I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 24: What’s Wrong with Falling for Xu Zijin?

Yu Shao fell silent all of a sudden.

He... could probably guess.

"Fang Xin said that the reason he conceded the match was because it wasn’t a fair game. If the komi had been set to 10.5 points, White would have held the advantage. So, just as he was about to win, he chose to concede instead."

Zhou De sighed with emotion, "Fang Xin actually gave up the chance to gain worldwide fame like this. I can’t say I fully understand it, but I’m deeply shocked."

"In any case, it was after Shen Yi’s game against Fang Xin that the rule of a 7.5-point komi was introduced into Go, and it has been used ever since."

"And after that game, Shen Yi never played a 10.5-point komi match again. He simply waited for someone to defeat him under the 7.5-point komi rule."

"But he never waited long enough in his lifetime."

"His entire life was spent seeking a worthy defeat, but he never found one. In the end, at the age of thirty-three, his accumulated frustrations turned into illness, and he died young."

At this point, Zhou De glanced at Yu Shao and said, "And you know what the craziest part is, Old Yu?"

Yu Shao was genuinely curious and gave Zhou De the attention he wanted, satisfying his craving for recognition.

"The craziest part is that before Shen Yi died, he said that his greatest regret in life was that his Go skills progressed too quickly in his youth, leaving him with no opponents at all!"

Zhou De smacked the table hard. "Holy sh*t, the way he flexed there is just insane! Can you even say something like that? What a show-off!"

"Zhou De!"

At that moment, the class monitor in the front row finally lost her patience and shouted, "Can you keep your voice down? Just because you’re not studying doesn’t mean others aren’t. If you keep making noise, I’m reporting you to the homeroom teacher!"

Zhou De gave an awkward laugh, raised his hands, and saluted like a French soldier.

"Anyway, now you know how awesome Shen Yi was, right?" Zhou De lowered his volume a bit. "And I’m going to be the next Shen Yi."

Yu Shao couldn’t hold it in anymore.

How pitiful. Zhou De, so young and already delusional.

After thinking for a moment, Yu Shao said, "First of all, you’re not going to be the next Shen Yi. Second, even if Shen Yi were alive today, he might not be all that great."

"You're full of crap!"

Zhou De got worked up at once. He didn’t even bother refuting the first point and went straight to counter the second. "He was the Go Sage! He never lost once he reached his peak, and you dare say he wasn’t great?"

"Maybe in his era, he was indeed unmatched. But this is no longer his era," Yu Shao said, shaking his head. "Go evolves with the times. Reality isn’t some fantasy novel where the older you are, the stronger you get."

"But what if Shen Yi were a modern man?" Zhou De pressed on relentlessly.

Yu Shao thought for a moment and replied, "I don’t know about that. But if he was really as talented as you say, then I’d have to admit that if he were born in modern times, he’d likely still be an incredible player."

Hearing this, Zhou De was satisfied and went back to reading his Introduction to Go: 38 Lessons.

Seeing this, Yu Shao couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile.

Based on what he knew about Zhou De, no matter how enthusiastic Zhou De seemed just now, he’d probably stick with this for, at most, a week. After that, he’d come up with all sorts of excuses to quit.

As for Zhou De actually mastering Go?

Absolutely impossible.

There was a higher chance Zhou De wasn’t even human than there was of him actually learning to play Go properly.

After morning self-study, Yu Shao got ready to head to the restroom, even though he didn’t particularly feel the need to go.

He had noticed that he was getting more and more into the role of a high school student. After class, whether he needed to or not, he enjoyed heading to the restroom.

And once he got there, even if he didn’t feel the need initially, he’d end up wanting to go. The atmosphere just demanded it. As the saying goes—since you’re already here.

"Hey, Old Zhou, heading to the restroom?" Yu Shao called out to Zhou De.

"Let’s go!"

As a seasoned restroom frequenter, Zhou De immediately agreed.

The two of them began their journey to the restroom together. On the way, they passed by Cheng Mengjie, and Yu Shao keenly noticed that she outright ignored him!

Congratulations to himself, keep up the good work!

Just as Yu Shao was about to keep walking, he suddenly realized that Zhou De had stopped moving.

Yu Shao turned his head and saw Zhou De standing near Cheng Mengjie, making all sorts of exaggerated winks at him.

Seeing this, Yu Shao felt a headache coming on. He didn’t bother with Zhou De and walked straight out of the classroom without looking back.

Zhou De was stunned for a moment. After Yu Shao left, he finally snapped out of it and hurried to catch up.

“Old Yu, what’s the deal here? Your bro is playing wingman for you, creating the perfect opportunity, and you’re just gonna let it slip?”

Catching up to Yu Shao in the hallway, Zhou De looked utterly baffled and asked, “You’re not chasing Cheng Mengjie anymore?”

“Not anymore.”

Yu Shao answered calmly, as if it were no big deal.

Zhou De’s face was full of shock. “Bro, have you moved on to someone else?”

“I was never into her to begin with.”

Yu Shao corrected Zhou De’s misunderstanding, adding, “Back then, I was just doing it for fun.”

“Come on, you might fool others, but do you really think you can fool your bro?”

Zhou De gave him a knowing look and said, “Who was it shouting, ‘I’ll love Cheng Mengjie for the rest of my life!’ back then? Was that a ghost?”

Yu Shao was momentarily at a loss for words. The mess his past self had made really did come back to haunt him.

“Bro, just tell me the truth. Who have you moved on to? Are you seriously keeping secrets from me? Let me help you out—I’m a professional wingman!” Zhou De pressed on, determined to get an answer.

In Zhou De’s extremely simplistic view of love, if someone suddenly stopped liking someone, the only explanation was that they’d fallen for someone else.

“Old Yu, you’re even keeping this from your bro? Come on, spill! Let me evaluate her for you.”

Annoyed by Zhou De’s incessant questioning, Yu Shao blurted out dismissively, “Fine, yeah. I’ve fallen for Xu Zijin. What about it?”

“Hisssss!”

Zhou De gasped dramatically, his face full of concern as he looked at Yu Shao. “Listen, my good bro, I know your overall qualifications aren’t bad, but seriously, have you considered setting a small goal first? Like, maybe earning a hundred million before going after her?”

The bullet Yu Shao had once fired at Zhou De had now ricocheted and hit Yu Shao square in the forehead.

Just as Yu Shao was about to respond, he suddenly noticed Zhou De’s expression shift to something unusual.

Puzzled, Yu Shao followed Zhou De’s line of sight, and then he saw the last person he wanted to see at that moment.

Xu Zijin.

Today, she had her hair tied in a low ponytail and was standing by the window in the hallway, holding a stack of homework books. It seemed like she had originally come to collect assignments from the students near the window.

She stood there quietly, her gaze clear and steady, as if it could pierce right through someone’s soul.

Even though Xu Zijin didn’t say a single word, Yu Shao inexplicably realized—

She had heard what he just said.

All of it.

What kind of situation is this?!