Chapter 205 You need to pay more!
"Boss, this game is really beyond saving."
Ning Xi noticed the vendor staring intently at the chessboard, thinking he was genuinely trying to figure out a way to salvage the game. She pointed to the spot at 3-14 in the small corner and kindly reminded him, "Look here, the white stones are already sealed off."
The vendor: "…"
After playing chess for decades, if he couldn't even see that, he might as well have lived in vain.
But faced with the girl's innocent expression, he couldn't muster any anger.
"Ning Xi, are you saying Ye Fan won?"
"So impressive? Could it be that the vendor doesn't actually know how to play chess?"
Standing in the back, Su Ke and Luo Yumeng found it hard to believe.
Usually, aren't these street vendors supposed to be really skilled?
This boss is terrible…
The vendor's brow twitched, and his face turned red with frustration.
What kind of talk is this?
A guy who sets up a Go stall doesn't know how to play Go?
That's just plain insulting!
"I lost!"
"Hmm."
Ye Fan extended his right hand toward the vendor, expressionless, and said, "You lost by 23 and three-quarters points. According to the agreed-upon rules, you owe me 2,325 yuan. Let's round it down to 2,300. Pay up."
"…"
The vendor's face stiffened, and he silently cursed in his heart.
Today must be the unluckiest day in eight lifetimes. From morning till now, he had only made 500 yuan, and now he had to pay out 2,300. He was losing a total of 1,800 yuan!
Damn!!!
Unhappy as he was, he had no intention of defaulting. He pulled a wad of hundred-yuan bills from his pocket, counted out 23 notes, and placed them in front of Ye Fan. "Here's your money, but I have one condition."
"Ning Xi, collect the money."
"Oh, okay."
Ning Xi obediently took the money, got up, and hid behind Ye Fan.
From her perspective, the vendor might hit someone.
Seeing this, the vendor's face twitched. "Little girl, I'm not going to hit you. Why are you hiding?"
"Got scared."
Ye Fan replied casually. He moved to sit in Ning Xi's seat, smiling faintly. "If I'm not mistaken, you want to play another game with me, right?"
"Exactly!"
The vendor didn't catch the nuance in Ye Fan's first remark, but the three girls behind him were already trying hard to suppress their laughter.
Taking the bamboo shoots straight from the mountain!***
"I was a bit careless earlier and didn't play at my best."
The vendor began tidying up the board, trying to save face. "Let's play another round. This time, it's just a friendly match, no betting."
Losing money was one thing, but he had to reclaim his dignity in Go.
After all, this was his livelihood. If he couldn't even beat a kid, it would be too embarrassing!
"No."
"Why not?"
The vendor wasn't ready to give up. "There's no money on the line. What are you afraid of?"
"It's a waste of time."
Ye Fan's response was straightforward and to the point.
The vendor rubbed his temples. "I'll pay you to play another round with me. How about that?"
"How much?"
"100 yuan."
"No, not playing. That's too little."
"But you just played me for the same price."
"You're you. I'm me. Pay more!"
"…"
Seeing the vendor fall silent, Ye Fan turned to Ning Xi, who was holding the money. A smile curved at his lips. "Ning Xi, shall we go?"
"Okay."
Ning Xi nodded obediently, lifted the money in her hands, and politely thanked the frustrated vendor, "Boss, thank you!"
"…"
Shrimp and pork hearts!***
Great. Now he was even more upset.
Watching the four of them walk away, the vendor began to question his life choices.
Lost the game, lost money. Today must be an unlucky day for setting up shop.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he slapped his thigh, packed up his stall, and went home to sleep!
After leaving, the group wandered around aimlessly. When they reached a milk tea stall, Ning Xi waved the money in her hands. "Yumeng, Keke, I'll treat you two to milk tea."
"Ning Xi, can you please put the money away?"
Luo Yumeng adjusted her sunhat, glancing at Ning Xi's shoulder bag. "You have a bag, don't you? Holding the money like that is too conspicuous. Be careful someone snatches it."
"Got it."
Ning Xi finally realized and quickly put the money away. But then, she suddenly remembered that this money was Ye Fan's winnings, and her face flushed slightly. Fortunately, her mask hid the blush, so no one noticed her embarrassment.
I'll keep it for now?
Yes, I'll return it to Ye Fan later!
"Ye Fan, you know how to play Go?"
"A little."
Ye Fan nodded slightly and said, "Ning Xi asked me to play with her, so I learned a bit."
"Huh?"
Luo Yumeng caught a hint of something unusual. "Does that mean you two have been secretly in touch on weekends?"
There's no way to play Go at school, so there's definitely something fishy!
"What do you mean by secretly in touch?"
Ning Xi pursed her lips and moved closer to Ye Fan, explaining, "On weekends, Ye Fan tutors me. We… we're in contact openly."
"Huh?"
The two girls' mouths formed perfect O's, and their eyes quickly filled with playful resentment.
"Ning Xi, you've never invited me to your house. Isn't that too much? Prioritizing romance over friendship!"
"Exactly. Every time we suggest going to your house, you say it's inconvenient. And now, the first person to visit your house isn't me or Yumeng—it's Ye Fan. You owe us an explanation."
"Well…"
Ning Xi's clear eyes showed a hint of helplessness.
If she'd known this would happen, she wouldn't have said that earlier.
Now what? How was she supposed to explain?
Hoisted by her own petard!
Seeing Ning Xi's troubled expression, Ye Fan gently held her small hand and said, "I go to Ning Xi's house to tutor her, to help her improve her grades. If you two go to her house, all you'd do is play, which would just disrupt her studies."
"Which is better or worse should be obvious."
"…"
"…"
Luo Yumeng was fuming and retorted stubbornly, "Who says we'd just play if we went to her house?"
"We could help Ning Xi with her studies too. If you can, Keke and I can too!"
Ye Fan looked amused, his smile faintly teasing. "You? Tutoring Ning Xi?"
"What? I can't?"
"Your score in the mock exams was 497. Ning Xi scored 745. Are you sure you can tutor her?"
"…"
Luo Yumeng was at a loss for words, utterly stumped.
Su Ke's eyes widened in disbelief. At this moment, she wondered if she had misheard.
745 points?
She'd expected Ning Xi's score to be high, but she'd never imagined it would be that high.
Terrifying!
Ning Xi's small hand pinched Ye Fan's palm and whispered, "What are you doing? Didn't you say…"
"It's fine. I know what I'm doing. Just watch."
Ye Fan chuckled softly, his warm and gentle demeanor giving Ning Xi an inexplicable sense of closeness. Unconsciously, she wanted to rely on him, so she obediently nodded.
After a while, Su Ke finally snapped out of her shock. Her voice trembled as she asked, "Ye Fan, did Ning Xi really score 745 in the mock exams?"
Hearing this, Luo Yumeng finally grasped the key point and covered her mouth in astonishment.
Meeting the two girls' gazes, Ye Fan nodded slowly and said, "Genuine. Ranked third in the nation."
"Holy crap, holy crap…"
Luo Yumeng seemed to have lost her mind, repeating the same expletives over and over.
Her reaction made Su Ke and Ning Xi burst into laughter.
Su Ke rolled her eyes helplessly and patted Luo Yumeng on the shoulder. "Could you try to maintain some ladylike behavior? Stop saying… that word. Say it less in the future."
Then she turned her gaze to Ning Xi and teased, "Be honest. Did you cheat?"
***Notes:
"Taking the bamboo shoots straight from the mountain!" is a Chinese phrase meaning taking advantage of someone in a playful way.
"Shrimp and pork hearts!" is a pun in Chinese internet slang, expressing playful outrage or feeling wronged.