Six and a half points again?
Xueqi’s pen paused mid-note. Looking back at the previous two games, a chill crept down her spine.
If winning by six and a half points twice was coincidence, then what about three times in a row?
There are endless variations in a Go match, how could anyone control the stones so precisely? Even AI can only calculate win rates after the opponent makes a move; no one could possibly win by the exact same margin every time.
Rather than believe that her “big brother” could manipulate stones to such precision, Xueqi preferred to think this was all coincidence.
“I just got careless, made one wrong step,” the boy beside her was still lamenting his loss.
“I should have seen that trap! Why didn’t I recognize it just because he changed the pattern a bit?”
As she stared at the boy in front of her, a bold thought suddenly flashed through Xueqi’s mind.
Maybe her big brother understood his opponent’s style so thoroughly that he could predict every next move then design an entire match tailored for him.
A game that not only exposed his opponent’s weaknesses but led him step by step into defeat. Like the boy before her now, he thought he lost because he failed to spot a trap, that it was just bad luck. Yet he never realized that the entire match had been crafted for him to lose.
His opponent had already analyzed his playstyle and manipulated every move and he still thought he could win next time.
Xueqi sighed, glancing pityingly at the boy still sulking over the board. By now, she was almost certain that what Grandpa said was true.
But how could it be possible?
She had searched through all sorts of news and records, yet found nothing about this “big brother.” With that level of skill, that kind of terrifying ability to calculate and control a game, how could there be no trace of him at all?
Near the tournament area, Nian Le parked her little green scooter and stood in front of a pastry shop window, seriously debating whether to buy coffee-chocolate or oolong-peach cream puffs.
The aroma of cream and pastry had tempted her many times before, but the queue at the door was always too long. Normally, she would glance from her scooter and leave but today was different. There were only a few people inside, and the sweet scent of the puffs was stronger than ever.
Nian Le usually restrained her desires.
But if she thought about wanting something three times, she would act on it.
“Can I get two of each flavor?”
The puffs were sold individually. As Nian Le took out her phone to pay, she suddenly remembered—if Huo Weiran’s friend was still at the villa later, it wouldn’t be right not to share.
“Make it three of each,” she said, wincing as she opened her payment app.
Perhaps noticing the young customer’s modest means, the shop lady, after taking the money, glanced at her manager who was busy with the books, then used the paper bag to discreetly cover her tongs as she quickly picked out the puffs.
Her movements were lightning fast, but Nian Le could tell she had packed more than six—she’d secretly added two extra.
Thinking of the “McNugget Heroes,” “Cone Heroes,” and “Fries Heroes” trending online, Nian Le looked at the “Cream Puff Hero” before her with sudden reverence.
Long live the Puff Gate!
She took the paper bag with a smile, exchanging a knowing glance with the shop lady. Just then, the door swung open, and a few rowdy young men walked in, immediately demanding all the chocolate puffs.
The lady froze, hesitating even to take their money.
“What’s wrong, you’re not selling to me?” the one in front said impatiently. “If you’ve got the guts to beat my friend, you’d better have the guts to face the consequences.”
The voice sounded familiar. Nian Le turned her head slightly and sure enough, the faces were even more familiar.
The same guys who’d been kicked out of that inn in Jiangcheng for cheating and chased with a broom, what a coincidence to run into them again here.
“It’s not that I won’t sell, but can you not smash all the puffs in the store?” the lady’s voice trembled, her hands shaking as she held the tongs.
“I cleaned up till four a.m. last night. I didn’t mean to beat your friend, it was just how the Yixin Cup’s system matched us…”
“Oh, so you mean it’s my brother’s fault? He’s studied Go for ten years and still lost to some part-timer?” the leader sneered, reaching over the counter for the puffs. The manager glanced at them once, then quickly slipped away to the kitchen, pretending to see nothing.
“I—I didn’t mean…” the lady stammered, holding back tears, unable to get another word out.
