I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 187: Under the Spotlight

Seeing this, Xu Zijin was slightly taken aback.

Then, right before her eyes, Wu Zhixuan suddenly grabbed the unsuspecting Yu Shao and swiftly dragged him out of the playing room, disappearing beyond the doorway.

Xu Zijin silently watched their retreating figures. It was a long time before she finally withdrew her gaze.

Yu Shao was pulled along by Wu Zhixuan, only stopping after they had walked quite a distance.

She let go of his wrist, turned around, and stared at him. Her eyes were still a little red.

"What’s wrong?"

Yu Shao was completely baffled. "Why did you drag me out?"

"That 3-3 invasion—you played it first, so you must know the best way to respond to it!"

Wu Zhixuan looked at him, growing more and more frustrated as she spoke. Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears, and in the end, she sniffled and said indignantly, "I don’t want to lose to her again! You have to tell me how to handle it!"

Her face was full of grievance and unwillingness. It was clear that losing to Xu Zijin, who had just become a professional, was a huge blow to her.

Hearing this, Yu Shao finally understood why Wu Zhixuan had dragged him out. He was momentarily speechless and asked, "You think the problem was in your response?"

"I... I..."

Wu Zhixuan hesitated, blinking in silence before mumbling, "Actually, not really. After she played 3-3, I should’ve had the advantage, but I didn’t play well after that..."

Yu Shao felt a headache coming on.

She wasn’t wrong—she did misplay later. But the follow-up to the 3-3 invasion wasn’t handled properly either. With both problems stacking up, explaining things became complicated.

"Honestly, after getting invaded at 3-3, instead of extending when the opponent extends, you should consider a different move—like a double hane," Yu Shao said after some thought.

"Double hane?"

Wu Zhixuan’s eyes widened in confusion. "Why?"

"Because I think extending gives the advantage to the one who invaded 3-3."

Yu Shao pondered, "If you extend, the 3-3 player has forcing moves to leverage, so even though you secure the corner, they gain external influence."

"That can’t be right!"

Wu Zhixuan wasn’t convinced. "Even with the forcing moves, the 3-3 player loses a lot of points. If I hadn’t misplayed later, I should’ve been in a better position!"

"Play a few more games and you’ll see."

Yu Shao shook his head. "After extending, the position has potential, but it’s not as easy to handle as you think. The forcing moves make the local situation tricky, increasing the chances of a mistake later on."

Hearing this, Wu Zhixuan frowned slightly, lost in thought.

In that last game, after getting invaded at 3-3, she did feel somewhat restricted. She had assumed she had a better position, but in reality, she had been slightly passive.

Even though she wasn’t entirely convinced, she knew Yu Shao was right—only after playing many games could she truly judge for herself.

"Then I’ll try playing 8-8 next time."

She thought for a moment and said, "As long as my opponent chooses to extend, even if I still lose, at least I won’t feel like I was at a disadvantage. At the very least, it should be an even fight."

Wu Zhixuan suddenly felt that outright telling her extending was bad was a little too blunt. It would be better to let her play dozens of games and figure it out herself.

"Alright."

She nodded, then suddenly looked up at Yu Shao and said, "If you have time, play a couple of games with me online."

"If I have time, I don’t mind playing occasionally," Yu Shao replied, a little puzzled. "But don’t you have a teacher?"

"Of course I do."

Wu Zhixuan rolled her eyes. "But my teacher is only a 6-dan pro, almost seventy years old, and has been retired from competition for ages. He might not even be able to beat my brother anymore."

"Huh?"

Yu Shao was a bit surprised. "Your teacher is only a 6-dan?"

"That’s normal."

Wu Zhixuan glanced at him strangely. "As long as they’ve gotten their pro status, that’s all that matters. Some players are great at Go but bad at teaching. My teacher, on the other hand, is really good at coaching."

Hearing this, Yu Shao suddenly understood.

That made sense. Young players aiming to go pro only needed to get their status. For teaching amateur players, a 6-dan professional was more than enough.

Some 9-dan professionals might be stronger, but when it came to coaching, they weren’t necessarily better than 6- or 7-dan players.

It was just that most of the aspiring pros Yu Shao knew, like Jiang Xiahua and Bai Jingchuan, had trained at dojos run by active 9-dan professionals.

That was why he had assumed all training centers were run by top-tier players.

Thinking about it, though, active 9-dans were too busy to run dojos. It made more sense for retired 6- to 9-dan professionals to run them instead.

"But then, what about your team for the Flame Inheritance Match?"

Yu Shao asked, "Will your Go association arrange a 9-dan for you, like they do for amateurs?"

"Yeah."

Wu Zhixuan nodded. "But some dojos already have 9-dan senior players, so the senior students lead the juniors in the match."

Yu Shao nodded thoughtfully.

"Tonight, I’m playing two games against my brother."

Wu Zhixuan clenched her fists in determination. "Next time I face her, I’m going to win!"

Yu Shao looked at her and suddenly felt that losing to Xu Zijin might have been a good thing for her.

She had never cared much about losing to male players. And the female players who could beat her were all her seniors, so she never really had a rival or a goal.

But now, Xu Zijin had appeared.

Wu Zhixuan could accept losing to male players, but she absolutely couldn’t accept losing to a female peer—especially not someone who had just earned her pro status and immediately defeated her.

Xu Zijin was too proud to ever ask Yu Shao for advice; she would only reflect and figure things out on her own. But Wu Zhixuan had no such hesitation.

---

Five days after the second preliminary round of the Yingjiao Cup, the third game of the Kisei Title Match finally concluded. Zhang Dongchen, playing black, won by resignation, keeping the suspense alive for the fourth game.

Who would claim the Kisei title this year remained an open question.

The day after the Kisei match, the National Master Tournament preliminaries resumed.

That morning, the playing room was bustling with players discussing the thrilling match from the previous day.

"Zhang Dongchen held up under pressure. That was an incredible game—brilliant moves one after another. That ‘suspend’ move was absolutely stunning. It gave me chills!"

"But he still has two games left, and the pressure is immense. He can’t afford to lose even once, and he’s up against a veteran like Jiang Changdong."

"Losing two games, then clawing one back—it’s a comeback, but the pressure in the fourth game might be even higher than the third."

As the players chatted, Yu Shao appeared at the doorway.

The room fell silent. All eyes turned to him.

Yu Shao had won four consecutive matches in the National Master Tournament. His record was already impressive. Even though he had joined mid-tournament, he was now bound to face stronger opponents.

Everyone was paying close attention—just how far could the newly minted pro go?

They had already heard who his opponent was for today.

In fact, a few players who didn’t have matches today had come specifically to watch this game.

Under their gazes, Yu Shao walked to Table Six and took a seat.

As match time approached, more professional players entered the room. Upon spotting Yu Shao at Table Six, their eyes flickered with interest.

This was a game everyone was watching.

A moment later, a bespectacled young man with a middle part walked in, glanced toward Table Six, and upon seeing Yu Shao seated there, his expression grew more serious.

He took a deep breath and walked over, pulling out the chair opposite Yu Shao.

"Morning, Yu Shao, 1-dan."

The young man greeted him.

Yu Shao looked up at today’s opponent and nodded calmly. "Morning, Tong Lecheng, 3-dan."