"What am I supposed to do? If I play Gomoku with him, there's no way he’ll enjoy himself. And after standing her up the other day, who knows what kind of extreme reaction she might have!"
Su Cheng’s face was filled with frustration.
He knew this cheating method was stupid, but he truly had no other choice. The thrill he felt when using his "observational chess skills" to cheat was now replaced by sheer regret.
"This is entirely your own fault. If it weren’t for your vanity, you wouldn’t have gotten dragged into this mess in the first place."
Gu Ruoxue didn’t hold back in criticizing him, clearly displeased with Su Cheng’s dishonest behavior.
Su Cheng hung his head in silence, unable to retort.
"Senior, it’s not entirely his fault. I’m the one who intervened on my own, so I’m the real culprit here."
Seeing this, Li Guanqi stepped in to defend Su Cheng.
Gu Ruoxue glanced at Li Guanqi and said coolly, "So, you knew this behavior was inappropriate?"
Li Guanqi fell silent, lowering her small head as her hands fidgeted helplessly on her knees. She bit her lip, unsure how to respond to Gu Ruoxue’s words.
Because she understood the underlying message: "If Su Cheng is left in your care, you’ll only spoil him. You’re not suited to look after him."
"Did you come here just to lecture us?"
Su Cheng, who had been holding groceries, dropped them to the ground in irritation. "What’s done is done, and I’ve already admitted my mistake. Scolding me won’t change anything."
The two girls were taken aback by Su Cheng’s rare outburst. Li Guanqi froze for a moment, then gave him a complicated look before explaining, "Actually, if Senior is saying this, she must have a way to resolve the situation."
"Oh, really?"
Su Cheng was surprised and turned to Gu Ruoxue, only to find her glaring at him with wide, accusing eyes. Her stunning face was filled with grievance.
The sight hit him like a thunderbolt, leaving him petrified, mouth slightly agape, eyes wide, his mind buzzing.
The strong and resolute Gu Ruoxue was showing such a vulnerable, wronged expression!
Su Cheng’s heart skipped a beat as he realized the problem—he had snapped at her because of Li Guanqi.
"Uh… everyone’s worked hard. Ruoxue, I bought you some ice cream. Let’s cool off a bit."
At this point, Su Cheng didn’t care anymore. He quickly crouched down and pulled out a panda-shaped ice cream from the plastic bag, handing it to Gu Ruoxue in an attempt to ease the tension.
Hearing the intimate nickname "Ruoxue," Li Guanqi’s eyes dimmed for a moment before quickly returning to normal.
Gu Ruoxue hesitated for a second, looking at the panda design on the ice cream wrapper, before finally extending her slender fingers to accept it.
Seeing this, Su Cheng finally let out a sigh of relief. He then took out a plain popsicle and handed it to Li Guanqi. "Here, this one’s for you."
Li Guanqi was stunned. She stared at the hard, low-calorie popsicle—probably only 35 calories—and then glanced at Gu Ruoxue’s soft, creamy panda ice cream.
For a moment, she just stood there, unable to bring herself to take it.
Noticing her reaction, Su Cheng quickly explained, "This popsicle tastes amazing, and it’s lower in sugar. Give it a try!"
Su Cheng understood the art of balance.
As if to prove his point, Gu Ruoxue had already unwrapped her ice cream and taken a delicate bite of the panda’s ear, closing her eyes in satisfaction.
It was as if, with her eyes shut, all the world’s conflicts vanished. All that remained was the rich, intoxicating blend of creamy sweetness and chocolate in her mouth.
Meanwhile, Li Guanqi finally understood why Su Cheng had given her this popsicle—she had been indulging in too many sweets with Ji Qingyi and the others lately.
With trembling hands, she accepted the popsicle, her slight shake betraying her longing for the sweet panda ice cream.
But Su Cheng pretended not to notice, busying himself with organizing the items in the plastic bag.
Left with no choice, she unwrapped the popsicle and took a small, tentative bite.
Except—hilariously—she couldn’t even bite through it.
Su Cheng, now seated across from them, pulled out another popsicle for himself. After unwrapping it, he licked it once before glancing at the two girls, only to find them both delicately licking the tops of their ice creams.
Gulp.
Su Cheng swallowed hard, quickly averting his gaze and scolding himself for having such inappropriate thoughts.
"Uh… President, do you have any ideas?"
Seizing the moment as the atmosphere seemed to soften, Su Cheng asked.
Gu Ruoxue licked a bit of ice cream from the corner of her lips and replied leisurely, "I suggest you play Go with her. It might achieve the effect you’re hoping for."
"Go?" Su Cheng immediately shook his head. "I don’t even know the basic rules. Even if I cram all night, it’ll just be a last-minute effort with no real impact."
