I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 303: Dragon vs. Tiger

After Qin Lang finished speaking, he went silent and started eating. The barbecue at this restaurant actually tasted pretty good, but somehow, everyone ate without much enthusiasm, all seeming a bit distracted.

After lunch, the group returned to the hotel. But instead of gathering again to play or analyze games, everyone went back to their rooms, each caught up in their own thoughts.

After all, at 5 PM, the Team Tournament's opening and drawing ceremony would begin. By tomorrow morning, the competition would officially start.

Holding onto this final day wouldn’t make much of a difference. Better to rest up today and conserve energy for tomorrow’s matches.

Around 4:20 in the afternoon, while still in his hotel room, Yu Shao received a WeChat message from Ma Zhengyu, instructing all players to change into formal attire and gather in the hotel lobby.

Yu Shao quickly changed into his suit and took the elevator down to the hotel lobby.

By then, the hotel lobby was already packed. It was bustling with people, and over a dozen tables of exquisite dishes had been arranged in the grand hall. At the front of the lobby hung a banner that read: "The 42nd China-Japan-Korea Team Tournament."

“This tournament’s been going on for forty-two years already?”

Yu Shao was a bit surprised. He had known the tournament had a long history—even Zhuang Weisheng had played in it during his youth—but he didn’t realize it had been held for over four decades.

Seeing Yu Shao enter the lobby, Ma Zhengyu quickly waved to him, signaling him to come over.

Yu Shao turned toward Ma Zhengyu and saw that Qin Lang and Le Haoqiang were already standing beside him, also dressed in formal attire, looking noticeably more mature.

Su Yiming and Gu Chuan hadn't arrived yet, but oddly enough, Wu Zhixuan, Xu Zi, Zheng Qin, and others who weren’t playing had already shown up.

Yu Shao walked over to Ma Zhengyu and began waiting for the opening and drawing ceremony to start.

Since the Chinese team was the first to arrive, many others in the lobby were curiously glancing in their direction.

“That’s Yu Shao from the Chinese team, right?”

“Yeah, that’s him. I’ve only seen him in the news before. This is my first time seeing him in person.”

“He just became a professional last year, right? It’s wild that he’s already here. This year’s team tournament is going to be interesting.”

“With Yu Shao and Su Yiming, the Chinese team isn’t to be underestimated. This time, it might not just be a battle between Japan and Korea.”

Most people in the lobby were Japanese or Korean. Though they didn’t lower their voices, they were speaking in Korean, so Yu Shao couldn’t quite understand them—though he had a pretty good idea they were talking about the Chinese team.

However, Xu Zi occasionally cast guarded glances at those discussing the team.

“You understand Korean?” Yu Shao asked, a bit surprised.

Xu Zijin gave a slight nod. “Learned it when I was a kid.”

Before long, Su Yiming and Gu Chuan arrived and quickly joined Ma Zhengyu.

“****

"***.....”

Now that the entire Chinese team had assembled, the chatter from others in the side halls quieted. But besides Su Yiming and Fang Haoxin, the others couldn’t understand what was being said.

Judging from Su Yiming and Fang Haoxin’s expressions, though, it seemed like not all of it was criticism.

“The Korea team is here.”

A moment later, Ma Zhengyu looked toward the entrance and spoke in a low voice.

Hearing this, everyone turned to look toward the entrance—Yu Shao included.

At the hotel’s main doors stood a man in his thirties, broad-shouldered and solidly built, leading a group of five: four men and one woman.

Yu Shao focused on one of the slimmer young men in a sharp black suit, gold-rimmed glasses, and short hair that left his forehead exposed. His gaze was piercing.

Sensing someone looking at him, the young man returned Yu Shao’s gaze. Their eyes met in the air with a silent clash.

Recognizing him as Yu Shao, the young man's expression became noticeably more serious before he finally looked away and followed his team leader to stand by another dining table.

“Lee Junhyuk...”

Yu Shao had seen Lee Junhyuk's game records and news before, so he had no trouble recognizing the Korea team’s main player—the man with the glasses.

Soon, Yu Shao turned his gaze toward the only woman among the five.

Of the fifteen players competing in this year's China-Japan-Korea Team Tournament, she was the only female player: Korea’s fourth player, Bae Yuyeon, 6-dan.

Yu Shao's eyes showed a flicker of intrigue when he saw her.

She looked to be about 1.7 meters tall, with shoulder-length wavy hair, pale skin, red lips, white teeth, and extremely delicate features—natural beauty, not the kind altered by cosmetic surgery.

