I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 241: Both Dragons Slain, the Board Drenched in Heroic Blood

The next day, Yu Shao didn’t wake up until noon. After hastily finishing lunch, he took a taxi to Chu-Han Airport. Before long, he boarded the plane, ready to fly back to Jiangjun.

On the plane, in the business class cabin—

A middle-aged man in a suit sat there. He had a commanding appearance and the polished look of a successful businessman. Wearing black-rimmed glasses, he was holding a fresh copy of the newspaper, completely absorbed in it.

As he read, his face began to flush slightly, as if he were a bit excited. Even his fists clenched subconsciously. He stared at the newspaper, not willing to blink.

After a long while, he finally finished the article, put down the paper, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, clearly still struggling to calm down.

Moments later, he seemed to settle his emotions and picked the newspaper back up to read it from the top again.

After reading it through three or four more times, he stared at the bold headline on the front page with a somewhat wistful expression.

After a while, he let out a long sigh, finally tearing his gaze away from the paper. He licked his dry lips, reached out his hand, and was about to press the service button to ask the flight attendant for a glass of water.

“Hmm?”

It was only then that he suddenly noticed Yu Shao sitting beside him, and he couldn’t help but freeze slightly.

The hand he had extended suddenly stopped midair.

The middle-aged man quickly retracted his hand, picked up the newspaper again, glanced at Yu Shao, then back at the newspaper, still in disbelief. He looked again at Yu Shao, and then once more at the newspaper.

After repeating this back and forth a few times, he finally turned to Yu Shao, his tone laced with hesitation, and asked, “Yu Shao, 2-dan?”

“Hello.”

Seeing that the man had recognized him, Yu Shao nodded and returned the greeting.

“It really is you!”

The middle-aged man’s eyes went wide. Just moments ago, he’d looked like a calm and seasoned businessman, but now he was visibly excited and blurted out, “Hello, hello, hello!”

“This is such a coincidence!”

Unable to hide his excitement, he immediately picked up the newspaper and said, “I was just reading your final match in Go Daily! I can’t believe you’re sitting right next to me!”

“Thanks for the support.”

Yu Shao smiled as he responded.

“It was incredible! That game was really... Even though I watched the live stream, reading it again in Go Daily still has me worked up!”

The middle-aged man struggled to express his emotions. “In the previous rounds, you and Su Yiming, 2-dan, eliminated Qin Lang and Che Wenyu—who are at their peak! That alone was legendary!”

“And in the finals, the two of you played the Three-Star Formation, creating a game where both dragons died—a jaw-dropping, world-stunning kill fight!”

He was so overwhelmed, he started rambling. “That game... it was soaked in killing intent. Just like the headline said—‘Both dragons slain, the board soaked in heroes’ blood!’”

Hearing that, Yu Shao was a bit surprised. He glanced at the copy of Go Daily in the man’s hand and immediately saw the eye-catching bold headline—

[The Killing Game of the Three-Star Formation: Both Dragons Slain, the Board Soaked in Heroes’ Blood!]

“If it’s not too much trouble... could I get an autograph?” The man looked at Yu Shao and asked.

“Of course, no problem.”

Yu Shao smiled awkwardly. “But I don’t have a pen or paper.”

“No worries, I do!”

Eyes lighting up, the man eagerly opened his briefcase, pulled out a pen and paper, and handed them to Yu Shao. “After seeing that game, I’m filled with confidence about the upcoming Pro Qualifier!”

Yu Shao took the pen and quickly signed his name, smiling as he said, “Thanks. I’ll do my best.”

The man happily took the signed paper, gave it a look, and carefully tucked it into his briefcase. Then he asked, “Yu Shao, 2-dan, do you have a girlfriend?”

The question caught Yu Shao off guard. He quickly shook his head. “No.”

“No?”

The man paused for a second, then quickly said, “My daughter also loves Go. She’s about your age, very pretty, also seventeen. What do you say—want to get to know her?”

