Before the Go competition finals, Chuxia first visited Jiu Middle School.

Previously, the director of the academic affairs office had agreed to her transfer, so now she needed to discuss the arrangement of only participating in the pre-exams and college entrance exam when she moved to Beijing.

After hearing Chuxia’s request, the director frowned deeply, “Luo, you’re really giving me a tough problem. Let me think it over.”

The director knew that Chuxia’s family had some educational background if they managed to get the test papers from a top Beijing high school.

If Jiu Middle School didn’t agree, they could transfer her records to a Beijing high school.

But Chuxia’s grades were already the top in the school, and her scores kept improving with each test.

The principal had been paying close attention, fantasizing about whether Chuxia would create a bigger miracle in the college entrance exams.

No school would want to miss out on the chance to have a student who could potentially become the top scorer in the city or province.

Jiu Middle School had never had such an achievement before.

After thinking for a while, the director looked up at Chuxia as if he had made a decision, walked out from behind his desk, and said, “Luo, wait here in my office. I’ll go ask the principal.”

His somewhat plump body hurriedly moved out, his brow still furrowed.

Chuxia patiently waited in his office.

She looked up and noticed the leadership portraits and quotes from The Analects of Confucius on the wall.

As she recalled the quotes and stories from The Analects she had memorized, she thought she would tell Cen Huai’an a story about Confucius’s travels when she put him to bed tonight.

Just then, the director returned, wiped his sweat, and smiled at Chuxia, “Alright, the principal has agreed to your request. But the upcoming exam is next week. The principal wants you to take the exam before you leave.”

The director didn’t mention what happened in the principal’s office.

At first, the principal had been silent, frowning at the director.

The director thought the principal was disapproving and started to persuade him.

Chuxia had a child, her husband was out of town, and it was understandable that she wanted to reunite with her family.

Moreover, Chuxia’s family could help her transfer her school records, and with her current grades, she would be wanted anywhere.

“If Chuxia continues to perform like this, she might even become the top scorer in the city or province. Who would dare to underestimate our Jiu Middle School then!”

“Not to mention how much she has shared with us about the internal test papers from top high schools. We can’t let others say Jiu Middle School is heartless and unreasonable.”

The director exaggerated a bit; he just didn’t want to lose such an excellent student.

The principal remained stern, “I haven’t disagreed with Luo Chuxia’s request.”

The director was still speaking when he suddenly realized what the principal meant, and his face immediately broke into a smile, “I knew you were the most considerate principal!”

The principal quietly looked at the director, making him feel awkward.

She finally spoke, “I was just considering whether to let Luo Chuxia take the exam next week. It’s only a few days away; let her take it before she leaves.”

She then nodded for the director to handle the matter and made it clear that Luo Chuxia must stay at Jiu Middle School.

As a principal, her vision was long-term.

She could see that Chuxia’s abilities would continue to improve, and she could already foresee how outstanding her performance would be in the college entrance exams.

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Chuxia wasn’t aware of the principal’s thoughts but knew she could participate in the pre-exams and college entrance exams.

“Thank you, Director.” Chuxia smiled and said seriously, “Director, after I move to Beijing, I’ll still send the test papers to the school. Remember to collect them.”

The director was touched by Chuxia’s consideration for the school, despite her leaving. “Luo, having a student like you is Jiu Middle School’s pride! Leave an address, and I’ll send the school’s test papers to you.”

Since Chuxia wasn’t sure where she would live after moving to Beijing, she told the director to send the papers to whatever address she provided later.

Having resolved the school issue, Chuxia felt relaxed as she left the school. However, when she passed by the school’s small garden, she saw a boy and a girl arguing, seemingly over something.

Since the path passed through here, Chuxia couldn’t avoid it and had to walk past them.

As she did, she saw that the girl arguing was Luo Xiaomei. She was sharply questioning the boy about his relationship with someone else, while the boy was desperately explaining.

When Luo Xiaomei saw Chuxia, she immediately became guarded, glaring at her with a stern face without speaking.

Chuxia ignored her, walking past without giving them a second glance.

Once she was far enough away, Luo Xiaomei angrily threw her hands up and walked away quickly, with the boy calling after her.

Chuxia didn’t want to get involved in Luo’s family matters and had already completely forgotten about Luo Xiaomei by the time she reached the school gate.

Meanwhile, Cen Huai’an at the primary school had also told Chenchen about his move to Beijing.

Although he wasn’t sure when they would leave, since tomorrow was Sunday and he might not return to school after the final match, he decided to tell Chenchen today.

Chenchen immediately hugged Cen Huai’an’s arm and started crying, “An’an, don’t leave! What will I do without you?”

Cen Huai’an pushed Chenchen’s head away, trying to keep his tears and snot off him, and said, “We can write letters to each other.”

Chenchen cried even harder, “I don’t know how to write many words. How can I write letters?”

