Chapter 128 Pass the Test

"Sister Gu, I lost."

Ning Xi wasn't surprised by the result. From the very beginning, she never thought she could win. After all, Gu Ziyi was a professional, and the gap in their skills was obvious.

In this game against Gu Ziyi, Ning Xi had already performed beyond her usual level, managing to play over 100 moves against a professional. In the past, she wouldn't have even dared to imagine it.

Of course, it was mainly because Gu Ziyi went easy on her.

Ning Xi understood this well in her heart.

Gu Ziyi gently shook her head, observing the board with a sigh, "According to the test rules, you won. At the 50th move, I lost by 1 and 1/3 stones."

She sighed softly and said, "I really can't believe you've only been studying Go for a little over four months. You're... really amazing!"

Ning Xi's eyes were filled with modesty, and her soft voice responded, "You're too kind, sister."

With that, the test ended.

Gu Yun glanced at his granddaughter, teasing with a smile, "Ziyi, for Ning Xi, an amateur first rank, to last over 100 moves against you, a professional, it seems you're not doing too well."

"Grandpa!"

Gu Ziyi was a bit embarrassed.

"Haha..."

After teasing his granddaughter, Gu Yun turned to Ning Xi and said, "Young girl, you performed very well. Congratulations on passing the test."

"From today on, you will be my first disciple. You must work hard and strive to become a professional player as soon as possible."

As a professional 9-dan Go player, countless people wanted to become Gu Yun's disciple.

But he had never taken on a single student. He was resistant to the idea because professional players have many competitions, and he didn't want to waste his energy on unimportant things.

The reason he made an exception to take Ning Xi as a disciple today was partly to repay Ye Fan for saving his life, and also because he had a very good impression of Ning Xi. Her performance earlier was indeed outstanding.

"Hello, teacher."

Ning Xi held her clothes, bowing respectfully, her sweet and soft voice full of joy and excitement.

"Good, good, good."

Gu Yun laughed heartily and advised, "Now that you're in your senior year of high school, you should focus on your studies. There's no need to come here to learn Go for the time being. If you have any questions, just call your sister Ziyi. Once you're in university, you can shift your focus to Go."

"Mm."

Ning Xi nodded obediently.

Ye Fan adjusted his collar, bowed to Gu Yun, and said, "Thank you, Teacher Gu."

"I should be the one thanking you."

Gu Yun waved his hand and refilled Ye Fan's cup of tea. "If you hadn't saved me, this old body of mine would already be in heaven."

Ye Fan smiled but didn't continue the pleasantries.

Ning Xi's eyes kept darting around.

She had been wondering why Ye Fan, who didn't even know how to play Go, knew Gu Yun.

One was a high school student, and the other was a prominent figure in the Go world. They were from completely different worlds and had no reason to know each other.

But after hearing Gu Yun's words, her doubts instantly disappeared. Ye Fan had once told her that he missed his Chinese exam on Wednesday morning because he was helping an elderly man.

It seemed that the old man Ye Fan saved was Gu Yun.

Gu Yun put down the teapot, rubbed his hands together, and whispered to his granddaughter, "Ziyi, give me one."

Gu Ziyi, who was packing up the board, glared at him and firmly refused, "No, the doctor said you can't smoke until your injury heals. If you do, it might get infected. Stop thinking about it!"

"Just one."

Gu Yun pouted, looking a bit pitiful. "It's been days..."

"No means no!"

Gu Ziyi hugged the board and said coldly, "I said no, so it's no!"

Seeing this, Ye Fan chuckled and tried to persuade him, "Teacher Gu, your injury really doesn't allow you to smoke. Try to hold back a little."

"Alright then."

Hearing this, Gu Yun gave up, though his expression showed he still had a bit of longing.

At 3 PM, Ye Fan left with Ning Xi.

Gu Ziyi originally wanted to see them off, but when she saw the two holding hands, she immediately dropped the idea.

Forget it!

She didn't want to be fed more dog food...

The two walked side by side, moving at a slow pace.

They always walked at Ning Xi's pace—when she walked fast, Ye Fan would follow, and when she walked slowly, he would slow down too.

Ning Xi bounced along, a smile on her face, swinging her right hand, which was held by Ye Fan, completely unaware of anything unusual.

Feeling the girl's happiness, Ye Fan couldn't help but gently squeeze her small hand, chuckling softly, "It seems that Miss Ning is very happy with my gift."

Feeling the touch on her hand, Ning Xi quickly pulled it back, her cheeks tinged pink.

"Thank you."

Ye Fan stopped, turned to face Ning Xi, and gently patted her on the head. "No need to say thank you, it sounds too distant."

The temperature on Ning Xi's face continued to rise as she bit her lip, "But..."

Ye Fan withdrew his hand, smiling, "Be good. If you listen, I'll buy you candy."

"You're only three months older than me, you're not my brother."

Hearing the word "brother," Ning Xi pursed her lips and protested, "I told you not to act so mature all the time. I'm not a child, only kids eat candy."

But little did she know that, in this moment, she looked just like a little girl.

Ye Fan's smile deepened, and he reached into his pocket, pulling out a stack of red bills. "This is the money Sister Lan gave me. How do you want to spend it?"

"Buy study materials?"

"..."

Ning Xi knew Ye Fan was teasing her, but she didn't know how to retort, her face full of helplessness and embarrassment.

What a rascal!

This bad guy...

...

Back in the car.

Zhuang Li asked, "Miss, who did you meet? You were gone for so long."

Ning Xi had been out of sight for almost two hours, and Zhuang Li had been quite worried. Now, he was finally relieved, though his gaze toward Ye Fan was somewhat unfriendly.

He had even suspected that this guy had kidnapped Miss Ning!

"We met a Go teacher."

Ning Xi smiled apologetically and softly explained, "Sorry for keeping you waiting, Uncle."

"It's okay, I was just asking."

Zhuang Li waved his hand, hesitated, and then asked, "So, are we heading home now, or somewhere else?"

Ning Xi looked at Ye Fan, her eyes seeking his opinion.

Ye Fan thought for a moment, then leaned closer and whispered in Ning Xi's ear, "Xiao Xi, how about coming to my place?"

Today was his birthday—his first birthday since being reborn. He wanted to spend it with Ning Xi.

"Go... to your place?"

Feeling the warm breath in her ear, Ning Xi's white neck shrank. She didn't know what she was thinking, but her face turned bright red, and her voice dropped to a whisper, "No... no way. We should focus on our studies. We can't think about those kinds of things."

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