On May 1st, Chi Wan took a rare day off. The work schedule at her lab was irregular; working on weekends was a common occurrence. However, after a project concluded, they would be given a long vacation to compensate for all the overtime.
There wasn’t much going on this May Day holiday, and she wasn’t one to go out often. When she informed her professor that she was traveling out of the city, the professor was stunned.
Professor Wu Hongxu looked at her favorite student, and amidst her surprise, she couldn’t help but ask, “You’re not going to Mount Tai, are you?”
Chi Wan was speechless.
It seemed what she had done at Mount Tai still left a lingering fear in her professor, who was worried she might try something reckless again.
The professor only relaxed and let her go after learning she was going to watch a Go tournament, though she was still puzzled. “When did you learn to play Go?”
Chi Wan didn’t know how to explain. If she counted her time in Great Zhou, then she had been playing for a very long time. “I learned as a child.”
“Really? Let’s play a game then.” Wu Hongxu’s interest was piqued.
Chi Wan had no choice but to prove her skill. After all, she had been quite despondent for the past year, like a living person who was slightly dead.
She knew that for someone who never played Go to suddenly want to watch a Go tournament sounded strange. Coupled with all the dangerous things she had done before, it was only natural for her professor to be worried.
And so, the two began a match.
“Let’s guess for first move.”
Guessing for first move determined who played black and went first. Chi Wan guessed correctly, so she played first.
As the stones clicked onto the board, the smile on Wu Hongxu’s face grew wider. She couldn’t help but glance at Chi Wan, who still wore that same indifferent expression, as if she didn’t realize she was about to lose.
Facing Chi Wan as she played Go, Wu Hongxu felt that this student of hers was a bit of a stranger. Her indifference was even more pronounced—one could even call it coldness. Her expression didn’t change in the slightest.
“Double atari.”
Chi Wan’s calm voice rang out, and only then did Wu Hongxu snap back to reality. She discovered that the excellent position she had on the board had been instantly reversed.
From then on, no matter where she played, Chi Wan would capture one of her stones, severing her formation. And while breaking through her formation, she also cut off the head of her dragon, leaving her no chance to even repair the damage.
They played a dozen more moves before Wu Hongxu picked up two white stones and placed them on the board to concede defeat.
“I never thought that as an amateur 5-dan, I would lose so miserably.”
An amateur 5-dan was already very strong among ordinary people. When playing against the old folks, she was usually the one dominating.
Wu Hongxu sighed with emotion. “You’re so young, yet you play Go so well. Perhaps you’ll be the next Yu Jiuzhou.”
Hearing this name, Chi Wan’s eyes lit up. “Professor, you know her too?”
“Of course I do. She achieved professional dan rank at 25 and was promoted to 9-dan at 29. It’s a miracle, destined to be a legend in the world of Go.”
There were those who achieved dan rank in their teens and were promoted to 9-dan in their twenties, but to be promoted to 9-dan in just one year at that age… even many years from now, people in the Go world would still talk about it.
Chi Wan’s eyes shone brightly. As expected of her wife, she could excel at anything she did.
Suddenly noticing a spark of life in her, Wu Hongxu was taken aback. “You’re not going to chase a star, are you? Chasing Yu Jiuzhou?”
Chi Wan nodded emphatically. “Yes.” Going to chase my wife.
Wu Hongxu was speechless. Who could understand the feeling of their prized disciple being a fangirl?
Although she had no problem with fangirling, for the person doing it to be Chi Wan? The thought itself was quite strange.
After parting with Wu Hongxu, Chi Wan boarded a plane with an excited heart, flying to the location of the Go tournament—Tianfu.
Speaking of Tianfu, it had three labels: delicious food, livable, and an accepting atmosphere.
Upon arriving in Tianfu, the first thing she noticed was the accepting atmosphere. Men with men and women with women were not the least bit shy, openly being themselves.
Chi Wan also wanted to hold Yu Jiuzhou’s hand and walk down the street just like that, shopping, eating, and buying a pile of useless little trinkets to take home.
With a heart full of anticipation, she checked into the hotel where the players were staying. According to information from the fan club, Yu Jiuzhou would be staying here.
