Study System: I'm a 38-Year-Old Student-Chapter 285 - 192: School Honor Rests on One Person
"The Go Club guys are livestreaming!"
"Holy shit, it’s already 2:0!"
"Those Koreans aren’t half-bad!"
Feng Sicong started commentating live at the scene.
"What’s so fun about Go? It’s boring as hell!"
Bao Beibei showed zero interest.
But just then, Zhao Hongyu, who’s usually the quiet type, actually took over the conversation: "Young Master Bao, that’s where you’re wrong."
"Go is the ultimate test of thinking skills and strategic vision. The real masters all play Go!"
"Otherwise, why is ’chess’ in ’qin, chess, calligraphy and painting’ Go and not Chinese Chess or Army Chess...?"
"You talk like you’re some kind of expert?"
Bao Beibei tilted his head up to look at Zhao Hongyu, a little aggrieved.
"My dad loves Go. I played with him since I was a kid, joined a few amateur tournaments too. I was actually planning to join the Go Club."
Zhao Hongyu briefly explained his background.
"You even competed? Ever win any awards?"
Feng Sicong asked, curious.
It was like Zhao Hongyu had been waiting for this moment. He used his right hand to push his black-rimmed glasses up his nose, unconsciously sat up straight, cleared his throat, and finally spoke slowly: "First Place, Golden Gourd Cup Youth Go Tournament."
"First Place, Const Cup Youth Invitational!"
"Second Place, Huatiannan Cup Go Amateur Division..."
Zhao Hongyu rattled off a bunch of awards in one go, then pretended to be all cool and silently went back to eating, like nothing had happened.
Feng Sicong and Bao Beibei listened in utter shock. They didn’t really know whether those awards were a big deal or not.
But it just sounded damn impressive!
Anyway, they’ve never won that many awards, in any field.
Shen Qiushan glanced at Zhao Hongyu out of the corner of his eye. This guy is a textbook "small-town top student": average family, barely talks in the dorm.
And since Shen Qiushan isn’t in the dorms much, he honestly didn’t know much about the guy before all this.
After this, though, Shen Qiushan felt like he’d finally figured this quiet roommate out a little.
This kid doesn’t talk much, but he’s secretly got a real flair for showing off!
"Old Zhao, you’re so awesome, you should go help the Go Club!"
"They’re already down 0:2!"
"Wait, wrong, it’s 0:3 now! We’re getting slaughtered out there!"
Feng Sicong, who was following the Go Club livestream, couldn’t help but roast, "What the hell are those Go Club guys doing?!"
"Senior Sister Xiaoyuan’s about to cry here."
"Who’s Senior Sister Xiaoyuan??"
Bao Beibei asked curiously.
"Just found out about her myself."
Feng Sicong shoved his phone in Bao Beibei’s face. On the screen, a sweet-looking girl was livestreaming, going by the nickname [Senior Sister Xiaoyuan].
Only right now, the sweet-faced Senior Sister Xiaoyuan didn’t look so good. She pouted and said, "It’s such a pity President Wu lost that game. He was ahead most of the time, just got careless later on."
"But the other guy was really strong too. Feels almost like a pro..."
Senior Sister Xiaoyuan was wearing a white cartoon t-shirt, but Bao Beibei and Feng Sicong weren’t the least bit interested in the chessboard behind her.
Their eyes were unfailingly drawn to the eye-popping curve on her chest.
"Suddenly Go seems pretty interesting."
"Old Zhao was right, Go really does help develop intelligence and strategic thinking!"
Bao Beibei said, while quietly taking out his phone and searching for Senior Sister Xiaoyuan on Kuaisheng App.
Feng Sicong, meanwhile, left a message on the livestream: Senior Sister Xiaoyuan, my roommate’s amazing at Go, can he come play?
Right then, [Senior Sister Xiaoyuan]’s stream had just over 300 viewers. The chat wasn’t that busy, so she noticed Feng Sicong’s comment straight away and softly said, "If there are any Go experts in the stream, you can come to the multi-purpose classroom. Uh... anyone below amateur 5-dan, don’t bother."
"Old Zhao, what’s your rank?"
Feng Sicong quickly turned to ask Zhao Hongyu.
"Amateur 6-dan."
Zhao Hongyu replied loftily.
For amateurs, ranks go from 1-dan (weakest) to 8-dan (strongest).
Of course, rank doesn’t always mean skill level, sometimes people just haven’t gone to enough tournaments, but they’re still super strong.
Still, reaching amateur 6-dan means you’ve played at least at the provincial amateur level and got some decent results.
So, among amateur players, Zhao Hongyu’s level is pretty high.
"Damn, badass!"
Feng Sicong exclaimed, and immediately posted in the stream: My roommate’s amateur 6-dan, can he give it a shot?
Senior Sister Xiaoyuan saw Feng Sicong’s message right away, her big eyes lighting up: "Of course, 6-dan is totally fine! We’re in Room 101 of Building 1..."
"Old Zhao!"
"Stop eating, this is your chance to win glory for the country!"
"Senior Sister Xiaoyuan said you can go help!"
