Chapter 5 of 10
Chapter 5
5 min read1,216 words
The location for the Go club activities is actually just an empty classroom.
Inside this classroom, the desks are used as Go boards, with Go boards and boxes containing black and white stones placed on them.
As Chen Anya entered the Go club, she saw a group of elementary school students, with their innocent faces, sitting at the desks, holding black and white stones, and playing Go with serious expressions.
Since most of them were fully engrossed in their games, they did not notice Chen Anya's arrival.
Only the Go club's instructor noticed Chen Anya's arrival.
Slightly taken aback, the instructor searched her memory and realized that Chen Anya was not a member of the Go club.
At the same time that the instructor noticed Chen Anya, Chen Anya also noticed the instructor, her eyes flashing with surprise.
To be honest, the instructor's appearance was quite different from what Chen Anya had expected.
In Chen Anya's mind, the Go club's instructor should be a rather serious middle-aged man.
However, the actual instructor of the private Haiwang Elementary School Go club was a young woman in her early 30s, dressed in a youthful and fashionable style.
After the initial surprise, Chen Anya took the initiative to approach the instructor and said, "Hello, teacher. I am Chen Anya from Class 3, Grade 6."
"I have recently become very interested in Go, so I would like to join the Go club to learn. Is that possible?"
Upon hearing Chen Anya's words, the instructor was initially taken aback, but then she smiled and replied, "Of course, our Go club welcomes all students who like Go."
She then introduced herself, "I am the Go club's instructor, Sakamoto Kei. You can call me Teacher Sakamoto."
After that, Sakamoto Kei led Chen Anya to get a brief overview of the Go club.
During this process, Chen Anya noticed a student of about her age in the corner of the Go club, playing Go alone.
Seeing this, Chen Anya pointed to the student and asked Sakamoto Kei, "Teacher Sakamoto, can I play a game with that student?"
Sakamoto Kei was taken aback by Chen Anya's question, looked in the direction Chen Anya was pointing, and then her expression became peculiar as she asked, "Are you sure you want to play with him?"
Chen Anya was taken aback and asked, "Is there a problem?"
"There isn't really a problem," Sakamoto Kei shook her head and replied, "But I need to ask for his opinion."
Saying this, Sakamoto Kei walked over to the student and whispered something in his ear.
Then, Chen Anya saw the student look at her with a surprised expression and nod slightly, as if agreeing.
After that, Sakamoto Kei led Chen Anya over and then left.
On the way, Sakamoto Kei told Chen Anya the student's name.
Ichiru Masahiro, that was the student's name.
Originally, in Chen Anya's impression, Go players should be refined and steady, as Go requires patience.
However, Ichiru Masahiro was different. In Chen Anya's eyes, Ichiru Masahiro had a buzz cut, a sour expression, and gave off the vibe of a delinquent.
From the first glance, Chen Anya knew that Ichiru Masahiro was not an easy person to deal with, and she had probably chosen the wrong person.
No wonder Sakamoto Kei had such a peculiar expression earlier.
It was likely because of this reason that no one was willing to play with Ichiru Masahiro.
Thinking about this, Chen Anya was already considering backing out.
Chen Anya wanted to find someone to play with, but she did not want to play with a troublemaker.
Chen Anya estimated that once Ichiru Masahiro found out her skill level, he would likely mock her.
This was not what Chen Anya wanted, as she did not have a masochistic tendency.
Of course, Ichiru Masahiro did not know what Chen Anya was thinking and did not give her a chance to speak. He directly reached into the box of stones, grabbed a few, and extended them to Chen Anya with an unfriendly tone, saying, "Guess the number of stones."
Chen Anya, who already knew the basic rules of Go, understood that guessing the number of stones was a way to decide who would play first.
In Go, the player with the black stones has the advantage of moving first, so to decide who gets the black stones, they need to guess the number of stones.
The rule for guessing is simple: guess whether the number of stones in Ichiru Masahiro's hand is odd or even. If you guess correctly, you get the black stones and move first; if you guess incorrectly, you get the white stones and move second.
Seeing this, Chen Anya decided to go through with the game, despite her initial hesitation.
After all, she had been the one to request the game, and it would be unreasonable to back out now.
Most importantly, if Ichiru Masahiro thought Chen Anya was just messing with him, there was no telling what a delinquent like him might do.
"Odd."
As Chen Anya spoke, Ichiru Masahiro opened his hand, revealing three white stones.
Seeing this, Ichiru Masahiro directly handed the box of black stones to Chen Anya and said with an unfriendly tone, "You get the black stones and move first."
Chen Anya had no objections and took the box of black stones.
Then, Chen Anya took a deep breath, awkwardly picked up a black stone with her right thumb and index finger, and placed it on the star point in the upper left corner.
Seeing this, Ichiru Masahiro frowned slightly and looked at Chen Anya with a hostile expression, asking, "Are you a beginner? Are you here to mess with me?"
Without giving Chen Anya a chance to respond, Ichiru Masahiro continued with a disdainful tone, "If so, I will make you taste what despair is like."
"I will show you that beginners should stay in the trash and not run around annoying people."
As he spoke, Ichiru Masahiro directly picked up a white stone and placed it heavily on the star point in the upper right corner, making a crisp sound, and continued, "Pray, pray that you don't lose interest in Go!"
Even though Chen Anya was mentally 22 years old, Ichiru Masahiro's tone and attitude, along with his harsh words, made her very uncomfortable.
Chen Anya did not understand why this child, Ichiru Masahiro, was so annoying.
At the same time, she felt very frustrated.
Chen Anya knew her skill level, and even if she could make tough statements now, they would be useless.
Because, when she lost, these tough statements would become the funniest jokes.
So, the best response now was silence.
Of course, while Chen Anya remained silent on the surface, she was inwardly seething, thinking, "If I weren't a beginner, if I also had a Fujiwara no Sai, I would definitely teach this brat a lesson!"
At that moment, in the Go classroom, a task notification suddenly appeared in front of a student who had just finished a game.
The notification read, "Limited-time Task (Available): Help Chen Anya defeat Ichiru Masahiro (Task rewards depend on completion)."
"Note: Task completion is related to the degree of reversal. The more the outcome is reversed, the higher the task completion!"
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