The Master’s Mask Unveiled Again
Chapter 876 - 875: It’s Just Standard Procedure

Chapter 876: Chapter 875: It’s Just Standard Procedure

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A winning chess game?

La Wenwen’s voice clearly reached the ears of the people in the gazebo below.

Not only did Zhuge Heng’s face look baffled, but everyone else also raised their heads, puzzled.

"What do you mean, winning? Are you talking about this endgame?" someone asked curiously.

Zhuge Lin immediately and decisively shook her head, saying, "Impossible! Everyone knows how difficult this chess game is. My uncle couldn’t reverse it with the black pieces, who else could be this skilled? Yutian’s draw was already the best result!"

"That’s true!"

"Is there anyone else up in the pavilion? Isn’t it just Su Luo and La Wenwen? They’re probably just putting on a show..."

"Obviously! They’re just jealous of Miss Yutian’s draw!"

Lu Yutian responded with a faint smile.

If it were any other chess game, she wouldn’t have cared, but regarding this endgame, she truly didn’t believe anyone could make the black pieces win. The old master had played against so many people, and only one person had achieved this. He certainly wouldn’t just be making things up, right?

She shook her head, feeling it was unnecessary for others to compete over such trivial matters.

Zhuge Heng looked up at La Wenwen, displeased by her loud exclamations and even more annoyed by this student’s nonsense.

There were three people upstairs: Old Xiao, Master Mo, and Master Mo’s girlfriend.

Old Xiao had just gone up, so it couldn’t be him. As for Master Mo’s girlfriend, Lu Mian, she had merely arranged the chess pieces for the endgame. If she had the ability to play a winning game, wouldn’t she have flaunted it ages ago?

"This student of yours is utterly ridiculous!" Zhuge Heng snapped.

La Wenwen protested, "Dean, I am not jesting. You’ll know once you come up and see for yourself!"

"...You’re still being stubborn! Wait right there; I’m coming up now!"

Zhuge Heng snapped a photo of the drawn game and hurriedly stormed up to the pavilion.

Zhuge Lin looped her arm around Lu Yutian’s elbow. "Yutian, I wanted to show you around the chess academy, but instead, you got to witness this commotion."

"It’s alright." Lu Yutian smiled. "Actually, I’d like to go up and take a look too."

"Alright then, let’s go together."

Zhuge Lin, eager to see Su Luo embarrassed, immediately beckoned a group of students to follow Zhuge Heng up to the pavilion.

Up in the pavilion.

Lu Mian lazily stood up. Noticing a crowd storming up from below, she rubbed her temples in mild frustration.

"Mianmian, what’s wrong?" Xiao Jianli asked with concern.

Xiao Qimo took his girlfriend’s hand and said, "She finds them bothersome."

"..." La Wenwen felt guilty. "Ah, Lu Mian, I’m so sorry. I just got too excited... They were mocking Luoluo and you earlier, and I couldn’t keep my mouth shut..."

"It’s fine."

Lu Mian nonchalantly lifted her eyelids. "Grandpa Xiao, I’m heading downstairs for a bit."

"Alright." Xiao Jianli promptly gestured for his grandson to follow her. "Qimo, look after Mianmian. I’ll come down shortly."

Su Luo glanced up from the chessboard and watched Lu Mian and Xiao Qimo leave hand in hand. She chuckled softly.

If it were anyone else, they would’ve eagerly announced this moment to the world. But only Lu Mian would choose to walk away so decisively...

Zhuge Heng and his group soon reached the pavilion.

With Xiao Jianli present, Zhuge Heng couldn’t directly scold the students, so he softened his tone considerably.

"La Wenwen, where’s this chess game you were talking about?"

La Wenwen pointed. "Over there!"

Following her gesture, Zhuge Heng looked over and saw that the once static endgame chessboard now displayed a completely rearranged position.

He froze, his gaze fixated for a moment. The draw position photo in his pocket suddenly seemed unremarkable.

