I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 84: The Final Endgame

In the corridor, Coach Jin stood alone, gazing blankly at the twilight sky.

“Want a smoke?”

A voice broke the silence beside him, followed by the sound of cellophane being torn from a cigarette pack.

Without turning his head, Coach Jin immediately refused, “Forget it. If the students see me smoking when they get back, it wouldn’t look good.”

He Yu chuckled, slid a cigarette between his fingers, and placed it in his mouth. While pulling out a lighter, he quipped, “You’re really acting like a teacher now.”

“I’m not much of a teacher,” Coach Jin replied, shaking his head.

Hearing this, He Yu fell silent for a moment.

After lighting his cigarette and taking a puff, He Yu asked, “Are you mad at me for speaking out?”

“No. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I’m grateful you said something,” Coach Jin replied, shaking his head. “The fault was mine. I knew that in team competitions, a draw is followed by each side designating a player for a tiebreaker.”

He smirked self-deprecatingly. “And this is just a trivial high school Go league. How embarrassing.”

“You’re projecting yourself onto it,” He Yu remarked with a grin. “You were once seen as talented, only to enter a dojo and find yourself stuck at the bottom of the rankings. You quit after just six months. Seeing Guangzhou Affiliated High, which had been underdogs for years, now have a chance at the championship—you naturally want them to win. It has nothing to do with the scale of this match.”

“D*** it, do you have to dig up my past like that?” Coach Jin shot him a glare. “And why aren’t you eating dinner?”

“Dinner? Skipping it is no big deal. Call it dieting. You didn’t eat either, did you?” He Yu replied with a smile. “Besides, my suggestion wasn’t just about following the team rules. More importantly…”

He exhaled a puff of smoke and continued, “I want to see them face each other.”

Coach Jin froze, caught off guard.

“I still find it hard to believe,” He Yu said, gazing at the sunset on the horizon. “Two high school students, neither of whom trained in a dojo, possessing such incredible skill.”

“Even among dojo trainees aiming for pro qualifications, most fifteen- or sixteen-year-olds are still just trying to break through. The exceptional ones may have already turned professional, but they still show their youth.”

“If these two had come from a dojo, I’d already find it hard to believe. But they didn’t.”

“Don’t you want to see them play?”

Coach Jin was silent for a moment before asking, “Who do you think will win?”

“I don’t know,” He Yu admitted after a deep drag from his cigarette. “Their level is far above everyone else’s, so they win against others with ease.”

“I can’t precisely judge their relative strengths from their games so far.”

“That’s why I want to know!” He Yu said, eyes alight with curiosity.

“I’m genuinely eager to see… what kind of game they’ll deliver.”

As a long-distance runner, Zhou De’s speed was unquestionable. While it usually took at least seven minutes to run to the convenience store and back, he completed the trip—including shopping—in just over six minutes. When he returned to the venue, he was holding a large bag of food.

“Here,” Zhou De said, panting as he handed over bread, a Snickers bar, and a bottle of milk to Yu Shao. “Old Yu, if you lose, you’d better make this worth it!”

“Thanks,” Yu Shao replied, taking the bread. He tore open the package and began eating.

Zhou De handed out the remaining bread and milk to Xu Zijin, Chen Jiaming, and Zhong Yufei. Then, as if remembering something, he added, “Old Yu, I used my own money to buy that Snickers bar. If you lose, you owe me the cost!”

Yu Shao gave him an exasperated look. “If I lose, I’ll pay you double. Happy?”

“Wow, confident, aren’t you?” Zhou De chuckled. “Now I don’t know whether to root for you to win or lose.”

Ignoring him, Yu Shao quickly finished his bread and started on the milk.

As a growing teenager, he was indeed hungry.

Time passed quickly, and soon everyone had returned to the venue. By 7:10 p.m., the crowd had reassembled, with no one leaving despite the earlier break.

All eyes were on the final match.

The venue, initially bustling, grew quieter as the start of the game approached. A heavy, tense atmosphere filled the air, like the calm before a storm.

The day’s events felt unusually long—a mix of joy, sorrow, sweat, and tears.

And now, everything would conclude with this last game.

If today were a single Go game, this was the final endgame.

Finally, after the 20-minute break, the referee stood up, glanced at his watch, and announced, “Time’s up. Both players, please take your seats.”

At the sound of his voice, Yu Shao and Su Yiming rose simultaneously, walking toward the single table in the center of the venue. They pulled out their chairs and sat opposite each other.

At the same time, the audience crowded around, encircling the table completely.

“This is a blitz game,” the referee emphasized. “Each player has 30 minutes. There is no overtime; exceeding the time limit results in an automatic loss. Please manage your time carefully.”

Taking a deep breath, the referee continued, feeling an inexplicable weight settle on his shoulders as the two players sat down.

“We will now determine the order of play by guessing stones.”

Su Yiming opened his Go bowl, reached in, and grabbed a handful of white stones. Across the table, Yu Shao did the same with black stones.

Su Yiming released his grip, letting the white stones drop onto the board with a crisp sound.

“Two, four, six… seven.”

He looked up and announced, “Odd.”

Yu Shao nodded slightly and opened his hand to reveal a single black stone.

He had guessed correctly.

This meant Yu Shao would play Black, taking the first move, while Su Yiming would play White.

“Please guide me,” Su Yiming said softly, placing the white stones back into his bowl and bowing slightly.

Yu Shao returned the gesture. “Please guide me.”