NABC Page 20
Page 20
Upon hearing this, Harumi Ichikawa asked, "Will your parents know?"
Upon hearing this, Akira Toya gently shook his head and replied, "I don't want them to know, that's why I came here. Please don't tell them either, Harumi-nee."
Akira Touya paused for a moment, then asked, "Shindo, the kid who played chess with me that day, is he still here?"
During the questioning, Akira Touya's expression showed a mixture of anticipation and trepidation.
Then, Akira Touya's expression quietly dimmed.
Harumi Ichikawa gently shook her head and said, "I've never been here before."
Just then, a clear voice came from behind and said, "Thank you for today, Miss. I'll head back now."
Harumi Ichikawa recognized the voice as Chen Anxia's and turned to look at him, replying, "Be careful on your way back."
As for Akira Touya, he curiously looked in the direction of the sound.
Upon seeing Chen Anxia's departing figure from the Go club, Akira Touya paused for a moment, muttering, "He is..."
Akira Toya still remembered Chen Anxia.
After all, Chen Anxia had entered a state of chess enlightenment right before his eyes, a state that chess players could only dream of.
It was only because Akira Touya's attention was focused on the game of Go and on Hikaru Shindo that he overlooked Anxia Chen.
Seeing Chen Anxia again made Akira Touya suddenly notice this person he had overlooked.
Looking back now, those chess players who could reach the level of "Chess Enlightenment" were certainly not ordinary people.
Even though his current skill level may not be very high, he has a good chance of becoming a first-class player, or even a top player, in the future.
Thinking this, Akira Touya couldn't help but become curious about Chen Anxia.
Then, Akira Toya walked in the direction Chen Anxia had just come from.
Soon, Akira Touya saw a game of Go that had not yet been finished.
As for Fujii, who was playing chess with Chen Anxia, he seemed to have been relieved of a heavy burden. He leaned back in his chair, looking somewhat tired, and closed his eyes to rest.
Akira Toya didn't disturb Fujii, but instead looked curiously at the chessboard in front of him.
Harumi Ichikawa followed, and seeing Akira Touya standing in front of the chessboard, she couldn't help but look at it with curiosity.
Upon closer inspection, Harumi Ichikawa noticed that the board was almost entirely filled with black and white chess pieces.
Harumi Ichikawa knew that this was a characteristic of novice Go players; the game would only end when no more pieces could be played.
After watching for a while, Harumi Ichikawa stopped paying attention to the game.
In Harumi Ichikawa's view, the game in front of her was just an ordinary beginner's game, with nothing worth paying attention to.
Then, Harumi Ichikawa looked at Akira Touya, her red lips slightly parted, as if she wanted to say something.
However, after seeing Akira Touya's condition, Harumi Ichikawa couldn't bring herself to say what she was about to say.
At this moment, Akira Touya was staring at the chessboard in front of him with a shocked expression, his pupils trembling as if he had witnessed something utterly unbelievable.
Seeing this, Harumi Ichikawa seemed dazed, and couldn't help but look at the game board again, muttering to herself, 'Could it be that this game isn't simple?'
......
Chapter 29 The Cub's Fangs, A Review of the Game!
Amidst the shock, Akira Touya couldn't help but murmur softly, "This game...this game..."
Harumi Ichikawa, who was standing nearby, could hear disbelief in Akira Touya's murmurs.
Unable to hold back, Harumi Ichikawa asked, "Akira, what's wrong with this game? Isn't it just a normal beginner's game?"
Harumi Ichikawa never expected that Akira Touya's expression would change so drastically after hearing her words. His originally gentle eyes instantly turned sharp as he looked directly at her and asked, "Harumi-nee, you're saying this is a beginner's match?"
After seeing Akira Touya's reaction, Harumi Ichikawa became uncertain, wondering if the game in front of her was a match between Fujii and Chen Anxia.
After all, a long time has passed since Fujii and Chen Anxia's first match.
It's not impossible that Fujii played against other people during this period.
Thinking about it, Harumi Ichikawa wanted to ask Fujii, who was resting with his eyes closed.
Coincidentally, Fujii, who had been resting with his eyes closed, was awakened by the conversation between Akira Touya and Harumi Ichikawa, and subconsciously opened his eyes to look.
Upon looking, Fujii saw Akira Touya and Harumi Ichikawa, who had appeared in front of him without him noticing.
With a look of surprise and confusion on his face, Fujii immediately stood up and asked, "Mr. Ryo, Ms. Ichikawa, what are you doing here?"
Without answering Fujii's question, Harumi Ichikawa looked at Fujii and asked, "Mr. Fujii, was this game played between you and that kid named Chen Anxia?"
Fujii looked somewhat surprised upon hearing this, wondering why Ichikawa Harumi would ask a question she already knew the answer to, but she still replied, "That's right, this game was played by the two of us."
After hearing Fujii's affirmative answer, Harumi Ichikawa then answered Akira Touya's question with certainty, "Then that's right, this is a beginner's match, because both Mr. Fujii and Chen Anxia are beginners."
However, Harumi Ichikawa did not expect that after her affirmative answer, Akira Touya still did not agree with her. Instead, he turned to look at the game again and said solemnly, "No, this is definitely not a beginner's game."
"At the very least, White is definitely not a novice!"
"White?"
After hearing Akira Touya's words, Harumi Ichikawa paused for a moment, then looked at the Go board and the white pieces on it.
However, apart from being able to tell that Chen Anxia was playing white, Harumi Ichikawa couldn't see anything else.
