Chapter Fifty-Three: The Middle-Aged Man

  As the Liu Hai girl said, the scope of the chess club is defined by twenty small tables, with a dedicated person responsible for guiding and testing. The test is very simple, that is, to draw a level test question according to one's own strength, on a piece of paper, with various difficult and easy endgames, those who can solve it can join the club smoothly and become a member of the chess club.

  There were many people attending the chess club, and naturally there were many beautiful women. Song Qingquan finally understood why Liu Hai's girl was so arrogant, a popular chess club wouldn't care about two insignificant freshmen. He didn't quite understand why Zhao Heng came to observe, but seeing him waiting for the test questions, he followed suit and lined up. Before long, someone approached them.

  Zhao Heng simply came to get rid of the girl, so without waiting for the chess club members to speak up, he drew a chess paper from the bottom and thought that should be the simplest test. He would just do it casually and leave. Song Qingguan took one according to his own strength and then filled it in on the small table next to Zhao Heng.

  "This chess club is really something."

  Zhao Heng narrowed his eyes to scan the chess paper in front of him, his fingers involuntarily curled up and slightly rotated. Whenever he encountered a difficult situation, he always had this subconscious action of clenching his fists. Zhao Heng looked at the chess paper and muttered to himself: "This endgame is quite deep, it's clear that those without foundation are not allowed to join."

  The pieces on the chessboard are not many, and it's already at the final stage, but the design is quite sophisticated. Zhao Heng started from the first move and by the 16th move, he was already feeling difficult. He felt that playing against Zhao Siqing wasn't this strenuous, it seems that the old man who set up this chessboard really has some skill.

  He reigns supreme, changing the sky just to play with him.

  Zhao Heng had a fleeting thought, was this chess game still at the easiest level? If so, wouldn't the other levels be even more deadly? Zhao Heng glanced at Song Qingguan in the distance and found that he was beaming with joy, playing very happily and quickly. He was slightly surprised: Could it be that Song Qingguan had been pretending to be a pig eating a tiger all along?

  Zhao Heng sighed and shook his head, then focused on the chessboard in front of him. At this time, Liu Hai, the girl who had finished distributing flyers, walked back and saw Zhao Heng's furrowed brow, coldly smiling and saying: "I said it earlier, this kid is arrogant and self-important... now he's being stumped by a small level test?"

  Six minutes, many people have stood up to hand in their papers and left with ease. Later, more people joined in to take the test. Ten minutes later, Zhao Heng replaced another batch of new students. In the twelfth minute, Song Qingguan finished writing his name on the chess paper and handed it in, while Zhao Heng was still thinking hard about his last move, holding the pen tip tightly.

  "What's wrong with Brother Heng today?"

  As Song Qing was wondering how Lao Da could still be sitting there, perhaps thinking about how to surrender himself, the Liu Hai girl, wearing high heels, deliberately walked past Zhao Heng's face and hummed a tune that was neither light nor heavy, clearly mocking Zhao Heng for being stumped by the horizontal test. However, Zhao Heng just looked at the chess paper without reacting, not even glancing at her.

  In the thirtieth minute, Zhao Heng remained silent, staring at the chess paper amidst the hustle and bustle, his fingers lightly rubbing together, his eyes widening and narrowing alternately. The students gradually leaving the chess club, as well as more than twenty members of the chess club responsible for testing, all noticed this young man with a pale face and sweating forehead.

  More and more newcomers came to the chess club for testing, those who left were very polite and kept quiet, occasionally glancing at the passersby with interest. However, when they saw Zhao Heng's pale face, motionless, some people's eyes flashed with a hint of smile, followed by ridicule on their faces:

  "Rather die with dignity than live in shame!"

  Playing chess is not something that can be improved by just spending time, the level is what it is. When they heard that Zhao Heng had already been tested for thirty minutes, they naturally wouldn't think that Zhao Heng was seriously thinking about solving the problem. After all, this was just a level test, not an international competition, and there was no difficulty at all.

  Zhao Heng sat still, his face still pale, with a few beads of sweat visible on his forehead. The new students and members of the chess club naturally thought that this guy was pretending to be calm before making a shocking move, but unexpectedly stepped on a landmine, and for the sake of saving face, he didn't dare to leave in a huff.

  At this moment, I am in a dilemma.