“You can use pinyin, or you can draw it.”

Chen Chen was particularly upset.

He had jumped to the preschool class just to be in the same grade as Huai’an, and now Huai’an was leaving.

“Waa, where is Beijing? It sounds so far away. Will we never see Huai’an again?”

“Huai’an, why are you going to Beijing? Isn’t it good here?”

Cen Huai’an replied seriously, “My mom and I are going to find my dad.”

Chen Chen thought of his own dad.

He didn’t want to be separated from his dad either.

If his dad were in Beijing, his mom would take him there too.

But he still didn’t want Huai’an to leave!

Chen Chen cried for a long time, until class started.

As soon as the homeroom teacher arrived at the classroom door, he quickly wiped away his tears, sniffled, and sat up straight, paying close attention to the teacher.

Cen Huai’an sighed silently: if he had known Chen Chen would cry so much, he would have told him earlier.

He really could cry a lot.

As the end of the school day approached, Cen Huai’an hesitated for a moment and, after all the students had left, he walked to the back row.

Liu Tian was still slowly packing her bag.

She was usually the last one to leave the classroom, with little presence in the class.

“I might not be at the school in the next few days.”

Liu Tian’s hand stopped as she was putting books into her bag.

She looked up at Cen Huai’an with wide eyes but quickly lowered her head again, asking in a small but urgent voice, “Your mom is not letting you go to school?”

Cen Huai’an shook his head, “No, I’m going to another place to study. My mom says that studying is very important, and your persistence is correct. If you encounter difficulties in the future, remember to seek help from teachers or others. It’s useless to cry alone.”

Cen Huai’an had thought about it all afternoon and still came to say these things to Liu Tian.

After saying this, he turned and left, not seeing Liu Tian staring at his back with a faint sadness in her eyes.

The next day, Chu Xia took Cen Huai’an to his last competition.

Cen Huai’an was one of the finalists, and so was Zheng Duoping.

Thus, they were competing for the first and second places in the Go competition.

The other two players who lost would also have a match to determine the third and fourth places.

Guo Lin, the most relaxed Go teacher at the scene, was congratulated by a fellow judge who was a friend, “Regardless of which of your two students wins or loses, the first and second places are both from your teaching. Truly worthy of being the best young Go player in Liangzhou!”

Guo Lin smiled and shook his head, “Don’t say that. There are many who are better than me. These two kids winning is just my luck in having two good students.”

The judge laughed and patted Guo Lin’s shoulder, “You’re still so modest.”

Guo Lin smiled but didn’t say anything, watching his two students on the field, waiting for the match to start.

Chu Xia was more nervous than Guo Lin.

The previous match had left her with lingering fears, and the final match was even harder.

She worried that Cen Huai’an might not be able to handle the physical strain.

But she couldn’t tell Cen Huai’an not to compete. He was looking forward to the finals and wanted to win first place.

He loved Go and would participate in other competitions in the future.

Chu Xia sighed; it seemed she needed to focus on improving his physical strength.

With a strong body, Cen Huai’an wouldn’t need to worry about physical endurance in any competition.

At that moment, Cen Huai’an was not thinking as much as Chu Xia imagined.

He looked at Zheng Duoping, calculating the possibilities of defeating him.

Zheng Duoping was also looking at Cen Huai’an.

He remembered what Ling Ling had said to him yesterday.

This match was not only for himself but also for Ling Ling.

He couldn’t lose!

The game began.

Zheng Duoping, playing with the black stones, made the first move.

Cen Huai’an quickly thought of several board setups based on Zheng Duoping’s move.

However, this thinking process only lasted a few seconds before he also made his move.

Zheng Duoping’s playing style was different from Cen Huai’an’s and Xu Lingling’s.

His style was very steady, making one move at a time, allowing the game to develop according to his plan without rushing.

Cen Huai’an’s style was still aggressive.

His moves were like a beast on the loose, but unlike Xu Lingling’s reckless aggression, he attacked with various traps for the opponent.

If you couldn’t handle his aggression from the start, you would end up fleeing in a disheveled state.

Zheng Duoping was familiar with Cen Huai’an’s style, and Cen Huai’an also knew his, since both had learned from Guo Lin and had watched each other play.

Therefore, Zheng Duoping had thought of many countermeasures when he knew he would face Cen Huai’an.

Similarly, Cen Huai’an had practiced Go extensively at home, with both of them aiming for victory!

They fiercely battled on the board, one aggressive and one steady.

The game was very exciting, and many judges stood around the board, watching nervously and occasionally nodding or frowning.

At the same time, the match for third and fourth places had only two judges watching.

Actually, the two judges also wanted to stand with the other judges, but their game was moving too fast. If they left now, there would be no judges left at the current match.

Although the match for third and fourth places took some time, it ended earlier than Cen Huai’an and Zheng Duoping’s match.

