The First Move: Observing Chess and Encountering a Beauty

  In April, South China is warm and sunny, with a thousand purples and reds. The gentle breeze stirs the newly sprouted willow catkins, making them as soft and smooth as a person's hair after using shampoo. The warm caress on every tourist's face makes people feel carefree and joyful, while also bringing out a sense of laziness, like lovers in each other's arms, reluctant to part ways.

  Today is Sunday, in this beautiful spring when all the kittens are called Spring, couples or lovers stroll hand in hand along the lake; and on the square by the lake, kites of children and old people are competing for who is the most beautiful, who flies higher.

  In a corner of the square stood a large wutong tree, its massive canopy shading people from the sun. Under the tree, more than 20 people were gathered to watch chess.

  The protagonist of the chess game is two people. One gray-haired old man, wearing a pair of presbyopic glasses, was grinning with only one remaining crooked front tooth, his eyes narrowed to a slit, and the wrinkles on his face were trembling with joy.

  He only saw him holding a black horse and putting it on the opponent's knight, "crack"! He put the pipe in his left hand to his mouth and said triumphantly to his opponent: "Check! Haha, Horse Cannon, now see where you can run?" After finishing, he took a hard puff of the pipe, and the smoke slowly sprayed out from both nostrils, with an air of ease.

  This old man has made a great move, and his opponent is almost out of options!

  Look at the opponent called Ma Dapao, also an old man with all white hair and a kind face. At this moment, he is tightly closing his lips, frowning, holding two of the opponent's black chess pieces that have been eaten in his hand, lightly tapping them, fully concentrating on thinking, it seems that the battle is intense, the situation is quite unfavorable.

  The onlookers watching the chess game also fell into two factions. Those who thought a good move had been made were as relaxed as the old man smoking, discussing how many more moves it would take to checkmate their opponent.

  And Ma Dapao's faction naturally cannot admit defeat, and they are also helping Ma Dapao to think hard about how to regain the momentum and even counterattack.

  Because there were many people, everyone was chattering and offering suggestions. One said to sit the general out, another said to use cannons, which made Ma Da-pao feel annoyed and confused, not knowing whose advice to follow.

  After a while, since everyone's clever moves were not adopted by Ma Da Pao, they all slowly closed their mouths and waited for Ma Da Pao to make his own decision.

  At this time, a little boy squatting on the left side of Ma Dapao pointed to Old Horse's red cart with his hand and whispered to Ma Dapao: "The crossbeam is pressing against the horse's leg of Shi Jiaoma." Everyone looked over and all showed disdain on their faces.

  A fat man with a queue said: "Cut, stinky chess! You're blocking the horse's leg with your rook, and then someone plays a central cannon to attack you. What are you going to do? Are you thinking of flying away like giving someone an empty-headed cannon? Can't even see such simple moves and yet making reckless decisions." After finishing speaking, he tossed his sparse hair to the left, looking just like a grandmaster.

  "Yes, yes, this way is certain death." The murmurs of agreement continued. But Ma Da Pao thought for a moment, his brow slowly unfolding, and he looked at the young man with approval. Without hesitation, he picked up the red cart and placed it on top of the black horse, saying "Clang!" "Stubborn donkey, I'll press down on your horse's leg, let's see what you can do to me, haha."

  That old man who was called a stubborn donkey just now only cared about being pleased and didn't think carefully, listening to the fat guy's wonderful chess move with deep approval, also not thinking deeply again, picked up the black cannon next to him and put it in the middle, "Central Cannon! Haha, Ma Dapao, your car is afraid of freezing over water!"

  The words were not finished, only to see Ma Da Pao's right hand shaking, with a "pa" sound, the middle cannon had been eaten by Ma Da Pao! Holding it in his hand, he finally relaxed and smiled: "Stubborn donkey, thank you for sending me a cannon, haha!"

  That stubborn old man took a closer look, and his face turned green in an instant. It turned out that the cannon from his home had been sent to Ma Dapao's hiding place by the river Chu! Another glance revealed that not only was the horse that had just been called upon struggling for its life under the opponent's chariot, but also the red cannon that had just devoured its own cannon was now trampling on another black cannon of his own. What's more, his own black cannon didn't even have a chance to escape, and he would have to sacrifice one of them either way! In an instant, he lost two of his most powerful pieces, and upon surveying the entire board, all that remained were isolated chariots or cannons, with only one pawn left on the left side. The situation was hopeless!

  That old man who was called a stubborn donkey is not stubborn now, he immediately conceded defeat and set up the pieces to play another game. When re-setting the pieces, he glared at the fat boy who made that wonderful move, and the fat boy blushed and slipped away from the crowd with his head down.

