When he arrived at the Chess Club, he found that a short-haired girl with white hair had gotten there before him.
The girl wore a beret and sat in one of the seats provided by the club, with a cane resting beside her.
She was currently playing a match against one of the Chess Club members.
In a tense, heated match, the two players' performances stood in stark contrast, as if two entirely different worlds were intertwining in the same moment.
On one side was Sakayanagi Arisu, calm and confident, as though everything was under her control. She rested her fingers lightly on the chess pieces, and every move she made was unhurried, as if each decision were the inevitable result of careful consideration.
Her eyes held a tranquil look. When she occasionally glanced up at her opponent, a faint smile touched her lips—a smile that showed how sure she was of victory.
To her, the situation on the chessboard was like a carefully choreographed dance. Every step was perfectly timed, guiding the game in the direction she had envisioned.
The senior sitting opposite her, however, had a completely different expression. Sweat trickled slowly down his forehead. Beneath his furrowed brows, his eyes were filled with anxiety and unease.
His hands kept rubbing against his knees, betraying his nerves. Whenever he tried to make a decision, he would stare at the board for a long time, brows knitted, as though every piece weighed a thousand pounds and every path forward was lined with thorns.
To him, the game was like an endless trek through a maze. Any step could lead into a trap, and every decision came with immense psychological pressure.
At last, when Sakayanagi Arisu gently placed her final piece and declared victory, the senior let out a deep sigh. His eyes held both resentment and relief.
Pretty passionate, right? I didn't expect a game of chess to get even more heated than that guy next door turning into a hot-blooded hero.
"I lost." Though the Chess Club member felt deeply unwilling to admit defeat, he accepted the difference in their abilities. "I'll transfer the points to you, as agreed."
The girl rose slowly to her feet. Her movements held both the confidence of a victor and respect for her opponent (as if). She carefully returned each chess piece to its place, then looked at the senior and spoke in a clear voice. "Your chess skills are excellent, Senior, and your insight into the game is impressive. If you pay a little more attention to the details, you could become a professional player someday.
"Th-thank you for the compliment!" The senior was a little embarrassed to be praised by his junior.
Sakayanagi Arisu picked up her cane and slowly turned around.
As she turned to leave, she spotted Long Aotian, who had appeared beside her at some point.
Seeing that Sakayanagi Arisu had noticed him, Long Aotian greeted her first. "Hey, Classmate Sakayanagi. Playing chess here? Looks like you've won quite a few points."
"Classmate Long, did you come to play chess too? Too bad—you're a step too late. I've already won all the personal points there are to win." Sakayanagi Arisu replied with a faint smile.
"Would you be interested in a match?"
"If you want to play, Classmate Long, how about next time? I still have things to take care of today." Sakayanagi Arisu turned and left the Chess Club, leaving him with those words.
What a hassle. That only brought him to 2.7 million. If he could, Long Aotian wanted to earn a little more.
Long Aotian turned to the senior and gave him an awkward smile. "How about a match, Senior?"
What was this? Were they all treating him like a pushover? Even he had a temper. He might have lost to his junior, but surely he could beat this guy!
The senior furrowed his brows, a flare of anger igniting in his heart. He stared at his junior, his eyes firm and resolute. "Sure. Since you're so eager for a challenge, I accept. One hundred thousand!"
With the instructor as witness, the senior and Long Aotian signed a contract.
As the match began, the senior's brows drew together. His eyes blazed with unprecedented fury. Anger surged through his heart like an invisible force, as if it had granted him some mysterious buff.
Long Aotian stared at the senior in bewilderment. Seriously? Why were you so fired up?
To everyone's surprise, the senior's anger made him astonishingly aggressive in the opening stages, giving him the upper hand. Yet his fury did not rob him of his usual judgment.
Could this be...?!
The result was obvious: in a fit of rage, the senior lost the match—and then got even angrier.
At the very end of the match, as his opponent slowly placed the decisive piece, the senior's hand trembled slightly,
He stared blankly at the board, as if time had frozen. Disbelief flashed across his face, followed by deep disappointment and, finally, uncontrollable despair. It was a helplessness that welled up from the depths of his heart, as if the whole world had crumbled around him.
His eyes gradually dimmed. The corners of his mouth curled into a bitter smile, part self-mockery, part helpless acceptance of reality. The senior rose slowly to his feet, swaying slightly, as if he were about to lose the strength to stand.
He looked at his opponent with a complicated expression: admiration, resentment, and deep self-doubt.
After transferring the points, the senior's figure looked especially lonely and dejected as he walked out of the match room.
He said nothing, only lowering his head in silence, as if every step landed on his heart, so heavy it was suffocating.
The commotion around him had nothing to do with him. He seemed to have entered another world, a world only he knew, filled with despair and pain.
Long Aotian fell silent. Had he gone a little too far?
Combat Club: 800,000 points (including the original 100,000 points) Chess Club: 500,000 points. Table Tennis Club: 600,000 points. Badminton Club: 600,000 points. Senior: 100,000 points. Total: 2,800,000 points. Using the Double Points Card brought that up to 5,600,000 points. [Mission: Reach 5,000,000 points in one day] [Mission complete!] [Reward: 10% increase to points earnings buff (no exploiting bugs; earnings must have a legitimate reason, all conversions must be reasonable)]
I'm living the life of a rich man now.
Long Aotian then left the Chess Club. Before he went, he paid the instructor 30,000 points as hush money.
After all, the instructor had worked hard, staying with him the whole day. It also served as hush money, since he'd beaten almost the entire club.
Would the other clubs spread the word? They probably wouldn't want to tell anyone about something so humiliating. Even if they did, it didn't matter. At least he wouldn't become famous too quickly.
He was pretty tired after the whole day, so he decided to buy some daily necessities and then clean up his dorm room.
There weren't many people out buying daily necessities at this time of day.
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