Song Qiao slept soundly after returning home from the bar.
Xia Xueqing, tired from playing, didn't bother him, and they both slept comfortably in their own beds.
As the sky began to show the first hint of dawn, Song Qiao's eyes fluttered open. Despite not sleeping for long, he felt incredibly energetic.
After washing up and having breakfast, Song Qiao glanced at the clock on the wall, raised an eyebrow, and muttered to himself.
"It's time to find Gao Meng and Ding Kai Dong and supervise their training. I wonder if they've been training diligently while I was away. If they've fallen behind, I'll have to push them hard."
As he spoke, Song Qiao changed his clothes, ready to head out.
The moment he stepped out the door, his phone buzzed with a new message. He picked it up to see it was from Alice.
Alice brought him news about his work and the matters he had asked her to investigate earlier.
Her report was exceptionally well-organized, complete with a table she had sent him.
Opening the table, all the information was presented at a glance. Song Qiao couldn't help but sigh with emotion, acknowledging Alice's remarkably sharp business acumen.
With such an assistant, his future days would undoubtedly be much easier.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Song Qiao typed out a message and sent it. Soon after, Alice replied with a smiling emoji.
"Song, besides these matters, that person has also been asking me to play Go for the past two days. I've been following your instructions, winning a game and leaving. I basically play every day, as if that person is just waiting for me."
Upon seeing Alice's message, Song Qiao grinned.
Alice had handled this matter perfectly. He could already imagine Guo Can's furious reaction in front of his computer.
He immediately sent a lengthy voice message praising her. As he put his phone away, Song Qiao felt a newfound admiration for Alice.
This kind of dedication wasn't something everyone possessed.
Alice's days were meticulously scheduled, leaving no room for wasted time.
While he was thinking this, Song Qiao had already arrived at the training location.
The chosen spot for this training session was a park.
After Gao Meng and Ding Kai Dong arrived, Song Qiao nodded at them and gestured to the open space in front of them.
"First, show me the results of your training over the past two days. I hope you haven't been slacking off while I was away."
The two nodded and began their demonstration in the clearing.
Song Qiao stood with his hands behind his back, watching them train with proper form, and couldn't help but nod in approval.
Soon, he noticed that Gao Meng's body exhibited an unusual phenomenon during his training.
This anomaly, when observed by Song Qiao, filled him with immense joy. He quickly instructed.
"Gao Meng, gather your qi to your dantian, circulate it throughout your body using dantian power, and then draw it back into your dantian. You've reached a bottleneck within your body. If you can condense your qi into your palm, you should be able to try other methods of qi circulation."
Gao Meng tried it, and his face quickly turned extremely red. The effect was rapid.
Song Qiao laughed heartily.
He hadn't expected Gao Meng's comprehension to be so good.
Honestly, he didn't have much to teach the two of them. The crucial elements were already clear to them. What he could guide them on was essentially how to circulate qi.
However, if this process went awry, it could lead to qi imbalance and even death by spitting blood.
Therefore, when Song Qiao wasn't around, the two of them had trained cautiously, not daring to be reckless.
Just as Song Qiao was feeling pleased for Gao Meng, a figure approached from a distance. Upon seeing Song Qiao, their face darkened considerably. They walked up to him and said in a low voice.
"Song Qiao, yesterday's game was due to my carelessness that you won. Today, I want to play another match with you!"
Song Qiao sized them up, looking surprised, and shook his head.
"Forget it, my mind hasn't recovered yet. Wait until I'm fully recovered before we play."
Hearing this, Guo Can's face turned green. "If you don't want to play, can't you come up with a better excuse? What kind of nonsensical excuse is that? It has no logic at all."
Despite being rejected, Guo Can refused to leave. He had been thoroughly schooled by "Song Qiao" yesterday.
However, he knew Song Qiao would be at the park today, so he came, hoping to get lucky.
He hadn't expected to actually find him.
If that was the case, then no matter what, he wouldn't let Song Qiao leave today. They had to play another game!
Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to let it go!
His pride was utterly shattered!
He had to get it back!
With this thought, Guo Can stared coldly at Song Qiao and gritted his teeth.
"Hurry up and play with me! Don't try to brush me off. If you don't play with me, I'll follow you around all day."
Hearing this, Song Qiao looked utterly helpless, as if encountering him was his misfortune. He leaned in and whispered in Guo Can's ear.
"After playing Go yesterday, I had another three hundred rounds with a woman. I'm simply exhausted. Besides, look at the time, it's only five o'clock and I'm already here for training. Do you think I have any energy?"
"You!"
To these words, Guo Can could only utter one sentence.
That sentence was.
"Shameless! How could a scoundrel like you! How could you possibly beat me!"
By the end of his words, Guo Can was practically roaring. He stared at Song Qiao with wide, bloodshot eyes. He truly couldn't believe it!
As a national-level Go player, how could he possibly be defeated by such a character!
What made him feel even more disgusted was that every time this guy played him and won a game, he would immediately withdraw without hesitation.
And he did this so frequently.
This was pure hooliganism. Was this something a normal Go player would do?
Especially the words Song Qiao had just uttered. Guo Can's face twitched incessantly.
Taking several deep breaths, Guo Can looked at Song Qiao coldly, his brows furrowed tightly.
"Song Qiao, I suspect your true strength. Although you've beaten me several times, I always feel that someone like you shouldn't have such profound attainments in Go."
"I don't have much time left in this city. Play me a good game. If I lose, I promise I will never speak ill of you again!"
At this point, a hint of anticipation appeared in Guo Can's eyes as he looked at Song Qiao.
If this matter wasn't resolved, he wouldn't be able to rest easy even if he traveled far away.
But clearly, Song Qiao wasn't going to agree.
"I'm really not feeling well today. Let's do it another day, maybe another day."
Rejected once more, a trace of disappointment flickered in Guo Can's eyes.
"In that case, forget it. If there's an opportunity, I will strive to surpass you."
With that, he turned and walked away without hesitation.
Seeing Guo Can again, Gao Meng frowned and stopped training. He walked over to Song Qiao's side.
"Who is she?"
Song Qiao chuckled, remaining silent. He cast a long glance in the direction Guo Can had left, then turned to leave as well.
Only Gao Meng was left, stomping his feet in frustration on the spot.