I’m Really a Superstar

Noon.

His mother had called to order a barbecue.

“Just place it here.”

“Alright, Auntie.”

“Oh yes, bring some more beer. It’s a grand occasion today.”

“Is someone celebrating their birthday?”

“It’s not that. My son has just come back!”

Several of the hotel’s staff carried the barbecue equipment and food over to the villa’s yard. They also brought over a lot of cold beers and placed them on the table. As Zhang Ye was afraid that he would get recognized, he habitually put on his sunglasses again. This had become a reflex of his over the years ever since he started working in the industry. But he soon discovered that no one seemed to have noticed him at all, much less recognized who he was.

When the hotel staff left.

His mother laughed and said, “Was that necessary?”

Zhang Ye chuckled and said, “The sun was too bright. Can’t I put on my sunglasses on for that reason?”

His father called him over. “Son, let’s drink together today!”

“Whoa, it’s so rare seeing you wanting to drink,” Zhang Ye said happily.

Wu Zeqing brought their daughter out and said, “Our dad is just really happy today.”

His father said, “That’s right, I’m very happy today.”

His mother said sarcastically, “What are you so happy about? Now that this kid is back, something big is surely going to happen again. Do you think he can give it a rest for even a day? Like I’d believe that!”

Wu Zeqing laughed.

Everyone got seated.

Sisi was sitting in Wu Zeqing’s lap. Sometimes, she would give Zhang Ye a look, then steal another glance at him every now and then.

Wu Zeqing smiled and signaled to Zhang Ye with her eyes. She whispered, “Our daughter seems to be paying a lot of attention on you. Let her get used to it first and take it slowly.”

Zhang Ye nodded.

His father said, “Come, let’s toast.”

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “Sure.”

Wu Zeqing also raised her cup. “Cheers.”

Zhang Ye said, “Dad, Mom, Old Wu, it’s been hard on you these past few years. I’m not gonna say anything else, so lemme toast you. I’ll drink first, and you can drink at your own pace.”

He emptied the cup into his mouth.

His father sighed like he had a lot to get off his chest.

Only then did Zhang Ye ask, “How has everyone in the family been?”

His father said, “Your grandpa had some heart issues last year and underwent a heart stent procedure. He has recovered quite well since then. Your grandma still has the same old problems. She still has high blood pressure and cerebral thrombosis, but they’re all under control. As for your mom and I, we’re doing quite alright.”

Zhang Ye asked, “Have we renovated the house yet?”

His mother laughed and said, “Renovate? We’ve already moved out from there.”

Zhang Ye said, “Where did you move to?”

His mother said, “Some place not too far from where Zeqing is living. She has to go to work, so your dad and I take care of your daughter. Oh, and sometimes it’s Zeqing’s parents who take care of her.”

Zhang Ye looked at Old Wu, “How’re Mom and Dad doing?”

Wu Zeqing smiled. “Pretty good.”

His mother said, “Yes, it’s just that Zeqing’s dad would put you down so often.”

His father laughed and said, “That’s only because our son did not live up to their expectations. Since there’s some resentment, surely we can allow him some criticism.”

His mother said, “About your return, aren’t you going to let Zeqing’s family know about it?”

Zhang Ye hurriedly waved his hands. “Please don’t tell them. Wait until I return to Beijing so that I can go and apologize to them in person. If we tell them now, I’m afraid that Father-in-law will take the next plane and come for me in the afternoon.”

Everyone laughed.

Wu Zeqing smiled and said, “Don’t say that. I think it’s actually possible that he would do something like that. Quite a few people from the China Qiyuan have also come to Sanya on vacation. If I remember correctly, they should be staying near our hotel. My parents had wanted to come as well, but they didn’t as they don’t really like flying.”

Zhang Ye said, “I’ve already met the Qiyuan people.”

Wu Zeqing said, “When did you see them?”

“On the way here.” Zhang Ye said with a laugh, “I got a ride from them, but they didn’t recognize me. I even played several games of Go with them.’

His mom exclaimed, “You haven’t touched Go in so many years. Can you still play?”

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “Of course.”

Wu Zeqing asked, “Did any of the newcomers catch your eye?”

Zhang Ye gave it some thought and said, “They’re alright. They aren’t too bad. I played some games with Chen Ying’s two nieces and saw many ways of playing that I’ve never encountered before.”

Wu Zeqing nodded and said, “In these years that you’ve been away, the Go world has undergone a lot of change. There are a lot more playstyles now, and many of them were innovated by my dad and those old comrades he retired alongside. They studied all the different ways of playing and came up with new ones in order to deal with the AI. But after two years, there is still no one who can beat PeterGo in a match.”

His father sighed and said, “The Go world is in such a terrible state right now.”

Zhang Ye said, “I’ve also heard a little about this.”

Wu Zeqing smiled and said, “That’s why my dad keeps putting you down whenever he’s at home. He says that if you were around, there could still be a chance that humans could turn the tables on PeterGo.”

Zhang Ye’s eyes narrowed as he smiled and said, “Aren’t I back now?”

Wu Zeqing said, “When do you intend to announce this to the public?”

