Gu Rongxue saw the look of surprise on her face and smiled slightly. "Protector Chang is an amazing chess player. I'm afraid even Young Master Zhong can't match him," he said.
Su Xiaoliu suddenly thought of her father, who also loved playing chess.
"Where is the back mountain?" Su Xiaoliu looked up at Gu Rongxue and asked.
Gu Rongxue was taken aback. He stood up and said softly, "I'll take you there."
Following Gu Rongxue, they walked for half an hour. Su Xiaoliu's legs were sore and she began to regret coming.
Just as she was about to turn back, Gu Rongxue stopped.
"This is the place," he said, looking back at Su Xiaoliu.
Su Xiaoliu looked around. It was a rather secluded foot of the mountain. The surrounding pine trees were lush and green, like coiling dragons and crouching tigers. There was a gentle mist in the air. Not far away was a pavilion with fluttering white veils tied to its pillars. When the gentle breeze blew, the veils flapped up and down.
In the pavilion, Zhong Fengyue was dressed in spotless white. He was sitting sideways to Su Xiaoliu. Under his white gauze hat, his slightly pointed chin nodded slightly. His slender fingers held a white chess piece. Opposite him was Chang He in a royal - blue robe. Chang He was pinching a black chess piece in his hand, and his hawk - like eyes were carefully observing the chessboard.
Gu Rongxue glanced at Su Xiaoliu and said softly, "I'll go back first. You can play by yourself. Just find me if you need anything."
Su Xiaoliu looked up at him. He gave her a gentle smile, his flesh - colored thin lips curving slightly and his long eyelashes fluttering.
"Okay."
After Gu Rongxue left, Su Xiaoliu walked towards the pavilion.
When she quietly walked behind Chang He, Chang He didn't notice. Zhong Fengyue was slightly startled. He looked up and met Su Xiaoliu's eyes.
Just as Zhong Fengyue looked up, Chang He dropped his chess piece and said coldly, "I win."
Su Xiaoliu gave Zhong Fengyue a smile. Suddenly, she slapped Chang He on the back. When Chang He turned around, Su Xiaoliu had already changed her position. She wanted to reach out and slap him again, but unexpectedly, Chang He reacted quickly and grabbed her wrist.
A sharp pain shot through her wrist and Su Xiaoliu let out a cry of pain.
When Chang He saw it was Su Xiaoliu, he quickly let go.
Zhong Fengyue stood up and walked over. He looked down at the wrist she was covering with her other hand and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"
Su Xiaoliu frowned and glanced at Chang He. "You almost broke it. Do you have to use so much strength!" she whispered. Then she moved her wrist and found it could still move.
Seeing that she was okay, Zhong Fengyue breathed a sigh of relief.
Chang He glanced at Su Xiaoliu, picked up the teacup beside him and said indifferently, "If you have the guts to sneak attack, you should be prepared to deal with the consequences."
Su Xiaoliu glared at him and ignored him. She walked to one side, disrupted a set of chess pieces, sat down and said to Chang He, "Let's play a game."
Even though she disrupted the chessboard, Chang He wasn't angry. He raised his eyebrows, put down the teacup, sat back and looked ready to play to the end.
Su Xiaoliu curled her lips. She thought to herself that since her father loved playing chess, she had learned a lot from him. Although she couldn't claim to be invincible, she might still surprise Chang He.
Zhong Fengyue sat down beside them. Looking at Su Xiaoliu, he noticed that she hardly paid any attention to him. His ink - like eyes drooped and his diamond - shaped lips pursed slightly. He felt a little disappointed.
After a cup of tea's time, Su Xiaoliu calmly placed a chess piece on the board.
Chang He stared at her with his hawk - like eyes and was obviously a little surprised.
Su Xiaoliu looked up at him and smiled. "Protector Chang, why don't you make your move?" she thought to herself, See, you're always so arrogant. Now you have to admire me.
Chang He smiled faintly. He dropped a black chess piece, turning the situation around.
Su Xiaoliu opened her almond - shaped eyes wide. Looking at the chessboard, the white chess pieces were almost surrounded by the black ones. If she dropped her piece, it would be a dead move...
"You win!" Su Xiaoliu dropped the chess piece and leaned against the railing of the pavilion, pursing her lips.
Chang He glanced at Su Xiaoliu and then at Zhong Fengyue. Unusually talkative, he said, "Why aren't you always following Young Master Zhong today?"
What he meant was, have you fallen for me instead?
Su Xiaoliu rolled her eyes in her heart. She thought that Chang He was even more shameless than Chu Weixin when he was being arrogant.
Zhong Fengyue was a little embarrassed. He glanced at Chang He and didn't dare to look at Su Xiaoliu.
"You're disappointed, Protector Chang. There's nothing between Young Master Zhong and me," Su Xiaoliu twitched the corners of her mouth and blinked.
Hearing this, Chang He subconsciously glanced at Zhong Fengyue. Sure enough, even through the veil, he could tell that Zhong Fengyue was faintly disappointed.
The young man was interested in the girl and the girl seemed to like the young man. Why did things suddenly change like this? Chang He wondered secretly.
"Young Master Zhong, let's play a game," Su Xiaoliu suddenly looked at Zhong Fengyue and shook the chess piece between her fingers.
Zhong Fengyue was startled. He curled his lips and said, "Okay."
Chang He was sensible and immediately stepped aside.
The chess pieces were disrupted again, and the two of them took turns dropping their pieces.
While observing the direction of Zhong Fengyue's moves, Su Xiaoliu compared them with Chang He's playing style and calculated silently in her heart.
If Chang He's chess style was to decide the game with a single move, then Zhong Fengyue's was to wait and see and decide the outcome with two crucial moves. The former was experienced and precise, while the latter was calculating and methodical.
Su Xiaoliu liked Zhong Fengyue's way of playing chess the most. It was calm and orderly. His fair and slender fingers holding the black chess pieces looked gentle and clean, making people feel relaxed and happy.
However, Zhong Fengyue still made a wrong move in the end.
Su Xiaoliu had been a bit frustrated after losing to Chang He. Now she regained her confidence. She shook the chess piece, looked at Zhong Fengyue and said, "Thank you for your courtesy, Young Master Zhong!"
Under the white gauze hat, Zhong Fengyue's diamond - shaped lips on his slightly pointed chin curved slightly. He nodded gently.
Chang He, who had been standing with his hands behind his back and watching the game silently, suddenly let out a soft scoff. Su Xiaoliu was confused and glared at him. "What's wrong again?" she asked.
Chang He looked at Su Xiaoliu. His hawk - like eyes were unfathomable. He said slowly, "You can't even tell if you really won or not." Zhong Fengyue was clearly letting her win. From his experience of playing chess with Zhong Fengyue, he knew that Zhong Fengyue was by no means an easy opponent. She just happened to win when Zhong Fengyue was distracted. Otherwise, she would have lost that game.
Su Xiaoliu didn't understand what he meant. She thought he was just being sarcastic and ignored him. She looked up at Zhong Fengyue and smiled. "Let's go back, Young Master Zhong. Ignore him," she said.
Then she stood up, grabbed Zhong Fengyue's sleeve and walked out of the pavilion.
Zhong Fengyue looked down at the sleeve she was holding, then at her happy profile and her carefree smile. He always felt that there was a void in his heart...