He paused, "But don’t assume that because I won this time, it’ll be easy to win against him next time. Zhao Yanxun is an opponent who demands every bit of your focus."
Cheng Liao made an "oh" sound and then gave him a thumbs-up.
"But you’re still amazing. I want to praise you again!"
He laughed, "I'm all ears."
Cheng Liao thought hard for a moment, "I want to have a son like you in the future!"
Sheng Jingchu laughed. He thought she probably didn’t realize the deeper meaning of that statement, but he didn’t point it out. He just nodded.
"It would be an honor."
Cheng Liao beamed, revealing two small, sharp canine teeth.
Her smile wasn’t the polite, meticulously crafted kind, but a carefree one, her eyes curving into little crescents, showing the creases of her double eyelids. Her eyelashes weren’t very long, but they were dark and thick.
She often had quirky ideas, "If I have a son, I'll name him Wenxi. If I have a daughter, I’ll name her Jianle. Together, they mean 'well-received and beloved.'"
In Sheng Jingchu’s mind, he imagined a girl named Jianle, with round eyes like Cheng Liao’s, speaking in a soft, childlike voice and reaching out to him with chubby little hands.
He said, "Jianle sounds pretty good."
"Wenxi sounds good too," she added after some thought. "Whether it sounds good or not depends on the father's surname." She gave Sheng Jingchu's surname as an example, "Sheng Wenxi doesn’t sound bad either." After saying that, she realized she had spoken too boldly.
She was used to joking around with Xu Chi, but Sheng Jingchu was different. In her mind, he was like snow in the mountains—pure and cold, not to be desecrated.
She immediately became nervous, fidgeting with the tablecloth, rolling it up and then flattening it, only to roll it up again.
Fortunately, the waiter came over with their food, and she quickly buried herself in eating, focusing so intently that she overstuffed herself, yet still kept pushing noodles into her mouth, her eyes fixed on the bottom of the bowl. She didn’t say another word until she was done.
By the time they left the izakaya, it was already dark.
Japan is one hour ahead of China, so she had traveled from longitude 116° to 139°.
She wasn’t familiar with the area and didn’t speak the language, so she followed closely behind Sheng Jingchu, not daring to stay too close, but also fearing she might fall too far behind.
Sheng Jingchu stopped and waited for her.
She took a few steps forward, then slowed down again, trailing behind like a little tail that had been wronged.
Sheng Jingchu seemed to have endless patience; whenever Cheng Liao slowed down, he would stop.
Eventually, Cheng Liao felt embarrassed and walked alongside Sheng Jingchu, glancing up at the sky. "It’s a clear night, huh?"
Sheng Jingchu responded with a soft "hmm."
"Looks like tomorrow will be clear too."
He gave another soft "hmm."
There was a faint hint of amusement in his voice as he asked, "Do you know why British people like to talk about the weather?"
"Why?"
Cheng Liao had never considered the question.
"Because when you talk about the weather, you don’t have to look at the other person’s face."
He stopped, and with cars rushing by behind them, the noise was loud enough that he had to raise his voice.
"Do you want to be with me?" He didn’t give Cheng Liao a chance to respond, "I’m not a very interesting person. I’m strict with myself and may sometimes expect the same from those around me. So, unfortunately, the person you’ve seen isn’t perfect."
He had never been in love and didn’t know how to express himself properly, so he hesitated.
"But fortunately, life is long—long enough for me to improve myself. Maybe in the end, I won’t be the person you idealized, but I will do my best."
Cheng Liao’s heart was pounding, and a strange dizziness filled her mind.
When he had taken her hand and led her away from Xu Chi’s house, she couldn’t help but overthink.
When he sent her home and invited her to the movies, she couldn’t help but overthink.
When he personally placed the agarwood cicada pendant around her neck, she couldn’t help but have thoughts.
But she found various reasons to convince herself otherwise. After all, this was just the kind of person he was—seemingly indifferent yet incredibly considerate. Even when they had just met, he had ensured she was in the safest spot, asked the staff to add a pinch of salt to her drink, gifted her a bunch of stuffed animals, and somehow, he even managed to catch that "Husky" for her.
She thought that aside from her father, there would probably never be another man who would treat her as well as Sheng Jingchu.
So well that it was subtle and unspoken, like a gentle rain that nurtures everything silently.
There’s a piece by Xie Muerong called Written for Happiness, with lines she loved so much that she often recited them, to the point where she could remember them by heart:
"Setbacks will come and go, tears will fall and then be wiped away,
Nothing can discourage me,
Because I have a long life ahead of me, and you, you will surely come."
She thought, he really has come, but at this moment, all she feels is fear.
Fear of an unseen future, fear that one day he would suddenly realize she was just an ordinary person among the crowd.
Fear that she might let down his love, fear that in some hidden corner of her heart, there was still a part of Xu Chi that she hadn’t completely forgotten.
Finally, she mustered the courage to look up at him.
His brows, his eyes, the corners of his mouth, the expression he wore at this very moment.
She wanted to remember it forever, to keep it as an eternal memory.
Even when she grew old, when she had forgotten the past and perhaps even forgotten herself, she would still be able to tell her children about him, with a voice full of pride.
