I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 11: Yu Shao, Can You Come Out for a Minute?

"Oi, bro, let me tell you something really awesome."

During the morning self-study session, Zhou De was animatedly boasting to the classmates sitting in front of him about his accomplishments yesterday: "We did a Five-Man Squad at the Internet café yesterday. You know the armored car, right? We just steamrolled the other team! Five consecutive wins! Five straight wins, guys!"

"You ranked up to Platinum again?"

A nearby classmate, surprised by Zhou De's statement, asked.

"Nope."

Zhou De shook his head and replied, "After that, we lost eight games in a row."

"Pfft."

The classmate couldn't hold back and burst into laughter. "No way, Old Zhou. Have you seriously never considered using your ID card and its photocopy to play Landlord and drop four twos?"

"You can’t judge a hero solely by their victories and losses!"

Hearing this, Zhou De was enraged and immediately retorted, "And don't even get me started on others—but you? You’ve got the nerve to say that about me?"

"What about me?"

The classmate in the front row pointed at himself, looking completely baffled.

"Are you really going to make me say it?"

Zhou De growled, "If I say it out loud, you’re going to be the laughingstock of Class 7 for the entire year!"

The boy was stunned for a moment. After carefully reflecting on his past behavior, he felt confident that he hadn’t done anything too foolish. "Fine, go ahead!"

"I'm really going to say it!"

"Say it, then!"

"Don’t think I don’t know. You folded a ton of paper cranes to confess to Wu Shuyuan from Class 3, and she turned you down. That day, when you were hugging the jar of paper cranes and crying on the track field, I saw it all!"

Zhou De spoke with a triumphant look, feeling that he had finally settled the score.

But Zhou De quickly noticed that after he said this, the atmosphere in the classroom took a strange turn.

"Wait... Old Zhou,"

The boy in the front row gave Zhou De an odd look and said, "That day, she actually accepted my paper cranes. Then she gave me a jar of cranes she folded herself. I was really touched, so... I couldn’t hold back my feelings."

Zhou De was stunned. "You guys got together?"

"Yup."

The boy in the front row nodded, looking at Zhou De with a gaze that seemed to say, "Bless your heart."

"Pfft."

Sitting next to Zhou De, Yu Shao couldn’t hold it in any longer.

Although he knew it was impolite, he just couldn’t stop himself. He really wanted to burst out laughing!

The pain of losing rank yesterday had finally been alleviated by Zhou De’s antics today. Reincarnation truly was joyous—every day, he got to enjoy free clown performances.

If this was the price of dropping rank, Yu Shao was willing to lose a few more games.

"You’re such a jerk, Old Yu! Even you’re laughing at your bro?"

Zhou De, flustered and exasperated, waved his arms around as if ready to fight Yu Shao.

After the morning self-study session ended, Yu Shao stood up and called to Zhou De, "Old Zhou, let’s go to the restroom."

Yu Shao felt he had fully adapted to his role as a high schooler. He’d even picked up the habit of calling classmates to go to the restroom together.

"Not going."

Zhou De was still sulking from earlier, feeling too emo to bother. Without thinking, he refused.

Yu Shao chuckled to himself, shook his head, and decided not to call anyone else. Pulling out his chair, he prepared to head to the restroom alone.

Just then, Yu Shao noticed Cheng Mengjie standing in the aisle ahead of him. He wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not, but she was blocking his path.

"Excuse me,"

Yu Shao said politely.

Hearing this, Cheng Mengjie got upset. "Yu Shao, what do you mean by that?"

Yesterday, she had assumed Yu Shao would come looking for her to apologize. She had even thought about responding coldly with just a few words when he did.

But she had waited the entire day, and Yu Shao never came. After school, not even a single text was sent.

She had made it clear yesterday that she was angry. Normally, Yu Shao would’ve already apologized profusely with milk tea and groveling essays.

"What do I mean?"

Yu Shao asked, puzzled.

Unable to hold it in any longer, Cheng Mengjie blurted out, "Why haven’t you come looking for me these past few days?"

"Why would I come looking for you?"

Yu Shao looked at her oddly and said, "I’m trying to go to the restroom. Can you move?"

Why would I come looking for you?

That single question enraged Cheng Mengjie, but she found herself at a loss for words. She had no choice but to pretend to be indifferent as she stepped aside, letting Yu Shao pass.

Watching Yu Shao’s retreating figure, the more Cheng Mengjie thought about it, the angrier she became—so angry that she felt like crying.

"Mengjie, what’s going on between you and Yu Shao?"

The slightly chubby girl sitting next to Cheng Mengjie tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "Did you guys have a fight?"

It wasn’t exactly a secret in the class that Yu Shao had been pursuing Cheng Mengjie.

"Fight? I’m not even with him. I think he’s just trying to annoy me."

Cheng Mengjie bit her lip. "I’m done with him. I won’t pay him any more attention."

"Oh, don’t say that! Yu Shao’s pretty nice, and he’s even kinda cute."

The chubby girl tried to console her. "Maybe he just gave up because you haven’t been responding to him?"

"I did respond! I even started a conversation with him two days ago."

Cheng Mengjie, feeling somewhat aggrieved, said, "He said he likes me, so I have to see how determined he is, don’t I?"

"So... do you like Yu Shao or not?"

The chubby girl asked, "Are you saying that as long as he keeps trying, you'll agree to be with him? Were you just testing him with that ‘no dating in high school’ thing?"

"Not necessarily."

Cheng Mengjie thought for a moment and replied, "I do have a bit of a good impression of him, but it hasn’t reached the point where my heart flutters. He needs to keep trying until I’m moved, and then I’ll agree to be with him."

"And what if you’re never moved?" the chubby girl couldn’t help but ask.

"Then there’s nothing I can do about it. It would mean we’re not meant to be," Cheng Mengjie said matter-of-factly. "But he has to try first—who knows? Maybe I’ll be moved very soon."

The chubby girl was momentarily stunned. At first, she felt like something was off, but after thinking it over carefully, she found nothing wrong.

Yeah, if you like someone, shouldn’t you persevere?

Soon, Yu Shao returned from the restroom.

As soon as Cheng Mengjie saw him, she snorted coldly and turned her head away.

Yu Shao felt this was a bit odd but didn’t pay much attention to it. He quickly went back to his seat.

The second class of the day was physics. The physics teacher was a tall, skinny middle-aged man. His lectures were decent, but his voice was too soft, and he didn’t use a microphone, so Yu Shao had to strain his ears to hear clearly.

Halfway through the class, Yu Shao glanced to the side and saw Zhou De reading a book.

Initially, Yu Shao thought Zhou De was reading something ridiculous, like “Why Housewives Stay Out Late” or “Middle-aged Men Spending the Night at Massage Parlors”. But when he looked closer, he was shocked.

It was a book titled 38 Lessons for Beginners in Go!

"Zhou De, are you reading a Go book?" Yu Shao asked in a low voice.

"Why not?"

Zhou De gave him a look as if he had been betrayed and said, "So you can secretly learn Go and show off, but I can’t? Why can’t I dream of ‘defying fate and achieving the impossible’?"

Yu Shao immediately felt that Go had been desecrated.

"Let me tell you, I’ve thought it through. I’m the perfect candidate to learn Go."

Zhou De lowered his voice and whispered, "After all, I already possess top-tier physical strength. The only thing I’m missing is top-tier intelligence. If I pick up just the basics of Go, people will think I have both. Not many people understand Go, so it’s the perfect way to show off."

"If you want to earn conduct points, just say so. You don’t need to be so roundabout about it."

Yu Shao immediately saw through Zhou De’s true intentions and tried to dissuade him earnestly. "Old Zhou, let me tell you this: you’re not like the others. Whatever you do, don’t put your heart into studying."

"What’s that supposed to mean?!" Zhou De flared up in anger.

"Yu Shao! Zhou De! Both of you, stand up and pay attention!"

At that moment, the physics teacher, who had been speaking in barely a whisper, suddenly raised his voice by eight decibels.

Yu Shao and Zhou De sheepishly stood up, like scolded schoolchildren.

Finally, after enduring until the end of the class, they heaved a sigh of relief as the physics teacher left. They gratefully returned to their faithful seats.

"Old Yu, mark my words: within a week, I’ll master Go!" Zhou De declared confidently, planting a flag for himself.

"I believe you."

Yu Shao nodded earnestly.

Zhou De, about to blurt out another bold claim, suddenly felt the words stuck in his throat. He was so frustrated he almost suffered an internal injury.

What the hell, how could you believe me?! You’re not supposed to believe me!

Just then, the entire Class 7 suddenly went quiet.

Zhou De’s body stiffened as he instantly looked toward the window near the hallway like a starving dog sniffing food.

No one?

Zhou De was momentarily confused. How could the classroom be this silent without Xu Zijin passing by?

But he quickly realized the reason.

Xu Zijin was standing gracefully at the door of Class 7. Her aura was as serene and cold as a narcissus flower. Even the much-maligned school uniform looked surprisingly elegant and dignified on her.

In the pin-drop silence, Xu Zijin scanned the classroom with her clear gaze. Finally, her eyes settled on Yu Shao, and she spoke:

"Yu Shao, can you step out for a moment?"