She was almost becoming a sasaeng fan just to see her wife.
At the hotel, Chi Wan opened the fan club group chat and saw two people arranging to have a meal together. After all, these were Go players, not celebrities. The entire fan club group only had a few hundred people. It was already quite good that two or three would come to watch the games.
Chi Wan muted the group, thinking it was still early. Perhaps she could run into Yu Jiuzhou near the hotel.
She opened her phone and started looking for good restaurants nearby. As expected of Tianfu, there were hot pot places everywhere.
She found a family-run shop that many people had checked into, saying it was even better than the big chain brands.
【If you can’t handle spicy food, don’t bother going. The owner only has spicy, super spicy, and insanely spicy. There’s no such thing as mild or not spicy.】
【The person above is right. I asked the owner for mild, and I was wiped out for a whole night.】
Chi Wan raised an eyebrow. She and Yu Jiuzhou hadn’t been big on spicy food at first, but later, while traveling the world, they started eating it and only then experienced its wonders.
She quickly unpacked her luggage and walked to the hot pot restaurant. It might have been a bit early, only three or four in the afternoon, so the place wasn’t very crowded.
There were over a dozen tables upstairs and downstairs, with four tables occupied. Including Chi Wan, that made five.
Eating hot pot at afternoon tea time was indeed a bit unusual.
Chi Wan didn’t overestimate herself. She ordered a mild pot and some of the signature dishes, and sat down to eat by herself.
She was waiting. According to the schedule, the players should have already checked into the hotel. It was possible they might come here to eat.
Sure enough, she heard people talking about Go.
“So annoying. An old woman is also competing with us for a spot. Shouldn’t she just stay home at her age? I hate her so much.”
“Who knows. I heard she’s in a relationship with the owner of the Go academy.”
“For real? No wonder they let an old woman like her take up a spot.”
“You can’t say that. She won the championship, which is enough to prove her strength.”
“Whose side are you on? Besides, maybe we could have won too if we played.”
Chi Wan frowned. Although they never mentioned Yu Jiuzhou’s name, she felt they were talking about her.
She turned around and saw three young men, looking to be in their early twenties. But they were only a few years younger than twenty-nine; what right did they have to call someone else old?
“Are you Go players?”
Hearing Chi Wan’s voice, the three of them looked over at the same time. Seeing such a beautiful young woman, their eyes lit up.
One of them quickly walked over and said, “Miss, are you interested in Go too?”
Chi Wan was dressed very simply, and with her youthful face, she looked like a college student. A pure and beautiful college student—who wouldn’t be captivated?
However, Chi Wan sized up the man. Judging by his voice, he wasn’t the one who had spoken fairly.
That was enough. In any case, of the three, two were no good.
“I am. I like Yu Jiuzhou. I heard that on her first day at the academy, she swept through all the professional players, including the owner.”
Chi Wan’s words made the three men’s expressions stiffen, letting her know that the person they were just talking about was indeed Yu Jiuzhou.
Go was a competitive sport, after all. Strength spoke for itself. Talking behind people’s backs showed poor character.
Gossiping was human nature; who didn’t have a gossipy heart? But gossip should be based on facts, not fabricated rumors from one’s own mouth. When a girl is slandered, even if the rumor is later debunked, the label sticks.
Especially these men. Men called gossipy women gossips, so what about men? Dung-men?
Perhaps because Chi Wan’s expression remained normal, the three thought she hadn’t understood what they were saying, that it was just a coincidence. Besides, they hadn’t mentioned any names.
But regarding what Chi Wan said about Yu Jiuzhou sweeping the academy’s players—among them were professional 1-dans, 6-dans, and the academy head, who was a 9-dan.
However, the academy head wasn’t the only strong player there. The country’s current number one young Go player hadn’t returned yet; he was competing abroad. But no one thought Yu Jiuzhou could beat him.
The most talented genius in Go in a hundred years—sharp in attack, tight in defense, unassailable.
However, because Yu Jiuzhou was slightly older than most players and had risen to fame too quickly, there were many who were jealous.
“Yu Jiuzhou, huh? Heard of her. We’re not familiar.”
