The Cannon Fodder Ex-Wife Changes to Take the Black Moonlight Script - Chapter 63

Shang Shiqian wasn’t in a hurry to decide which extra chapter to read.

First, none of these extras were related to the Shang family, nor did they involve any urgent crises she needed to resolve.

Second, she could only read ten extra chapters, and the information she could unlock was limited. Naturally, she wanted to save the opportunities for when they were most needed.

East City University was even more deserted after the official start of the holiday.

Shang Shiqian’s coaching sessions lasted until Friday, July 7th.

Although the students participating in the University Go Tournament weren’t leaving until the 9th, Weng Qizheng decided to give them two days off to relax.

As a result, Shang Shiqian also got to finish her work two days early.

Weng Qizheng paid her coaching fee on the spot, though the bonus would have to wait until the students’ results came in.

Weng Qizheng also said, “You can keep staying at the place for now. We’ll talk about it after you’ve sorted out your financial and identity issues.”

Shang Shiqian replied sheepishly, “Actually, I’ve already found a place to stay, so I’m planning to go back and move my things later. I’m deeply grateful for your care these past few days, Weng 5-dan.”

Weng Qizheng’s mood was complicated. After thinking for a long time, she finally decided to indulge her curiosity: “Be honest with me, you’ve had formal training, haven’t you? I’ve been observing you for a while and studying your playing style. Your moves seem to come from the ‘Yu Dao.’”

“Yu Dao” referred to the Go dojo of Yu Yifei, the Sage of Go. The playing style there bore the distinct mark of Yu Yifei.

Thus, the stylistic traits of a professional Go player’s moves could often reveal which dojo they came from.

Of course, there were also a handful of top players who were self-taught.

But most professional players had spent time in one of the three major Go dojos, and their habits could usually be discerned from their play.

The so-called “three major dojos” were those founded by Yu Yifei, the Sage of Go; Meng Chun, the first world champion of Xia; and Li Hong, a non-professional player known as the “Godfather of Go.”

Originally, there had been “four major dojos,” with the foremost being the Longquan Dojo, which had pioneered the modern era of Go. However, because Longquan had taken up citizenship in the country of Neon, although his dojo still existed domestically, it had been removed from the list of the four major dojos.

Shang Shiqian hadn’t expected Weng Qizheng to notice. She smiled and admitted, “Yes, I studied at Yu Dao for a long time.”

Weng Qizheng hesitated, then held back her words.

Being accepted into a dojo meant she must have had household registration.

Moreover, Yu Dao charged 100 yuan per hour. Without long-term professional guidance, it would have been difficult for her to progress this far.

Even those self-taught masters, though they hadn’t entered a dojo, would seek out professional teachers for instruction.

Therefore, Weng Qizheng’s earlier assumption, that Shang Shiqian’s family had denied her household registration due to favoring sons over daughters was incorrect.

“Well, our meeting was fate. If you ever run into trouble in the future, you can come to me.”

“Thank you.”

Since Shang Shiqian might not return to East City University to play Go again, the students organized a farewell gathering.

Shang Shiqian had stood them up last time, so this time, thinking it would be a good opportunity to wish them success in the tournament, she agreed to go.

After dinner at a street-side stall on Wenming Street, the students ordered two cases of beer and borrowed dice from the shop.

Shang Shiqian didn’t join in. “It’s already eight o’clock,” she said. “I still need to go back and clean up, so I’ll head out first.”

Although she hadn’t stayed in Weng Qizheng’s house much, it was basic courtesy to clean up and restore the furnishings as much as possible.

The students couldn’t persuade her to stay, so they had to let her go.

Before leaving, Shang Shiqian stopped to pay the bill, then headed toward Weng Qizheng’s small house.

During summer vacation, the campus wasn’t the only place that felt empty, the streets around it were deserted too.

Shops and hotels saw little business, and the sidewalks in residential areas were lined with unused shared bikes.

The only constant was the rows of illegally parked private cars along the road outside the old neighborhood.

Under the dim streetlights, a few burly, drunken men staggered across the road, heading in Shang Shiqian’s direction.

Though their movements were partly obscured by the parked cars, Shang Shiqian having once been assaulted and kidnapped was far more alert now. She immediately ducked into a convenience store, pretending to shop.

Yet the drunk men followed her inside.

One went to the fridge to grab water, another pretended to buy cigarettes to distract the cashier, while the third made a beeline for Shang Shiqian.

Shang Shiqian turned and ran.

The drunk man hadn’t expected her to be so quick. Without caring about the surveillance cameras, he reached out to grab her.

“Call the police, please!” Shang Shiqian shouted to the cashier.

But the man buying cigarettes snarled at the cashier, “This is my boss’s family matter. Stay out of it.”

The cashier shrank back, too afraid to intervene.

Just then, someone walked in, picked up an empty beer bottle from a crate by the door, and smashed it over the cigarette-buying man’s head. Stunned, he was kicked aside.

With the obstacle gone, the newcomer swiftly shielded Shang Shiqian and began grappling with the other two men.

Seeing Chu Fei, Shang Shiqian’s anxious heart finally settled.

Having grown used to Chu Fei working at the Treasure Pavilion, she had almost forgotten that Chu Fei was actually Wei Yixian’s assigned bodyguard.

The man Chu Fei had struck earlier wasn’t completely knocked out.

While Chu Fei was occupied with the other two, he seized a bottle and tried to attack Shang Shiqian from behind.

But before he could strike, someone kicked the back of his knee, sending him sliding to his knees and crashing into a shelf.

Xiao Luomeng picked up the cigarettes from the floor and handed them back to the cashier, then called Sun Wei.