Zhang Ye said, “We’ll see about that. I haven’t decided yet.”

Out of the blue, Sisi said, “Mommy, I’m full.”

Wu Zeqing nodded. “Alright, why don’t you go and play by yourself?”

Sisi said, “I want to play Go.”

Wu Zeqing smiled. “Why don’t you play with Daddy then?”

Zhang Ye replied excitedly, “Yes, yes, Daddy will play with you.”

Sisi was unwilling. “I want Mommy to play with me.”

Wu Zeqing ruffled her hair and said, “Mommy isn’t as good as Daddy. Didn’t I already tell you that? Daddy is the greatest Go player in the world. Back then, there was no one in the entire world who could beat him.”

Zhang Ye corrected, “What do you mean ‘back then’? It’s still relevant now.”

Sisi whispered, “Is he better than Grandpa?”

Wu Zeqing said, “Of course.”

“Hur hur.” Zhang Ye laughed and said, “Even if there are ten of your grandpas, they wouldn’t be a match for Daddy. He will always lose to me.”

His mother rolled her eyes. “Will it kill you to brag less?”

Sisi did not believe that. She tugged at Wu Zeqing’s sleeve. “Mommy, I want you to play with me.”

Wu Zeqing could do nothing about it. “Alright then.”

The mother and daughter set up the Go board nearby.

Zhang Ye asked his father. “My daughter can even play Go?”

His father laughed and said, “It was Zeqing’s dad who taught her. He teaches her whenever she goes over to their place. He says that it would help with the early development of her intelligence. In fact, Teacher Changhe’s teaching method is quite good. The girl is very smart too and doesn’t play too badly. It happens that Sisi is also quite interested in the game herself.”

She likes to play Go?

That is good!

This is an opportunity!

…

Meanwhile.

At Yalong Bay. In a hotel’s restaurant.

A group of over 30 people were sitting together. Chen Qiqi and Chen Niannian were also among them.

“Have you all stowed your luggage in your rooms?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, let’s eat then. We’ll assemble for training tomorrow.”

“Ah? We’re starting tomorrow?”

“Did you really think we’re here on vacation?”

“Alright, we get it, Teacher Tian.”

“We’ll have one day of rest and start taking on PeterGo in batches from tomorrow onward.”

“Ah? Please, no.”

“What are you guys yelling about? This is the training schedule we planned.”

Tian Weiwei lectured them with a stern face. He looked like he had matured a lot and was no longer the green teenager who was a crybaby several years ago.

Much had happened in these past few years. The artificial intelligence had dealt the Go world a bloodbath and a storm was raging. The former world number one of the Go world, Xiang Rong 9-dan, had quietly gone into retirement, while Li Yi 9-dan and the others gradually left the scene as well. The Go world was devastated, so a lot of people were forced to grow up quickly.

At this moment, Chen Ying came over from afar.

There were also a few others with her. They were all of the higher ranked professional Go players.

Chen Qiqi pulled a long face and said, “Aunt, are you all going to challenge PeterGo again?”

Chen Ying said with a smile, “Yes, you guys are the future hope of the Go world. What you have to do now is to study your opponent and familiarize yourselves with it. You have to believe that PeterGo is not unbeatable. There will come a day when someone will beat it. Teacher Tian and I, along with everyone else at the Qiyuan, are hoping that the person will be one of you. This is because you are the most outstanding players among the newcomers.”

Chen Niannian gave a bitter smile. “What future hope of the Go world? Aunt, don’t speak so highly of us already.”

Chen Ying was taken aback. She said in amusement, “What’s the matter?”

A girl said, “Hai, don’t mention it.”

A boy said, “While we were on the way here, we were crushed by someone.”

Tian Weiwei was startled. “There’s someone who can defeat you guys in Go?”

Chen Qiqi said dejectedly, “Yeah, it was an expert amateur player who beat us.”

Chen Niannian added, “And he even uses that really old Cosmic Flow playstyle. It was such a bloodbath, and he also knows how to play Xiangqi.”

An 8-dan Go player asked curiously, “Who is that person?”

Chen Qiqi shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Chen Niannian said, “Oh yes, I think he said that he knows Teacher Tian and Aunt.”

Chen Ying and Tian Weiwei looked at each other. “He knows us?”

Chen Qiqi couldn’t explain it. “The man is about this tall, and he was wearing a pair of sunglasses, so we didn’t get to see his face properly. In any case, his Go skill is pretty impressive. He claims to be an amateur 9-dan, but I think he’s higher ranked than that.”

Chen Niannian interrupted, “He didn’t say that he was an amateur 9-dan. Now that I think about it, he only said that he was a 9-dan.”

Chen Qiqi rolled his eyes. “Like he would be a professional 9-dan? There are only so many professional 9-dan players in history. Would we not know if he was one of them?”

Chen Niannian said, “Well, that’s true.”

Tian Weiwei said, “Or maybe it was one of the retired Go players?”

Chen Ying said, “Where is he staying?”

Chen Niannian pointed west. “At No. 1 Villa Hotel.”

Chen Ying didn’t really take this matter to heart either. “I guess we’ll know who it is if we ever bump into him over the next few days.”