One of them stepped forward and asked with a smile, “Are you alone, miss?”
Chi Wan frowned. “Gossiping scrubs.”
“The fuck did you just say!”
The tall, sturdy man suddenly moved closer to Chi Wan, looking like he was about to hit her, but he was pulled back by another man of medium build wearing glasses.
The third one, skinny and short, was glaring at her viciously.
It seemed the tall, sturdy one was hot-tempered, the skinny one was malicious, and the medium one wanted to keep the peace.
Chi Wan immediately stood up. With her martial arts skills, she had never been afraid of anyone, but this was the modern world. “What? Am I wrong? In Go, you prove yourself on the board. If all you can do is talk behind people’s backs, what are you if not gossips?”
“What do you know about Go, shouting here.” The tall, sturdy man tried to intimidate her with his large frame.
Chi Wan sneered. “A loser sees who can shout louder.”
She didn’t want to get into a war of words. Normally, it was hard for her to even say an extra word, let alone argue with someone.
But it was unacceptable for these people to talk about her wife. If she didn’t have this fight, she would have no face to see her wife.
The man was about to say more when the restaurant owner came out. “My humble shop is a small business. Please, everyone, harmony brings wealth.”
As he spoke, the owner stood in front of Chi Wan. Although he hadn’t heard the whole story, seeing these three big men about to hit a girl, he figured they had probably been rejected after hitting on her and felt they had lost face.
The tall, sturdy man snorted coldly. “Get us a private room.”
“Right away. A private room on the second floor.”
As the three left, they glared at her again and again. The tall, sturdy man threatened, “Don’t you dare leave if you’ve got the guts.”
Chi Wan picked up a glass from the side, and with a squeeze, it shattered. When she let go and it fell into the trash can, the walls of the glass had crumbled into dust.
However, she had used a clever force. In her hand, the glass looked like a spiderweb—seemingly shattered but not exploded. It was only when she let go that everyone realized how powerful that grip was.
The three men were speechless.
The sturdy man’s inner thoughts: Good thing we didn’t start a fight.
The owner: I shouldn’t have stopped her. I should have let this young lady teach those three bastards a lesson.
Chi Wan frowned. Bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong. If it had been a defenseless woman, would they have let it go so easily?
Faced with someone tough, they couldn’t say a word.
She sat back down and quietly finished her food. She deliberately slowed her pace, not to wait for the three inside, but because she was thinking: since people from Yu Jiuzhou’s academy were out eating, would Yu Jiuzhou come too?
She spent nearly two hours on this hot pot meal. Seeing that more customers were arriving, she went to the front desk to pay, ready to leave.
“Wait,” the owner’s wife suddenly called out to her. “Here’s a drink for you. It’s gentle and protects the stomach, good for people who don’t eat spicy food often.”
Chi Wan took the drink. It was a yogurt drink, not milk, but it looked delicious.
“Thank you,” she said softly, her heart feeling warm.
She walked out of the hot pot restaurant with the drink. The owner then sidled up to his wife. “You think that kid just had her heart broken?”
Sitting alone in one spot, not looking at her phone or glancing around, just quietly eating hot pot—she did look worrying.
The owner’s wife shook her head. “Looks like she’s traveling to clear her head. It’s good that she can get out.”
Chi Wan didn’t hear the voices behind her. It was still early, but she had no intention of going shopping. She started walking back to the hotel.
Just as she was about to reach the hotel, a woman dressed all in black walked out. She felt the woman’s aura was very familiar and quickly focused her gaze.
Yu Jiuzhou?
Chi Wan’s heart skipped a beat. Seeing the other person get into a car, she immediately shouted, “Yu Jiuzhou!”
However, the only response was the car starting and driving away. It seemed the person hadn’t heard her.
She quickly chased after it. Nowadays, you could only hail a cab with an app; you couldn’t just flag one down. By the time she got a car, the person would be long gone. But there weren’t even any shared bikes nearby. She couldn’t catch up even if she wanted to.
With no other choice, she could only sit in the hotel lobby and wait. Maybe Yu Jiuzhou would come back?
Meanwhile, Yu Jiuzhou, who had just gotten into the car, felt a bit dazed. She felt like someone had called her name, but when she looked carefully, she saw nothing.
