Chapter 187 - A Game With General Yun (1)
Su Xiaofei looked at General Yun suspiciously. Why was this old man siding with her now? Didn't he tell her earlier that she would be on her own for this issue? So why was he extending her an olive branch now?
"Ah, if you put it that way, how can I not agree with Xiao Fei's decision?" Elder Mo sighed and shook his head. It was really a pity that Su Xiaofei wasn't willing to pursue her marriage with his grandson. However, this also meant that they would lose the support of Bluemedia in the future.
General Yun harrumphed, before fixing the chess pieces on the board. He had learned a lesson during Yun Qingrong's marriage too and while he and his daughter had some regrets from it, he could see that this Su Xiaofei was too smart for her not to realize that she was only being taken advantage of by the Mo family.
"Xiao Mo, play a game with me." He glanced at Mo Yuchen and gestured for him to take a seat.
Mo Yuchen pressed his lips together but didn't dare to deny the old man. He took a seat and looked at the white chess pieces in front of him, wondering if this old general wanted to test him. The head of the Yun family's fondness of playing chess with youngsters was well known, so Mo Yuchen wasn't surprised that the Old General was asking him for a game.
"Ah, then allow this old man to rest for a while. I should have a word with you later, old friend." Elder Mo said before leaving with Lan Xiaoju, who had come to see what was happening.
Su Xiaofei leaned closely towards Lu Qingfeng and grumbled that her feet were already aching.
"Let's go and take a seat then." Lu Qingfeng suggested, pointing at the vacated seats nearby, where they could still watch the game between Mo Yuchen and General Yun.
"You want to see who would win?" Su Xiaofei chuckled, when she saw how focused Lu Qingfeng was on the game.
"No. I just want to see how Mo Yuchen's mind works. It will give you some clues about him." The young man commented.
"Is that so?" That immediately piqued Su Xiaofei's attention. Was it really possible to understand someone's line of thoughts by merely watching how that someone played chess?
Ever since she took up chess as a hobby and occasionally played a few rounds with Lu Qingfeng, it taught her how to think in a very strategic, step-by-step, systematic manner. However, she had yet to understand relationships between people and things, and that everything was ultimately connected in one way or another.
"Just watch and see for yourself." She heard Lu Qingfeng say next to her.
And watch, she did. When she first started playing chess with Lu Qingfeng, her very first lesson, other than learning how each piece moved, was identifying what checkmate looked like and how to corner her opponent into a checkmate in various situations.
At first, she didn't understand why Lu Qingfeng insisted that she needed to learn it first and foremost, but as she continued to play, she realized that from the very beginning she was not only learning what success looks like, but also how to win. It also taught her that one single mistake could lead to her failure.
"Xiaofei, in order for you to succeed, you must have an end goal on your mind before starting." Lu Qingfeng once told her.
As she watched every chess piece move from General Yun's side to Mo Yuchen's, the gears in her head were actively turning. She noticed that the old man's moves were very precise and straightforward, while Mo Yuchen's counter attacks were more like he was testing the waters, as if he wanted to see if the old man would fall into the traps he deliberately left along the way.
"Interesting." She muttered beside Lu Qingfeng as she was able to catch the different scenarios Mo Yuchen had set up for the old general, but Su Xiaofei didn't think that General Yun would easily fall for them.
Lu Qingfeng nodded his head in agreement. He had to admit that Su Xiaofei was a fast learner. When they were younger, she wasn't interested in her lessons at school and always complained about how bored she was during class. However, what other people didn't know was that when she decided to do something, she would be sure to pay attention to every detail as long as it could attract her and keep her interested.
When she was reborned, he made a promise to himself that he would pave the way for her, making sure that her road to revenge wouldn't be filled with unnecessary pitfalls.
Not only in chess, but also in life, Lu Qingfeng believed that it would be a great deal of good to play a few moves ahead. The more moves, the better. And by moves, he wasn't just talking about just his moves, but those of his opponents' as well.
"He's going to lose." Su Xiaofei commented.
And just by watching Mo Yuchen's moves, they were able to deduce that he hated being cornered. Mo Yuchen liked being in charge no matter what the situation was. Now that General Yun wasn't taking the bait, Mo Yuchen's options were decreasing as the game progressed.
Mo Yuchen couldn't find a way to break the old man's defense, and he was starting to lose his cool. General Yun seemed to notice it and took advantage of Mo Yuchen's hesitation to attack. The moment he placed the black rook at one particular spot, the defense Mo Yuchen had put up from the very beginning started to crumble one by one.
He couldn't stop the old man's persistent attacks and couldn't deflect the damage he sustained from it.. It seemed like General Yun had already foreseen what Mo Yuchen had in his mind and had given him an opportunity at the beginning, only to be disappointed in him in the end.