The Cannon Fodder Ex-Wife Changes to Take the Black Moonlight Script - Chapter 66

After over four hours of intense battle, Shang Shiqian’s eyes felt fatigued from staring at the electronic screen for so long.

She leaned back on the sofa, tilting her head and closing her eyes to rest.

Suddenly, a pair of slightly cool hands covered her eyes, followed by an upside-down kiss landing on her lips.

Despite having kissed so many times before, this was the first time in such a position. Shang Shiqian found the experience quite novel though it wasn’t very convenient for taking things further.

The inverted posture also made the kiss more challenging.

Shang Shiqian accidentally bumped teeth and had to end the kiss prematurely.

The hands covering her eyes moved away.

Wei Yixian asked, “Do you feel bored staying at home?”

“Not at all.”

This answer was within Wei Yixian’s expectations.

“Then would you like to go out somewhere?”

Shang Shiqian was about to decline, but then something occurred to her, and her eyes suddenly sparkled with anticipation: “You want to go out with me?”

Wei Yixian said, “I was worried you might feel cooped up. You mentioned the Ferris wheel last time, I can take you to the amusement park this weekend.”

She paused: “Or would you prefer the Tianyi Cultural Center instead?”

A bittersweet feeling rose in Shang Shiqian’s heart.

She had once been just one step away from the Tianyi Pavilion but now, it seemed an impossible dream.

“If it’s a date with you, anywhere is fine.”

Wei Yixian said, “Then let’s go to the amusement park this Saturday.”

“Okay.”

After Wei Yixian went upstairs, Shang Shiqian prepared to review today’s game with Qu Zhengxin when she suddenly noticed that Qu Zhengxin had sent her a friend request.

Shang Shiqian accepted.

Almost instantly, a message popped up: “This is Qu Zhengxin. May I know how to address you?”

Shang Shiqian hesitated before replying: “Time Waits for No One.”

Failing to learn the mysterious player’s real name didn’t discourage Qu Zhengxin, who then asked: “Are you also a fan of Shang Shiqian?”

Seeing her own name out of the blue left Shang Shiqian momentarily dazed.

A fan? She had fans?

“Why do you ask?”

“Your playing style is identical to Shang Shiqian’s, you must have studied her games extensively, right!?”

Shang Shiqian’s heart skipped a beat: “How did you recognize it?”

“Because I’ve also studied her style deeply.”

Shang Shiqian remembered Qu Zhengxin.

Qu Zhengxin was around 25 years old and also hailed from the “Yu Dao” school.

Thirteen years ago, at age 12, she successfully became a professional player.

She later joined the national team and participated in women’s team tournaments hosted by Xia, Korea, and Japan, winning the championship and making a name for herself in the Go world.

The following year, she competed in the World Women’s Team Go Championship and took second place, that year’s champion was Shang Shiqian.

Ten years ago, at 15, she entered her first mixed-gender world-class tournament, advancing to the top 32.

They had even trained together during national team camps.

Qu Zhengxin’s memories of Shang Shiqian ran deeper.

When news broke of Shang Shiqian’s murder on the eve of the Center Game Tournament finals, Qu Zhengxin was stunned.

She skipped training for five days straight, glued to the news, hoping someone would debunk it as a rumor.

But after official announcements and the Shang family’s obituary, the tragic news ultimately left her and her fellow Yu Dao students in shock.

For a long time, Qu Zhengxin couldn’t focus on playing Go.

Then one day, she stumbled upon Shang Shiqian’s old training notes for game reviews left on a bookshelf.

She took it as fate.

Perhaps Shang Shiqian had chosen her, hoping she could carry the torch and help female players reach greater heights!

So she approached Yu Yifei, asking for Shang Shiqian’s past game records.

Yu Yifei provided some, and she gradually collected more from other sources.

By incomplete estimates, Shang Shiqian had played over 5,000 professional games after turning pro averaging 1.4 games daily.

This didn’t even include casual games at home or other Go clubs.

Over the years, Qu Zhengxin had gathered over 800 of Shang Shiqian’s game records, mostly from after she won the women’s world championship.

