corner of Qingye's eye twitched uncontrollably. "Do you have any other questions?"

"No, sorry for asking such strange questions."

Looking at Qingye's leaving back, the man looked thoughtful.

Of course, he knew that to judge a person you have to see how he does things, so today he planned to observe the other person a little and inspect the working environment here.

The pointer keeps turning.

As for the results...

To be honest, I can't find any fault with it - all the details revealed in his words and actions give people a very solid and steady feeling, which is really good. A person always starts from the inside out. A person with an unstable mind and no self-control cannot maintain this practice for a long time. Most people will probably just find ways to be lazy and make themselves more relaxed.

This isn't something spectacular, but it does leave a good impression.

As the man continued to observe, his mood improved a little, but Qingye's mood became worse and worse, and he could even be said to be worried. The expression that was almost written on his face made Banaijian curious, and she asked curiously during her free time.

"What's wrong, young senior?"

"I might be being targeted." Qingye said heavily - last time at the station, because of the obstruction of the ticket gate, he did not see the appearance of Banaijian's parents clearly, and for a moment he did not connect them with Banaijian.

Hearing this, Ba Nai's expression was a little strange. She rubbed her face to prevent herself from smiling, but her tone was still full of joy:

"What are you talking about specifically?"

"There was an older man who stared at me in the restaurant all afternoon, occasionally showing me an admiring and dangerous look."

"Eh……"