Chess

[A mysterious figure disregarded the Lu family's demands and acquired the Xingzilou West District Industrial Park at a high price.]

That evening, the young master of the Shen family and the owner of Xingzilou Restaurant walked out of Huai Shi one after the other, seemingly having dinner together.

The Lu family's excessive pressure ironically led to a collaboration between Xingzi Tower and the Shen family.

[The century-long feud between the Shen and Lu families.]

The Lu Group's artificial intelligence system was attacked, suspected to be orchestrated secretly by the Shen family.

...

Gu Nan looked at the messages constantly being sent in the chat box, filled with admiration.

She sent five photos to the other side, which weren't very clear. The other side then came up with more than a dozen different ones, none of which were repeated.

This money was well spent.

The final payment is due on the 13th.

The other end replied with a curt "Mm" and ended the chat.

Gu Nan raised an eyebrow and muttered to herself, "I'm supposed to be the client, right? This attitude?"

She racked her brains, silently comforting herself. After all, in Beicheng, anyone who dared to take on her job despite the risk of offending the Lu family must have some ability.

She understands arrogance and pride.

Without further hesitation, I readily transferred the deposit and lay on the bed, lost in thought.

The sun rose slowly outside the window. Gu Nan half-clutched a pillow, tilted her head back to bathe in the golden light. The halo cast shadows on her long eyelashes. The shadows moved, and she reached for her phone and blocked Shen Ming.

With three days left until the banquet, she hesitated between returning to Xuncheng and staying in Beicheng.

The time to return to Xuncheng is too rushed, and I'll have to find another excuse to come to Beicheng later.

If we stay in the North City—

Thinking of this, her eyes narrowed, and she suddenly stood up, dropping her phone in shock. Without bothering to pick it up, she patted her forehead and muttered to herself, "I wonder if it's gone or not."

The young apprentice she raised without any involvement.

Honestly, she was a terrible teacher. She took him in, taught him for a short time, and then left without leaving any contact information for her apprentice.

I wonder if her apprentice will suspect she's a fraud.

Gu Nan thought generously that as long as her apprentice didn't demolish her courtyard, she could forgive him no matter what he did.

I had mentally prepared myself the whole way, but when I opened the door, I was still stunned at the entrance.

She took five steps back, glanced at the wall, and felt a little unfamiliar with it.

She could only stay there for two months a year. In her memory, new vines weighed down old branches on the wall, and withered grass was buried under the flowers. It was a messy and chaotic place, a paradise for wild birds.

Before my eyes, there were only lush green vines and blooming fragrance, overlapping and orderly draped over the wall.

Gu Nan rubbed her eyes.

Taking five steps back, I looked up at the high-ceilinged attic and felt a little more familiar with it.

The red walls and green tiles easily reveal the traces of time.

The traces have been faded, making it look clean and unfamiliar.

"master?"

She turned around, and before she could even put on a suitable expression, someone wrapped their arms around her neck. Su Wanting's joy was palpable, and she called out "Master" several times in one breath.

Gu Nan and the others calmed down, then pointed incredulously at the courtyard and asked, "You did this?"

Su Wanting scratched her head sheepishly, "I was just tidying up because I had nothing else to do." Seeing that Gu Nan was still in shock, Su Wanting lowered her voice, "Am I... unable to move?"

Gu Nan licked her lips, and after a long while, she found her voice: "You can move. But... what about my friends?"

Su Wanting smiled and pulled her inside.

A row of nests was neatly arranged in the small courtyard.

An immature dog, two litters of newly hatched rabbits, three hedgehogs, and an old squirrel lying motionless in its nest...

Moving your gaze upwards, you see several more hanging against the wall, probably small homes for sparrows and parrots.

Beneath the parrot, a black cat glared menacingly.

Gu Nan rubbed his forehead, feeling a chill run down his spine for the parrot.

She pointed to an empty mound made of straw next to the black cat and asked, "Whose is this?"

“I found two small snakes behind the house, about the size of a noodle, so I let them in.”

Gu Nan felt as if struck by lightning, completely dumbfounded. Pointing at the cat bed next to her with an indescribable expression, she said, "You put those two with the cat?"

Su Wanting nodded: "The kitten loves playing with them."

Play……

Gu Nan swallowed hard and asked quietly, "After you finished playing, did you ever see your noodles again?"

The light in Su Wanting's eyes dimmed slightly, and she obediently called out, "Master."

Gu Nan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself, "She's not too stupid."

"I then realized that snakes like dark and damp environments, so they probably left."

Gu Nan: ...

She was speechless and murmured repeatedly, "Let's go."

If nothing unexpected happens, they might have already drunk all the Meng Po soup.

I don't know if these two need to drink.

