In the Name of Go

Noon

Archery Club

At a chess table.

Su Cheng and Ji Qingyi sat facing each other.

"Try solving this."

Ji Qingyi pointed at the unfinished game on the board, signaling him.

"Okay."

Su Cheng nodded, took a deep breath, and gradually focused his entire being on the game, his expression turning serious.

The challenge she presented was simple.

He needed to capture her pieces.

This was where his calculation skills would be tested—evaluating the board, predicting her moves, and choosing the best response.

The difficulty had just ramped up.

Meanwhile, Ji Qingyi watched him quietly, observing his tense expression and unwavering concentration.

After a long pause, Su Cheng moved his right hand swiftly, placing a black stone onto the board.

"Click—"

The crisp sound of the stone meeting the board echoed as Ji Qingyi averted her gaze and casually placed her own piece in response.

Su Cheng’s composure shattered instantly.

He had been poised to take one of her pieces, but her defensive move blocked him completely.

His expression darkened as he stared at the board, contemplating his next move.

Ji Qingyi, however, continued her explanation: "Go is a game of strategy and defense. When your pieces are threatened, you must protect them. This is what we call 'positional judgment' and 'defense.' Remember, Go is a battle of wits—you must consider both your own position and your opponent’s intentions to plan your next move."

Hearing this, Su Cheng felt both excitement and confusion. Go seemed simple on the surface, yet its rules and strategies were deceptively complex.

Truly easy to learn, hard to master.

Far more difficult than archery.

"Ugh, this is so hard!"

Su Cheng groaned, at a loss for where to place his next stone.

He swore he’d never show off again.

Now he was paying the price.

Compared to other system-equipped protagonists…

His life was downright miserable.

Other people’s systems showered them with max-level skills effortlessly.

Meanwhile, he had to painstakingly learn everything from scratch.

But at least—

He had the guidance of his brilliant and flawlessly beautiful club president!

With that thought, he raised his head and looked at Ji Qingyi across the table.

Her demeanor remained icy, her long hair cascading over her shoulders, her face sculpted to perfection like a work of art.

Her deep, cold eyes resembled still pools of water, and the beauty mark at the corner of her eye added a touch of alluring charm—like a blooming rose.

She sat poised, her slender fingers holding a stone as she waited for his move.

Ji Qingyi seemed to sense his gaze and lifted her head.

Their eyes met.

"Everything has its complexities, but I believe you’ll grasp its essence with time," Ji Qingyi encouraged patiently. "Just like when I first encountered electronic devices, I faced many struggles too."

"Thank you, I understand."

Su Cheng nodded earnestly, his voice sincere. "President, you’re amazing!"

The moment those words left his mouth, Ji Qingyi’s usually expressionless face flickered with rare surprise.

At the same time, Su Cheng swiftly placed his stone.

"Tap!"

The stone landed, and Ji Qingyi, snapping out of her daze, responded just as quickly with another black stone.

Soon, Su Cheng managed to capture one of her pieces.

"Not bad. Correct move."

Ji Qingyi gave a slight nod of approval.

"You flatter me, President!"

Su Cheng replied modestly.

But soon, he lost again.

Just as the game concluded, a butler entered the room and announced respectfully, "Young Miss, your afternoon class is about to begin."

The two snapped out of their Go-focused trance and walked side by side out of the Archery Club, heading toward the lecture hall.

On the way, Su Cheng couldn’t hold back his curiosity and finally asked, "Why are you picking me up on a Saturday?"

After all, judging by the trend…

He’d be staying overnight at the Ji Family Villa.

This would be his first time sleeping over at someone else’s place.

The thought made him a little giddy.

"The morning hours decide the day."

Ji Qingyi continued walking gracefully, her tone calm. "Focus and energy are at their peak in the morning, so learning Go then is far more efficient."

"But I could just wake up early too!"

Su Cheng still felt uneasy about staying over—it just didn’t sit right with him.

Plus, the Ji household had maids, butlers, and so many people around.

And if word got out, it wouldn’t sound good.

"That would only lead to haste and wasted time," Ji Qingyi stopped and looked at him seriously. "You must understand—learning Go requires undivided attention. Proper preparation leads to success; lack of it brings failure. I want you to excel in every aspect."