By then, Shang Shiqian had developed her distinctive style highly recognizable and worth studying.

Of course, while studying Shang Shiqian’s games, Qu Zhengxin had no intention of blind imitation.

She absorbed the strengths while developing her own unique style.

Shang Shiqian never imagined she had admirers.

Well, “admirer” wasn’t quite accurate Qu Zhengxin didn’t idolize her but respected her as a fellow player.

Qu Zhengxin said: “Still, your style isn’t completely identical to Shang Shiqian’s. Some parts feel randomly inserted.”

Shang Shiqian: ?

“Like a manual transmission driver suddenly switching to automatic still skilled, but some moves feel redundant.”

Shang Shiqian: …

She remembered Qu Zhengxin as a rather shy girl. When did she become so blunt?

Qu Zhengxin suddenly sent a string of random emojis, then added: “Ah, I forgot to mention, I was livestreaming during our game. Many viewers might bother you now. Sorry about that.”

Shang Shiqian chuckled, unfazed: “Even before our game, plenty were already bothering me. It’s not your fault.”

Perhaps this match had helped clear some suspicions of AI cheating, as fewer people came to harass her now. Instead, many familiar players were inviting her to games.

–

Shang Shiqian’s match with Qu Zhengxin not only vindicated her but also caught the attention of Observe-the-Game Go platform staff.

At a departmental meeting of Observe Game Industry Co., Ltd., someone brought it up: “This player has been very active lately and is quite controversial. I think we should invite her to our championship tournament whether she uses AI will become obvious.”

Another replied: “She probably won’t show up.”

“Why?”

“Do you know who ‘Time Waits for No One’ really is?”

“Who? Don’t keep us guessing.”

“It’s Wei Yixian.”

“Wei Yixian is, ” He abruptly cut himself off, looking embarrassed.

A clueless newcomer interjected: “Wait, isn’t Wei Yixian’s username ‘Observe Game’?”

Speaking of which, the development of the Observe-the-Game Go online platform owed much to Wei Yixian.

Observe Game Industry Co., Ltd. originally manufactured Go equipment. Its owner, Shu Ying, was a retired professional player who took over after the Go Culture Museum closed, driven by her love for the game and the company’s future.

But within half a year, the museum’s financial losses and broken capital chain pushed the company toward bankruptcy.

Shu Ying sought investors everywhere, but sponsors of major Go tournaments showed no interest in her small business.

Then, at an investment banquet, she dropped a business card which Wei Yixian picked up.

Wei Yixian asked: “You’re the director of the Go Museum?”

Shu Ying replied: “Yes.”

Wei Yixian then offered to invest, on condition that the museum remain open.

Later, Wei Yixian poached talent from other platforms to help Shu Ying develop the “Observe-the-Game Go” online platform.

Through marketing and livestreaming, the platform attracted many top players.

Within just a few years, it caught up with platforms that had been around for over a decade.

Thus, Shu Ying once told them: “Observe-the-Game is Observe Game, and Observe Game is Observe-the-Game.”

A staff member joked: “You didn’t give her a smurf account to crush newbies?”

The newcomer muttered: “The players she ‘crushed’ aren’t newbies! And after watching her match against Qu Zhengxin (8-dan), her style and skill differ greatly from her ‘Observe Game’ account.”

The manager in charge of livestreams and tournaments said: “I’ll contact her first to gauge her interest.”

While browsing game invitations, Shang Shiqian suddenly received a private message from “Customer Service”:

“President Wei, you made another account?”

Shang Shiqian: ?

Her account was registered under Wei Yixian’s ID, so the backend would show Wei Yixian’s name.

But what did “another account” mean? Did Wei Yixian already have one on Observe-the-Game?

Come to think of it, after over a month of Wei Yixian learning Go from her, it made sense she might practice online to test her progress.

She replied vaguely: “Mhm.”

“Customer Service” suddenly had a bold idea could they invite Wei Yixian to an offline tournament?

With Wei Yixian as the headline, livestreams would explode in popularity!

So they extended an olive branch to “Time Waits for No One.”

Seeing it required offline participation, Shang Shiqian politely declined.

