The atmosphere at the youth Go exchange meeting was unlike many other events—it was not noisy.

Under the guidance of teachers or elders, participants got to know other young Go enthusiasts.

If they felt they got along well, they would find a board and play a game together.

There was no host; everyone moved about freely and adhered to the meeting’s rules, without anyone speaking loudly.

If any of the young players had questions, they could ask the senior players present, who were always ready to answer.

Cen Huai’an enjoyed the atmosphere of the meeting.

After meeting some Go seniors and their students with Jiang Grandpa, he was invited to play a game.

Jiang Grandpa didn’t stay with him the whole time but instead mingled with friends.

Some Go seniors, who preferred not to engage in conversations with their peers, wandered around the venue, stopping to observe interesting games.

After the games ended, they would offer guidance and answer questions from the juniors.

Cen Huai’an was playing a game with Zhao Qi, a girl slightly older than him.

Zhao Qi’s father was a renowned Go player, and she had been learning from him since childhood.

Zhao Qi knew Hong Youxuan and had heard him speak highly of Cen Huai’an, describing him as one of the most talented young players he had ever seen.

Intrigued, Zhao Qi wanted to play a game with Cen Huai’an to see if he was as talented as Hong Youxuan had claimed.

When Zhao Qi and her father spoke with Jiang Grandpa, she observed Cen Huai’an closely.

As soon as the adults finished their conversation, she immediately invited him to play.

Cen Huai’an was eager to exchange Go skills with different players, as different people had different styles of play.

After starting the game with Zhao Qi, Cen Huai’an sat upright, first observing her playing style.

Zhao Qi was also observing him.

“Hong Youxuan said your Go skills are impressive.”

Cen Huai’an placed a black stone and replied, “Brother Youxuan is also very skilled.”

Zhao Qi glanced at him, “You two are so dull. You’re both so insincere!”

Cen Huai’an frowned at her; he was speaking the truth, not being insincere.

He didn’t like Zhao Qi’s words or her manner of speaking.

His sister Zhang Lu was also very straightforward but always spoke the truth without making judgments without understanding and never used a contemptuous tone.

Cen Huai’an didn’t want to argue with Zhao Qi about this and focused on playing the game.

Zhao Qi snorted and fell silent.

Zhao Qi’s playing style was different from her earlier remarks.

She played very carefully and was not reckless.

However, the more she aimed for a perfect defense without attacking, the more her weaknesses were exposed.

After playing for about thirty minutes, Cen Huai’an had identified two fatal flaws in Zhao Qi’s play.

He could win the game with a direct attack.

However, he wanted to analyze Zhao Qi’s style further, as he had not encountered this style before.

He continued to play slowly, considering how he could cover the flaws if he used Zhao Qi’s approach.

Zhao Qi, who had been playing Go since childhood, initially didn’t realize it, but later she noticed that Cen Huai’an could have won the game anytime.

Now, he was deliberately avoiding the winning moves.

Zhao Qi thought he was just messing with her.

If he could win, why was he playing around the board instead of winning?

Was he intentionally toying with her?

She slammed her stone onto the board and glared at Cen Huai’an with anger in her eyes, “Is it fun to mess with people? Hong Youxuan praised you so much, but you’re just like this! What if your Go skills are high, if your character is poor, you’re still annoying!”

Zhao Qi’s loud voice drew attention, and everyone heard the dispute.

Those who had been watching the game were surprised by Zhao Qi’s sudden anger and didn’t think Cen Huai’an was teasing her.

Jiang Grandpa and Zhao Qi’s father came over, and so did Hong Youxuan and Hong Yuande.

“Qi Qi, what’s going on?” Zhao Qi’s father asked sternly as soon as he arrived, frowning at Zhao Qi.

Jiang Grandpa approached Cen Huai’an, patted his head to reassure him, and understood that his great-grandson was not the kind of person Zhao Qi described.

Seeing her father, Zhao Qi’s tears flowed as she complained that Cen Huai’an was being too unreasonable in their game.

Zhao Qi’s father’s frown deepened, and his gaze towards Cen Huai’an became less friendly.

Cen Huai’an wasn’t scared and didn’t avoid Zhao Qi’s father’s gaze.

He explained clearly why he was playing that way.

“I wanted to observe how Zhao Qi plays until the end and see how I could win using her style. I didn’t mean to tease her. I’m sorry if this caused a misunderstanding.”