"...Oh."

After hearing her explanation, he couldn’t think of a rebuttal.

In the end, it was all in the name of Go.

The two fell silent as they walked through the campus, soon arriving at the lecture hall.

The classroom was already filling up with dozens of students—boys and girls of varying ages, since open lectures drew attendees from all grades.

At the moment, though, there were no familiar faces.

They took their usual seats and waited quietly for the class to begin, but during this time, many eyes turned toward Su Cheng.

Especially the girls, whose gazes were filled with curiosity and surprise.

After all, he was now a campus celebrity.

The forums were buzzing with discussions about him.

If before, sitting beside Ji Qingyi would have earned him strange and disbelieving looks…

Now, their pairing seemed perfectly natural.

Geniuses, after all, attract each other.

They have magnetic charm!

Su Cheng sat upright beside Ji Qingyi, inhaling the faint, elegant fragrance that drifted from her. His heart wavered slightly, but he forced himself to stay composed.

He didn’t dare look down—because if he did, he’d see her slender legs wrapped in black stockings.

He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to control himself.

So, he kept his gaze fixed forward.

Just then, three figures entered the classroom—Li Guanqi and her usual companions.

Their eyes immediately landed on Ji Qingyi and Su Cheng, but they showed no surprise, as if they had expected this.

The three girls settled into the front row, unhurriedly wiping their desks and chairs with tissues.

Seeing that they didn’t approach, Su Cheng subconsciously sighed in relief before stealing a glance at Ji Qingyi.

She remained composed, seemingly oblivious to the trio—though in truth, she had keenly noticed his gaze.

At that moment, Su Cheng’s attention was drawn to two petite figures at the door—one with brown hair, the other golden.

Cornelia, the strategic partner of "Eight-Core Bombs," and her best friend, Ailiya.

To his surprise, the moment they stepped inside, Xuan Ying enthusiastically greeted them, pulling them over to sit beside her.

Su Cheng, though curious and surprised, didn’t dwell on it too much. Instead, he averted his gaze and pulled out his phone from his pocket. But before he could even unlock the screen…

A tingling sensation shot up from the soles of his feet, forcing him to grip the desk with both hands as he lowered his head, barely suppressing his reaction.

His odd behavior caught Ji Qingyi’s attention, and she leaned over slightly, asking softly, “What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing, just got bitten by a mosquito…”

Su Cheng kept his head down as he muttered the excuse, just as the vibration in his feet abruptly stopped.

“Really?”

Unable to see Su Cheng’s expression, Ji Qingyi gave him a skeptical glance before scanning the surroundings, as if searching for the elusive mosquito.

“It’s fine now.”

Su Cheng lifted his head again, his eyes landing on the back of a certain chess player sitting in front of him—someone whose face he couldn’t see. For some reason, he suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to scream out loud in frustration!

Because this whole scenario felt straight out of some bizarre anime trope!

Forcing himself to act normal, he slumped over the desk and unlocked his phone, only to find a message from Li Guanqi.

And it had been sent over ten minutes ago.

Li Guanqi: “Testing the effect. See if anyone notices.”

Seeing this, Su Cheng couldn’t help but scoff as he typed out a reply.

NoOrangeLover: “Don’t use it in situations like this from now on!”

After sending the message, he opened the four-person group chat, only to find the conversation still frozen on his last message—the one where he had @-mentioned Gu Ruoxue.

Even now, Gu Ruoxue hadn’t replied.

This left him fuming. He had @-mentioned her, and yet she couldn’t even bother to send a half-hearted “Oh” in response?

Since the group’s creation, he had been the only one awkwardly keeping the conversation alive!

At this moment, Su Cheng realized he couldn’t let this continue.

What was even the point of creating the group?

What value did it hold?

He needed to change this dynamic!

He wanted to create a lively, fun atmosphere where everyone actively participated, where the group’s existence actually meant something to its members.

“Time to show them the power of the group admin!”

With that thought, Su Cheng took a deep breath, steadied himself, and lifted his gaze—just in time to see a woman who seemed to carry her own dramatic aura stride into the classroom and head straight toward them.

It was none other than his so-called “female friend”—Gu Ruoxue!

The very same woman who had ignored his group message!

