Chapter 44: City Cup, see you there

Chapter 44: City Cup, see you there

Chapter 44: City Cup, see you there
[Xiao Zhao]: Um, Sister An An, are you there?

5pm on May 3rd.

Dongjiang University of Communication, Dormitory 404, Songyuan Building .

After a busy day, Ai Jianan lay on the bed, looking at the WeChat message she had just received, and couldn't help falling into deep thought.

The day before yesterday, she successfully obtained the WeChat of the female anchor "Xiao Zhao Miao". In the two and a half days since then, she has been planning to "pack up the people and take them away" next Sunday, while occasionally asking about "Xiao Zhao Miao"'s well-being, which can be regarded as a warm-up.

But what she didn't expect was that most of her words went unanswered.

Even if there is a reply, it is just a simple response followed by a sentence like "Sorry, I have to go play chess now" and then disappear again...

Faced with this situation, Ai Jianan was really confused.

You, a female anchor who plays chess with a dog... you can’t really be practicing chess, right?
Just when she thought that her eagerness to meet him was obvious and had aroused his vigilance, "Xiao Zhao Miao" took the initiative to send her a message for the first time.

...

Well……

Anyway, let’s first see what the situation is that Xiao Zhao Miao is looking for me.

After a little thought, Ai Jianan made a decision.

[Jian Luan An Min]: Ah! Xiao Zhao Miao, you are finally willing to take the initiative to find me!

[Jian Luan An Min]: You have been ignoring me, and I thought you disliked me.

[Xiao Zhao]: No, no! I'm just too busy practicing chess recently. I'm really sorry!

[Xiao Zhao]: Also… why are you still calling me Xiao Zhao meow? This is so embarrassing! Just call me Xiao Zhao…

I finally got you to agree, can you change your mind?
Ai Jianan couldn't help but let out a wicked laugh.

[Jian Luan An Min]: Okay, Xiao Zhao meow.

【Xiao Zhao】：!!!

[Xiao Zhao]: Sister An An, you are so bad!
[Jian Luan An Min]: Hehe! Well, it's so late today, I'm going to rest soon, let's talk about business first, right?

[Xiao Zhao]: Oh! Okay! Sorry for getting off topic!

[Xiao Zhao]: It’s like this…I may not be able to come out for the meeting next week. Sorry!

Ok? !

What's the situation?
You know, I can't lose Xiao Zhaomiao, just as the West can't lose Jerusalem!
Ai Jianan asked hurriedly.

[Jian Luan An Min]: Why? Something urgent? Then how about the weekend after next?

[Xiao Zhao]: I don’t think it will be possible the weekend after next…

[Xiao Zhao]: Since I don't have amateur 5th dan, I'm not eligible to participate in the July ranking tournament, so I have to find a way to win the championship in the 'Metropolitan Cup' Dongjiang Division competition, so that I can directly advance to amateur 5th dan!

[Xiao Zhao]: I don’t have any amateur rank, so I have to start from the auditions. The auditions are on the 7th, 13th, and 14th, the preliminaries are on the 20th and 21st, the semi-finals are on the 27th and 28th, and the finals are on June 3rd and 4th. The registration deadline for the rank-fixing tournament is June 10th, which is just right!

[Xiao Zhao]: But correspondingly, I have no time on weekends in the past month. I’m sorry...

After reading the four paragraphs posted by "Xiao Zhao Miao", Ai Jianan was filled with questions.

She felt that she understood every sentence in this article individually, but she couldn't understand anything when they were put together!
It was not surprising to Ai Jianan that "Xiao Zhao Miao" did not have a Level 5 license - even though Level 5 was already very common, it was far from something that a delicate female anchor could easily get.

Even I put in a lot of hard work in the beginning!

but……

What does "So you have to win the 'Metropolitan Cup' championship to advance to Industry 5" mean?
The prize money for this competition is so high, not to mention the other two of the “Four Heavenly Kings”, at least Gu Mingqing and Wang Zhen are sure to win!

He is a real strong player at the lower level of the professional field!

Who in their right mind hopes to win this competition and get promoted to level 5?
Isn't that the same as planning to use nuclear fusion technology to apply for a bachelor's degree? !

Ai Jianan was complaining madly in her heart, but she couldn't say it out loud.

I invited "Xiao Zhao Miao" out by myself under the pretext of "offline Go exchange". If I start to complain that "Xiao Zhao Miao" doesn't understand Go at all, then the reason for inviting him out is gone!

After a moment of silence, Ai Jianan answered.

[Jian Luan An Min]: Is that so? Then I will come to watch your next match! You are so good, you will definitely make it to the finals!
After typing and sending this line, she quietly considered how the other party would respond.

In Ai Jianan's opinion, it is impossible for "Xiao Zhao Miao" to participate in any competition - she can't walk the dog in the competition, so what can she win!
Then she made up such a ridiculous excuse, it was simply because something happened and she didn't plan to meet.

So Ai Jianan planned to deliberately test it to see if he could find out the other party's real reason, and then further consider how to respond.

But what she never expected was that "Xiao Zhao Miao" responded in just two seconds.

【Xiao Zhao】：Ah! Thank you!

[Xiao Zhao]: If you don't mind... then it's settled! See you at the 'City Cup' auditions next Sunday!

Ai Jianan: “…Hmm???”

"What's happening here???"

...

...

Late that night, in Dajing City, at the Huaxia Go Association, "Has the Luhuai team's matter been settled?"

In the office of the chairman of the chess association, Shang Chaotian asked the middle-aged man sitting on the sofa while making tea.

