Cheng Liao was surprised; how could a child today not recognize these things? Parents usually take their kids to museums, zoos, amusement parks, and even on trips abroad from a young age.
While Tian Tian was playing on the trampoline, Cheng Liao couldn't help but ask Sheng Jingchu, "Has he never been to an amusement park before?"
Sheng Jingchu shook his head. "Tian Tian is an orphan. Actually, there are many children in the Go dojo who are orphans.
"The teacher invested everything he had into the Go dojo, spending thirty years to build it to its current scale.
"Do you know how much it costs to train a Go student into a professional player?"
He didn't give a specific number. "There is some social support, but it's not enough, so the teacher asks us to contribute a portion of our prize money to him. The media says he's taking the students' prize money, but he hasn't spent a single cent on himself.
"Finding a talented child isn't difficult; what's difficult is raising that child to maturity, bit by bit. When I was living with the teacher as a child, I often heard the teacher's wife complaining that there was no rice, no flour, and no money for their son's study abroad.
"As for his clothes, as long as they weren't torn, he'd keep wearing them no matter how old they were. Once, when he was visiting Japan, the sole of his shoe even came off."
As he spoke, his tone didn't fluctuate much, but Cheng Liao could tell that his feelings for the teacher ran very deep, so deep that he didn't want to use any emotional words to describe them.
Because if he did, he wouldn't be able to control his emotions.
"I respect the teacher's dedication, but I don't agree with his approach. Passing on the torch can't be achieved by one person's effort alone. The real challenge for the Go dojo right now is figuring out how to combine charity with business. This is also the biggest disagreement between the teacher and me. The media says I've fallen out with him, and it's not entirely baseless."
Tian Tian got off the trampoline, looked around anxiously, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Sheng Jingchu. He ran over to him.
Cheng Liao wiped the sweat off his face. "Oh, you little dirty kitten."
She took Tian Tian to buy a grilled sausage. Maybe because Sheng Jingchu had told her that Tian Tian was an orphan, she felt even more tender toward the child.
When the grilled sausage was ready, she saw Tian Tian's eager expression and couldn't resist teasing him. She waved the sausage in front of his nose and pretended to take a bite herself.
Tian Tian wasn't expecting this and started crying in frustration.
Cheng Liao immediately panicked, waving the sausage. "I didn't eat it, really, see?"
But Tian Tian wouldn't stop crying; his wails only grew louder.
The boy's lung capacity was impressive, and Cheng Liao didn't know what to do. She made a silly face. "Tian Tian, look, a fox!"
Tian Tian glanced at her and kept crying.
She then pushed her nose up. "Tian Tian, look, a pig!"
Tian Tian's lips quivered, but he kept crying.
Cheng Liao was out of ideas. She took a deep breath. "Looks like I’ll have to use my secret weapon! Tian Tian, watch me."
She glanced back to make sure Sheng Jingchu was on the phone, then relaxed and began her performance.
She rolled her tongue in the back of her mouth, and a bubble of saliva appeared on the tip of her tongue. She blew gently, and the bubble floated away.
Tian Tian's eyes widened, and he stopped crying immediately.
Cheng Liao picked him up. "Was that fun?"
A voice from behind answered, "Hmm."
She turned around to find Sheng Jingchu standing right behind her. Embarrassed, she rubbed her face. "Ah, you saw that."
They had dinner with Tian Tian before taking him back to the Go dojo.
Tian Tian clung to Cheng Liao, pestering her all the way, asking how she made the bubbles.
Cheng Liao, having no other choice, tried to fool him. "Did you know that a person's saliva is fixed for their lifetime? Each bubble you blow out reduces your energy. The less energy you have, the shorter your lifespan."
Tian Tian, though young, wasn't so easily fooled.
Cheng Liao pretended to give an example. "Look at the fish in the water, always blowing bubbles, right? Why do they stop when they die? Because they've used up all their bubbles."
Tian Tian was finally convinced, letting go of Cheng Liao's hand. His small figure hopped into the Go academy, turning back to wave at them as he walked.
"Goodbye, teacher. Goodbye, Auntie."
Cheng Liao corrected him, "Call me Sister."
Tian Tian blinked and thought for a moment. "Goodbye, Auntie!"
Cheng Liao was exasperated. "That's it, we're never seeing each other again!" Seeing Tian Tian had already gone inside, Cheng Liao and Sheng Jingchu started walking back along the path.
A man approached them, his hair cut very short, wearing a worn jacket. He stopped and looked closely at Sheng Jingchu.
The man asked, "Are you Sheng Jingchu?"
Before Cheng Liao could react, she saw the man pull something from his sleeve and swing it at Sheng Jingchu's head.
Sheng Jingchu instinctively raised his hand to block, and there was a loud noise.
Cheng Liao then realized that the man was holding an iron bar.
She immediately rushed forward.
The man swung the iron rod again, ready to strike, but Cheng Liao held onto his waist tightly. Unable to shake her off, the man tried to pry her hands away. Meanwhile, the dojo’s security noticed the commotion and rushed over.
Seeing the security guards approaching, the man mustered all his strength and finally managed to throw Cheng Liao off, glaring resentfully at Sheng Jingchu lying on the ground before quickly fleeing.
