"Yu Shao, the Yu Shao on the main tournant list for the Hero’s Pride Cup—is that you?"
At 10 PM, Yu Dongming and Cai Xiaoi returned ho. The mont Cai Xiaoi stepped through the door—before she even had ti to change her shoes—she turned toward the living room, where Yu Shao was lounging on the couch watching TV, and asked directly.
Yu Dongming also couldn’t help but look at Yu Shao, waiting for his answer.
"Yeah."
Yu Shao chuckled and nodded. "It literally says ‘Yu Shao’ on the list. Who else could it be?"
Stunned.
Hearing Yu Shao’s confirmation, Cai Xiaoi and Yu Dongming were completely dumbfounded!
Even when they had seen Yu Shao’s na on the preliminary round list, they had a hard ti believing it was actually their son. It wasn’t until they knew for sure that Yu Shao had registered for the Hero’s Pride Cup that reality started sinking in.
Ever since Yu Shao beca a professional Go player, they had rarely asked about his specific tournant results.
At the end of the day, they knew absolutely nothing about Go and didn’t want to pressure him. They only knew he had been doing well and that he had been on a winning streak in the Hero’s Pride Cup.
But they had no clue how prestigious this tournant was, and Yu Shao had never bothered to explain it in detail.
Since they didn’t follow Go, they only knew about major title matches and international tournants—just like how soone who knows nothing about soccer might only recognize the World Cup.
It wasn’t until the Go Association made an official announcent just now, revealing the lineup for two upcoming Professional Qualification Matches and stating that the ten players for the first match would be selected from this year’s Hero’s Pride Cup main tournant qualifiers, that they finally understood what this tournant actually ant!
Any player who makes it into the Hero’s Pride Cup main tournant is among the strongest young players in the country. Just qualifying proves they are capable of going head-to-head with 9-dan professionals!
Not just waiting for an opponent to make a blunder or a massive mistake to scrape by with a win, but actually having the strength to defeat them outright!
And now… Yu Shao had silently made it into the main tournant?
And he might even be playing in the Professional Qualification Match?
But he had only just earned his pro status this year!
Yu Dongming and Cai Xiaoi exchanged glances, still struggling to process it.
"So, Xiaoshao, does that an you’re very likely to participate in the Professional Qualification Match?"
After a brief mont, Yu Dongming steadied himself, suppressing the shock in his heart, and asked.
He tried his best to sound calm, but the disbelief in his voice was still obvious.
"Most likely, yeah."
Yu Shao thought for a mont before nodding. "In three days, I’ll be heading to the Central Go Academy for the main tournant. As long as I don’t perform terribly, I’ll have to participate in the Professional Qualification Match."
Hearing this, Yu Dongming and Cai Xiaoi exchanged another glance, both seeing the shock in each other’s eyes.
This was a Professional Qualification Match!
Even though they didn’t understand Go, they knew how significant this match was. Winning and losing wasn’t just about a player’s personal record—it symbolized the rise or fall of the national Go scene!
After a long silence, Yu Dongming took a deep breath and said seriously, "Xiaoshao, make sure to rest well these next few days and recover your energy. When the main tournant cos, you need to perform at your best!"
Just as he finished speaking, Cai Xiaoi frowned, reached out, and pinched the flesh on Yu Dongming’s arm hard.
"Why are you putting so much pressure on Xiaoshao?" she scolded.
Then she turned to Yu Shao and said, "Xiaoshao, just play your ga. Don’t stress yourself out."
Yu Shao chuckled. "Got it, Mom. You two don’t need to worry about this."
"If I didn’t know, I wouldn’t worry. But now that I do, how could I not?"
Cai Xiaoi changed her shoes, walked into the living room, and sat down beside Yu Shao with a troubled look.
"Honestly, I don’t even know if I should be happy or worried. A part of almost wishes that Yu Shao on the main tournant list wasn’t you."
Yu Shao froze for a mont.
"Of course, as your mother, I want you to do well in the tournant. But if you perform well and actually qualify for the Professional Qualification Match, do you realize how much pressure you’ll have to bear?"
"It’s great if you win, but if you lose…"
"To be honest, I’d rather you hadn’t made it to the main tournant. That way, you wouldn’t have to deal with all this stress."
At this point, Cai Xiaoi suddenly smiled, shook her head, and sighed. "Maybe I’m just being selfish."
Yu Shao was silent for a mont before he finally spoke.
"Mom, I’m going to win."
"You’re f***ing insane!"
Zhou De grabbed Yu Shao’s shoulders and shook him violently, his voice so loud it could practically blow the roof off.
"You made it into the Hero’s Pride Cup main tournant?! And you might play in the Professional Qualification Match?!"
"No way!"
Zhou De looked like he was about to explode, gritting his teeth.
"You’re seriously going to play in the Professional Qualification Match? No! I refuse! I refuse to see you on TV!"
"You just can't stand to see your bro doing well, huh?"
Yu Shao felt his eardrums ringing from the shouting and said, "And can you lower your voice a bit?"
After the Go Association announced the Professional Qualification Matches yesterday, Zhou De had ssaged Yu Shao, inviting him to the internet café on Saturday. But as soon as Yu Shao arrived today, Zhou De pounced on him with this interrogation.