“Hello, is this 110?”
A calm, clear voice cut through the tension. The boy froze mid-reach and looked toward the source. A young man was on the phone, reporting.
“This is the cream puff shop at 119 Jinhua Street,” Nian Le said steadily, meeting the boy’s gaze.
“There are individuals attempting to steal store goods and cause a disturbance.”
“You f—” The boy caught himself mid-curse, suddenly realizing the young man looked familiar.
“Bro, that’s the guy from before…” one of the others muttered to the leader. His eyes narrowed.
Old grudges and new ones stacked together, compared to that these cream puffs meant nothing.
“So you just love playing the hero, huh?”
The leader left the counter, his gang closing in around Nian Le.
“Last time, you used your dojo and coach to threaten us. You’re just a contestant too, an amateur at that, who are you trying to scare?”
Nian Le’s face stayed calm as he put down his phone. One sharp-eyed lackey noticed the black screen and blurted out,
“Boss, he didn’t actually call the cops!”
“Huh?” The leader raised a brow, looking Nian Le up and down, then gave a mocking laugh.
“What, you planning to settle this with a Go match? If you win, I’ll leave the store alone. If I win, you do whatever I say?”
Nian Le’s expression stayed mild as his gaze shifted to the shop lady by the counter.
“Ma’am, could you turn off the cameras for a moment?”
There were only a few customers left, and they had already fled. The lady looked toward the manager hiding in the back, then gritted her teeth and switched off the shop’s cameras.
“What’s wrong, scared now?” the leader taunted, growing bolder. His tone turned playful. “Or maybe you want to pick one of us to play or take us all on, one by one?”
“I usually don’t play with people like you,” Nian Le said evenly, setting his bag of cream puffs aside. “You don’t keep your word anyway.”
He turned slightly, rolling up the sleeves of his pale shirt, eyes lowered.
“Oh? Gonna fight instead?” the leader chuckled, pointing at him and glancing at his gang. “Look at this guy, he actually—”
Before he could finish, his wrist was suddenly seized. The world spun as he was flipped and slammed to the floor with a loud thud. Pain shot through his back, knocking the breath out of him.
The others froze, staring at their leader curled up like a shrimp on the ground. Then they looked at the young man, refined, calm, his aura sharp as jade as he walked toward them step by step.
“Which one of you lost the game?” Nian Le’s tone was cool, eyes sweeping over them.
“Him!” one of them pointed at another, immediately retreating a few steps.
“If you can’t handle losing, don’t play,” Nian Le said quietly, locking eyes with the boy.
“I—I wasn’t—” the boy stammered, swallowing nervously. Then he noticed their boss, not unconscious after all, staggering to his feet behind the young man. Nian Le seemed unaware.
The boy’s confidence returned instantly.
“I can take losing! It’s not like I’ve never lost before!” he snapped, glaring at the lady. “But her—she’s just some old woman working part-time! How could she beat me?”
Nian Le’s brow lifted slightly, his eyes growing colder.
“What, I look down on her, so what?” the boy raised his voice defiantly. “I look down on her for being an amateur! I look down on her for being working class! She should stick to mopping floors and cleaning toilets, what’s she doing playing Go? Competing? She’s not even qualified!”
Nian Le stared at him silently, then took two steps aside, grabbed a chair, and swung it backward in one clean motion.
Bang!
The leader, who had just been about to attack crumpled to the ground again, blood streaming from his nose.
Still holding the chair, Nian Le looked back at the loudmouth calmly.
“What did you just say?”
The boy’s face went white, his words stuck in his throat. It was as if the man had eyes in the back of his head and such a heavy hand, too! He’d knocked their boss out cold!
“Forgot already?” Nian Le asked mildly, taking out his phone. He pressed a button—the black screen lit up, revealing a recording in progress.
“Need me to help you remember?”
The boy’s legs nearly gave out as he stared at him, color draining from his face.