Feng Sicong turned to Zhao Hongyu excitedly.
And in truth, the introvert Zhao Hongyu had already been listening intently to the livestream.
As soon as he heard he could go play, he practically wolfed down the rest of his food.
"Guess I’ll give it a go."
"But I might not be better than the club seniors."
That’s what Zhao Hongyu said, but deep down he was fired up. Ever since starting college, this big fish from his high school pond became just another face in the crowd.
He couldn’t help it; being a "small town" kid, he’s not as well-off or as worldly as city kids like Bao Beibei and Feng Sicong. Plus, he’s average looking, and even his grades stopped being special.
From being a star in high school, he’d suddenly faded into mediocrity.
But today, at last, he finally had a chance to show his strengths!
"Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!"
"Go give those Koreans some payback!"
Feng Sicong put his arm around Zhao Hongyu’s shoulder, impatient to see if Senior Sister Xiaoyuan was really as spectacular as she seemed on stream!
"Uncle Shen, let’s go join the fun!"
Bao Beibei said to Shen Qiushan with a grin.
He knew his chances of ever becoming Shen Qiushan’s son-in-law were slim, but he still kept up the "Uncle Shen" thing, like he was hanging on to his last shred of hope.
"Yeah, let’s all go."
If it were anything else, Shen Qiushan probably wouldn’t bother, but Go was different—he was a chess master, after all.
He wanted to see what was up, and honestly, if needed, he didn’t mind teaching those "spirit of sportsmanship" Koreans a lesson himself.
The four of them left the cafeteria and headed straight for the multi-function room in Building 1.
Once inside, Feng Sicong was giving Zhao Hongyu a shoulder massage: "Old Zhao, the nation’s honor is on your shoulders!"
"Just get out there and do it!"
"Young Master Feng, don’t stress out Old Zhao!"
"That level of hype is too much!"
Bao Beibei chimed in.
"Fine, fine, then it’s just the honor of our Dorm 618 on your shoulders!"
Feng Sicong rephrased instantly.
"Now you’re thinking too small."
"Come on, at least make it about the school..."
They soon arrived at Room 101, the big multi-function room.
This was the biggest multi-function room at Sanjiang University, able to hold five or six hundred people—a bit like a small theater.
They could run movies, or host all kinds of events here.
At the moment, there were already two to three hundred people inside. Korea’s exchange group had about thirty people, Sanjiang University had about the same, and the Go Club had brought over twenty more. The rest were just students joining the fun.
Right then, Go Club’s president Wu Junming was playing against the Korean exchange student Pu Yiseong.
This was their second game. Wu Junming had thrown away a winning position in the first and got upset by Pu, so this round he was being super careful. Right now, the game was deadlocked, neither with a clear lead.
A huge electronic screen above the stage live-streamed the board, and the students in the audience all sat quietly, watching, only occasionally whispering to each other.
A sweet-faced girl with a, uh, pretty bombshell figure was standing at the podium streaming—that was [Senior Sister Xiaoyuan], real name: Zhou Yuan.
Since the Go Club is a pretty niche group at school, with not many people, Zhou Yuan doubled up as both head of outreach and head of publicity.
"Senior Sister Xiaoyuan is even prettier in person than on the stream!"
Bao Beibei whispered to Feng Sicong.
"Totally, zero catfishing going on!"
Feng Sicong nodded repeatedly.
Even the introvert Zhao Hongyu’s eyes lit up behind his glasses. Guys that age all like pretty girls—it’s got nothing to do with grades or what college you go to.
Zhao Hongyu was no different—he wanted a sweet romance, too. But he knew he wasn’t exactly rich or handsome, so he’d made a list of must-have qualities for his "future girlfriend" long ago.
In his plan, she should appreciate his "talent," and share his hobbies!
And here was Senior Sister Xiaoyuan, who clearly knows Go—maybe, just maybe, she’d be that girl who sees his greatness!
For a moment, Zhao Hongyu’s fighting spirit burned even brighter!
"C’mon, Old Zhao."
"Let’s go say hi to Senior Sister Xiaoyuan."
While Zhao Hongyu was completely lost in fantasy, Feng Sicong pulled him up to the podium, pointed at Zhao, and said, "Senior Sister Xiaoyuan, I’m [Young Master Feng] from your chat, and this is my roommate, amateur 6-dan!"
Once he was introduced, Zhao Hongyu reflexively straightened his back and introduced himself in a steady tone: "Hello Senior Sister Xiaoyuan, I’m Zhao Hongyu, winner of the Golden Gourd Cup Youth Go Tournament..."
Zhao Hongyu rattled off his list of awards all over again.
"That’s awesome!"
"Zhao Hongyu, once President Wu’s game is done, you’re up next!"
Zhou Yuan looked like she’d just found her lifesaver. Her slightly chubby cheeks bloomed into a big smile, and she didn’t forget to turn to the camera: "Everyone—freshmen, seniors, juniors, and all—finally, reinforcements have arrived! Amateur 6-dan, almost the same level as President Wu!"
"Whether we can turn things around is up to this new recruit Zhao right here!"