The middle-aged man was in his early forties, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and dressed neatly. He looked handsome and elegant.

"Finally, we have reached a consensus!"

The middle-aged man said with a wry smile.

"The original sponsor immediately paid 60% of the overdue wages and bonuses, and the debt was written off. At the same time, the sponsorship and naming rights for the subsequent years were waived, and a new sponsorship was later found. The players also promised to give up their claims for the remaining amount, and both parties signed a mediation agreement."

"Hey! What kind of world is this, Wen Jie?"

Shang Chaotian sighed, then placed the hot tea next to Lu Wenjie:

"Being a deadbeat doesn't lose much, but we debt collectors end up losing 40% of the money!"

"Brother Tian, ​​there's nothing we can do about this!"

Lu Wenjie held the hot tea with both hands and also felt a sense of shock.

"Luxi Light Industry is originally a private manufacturing company, and its cash flow has always been tight. When the economic situation deteriorated in recent years, it immediately became insolvent, and there are a lot of creditors waiting for liquidation!
“If I don’t give up part of my debt, I won’t be able to let the other party settle the debt first. I might end up getting nothing back…”

"Of course I know that!" Shang Chaotian said hurriedly, "Thank you for your hard work on this matter! Now that the most difficult issue with the Luhuai team has been resolved, it will be easier to negotiate with the two subsequent teams!"

"It's okay, it's okay! I'm better than those players of the Luhuai team!" Lu Wenjie's words were full of powerlessness: "I worked so hard and ran around to participate in the competition, but my salary was always in arrears. In the end, they found us and could only get 60% for them... We really have to check the club sponsors carefully in the future!"

At the end, Lu Wenjie couldn't help but pat the armrest of the sofa.

Shang Chaotian glanced at Lu Wenjie's right hand that was patting the sofa, then looked back at him and smiled self-deprecatingly:

"Check it out...but do we have a choice?"

Lu Wenjie was silent for a while. After a long while, he said:
“Although the matter has been resolved this time, the players’ emotions are far from good.

"Especially Bai Yinhua, he was greatly affected last year because of the issue of his sponsor's unpaid wages, and his results have been unsatisfactory.

“This time, I managed to get back some of my unpaid wages by giving up my debts, and was thinking of starting over next season. However, the new sponsor saw last year’s results and refused to renew his contract.

"His girlfriend broke up with him after seeing that his grades hadn't improved in the past year. He looked so haggard before I left... To be honest, I didn't feel good about it!"

Bai Yinhua...

Shang Chaotian knew that this was a 27-year-old young man from Guanzhong and a professional chess player of the seventh dan.

Two years ago, I had a great chance to be promoted to the eighth dan, but unfortunately I didn't succeed.

"Then... is he back in Xidu or still in Luyang?" Shang Chaotian thought for a moment and said, "I don't have any good friends in Luyang. If he returns to Xidu, I'll find a few old guys to talk to him in person, to comfort and enlighten him!"

"He's still in Luyang, but he doesn't seem to be planning to go back to Xidu for the time being. Instead, he bought a ticket to Dongjiang later this month."

"Dongjiang? What is he going to do in Dongjiang?"

"I don't know." Lu Wenjie shrugged: "I guess he plans to go there to have some fun and relax. After all, the recent blow he suffered is really not small..."

"That's fine... Lao Lei, Lao Yu, Lao Li and the others are all in Dongjiang, so it would be nice to go to the metropolis and see the bright lights and night life!

"It's just that Old Lei and Old Yu are probably busy helping Rui Zhao with his training these days, so they may not be available. If not, I'll ask Old Jiang to come forward..."

At this moment, Shang Chaotian seemed to have thought of something and changed the subject:

"Oh, by the way, Wen Jie, what I told you this afternoon... have you thought about it?"

Lu Wenjie turned his head and looked at Shang Chaotian for two seconds, then nodded and replied, "Yes."

"So what do you think?"

"Well... I think this is already a 'special case'."

Lu Wenjie answered very straightforwardly.

"Although this matter is small, if it is not handled properly it may indeed affect the subsequent sponsorship of the Weiqi League. This risk cannot be taken in any case. I support the use of the special clauses in the rank management rules. However..."

"But what?"

Lu Wenjie continued to answer: "...But since we took office, we have been pushing for the institutionalization and standardization of all actions. This is not an easy thing to do, and it even touches the cake of many vested interests. It is only today that we have achieved initial results.

"Now you are using special terms for the daughter of a sponsor's executive. This will have an impact on the credibility of the future ranking rules and your personal prestige. So I think..."

After Lu Wenjie paused for a moment, he continued forcefully:

"…This thing can be done, but it must be done in a way that leaves people speechless!"

"Well, it seems that you and I are thinking the same thing!" Shang Chaotian said with a smile, "Anyway, I will definitely find time to play a game with Rui Zhao. But what about you, Wen Jie? Are you interested, as a triple champion and the eighth consecutive champion of [Tianyuan]?"

"Sure!" Hearing Shang Chaotian say this, Lu Wenjie rarely showed a smile: "It just so happens that we are so exhausted from discussing the issue of unpaid wages recently, it would be nice to play chess with a pretty girl to have some fun!"

"Haha, it's settled then!"

【Warm reminder】

This chapter was greatly revised on January 2024, 1. The main change was to replace the original male supporting role [Xu Nuan] with the new female supporting role [Ai Jianan]. If there are readers who are confused halfway through reading, please start again from Chapter 20. Thank you for your support and understanding.

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(End of this chapter)