“Judging from your uniforms, you’re students of Mianhai Go Dojo,” Nian Le said, saving the audio file.
“You know what’ll happen if this recording reaches the public or your teacher.”
“Discrimination against women, against age, against profession.” He paused thoughtfully. “Female players will side with her, amateurs will despise you, and your dojo’s reputation will be in ruins.”
He looked up at the group.
“And not just you, your teammates will be dragged down too. Best case, you’re suspended; worst case, you’ll never make a living from Go again.”
The boys instinctively stepped away from one another. One bolted for the door.
“Need me to go on?” Nian Le sat down, placing his foot casually on the fallen leader’s neck.
“You follow him, but he can’t protect you. He’ll probably throw you under the bus when things go bad.” He glanced up and smiled faintly.
“If any of you had a bit of sense, you’d stop forming little gangs just to feel important and stop thinking someone else will always take the fall.”
The image of their unconscious leader under his shoe was burned into their eyes. The gentle-looking young man was far more terrifying than he appeared.
They exchanged nervous looks, all of them ready to flee.
“See that?” Nian Le lifted his hand. Their gazes followed to the shop’s glass door.
“That’s your way out,” he said lightly, wiping the dust off his shoe using the man’s shirt.
“If there’s a next time, this recording goes public.”
Amber eyes glinting with a faint smile, he added,
“So don’t say I didn’t give you a chance.”
The shop lady stood frozen as the boys scrambled out the door. The gentle-looking young man handed the unconscious leader over to the last one left, who was trembling so badly his knees nearly buckled.
“You see this? What a disaster! Why’d I have to hire you?” The manager finally emerged, scowling at the lady once the trouble was over.
He regretted not hiring a younger girl, even for a few hundred more. He thought a middle-aged woman would tolerate anything but instead she went and joined some Go tournament, bringing all this mess into his store!
The lady opened her mouth to defend herself but before she could speak, Nian Le stepped forward slowly, his tone still calm and courteous.
“If you’d stood up for yourself, they wouldn’t have dared touch you,” he said. “And you must’ve heard everything from the kitchen just now. If you make things difficult for her, I’ll release the recording and then their anger will all come down on you.”
Nian Le’s tone was gentle.
“You know, these kids probably left home young to train at the dojo. Their parents aren’t around, and while they’ve learned Go, they’ve neglected their academics. Their tempers are constantly restrained by the game until adolescence hits. Then some so-called ‘leader’ eggs them on, and it’s not impossible for them to smash up a store and hurt someone like you.”
The manager swallowed hard, stiffly turning toward the shop lady and forcing a smile.
“Sorry for scaring you, Sister Zhao. I—uh—I wasn’t thinking straight just now.” He glanced at the young man out of the corner of his eye. “How about this: I won’t deduct your pay this month. You can keep competing in the tournament, and I’ll still give you full attendance pay, alright?”
The lady forced a dry smile and murmured, “Thank you, boss.”
Nian Le picked up his paper bag and went to his little green scooter. Just as he was about to sit down, the lady came hurrying out of the shop, carrying a big paper bag.
“Hey, handsome! These are our best-selling ones.” She smiled brightly. “Take them and try some—I’m treating you!”
Nian Le glanced toward the shop interior; the manager’s smile looked painfully fake.
After a brief silence, Nian Le accepted the bag from her with both hands and said softly, “Thank you.”
“I should be the one thanking you.” The lady beamed. “I heard them say you’re competing too. I wish you good luck and that you win the prize!”
“I’m actually a bit greedy,” Nian Le said with a mild smile, placing the puffs in his scooter’s basket. “I want something even better than the prize.”
“Then let’s hope,” he added, “we both get what we wish for.”
[mfn] If you enjoy my translations, you can show your support by leaving a comment or donating to my Ko-fi. It will be much appreciated. Thank you! [/mfn]
Dear translator, thank you for picking this up. I hope you’re doing well.