The round-faced girl who had played against Cen Huai’an in the previous round won the match and secured third place.

She didn’t seem very happy, her eyes were fixed on Cen Huai’an’s game, and her fists were tightly clenched, showing a sense of unwillingness to concede.

Cen Huai’an was completely absorbed in the game.

He didn’t notice the environment around him, even as sweat dripped down his forehead.

Zheng Duoping, however, was becoming more and more surprised, with sweat on his forehead.

He found the game far from easy.

He hadn’t expected Cen Huai’an, who had been learning Go for less than a year, to have such a high level.

Zheng Duoping had been learning Go for years and had always been praised for his talent by his teacher.

If he didn’t have some talent, Guo Lin wouldn’t have taken him as a student.

But having talent and being a true genius were two different things, regardless of how long one had been studying Go.

Go is about thinking, quickly mobilizing mental resources, planning ten or twenty moves ahead, and predicting all of the opponent’s strategies to block their options.

Cen Huai’an was a genius in Go.

Even though the match was long, Cen Huai’an was very familiar with Zheng Duoping.

Every move he made was within his expectations.

Once you understand someone’s character, you also understand how they will play.

Cen Huai’an placed a stone in an unexpected position, instantly creating a trap on the board with no escape for Zheng Duoping.

No matter how Zheng moved, the game was set for a deadlock.

He held his black stone in hand for a long time before finally dejectedly placing it on the bottom-right corner of the board. “I lost.”

Zheng Duoping stared at the board, still unable to comprehend how he had lost the match.

His mood mirrored Xu Lingling’s.

He was even more confused because just moments ago, the game had seemed evenly matched; how did a single move turn the entire game around?

Zheng had never seen or imagined such a way of playing Go.

The astonishment and disappointment grew as he realized he had underestimated Cen Huai’an’s talent.

Zheng finally understood what his teacher meant by being “born for Go.”

He thought he was quite skilled, but compared to true geniuses, even with hard work, the gap was too vast.

And Cen Huai’an was not only talented but also very diligent.

Even though Cen Huai’an was sweating heavily after the match, he looked fine and was beaming with joy from his victory.

On the other hand, Zheng Duoping, who stood beside him, looked utterly disheartened and was not at all happy about winning second place.

Huai’an wanted to immediately share the good news with his mother, but he had to stay on the podium to receive his award.

He glanced towards the audience and saw his mother smiling and giving him a thumbs up.

Cen Huai’an’s smile mirrored his mother’s, his joy almost overflowing.

Everyone was surprised that such a young child had won the competition, and the parents of the older children were especially astonished.

But since the Go matches were conducted under the watchful eyes of these parents, there was no room for deception.

Everyone could only describe Cen Huai’an as a “genius.”

When the judges presented Cen Huai’an with the award, they shook his hand and praised him, “The younger generation is formidable! Keep working hard. I look forward to seeing you achieve even greater heights in the future!”

Cen Huai’an accepted the trophy and certificate with both hands, saying, “Thank you, Teacher.”

The reporter from the press recorded the images of several children holding trophies on the podium, but none of the children smiled.

Cen Huai’an, who didn’t like to smile for outsiders, Zheng Duoping, who was too disheartened, and the round-faced girl, who was dissatisfied with her rank, all seemed upset.

The reporter found that all the award-winning children in this year’s Children’s Cup Go Competition appeared as though they had lost the match, reflecting their true personalities as Go players.

After receiving the trophy and certificate, Cen Huai’an ran straight to his mother, eager to share his joy with her. “Mom, I won the championship!”

Chuxia took the trophy and examined it, saying, “My son is so impressive! I don’t even know how to praise you!”

Huai’an’s lips curled into a smile, and his joy felt like spring arriving, with everything blooming in his heart.

Guo Lin looked at Cen Huai’an and then turned to Zheng Duoping, who had been gloomy since coming down. “Duoping, I know you’ve been displeased with my praise of Huai’an and thought I was biased. But actually, I teach all of you the same way. Go heavily relies on talent; a gap between nine-tenths and full talent is a huge chasm that’s impossible to cross. And Huai’an’s talent is far beyond just ten-tenths.”

Zheng Duoping looked at Guo Lin with a sense of despair in his eyes, “Then what about me, Teacher? Do I have no talent for Go at all, just hard work?”

Guo Lin frowned, looking disapprovingly at him, “Just because you lost one match, you’re undervaluing yourself? If you had no talent at all, I wouldn’t have taken you on. Winning second place proves that you also have considerable talent.”

However, compared to true geniuses, Zheng’s talent fell short.

But Guo Lin didn’t voice this, as he didn’t want to further demoralize Zheng, who was already greatly affected, to the point of giving up Go entirely.

Hearing his teacher’s words, Zheng Duoping felt less despairing.

Although he couldn’t shake off the loss to Cen Huai’an, he no longer questioned whether he was suited for Go.