I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 29: Why Are You Still Playing So Quickly?!

“Well, let’s cut the chatter and let me see how strong my juniors are,” Wu Shuheng said with a smile. He walked over to the first board, picked up a white stone from the Go bowl, and placed it down.

After Wu Shuheng made his move, the student sitting at the first board immediately picked up a black stone and gently placed it down in response.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Both players moved swiftly, placing seven or eight stones in under ten seconds.

It was now Black’s turn, but the student at the first board hesitated. Furrowing his brow, he stared at the board, deep in thought.

Seeing this, Wu Shuheng didn’t wait around. He moved on to the next board, placed a few stones, and waited for his opponent to start thinking before moving to the next one.

And so, after a few moments, Wu Shuheng arrived at Yu Shao’s board. Without pausing, he picked up a stone and placed it.

Row 3, Column 4—Small Point.

Yu Shao followed without hesitation, placing his move.

Row 16, Column 16—Star Point.

Wu Shuheng remained calm and moved swiftly.

Row 14, Column 17—Small Knight’s Approach.

The two continued to exchange moves in rapid succession, quickly playing more than a dozen stones, their rhythm seamless.

Click.

Click.

Click.

The sound of stones being placed echoed continuously.

However, as the game progressed, the students watching below the stage began to notice that something was off.

While the other participants started their games quickly as well, they all slowed down after a few moves, pausing to think after Wu Shuheng’s turns.

But why was this game moving so fast? Why hadn’t it slowed down at all?!

The two players continued their back-and-forth at lightning speed. The moment one side placed a stone, the other immediately responded, as though they had already predicted each other’s moves in advance.

At that moment, after Wu Shuheng placed a stone, Yu Shao followed just as quickly.

Click.

Row 14, Column 18—Seal!

Seeing Yu Shao’s move, Wu Shuheng, who was about to place his next stone, froze mid-motion. The stone he held hovered in mid-air.

“Black has chosen to seal the position, directly aiming to stabilize the shape of the lower-right corner…”

Wu Shuheng frowned slightly, lowering his head as he examined the board and began to deliberate.

“Should I block and split Black’s position, continuing the battle in the lower-right corner, or should I ignore it and shift to the right side instead?”

The students watching from below exchanged bewildered glances, utterly confused.

Wait a minute—wasn’t this supposed to be the other way around?

They had already been surprised by how quickly the two had played the first dozen or so moves. But now, why was it that the first person to stop and think deeply was Wu Shuheng?!

At that moment, the cameraman standing behind Wu Shuheng couldn’t help but whisper, “Mr. Wu, you still have several other boards to get to.”

Wu Shuheng suddenly snapped back to reality, realizing this was a simultaneous exhibition, not a one-on-one match.

With a sheepish look, Wu Shuheng glanced down at the board again. However, instead of continuing, he placed the stone back in the bowl and moved on to the next table.

A few moves later, the student at that board also paused, entering a long period of contemplation.

Meanwhile, Wu Shuheng moved to the next board, picking up and placing stones as usual.

But it was obvious to the onlookers that his mind wasn’t fully on these games. His thoughts were still lingering on Yu Shao’s board, particularly how to handle that sealing move.

When the student at this table also began to hesitate, Wu Shuheng continued forward and arrived at Xu Zijin’s board.

Instantly, the focus of the entire room shifted. All eyes were now on this game.

"He's at Xu Zijin's table now!"

"Wait, Xu Zijin knows how to play Go? I had no idea!"

The students whispered among themselves, surprised to see Xu Zijin participating in the simultaneous exhibition. None of them had expected this, not even her classmates in Class 6.

Click.

Accompanied by the crisp sound of a stone being placed, Wu Shuheng set down a white stone.

Xu Zijin lowered her gaze to the board, her delicate, fair hand reached into the bowl, and she gently placed her move on the board.

It was such an ordinary action, yet because it was Xu Zijin playing, it carried an inexplicable elegance that stunned onlookers.

"Kill me! Please kill me, goddess!"