Silently, I lit incense for the snakes in my heart and sincerely advised them not to be snakes in their next life. If they must be snakes, they should stay far away from a woman named Su Wanting.

There are no remains at all!

They licked all the blood off.

Seeing Gu Nan's ever-changing expression, Su Wanting asked timidly, "Master, did I do something wrong?"

Gu Nan clutched her chest: "You did nothing wrong."

It was my fault. I'm sorry to those two underage kids.

In her mind, she remotely advised the two noodles she had never met that they should die sooner rather than later, so that they might be reborn as lions or tigers in their next life, at least they wouldn't be put in front of their natural enemies by a woman named Su Wanting.

They were fighting for their lives, but the people there thought the two snakes were having a good time.

"It's been a long time since you've been here."

Gu Nan: I really should have come sooner. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, that's two reasons.

She can build a level 14!

The deed was done, and saying it would only cause Su Wanting more trouble. Gu Nan swallowed the words that had almost escaped her throat and changed her question: "How's your chess practice going?"

Before she left, she left behind a broken Elephant Formation, which had been going on for too long without any guidance. It's unclear whether Su Wanting still has the patience to break it.

She looked up and saw Su Wanting smiling mysteriously, her eyes bright, pulling her into a game.

Su Wanting has a good memory; despite the passage of time, she set up the endgame in less than half a minute. Gu Nan, who wasn't particularly competitive, played against her according to the basic teaching approach.

Bian Xin sighed inwardly. Su Wanting's progress was astounding. She had changed her timid and hesitant habits and was now making deadly moves, showing Gu Nan a bit of the passion in the game.

"Good! Offering incense and feeding the horses, excellent idea!"

Su Wanting smiled shyly, her offensive noticeably slowing down. Gu Nan had broken through her previous moves, and her momentum was clearly insufficient. She ended the game with a move called "Double Dragons Embracing a Pearl".

"I lost."

Gu Nan was surprised; she had actually met a genius.

wrong.

"Did you secretly take another master behind my back?"

“I didn’t become an apprentice.” Su Wanting pursed her lips. “I met a great chess player online a while ago. She’s very good at chess, and she’s also very enthusiastic. She even invited me to a dinner party.”

Gu Nan frowned. Given Su Di's experience, she felt it necessary to give her young apprentice some advice.

Su Wanting misunderstood and quickly explained, "I didn't say 'you'."

Gu Nan waved her hand: "The information on the Internet is true or false. You two have only known each other for a short time and you're meeting already. What if—" She looked Su Wanting up and down. Her little apprentice was only 19 years old this year. She wasn't a great beauty, but she had the pure look of a girl next door.

"You are not allowed to go."

"It's in the north of the city, very close to my home," Su Wanting insisted.

Gu Nan asked in surprise, "Beicheng?"

She had heard of the chess masters in the north of the city. "Male or female? What's their name?"

Su Wanting looked down and picked at her fingers: "Female, I don't know her name."

"You dared to go without even knowing the name?" Gu Nan said, exasperated. "And you even attended a banquet? Banquets are where things are most likely to go wrong."

Su Wanting explained in a low voice, "There are a lot of people at the banquet."

"Does having more people mean you're safer? Can having more people dilute the effects of someone adding something to your drink? There are hidden doors everywhere. Can having more people stop someone from kidnapping you through a hidden door? If you get caught, you won't be able to escape."

Gu Nan gave him a stern warning and then offered a sweet treat, pulling out her phone from her pocket and creating a temporary alternate account: "Add me as a contact. Ask me any questions, but don't go looking for random people."

Su Wanting instantly widened her smile and happily added an explanation: "Master, I wanted to give you a surprise."

"obedient."

Gu Nan glanced at the empty nest out of the corner of her eye and sighed inwardly. Right now, nothing could surprise her more than the two coming back to life.

She didn't intend to say anything and shatter Su Wanting's beautiful vision. She silently moved the bird's nest to a tree, and after Su Wanting left, she pointed at the black cat's nose, making it repent.

The black cat said the food tasted great and hoped the quality wouldn't drop next time. It then rolled its eyes at her and walked away with its head held high.

Her haughty and aloof demeanor reminded her of someone.

She waited until the 13th and couldn't wait to get to the meeting place.

He sighed, "They look so alike, so very alike."

Lu Yushi glanced up at her expressionlessly, seemingly displeased that she had suddenly spoken.

Her assistant came over in a friendly manner and "invited" her out of the study, explaining repeatedly that it was just because Mr. Lu was busy with work, and that it was definitely not because she was too noisy.

Gu Nan also "very kindly" said that she didn't mind, and then turned to open her phone to ask if she could give her a few more dirt on the Lu family, preferably on Lu Yushi.