  The little guy watching the chess lost interest, stood up and squeezed out. Ma Dapao immediately pulled him back and asked: "Little guy, don't go yet, watch a few more games, today is weekend you have nowhere to go, right?" Ma Dapao obviously had a good impression of this little guy, wanted to keep him to help him watch a few more games, and fiercely defeat the arrogant horse's prestige.

  The young man's eyes flashed with a hint of fatigue: "No, I have to go back, next time I'll come when I'm free", and he squeezed out of the crowd and walked away listlessly.

  "Brother Fan, what are you doing here? Are you out picking up girls alone? Where's your wife?"

  A crisp sound burst forth like a string of firecrackers, causing the young man to turn his head back around. He took one look and forced a smile onto his face: "I thought it was someone else, but it's just our pretty little mouse poking its head out. Aren't you afraid of being yelled at? Hehe."

  She was called Little Mouse, a beautiful girl, 22 or 23 years old, with big shining eyes, a small nose covered in tiny sweat beads, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, revealing only five pearly whites, red lips and white teeth. Her long hair was tied into a ponytail by a pink elastic band, swaying from side to side as she walked.

  A green round-neck T-shirt with a row of white English words printed on the chest, which makes the place even more majestic; wearing a low-waisted jeans, that cute little belly is playfully hiding and seeking to smile at the young man; stepping on a pair of blue flat casual shoes, carrying a brown small bag on her shoulder, the whole person looks youthful and lively, beautiful and moving.

  There was another girl beside the girl, and this girl was even more beautiful than that little mouse! At 30 years old, she looked like only 25 or 26; her shoulder-length hair cascaded down, her bright eyes sparkled with a hint of curiosity; her sharp yet rounded chin framed an absolutely stunning melon-shaped face, with smooth and tender skin; wearing a white low-necked dress, her slender waist was cinched by a belt; the curves and contours fully showcased her mature and charming demeanor, entrancing everyone.

  A delicate necklace hung around her neck, with a small diamond pendant nestled in the valley of her snowy white cleavage, shimmering with subtle light; a small red flower was pinned to her collar, giving off an artistic touch.

  She had an LV bag slung over her right shoulder, and on her right wrist was a green jade bracelet that looked like it was made of glass. She wore stockings and black half-length leather shoes, exuding elegance.

  She was dressed to the nines, exuding an air of elegance. Her left hand was clasped in the right hand of a young girl, who was lively and cheerful, while she herself was gentle and mature. The young man's eyes widened as he gazed at them, his expression somewhat lewd.

  "What are you looking at, haven't seen a beauty before? You're the one who's a little rascal, look at your current appearance, you're a complete and utter scoundrel! Hahaha...". Little Rascal laughed with a blooming smile, his chest heaving with excitement, his laughter sounding like a hen laying eggs.

  The girl next to her was also teased by Xiao Haozi and couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle, looking extremely charming.

  The young man's face turned slightly red, his mouth corners drew in, and he lightly sucked back the saliva that was about to spill out of his mouth, then swallowed with a "gulp".

  Xin Dao thought to herself that these two girls were really fox spirits, almost causing her to make a fool of herself! She quickly composed herself and glanced at the beautiful girl before turning to Xiao Hao and saying: "Xiao Hao, aren't you going to introduce us? Who is this beauty?"

  Hao Xiaofang hugged the girl's shoulders and said to the young man: "This is my best friend, also my little aunt Yuan Garden. The first beauty of the city, now..."

  "Xiao Fang" pulled Yuan Garden down a bit on Hao Xiao Fang.

  Hao Xiaofang immediately reacted: "Keep it a secret for now, hehe."

  Hao Xiaofang turned around and said to Yuan Garden: "This is Xu Fan, a great talent in our office."

  Xu Fan laughed and said: "What a great talent, hehe, don't listen to this silly girl's nonsense"

  Yuan Garden smiled lightly: "Hello, Xu Da Caizi."

  Xu Fan bowed slightly: "Hello, Miss Yuan", in front of the beauty, he always put on a gentle and refined appearance.

  Yuan Garden looked at Xu Fan with a curious expression and asked: "Do you like playing chess?"

  A hint of embarrassment flashed in Xu Fan's eyes: "Just a hobby, by the way, where are you guys going?" Xu Fan quickly changed the subject.

  Hao Xiaofang didn't miss the opportunity to tease Xu Fan: "Go shopping, girls love going shopping, how about it, great talent Xu wants to accompany a beauty to go shopping?"

  Xu Fan was taken aback, and hastily forced a smile, saying: "I won't disturb the two beauties' fun anymore, I still have things to do, I'll leave first." After speaking, he bid them farewell and turned around to leave.

  Yuan Garden looked at Xu Fan walking away and asked Hao Xiaofang with a puzzled face: "Why didn't he accompany his wife and children on Sunday, but came here to play chess alone?"

  Hao Xiaofang sighed and said, "Alas, he was originally a talented person, but unfortunately, he didn't have any backing in the unit, and was ostracized everywhere, unable to fulfill his ambitions. And it also affected his wife... never mind, let's go shopping."