"There was once someone who loved me, and he was the best person I’ve ever known."
She hadn’t responded yet, but he already seemed to understand her feelings.
He reached into his pocket, took out a piece of candy, unwrapped it, and handed it to her.
"I’m waiting for you," he said.
Cheng Liao shared a room with Yan Xiao, a double bed.
Cheng Liao tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
Yan Xiao, frustrated, sat up, "Did you get fleas?"
Only then did Cheng Liao settle down.
In the round of sixteen to the quarterfinals, the Korean team performed poorly, with only two of their eight players advancing. The Chinese team saw Sheng Jingchu, Cao Xihe, and Yao Ke make it through, while the Japanese team had three players advance as well.
Cao Xihe got his wish and drew Zhao Yanxun in the quarterfinals.
Perhaps because it was a Monday, Cao Xihe performed well below his usual level, losing two consecutive games and exiting at the quarterfinal stage.
On the other hand, Yao Ke's performance was outstanding, making it to the semifinals.
Thus, the final four in this Toyota Cup were Sheng Jingchu, Yao Ke, Zhao Yanxun, and Kato Kiyomasa.
Sheng Jingchu drew Yao Ke, and Zhao Yanxun drew Kato Kiyomasa.
Yao Ke lost to Sheng Jingchu, and Zhao Yanxun lost to Kato Kiyomasa.
After Zhao Yanxun’s defeat, most of the Korean media packed up and left, leaving only a few reporters in Japan to cover the remaining matches. These reporters complained daily about the terrible Japanese food, claiming it severely affected Zhao Yanxun's performance, and speculated that Kato Kiyomasa's act of tearing his folding fan during the match distracted Zhao Yanxun.
In any case, the Go community was abuzz with controversy.
However, Kato Kiyomasa’s habit of tearing his fan was indeed criticized by players. When concentration is at its peak, even the smallest noise can be irritating, let alone the noise of tearing a fan.
Cheng Liao worried that he might tear his fan again when facing Sheng Jingchu and came up with a solution.
She discussed it with Yan Xiao, "Maybe I should give him a fan that can’t be torn. What kind of fan is tear-proof? Iron?"
Yan Xiao found her idea whimsical, "Even if you give it to him, do you think he’ll use it?"
After that dinner with Sheng Jingchu, Cheng Liao hadn’t seen him in private again, but she had interacted with Xiao Qi a few times. After all, Cheng Liao had worked as an assistant before, and the two assistants had much in common when it came to taking care of people.
Before the third match between Kato Kiyomasa and Sheng Jingchu, Xiao Qi called Cheng Liao, "Can you help me make a fried egg? Cook it until it's medium done."
Cheng Liao thought he was craving food again, "You’re going back to China soon. Can’t you wait until then?"
Xiao Qi replied, "It’s not for me. I’m preparing breakfast for Mr. Sheng."
Cheng Liao hesitated but eventually borrowed the hotel kitchen and made a fried egg.
As she was waiting for the elevator, she happened to see Ding Lan coming down. Ding Lan looked a bit uneasy, hiding her hands behind her back as she walked away.
Cheng Liao was very surprised. She had grown accustomed to Ding Lan’s sarcastic attitude. Was the sun setting in the east today? Why was she suddenly so quiet?
Sheng Jingchu had been invited out for a morning walk by Kato Kiyomasa, leaving only Xiao Qi behind.
Cheng Liao handed him the fried egg.
Xiao Qi pointed at her neck and asked, "Why aren’t you wearing the 'Yiming Jingren'?"
Cheng Liao looked down, "What’s 'Yiming Jingren'?"
Xiao Qi explained, "It’s the name of your cicada pendant."
This was the first time Cheng Liao had learned that her pendant had a name. She had taken it off recently because of her fluctuating emotions, feeling a bit embarrassed every time she saw it, so she had simply removed it to avoid seeing it.
Seeing her confusion, Xiao Qi felt sorry for Sheng Jingchu, "This really is a case of 'cutting through the tangled skein only to end up more tangled.' You probably don’t know that Mr. Sheng carved that pendant himself, do you?
"Agarwood carving isn’t easy; it takes a lot of time and effort. Mr. Sheng tried countless times on other wood before he carved that cicada. He’s so busy, sometimes he doesn’t even have time to sleep, yet he still made time every day to work on it."
So it was hand-carved by him…
Cheng Liao felt a lump in her throat and turned away, "I’m going now."
Back in her room, Cheng Liao took out the pendant from her bag and carefully examined it.
The cicada’s carving was rustic, with round, large eyes.
Yan Xiao, who had an eye for quality, leaned in for a closer look.
"Wow, where did you get this agarwood? The material is really good. Look how full the oil is. But who carved it? What a waste of good material. Even if the wood is worth tens of thousands, with this kind of carving, you wouldn’t be able to sell it for half price."
So it was hand-carved by him? He never even mentioned it. If Xiao Qi hadn’t told her, she might never have known.
Was she really worth all this effort? Worth enough for him to go to such lengths to create a gift for her?
Or perhaps he was just that kind, so kind that he would give without expecting anything in return, quietly and without a word.
Cheng Liao rubbed the cicada in her palm, thought for a moment, and put it back on.
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