The chessboard before him showed the black pieces dominating the field, pushing the white pieces into a corner with nowhere left to retreat.

In this configuration, the black pieces were guaranteed to win.

Zhuge Heng was dumbfounded.

It really was a win...

Zhuge Lin, initially intent on ridiculing Su Luo, found herself speechless upon seeing the chessboard. She stared at the game, unable to utter a word.

The students behind her craned their necks and stood on tiptoe, gasping in awe as they examined the chess game.

"Whoa! The black pieces really beat the white pieces!"

"How was this even played out? I can’t figure it out at all!"

"Well, of course you can’t! If you could deduce it, wouldn’t you already know how to play it?"

Lu Yutian, who had initially maintained a calm expression, couldn’t hide a hint of unease upon seeing the chessboard. If one looked closely, they could discern the shock and disbelief in her eyes.

How was this possible?

Wasn’t it said that only one person had accomplished this before?

How could some seemingly random individual suddenly win?

"Old Xiao, w-what’s going on here?" Zhuge Heng stammered, directing his question to Xiao Jianli.

Xiao Jianli remained calm and composed, stroking his beard as he replied with a faint smile, "Oh, I thought it was supposed to be difficult. Look, my Mianmian managed just fine, didn’t she?"

"..." Zhuge Heng choked on his words.

Everyone around them was perplexed.

La Wenwen clung to Su Luo’s arm. "Mianmian is Luoluo’s friend, you know! She’s the one who set up the endgame!"

This time, Su Luo didn’t remain silent and proudly raised her chin, glancing at Zhuge Lin and Lu Yutian.

"Who said my friend can only arrange chess pieces?" she chuckled lightly, "A draw is nothing special. If you’ve got the skills, make the black pieces win!"

Su Luo’s remarks directly slapped Zhuge Lin’s face.

And naturally, they also slapped Lu Yutian’s.

The moment that was supposed to shine on Lu Yutian was now overshadowed by this unexpected win, leaving her awkward and somewhat ridiculous.

Lu Yutian simply couldn’t understand—how could someone have actually won with the black pieces?

Who was this Lu Mian?

Nonetheless, as a refined young lady of high society with proper etiquette, Lu Yutian maintained an impeccable posture and demeanor.

"There’s always someone better; there are always new heights to reach. Witnessing such an excellent game is truly my privilege."

"Yutian..." Zhuge Lin muttered, clearly feeling indignant on Lu Yutian’s behalf. Despite being a talented, brilliant prodigy, she had to endure this humiliation today.

Lu Yutian gently shook her head, signaling that she was fine.

Su Luo smirked slightly, her gaze lingering on Lu Yutian as she discerned a trace of falseness in her eyes.

While the Su Family couldn’t compare to the major families of Jinjing, Su Luo had traveled far and wide for competitions since she was young. Next to her elder brother, Su Jue, her ability to read people was slightly better.

Judging by the performance of this Miss Lu Yutian before her, Su Luo didn’t see humility—she saw pretentiousness.

"Indeed, there’s always someone better," Su Luo remarked with a faint smile. "The greatest masters tend to be the most understated."

Lu Yutian’s lips twitched slightly, barely holding up her composed facade.

Zhuge Heng obviously heard Su Luo’s comments, and he too felt those words sting firsthand.

A seemingly insignificant figure had unexpectedly revealed astonishing talents through this chess game.

He had never once heard of Lu Mian’s name in any chess tournament nor knew of her reputation within the chess circle. His earlier disregard now felt particularly humiliating.

Unable to fully analyze how this game led to a win, Zhuge Heng decided to snap a photo and send it to the chess circle’s old master, Master Jing.

He didn’t trust Lu Mian’s abilities; he only trusted Master Jing’s wisdom.