As Su Cheng felt Gu Ruoxue take a seat behind him and Ji Qingyi, he didn’t hesitate. He immediately turned to the club president beside him, phone in hand, and said, “President.”

Ji Qingyi, who had just glanced at Gu Ruoxue, gave a slight nod before leaning in to listen.

Su Cheng lowered his voice. “This is your first time in the group, right? Let me teach you how to use some of the features.”

He even held his phone up for Ji Qingyi to see.

Ji Qingyi skimmed the screen and nodded.

“For example, if you want to get someone’s attention in the group, you can add an @ symbol in your message. That’ll pull up a list of all the members, and once you select the person you want to mention, they’ll get a notification and see your message right away.”

Su Cheng demonstrated the process on his own phone, and Ji Qingyi watched attentively, looking as though she was learning something invaluable.

Naturally, this entire exchange didn’t escape Gu Ruoxue’s notice—though she only spared them a brief glance before looking away, uninterested.

But the next second, something happened that made her expression darken.

“Basically, this is how you make sure someone in the group actually pays attention to you and responds quickly,” Su Cheng patiently explained.

However, Ji Qingyi had already noticed something in the chat logs—Su Cheng had @-mentioned Gu Ruoxue, and yet she still hadn’t replied.

Connecting the dots—Su Cheng bringing this up only after Gu Ruoxue arrived, plus his complaints yesterday about being ignored in the group—Ji Qingyi instantly understood his intentions.

So, she played along. “And what if the person you @-mention doesn’t respond?”

“Ah, President, you must never do this,” Su Cheng immediately said with exaggerated seriousness. “That kind of behavior is rude, disrespectful, unethical, it’s…”

As he rattled off a long list of condemnations, he deliberately turned his head to glance at Gu Ruoxue—who was now glaring at him, her entire body radiating icy hostility.

With a perfectly straight face, Su Cheng added, “Vice President, I’m not talking about you, okay? Don’t misunderstand. I would never criticize you.”

This blatant “accusing the mulberry tree while pointing at the locust” act was so audacious that even Ji Qingyi couldn’t help but be amused—though her expression remained neutral as she sneakily observed Gu Ruoxue’s reaction.

Gu Ruoxue, meanwhile, shot Su Cheng a frosty glare but said nothing, the chill around her intensifying.

Simple venting, ultimate satisfaction.

At this moment, Su Cheng—now utterly fearless—felt nothing but exhilaration.

Then, he turned back to Ji Qingyi and continued, “Oh, President, there’s one more thing you should know.”

Ji Qingyi raised an eyebrow, feigning interest. “Hm?”

“If someone uploads a file in the group, and another member downloads it because they need it… but then doesn’t even say ‘thank you’ afterward? That’s just shameless, despicable, irresponsible…”

The moment these words left Su Cheng’s mouth, Ji Qingyi’s expression froze.

Because she had once downloaded a certain video of Xuan Ying taking a bath…

And since she couldn’t see if anyone else had downloaded it, she assumed this remark was aimed squarely at her.

“President, Vice President.”

Su Cheng turned his head back and forth between the two girls, both of whom were now emanating such intense cold auras that it felt almost tangible.

But Su Cheng, now completely in the zone, didn’t care. He wasn’t about to back down—in fact, he only grew more emboldened.

“I’m not targeting either of you, okay? I’m just talking about this phenomenon in general. Don’t take it personally. I’m just saying this kind of behavior is impolite, lacks basic decency…”

The two girls’ eyes bore into him, their glares so sharp it felt like they might explode any second.

“Teacher!”

Su Cheng suddenly shot to his feet, raising his hand. “I need to report something!”

In an instant, the entire classroom’s attention snapped to him—even the lecturer paused, looking at him in surprise.

Ji Qingyi and Gu Ruoxue’s chilling auras dimmed slightly, but their faces remained dark, brows furrowed as they stared at Su Cheng.

“I’m not feeling well. I need to go to the infirmary!”

Su Cheng clutched his stomach dramatically, feigning weakness as he addressed the teacher.

“Alright. Do you need someone to accompany you?”

Just as Su Cheng was about to say no, a hand—strong as a vice—clamped down on his shoulder.

The moment he tried to flee after stirring up trouble, his back went cold.

“I’ll take him.”

………………………………