In the hotel lobby, Chi Wan took out her phone and checked the fan group for the latest news about Yu Jiuzhou. The two members who had also come to watch the tournament had posted messages.
【Arrived at the hotel where Jiuzhou is staying, but sadly didn’t see her.】
【We’re also staying at this hotel. Not sasaengs, just because this hotel has the best value for money.】
【By the way, for any other sisters coming to watch the match, please try to stay quiet during the game and don’t shout her name.】
Chi Wan turned off her phone and stared at the people coming and going in the hotel. After several hours, she still hadn’t seen Yu Jiuzhou and could only go upstairs.
She knew the receptionists were whispering about her. She heard them telling the next shift to keep an eye on her, afraid she might do something reckless.
Back in her hotel room, Chi Wan tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She even thought about going downstairs to ask which room Yu Jiuzhou was in, but they definitely wouldn’t tell her.
Fortunately, she knew which Go academy Yu Jiuzhou belonged to. Even if she couldn’t see her this time, she could still go to the academy to find her.
Chi Wan lay in bed and finally fell asleep much later. In her dreams, she met Yu Jiuzhou countless times and tried to grab her hand countless times, but failed without exception.
This Go tournament was an event funded by some enthusiasts. It had some authority, but not too much.
After all, it wasn’t an international or official event.
Chi Wan’s ticket was in the front row. Tickets for this kind of competition were relatively easy to buy; you could just click and purchase.
There weren’t many people inside either. The tickets for the venue were being sold at a thirty or fifty percent discount, and even so, it was only half full.
The people of this country were no strangers to Go; it often appeared in TV dramas. Seeing two people playing a match always gave off an impression of high class.
There were also some popular Go anime and TV series that many people had watched.
But as for who could actually play, that was another matter. You’d be lucky to find one person in ten who could play. And there was a big difference between being able to play and being familiar with the rules of Go and knowing the names of every move.
Those with amateur dan ranks were even rarer.
If Go hadn’t become a sport, perhaps not so many people would have learned it.
Chi Wan sat in her seat, bolt upright. She saw the list of players for today; Yu Jiuzhou would be playing at 10:30 AM.
She didn’t know what she had watched before that; she was somewhat absent-minded. When Yu Jiuzhou came on stage, she couldn’t speak, couldn’t shout to let her know she was there. This was a competition; it couldn’t be disturbed by outside interference.
She waited with a nervous heart, but her face showed no expression. She looked as if she were watching the game intently, until the person next to her asked, “Miss, do you understand what’s happening?”
Chi Wan turned her head and saw a young girl, fashionably dressed, likely a college student.
She wondered why she would come if she didn’t understand Go.
As if reading her mind, the girl said embarrassedly, “I came because of her looks. I like Yu Jiuzhou, so I came. I crammed for a few days, but Go isn’t something you can fully understand just by cramming.”
Simple games, perhaps, but professional matches were impossible to follow.
Chi Wan hadn’t expected that the person sitting next to her was one of the two from the fan club.
“The winner will be decided soon.”
Sure enough, not long after she spoke, the game ended with Black’s victory.
The girl next to her immediately said, “Wow, you’re amazing, miss.”
Chi Wan didn’t say anything. She stared intently at the stage, because it was Yu Jiuzhou’s turn to come out.
The wait was long. When the players for the next match came on stage to prepare, she saw Yu Jiuzhou in a suit.
A very crisp, formal suit. Her slightly curly hair was tied into a high ponytail. It was a very ordinary outfit; everyone dressed like this for formal occasions.
It wasn’t a banquet, so there was no need for an evening gown. It wasn’t a national sporting event, so there was no need for a national team uniform. Aside from these two situations, suits were required for almost all competitions. As for hairstyle, neat and presentable was all that mattered.
A suit and a ponytail—that woman, Yu Jiuzhou, was truly handsome.
Chi Wan’s gaze was fixed on her, unblinking. Only at this moment did she truly confirm Yu Jiuzhou’s existence, that she had really come to this world.
The match was about to start; she didn’t want to affect Yu Jiuzhou.
