An Impossible to Reject Confession

    After the game, after leaving the clubhouse, Qiao Mu found a print shop online and printed a photo. The photo is a group photo of him and Xu Youyou when they were in J City last year. The two sat in front of the chessboard, each holding a piece and playing Gobang.

    To be honest, that game of backgammon was not as easy as Go at all, because Xu Youyou could not lose too fast without any sense of experience, and it could not be too obvious for her to perceive, really Abandoned his spirit.

    After printing the photos and returning to the hotel, Qiao Mu received a call from Xu Youyou.

    Qiao Mu had a happy face, and quickly connected: "School?"

    This time is when the school ends.

    "Yeah, how are you doing there?"

    "Win." Qiao Mu's voice contained a pride that he didn't even notice.

      ?"

    "The chess is very strong." Qiao Mu nodded.

    "Are you... nervous?"

    Perceiving the temptation in Xu Youyou's voice and knowing that the other party is caring about him, Qiao Mu's heart is warm: "I'm nervous, and I've overcome it."

    Xu Youyou of course knew that Qiaomu had overcome, if not, her cold symptoms would not disappear so quickly, and Qiaomu would not be able to win today's game.

    "Have you found a way to overcome it?" Xu Youyou asked.

    "Well, I found it." Qiao Mu lowered his head and looked at his left hand, which was the photo he just printed from the print shop.

    "What way?" Xu Youyou was curious.

    There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.

    "I'm just curious, it doesn't matter if I don't want to say it." Xu Youyou thought that Qiaomu didn't want to say it.

    "It's not that I don't want to say it, I'm just thinking about how to say it." No, I'm guilty.

    "Then have you made up your mind?" Xu Youyou's curiosity was immediately hooked again.

    "Every time I'm nervous, some bad pictures will flash in my mind, and those pictures are the source of my psychological shadow." Qiao Mu has never mentioned his own psychology to Xu Youyou. The shadow is not only Xu Youyou, Qiao Mu has never responded positively to others, such as Grandma Qiao, uncle, Lu Shi, and even the psychiatrist who treated him back then.

    But now, he wants to make some changes: "So I thought, can I replace these bad pictures with some other pictures. Then, I succeeded."

    "Yeah." Qiao Mu nodded in agreement.

      That's good." Xu Youyou said.

    I like to play Go, and I have happy memories, but you are the only one who is enough to cover those pictures.

    Can't help it, Qiao Mu's thumb gently rubbed Xu Youyou's bright smile on the photo.

    In the next few days of the game, Qiao Mu will carry this photo with him. As the round robin progressed, the opponents Qiao Mu encountered became stronger and stronger. Almost every game could make his spirits tense, and every time he felt nervous, the shadows of childhood flashed in his mind. , he would force himself to replace Xu Youyou's face. And maybe it's the reason why he takes a look at the photos every day before the game. The replacement process is getting smoother and smoother. From the obvious shortness of breath and sweat on his forehead at the beginning, it only needs a flash of thought to be perfect.

    In a blink of an eye, in the last week of the competition, after a month of non-stop competition, most of the players have been eliminated, leaving the last 26 players to compete for the remaining 20 places. At this point, in fact, most people's points have been locked in a fixed quota, and continuing to compete is just for ranking words.

    Qiao Mu lost one game after entering the round robin, but the points are still very high, he only needs to win two more games, the points can enter the top 20, and lock a fixed spot.

    "I knew I could wait for you here." Except that Li Xiuran sent Qiao Mu a WeChat message on the first day of the regular competition, he never contacted Qiao Mu again.

    When Qiao Mu approached, he asked again: "How much is the ranking."

    "It's enough to win two more games." Qiao Mu did not report the specific value.

      Points are enough to win. In Qiao Mu's situation, it was obvious that he lost one or two games.

    "Meng Pengyue." Qiao Mudao.

    "Meng Pengyue?" Li Xiuran searched hard in his memory, but couldn't find the existence of this person, "Which dojo?"

    Li Xiuran knows Qiaomu's chess skills, so the players who can beat Qiaomu must have strong chess skills, and the players with strong chess skills, except for those with different talents, have basically participated in two games. times or more. Li Xiuran also went out of the dojo, so he still knew a little about the top masters of each dojo.

    Li Xiuran was stunned for a moment, then quickly comforted: "Yes, Teacher Wang also told me before that the amateur chess players in the society may not have high chess skills, but they are full of personality and fresh moves. If you don't pay attention during the game, it is easy to be fooled. But it doesn't matter, there are still seven games, and you only need to win two more games to become a professional chess player."

