"My name is Qi Xinxian. Your child is very adorable."
"She's my younger sister."
"That makes her adorable too."
After nodding to Ye Lin, Qi Xinxian returned to the classroom to continue teaching. He took out a brand-new bamboo scroll, placed it before Luo Yao, and began teaching her how to read.
Meanwhile, Ye Lin sat alone in a small pavilion at the center of the garden, drinking tea. A chessboard lay before him, black and white pieces standing in opposing ranks.
The white pieces had already been surrounded on all sides by the black pieces, their doom imminent.
Ye Lin picked up a white piece and placed it at the foremost position.
The instant Ye Lin's white piece fell, the entire board changed in a flash. What had been a dead game now seemed to come alive.
However, more than half of the white pieces behind it were swallowed by the black pieces.
Before he knew it, the sun had set, and the lessons had ended as well. Luo Yao came out surrounded by a crowd of children.
"Brother Ye Lin, they invited me to play at their homes."
Luo Yao skipped up to Ye Lin, her little face brimming with excitement. She had made new friends.
"Go on. Keep this with you. If you want to eat anything, use it to trade for it."
Ye Lin took out a colorful little pouch and handed it to Luo Yao. Inside were little grains of gold.
"Okay."
Clutching the little pouch, she left amid the crowd of children.
Qi Xinxian then slowly sat down across from Ye Lin. Looking at the chessboard before him, he raised an eyebrow.
"If you play like this, the white pieces will lose half their stones."
Qi Xinxian sighed.
"Without destruction, there can be no