“She’s not even an adult yet.”

Yu Shao was half-laughing, half-helpless. Usually, it’s dads who won’t let their daughters date. Who goes around trying to set up their underage daughter?

“Come on, what era are we in? Seventeen or eighteen, high school students dating is totally normal now. She’s about to be an adult anyway. If she’s going to fall in love early, better with a genius like you, right?”

The man chuckled, shook his head, and opened his photo album on his phone. “Here, take a look at her photos. Even just being friends would be great.”

Seeing the man was so enthusiastic, Yu Shao couldn’t exactly say no. Reluctantly, he looked at the phone.

And when he saw the girl’s photo, he was genuinely taken aback.

The man wasn’t exaggerating. The girl in the photo looked sweet and elegant, with bright eyes, rosy lips, and a refined air. She had that scholarly vibe—definitely a well-bred young lady.

In terms of looks, she was just a notch below Wu Zhixuan and Xu Zijin. If she went to Jiangling High School, Zhou De would probably be lurking on her QQ Space every day, sending mass greetings just to get a reply.

“What do you think?”

The man looked at Yu Shao with a grin. “She’s a second-year at South China Third High. Want her WeChat ID?”

South China Third High?

Hearing that name, Yu Shao was surprised. His memory immediately flashed back to the High School Go League. Back then, two of South China Third High’s players were former dojo trainees.

“Sure, I guess. We’re the same age—probably have stuff to talk about.” The man smiled.

Yu Shao finally nodded, pulled out his phone, and said, “Alright.”

The man beamed with delight, quickly took Yu Shao’s phone, typed his daughter’s WeChat ID into the notes, then handed the phone back.

“Yu Shao, 2-dan, you’re self-taught, right? A true prodigy...” the man continued.

Since flights were boring anyway, Yu Shao just made small talk with him. Mostly the man asked questions, and Yu Shao answered casually.

Not long after, a young man around twenty-seven or twenty-eight in a suit walked past their seats, apparently headed for the restroom.

When he saw the middle-aged man sitting next to Yu Shao, the young man paused in surprise, then immediately stopped. “President Liu?”

Hearing someone call out, Liu Zhen’nan paused mid-sentence and looked up curiously at the young man. He didn’t recognize him and asked, “And you are?”

“I’m Wang Rui from Summit Pharmaceuticals. Don’t you remember? We met last year at the Pharmaceutical Industry Future Development Summit.”

Wang Rui was all smiles as he pulled out a business card from his pocket and handed it to the man. “What a coincidence, President Liu—here’s my card.”

“Wang Rui?”

Liu Zhen’nan took the business card, glanced at it, and smiled. “Ah, now I remember. You’re one of Jiangling’s Top Ten Outstanding Young Entrepreneurs, right? Talented at a young age.”

“Not at all, I just caught the right wave.”

Wang Rui seemed like he wanted to keep chatting with Liu Zhen’nan, but after a few lines, he realized Liu didn’t seem very interested, so he tactfully excused himself.

After the young man left, Yu Shao looked at Liu Zhen’nan with some surprise and asked, “And you are?”

“My name is Liu Zhen’nan. Just a businessman, nothing worth mentioning.” Liu Zhen’nan smiled and replied.

“You really don’t seem like a ‘nothing worth mentioning’ type.” Yu Shao said with a chuckle.

“No matter how much wealth you have, it all turns to nothing in the end. You can’t take it with you.”

Liu Zhen’nan shook his head, his gaze returning to the newspaper in his hand. With a touch of emotion, he said, “But a legendary game can be passed down forever. The sound of the stones hitting the board can echo through the ages. It’s… truly awe-inspiring.”

“Every time I see a masterful, brilliant game—see that spark of insight as the stone falls, the clash of black and white across the board, the unwavering passion of the Go players—I feel so small by comparison.”