"The school group chat was on fire last night. They were talking about you until midnight."
Zhou De glared at Yu Shao and said, "But the craziest part? Qi Xiaoya ssaged !"
"Qi Xiaoya? Who’s that?" Yu Shao asked, curious.
"A first-year student."
Zhou De sighed in frustration. "A really cute junior I’ve been after for a while."
"For a while?"
Yu Shao glanced at Zhou De sideways and asked, "You an you've been stalking her QQ profile, secretly liking her posts, pretending to send mass holiday greetings just to get a reply, then rolling around under your covers like a girl after she responds?"
"You f***er!" Zhou De cursed.
"But wait, a first-year junior?"
Yu Shao frowned and looked at Zhou De. "Hold up, are you talking about the first-year group chat? You’re a second-year—why are you even in that group?"
"Because a rabbit doesn’t eat the grass near its own burrow." Zhou De declared self-righteously.
Yu Shao understood imdiately and nodded. "Oh, I see. More like no grass near your burrow wants to be eaten by you."
Zhou De instantly flared up and snapped, "In short, you're a nace. Your cris couldn’t even be recorded fully on bamboo scrolls!"
"That phrase is 罄竹难书. If you don’t know how to pronounce ‘罄,’ there’s no need to act all serious explaining the idiom."
Yu Shao was speechless and then asked, "So, what exactly did Qi Xiaoya ssage you for? Shouldn’t you be celebrating under your covers right now?"
"She asked if we were close!"
Zhou De gritted his teeth and said, "She wanted your WeChat! Do you realize how ssed up this is?!"
Yu Shao couldn’t help but laugh. "So, what did you tell her?"
"I said we’re not close! Who the hell is close with you?!"
Zhou De rolled his eyes, slumped into his chair, and furiously booted up his computer. "You're not even at school anymore, but you're still reaching your evil hands toward first-years. You’re absolutely rotten!"
Yu Shao chuckled, unfazed by Zhou De’s complaints, and reached for his own computer to log in.
Just then, a soft voice spoke beside him.
"Excuse , are you Yu Shao?"
Yu Shao looked up to see a girl with round glasses, a round face, and delicate features standing nearby. He recognized her from earlier at the front desk—she was one of the café attendants.
"Yeah," Yu Shao said, a little surprised. "You know ?"
"Mm-hmm."
The round-faced girl nodded, her expression admiring. "I used to study Go for a while, so I knew about you from the Promotion Tournant. And I heard you made it into the Hero’s Pride Cup main tournant!"
As she spoke, she handed Yu Shao a bottle of soda. "I hope you do well in the tournant."
"Thanks."
Yu Shao hesitated for a second but didn’t overthink it. He accepted the drink and nodded in appreciation.
"I heard you taught yourself Go. That’s incredible. I’ve been learning for years, but I’m still only around amateur 3-4 dan."
The girl looked at Yu Shao with admiration. "Do you have any training secrets?"
"Honestly, just play a lot," Yu Shao replied.
"I play a ton, but my skill level hasn’t improved much. Go really is a ga for geniuses."
"That’s not necessarily true. Hard work always pays off."
"You’re only seventeen this year, right? I’m actually a year older than you—I just turned eighteen…"
The round-faced girl seed quite interested in Yu Shao and kept trying to make conversation.
Yu Shao casually answered as he navigated to the ga login screen.
"Um… what’s your WeChat? Can I add you? That way, if I have any Go-related questions, I can ask you…"
Her face flushed slightly as she hesitated to finish her sentence.
"Sure."
Yu Shao didn’t mind. He smiled, pulled up his phone, and displayed his QR code. "No need to write it down, just scan it."
"Thanks! I hope you get great results in the tournant!"
The girl’s eyes lit up with excitent as she quickly scanned his code and added him. After sending a few more words of encouragent for the Hero’s Pride Cup, she finally left.
Zhou De had been utterly shaken by what had just transpired. The mont the girl walked away, he exploded.
"Yu Shao, you are unforgivable! Why are you even alive?! I swear, I’m becoming a professional Go player too!"
"You?"
Yu Shao glanced at him and asked, "Are you planning to win on the board or off the board?"
"Tch!"
Zhou De just scoffed coldly. "You’ll see!"
A few monts later—
"Zhou De, what the hell are you doing?!"
Yu Shao stared at his screen in shock as his Go pieces were instantly obliterated. His eyes widened in disbelief. "Who the hell does a Lingfeng move at a ti like this?!"
"Surprised, aren’t you?"
Zhou De looked smug, finally feeling like he had his revenge. "Forget standard moves, proper moves, or brilliant moves—nothing beats my Lingfeng special!"
Yu Shao sucked in a sharp breath. "Zhou De, you’re a damn savage!"
Ti passed quickly as they continued playing. After a while, Zhou De suddenly spoke.
"Yu Shao."
Yu Shao glanced at him, a little confused.
"Do your best in the main tournant."
Zhou De kept his eyes on the screen, his tone slightly awkward but sincere. "Don’t let the Professional Qualification Match stress you out."
Yu Shao was stunned for a second, then chuckled. "Got it."
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