Xiao Jianli patted the visibly embarrassed Zhuge Heng on the shoulder. "Dean Zhuge, sorry to have disrupted your day. I was hoping you could mentor my Mianmian, but now it seems she doesn’t need one. My oversight—haha."

With a jovial and proud laugh, the elder relished the chance to show off his granddaughter-in-law.

"I should be the one learning from Miss Lu," Zhuge Heng replied awkwardly.

"Haha, no need for that. She’s busy and likely doesn’t have time to teach you," Xiao Jianli replied with blunt honesty.

Their Mianmian was smart, cooked well, looked beautiful, had high intelligence, played chess expertly, knew calligraphy...

Her talents were endless—he couldn’t even list them all on his fingers.

"Alright, the kids are still waiting downstairs; I’ll be off first," Xiao Jianli said with a smile, bidding farewell before proudly addressing Su Luo. "You two young ladies, find some time to hang out with Mianmian in the future!"

"Sure, safe travels!" Su Luo politely responded.

Zhuge Heng respectfully escorted Xiao Jianli downstairs, while the other students gathered around the chessboard, buzzing with lively discussions.

From that moment onward, their perception of Su Luo shifted significantly.

"Su Luo, your friend is so good at chess. Why doesn’t she come to the academy? She’d surely win every competition."

"Yeah! She might even become the next master of the chess world!"

Su Luo waved them off. "She’s not interested in that."

"Huh? Who wouldn’t want to win first place and grab awards? You should persuade her; it’d be a shame to waste such talent!"

Zhuge Lin, both furious and envious, shouted indignantly.

"Alright already, don’t act like you’ve never seen anything impressive before! Maybe the game wasn’t even hers—it could’ve been something she copied!"

Lu Yutian sighed, suddenly feeling relieved.

Yes, perhaps that’s what happened. If she truly had such abilities, wouldn’t she already be competing internationally?

Flipping her ponytail, Su Luo ignored Zhuge Lin and left. La Wenwen promptly followed her downstairs.

"Luoluo, is Lu Mian really not planning to join the chess academy? The opportunities here are great..."

"..." Su Luo turned her head slightly to glance at her. "We see it as a great opportunity, but to her... it’s just another ordinary day."

"Huh?" La Wenwen was puzzled.

Knowing La Wenwen hadn’t experienced Lu Mian’s moments of brilliance, Su Luo remained unperturbed. "You’ll understand in time."

With Lu Mian in Jinjing, things were bound to get very lively.

Perhaps that girl might go on to change many things...

La Wenwen felt a hint of regret but couldn’t help admiring Lu Mian. With a dreamy gaze, she said, "I truly think your friend Lu Mian is a treasure of a girl, destined to bring good fortune."

"Hmm?"

"For example, today—she beautifully defeated Lu Yutian, frustrating Zhuge Lin to no end. And then there’s me—even before this, when my brother and I ran into her on the street, my brother suddenly seemed ’buffed,’ like leveling up overnight. A guy singing on street corners suddenly caught the attention of multiple master-level figures!"

La Wenwen mused, "Don’t you think she brings people luck?"

Su Luo rolled her eyes. "Oh, please! She’s not that lucky..."

After pausing briefly, Su Luo lifted her eyes and stared at the blazing sky. The sun shone harshly, yet she felt a chill inside.

"If she were that lucky, she wouldn’t be so unlucky herself..."

La Wenwen didn’t quite understand Su Luo’s sudden melancholia but still believed Lu Mian had a certain magic about her—every time she encountered her, good things just seemed to happen.

——

Lu Mian and Xiao Qimo strolled leisurely around the chess academy and soon came upon an artificial lake.

The girl’s gaze wandered over to a spot where someone was fishing under the blazing sun.

Xiao Qimo reached over to shield her from the sun while observing her expression. Seeing her lost in thought, he guessed she must be missing her mentor.

She had mentioned before that her mentor loved fishing.

"Mianmian, when is your mentor returning home?" he asked.

"Dunno."