Jiang Grandpa patted Cen Huai’an’s head and looked at the game board, then turned to Zhao Qi’s father, “Zhao Li, look at this game. If An’an were intentionally teasing your daughter, he wouldn’t have played this way.”

In Go, it is often said that “the players are confused, but the onlookers are clear.”

Zhao Qi, being in the game, only saw Cen Huai’an avoiding winning moves and thought he was mocking her.

However, others saw it differently.

Jiang Grandpa continued, “After Cen Huai’an could win the game for the first time, he didn’t play according to his own strategy but adjusted to let Zhao Qi fully express her ideas.”

The teachers who had been observing the game also spoke up, explaining to Zhao Qi’s father and Zhao Qi that Cen Huai’an had no such intentions.

The Go exchange meeting is meant for young players to exchange their skills.

The senior players don’t want any unpleasantness right from the start.

After observing the game, Zhao Qi’s father’s frown gradually eased, but he was still upset about his daughter’s tears.

He spoke with some irritation, “It’s easy for misunderstandings to arise like this. The child who plays with him might not see his intentions. Even if that’s the case, it’s just him showing off his superior skills. Don’t do this next time.”

Grandpa Jiang furrowed his brows and was about to speak when a scoff interrupted. “That’s the funniest joke I’ve heard. Is there really a concept of ‘showing off skills’ in Go? If someone’s skills are lacking, they’re lacking, and if someone plays tricks on you, you just have to deal with it! Go has its rules, and if you can’t handle even this, you’d better not play.”

In Go, you’ll encounter players of all kinds—some straightforward, others who play dirty tricks.

At the exchange meeting, everyone follows orthodox methods and won’t employ devious tactics.

However, as the number of competitions increases and international matches are involved, various styles of play will appear.

Therefore, when learning Go, the first thing to practice is mental resilience.

If you’re overly concerned about winning and losing, and you get discouraged by a loss or criticize others’ character for an unwelcome play style, you won’t achieve much in Go.

Zhao Qi stopped crying, glaring angrily at the person who spoke.

Clearly, Cen Huai’an’s character was in question, so why couldn’t she say it?

She wasn’t someone who couldn’t handle losing!

Zhao Qi’s father was also very angry.

Who was this person to dictate whether his daughter could learn Go or not? What an arrogant attitude!

Everyone turned to look at the speaker, and when they saw who it was, Zhao Qi’s father’s words were immediately shut down.

The speaker was Hong Yuande, the president of the Go Association of Huaguo.

Although Grandpa Jiang’s Go skills were high, he hadn’t joined the Go Association and mainly worked in the translation field.

Hong Yuande looked at Zhao Qi’s father and asked, “Do you think I said anything wrong?”

Zhao Qi’s father’s face turned red.

He had many things he wanted to say, but faced with Hong Yuande’s gaze, he could only respond sulkily, “No.”

When Hong Yuande spoke, others didn’t dare to say anything.

Only Grandpa Jiang said, “An’an, call someone.”

“Grandpa Hong.”

Grandpa Jiang was very satisfied with what Hong Yuande had said; he had voiced everything he wanted to say.

Zhao Qi cried even harder, feeling that Hong Yuande was biased.

After all, she knew Grandpa Hong too!

She angrily dragged her father away, saying, “Dad, I don’t want to be at this messy exchange meeting anymore. They only protect people with poor character!”

This remark not only offended everyone at the Go exchange meeting but also criticized the Go Association that organized the event.

The expressions of those around them instantly soured.

Hong Yuande looked at Zhao Qi and shook his head, speaking seriously, “The exchange meeting is a place for learning and practice. I’m not protecting anyone; I always speak based on facts. Zhao Li, if you don’t educate your daughter properly, her Go journey will end here.”

Hong Yuande and Zhao Li were somewhat acquainted; otherwise, Hong Youxuan wouldn’t know Zhao Qi.

He had once guided Zhao Li.

Hong Yuande’s later words were sincere, but judging by Zhao Li and Zhao Qi’s expressions, they probably didn’t take them to heart and thought he was biased.

Hong Yuande didn’t bother to say more.

At this moment, the scene fell silent except for Zhao Qi’s sobs.

The vice president of the event spoke, “President, let’s continue.”

The main person is a little girl, and the more she cries here, the worse it gets. A little girl needs her dignity. Besides, if she is too discouraged to play, it defeats the purpose of the exchange meeting.

The exchange meeting resumed its previous atmosphere, and Cen Huai’an continued playing Go with others.