Beside him, Li Guanqi seemed to grasp Gu Ruoxue’s intention. After a moment of thought, she suddenly said, "Senior, are you suggesting…?"
Gu Ruoxue blinked at her. "Smart. What’s Si Jing’s biggest characteristic when playing chess?"
Li Guanqi pondered before answering, "Steadiness. She rarely goes for brilliant moves—only efficiency. She doesn’t crush her opponents outright but instead slowly grinds them down over hundreds of moves, winning by half a point in the end. She enjoys their fear and despair, achieving both psychological superiority and the strategic high ground."
A "brilliant move" in Go refers to an exceptionally clever play—one that can turn the tide of the game or even secure victory in a single stroke.
Though brilliant moves are impressive, Si Jing knew their flaw: they rely on sudden inspiration, making them impossible to practice or replicate.
"What makes her most frustrating to opponents is precisely her relentless focus on efficiency, accumulating small advantages until she secures victory."
Gu Ruoxue nodded in agreement. "In my words, she never banks on luck. Her focus ensures the highest chance of winning, and her iterative thinking keeps her operating at peak efficiency—always strategizing. That’s Si Jing’s style."
"Spot-on analysis."
Li Guanqi nodded deeply after hearing this.
"What are you two talking about?"
Su Cheng licked his popsicle, then pointed at his own "wise" eyes. "Could you explain it in detail? Otherwise, I just look like an idiot here."
"Do you have a Go set?"
Gu Ruoxue suddenly asked.
"Yeah, I do."
Su Cheng pulled out a board from his bag—a birthday gift from a classmate—and placed it on the table.
"Go busy yourself in the kitchen for now. I need to discuss Go with Junior Li."
Gu Ruoxue waved him off, signaling for him to leave.
Su Cheng obediently nodded and walked into the kitchen to start washing vegetables, though she couldn’t help stealing glances at the two women playing their game in the living room while also straining her ears to listen.
"If Su Cheng, as the black player, makes her first move on the tengen in a game of Gomoku, what would Si Jing think?" Gu Ruoxue picked up a black stone and placed it right in the center of the board.
"Logically speaking, there are three possibilities. First, she might assume Su Cheng is a complete amateur who doesn’t know how to play Go. Second, she might suspect Su Cheng is trying to play a mirroring strategy. Third, she might think Su Cheng is so confident in her skills that she’s deliberately giving her an advantage."
After placing her stone, Li Guanqi looked up and met Gu Ruoxue’s gaze. "But Su Cheng has already created so many coincidences before this—precisely because of luck and fate’s whims that Si Jing became interested in her. So Si Jing would assume the third possibility."
Suddenly, Li Guanqi pressed her lips together and fell silent, as if deep in thought.
A few seconds later, she continued, "However, while this opening move could create tension and confusion, the problem is that after a few more moves, Si Jing would realize she and Su Cheng aren’t even playing the same game."
"Your move."
Gu Ruoxue directed Li Guanqi to place her stone, and this time, Su Cheng clearly heard the crisp clack of a stone hitting the board.
Li Guanqi made her move.
Then came another clack.
Gu Ruoxue countered.
"Mirroring?"
Li Guanqi sounded surprised, as Gu Ruoxue’s move was clearly copying her previous play.
"Yes. What will you do now?"
Gu Ruoxue gave her a faint glance.
Li Guanqi pondered for a moment before suddenly picking up a stone. "If Su Cheng truly knows nothing, she’d just mindlessly copy. All I need to do is force a capturing race and win easily with a tengen-based strategy."
Clack.
Clack.
...
The two exchanged several more moves, and in the end, Li Guanqi won.
"But I didn’t feel any pressure at all, nor was it satisfying."
Li Guanqi frowned. Despite winning, she felt strangely unfulfilled.
"What if, before the match, Su Cheng had spread the word that she’d quit Go if she lost? How would that change the outcome?"
Gu Ruoxue suddenly posed the question.
Li Guanqi paused, taken aback.
Gu Ruoxue pressed further, "And what if Su Cheng had bluffed before the game—acting confident and intimidating, then played Gomoku-style moves against Si Jing? What then?"
"In that case..." Li Guanqi’s eyes sharpened.
"It’s unpredictable."
Li Guanqi’s voice turned solemn. "But... given Si Jing’s personality and playing style, if Su Cheng were deliberately trying to lose, Si Jing would likely do everything in her power to make Su Cheng win instead."
"Exactly!"
Gu Ruoxue nodded.
"But what if she didn’t let Su Cheng win?"
"No. A game this unconventional would give her a fresh thrill—Si Jing wouldn’t pass up the chance to try it. Afterward, she could just have Su Cheng fall back on her ‘signature move.’"
"Signature move?"
"Apologizing."