Zhuo Lin was playing chess with the old gentleman. "Old gentleman, you lost!"
She ruthlessly killed off the old gentleman’s big dragon.
The old gentleman’s beard bristled with anger as he swept the chess pieces away forcefully, his demeanor akin to a child who didn’t get any candy.
"You girl, have you never heard of respecting your elders?"
This was the first time he had ever met a girl who was utterly dismissive of him as the Chief, not trying to ingratiate or act sweetly towards him, which was quite sad.
Zhuo Lin couldn’t help but laugh.
She picked up the chess pieces one by one from the board and separated them into black and white to put back in their respective boxes.
The old gentleman quickly held her back.
"What are you doing?"
Zhuo Lin said playfully, "Didn’t you just ask me to respect my elders? If we don’t play chess, then I won’t win and that would be respecting my elders, right?" As she spoke, her hands didn’t stop swiftly packing the pieces into the box.
The old gentleman got anxious, "No way, you little wretch. Think you can just win and run? It’s not that easy! Keep playing."
He started picking up his white pieces and putting them back in his box.
His stance indicated that he wouldn’t give up easily.
Zhuo Lin smiled slyly like a little fox, as the old gentleman hurriedly set the chessboard back up, "Hurry up and play, hurry up."
The house was too quiet, usually, it’s just him and the housemaid.
Sometimes old comrades-in-arms would visit, but there were hardly any who knew how to play Go. Besides being able to paint and write in his study, and being sentimental, his passion for chess had long since been ground to nothing.
Mainly because he really couldn’t catch anyone to play with him.
Now that he had found this young lady who knew how to play chess, how could he possibly let her go?
Zhuo Lin continued her triumphant conquest across the board with a smile, the old gentleman was actually just like her own grandfather - essentially a lonely and cold old man.
He was treating her like an able-bodied worker.
She looked up and saw Shen Ye and Shang Kaiwen walking in hand in hand.
"Auntie!"
Zhuo Lin said with a smile, glancing at Shang Kaiwen and sensing the unfriendly look in the girl’s eyes, like that of a tiger guarding its food.
Weird!
Guarding what food?
"Wow, impressive. The grandfather is still playing chess. Come here, let me introduce you to a friend. This is Shang Kaiwen, this is Zhuo Lin, the daughter of my old comrade-in-arms. You youngsters must have a lot to talk about."
Shen Ye was indeed well-intentioned; after all, it wouldn’t be good to let two young people feel awkward and not talk upon meeting.
"Hello!"
Shang Kaiwen forced a smile, "Hello. Grandfather Jiang, I’ve come to see you!"
Unexpectedly, there was another variable here.
The old gentleman glanced at Shang Kaiwen and nodded, "You sit first, I need to play chess."
Zhuo Lin followed up on the old gentleman’s move with her own.
The old gentleman glared, realizing this girl wouldn’t give him an inch of land without a fight.
Indeed, she had quite a narrow-minded streak.
Angrily, he played a piece.
Zhuo Lin firmly continued with another move.
The old gentleman paused.
He was stumped.
Shang Kaiwen smiled and stood next to the old gentleman, looking at the chessboard, "Grandfather, here..." she pointed near where the old gentleman’s hand was.
The old gentleman’s face turned stoic, "An observer of chess should not voice his thoughts."
Shang Kaiwen’s face turned red at once; the old man truly was stubborn, obviously, she was trying to help him, yet he was being contrary.
Seeing this, Shen Ye thought, well, that put an end to any potential conversation.
"Come here, Kaiwen, tell the auntie where this wine is from?"
He cleverly defused Shang Kaiwen’s embarrassment.