It would be best if it could truly pierce Lu Yushi's heart.

If so, she's willing to pay extra.

She stared at the closed door, and a sentence suddenly came to mind.

—Have you ever risked your life for someone?

She didn't, but now she's willing to spend a fortune for someone.

The other party regretfully told her that there wasn't any.

What a pity.

She's not one to give up easily; once she's made up her mind, she's determined to spend the money.

Keep an eye out for me, the price is negotiable.

After a while, the person on the other end of the line started talking more than usual.

[Enemies? Lu Yushi didn't have many enemies.]

Gu Nan looked up; the door not only blocked her view but also shut out the sound.

[Are you misunderstanding the word "enemy"? Aside from the other four major families, the number of people he's offended could circle the Earth three times. Does that mean he has few enemies?]

What I mean is, the enemy who bought the damaging information.

Gu Nan choked, trying to calm herself down. It wasn't that she couldn't break off relations; she was also very disappointed that she couldn't confront them directly.

The assistant pushed open the door and said in a low voice, "Young Master Lu would like to invite you in."

Gu Nan nodded and sent the last message.

[Post it! Buy trending topics, use Douyin (TikTok) promotion, push it everywhere you can!]

He gripped the doorknob with all his might, a wide grin spreading across his face, thinking to himself, "I'll make you furious."

With a smile, she pushed open the door, her gaze meeting in mid-air, and unexpectedly caught a fleeting look of surprise in Lu Yushi's eyes.

Gu Nan touched her face in confusion, then realized what was going on after a moment, and scoffed, "Not wearing makeup means you're not qualified to hypnotize me?"

Lu Yushi didn't speak, coldly shifting his gaze away.

Gu Nan laughed angrily: "You're awesome."

I hope you can keep this deadpan look for a while.

"Let's begin."

Gu Nan glanced at her phone, suppressed a smile, and slowly said, "No one can disturb you during hypnosis. Young Master Lu, why don't you tell the people outside?"

Lu Yushi said calmly, "They won't bother us."

Before he could finish speaking, there was a knock on the door.

Gu Nan raised an eyebrow, crossed her arms, and looked on with anticipation: "Young Master Lu, what do you have to say?"

The air pressure in the room dropped a few degrees, but Gu Nan shrugged indifferently.

The assistant returned, looking grim. He lowered his head and quickly walked to Lu Yushi's side, glancing at Gu Nan before speaking.

Gu Nan pointed to herself, seemingly unconcerned: "Do you need me to leave?"

Assistant: "Thank you for your help."

Lu Yushi: "No need."

She and her assistant exchanged a glance, and when they both looked at Lu Yu, their eyes met. Gu Nan was stunned for a moment, unconsciously rubbed the tip of her nose, and looked away.

"Speak."

The assistant opened his mouth but didn't say anything. He handed the phone to Lu Yushi and said hesitantly, "Someone bought a black trending topic, but we can't find the specific IP address."

Lu Yushi asked, "How many did you buy?"

His gaze remained fixed on Gu Nan, lingering there.

"17 items."

Lu Yushi suddenly sneered: "A grand gesture."

Gu Nan felt uneasy under his gaze, so she turned around and pretended to admire the view from the study.

Lu Yushi interrupted his assistant: "Go out."

"Huh?" the assistant asked, puzzled. "Aren't we going to withdraw?"

"We'll talk about it later. Don't keep J waiting."

Gu Nan turned her head and met his gaze again. It was as if she had just imagined it; Lu Yushi's eyes had never been sharp before.

Gu Nan quickly composed herself: "Aren't you going to handle it?"

"You want me to handle this?"

The story took a bit off track, but fortunately, Gu Nan, having gone through many trials and tribulations, still had some self-control when dealing with emergencies.

"What does your own negative trending topic have to do with me?"

“Yes, it’s alright,” Lu Yushi chuckled softly, raising his eyes, but there was no hint of amusement in them. “Then what are you worried about?”

Gu Nan's expression froze for a moment again.

These few words weren't enough to throw her into a panic, but continuing to ask wouldn't be good for her heart, so she decisively changed the subject: "Still hypnotizing?"

"certainly."

Looking into Lu Yushi's slightly closed eyes, Gu Nan had the first thought of using hypnosis to spy on someone's privacy.

The problem was brought to a stop just a second before she reached the exit. She clenched her fist and warned herself that this was a matter of principle.

It cannot be broken.

After the previous hypnosis session, I entered the state quickly this time and soon reached deep sleep.

She silently slumped onto the sofa, raised her hands to stare at her palms, which bore obvious pinch marks, and thought despondently, "Who's really messing with whom?"

Lu Yushi is indeed amazing; he really kept that deadpan look.