  Xu Fan, 26 years old, an outstanding student in the Chinese Department of People's University, was a class leader for four years in college. The young man is 1.78 meters tall, and although he doesn't look very handsome, he is definitely the type that women like. He has a square face, thick eyebrows, big eyes, a straight nose bridge, and full, plump lips that are tightly pursed, giving off an impression of being both elegant and resolute.

  Xu Fan had just graduated from university and married his college classmate, now they have a lively and lovely 3-year-old daughter Niu Niu, which was originally a happy family.

  Xu Fan was lucky, from elementary school to university, his academic performance has always been among the best!

  Because the family conditions are not very good, the little money earned by the family every year is just enough for Xu Fan to go to school. Xu Fan got married soon after graduation, and the family didn't even have a chance to catch their breath, so they couldn't come up with any money to buy him a house.

  Xu Fan couldn't bear to add more burdens to his family anymore. He thought that once he had a good job in the future, it would be his turn to take care of them.

  His wife, Li Li, was a university classmate and girlfriend. Li Li's family is quite well-off; her father is the deputy director of the Labour Bureau, her mother is a teacher, and her brother runs a small company.

  Xu Fan, after all, is just a child from a rural area, with no wealth or power! At the beginning of their marriage, Li Li's parents strongly disagreed. The door and the house were not matching. Fortunately, they were young and did not give up on their pursuit of love. Later, Xu Fan finally passed the civil service exam and got a good position in the land department, and only then did they reluctantly agree.

  Unfortunately, by the time they got married, they still didn't have a house. Postponing the wedding was not an option either because young people were impulsive and had already tasted the forbidden fruit, so Li Li's belly started to grow slowly.

  Xu Fan returned home with only 30,000 yuan that his parents had managed to scrape together from all directions. A drop in the bucket!

  Li Lili's parents loved their daughter dearly and finally gritted their teeth to spend money on a two-bedroom apartment for them. After marriage, Xu Fan was not spared the cold shoulder from his in-laws because of this house issue.

  It's been three years since I started working, but my position hasn't budged at all. After listening to her parents' complaints at her hometown, Li Lili also slowly felt that marrying this man was too suffocating and increasingly felt worthless about herself.

  Xu Fan had just graduated from university and relied on his own efforts to pass the civil service examination, securing a good position as an office clerk at the Municipal Bureau of Land Resources, responsible for correspondence, meeting arrangements, writing speeches for leaders, and preparing for meetings.

  At the beginning, Xu Fan was extremely enthusiastic about this work, and he completed the tasks assigned by his director without any discount. He wrote everything with precision and thoroughly revised it according to the leader's intention.

  Due to Xu Fan's good writing skills, the speech he wrote was not only lively and vivid but also grasped the main line, in line with the leader's intention, and won the leader's appreciation.

  However, this manuscript is not just written by Xu Fan and reviewed by the bureau leaders. After it's written, it still needs to be reviewed by the office director. Once the director reviews it, the author becomes the director's name. The bureau leader appreciates the director, and doesn't even know who Xu Fan is. How frustrating for Xu Fan! But this is an unspoken rule, and there's nothing he can do about it - after all, Xu Fan isn't the director.

  Like this, Xu Fang's passion for work was slowly extinguished by the cruel reality, and now he only has one idea: to live a day as a monk and strike a day's bell. With such an idea, it directly affected his mood, and even when he returned home, he was listless.

  Xu Fan now fears the weekends the most, because he has nothing to do. Li Li is a teacher like her mother, teaching math at the Seventh Middle School in the city. Every weekend, she takes their daughter back to her parents' home to play. Xu Fan can't stand their condescending looks, so he doesn't want to go and suffer that fate. With nothing better to do, he can only keep company with the old man, playing chess to pass the time.

  The next morning at 7:50, Xu Fan arrived at the office on time, first made a cup of Nescafe for himself, and then took some paper towels to carefully wipe down his desk.

  This habit was formed after one day seeing the dirty rag left by the cleaning aunt on his office desk leaving a mark.

  Wipe the table clean, arrange the stationery on the table neatly, then open the computer and browser to log in to Fengniao website to browse through the news. After finishing browsing, it's just about time for work, this routine that has been repeated a thousand times takes exactly ten minutes, absolutely accurate.

  At this time, Hao Xiaofang arrived second, and as soon as she reached the door, she shouted to Xu Fan "Fan Ge, good morning!", Xu Fan responded with a good morning.

  Suddenly, Hao Xiaofang leaned into Xu Fan's ear and whispered: "Fan Ge, I'll tell you a secret, do you want to hear it?"

  Xu Fan disagreed: "Cut it out, can you tell me your secret? Even if I could, I don't want to hear it!" He had already reached the state of being desireless and unattached.