I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 150: The Dragon of the Yu Family

“Finally, it’s over.”

Hearing those words, everyone couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, even Yu Shao was no exception.

From the preliminaries to the main tournament and then the finals, the competition had stretched on for over a month. Even though the pressure from the matches wasn’t much for Yu Shao, playing nonstop for so long was still exhausting.

As the players gradually left the venue, Yu Shao was just about to head out when a group of reporters blocked his way.

“Yu Shao, 1-dan, would you be available for an interview?”

“Yu Shao, 1-dan, as an amateur player, you secured your professional rank with a flawless record in this year’s promotion tournament. How do you feel about it?”

“Yu Shao, 1-dan, how long have you been playing Go? Did you have a coach? Could you share your learning experience?”

It wasn’t just Yu Shao—every newly promoted 1-dan player was surrounded by reporters, bombarded with questions.

“Xu Zi, 1-dan, as the daughter of President Xu, what made you decide to pursue a career as a professional Go player?”

“Su Yiming, 1-dan, you were also an amateur before this, right? How did you train?”

Seeing the scene, Ma Zhengyu cleared his throat and spoke up. “Friends from the media, the players have just finished a long stretch of continuous matches and are exhausted.”

“There will be plenty of opportunities for interviews in the future, but for now, let’s allow them some time to rest.”

Hearing Ma Zhengyu’s words, the reporters were reluctant but eventually backed off, making way for the newly promoted professionals.

Finally free to leave, some players, like Yu Shao, were staying at the competition hotel, while others, like Su Yiming and Xu Zi, had booked nearby accommodations.

Back in his hotel room, Yu Shao lay on the bed for a short rest before getting up to pack his luggage.

Knock, knock, knock.

Just as he was organizing his things, a knock came from the door.

Yu Shao walked over and opened it, only to see Jiang Xiahua standing there, luggage in tow.

“What are you doing here?”

Seeing Jiang Xiahua, Yu Shao was a bit surprised.

“I’m heading out today, just wanted to say goodbye before I left.” Jiang Xiahua smiled and asked, “When are you leaving? Tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’m heading back tomorrow.”

Yu Shao nodded, then asked in surprise, “Aren’t you going to rest for a day?”

After playing so many games in a row, even he was feeling drained.

“I finally got my professional rank. I need to return to my dojo to inform my teacher, and according to our dojo’s tradition, anyone who successfully ranks up has to give a lecture on key matches from the promotion tournament to the junior students.”

Jiang Xiahua’s expression carried a hint of excitement as he continued, “And of course, I also need to go home and share the good news with my parents. I’ll head to Jiangling in a few days.”

Yu Shao instantly understood.

"I see. So basically, you can’t wait to go home and show off."

“Exactly.” Jiang Xiahua grinned. “It would be a waste not to.”

“Once I’m in Jiangling, you, as the local, better treat me well.”

Laughing, Jiang Xiahua added, “Now that I’m a professional player, I’ll probably end up being half a Jiangling native myself.”

In this world, China’s Go scene was divided into five major regions, each with a central Go academy. The Southern Go Academy was located in Jiangling Province, though Yu Shao hadn’t visited it yet.

The place where he registered for the promotion tournament was only the Jiangling Go Academy, which was different from the Southern Go Academy.

Typically, major tournaments and promotion matches were held at the central Go academies of each region.

For professional players from the Southern region, they would likely spend half their time in Jiangling and the other half traveling between the other four academies.

“No problem.”

Yu Shao nodded, then curiously asked, “But you’re only sixteen. Are you planning to rent a place in Jiangling on your own?”

“My mom will probably come with me.”

Jiang Xiahua sighed. “I’d actually prefer living on my own. I mean, I can earn money from playing now, but my mom insists on coming with me.”

“Well, you’re still underage.”

Yu Shao chuckled. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have her around to take care of you?”

“Not at all. It’s restrictive. Plus, she’ll probably control how I spend my money. What’s the point of earning if I can’t spend it freely?”

Jiang Xiahua grumbled, then waved his hand. “Alright, I’m off. See you in Jiangling in a few days.”

“See you in Jiangling.”

Yu Shao smiled and nodded, watching Jiang Xiahua leave.

The next morning, after a night’s rest at the hotel, Yu Shao checked out at 7:30 AM and finally left Xin’an, starting his journey home.

Xin’an wasn’t far from Jiangling—just a three-hour high-speed rail ride.

So, after setting off early in the morning, he arrived home before noon.

As soon as he pushed open the door, he saw Yu Dongming sitting on the living room couch, scrolling through his phone.