    "Don't talk about me, where did you come from, you're a mess." Li Xiuran was still wearing a suit, if he just came to him, he wouldn't be dressed so grandly.

    "I just came back from the game in City C." Li Xiuran said.

    "What are you doing in such a hurry?" He will be in City B for several days.

     "Tomorrow I'm going to G City to play, so I have time tonight, so I want to come and have a meal with you." Li Xiuran said.

    "You're so busy, it seems that the team you signed with is very important to you." Qiao Mu was sincerely happy for Li Xiuran, you know, a professional chess player, the name sounds very bluffing, but it can I can't support my family, it's all about competition. The more games there are, the more prize money, and the more games there are, there is less income. Some even worse, it is estimated that there is no team to sign, and they can only go to some training institutions to be a Go teacher.

    Qiao Mu was stunned, not knowing what to say for a while.

    "Let's not talk about this for now, let me invite you to dinner and chat while eating." Li Xiuran said.

    "Where to go?" There is only one week left in the game, and each of the opponents he meets is stronger than the other. Qiao Mu wants to go back to rest early.

    "Not far, just two streets behind the clubhouse, there is a nice restaurant."

    Qiao Mu did not refuse any more, it was only two streets away, the two of them didn’t take a taxi, they walked all the way, chatting to the store as they walked. Because the Go Association is nearby, this area is considered a gathering place for professional chess players, so the restaurants in this area also have some Go features. The store that Li Xiuran brought him here is decorated in a retro style. There is a chessboard in the center of the hall. On the chessboard is an endgame. Qiao Mu took a quick glance and found that the game was not easy. It wasn't just laid out to look good, and it wasn't copied from a chess book. It should have been played by two equally-matched chess players, and stopped at the most important point.

    "Do you want to go up and try?" Li Xiuran said when he saw Qiao Mu staring at the chess set.

    "Can this chess move?" Qiao Mu was surprised.

    "The owner of this shop is also a professional chess player. He puts up such a game in the shop every day and welcomes customers to solve it. Whoever solves it will be free of a meal Meal money." Li Xiuran smiled, "This is quite similar to the event we held during the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hongluo Town."

    One is to solve the life-and-death problem to win the lantern, and the other is to solve the chess game to win a king meal.

    "Isn't it your treat?" Qiao Mu asked.

    Li Xiuran laughed dumbly: "Okay, please."

    The two said and walked inside.

    The taste of the food is very good. It is the most delicious meal that Qiaomu has eaten in City B, but the price of the food is also amazing.

    "The price of city B is really expensive." Qiao Mu is already secretly guessing whether his future income can afford such consumption.

    "This store is more expensive than the one outside." Li Xiuran said.

    "Then why come here?" Qiao Mu wondered.

    "Take you to recognize the door." Li Xiuran introduced, "Professional chess players in City B often come here to eat, and some 8th and 9th dan bosses also occasionally come to play in the box here. .After you finish the fixed stage, if you sign a professional team from City B, come here often, you can open up the circle."

    Qiao Mu frowned, a little uncomfortable.

    Li Xiuran's family is in business, so he doesn't dislike socializing, but Qiao Mu is obviously not. Seeing that Qiao Mu's expression was uncomfortable, Li Xiuran didn't say anything more, but said, "It's not urgent. Let's talk about it after you pass the fixed stage. Let's go, I'll take you back to the hotel."

    "Well." The two walked out together, and when they passed through the corridor between the boxes, the door of one box was suddenly opened, and a baby-faced boy walked out of the door, almost walking over The two collided.

    "Sorry, Arbor?!"

    "Qiao Mu, your friend?" Li Xiuran asked in surprise.

    Qiao Mu recognizes this boy, the popular candidate for this time's fixed stage championship, Aileshan.

    "Aileshan." Qiao Mu answered Li Xiuran.

    This is Elle Mountain? Li Xiuran began to look at the young man in front of him again. Aileshan is the favorite to win this year's fixed stage competition. He is the grandson of Lao Ai. It is said that he has studied art in R country for many years. In this fixed stage competition, in addition to maintaining the record of all wins, 80% of his games are played. They all won in the middle game. So much so that before the fixed stage match was over, many professional teams started to play his ideas.

    Li Xiuran's A-level team is no exception.

    Aileshan simply nodded to Li Xiuran, and then said to Qiao Mu, "You came with Teacher Qiao."

    Mr. Joe? Qiao Dongyuan is coming over?

    Qiao Mu's face darkened, he was about to pull Li Xiuran away, but as soon as he looked up, he met Qiao Dongyuan's gaze. Qiao Dongyuan came over for dinner at the invitation of Ai Lao, but as soon as he entered the store, he met someone he didn't expect.

