The Master’s Mask Unveiled Again
Chapter 860 - 859 She actually understands Go?

Chapter 860: Chapter 859 She actually understands Go?

Lu Mian took a taxi over and upon seeing Su Luo, the two of them didn’t act very warmly towards each other, merely exchanging simple greetings.

Although there had been some friction with Su Luo before, Lu Mian later came to realize that she was actually a pretty lovable girl. Additionally, given the relationship with Su Luo’s grandfather, Lu Mian gradually included Su Luo in her circle.

"My brother told me a lot about your legendary incidents," Su Luo said as she walked with Lu Mian towards the Go Institute.

Lu Mian listened to Su Luo’s words while taking in the surroundings of the Go Institute.

"Is the Calligraphy and Painting Association nearby?" Lu Mian asked.

"Have you been to the Calligraphy and Painting Association?"

"Yeah, I’ve been there once." Lu Mian had a vivid memory of the occasion; she had confessed to Director Qi right in front of the Calligraphy and Painting Association.

That was probably the only time she was sober after drinking.

"The Calligraphy and Painting Association and the Go Association are both around here; sometimes we go to the Calligraphy and Painting Association to check out exhibitions and such."

Lu Mian nodded.

Su Luo took Lu Mian around the Go Institute and visited several game rooms.

When Lu Mian was about to go deeper inside, Su Luo pulled her back, "Lu Mian, you can’t go any further, I’m a ’Xuan’ level student; we’re not allowed over there."

Lu Mian frowned and glanced at the courtyards marked with plaques like "Heaven" and "Earth," before letting out a scoff that was both rascally and wild.

"They have a hierarchy system here?"

"That’s how it is in Jinjing," Su Luo said indifferently, having gotten used to it.

It was then that Su Luo’s friend, La Wenwen, came out with two cups of cool iced water and handed one to each, Lu Mian and Su Luo.

The three of them walked to the pavilion and sat down.

"This is La Wenwen, a classmate from my Go class."

"Lu Mian." Lu Mian nodded lightly, and after taking the iced water, she just held it in her hand without drinking.

"Luoluo, your friend is so cool. She’s beautiful and chill..." La Wenwen murmured softly before diving deeper into explanation.

"Jinjing does like to divide people into levels, a habit passed down from the ancestors. The Go Institute has always been divided into four sections: ’Heaven,’ ’Earth,’ ’Xuan,’ and ’Yellow.’ Each section has a different environment, the level of the teachers differs too. More importantly, the Go resources and ancient books available are also different," explained Wenwen, who, being a local, knew more than the others.

"And, you know..." La Wenwen pouted, indignantly speaking up for Su Luo, "Even though Luoluo’s grades should have gotten her into the ’Earth’ section, someone with the same grades used their family’s influence to edge Luoluo out. So, Luoluo ended up being placed in the ’Xuan’ section. But her skills are beyond doubt!"

Lu Mian listened casually, sitting on the stone bench in the pavilion, her gaze distant and indifferent.

Su Luo laughed it off, "It’s still an issue with my skills; if I had scored a little higher, this wouldn’t have happened."

Lu Mian appreciated Su Luo’s straightforward nature; in some ways, they were similar. She didn’t like to make excuses either and believed that one should let their abilities do the talking.

La Wenwen giggled sweetly, "Alright, I’m just venting. When I figure out a challenging endgame one day, I’ll confront them fair and square! This whole hierarchy thing is so pointless..."

Su Luo remained calm, simply consoling La Wenwen a few words.

The three sat in the pavilion, at the center of which was a granite table with a chessboard carved into it.

In a finely woven basket, the black and white Go pieces were clearly separated.

While listening to the conversation between Su Luo and La Wenwen, Lu Mian casually picked up a piece and nonchalantly placed it on the board, playing against herself.

Su Luo and La Wenwen thought she was just playing around and didn’t pay much attention.

After chatting sporadically for an hour, Lu Mian checked the time and knew it was time for her to leave.

Su Luo got up to see her off.

"Come by again when you have time! But I guess a busy person like you won’t have much to spare," Su Luo said as she tidied her ponytail, speaking with a hint of petulant pride.

"Yeah." Lu Mian, with one hand in his pocket, coolly gestured with his right hand, "Let’s go."

After seeing off Lu Mian, Su Luo returned to the pavilion and found La Wenwen standing there dumbfounded.

"What are you looking at? Let’s head back to the Go room!"

"It’s not that..." La Wenwen lifted her head in shock and horror, pointing to the Go board on the stone table, she struggled to speak: "Your, your friend actually knows how to play Go?"

Su Luo: ...

Not only did she know, but she was also very skilled.

As for how skilled, Su Luo hadn’t yet grasped.

Su Luo walked over leisurely.

La Wenwen was still mumbling to herself in a daze.

"This endgame situation, it hasn’t appeared in any textbook... It’s impossible, right? Are there famous endgame situations not even recorded by the Go Institute?" Wenwen circled the stone table several times, as a student of the ’Xuan’ class, her Go skills were naturally not bad.

Unable to spot any issues with the Go arrangement but also unable to solve it indicated that her own skills were not up to par.

Su Luo glanced down at the board a few times, her expression changing several times as well.

——

In the Beijing University Art Building’s singing practice room.

Lu Xinnuan had specially bought an expensive tie from a luxury store as a gift for Pu Jing.

She made her way to Pu Jing’s singing practice room and devoutly handed the gift over.

Pu Jing took off his headphones, glanced at the shopping bag, and showed little emotion, casually indicating to Lu Xinnuan to put the stuff aside.

"I’ve looked at the school’s admission letter, you should be receiving it soon." Pu Jing began speaking.

"Thank you, teacher."

"Have you prepared for the song selection for the August music festival? What song do you want to sing?"

Pu Jing asked casually.

"I’ve prepared." Lu Xinnuan took out a notebook from her bag, "Teacher, I’ve chosen a few currently popular songs."

Pu Jing frowned as he glanced at the song titles, unsatisfied.

"These songs have been covered too many times, encompassing various styles. Do you think you can stand out in a music circle event like the music festival? What happens if the original singer is there in the audience? Won’t you feel awkward?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xinnuan felt like her carefully selected songs were being completely rejected. After a moment, she flipped to the next page of her notebook, "Teacher, I’ve also found a song, but it doesn’t have lyrics yet, it’s just a piano piece."

"What song?"

"’The Four Seasons’." Lu Xinnuan hurriedly explained: "This piece isn’t very well-known, and there’s little information available online, you might not have heard of it. I have an audio recording that they secretly made, you can take a listen."

Lu Xinnuan thought that Pu Jing wasn’t aware of "The Four Seasons," and thus explained quite a bit.

However, in truth, as soon as Pu Jing heard the title, he knew which piece it was. He waved his hand, indicating it wasn’t necessary.

It was the piece played at Chu Kong’s apprenticeship concert earlier this year. At the time, there was even gossip about a case of impersonation, amusing many in the industry.

The reason he knew was that his cousin, Pu Huaiyin, had been at the concert.

The piece itself was not a problem and once it became popular, it was sure to be loved by many people.

"It’s fine if you want to use this piece. Find a good lyricist to write the words, and with a little adaptation, the effect should be good." Pu Jing approved of the piece, but the bigger issue was, "But can you get the authorization for this piece?"