Wei Yixian couldn’t play in her stead.

She asked: “Can’t I join online events?”

“Customer Service” replied: “Because some suspect you reference AI during games, offline matches are the only way to clear your name.”

Now Shang Shiqian understood where those trolls came from.

Following the provided info, she found the post accusing her.

A past opponent from a promotion/relegation match, after losing, posted her game record on a Go forum asking others to judge if she’d cheated with AI.

Many couldn’t tell, but after seeing her win rate and number of games, comments overwhelmingly sided against her.

Shang Shiqian didn’t bother arguing, but her mood for playing was ruined. She logged off.

Coincidentally, Shang Xiaowu called: “Let’s hang out Saturday!”

Shang Shiqian: …

Why was everyone picking Saturday?

“I already have plans Saturday. How about Sunday?”

Shang Xiaowu sat bolt upright: “Who’s the date with? Don’t tell me it’s Wei Yixian?”

Shang Shiqian smiled: “Yep.”

“Why Saturday of all days?” Shang Xiaowu grumbled.

“Because that’s her only free day.”

Shang Xiaowu rolled her eyes: “Fine, but you’re having dinner with me. I have a gift for you.”

“No special occasion, why a gift?” Shang Shiqian hissed. “Don’t get any weird ideas.”

This line, once spoken by Shang Xiaowu, had now been thrown back at her.

Shang Xiaowu: …

She said: “Saturday is Shang Qiguan’s birthday. Can you pretend to be her and let me celebrate with her once?”

Shang Shiqian froze, embarrassed, she’d forgotten her own birthday.

Oh right, her birthday was coming up!

She never kept track, always leaving arrangements to family.

But was this coincidence? Or did Wei Yixian also plan the amusement park trip with the same idea as Shang Xiaowu?

She asked: “How about lunch?”

“The family’s visiting Shang Qiguan’s grave during the day.”

Shang Shiqian: …

Knowing her family would be mourning her felt both heartbreaking and surreal.

Since she’d promised Wei Yixian first, she couldn’t decide unilaterally.

After discussing with Wei Yixian, they settled on half a day at the amusement park, then afternoon tea with Shang Xiaowu.

–

Not getting dinner with Shang Shiqian didn’t disappoint Shang Xiaowu, who excitedly began picking gifts.

Soon, Shang Shixing knocked on her door.

“I heard you’ve been asking around about Wang Xiadie and Yu Xiong?”

“Yep. Yu Xiong has a drug history, and he’s Wang Xiadie’s ex. I’m worried.”

Shang Shixing said: “Should I be glad you’re finally being cautious, or frustrated you’re still so reckless? Didn’t you consider that snooping might tip them off? How do you know your friends won’t tell Zhao Duxing about your inquiries?”

Shang Xiaowu mumbled: “Then how else can I prove Wang Xiadie framed me?”

“I’ve been investigating this for a while. The reason I warned you about Zhao Duxing is that I found Wang Xiadie and Yu Xiong kept in touch even five years after breaking up.”

Shang Shixing added: “Yu Xiong is blacklisted, so their contact couldn’t be work-related.

“As a singer, Wang Xiadie relies on talent and reputation, she’d protect her image fiercely.

“If she broke up with Yu Xiong over drugs, why would she still associate with him privately?”

Shang Xiaowu guessed: “She never really cut ties and betrayed Zhao Duxing?”

“Regardless of whether it’s blackmail or lingering feelings after five years of secret contact, do you think Zhao Duxing wouldn’t know?”

Shang Xiaowu fell silent.

She seemed to realize something but struggled to accept her friend’s betrayal.

Shang Shixing said: “There’s no proof yet, but you should stay cautious.”

Then she changed topics: “You’ve made a new friend, who seems decent. Spend more time with her.”

Shang Xiaowu agreed readily: “Okay.”

Shang Shixing seemed about to say more but held back.

Leaving Shang Xiaowu’s room, Shang Shixing dialed a number: “Professor Weng Qizheng?”

President Wei: Knew you’d forget your birthday, so I took charge.

Shang Xiaowu: Knew you’d forget your birthday, so I reminded you.

Shang Shixing: …

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