"...Alright, I’ll wait then." Xiao Qimo sighed slightly, keeping one hand over her to block the sun while using the other to call Mo Si.

"Find out where to buy the best fishing rods in the world," he instructed.

Mo Si sounded curious, "Master, are you planning to fish?"

"Don’t ask questions. Just do it," Xiao Qimo replied coldly as he hung up abruptly.

Lu Mian suddenly chuckled, her bright eyes sparkling like stars. "What, trying to butter up my mentor?"

"Your mentor is my mentor, so buttering up is only appropriate," Xiao Qimo said matter-of-factly.

Of course, he wouldn’t let his path to obtaining their marriage certificate falter due to her mentor.

"By the way, Director Qimo," Lu Mian said suddenly, "Is there any particular gift you’d like?"

His birthday was coming up next month.

Previously, Qimo had given her a Mo Particle ring he had personally developed as her birthday gift. She hadn’t understood its immense value at the time, but now that she knew its significance, she felt his sentiment was incredibly heartfelt.

Xiao Qimo’s eyes softened with a smile, and he leaned slightly closer, his handsome face almost brushing hers.

He rested his forehead against hers, his charming voice delivering a single word.

"You." That was his wish.

"Ahem." Lu Mian seemed to pick up on his implication and coughed lightly, somewhat flustered. "Something material."

The refined man paused and touched his nose to hers.

Whether it was the blazing heat or the sizzling chemistry between them, both their noses glistened with tiny beads of sweat.

"A marriage certificate," Xiao Qimo declared resolutely.

Lu Mian: ...

The girl ground her teeth. "I’ll try!"

"Alright."

——

After talking with Lu Mian, Shen Yixin volunteered to act as a liaison between Lu Mian and La Ge.

Over time, Shen Yixin had come to understand that Lu Mian had a low-energy personality and avoided hassles, so she proactively took charge of helping manage matters related to the song’s licensing.

She had also taken note of La Ge’s unique vocal tone and good character and decided to go the extra mile for both talents.

Just as La Wenwen had mentioned, Shen Yixin went straight to industry-leading lyricists and musicians to collaborate on the composition of lyrics and music for La Ge.

She didn’t want Lu Mian’s great song to be wasted or miss out on La Ge’s outstanding voice.

She was convinced that if this piece were to be released, it would undoubtedly become a hit.

One day, after a trial recording, La Ge summoned the courage to approach Shen Yixin.

"Miss Shen, could I have Miss Lu’s phone number? I want to thank her personally," La Ge said hesitantly. He was shy and not very talkative, even displaying hints of social anxiety.

"You want to contact her?" Shen Yixin asked.

"Yes. I want to sing the newly composed version for her and hopefully get her feedback."

Shen Yixin was direct, handing over Lu Mian’s phone number readily.

"Oh, and one more thing," Shen Yixin reminded him. "Lu Mian might seem a bit aloof, but she’s incredibly kind. Don’t be nervous."

With the number in hand, La Ge spent time crafting sentences and rehearsing them internally before finally summoning the courage to dial.

Through the receiver, a cool, slightly detached voice greeted him.

"Hello?"

La Ge swallowed a gulp of air nervously. "H-Hello, Miss Lu. This is La Ge... I, I wanted to..."

"Oh, it’s you. Sing the revised song for me now."

"..."

Before he could exchange pleasantries, she had already cut straight to the point without a hint of formalities or small talk.

This straightforwardness was a relief for socially awkward La Ge, making him let out a long sigh of relief. The scripts he’d prepared were rendered useless as he quickly nodded, "Alright."

Through the phone, he sang the revamped version of "The Four Seasons" in acapella.

After finishing, Lu Mian fell silent for several seconds before speaking.

"The integration of the lyrics and melody is decent, but the chorus lacks impact. Send me the modified sheet music; I’ll rework it."

La Ge: ??

Miss Lu was going to personally help refine the song?

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