Sun Wei grumbled, “Why are you always in trouble lately?! I told you not to get involved with Wei Yixian and the Shang family, but you wouldn’t listen. Now look what happened!”

Xiao Luomeng replied, “This time, it’s not me who’s in trouble.”

She hung up.

By then, Chu Fei had also finished dealing with the men.

Shang Shiqian took a moment to steady herself before asking in surprise, “Xiao Luomeng, what are you doing here?”

Xiao Luomeng said, “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about what happened last time, but I’ve been either covering shifts or busy with personal matters. Tonight was the first chance I got. Knowing you’d be off work by now, I came straight to your place. Then I heard the commotion here and realized it was you.”

“Thank you, Chu Fei and Xiao Luomeng,” Shang Shiqian said gratefully.

Xiao Luomeng eyed the three men clearly faking drunkenness, on the floor and asked, “Where’d they come from?”

Chu Fei remarked, “That’s a pretty insensitive question.”

Xiao Luomeng corrected herself, “I meant, why were they targeting Shang Shiyu?”

“That’s for the police to figure out.”

Xiao Luomeng studied Shang Shiqian’s face carefully and muttered, “I’m afraid you got dragged into this because of someone else again.”

Shang Shiqian’s life revolved almost entirely around Go.

Spending her days playing chess at school, she had never offended anyone.

If someone was targeting her, it could only mean she was being implicated by someone close to her.

Of course, it was also possible they simply took notice of Shang Shiqian young, beautiful, and alone and developed ill intentions.

But such targeted actions couldn’t possibly be spur-of-the-moment.

Within just three minutes, officers from the nearby police station arrived.

Everyone, including Shang Shiqian and the cashier, was taken to the station to give statements.

On the first day of her revival, Shang Shiqian had prepared herself for a trip to the police station. Later, when Wei Yixian took her in, she thought she’d never have to go. Yet, after all the twists and turns, here she was.

The officer assigned to take Shang Shiqian’s statement was a female officer who first poured her a cup of water before sitting down to ask gently, “Do you have your ID? Can you remember what happened?”

Shang Shiqian glanced at the slogans on the wall, “Fair Law Enforcement, Strict Discipline” and answered truthfully, “I don’t have an ID.”

The officer assumed she meant she hadn’t brought it and didn’t press further, as the police system could verify identities with photos.

“Then let’s start with what happened.”

Shang Shiqian recounted the events of her evening.

Just as the officer finished taking her statement and was about to request a police terminal, Wei Yixian arrived.

She hurried into the station, heading straight for the duty room.

Only when she saw Shang Shiqian holding a paper cup, sipping carefully at the still-scalding hot water, did some color return to her face.

Spotting Wei Yixian, Shang Shiqian’s pale lips parted slightly before she finally managed a smile. “Ah-Hang, you’re here too!”

Wei Yixian: “…”

As if you’re just leisurely sipping afternoon tea!

Upon hearing about the attack, Wei Yixian hadn’t waited for the driver and rushed over in her own car.

And here she was, more anxious about Shang Shiqian’s safety than Shang Shiqian herself?

Wei Yixian was fuming but still stepped forward stiffly and pulled her into an embrace.

Shang Shiqian quickly moved the cup aside to avoid spilling hot water on them.

Through the fabric, she could feel Wei Yixian’s warmth and the steady, vibrant pulse of her heartbeat.

“Were you scared?” Wei Yixian’s voice carried a barely noticeable tremor.

Shang Shiqian paused, then after a moment, nodded. “A little.”

Wei Yixian pressed her lips together, exchanged a few words with the officers, and then took Shang Shiqian back to Tianhao Garden.

–

Late at night.

On the way to the Tianyi Cultural Center, the car carrying Shang Shiqian left the eastern district and entered a quiet county road, where a manually deployed road spike strip punctured its tires.

The car spun out of control and crashed into a utility pole by the roadside. The driver, Aunt Lan, was knocked unconscious by the deploying airbag.

Though dazed from the impact, Shang Shiqian remained mobile.

She climbed out of the car, opened the driver’s door, and pulled the unconscious Aunt Lan free.

Just then, she heard someone call from behind, “Shang Shiqian?”

Thinking it was someone she knew, Shang Shiqian turned eagerly, hoping for help, only to feel a sudden electric shock to her neck.

When she came to, she found herself in a derelict, warehouse-like space.

The aftermath of the electric shock left her body in discomfort, especially her neck, which burned as if scorched by fire, and her mind was in complete disarray.

Under the dim light, she saw a scruffy-bearded man wolfing down a takeout meal.

At his feet lay piles of discarded food containers, swarmed by rats scavenging for scraps.

“You!” Shang Shiqian tried to speak but found her mouth sealed shut. A sudden itch in her throat triggered violent coughing fits.

Hearing the commotion, the man looked up at her.

After a few seconds, he set down his meal, grabbed a fruit knife from the table, and approached.

Crouching beside Shang Shiqian, his face twisted into bloodthirsty madness: “Shang Shiqian, you deserve to die.”

Shang Shiqian didn’t recognize him, nor could she recall offending anyone.

“Why did you have to hurt Wei Yixian?”

Shang Shiqian: ?

When had she ever hurt Wei Yixian?

Could leaving early from tonight’s anniversary celebration have somehow wounded him?

Before she could make sense of it, he continued his monologue: “I, Chen Baoming, will be the one to protect Wei Yixian’s future!”

The sharp blade sliced through her carotid artery in an instant.

Shang Xiaowu: After hearing the killer say that, even after dying and being reborn, you never suspected Wei Yixian might be behind it?

Shang Shiqian: …

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