The Go Nine-Crown Champion‘s Afternoon

The sun lazily spilled onto the stone table in the park. Ke Jie—no, it should be "World Go Nine-Crown Champion"—sat upright, facing an old man in an undershirt, holding half a steamed bun in his hand. The chessboard was very old, with even a few suspicious stains on it, but the pieces were new, jet-black and shiny, out of place with everything around them, just like his current identity.

The day after he changed his Weibo note to "World Go Nine-Crown Champion," he decided to come here to play chess. Not to prove anything, but just to see what this title could bring him. He imagined that maybe someone would recognize him, and then rush to take photos with him, ask for his autograph, or at the very least, someone would exclaim, "Oh, isn't that...that...the Nine-Crown Champion?"

But none of that happened. Except for the old man in front of him, everyone else seemed to ignore him. The old man played very slowly, every move carefully considered, as if studying some profound philosophical problem, or like practicing Tai Chi with the security guard at the entrance of the community. Ke Jie sighed inwardly. He suddenly felt more like an item displayed in a showcase, labeled but ignored.

He dropped a piece, a crisp click, as if piercing through the park's tranquility. The old man lifted his eyelids, slowly put down the half steamed bun in his hand, picked up a piece, and placed it silently, but it made Ke Jie feel as if a mountain was pressing down on him.

"Young man, your chess style... it’s a bit interesting," the old man said slowly, his voice hoarse, with a hint of imperceptible smile, "but, you can't only look at titles when playing chess."

Ke Jie was stunned for a moment. He was actually discussing chess strategy with an old man in a park? It sounded like black humor. He thought he would hear admiration, amazement, or even challenges, but he didn't expect that the first person to give him advice would be such an inconspicuous old man. He suddenly felt his title was like a ridiculous label, stuck on him, but with no connection to his inner self.

The old man dropped another piece, and Ke Jie frowned, feeling the pressure increased sharply. This move seemed ordinary, but contained an inexplicable sense of meaning, forcing him to re-examine the game. He began to concentrate, forgetting his title, forgetting the noise of the park, and even forgetting who he was.

Time passed by second by second, the sun was setting, the shadows of the trees lengthened, and the game became more and more complicated. Sweat seeped from Ke Jie’s forehead, and he felt as if he had returned to the beginning when he first learned chess, facing an unknown situation, trying to find the only way to survive.

Suddenly, he discovered a subtle loophole. A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He raised a piece, ready to drop it. In that instant, he saw the old man's eyes, a calm understanding of everything, with a touch of faint mockery.

Ke Jie's heart skipped a beat. His hand froze in mid-air, and he hesitated to move. He looked at the chessboard, looked at the old man, and suddenly realized that he might have already fallen into the other's trap.

"What? Don’t dare to move?" The old man slowly picked up the remaining half of the steamed bun and took a bite.

Ke Jie put down the piece, slowly stood up, bowed deeply to the old man, and then left without looking back.

He walked out of the park, the sun above his head was still bright, but his heart felt like it had rained. He suddenly felt that his former titles were like the ignored fallen leaves in the park, seemingly shining, but actually insignificant. He thought, perhaps, the real "Nine-Crown Champion" needed not a title, but a heart that always remained humble.

He took out his phone, opened Weibo, and looked at his note: World Go Nine-Crown Champion. He hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he didn’t change it. He knew that even if he changed the note back, he would still be the chess player who needed to keep learning.

Back home, he turned on his computer and habitually glanced at the Go news. A bolded headline caught his eye: "Park Old Man Defeats Nine-Crown Champion, Astonishing Go Strength Ignites Go World". He clicked on it, and it read: After multiple confirmations, this old man is actually the reclusive Go master of many years, known as "Chess Maniac" Zhang!

Ke Jie shook his head with a wry smile. He knew this was just the beginning of the real "drama."