“The wonders of the grid, the yin and yang in harmony… Before a game that seeks the Way, even all the wealth in the world isn’t worth mentioning.”

Liu Zhen’nan smiled again and continued, “There’s an old tale of a woodcutter who watched a game of Go so intently that the handle of his axe rotted and the world changed. I think that woodcutter probably wasn’t unaware of how quickly time was passing.”

Liu Zhen’nan looked out the window, paused for a moment, then added, “He just felt that, compared to that game, everything else in the world no longer mattered.”

After hearing all that, Yu Shao couldn’t help but smile. “You’re a Go lover too, huh?”

“More than just me—there are so, so many people in this world who love Go. I’m just one insignificant fan.”

Liu Zhen’nan laughed. “I hope you’ll keep bringing brilliant games to the world on this 19x19 board. We’re all counting on you for the upcoming Pro Qualifier.”

Yu Shao and Liu Zhen’nan kept chatting like that until the plane landed, and then finally wrapped up their conversation and stood up.

“By the way, my daughter’s name is Liu Peiran.”

As they were parting ways, Liu Zhen’nan smiled, clearly reminding Yu Shao not to forget to add her on WeChat.

“Alright.”

Hearing that, Yu Shao chuckled softly, nodded, then said goodbye to Liu Zhen’nan and exited the plane.

After leaving the airport, Yu Shao called a taxi and headed home.

Before long, the taxi stopped at the entrance of his residential complex. Yu Shao paid the fare, got out, walked into the complex, and finally returned to his home.

At the moment, the living room was empty—clearly, Yu Dongming and Cai Xiaomei were still busy at the hotpot restaurant. Yu Shao went straight into the bedroom, flopped onto the bed, and let out a long exhale.

The Hero’s Pride Cup was finally over. Yu Shao planned to take a half-month break. During this time, there was only one National Master Battle scheduled.

After that would be the upcoming Pro Qualifier.

The Go Academy had actually hosted another tournament recently, called the Zongheng Cup—a blitz Go competition currently in the preliminary round. But because it clashed with the Pro Qualifier schedule, Yu Shao didn’t sign up.

Even if there hadn’t been a conflict, Yu Shao likely wouldn’t have joined this event. The Go Academy had no shortage of tournaments, and there would definitely be more coming up soon. Plus, the Hero’s Pride Cup had just ended—he needed time to rest.

After lying on the bed and resting for a bit, Yu Shao finally took out his phone and added Liu Zhen’nan’s daughter on WeChat.

As soon as he added her, before he could even put the phone down, it buzzed. The friend request had already been accepted, and right after that came a new message.

【Ranran: Hi there.】

Yu Shao didn’t expect her to accept so quickly. He immediately typed back: “Hey, your dad introduced me.”

“I know, my dad told me. I was waiting for you to add me~”

This girl, Liu Peiran, replied quickly: “I’ve known about you even before you became a pro!”

Yu Shao typed: “High School Go League?”

“Yup. I actually almost participated too—just barely missed it because I lost to Fan Chunzhu.” Liu Peiran replied.

Yu Shao instantly remembered the short-haired girl Zhong Yufei had faced during the High School Go League. That was probably the Fan Chunzhu Liu Peiran was talking about. He typed back: “No worries, that’s still really impressive.”

“I’m terrible, nowhere near as good as you…”

Yu Shao had thought the conversation would be a bit awkward, but Liu Peiran kept bringing up different topics. After chatting for a bit, it surprisingly didn’t feel awkward at all.

After a few more exchanges, Liu Peiran suddenly asked, “There’s still over half a month before the Pro Qualifier. It’s a good time to relax so you can perform better! The day after tomorrow is the weekend—are you free? Want to hang out?”

Yu Shao was slightly caught off guard. He thought for a moment and typed back: “How about the day after tomorrow?”

He had already promised Xu Zijin to go over the final game with her tomorrow.