Chapter 104: Joining Yet Another Association (4)

"What did you say?"

Yang Xiaofan could scarcely believe his ears. After all, for those words to come from the other man’s mouth was truly astonishing.

Master Liang smiled once more and said, "I said I came to become your disciple."

This time, Yang Xiaofan heard it clearly.

So did everyone else.

The entire hall fell into dead silence once again.

The renowned national Go master, Master Liang, a figure of almost transcendent standing, had actually come to Yang Xiaofan to seek him as a teacher?

Was this some kind of joke?

If that were true, did it not mean that Yang Xiaofan’s skill had already surpassed Master Liang’s?

And Master Liang’s level was already at the very peak of the nation.

If Yang Xiaofan had gone beyond him, did that not mean Yang Xiaofan was now the strongest in the country?

Just how formidable was Yang Xiaofan?

Again and again, he overturned everyone’s understanding.

From painting to singing, and now to Go.

Each feat was beyond anything they had imagined.

After all, for an ordinary person to master even one of those was impressive enough. Yet he not only knew several, but excelled at every one of them. Who could possibly endure that?

Yang Xiaofan coughed lightly and waved his hands repeatedly.

"Master Liang, you’re being too polite. What qualifications do I have to be your teacher?"

"No. You do have that qualification. You defeated AlphaGo, while I am nowhere near its match. And AlphaGo defeated the world champion, which means your current strength is already at world-champion level. So of course you are qualified to be my teacher. This time, I came prepared with a generous gift to meet you. This is a ten-billion check, as my present upon becoming your disciple."

Everyone’s breathing tightened, and their gazes fixed fiercely on the check in Master Liang’s hand.

Good heavens, that tiny slip of paper contained ten billion?

If they could get their hands on it, they would never lack for food or clothing for the rest of their lives.

Even Zhang Ten-Billion could not help swallowing hard.

His total assets, all told, were only around ten billion, yet Master Liang had come to present Yang Xiaofan with a gift for taking a disciple, and with a single gesture had offered ten billion. It was simply unimaginable.

Of course, they could only daydream about it; no one dared step forward to snatch it.

Ten billion. If they were caught, who knew how many times they would be executed?

Even if they were not caught, the check would still have to be exchanged for cash, wouldn’t it?

They would still have to go to a bank.

Thinking of that, everyone quickly lost interest.

Only Yang Xiaomei was silently weeping in her heart. She swore that today she had cried more than in the past twenty-odd years of her life combined.

It was simply too bitter.

If she had stayed with Yang Xiaofan back then, this ten-billion check would now be hers.

Sob...

Unlike the others, who were consumed by jealousy, envy, and resentment, Yang Xiaofan only felt a headache coming on. He rubbed his temples.

"Let’s forget it. I’m not nearly learned enough to be your teacher. We can be friends, though. We can play Go together from time to time and learn from each other. That would be a fine thing."

His father hurriedly tugged at Yang Xiaofan’s sleeve, signaling him to take the money, but Yang Xiaofan ignored him.

This made his father’s gaze grow increasingly aggrieved.

That was ten billion!

A full ten billion, and you don’t want it? What a waste!

If you don’t want it, give it to me!

In truth, if Yang Xiaofan had not made money from selling paintings before, he would certainly not have been able to resist the temptation of ten billion now.

But he was no longer short of money, and so he had enough resistance to such a sum.

Most importantly, as his strength increased, his mind had become far more mature than before.

So he understood very well that one who eats another’s food becomes beholden to them, and one who takes another’s hand owes them a favor.

Ten billion looked dazzling, but when the time came to repay that kindness, it might become far more troublesome; the price could easily exceed ten billion.

He did not want to invite trouble upon himself.

As for Master Liang, he was an old fox.

He had never truly expected Yang Xiaofan to accept him as a student.

He knew perfectly well that a peerless genius like Yang Xiaofan was not short of money and would not place much importance on it.

The reason he had taken out the money was mainly to show his sincerity.

Now that Yang Xiaofan had declined, he could use the opportunity to take it back.

"Since Mr. Yang has said so, I won’t force you. But since you said that we may spar and learn from each other in the future, I wonder whether you would be willing to join our Go Association?"

"?"

Yang Xiaofan frowned. The old fox at once put on an aggrieved tone.

"Mr. Yang, since you are unwilling to take me as your student, surely you can at least join the Go Association?"

"This..."

Yang Xiaofan looked somewhat troubled.

"To tell you the truth, I’ve already joined the Chinese Painting Association. If I join your Go Association as well, wouldn’t that be a little improper?"

"What is there to worry about? So that’s the issue. It’s no problem at all. First of all, Go and Chinese painting are two different fields. Our two associations are not opposed to each other, and our events are not held together either, so there is no conflict whatsoever. Besides, I’m old friends with Old Chen from the Chinese Painting Association. I’ll speak to him, and that will be the end of it."

"But when I joined the Chinese Painting Association, the condition they gave was that I could freely choose whether to attend activities, or even just have my name listed."

"We can do that too. You can simply have your name listed if you like."

Master Liang hurriedly spoke, as though afraid Yang Xiaofan might refuse.

He had already thought it through: in order to bring in this Go genius and make him the association’s treasure, he did not mind taking out that ten-billion check again.

Fortunately, after hearing the terms, Yang Xiaofan said no more. He merely took a deep breath and reluctantly agreed.

"All right then. I’m willing to join your Go Association."

"Good. I’ll handle the paperwork for you right away. I’ve already prepared everything. I’ll promote you directly to vice chairman. Our Go Association is far more generous than that Chinese Painting Association of theirs."

In his excitement, Master Liang even produced an application form, already filled out save for Yang Xiaofan’s identity details and signature, as though afraid Yang Xiaofan might run off.

That made Yang Xiaofan’s cheek twitch hard.

He picked up the pen and swiftly filled in all the information before continuing, "Everyone, let’s stop here for today. I’ve only just returned to my hometown and want some peace and quiet for the time being. Another day, when I’m free, I’ll invite everyone to gather again."