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nTranslator: Legge Editor: Legge

nNoon.

nHis mother had called to order a barbecue.

n“Just place it here.”

n“Alright, Auntie.”

n“Oh yes, bring some more beer. It’s a grand occasion today.”

n“Is someone celebrating their birthday?”

n“It’s not that. My son has just come back!”

nSeveral of the hotel’s staff carried the barbecue equipment and food over to the villa’s yard. They also brought over a lot of cold beers and placed them on the table. As Zhang Ye was afraid that he would get recognized, he habitually put on his sunglasses again. This had become a reflex of his over the years ever since he started working in the industry. But he soon discovered that no one seemed to have noticed him at all, much less recognized who he was.

nWhen the hotel staff left.

nHis mother laughed and said, “Was that necessary?”

nZhang Ye chuckled and said, “The sun was too bright. Can’t I put on my sunglasses on for that reason?”

nHis father called him over. “Son, let’s drink together today!”

n“Whoa, it’s so rare seeing you wanting to drink,” Zhang Ye said happily.

nWu Zeqing brought their daughter out and said, “Our dad is just really happy today.”

nHis father said, “That’s right, I’m very happy today.”

nHis mother said sarcastically, “What are you so happy about? Now that this kid is back, something big is surely going to happen again. Do you think he can give it a rest for even a day? Like I’d believe that!”

nWu Zeqing laughed.

nEveryone got seated.

nSisi was sitting in Wu Zeqing’s lap. Sometimes, she would give Zhang Ye a look, then steal another glance at him every now and then.

nWu Zeqing smiled and signaled to Zhang Ye with her eyes. She whispered, “Our daughter seems to be paying a lot of attention on you. Let her get used to it first and take it slowly.”

nZhang Ye nodded.

nHis father said, “Come, let’s toast.”

nZhang Ye smiled and said, “Sure.”

nWu Zeqing also raised her cup. “Cheers.”

nZhang Ye said, “Dad, Mom, Old Wu, it’s been hard on you these past few years. I’m not gonna say anything else, so lemme toast you. I’ll drink first, and you can drink at your own pace.”

nHe emptied the cup into his mouth.

nHis father sighed like he had a lot to get off his chest.

nOnly then did Zhang Ye ask, “How has everyone in the family been?”

nHis father said, “Your grandpa had some heart issues last year and underwent a heart stent procedure. He has recovered quite well since then. Your grandma still has the same old problems. She still has high blood pressure and cerebral thrombosis, but they’re all under control. As for your mom and I, we’re doing quite alright.”

nZhang Ye asked, “Have we renovated the house yet?”

nHis mother laughed and said, “Renovate? We’ve already moved out from there.”

nZhang Ye said, “Where did you move to?”

nHis mother said, “Some place not too far from where Zeqing is living. She has to go to work, so your dad and I take care of your daughter. Oh, and sometimes it’s Zeqing’s parents who take care of her.”

nZhang Ye looked at Old Wu, “How’re Mom and Dad doing?”

nWu Zeqing smiled. “Pretty good.”

nHis mother said, “Yes, it’s just that Zeqing’s dad would put you down so often.”

nHis father laughed and said, “That’s only because our son did not live up to their expectations. Since there’s some resentment, surely we can allow him some criticism.”

nHis mother said, “About your return, aren’t you going to let Zeqing’s family know about it?”

nZhang Ye hurriedly waved his hands. “Please don’t tell them. Wait until I return to Beijing so that I can go and apologize to them in person. If we tell them now, I’m afraid that Father-in-law will take the next plane and come for me in the afternoon.”

nEveryone laughed.

nWu Zeqing smiled and said, “Don’t say that. I think it’s actually possible that he would do something like that. Quite a few people from the China Qiyuan have also come to Sanya on vacation. If I remember correctly, they should be staying near our hotel. My parents had wanted to come as well, but they didn’t as they don’t really like flying.”

nZhang Ye said, “I’ve already met the Qiyuan people.”

nWu Zeqing said, “When did you see them?”

n“On the way here.” Zhang Ye said with a laugh, “I got a ride from them, but they didn’t recognize me. I even played several games of Go with them.’

nHis mom exclaimed, “You haven’t touched Go in so many years. Can you still play?”

nZhang Ye smiled and said, “Of course.”

nWu Zeqing asked, “Did any of the newcomers catch your eye?”

nZhang Ye gave it some thought and said, “They’re alright. They aren’t too bad. I played some games with Chen Ying’s two nieces and saw many ways of playing that I’ve never encountered before.”

nWu Zeqing nodded and said, “In these years that you’ve been away, the Go world has undergone a lot of change. There are a lot more playstyles now, and many of them were innovated by my dad and those old comrades he retired alongside. They studied all the different ways of playing and came up with new ones in order to deal with the AI. But after two years, there is still no one who can beat PeterGo in a match.”

nHis father sighed and said, “The Go world is in such a terrible state right now.”

nZhang Ye said, “I’ve also heard a little about this.”

nWu Zeqing smiled and said, “That’s why my dad keeps putting you down whenever he’s at home. He says that if you were around, there could still be a chance that humans could turn the tables on PeterGo.”

nZhang Ye’s eyes narrowed as he smiled and said, “Aren’t I back now?”

nWu Zeqing said, “When do you intend to announce this to the public?”