  Some people sympathized with the poor guy, but more people looked at Zhao Heng in the corner with scornful and disdainful eyes. In their opinion, if he didn't have this level of skill, he shouldn't come to make a fool of himself. Making a fool of oneself meant enduring ridicule, and this contempt reached its peak after hearing Liu Hai's teasing.

  "Ah!"

  After fifty minutes, Zhao Heng finally finished the chess paper and handed it in. The members who received the chess paper were slightly surprised to see that it was densely packed with moves, but after being stunned for a few seconds, they didn't bother to check it carefully, as there were still many people waiting to take the test, so they hastily stuffed it into the file bag.

  The girl Liu Hai originally wanted to take a look, and mock her, but seeing that it was put into an archive bag, she gave up the idea. For someone who can't even pass a level test in fifty minutes, what's written on it doesn't need to be looked at. If she were to do these chess papers, any grade wouldn't take ten minutes to crack, why would it take an hour?

  "Boss, how come you've been playing for so long?"

  Song Qingguan looked at Zhao Heng, who was sweating on his forehead, with a concerned expression and opened his mouth. Zhao Heng wanted to say something but turned it into a sigh. He couldn't say that this game of chess was really too difficult, and he had won after 123 moves. Song Qingguan probably wouldn't believe him either. So he changed the subject: "Let's go somewhere else for a walk."

  "Go take a look at the Calligraphy and Painting Association over there."

  The girl with the bangs looked at the two people's gradually disappearing backs, and a hint of disdain flashed in her eyes: "How childish!" In her opinion, a student who found it so difficult to play against ordinary chess players, how could he join the Calligraphy and Painting Association? The two were simply following the fashion, thinking of this, she shook her head and went to recruit the remaining new students.

  Zhao Heng and Song Qingguan stood in front of the Calligraphy and Painting Association, watching. Facing this place where one could show off their skills on the spot, it was naturally also crowded with people. Even students with some foundation were holding brushes to create flying dragons and dancing phoenixes, or carefully carving a painting, or writing a poem full of flavor, hoping to attract applause.

  Zhao Heng carelessly swept his gaze over the exhibits, and although many of the paintings on display had a certain level of quality, they still fell short of being truly exceptional. Suddenly, he noticed a middle-aged man standing at the edge, holding a paintbrush and squeezed among the crowds of students, yet somehow managing to stand out with an air of superiority emanating from his entire being.

  "Is that uncle also a student?"

  Song Qing's eyebrows furrowed slightly: "I think he looks a bit familiar, like I've seen him somewhere before."

  Zhao Heng smiled faintly: "Maybe some teachers will offer a few strokes."

  Although he said so, he still walked towards the middle-aged man out of curiosity. Song Qingyuan did not move his feet and stared at Qiao Pangzi in the distance with a bitter smile. The latter was indeed reckless and went to the dance association, now showing off without any scruples, and even deliberately asked beauties questions that made no sense.

  "This guy..."

  Song Qingguan couldn't help but shake his head, and then he found that Zhao Heng was also nowhere to be seen.

  At this moment, Zhao Heng was already standing beside the middle-aged man, who still did not raise his head, as if he had not noticed Zhao Heng's arrival.

  Zhao Heng held his breath and walked slowly towards the desk, gazing at the rice paper.

  The painting on the rice paper is almost complete, a majestic eagle spreading its wings, soaring in the vast sky with light clouds. All the scenery has come alive, and now the middle-aged man is holding his brush to dot the eagle's eyes, just this finishing touch, the atmosphere is ethereal, the most difficult thing for the painter is to grasp the spiritual charm of the painting.

  A middle-aged man seemed perplexed, his brow slightly furrowed, unable to put pen to paper for a long time.

  Zhao Heng gazed intently at the painting, seeing that the middle-aged man's brushwork was skilled and majestic, but lacked a hint of vitality. The eagle on the canvas was lifelike, yet seemed stiff, like a beautiful jade with a slight flaw, imperfectly perfect. Zhao Heng sighed softly as he looked at the eagle.

  This man is by no means an ordinary person, but it's also difficult for him to become a god with just one stroke.

  Zhao Heng's unintentional sigh, however, startled the middle-aged man who was holding a paintbrush and deep in thought. The latter looked up and gazed at him with a warm smile, his features calm yet full of energy. His eyes, which were deep and bright but slightly apathetic, shone brightly.

  Superior!

  This is Zhao Heng's judgment on middle-aged men!