Chapter 52

Chapter 53: The Middle-aged Man

Just as the girl with the fringe had said, the chess club had designated a range of twenty tables, with dedicated personnel responsible for guiding and testing. The test was simple: participants would draw a level test paper according to their own strength. Each paper contained various difficult and incomplete chess positions. Those who could solve them could smoothly join the club and become a member. // Free e-book download //

Many people participated in the chess club, and naturally, there were many beautiful women. Song Qingguan finally understood why the girl with the fringe was so arrogant. A chess club that didn't lack popularity naturally wouldn't care about two insignificant freshmen. He was a bit puzzled about why Zhao Heng had come to take the test, but seeing him waiting to draw a test paper, he also joined the queue. Soon, someone came over.

Zhao Heng was purely there to avoid the girls, so he didn't wait for the chess club staff to speak and immediately drew a chess paper from the bottom. In his view, that should be the simplest test. He planned to finish it casually and leave. Song Qingguan, on the other hand, drew a paper according to his own strength and then started filling it out next to Zhao Heng.

"This chess club is cheating people."

Zhao Heng squinted and scanned the chess paper in front of him. His fingers instinctively came together, slightly turning. Whenever he faced a difficult situation, he always had the subconscious action of clenching his fists. Zhao Heng muttered to himself, "This endgame is quite deep. It's clearly designed to prevent those without a solid foundation from joining."

There weren't many pieces on the chess paper, and it was already at the final stage, but it was designed with great skill. Zhao Heng started from the first move and by the sixteenth move, he already felt the difficulty. He felt that even playing against Zhao Siqing wasn't as challenging. It seemed that the old man who set up this chess position was quite skilled.

"Ruling the world, I'll find him to play another day."

Zhao Heng had a fleeting thought. If this was the easiest level test, how difficult would the other levels be? Zhao Heng glanced at Song Qingguan in the distance and saw him with a joyful expression, quickly solving the problems. He was slightly surprised: Could Song Qingguan have been pretending all along?

Zhao Heng smiled bitterly and shook his head, then focused on the chess paper in front of him. At this moment, the girl with the fringe, who had finished distributing flyers, returned. Seeing Zhao Heng with a furrowed brow, she sneered. She had always thought he was arrogant and conceited, and now he was stuck on the level test.

Six minutes later, many people had already stood up to submit their papers, leaving with ease. More people joined the test. Ten minutes later, a new batch of freshmen had replaced those around Zhao Heng. At twelve minutes, Song Qingguan also submitted his completed chess paper with his name written on it, while Zhao Heng was still struggling with the final moves.

"What's up with Brother Heng today?"

Song Qingguan was surprised that the leader was still sitting there, wondering if he was thinking about how to lose on purpose. The girl with the fringe, wearing high heels, deliberately walked past Zhao Heng, letting out a not-so-light sneer. Clearly, she was mocking Zhao Heng for being stuck on the level test, but Zhao Heng didn't react, not even looking at her.

At thirty minutes, Zhao Heng was still silently staring at the chess paper amidst the comings and goings of people. His fingers gently rubbed together, and his eyes alternated between widening and squinting. Gradually, the students leaving the chess club and the twenty-odd members responsible for the test began to notice this pale-faced, sweating young man.

More and more freshmen came to test, and those leaving maintained a polite silence, occasionally glancing at the passersby. However, when they saw Zhao Heng, pale and motionless, some of them smiled, and their faces showed mockery:

"Die with pride, suffer in life!"

Playing chess isn't something you can figure out just by spending time. Your level is what it is. Hearing that Zhao Heng had been testing for thirty minutes, they naturally didn't think he was seriously thinking about the solution. After all, this was just a level test, not an international competition, and it wasn't particularly difficult.

Zhao Heng remained seated, his face still pale, and even a few beads of sweat could be seen on his forehead. The freshmen coming and going and the chess club members naturally assumed that this guy was trying to draw attention by taking a long time to solve the test, but ended up stepping on a landmine. However, to save face, he refused to leave stubbornly.

At this moment, he was in a difficult situation.