From the kitchen, the sound of frying food stopped abruptly. Then, Cai Xiaomei’s voice rang out. “Xiao Shao, you’re back?”

“Yeah, I’m back.”

Yu Shao responded, then asked in surprise, “Dad, Mom, you didn’t go to the shop today?”

“Nope. How could we focus on work right now?”

Yu Dongming put down his phone, smiling. “Thanks to you, my phone has been ringing non-stop since last night.”

“Huh? Why?”

Yu Shao was puzzled as he walked into the living room.

“What else? Your flawless record in the promotion tournament, of course.”

Yu Dongming lifted his phone, his face brimming with barely contained pride. “Haven’t you seen? It’s all over the internet.”

“Your second uncle and third uncle called last night asking if the ‘Yu Shao’ in the news was really you.”

Laughing, Yu Dongming added, “The news even had your picture, but they still didn’t believe it. They kept asking me over and over again.”

“The promotion tournament?”

Yu Shao was slightly taken aback. The results had just been announced yesterday, and it had already gone viral online?

“You didn’t check your phone?”

Yu Dongming handed his phone over. “Take a look.”

Taking the phone, Yu Shao quickly saw a trending post on Weibo. Ranked #11 on the trending list was—

【Sixteen-year-old amateur Go prodigy secures professional rank with a flawless record!】

Right above it, at #10, was another post related to the tournament—

【Zhuang Weisheng’s son, Zhuang Fei, unexpectedly eliminated in the promotion tournament!】

Yu Shao clicked on his own trending topic and immediately saw several photos of himself holding his 1-dan certificate, with countless comments from netizens asking who he was and why they had never heard of him before.

In this world, while Go had its fair share of popularity, a promotion tournament alone typically wouldn’t make it into the top 20 trending topics—let alone rank 11th.

His sudden rise to fame was likely due to two reasons: first, he was an amateur player, and second… it was probably thanks to Zhuang Fei’s shocking loss.

Watching Yu Shao, Yu Dongming couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of pride. Even now, all of this felt like a dream.

“By the way, Xiao Shao,” Yu Dongming suddenly said, “Do you remember Cai Dongdong?”

Many parents like to make decisions for their children without considering their wishes. However, both Yu Dongming and Cai Xiaomei were the type of parents who respected their child’s choices.

If Yu Shao wasn’t willing, they wouldn’t force him.

After saying this, even Yu Dongming couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

A year ago, he had taken Yu Shao to a retired 1-dan player to see if he had the talent to become a professional Go player.

Now, the situation had flipped—he was asking Yu Shao to assess whether his cousin had a talent for the game.

“If it’s just a teaching game, that’s fine.”

After thinking for a moment, Yu Shao agreed without much hesitation. Then he asked, “But what if he doesn’t have talent?”

“Knowing your second uncle, if your cousin had absolutely no talent, he wouldn’t have brought this up.”

Yu Dongming chuckled. “Of course, if you think he’s really not cut out for it, just tell your mom. She’ll talk to your second uncle. Besides, your second uncle isn’t the type to be overly sensitive about this.”

“Alright.”

Hearing this, Yu Shao nodded and agreed.

“Alright, enough talk. Time to eat! Xiao Shao, you must be starving.”

At that moment, Cai Xiaomei walked out of the kitchen carrying a dish, smiling warmly. “I made your favorite braised pork and dry-fried beef. Come eat.”

After playing non-stop matches for so long, now that the promotion tournament was finally over, Yu Shao decided to take a break and rest at home for two full days.

On the third day, his second uncle, Cai Wei, finally brought his son, Cai Dongdong, over for the visit.

Since Cai Xiaomei and Yu Dongming already knew that Cai Wei was coming, they had taken the day off from the shop.

At 1 PM, when they heard a knock on the door, Cai Xiaomei immediately went to answer it.

Seeing her older brother at the door, she greeted him with a beaming smile. “Second Brother, you’re here?”

Cai Wei was a slim man in his forties, looking cultured and refined. He smiled and said, “Meizi, it’s been a while.”

Beside him stood a young boy, around seven or eight years old. As soon as he saw Cai Xiaomei, he called out crisply, “Auntie!”

“Dongdong is getting more and more adorable.”

Cai Xiaomei’s face lit up with joy. She quickly waved them inside. “Come in, no need to change shoes.”

Cai Wei led Cai Dongdong into the living room. When Yu Shao saw them, he immediately stood up and greeted, “Second Uncle.”

“Xiao Shao, you’ve grown so much in just a year—and even more handsome.”

Cai Wei teased as he looked at Yu Shao. “When I saw the news that you became a professional Go player, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Meizi and Dongming really kept this under wraps.”

“Brother, we were just as shocked.”

Yu Dongming shook his head, laughing. “This kid taught himself Go and somehow still became a professional. We were stunned too.”

Just as Cai Wei was about to respond, Cai Dongdong, who had been staring at Yu Shao with admiration, suddenly called out excitedly—

“Cousin!”

Yu Shao paused for a moment, then looked at Cai Dongdong and nodded at him.

“Xiao Shao, I’ll leave this kid to you. Ever since he found out you became a professional player, he’s been pestering me to let him play against you. He’s never played against a professional before.”

Cai Wei chuckled. “I’d like you to assess his level and see if he has any talent for Go.”

“Sure.”

Yu Shao nodded, then looked at Cai Dongdong. “Let’s go to my room. My Go board is there.”

“Okay!”

Cai Dongdong nodded eagerly, taking small, quick steps toward Yu Shao. Then, in a soft voice, he said, “Thank you, Cousin.”

“It’s no problem.”

Yu Shao smiled, then led Cai Dongdong into his room.

After closing the door, Yu Shao pulled out the four-legged Go board that Yu Dongming had bought for him. Sitting cross-legged, he looked at Cai Dongdong and asked, “Do you want to play black or white?”

“I’ll play black.”

Cai Dongdong was barely able to contain his excitement as he sat across from Yu Shao. “I play better with black.”

“Alright, you can have black.”

Yu Shao smiled and placed the black stone container beside Cai Dongdong.

After the traditional opening bow, Yu Shao said, “Let’s begin.”

Hearing this, Cai Dongdong’s small face grew serious. He nodded solemnly, then reached into the container, carefully placing his first stone on the board.

Column 16, Row 4—Star Point.

Yu Shao lowered his gaze to the board, then casually picked up a stone and placed it down gently.

Click.

Column 4, Row 16—Star Point.

Cai Dongdong was slightly startled. Though it was just a move, he felt as if there was an indescribable aura in the way his cousin placed the stone.

Taking a deep breath, he calmed his nerves and made his next move.

Click. Click. Click...

Inside the room, the crisp sounds of stones landing on the board continued.

Meanwhile, in the living room…

“Meizi, is Xiao Shao really self-taught?”

Sitting on the sofa, Cai Wei couldn’t help but ask.

A few days ago, when Yu Dongming and Cai Xiaomei had told him over the phone that Yu Shao had learned Go on his own, he had been skeptical.

Even now, despite Yu Shao officially becoming a professional, Cai Wei still found it hard to believe.

Becoming a professional Go player purely through self-study sounded too outrageous.

Most professional players came from Go academies and had trained in special programs from a young age.

It was already rare for an amateur player to pass the promotion tournament.

And even those who did were often players who had been studying Go since childhood—just without the intense, structured training that "prodigy trainees" received.

“It’s true.”

Cai Xiaomei smiled. “We didn’t believe it at first either. That’s why we took him to play against a retired 1-dan player.”

“And the result?” Cai Wei asked, intrigued.

“Well, the teacher said that if Xiao Shao couldn’t become a professional player, he’d quit Go and start delivering food instead.”

Cai Xiaomei chuckled. “I didn’t even understand what he meant at first.”

“You’re joking.”

Cai Wei’s eyes widened. As a former professional player, the pride of Go players was something he understood well.

Amateur and professional players were usually worlds apart. Even among high-level amateurs, there was fierce competition and arrogance.

For a professional to say something like that after losing to a self-taught amateur?

“No joke.”

Cai Xiaomei nodded. “He lost, after all.”

“Still, even if he lost, would a professional really say something like that?”

Cai Wei frowned. “Did you watch the game?”

“No, neither Dongming nor I understand Go. Watching wouldn’t have made a difference.”

At that moment, the bedroom door opened, and Yu Shao walked out.

“Xiao Shao, finished already?”

Seeing him, Cai Wei immediately stood up, looking both anxious and expectant.

Yu Shao nodded. “Yeah, he’s just putting away the stones.”

“And? How was Dongdong?”

Cai Wei asked nervously.

Yu Shao thought for a moment before replying, “He has some talent. Good instincts, quick reactions, and he’s focused when playing. You can consider nurturing him.”

“But… whether he can become a professional is hard to say. If he joins a Go academy, it’ll depend on how soon he can get into the training class for promotion tournament candidates.”

Hearing this, Cai Wei breathed a little easier. “Alright, I understand. Thanks, Xiao Shao.”