    "Mr. Qiao." Aileshan also found Qiao Dongyuan and greeted him with a smile.

    Qiao Dongyuan looked at the three teenagers in the distance, his eyes were dark and unclear, and he stood in place for a long time.

    "Dad." Suddenly, an innocent childish voice recalled Qiao Dongyuan's consciousness.

    "Huh?" Qiao Dongyuan's expression softened immediately, looking down at the little boy beside him with a loving look, "Xiaoyuan, what's wrong?"

    "Dad, I'm hungry." The little boy's name is Qiao Yuan, the youngest son of Qiao Dongyuan.

    "Then let's go eat." Qiao Dongyuan led the little boy over, and Aileshan also heard the child's cry of hunger. When the two approached, he quickly stepped aside.

    "Xiaoyuan, come in." Ai Laozai was already waiting inside, and when he saw the little boy, he happily called someone in.

    "Grandpa Ai." Qiao Yuan and Ai Lao also knew each other. Seeing the old man calling him, he threw off his father's hand and ran in.

    Qiao Dongyuan stood at the door and did not go in immediately. He looked sideways at Qiaomu standing by the door, as if waiting for Qiaomu to speak to him.

    Qiao Mu waited for a while, and saw the man standing still at the door, his eyebrows were a little impatient: "Please let me, we have to go out, thank you."

    Ai Leshan felt a bit of embarrassment at this moment. He didn't know the problem between Qiao Mu and Qiao Dongyuan, and only guessed if the father and son were in conflict, and thought about it. , He turned back into the house, intending to move rescue soldiers.

    "Xiaoyuan, did your father and your brother quarrel?" Aileshan whispered to Qiao Yuan who was eating pastries.

    "Brother? What brother?" Qiao Yuan looked strange.

    "Your brother, Qiaomu." Aileshan said, "They are confronting at the door, you go and persuade."

    "The brother at the door, I don't know." The child looked confused.

    Aileshan was stunned, Qiao Yuan didn't know Qiaomu, how could it be possible?

    Elder Ai is getting old, and he hasn't seen Arbor for more than ten years, so he didn't think of it at first, and it wasn't until now that he reacted: "Arbor is at the door?"

    "Yes, but they seem to have quarreled." Aileshan said, "Grandpa, should we persuade us."

    "Be honest." Ai Lao glared at his grandson.

    At the door, Qiao Dongyuan was still standing in the same place, and did not move away because of Qiaomu's words. His eyes swept across Qiao Mu's body, like a human X-ray machine.

    Qiao Mu was so uncomfortable that he could only endure and stand in place. And Li Xiuran, the moment he recognized Qiao Dongyuan, was full of reverence. This is the number one player in Chinese Go, a character that could only be seen in newspapers and on TV before.

    "Please let me go." Qiao Mu said again.

    "Why did you come back?" Qiao Dongyuan suddenly asked.

    "I will come back if I want to." Qiao Mu said coldly.

    "I saw your chess." Qiao Dongyuan said again.

    Qiao Mu's heart skipped a beat, and he held his breath unconsciously.

    "Your chess is worse than it was seven years ago."

    Qiao Mu suddenly raised his head and looked at Qiao Dongyuan with angry eyes.

    "You are also a chess player. You know whether I am right or not." Qiao Dongyuan continued, "I said seven years ago that a person who is so weak that he can't even overcome his nervousness, You don't deserve to be on the field. Seven years later, I thought you'd overcome your nervousness, but look at the chess you play."

    "Mr. Qiao, Qiao Mu has only lost one game so far." Li Xiuran couldn't listen anymore, even if he admired Qiao Dongyuan, he couldn't bear to let the other side hit Qiao Mu like this.

    "Only lose one game? What if you win? Now you, although you won't faint due to nervousness, but you are still affected by nervousness , didn't show his full strength at all. I still say that, a person who can't even overcome his nervousness is not worthy of being on the field." Qiao Dongyuan's voice was filled with disappointment, "You are now, and seven years old. There was no difference before.”

    "Qiao Mu." Li Xiuran looked at Qiao Mu nervously, but Qiao Mu's expression was much calmer than his.

    Qiao Mu sneered: "There is still a difference."

    Qiao Dongyuan looked at him.

    "I would care about your opinion seven years ago, but now I will not." Qiao Mu said loudly.

    Qiao Dongyuan's pupils shrank slightly, and Li Xiuran didn't dare to breathe.

    "Mr. Qiao, please let me go, you are blocking the road." Qiao Mu called estrangedly.

    This time, Qiao Dongyuan finally gave way, he took a deep look at Qiaomu, opened the door and entered the box.