However, Zhao Li and Zhao Qi, along with others, were avoided by everyone.

Cen Huai’an didn’t pay much attention.

It wasn’t until lunchtime that he realized the two had already left the exchange meeting.

Hong Youxuan and Cen Huai’an sat together for lunch.

Hong Youxuan said while eating, “Don’t mind what happened earlier. Zhao Qi can be a bit stubborn.”

Hong Youxuan had a good relationship with Zhao Qi.

She wasn’t a bad person, just very stubborn, sticking to her beliefs even if she was wrong.

Cen Huai’an took a sip of his porridge and said, “She’s neither my relative nor my friend. Why should I care about her?”

Hong Youxuan was momentarily taken aback and then laughed.

He had forgotten that Cen Huai’an generally didn’t care about people who weren’t important to him.

The first day of the Go exchange meeting was about youth exchanging ideas.

When the meeting ended in the afternoon, Cen Huai’an and Grandpa Jiang walked out of the building and saw Chuxia sitting in the corridor outside, looking up at the setting sun.

“Mom!”

As soon as Cen Huai’an saw Chuxia, his eyes lit up, and he quickened his pace to grab her hand.

Chuxia withdrew her gaze and smiled at Cen Huai’an, patting his hat. “Very good. Even without me, you managed well.”

At this moment, Old Master Jiang also approached. “Chuxia, when did you arrive?”

“Just arrived. I wandered around the Youth Palace to make sure you were about to finish before coming over.”

The Youth Palace’s architectural complex was quite scenic.

After it ceased to function, it became a cultural and historical tourist attraction.

Old Master Jiang, now older and slower, had Cen Huai’an and Chuxia each take one side, helping him walk slowly outside.

Jiang Zhida leaned against the car window, holding a cigarette, exhaling smoke, and staring blankly into the distance.

“Dazi!” Grandpa Jiang, disliking his smoking, said, “Put out that cigarette!”

Jiang Zhida’s dazed expression instantly disappeared, replaced by a grinning smile.

He crushed the cigarette underfoot and threw it in the trash. “Grandpa, I was bored waiting for you.”

Chuxia glanced at Jiang Zhida and then got into the car with An’an and Old Master Jiang.

Grandpa Jiang took the front passenger seat, leaving the back seat for Chuxia and An’an to talk.

“An’an, did you enjoy the exchange meeting today?”

Cen Huai’an nodded, his eyes shining. “Yes. Mom, I played with many people today and learned a lot of new things.”

If you keep learning alone, your Go thinking can become fixed.

Today, while playing, Cen Huai’an discovered some interesting strategies used by others.

He modified them in his mind and planned to try them out tomorrow.

Cen Huai’an didn’t mention Zhao Qi; it was just a small episode.

Chuxia, hearing Cen Huai’an’s joyful tone, smiled even more. “Did you make any new friends?”

Cen Huai’an shook his head. “I only played one game with each person and didn’t spend much time with them.”

Chuxia felt a bit worried.

Cen Huai’an had been in the capital for a while and, besides Zhang Lu and Jiang Weixian, he only knew Hong Youxuan.

She was afraid he might be too lonely.

Seeing Chuxia’s concern, Cen Huai’an thought for a moment and said, “Mom, I’ll try to make a friend tomorrow.”

Chuxia patted his head. “Friends aren’t made by trying hard; they’re people you connect with. If you don’t make any, it’s okay. You’re not without friends.”

Cen Huai’an had friends from the northwest and Liangzhou.

When he got to Jiang Grandpa’s house, Chuxia stayed with him for a while, chatted with Jiang Shengnan, who had come to the house, and then prepared to return to the research institute.

” cous—I’ll give you a ride,” Jiang Zhida said, grabbing the car keys and following her outside.

As the car started and drove off, Jiang Zhida’s brows remained furrowed, and he stayed silent.

Chuxia broke the silence, “Dazi, if you have something to say, just say it.” She had noticed his troubled expression earlier at the Go exchange meeting.

Jiang Zhida smiled, and his frown disappeared instantly: “I knew I couldn’t hide it from you, cous. It’s nothing major. Xiaoran and I are planning to build a factory in Yangcheng. Recently, we got news about a bidding opportunity for a piece of land. Xiaoran went to check it out, but we don’t have enough funds. Now we’re debating whether to give up on the land bid and just rent a factory space, or take out a loan for the bidding.”