A desperate howl suddenly erupted from some male student in the crowd.

"Aren't you a senior? You're almost nineteen and you're calling a sixteen-year-old ‘goddess’? Have some shame!"

"Her aura is too lethal—especially when she's playing Go! Damn!"

"Class 6 really is cursed. It’s either Xu Zijin or that group of hooligans!"

It was common knowledge that Class 6 consisted of just two types of people: Xu Zijin, and everyone else.

Xu Zijin and Wu Shuheng began their match, both playing at a rapid pace. Within moments, they had completed more than 20 moves.

The students below the stage were once again baffled, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.

Finally, after a few more moves, when Wu Shuheng placed a black stone, Xu Zijin didn’t immediately respond as before.

Her delicate brows furrowed slightly as she stared at the board, beginning to think deeply.

"Phew..."

Seeing this, Wu Shuheng let out a small sigh of relief and moved on to the next table.

Not long after, Wu Shuheng completed his first circuit around the ten boards and returned to the first table.

The student at the first table, after an extended period of thought, had finally made their move.

With just a quick glance at the board, Wu Shuheng picked up a stone and immediately placed it.

The student frowned and quickly followed with another move.

Within six moves, the first-table student fell into another deep thought. Seeing this, Wu Shuheng promptly moved on to the next table.

Before long, Wu Shuheng returned to Yu Shao's table.

By now, he had already figured out how to handle Black’s sealing move from earlier. Calmly, he picked up a stone and placed it.

Click.

Row 6, Column 17—Small Knight’s Approach.

Facing Black’s sealing play, Wu Shuheng opted not to engage further in the lower-right corner. Instead, he chose to tenuki (shift focus) with a small knight’s approach, deciding to wait for future developments before committing.

Yu Shao remained composed. Without hesitation, he placed his next move.

Click!

Row 3, Column 14—Small Knight.

Wu Shuheng immediately followed with another move, and once again, the two began exchanging stones in rapid succession. The crisp sounds of the stones being placed echoed continuously.

Before long, Black and White had played another ten or so moves.

The classroom was dead silent. Almost everyone wore a perplexed expression as they stared at the match displayed on the projector.

Even Wu Zhixuan, sitting in the front row, looked a bit surprised. She hadn’t expected this boy, who had jokingly asked her for a signed photo, to actually have decent Go skills.

While most of the students were simply astonished at how quickly Yu Shao was playing, Wu Zhixuan, as a professional Beginner Dan player, could see much more from the board.

Blinking her bright eyes, she thought smugly to herself, "Hmph, it must be thanks to my promise of a signed photo!"

Meanwhile, on stage...

As the game progressed, Wu Shuheng was starting to sweat.

"Does he not need to think at all?!"

Wu Shuheng found it hard to believe. As the board grew increasingly complex, even he needed to pause occasionally to think through his next move.

Yet, the junior sitting across from him was still playing rapidly, and every move was spot-on!

This was putting immense pressure on Wu Shuheng. He had to play quickly as well; otherwise, if his opponent made a move and he hesitated for too long, it would be utterly humiliating.

Finally, after another move from Wu Shuheng, Yu Shao didn’t respond immediately. He, too, appeared to be deep in thought.

"Phew—!"

Letting out a sigh of relief, Wu Shuheng wiped the sweat from his face and moved on to the next table.

Yu Shao continued to stare at the board, lost in thought.

"If I bend here, the opponent’s shape risks breaking apart. If I dive in directly, it could trigger a ko fight..."

"If I play more aggressively, I could consider extending outward and launching an attack. But jumping out might also be a good move, potentially pressuring the upper-left corner."

"Or maybe I should just tenuki and expand the battlefield instead?"

Yu Shao was genuinely stumped. There were simply too many good moves available, and each option guaranteed an advantageous position.

He didn’t even need to think too deeply about the subsequent variations—there was no need.

His advantage was so overwhelming that he didn’t know how to proceed anymore.

What now?

Help! I need advice, and it’s urgent!