In terms of looks, she could even be compared to Xu Zi. As Zhou De would say: she’s ridiculously good-looking.

At that moment, Bae Yuyeon was also curiously observing Yu Shao. When she saw him looking back, she gave him a polite nod.

Yu Shao blinked, then nodded slightly in return.

At that moment, the Korean team leader walked over to the Chinese team and soon stopped in front of Ma Zhengyu, greeting him in broken Chinese with a smile: “Long time no see, Mr. Ma Zhengyu.”

“Mm.”

Ma Zhengyu clearly wasn’t fond of the Korean leader. His response was curt and indifferent: “Long time no see, Mr. Shin Seunghyun.”

Shin Seunghyun didn’t seem bothered. His gaze drifted to Yu Shao and then to Su Yiming. He smiled and said, “I thought it’d just be us and Japan fighting for first again this year. Didn’t expect China to be a real threat now. But...”

He paused and added, “Mr. Ma, I suppose we’ll be taking the championship again this year?”

“Talk is cheap. Let’s see what happens on the board,” Ma Zhengyu said coldly.

Shin Seunghyun smiled faintly at the reply, said nothing more, and turned back to his team’s table.

Once he left, Ma Zhengyu’s expression darkened noticeably.

“Mr. Ma, do you two have bad blood?” Gu Chuan couldn’t help asking.

“Bad blood’s putting it lightly.”

Ma Zhengyu looked visibly irritated but didn’t go into detail, and Gu Chuan sensibly dropped the question.

Not long after, a man in his forties with a full head of hair entered the lobby, leading five young players. Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn.

Seeing them, Lee Junhyuk muttered, “Japan’s here too.”

Gu Chuan hadn’t seen Higashiyama Kaoru and the others since last time. Now, he gave them only a cursory glance before looking away.

On the other side, seeing the Japanese team arrive, the Korean players visibly tensed—especially Lee Junhyuk, who stared hard at Higashiyama Kaoru, his fists clenching subconsciously.

Bae Yuyeon also stared at the Japanese fourth player, pressing her lips together.

Last year, they had lost two games to Japan—Lee Junhyuk had lost to Higashiyama Kaoru, and Bae Yuyeon had lost to Yamada Go, Japan’s fourth.

As for the Japanese team, aside from Higashiyama Kaoru, the other four also turned serious upon seeing the Koreans. The atmosphere between the two sides was already tense just moments after entering.

“Seems Japan isn’t over last year’s loss to Korea. They’re out for revenge this year!”

A British journalist glanced between the Japanese and Korean teams, then turned to the Chinese team. With excitement, he said to the cameraman beside him, “Now that China has Yu and Su, this year’s team tournament is going to be something special!”

“Will Japan get their revenge? Can Korea defend their title? Will China reclaim their honor? What kind of matches will we see?”

“This is going to be a real dragon vs. tiger battle—even the most seasoned professionals will be watching this one just for the show!”

The cameraman nodded, a bit emotional. “Mike, I’ve got a strong feeling this year’s tournament is going to be more exciting than we ever imagined.”

Once all three teams had arrived, a male and female host took the stage with microphones to give opening remarks.

Since this year’s tournament was being hosted in Korea (it rotates between the three countries), both hosts were Korean and spoke in Korean.

They went on for quite a while, but Yu Shao and the rest couldn’t understand a word. It was clear the Japanese team was in the same boat.

After a while, Fang Haoxin finally said, “It’s time. All three teams go up. Each team’s main player will draw lots, then the team leaders and mains will give speeches.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

Hearing that, Ma Zhengyu nodded and led the Chinese team up the stage. The Korean and Japanese teams moved almost simultaneously.

Soon, all three teams stood on stage. Reporters raised their DSLR cameras, pointing them at the players, and flashes began going off.

After the hosts said a few more words, the drawing began.

Since there were only three teams, there were three lots labeled A, B, and C.

Teams A and B would play tomorrow. The next day, B would play C. On the final day, C would play A. Three rounds total to determine the champion.

Lee Junhyuk stepped forward, reached into the drawing box, and pulled out a ball labeled B.

Yu Shao followed, drew a ball from the box—it read C.

That left only one ball, which Higashiyama Kaoru went up to retrieve. As expected, it was A.

“Alright, here’s the match schedule for the next few days,” the host announced. “Tomorrow: Japan vs. Korea. The day after: Korea vs. China. On the third day: China vs. Japan!”

The host took a deep breath and said, “Now, let’s give a warm round of applause as we welcome representatives from China, Japan, and Korea to give their opening speeches!”