Chapter 38: The Elderly Chess Players

A single sentence.

It made the two elderly men playing chess simultaneously look up, their gazes locking onto Jiang Ning.

In that moment, Jiang Ning suddenly had a strange illusion—it felt like she had been targeted by something.

Of course, the feeling disappeared in a flash.

By the time she came back to her senses, the bald old man among them suddenly spoke:

“Young lady, haven’t you heard the saying ‘spectators should remain silent’?”

Sensing the old man’s unfriendly tone, Jiang Ning pouted slightly.

“Sorry, but your move was so terrible I just couldn’t hold back.”

As soon as she said that, the white-haired old man sitting across from the bald one burst into laughter.

A hearty “Hahaha!” echoed in the air.

The bald old man, on the other hand, was so enraged that his face turned dark. He raised his hand and pointed at Jiang Ning.

“Fine! You play then!”

“I’d love to see what kind of lousy game you can come up with!”

Clearly, the bald old man was truly furious—even cursing in the heat of the moment.

Jiang Ning didn’t mind.

Old men tended to have foul mouths, but that was just how they talked.

So she sat down without hesitation, lowered her head, and examined the chessboard before her.

The red side, which belonged to her opponent, had one chariot, one horse, two cannons, one elephant, two advisors, and two soldiers remaining.

The black side, which she was playing, had the same setup—one chariot, one horse, two cannons, one elephant, and two advisors.

The only difference was that the black side still had four soldiers, with one already having crossed the river.

The move that had made Jiang Ning speak earlier?

The bald old man had been planning to trade his advanced soldier for the opponent’s horse.

What kind of deal was that?!

In Xiangqi (Chinese chess), soldiers that have crossed the river become incredibly valuable—sometimes even more so than a chariot, horse, or cannon.

So Jiang Ning took control and advanced another soldier forward.

The white-haired old man didn’t seem too concerned and continued maneuvering his horse in the black side’s territory, searching for a checkmate opportunity.

Jiang Ning remained calm.

She carefully calculated the next three moves, then decisively advanced a second soldier across the river.

That move puzzled not only the white-haired old man but even the bald old man, who instinctively wanted to comment—

But before he could, Jiang Ning cut him off with, “Spectators should remain silent.”

Faced with this, the white-haired old man pondered for a moment before continuing with his strategy, using his chariot, horse, and cannon in rotation.

But no matter what, he was always one step short—Jiang Ning dodged every attack.

After several turns, both sides had fewer pieces left on the board.

Yet, strangely, Jiang Ning’s four soldiers remained intact.

And, unnoticed by her opponents, all four of them had quietly crossed the river.

By the time they had formed a solid encirclement, the white-haired old man finally realized something was wrong. He hurriedly used his chariot and horse to exchange for two of Jiang Ning’s soldiers.

However—

It was already too late.

With her final soldier in position, the white-haired old man frowned and sat silently for a long time.

Finally, with a soft chuckle, he conceded.

“The new generation always surpasses the old….”

“Young lady, you’re quite skilled. I didn’t expect someone so young to have such a mature playing style.”

“Impressive, truly impressive.”

Jiang Ning didn’t pay much attention to the compliment. Instead, she turned to the bald old man with a playful smirk.

But the bald old man merely snorted, turned his head away, and ignored her.

Tch. Another tsundere old man.

At this moment, the white-haired old man suddenly asked gently,

“Young lady, whose child are you?”

Whose?

Jiang Ning was momentarily stunned, then quickly understood what he meant. She grinned sheepishly.

“Uh… I was just passing by…”

Saying this, she stood up, preparing to make a quick escape.

But just then—

A familiar voice suddenly called out from beside her.

“Jiang Ning?”

“What are you doing here?”

Jiang Ning instinctively turned her head, her face filled with surprise.

“Tao Tao?”

That’s right.

The newcomer was none other than the young man who had been lurking around the basketball court in the middle of the night.

He stood not far away, holding a water jug in one hand and two teacups in the other, looking just like a waiter.

Of course, given Tao Tao’s family background, there was no way he was actually working as one.

So—

A relative?

An elder?

Jiang Ning wasn’t sure about their relationship, so she took a cautious step back.

“If I say I accidentally took the wrong path, would you believe me?”

“The wrong path?”

Tao Tao gave her a strange look.

At this moment, the white-haired old man suddenly spoke up.

“Tao, you know her?”

Hearing this, Tao Tao quickly stepped forward, placed the items on the table, and smiled.

“Yes, we’re classmates.”

“Classmates?”

The bald old man seemed a little surprised.

But the white-haired old man chuckled.

“Since you already know each other, why don’t you stay and play a few more rounds with us?”

“It’s rare to meet a young person who’s this good at chess.”

Hearing this, Tao Tao was visibly shocked.

“You play Xiangqi?!”

His tone was so doubtful that it instantly annoyed Jiang Ning.

“Are you kidding? There’s nothing your Brother Jiang can’t do!”

But as soon as she said that, she suddenly remembered something and awkwardly added,

“Uh, grandpas, it’s not that I don’t want to stay, but my friends are still waiting for me…”

“Next time! Let’s play again when I have time.”

With that, she turned to leave. But before she could take more than two steps, a hand grabbed her wrist.

Jiang Ning turned around, her eyes flashing with silent warning.

But Tao Tao didn’t seem to mind at all. He simply looked at the bald old man and said,

“This is my grandfather.”

Then, pointing to the white-haired old man, he added,

“And this is Grandpa Dong.”

Hearing this, Jiang Ning immediately understood what he meant.

Realizing that she had been a little impolite earlier, she flushed slightly and quickly smiled sheepishly, bowing slightly.

“Hello, Grandpas! I’m Jiang Ning, Tao Tao’s classmate—Jiang as in ‘ginger,’ and Ning as in ‘peaceful.’”

Then, without making a fuss, she subtly withdrew her hand from Tao Tao’s grasp and continued,

“Sorry, Grandpas, but I really can’t stay today—my friends are still waiting for me…”

Since she had made it clear, the two elders had no reason to refuse. They simply nodded.

“Tao, escort her out.”

Escort?

With people around, Jiang Ning didn’t argue.

But once they left the garden, she bluntly said,

“Go back, I know the way.”

“You know the way?” Tao Tao gave her a strange look.

“I haven’t asked yet—this is a military district sanatorium. How did you even get in?”

How did she get in?

Jiang Ning’s face darkened.

Just thinking about that fence made her chest ache.

Meanwhile, back in the garden—

Watching the two figures disappear, Grandpa Dong suddenly chuckled.

“That little girl is quite interesting.”

Hearing this, Tao Tao’s grandfather rolled his eyes.

“If you find her so interesting, why don’t you take her as your granddaughter-in-law? Your grandson just started college.”

Grandpa Dong laughed.

“My grandson is too busy with his music. But yours? Same school, same age—”

“So what?!”

“She’s rude, mischievous, and all she knows is chess!”

Despite his complaints, Grandpa Tao seemed oddly exasperated.

But Grandpa Dong merely sighed, gazing into the distance with a nostalgic expression.

“Don’t you think… her personality is a lot like Xiuzhi’s?”