Sheng Jingchu's face had turned pale from the pain, sweat streaming down as he struggled to stand up. He reached out to help Cheng Liao, carefully observing her expression.
His voice was laced with anxiety: "Are you okay?"
Cheng Liao shook her head, appearing relatively calm, as she got up from the ground and fumbled for her phone. After unlocking the screen, she knocked on her head and turned to ask the security guard, "What’s the emergency number again?"
The security guard, seeing her confusion, took the phone and called for an ambulance, also reporting the incident to the police.
In the ambulance, the paramedics had already administered basic first aid to Sheng Jingchu.
Despite his severe pain, he kept reassuring Cheng Liao, "I'm fine."
Finally, they arrived at Jiangcheng Hospital.
In just two short months, Cheng Liao found herself returning to this place again.
A police officer arrived to gather details.
Cheng Liao, anxious and agitated, kept pacing around. She alternated between urgently asking the nurse when the emergency doctor would arrive and warily watching the door.
She practically blocked the entrance, scrutinizing every person who passed by—if they weren’t wearing a white coat, she eyed them suspiciously.
She even muttered to herself in a daze, "This doesn't seem right... What if he stole a doctor's coat and put it on?" Then, nervously, she looked around the floor, "Where’s a brick? I need to pick up something handy."
The police officer realized that communicating with Cheng Liao was futile, so he turned to Sheng Jingchu, who remained clear-headed and calmly described the assailant's appearance.
"He was about 1.75 meters tall, very muscular, with dark skin, and had a tiger head tattoo on the back of his left hand."
The man wouldn’t be hard to find; there were surveillance cameras near the Go dojo.
Based on Sheng Jingchu's description, the police quickly deduced that it wasn’t a robbery but a targeted attack, most likely an act of revenge.
"Revenge?"
That word caught Cheng Liao's attention. She whispered it to herself, then suddenly rushed out. When she returned, she was holding a wrench.
She frowned and weighed the wrench in her hand, then exhaled a long breath, a chilling smile creeping across her face.
The police officer felt a shiver down his spine.
Sheng Jingchu called out to her, "Liao Liao."
Cheng Liao finally calmed down and softly asked him, "Does it hurt?"
He shook his head. "It doesn't hurt."
She knew he was trying to comfort her—his lips were trembling from the pain.
Gently, she took his uninjured hand, patting the back of it, just as her grandmother used to comfort her when she was upset as a child.
Soon, a small cut appeared on the back of his hand.
Cheng Liao cried out in alarm, "Where are you hurt?" She carefully checked each of his fingers, not even sparing the spaces between them.
But there was no wound.
Sheng Jingchu sighed, "It's your hand."
Only then did she look at her own hand. A piece of glass had lodged in her palm, causing blood to gush out, now turning black.
Though the wound looked fierce, it wasn't too serious. However, when the doctor treated it, she couldn't hold back a scream that nearly pierced the ceiling.
Director Zhu rushed over after hearing the news, and when he heard Cheng Liao’s scream, he almost fainted. Clinging to Cao Xihe’s hand, he asked, "Is Cheng Liao’s injury fatal? And what about our Jingchu—is he hurt worse?"
He stumbled, urging Cao Xihe, "Go check on him first. If... if it's really bad, maybe I shouldn't go in."
Sheng Jingchu had a fractured right arm, and the doctors performed surgery, fitting his arm with a brace.
He would need to stay in the hospital for a few days under observation, and even after discharge, it would take months to fully recover.
Cheng Liao counted on her fingers and realized that the "Ji Shi Cup" had already set the competition date for January 7th of the next year. It was now late October, and it seemed unlikely that Sheng Jingchu would recover in time for the match.
The surgeon was an old expert, and a fan of Sheng Jingchu’s Go games. He adjusted his glasses and suggested to Cheng Liao, "Maybe he should eat more pig trotters to help with the recovery?"
Cheng Liao quickly took out a notebook and wrote it down. "That sounds good. I'll go to the market and buy some fresh ones."
"And maybe take some calcium supplements."
She noted that down too. "Anything else?"
"Some ox tendons might help too. Eat those to strengthen the bones."
Cheng Liao carefully recorded each suggestion, then repeated it back. "Did I get that right?"
The old expert nodded, "Not a word wrong." Then he chuckled, "But I was just teasing. If eating all that could heal him, what would we need doctors for?"
He advised Cheng Liao, "Doctors do what they can, and the rest is up to fate. Bones need time to heal, tissues need time to repair—there's no rushing it. Just like playing Go, you have to wait patiently until the right moment to capture your opponent’s pieces.
"Sure, Go tournaments are important, but isn't his health even more so? Sheng Jingchu is young and successful, but he's never faced a serious setback. From my perspective, this could be a good opportunity. If he misses this 'Ji Shi Cup,' so what? The prize money may be high, but in the end, no matter how much money you have, it’s just enough to fill your stomach. No matter how big your house is, you still only sleep in one bed. A person needs to learn to be content."
Cheng Liao asked him, "If there were a world medical competition right now with a billion-dollar prize, would you participate?"
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