Some people felt sympathy for this poor guy, but more people looked at Zhao Heng in the corner with mocking and contemptuous eyes. In their view, if he didn't have the level, he shouldn't have come to make a fool of himself. Making a fool of oneself meant facing criticism, and this contempt reached its peak after hearing the girl with the fringe's teasing.

"Phew!"

At fifty minutes, Zhao Heng finally finished the chess paper and submitted it. The member who received the paper was slightly surprised to see it densely filled with moves, not expecting Zhao Heng to have written so many steps. However, after a few seconds of hesitation, he didn't bother to check it, as there were still many people waiting to test, so he hurriedly stuffed it into a file bag.

The girl with the fringe originally wanted to take a look and mock him, but seeing it go into the file bag, she gave up the idea. A person who took fifty minutes for a level test didn't need to be looked at. If she were to do these chess papers, she could solve any level in less than ten minutes. Why would it take an hour?

"Boss, why did it take so long?"

Song Qingguan, seeing Zhao Heng with sweat on his forehead, asked with concern. Zhao Heng's thoughts turned into a sigh. He couldn't say that the chess position was so difficult that he took 123 moves to win. He didn't think Song Qingguan would believe it, so he changed the subject: "Let's go look around elsewhere."

He noticed the calligraphy and painting association in the distance: "Let's go check out the calligraphy and painting association."

The girl with the fringe watched the two gradually move away, a look of disdain crossing her eyes: "So childish!" In her view, a student who struggled so much with a regular chess paper couldn't possibly join the calligraphy and painting association. The two were just pretending to be refined. Thinking about this, she shook her head and went to recruit other freshmen.

Zhao Heng and Song Qingguan stood in front of the calligraphy and painting association, observing. This was a place where people could show off their skills, naturally attracting a crowd. Students with some foundation were holding pens, writing in a flowing style, or carefully crafting a painting, or writing a poem with a rich flavor, hoping to attract applause.

Zhao Heng casually scanned the displays. Although many of the calligraphy and paintings had a certain level, they were still far from being considered masterpieces. He suddenly noticed a middle-aged man at the far end, holding a brush, standing out among the students, radiating an aura of authority.

"Is that uncle also a student?"

Song Qingguan frowned slightly: "He looks familiar, like I've seen him somewhere."

Zhao Heng smiled faintly: "He might be a teacher or something, contributing a few strokes."

Although he said this, out of curiosity, he still walked over to the middle-aged man, while Song Qingguan didn't move, watching the distant Qiao Fatso with a bitter smile. The latter had boldly gone to the dance association and was now displaying his skills without any restraint, even deliberately asking meaningless questions to the girls.

"This guy..."

Song Qingguan shook his head helplessly and then noticed that Zhao Heng was no longer beside him.

At this moment, Zhao Heng was already standing next to the middle-aged man, who still hadn't looked up, seemingly unaware of Zhao Heng's arrival.

Zhao Heng held his breath and slowly approached the desk, looking at the rice paper.

The painting on the rice paper was almost complete, depicting a majestic eagle spreading its wings. The sky was high and the clouds were light, and the eagle was soaring. All the elements were vividly portrayed. Currently, the middle-aged man was holding the brush, about to add the final touch to the eagle's eyes. This finishing touch was elusive, and the hardest part for the painter was to capture the essence and spirit of the painting.

The middle-aged man seemed puzzled, his brow slightly furrowed, hesitating to make the final stroke.

Zhao Heng carefully examined the painting. The middle-aged man's brushwork was skilled and grand, but it lacked a touch of vitality. The eagle, though lifelike, was somewhat stiff, like a flaw in a beautiful jade, a minor imperfection. Zhao Heng sighed softly as he looked at the eagle.

This man was no ordinary person, but even he found it difficult to bring the painting to life with the final touch.

Zhao Heng's unintentional sigh startled the middle-aged man, who was deep in thought with the brush. He looked up and met Zhao Heng's eyes, smiling warmly. The middle-aged man was as refined and extraordinary as Zhao Heng had imagined, with harmonious features and a strong presence. His deep, distant yet slightly indifferent eyes were particularly striking.

A person of authority!

This was Zhao Heng's judgment of the middle-aged man!

PS: Brothers with votes, please support more!

{PiaoTian Literature www.PiaoTian.com Thank you for your support, your support is our greatest motivation}

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends