"Star point?"
Seeing Yu Shao's move, Zheng Qin raised his eyebrows and glanced at Yu Shao across from him.
For some reason, even though his opponent was just a high school student who had never achieved a dan rank, Zheng Qin inexplicably felt a trace of nervousness.
"It must be my imagination."
Zheng Qin shook his head, thinking he was overthinking. He then reached into the chess box, picked up a white stone, and gently placed it.
Clack.
Fourth column, sixteenth row. Star point.
"That kid really doesn't want Little Zheng to give handicap stones? Little Zheng is trying to become a professional player."
"Quite brave. I think it might end in the middle game."
"That's too generous. I think it might not even reach the middle game—he could resign during the opening."
"Want to go watch?"
"Let's go, let's go."
At this time, seeing that Zheng Qin and Yu Shao's game had begun, many people around came over to stand and watch, obviously all wanting to see Yu Shao make a fool of himself.
...
Outside Shanhai Chess Hall.
A black Bentley stopped in front of the chess hall, then the car door opened, and a breathtakingly beautiful girl stepped out from the back seat.
If Yu Shao were here now, he would recognize that this girl was none other than Xu Zijin.
Xu Zijin had already taken off her school's old-fashioned uniform. She wore a red and white striped short-sleeved shirt on top, jeans below that outlined her well-proportioned and straight lines, and white canvas shoes that slightly revealed her delicate and slender ankles.
Although Xu Zijin was the type of girl who could make even school uniforms look good, now that she had changed out of her uniform, even though her outfit was simple, she was obviously much more attractive than when wearing the uniform—she could even be described as stunning.
"Uncle Wang, please wait in the car for a while."
After getting out of the car, Xu Zijin politely thanked the driver.
"No problem, it's my duty."
The driver called Uncle Wang smiled and said: "Miss, if you need anything, just send me a message."
"Okay."
Xu Zijin nodded, then turned around and walked into Shanhai Chess Hall.
"Hello, welcome."
Seeing the glass door open, the receptionist immediately put on a professional smile and looked up at Xu Zijin. When she saw Xu Zijin's appearance, she couldn't help but say in surprise: "Wow, little sister, you're really beautiful."
"Thank you."
Xu Zijin smiled slightly, politely thanking her. Her voice was clear and pleasant.
"Your voice is so nice too!"
The receptionist was hit by Xu Zijin's beauty and went into praise mode, asking: "Is this your first time here? Because if such a beautiful girl had come before, I would definitely remember."
"Thank you, this is indeed my first time here."
Xu Zijin nodded and asked: "I heard there's someone called Zheng Qin here. I'd like to learn from him in a game. Is he here?"
"Eh? Looking for Little Zheng?"
The receptionist was stunned, then said: "He is here, but he's currently playing with someone else, a boy who looks about your age, from Jiangling No. 1 High School."
"Jiangling No. 1 High School?"
Hearing these four words, Xu Zijin couldn't help but pause. After coming to her senses, she nodded and said: "Okay, thank you. Can I go in and watch? How much is the entrance fee?"
"Of course you can."
The receptionist had extremely high regard for this beautiful girl and smiled: "If you're just watching games, you don't need to pay an entrance fee."
After speaking, the receptionist pointed toward the chess room, thoughtfully giving Xu Zijin directions: "They should be at the table by the window. That boy is wearing a school uniform, so he's easy to find."
"Okay, thank you."
Xu Zijin nodded, then walked toward the chess room. She quickly found Zheng Qin and Yu Shao at the window seat, since Yu Shao's Jiangling No. 1 High School uniform made him easy to spot.
"He is..."
Xu Zijin stood among the crowd, looking at Yu Shao, her beautiful eyebrows slightly furrowed as she tried to recall if she had seen this schoolmate anywhere.
Then... no impression.
But Xu Zijin didn't find this strange. Except for having some slight memory of her classmates, she basically had no impression of students from other classes.
And the reason she had memory of her classmates was mainly because she was the math class representative and had to collect homework.
So Xu Zijin didn't think much about it. She shifted her gaze from Yu Shao's face and looked at the game.
At this point, only two moves had been played, with black and white each occupying a star point, both using the most common star point opening.
Then, it was Yu Shao's turn to play again.
Yu Shao picked up a stone from the chess box, thought briefly, and gently placed it.
Clack.
Sixteenth column, sixteenth row.
Yu Shao's second move also chose a star point.
"Hm, another star point?"
"This kid, is he intentionally guiding the game into complex and intense fighting?"
"Probably. Facing Little Zheng, that kid wants to seek a chance of survival in chaotic battle, which is also a wise move. After all, wild punches might really defeat an old master."
"Not necessarily. Maybe he just can't handle the small point opening. After all, compared to star points, small point variations are really too complex."
The people around whispered to each other, discussing in low voices that wouldn't disturb the players.
You should know that compared to occupying corners with small points, star points focus more on gaining "influence," are faster, and easily pull the game into complex and intense fighting—it's an aggressive approach.
"Another star point?"
Zheng Qin looked at Yu Shao's move and glanced at Yu Shao thoughtfully.
He also thought Yu Shao was trying to use star point opening to guide the game into complex fighting situations, seeking victory in chaotic battle.
After thinking for a moment, Zheng Qin showed a faint smile and reached into the chess box again.
"If that's the case."
"Then..."
Zheng Qin picked up a white stone, his gaze sharp, wrist raised high.
"I'll give you what you want!"
"Come on!"
The white stone fell with a resounding sound!
Clap!
Fourth column, fourth row. Star point!
"Actually... also a star point?"
"What does this mean?"
"He's accepting the challenge?"
Seeing this move, the spectators around couldn't help but feel somewhat confused, looking at each other and seeing the puzzlement in each other's eyes.
There's an idiom called "avoid the enemy's strength." Since black intends to fight, the best approach for white would naturally be to avoid battle, so choosing small point or outside approach would be very natural moves.
If you want to fight desperately, I'll use soft techniques to overcome strength.
But they never expected that white would also choose to place on a star point, which immediately made the previously calm game become tense.
Because white's meaning was very clear: if you want to fight, then fight; you draw your sword, I'll draw my blade, let's see who wins!
This certainly doesn't mean playing star points is bad—quite the opposite, playing star points is also an impeccable standard move. It's just that many people prefer not to let their opponents get their way.
Seeing Zheng Qin also play on a star point, Yu Shao almost reflexively, without even thinking, directly reached into the chess box and picked up a black stone.
Then—
He gently placed it.
Clack.
The black stone landed on the board with a crisp sound.
But as this stone fell, the entire venue suddenly became quieter.
Some people looked at the black stone that had just been placed, their eyes widening, suspecting they had seen wrong. Others involuntarily leaned forward, wanting to see more clearly.
Even Xu Zijin in the crowd couldn't help but furrow her beautiful eyebrows.
And Zheng Qin, sitting across from Yu Shao, looked even more astonished at Yu Shao's move, because this move was completely unexpected—both to him and to everyone else.
Because this move was placed at—
Third column, third row!