nZhang Ye said, “We’ll see about that. I haven’t decided yet.”

nOut of the blue, Sisi said, “Mommy, I’m full.”

nWu Zeqing nodded. “Alright, why don’t you go and play by yourself?”

nSisi said, “I want to play Go.”

nWu Zeqing smiled. “Why don’t you play with Daddy then?”

nZhang Ye replied excitedly, “Yes, yes, Daddy will play with you.”

nSisi was unwilling. “I want Mommy to play with me.”

nWu Zeqing ruffled her hair and said, “Mommy isn’t as good as Daddy. Didn’t I already tell you that? Daddy is the greatest Go player in the world. Back then, there was no one in the entire world who could beat him.”

nZhang Ye corrected, “What do you mean ‘back then’? It’s still relevant now.”

nSisi whispered, “Is he better than Grandpa?”

nWu Zeqing said, “Of course.”

n“Hur hur.” Zhang Ye laughed and said, “Even if there are ten of your grandpas, they wouldn’t be a match for Daddy. He will always lose to me.”

nHis mother rolled her eyes. “Will it kill you to brag less?”

nSisi did not believe that. She tugged at Wu Zeqing’s sleeve. “Mommy, I want you to play with me.”

nWu Zeqing could do nothing about it. “Alright then.”

nThe mother and daughter set up the Go board nearby.

nZhang Ye asked his father. “My daughter can even play Go?”

nHis father laughed and said, “It was Zeqing’s dad who taught her. He teaches her whenever she goes over to their place. He says that it would help with the early development of her intelligence. In fact, Teacher Changhe’s teaching method is quite good. The girl is very smart too and doesn’t play too badly. It happens that Sisi is also quite interested in the game herself.”

nShe likes to play Go?

nThat is good!

nThis is an opportunity!

n…

nMeanwhile.

nAt Yalong Bay. In a hotel’s restaurant.

nA group of over 30 people were sitting together. Chen Qiqi and Chen Niannian were also among them.

n“Have you all stowed your luggage in your rooms?”

n“Yes.”

n“Alright, let’s eat then. We’ll assemble for training tomorrow.”

n“Ah? We’re starting tomorrow?”

n“Did you really think we’re here on vacation?”

n“Alright, we get it, Teacher Tian.”

n“We’ll have one day of rest and start taking on PeterGo in batches from tomorrow onward.”

n“Ah? Please, no.”

n“What are you guys yelling about? This is the training schedule we planned.”

nTian Weiwei lectured them with a stern face. He looked like he had matured a lot and was no longer the green teenager who was a crybaby several years ago.

nMuch had happened in these past few years. The artificial intelligence had dealt the Go world a bloodbath and a storm was raging. The former world number one of the Go world, Xiang Rong 9-dan, had quietly gone into retirement, while Li Yi 9-dan and the others gradually left the scene as well. The Go world was devastated, so a lot of people were forced to grow up quickly.

nAt this moment, Chen Ying came over from afar.

nThere were also a few others with her. They were all of the higher ranked professional Go players.

nChen Qiqi pulled a long face and said, “Aunt, are you all going to challenge PeterGo again?”

nChen Ying said with a smile, “Yes, you guys are the future hope of the Go world. What you have to do now is to study your opponent and familiarize yourselves with it. You have to believe that PeterGo is not unbeatable. There will come a day when someone will beat it. Teacher Tian and I, along with everyone else at the Qiyuan, are hoping that the person will be one of you. This is because you are the most outstanding players among the newcomers.”

nChen Niannian gave a bitter smile. “What future hope of the Go world? Aunt, don’t speak so highly of us already.”

nChen Ying was taken aback. She said in amusement, “What’s the matter?”

nA girl said, “Hai, don’t mention it.”

nA boy said, “While we were on the way here, we were crushed by someone.”

nTian Weiwei was startled. “There’s someone who can defeat you guys in Go?”

nChen Qiqi said dejectedly, “Yeah, it was an expert amateur player who beat us.”

nChen Niannian added, “And he even uses that really old Cosmic Flow playstyle. It was such a bloodbath, and he also knows how to play Xiangqi.”

nAn 8-dan Go player asked curiously, “Who is that person?”

nChen Qiqi shook her head. “I don’t know.”

nChen Niannian said, “Oh yes, I think he said that he knows Teacher Tian and Aunt.”

nChen Ying and Tian Weiwei looked at each other. “He knows us?”

nChen Qiqi couldn’t explain it. “The man is about this tall, and he was wearing a pair of sunglasses, so we didn’t get to see his face properly. In any case, his Go skill is pretty impressive. He claims to be an amateur 9-dan, but I think he’s higher ranked than that.”

nChen Niannian interrupted, “He didn’t say that he was an amateur 9-dan. Now that I think about it, he only said that he was a 9-dan.”

nChen Qiqi rolled his eyes. “Like he would be a professional 9-dan? There are only so many professional 9-dan players in history. Would we not know if he was one of them?”

nChen Niannian said, “Well, that’s true.”

nTian Weiwei said, “Or maybe it was one of the retired Go players?”

nChen Ying said, “Where is he staying?”

nChen Niannian pointed west. “At No. 1 Villa Hotel.”

nChen Ying didn’t really take this matter to heart either. “I guess we’ll know who it is if we ever bump into him over the next few days.”

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