NOVEL NEXT Chapter 84 - A bad chess temperament
Chapter 84: A bad chess temperament
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Zhou Tianyu’s birthday party ended earlier than expected due to Wen Yuya and Xia Ruya’s incident. As it was still early, Zhou Tianyu reserved a VIP room at Ninth-Heaven Club to continue partying.
The party ended at around 12 midnight.
After the party ended, as Wen Xinya went back to Mo residence feeling tired, she saw Grampy sitting in the living room arranging the chess set. After taking some alcohol, she became emotional, and tears started to well up in her eyes.
As Wen Xinya’s teary eyes sparkled, she ran over to Grampy with a smile and sat beside him. “Grampy, you’re not young anymore. Please take care of yourself and don’t stay up late. Don’t wait for me the next time if I come back late. I know my limits and will not be back too late.”
Old Mr. Mo looked at her rosy cheeks. Her eyes were blurry because of the alcohol. However, she was very sober and knew how to control herself. He nodded with satisfaction. “You’re back. I’m glad you had fun.”
Wen Xinya grabbed the cup of tea beside the chess set and gulped it down. “An unexpected incident happened, so the birthday party ended early at 10 pm. Zhou Tianyu then made a reservation for a VIP room at Ninth-Heaven Club, so we switched venue and continued the party.”
She continued and told him what happened at the party.
Old Mr. Mo caressed her hair and frowned. “It’s difficult to imagine how Xia Ruya and Wen Yuya can harbor such evil intentions at such a young age. Fortunately, you were alert and did not fall for their trap. Otherwise, it would be disastrous. This is called ‘getting a taste of their own medicine.’”
Wen Xinya pouted. “I will never set others up. But it is not easy for others to set me up either.”
Old Mr. Mo nodded in agreement. “What bullshit when people always talk about ‘forgive and forget.’ When others have the intention to harm you, you need to retaliate and let them suffer a hundred times more. It is then that they will start to become afraid and stop harming you.”
Old Mr. Mo was also feeling anguish inside. However, no matter how angry he was, he needed to suppress it to maintain a positive image of an influential leader in the literary world. But he could not contain his rage and blurted out these words.
Wen Xinya’s eyes opened wide and stared at Grampy with admiration and respect. “Grampy, did you just curse?”
Grampy had lived up to his title as the most influential leader in the literary world indeed. He did not have the unreasonable stubbornness and thinking of an educated man. Thus, his thoughts and ideas were able to progress along with the trend. That was why he was able to hold and maintain the unshakable position of the most influential leader in the literary industry.
Old Mr. Mo suddenly felt embarrassment. However, he quickly overcame it. “Grampy was just expressing his anger right now. That’s not a good example. Make sure you don’t learn it.”
Wen Xinya rubbed her face against Grampy’s arm with coquetry. “Grampy, you look so manly and domineering when you curse.”
Old Mr. Mo was speechless for a while. Then he said, “You’ve been learning Chinese chess for quite a while now. Let’s have a game to let Grampy see your progress.”
“Okay!” Wen Xinya sat at the other end of the chess set. “I’ll be taking the black chess seeds. Grampy, you have to allow me five handicap steps.”
“Grampy will allow you 10 handicap steps.” Old Mr. Mo signaled for her to make her first move.
Wen Xinya took a few black seeds from the chess barrel and carefully placed them onto the chessboard.
Old Mr. Mo nodded, then he placed his seeds far away to allow the black seeds to be positioned for maximum potential.
Very quickly, she had finished her first 10 handicap steps. Old Mr. Mo’s white seeds started moving into their strategic defending positions while Wen Xinya’s black seeds proceeded to make advancements for attacks.
Wen Xinya could see through Grampy’s plot. While the black seeds seemed to have smooth initial advancements, the white seeds were standing by for a perfect opportunity to capture every black seed in just a few steps, hence putting the white seeds into a winning position easily.
They were moving each step with deep planning and strategy, luring the opponent into their own traps. While it was hard to differentiate between real moves or tricks, Old Mr. Mo was starting to look serious.
The game on the chessboard was a battle — An exciting match between a young lieutenant versus an old veteran general. Every move required careful planning and strategizing, and one wrong move could jeopardize victory!
Old Mr. Mo looked at Wen Xinya with admiration!
It was said that a person’s temperament on the chessboard represented their character. Through his moves, it could reveal how he usually behaved and dealt with situations. Xinya had accumulated years of experience and was able to plan every single move in a steady fashion carefully. She was patient, decisive, and always waited for a good opportunity to strike. She knew exactly when to defend and when to attack, and was able to grasp the rhythm of her opponent well.
She had shown such characteristics when dealing with difficulties earlier. When the Wen Family insisted on sending her away, she retreated by choosing to stay with Grampy! When the media publicized her scandals, she chose not to react while cautiously devising a plan of attack in the background. And when facing the evil plans of Xia Ruya and Wen Yuya at Zhou Tianyu’s birthday party, she was observant and did not fall for their trap. She had made good progress and was able to reverse any challenges to her advantage.
Old Mr. Mo counted the number of seeds on the chessboard. Wen Xinya only had five seeds less than him. “You’ve made such incredible progress in such a short time. You have great talent in chess. I believe after more practice, you will soon exceed your teacher.”
Wen Xinya laughed. “All thanks to Grampy’s good guidance. Well, the saying goes like this: A great teacher produces a great student, a tiger Grampy has a tiger granddaughter.”
Old Mr. Mo knocked on her head lightly. “You’re spouting nonsense again.”
Wen Xinya touched her head in disagreement. “I’m not spouting nonsense. I have an incompetent Father. How could he have contributed to my intelligence and lovable character in any way? I’m sure I have inherited my good genes from you and Mother.”
“How can you praise yourself so much? Every potter praises his own pots. That’s a shameless behavior.” Old Mr. Mo laughed. He usually had a stern front. Probably, because under the influence of alcohol, he had also become livelier that day.
“Grampy, didn’t you notice? I was actually complimenting you.” Wen Xinya teased.
“Playing chess with you reminded me of when I played with your Mother when she was younger. Your Mother did not have a good chess temperament. She always regretted her moves and was indecisive and absolutely did not understand the meaning of ‘making up one’s mind on a chess move with no regrets.’ She would hold her seeds in position on the chessboard without retracting her hand while observing my expression. Then she would decide whether to make that move.” Old Mr. Mo smiled while recalling the past.
Wen Xinya blushed. The scene of that day where she played chess with Si Yiyan suddenly flashed across her mind, and she felt a sense of guilt. Now she knew this behavior was inherited from Mother.
Old Mr. Mo did not notice her blushing as he continued, “I was also reminded of your Grammy. She was known as the ‘gifted female scholar,’ but she was awful at playing chess. However, she loved to play chess as a hobby and was always asking everyone else to play with her. After everyone in the family learned from her how to play chess, her students started to beat her at it. It was one of the biggest jokes at that time.”
Wen Xinya brushed the hair on her cheeks to the back of her ears, feeling the tip of her ears burning hot.
Old Mr. Mo noticed her awkwardness and her attention drifting away. He held her right hand and slowly pried her fingers open. There was a white seed in her palm. He took a glance at the chessboard and quickly noticed the missing white seed’s original position. He took the white seed from her hand and returned it to its original position. The entire situation was turned around. Wen Xinya’s black seeds suffered a terrible defeat.
“Hey you, hey you!” Old Mr. Mo knocked her head. He had mixed emotions of happiness and confusion. Inheritance was a weird thing. Some habits could be naturally inherited.