On the contrary, after hearing Akira Touya's words, Fujii's face showed a look of realization, and he said with relief, "So he's not a novice. That makes sense."
Harumi Ichikawa, who was already puzzled, became even more confused after hearing Fujii's words, and couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Fujii, what do you mean by 'understandable'?"
Upon hearing this, Fujii looked at Harumi Ichikawa and said with a wry smile, "Ms. Ichikawa, you might not believe it."
"But this game of chess, I played with that child from the beginning until now, and we only just finished it not long ago."
Upon hearing this, Harumi Ichikawa's face showed disbelief, and she said incredulously, "This game has only just ended? Then you guys played for more than two hours?"
Nodding slightly, Fujii replied with a touch of emotion, "The reason this game of chess took so long is because that child kept thinking deeply during the game."
"At first, the time for long thinking was only a few minutes, but later it became longer and longer, sometimes even more than ten minutes for a single move."
After a pause, Fujii looked at Harumi Ichikawa and asked, "Ms. Ichikawa, do you think a true novice needs to think for a long time? And multiple long periods of thinking at that?"
Harumi Ichikawa hadn't quite caught on yet, and after hearing Fujii's question, she instinctively shook her head.
After saying these words, Fujii seemed to release the pent-up frustration in his heart and felt much more relaxed.
Then, as if he had thought of something, Fujii looked puzzled and said, "To be honest, I also doubted that the kid was a novice."
"But his playing style is that of a complete novice."
"and..."
As he spoke, Fujii looked at the chessboard again, his expression of confusion deepening. He continued, "If that child really wasn't a novice, then how could he have played to a standstill with me?"
"Even if the black and white pieces have the same number of points at the end, if it weren't for the komi rule, the game would be a draw."
After saying that, Fujii looked at Akira Touya, wanting to hear his explanation.
Harumi Ichikawa, due to her limited Go skills, was unable to detect anything unusual in Fujii's words, so she didn't react much. She simply looked at Akira Toya with the same curious gaze as Fujii.
Upon hearing Fujii's words, Akira Touya was jolted, and his pupils contracted sharply.
Akira Touya's current skill level is very close to that of a professional, and he could even step into the professional ranks at any time.
Therefore, Akira Touya sensed something was wrong the moment Fujii uttered those words.
Instinctively, Akira Touya used his eyes to quickly count the number of black and white stones on the board.
Akira Touya quickly came to a conclusion.
As Fujii stated, the black and white stones on the board each have the same score, 180.5 points. According to the current komi rules, the white stones win by 5.5 points.
But this game of chess... how could it be...?
Then, under the watchful eyes of Fujii and Harumi Ichikawa, Akira Touya stared intently at the board and slowly uttered a startling statement: "The game of Go is not evenly matched..."
"From beginning to end, White was in a very high position, overlooking Black and even controlling Black's pieces..."
As he spoke, Akira Touya turned to Fujii and asked with a serious expression, "Mr. Fujii, could you review this game?"
"I want to see exactly how White did that!"
As he spoke, Akira Touya's still-developing aura suddenly surged up and pressed uncontrollably towards Fujii and Harumi Ichikawa.
In that instant, Fujii and Harumi Ichikawa seemed to have the same illusion, as if they were seeing a young lion cub with its fangs just beginning to show, emitting a tender yet somewhat domineering roar.
Harumi Ichikawa rarely saw Akira Touya in this state.
However, Harumi Ichikawa knew that once Akira Touya showed this expression, it meant that Akira Touya was completely serious.
Harumi Ichikawa remembered that the last time she saw Akira Touya look like this was when Akira Touya was playing chess with Hikaru Shindo.
Then, Harumi Ichikawa couldn't help but think of Chen Anxia, a child who was about the same age as Akira Touya, and she became somewhat lost in thought.
After a moment of confusion, Fujii realized what was happening and shook his head with a wry smile, replying, "Teacher Xiaoliang, you flatter me too much. I'm just a novice; how would I know anything about post-mortem analysis..."
Upon hearing this, Akira Touya's expression darkened, and a look of disappointment flashed in his eyes.
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out, "I know how to analyze this game. Do you want to see it?"
......
Chapter 30 The King's Game, the Power of Chess!
The sudden sound drew the attention of Akira Touya, Harumi Ichikawa, and Fujii.
Upon closer inspection, Akira Touya and Fujii were alright, but Harumi Ichikawa's expression changed drastically. Pointing at the speaker, she exclaimed, "It's you, you pervert!?"
abnormal?
Akira Touya and Fujii were both taken aback upon hearing this, and then their gazes toward the speaker became somewhat strange.
The people who were playing or watching chess around them turned their attention to me after hearing what Ichikawa Harumi said. Many of them thought Ichikawa Harumi had been bullied and gathered around.
Upon seeing this, the speaker, Uemura Tairyu, couldn't help but twitch his lips. He looked at Ichikawa Harumi with indignation and speechlessness, and asked, "Big sister, I'm very curious, where exactly did you get the idea that I'm a pervert?"
As he spoke, Uemura Tairyu looked Ichikawa Harumi up and down, and said with some disdain, "Besides, you don't fit my aesthetic at all. Not only are you old, but you're also rough. Even if I'm a pervert, I won't be indiscriminate in my choices."
After Uemura Tairyu finished speaking, whether it was an illusion or not, Touya Akira and Fujii felt as if the temperature around them had suddenly dropped by more than ten degrees.