Perhaps Chi Wan’s gaze was too intense. Yu Jiuzhou felt the fervent stare, but she paid it no mind. Ever since winning the championship a while ago, she often received such gazes. They called themselves “fans”—what was that?
After coming to this world, although it wasn’t entirely unfamiliar—because Chi Wan had told her many things about it—she really couldn’t understand some of the internet slang.
Thinking of Chi Wan… she had now signed a contract with the Go academy. There were too many competitions, and she had no time to leave. Not just major tournaments, but also friendly matches and various matches played as favors.
After becoming emperor, she had never again had to deal with the complexities of human relationships. She never expected to have to start all over again.
Fortunately, after this competition, she would receive a sum of prize money. Then she could go to Chi Wan’s city.
She had looked at the world map many times and found the city where Chi Wan was. Every day, she studied the street layout of that city, memorizing it. She had also found Chi Wan’s school. If she couldn’t find her, she could go to her school and ask.
If no one else, the teachers at the school might have heard of Chi Wan’s name.
Yu Jiuzhou had already figured out how to find Chi Wan. What she lacked was time and money.
Fortunately, as long as she won today’s match, she would have time to go see Chi Wan.
At this thought, her eyes became resolute. After coming to this world, she found that her playing style was rather old-fashioned. In the first half of the year, her opponents were younger or had older playing styles, so she won without much pressure. Later, when she encountered the geniuses of this new world, she realized that they had memorized all her strategies.
Fortunately, she was versatile enough to barely win or draw. But there were still two players from the academy who hadn’t returned, and she heard they were even stronger.
She began to study, spending her days reviewing game records and analyzing moves to make her own play stronger. As long as she could win the championship, her contract with the academy could be changed, and she could get a vacation.
For the sake of the upcoming vacation, she had to win today.
Once the game began, Yu Jiuzhou’s style was exceptionally sharp and domineering, giving her opponent no chance of survival, not even allowing them the will to resist. The game ended in thirty minutes, setting a new record for the shortest match in today’s tournament.
Her opponent’s face turned green. Losing so quickly was a blow to him. His confidence was shattered, and his future commercial value would take a huge hit.
Chi Wan recognized this person. It was the skinny Go player from the hot pot restaurant yesterday.
She smiled. A good win. As expected of her wife, conquering all before her.
As expected, Yu Jiuzhou won quickly, not delaying the audience from going to lunch. But Chi Wan didn’t move. How could she meet Yu Jiuzhou?
The players’ passage was different from the audience’s. There was no way for her to get backstage.
Just then, the college student next to her spoke up. “I saw you were very excited watching Jiuzhou play. Do you like her too?”
This time, Chi Wan nodded without hesitation. “Yes.”
“Then I’ll tell you, the players will leave through the underground garage later. The academy’s car is parked there.”
Chi Wan hesitated. Was that a good idea? What if she disturbed others and caused a bad impression for Yu Jiuzhou?
“Don’t worry, many players’ fans know this. It’s a regular thing. Although some players don’t need fans, some do. In today’s society, traffic is king. Some players focus on the game, but there are always some who want to cash in on the fame. It’s all to make a living.”
Being a Go coach or a tournament operator was a job, and so was live-streaming to teach people Go. It was just like many athletes taking up other jobs after retirement. In the prime of their lives, they couldn’t just sit around and wait to die.
Chi Wan couldn’t suppress her desire to see Yu Jiuzhou. Dubiously, she followed the girl and found that there really were some fans waiting in the underground garage.
Not many, just a dozen or so, and they weren’t all fans of the same player.
Among them, three were Yu Jiuzhou’s fans. Including her, that was… it was true. She was actually getting to experience the feeling of being a fangirl, and the star she was chasing was her own wife.
Chi Wan’s palms grew sweaty with nervousness. What should she say when she saw Yu Jiuzhou? Or should she just rush over and hug her?
Ugh… there would probably be bodyguards to stop her. Although there were many gay people in Tianfu, in reality, same-sex relationships were still a minority. She didn’t want to cause trouble for Yu Jiuzhou.
The next second, the person she had been thinking of day and night appeared before her eyes, getting closer, and closer…
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