The Queen of Chess

Bai Zhihua didn't understand why she wasn't allowed to speak, but seeing Shen Fu agree so readily, she didn't ask. Besides, she didn't like talking much anyway. Shen Fu and Tian Tian stood behind her like two guardians. Seeing her about to sit down, Shen Fu said "Ah" and immediately laid his jacket over the seat.

Zhihua gave a small, apologetic smile before sitting down, using a hand gesture to invite her opponent to go first. As soon as the opponent made a move, Bai Zhihua countered immediately without a second thought. The old man opposite her chuckled to himself, thinking that young people were often too impulsive.

But soon, he couldn't laugh anymore. Every time he racked his brain to make a move, his opponent responded instantly, as if she didn't need to calculate at all. The old man began to sweat, and his thinking time grew longer and longer. Meanwhile, the "entourage" behind them began to lose their gentlemanly composure:

"Oh, Old Ma is definitely going to lose this round!"
"He can't hold the defense anymore!"
"This young lady's attack is too fierce!"
"It's over, it's over. Old Ma is about to lose all his reputation~"

After just a few more moves, Old Ma conceded. He asked directly, "I used the 'Horse Jumping to the Sun' tactic; is this young lady a professional player?"

Bai Zhihua smiled faintly and made a zipping motion over her mouth, signaling that she didn't talk, only played. Old Ma's fighting spirit was ignited: "Again!"

As it turned out, the internal ranks of the old men collapsed first.
"What do you mean? You lost, it's my turn!"
"It should be me! Old Ma is no match for her!"

The old men almost started arguing until an old lady wearing a red armband appeared to mediate, setting a sequence for each of them. The next player, whose skill was on par with Old Ma, began the match.

Shen Fu gently squeezed Bai Zhihua's shoulder and shook his head. Bai Zhihua understood, intending to show some mercy to preserve the dignity of the old gentlemen. But she had misunderstood him; Shen Fu wanted to say: "Hurry up so we can finish moving."

As a result, Bai Zhihua took her time playing with the old man, consuming quite a bit of time, to the point that the moving truck had already arrived at the residential area's gate.

"Gentlemen, we can't play anymore today. We have business to attend to."
"What business? At least finish this round."
"Exactly. Old Xiang is about to win!"
"Young people shouldn't play dirty~"

Bai Zhihua looked at Shen Fu with eyes that seemed to say: "Let me play a bit more."
Shen Fu smiled and said, "Then I'll go work first and come back to pick you up later."
Bai Zhihua nodded. Actually, she wanted to say: Finishing this round will be very fast; I can speed up.

"Big brother, what's in this iron chest? It's so heavy!"
"The safe itself isn't light, but the chest inside is the real weight~" Shen Fu lied. He could hardly say there was a million yuan inside.

Next, he loaded Bai Zhihua's various musical instruments onto the truck. Shen Fu called Wan Zitian: "Is that round still not over?"
Tian Tian replied in a low voice, "Someone brought a Go board, and they've started playing Go now. This takes a lot of time. Should I cut them off?"
Shen Fu thought for a moment. "No, let her play." He guessed the old men's skill was better than his own. Bai Zhihua rarely had such an opportunity to socialize; next time, he'd install chess games on her phone.

Ah, the phone~ Shen Fu suddenly remembered something.

The truck arrived at Yihe Mingyuan. The safe was moved to an empty room on the second floor, and the instruments were placed in the room Bai Zhihua had chosen. After paying, Shen Fu stopped by a mall to buy the latest Huawei phone and went back to give it to Bai Zhihua.

Since everything had been made clear, there was no need to share a phone anymore. Having their own phones would be more convenient and ensure privacy. Of course, if someone wanted to monitor, it would still be easy since they both used fingerprints or facial recognition to unlock; it only kept out honest people, not scoundrels. He didn't buy a dozen phones at once because phones become obsolete quickly. He'd let her use this one for now and take the others to buy their own later.

After buying the gift, Shen Fu drove while calling Tian Tian: "What's the situation?"
"Ah, the crowd is getting bigger. Over a hundred people are watching!" Wan Zitian ran out of the crowd to report.
"Why?" Shen Fu wondered. "Have they never seen a beauty play chess before?"
"It's not just a beauty. A master has appeared and is playing Zhihua to a standstill. I'm afraid the TV station might even show up soon!"
"Who could play Bai Zhihua to a standstill?"
"An old man named Nie~"

When Shen Fu parked at the residential area, Tian Tian and Bai Zhihua were already waiting downstairs.
"Is it over?" Shen Fu felt a bit of regret for not seeing it.
Wan Zitian laughed and said, "She heard your call and got anxious, then quickly finished the opponent."
Bai Zhihua remained as discreet as before. She didn't know the other party, so she wanted to save the old gentleman's face; she had just been yielding moves earlier.

Shen Fu couldn't help but want to kiss her, but in the end, he only pinched her cheek: "You're really something. What did that old gentleman say about you?"
Bai Zhihua's face turned red, and she shrunk her neck. "He said my chess is good, but it's a pity I'm mute~"
Shen Fu was dumbfounded. "You really didn't say a single word?"
She nodded. "Actually, I was curious too. Why wasn't I allowed to speak?"
Shen Fu: "Cough, that story starts with Bai Miaomiao. She offends people too much. Tian Tian, if you ever meet her, you should also limit your talking; it's bad for your longevity."

Wan Zitian was about to ask more, but Shen Fu waved his hand. "It's dinner time. Let's go eat."
This time, they still went to the Yushan Pavilion next to the residential area. Looking at the imperial style and listening to the traditional tunes, Bai Zhihua was clearly delighted. Shen Fu held out the phone box: "This is for you~"
"Is this a gift for me?"
"Yes, a phone. If you want to listen to music or play chess later, use this." Shen Fu smiled. "If you're worried about those others, just set a password. There's a SIM card inside, and for calls, just use Xiaodie's number."

Bai Zhihua lowered her head and toyed with the phone box. A spark of emotion rose in her heart; this was the first time someone had given her a gift. Most importantly, Shen Fu treated her as an independent individual rather than someone dependent on Xiaodie, which was very precious.
"Thank you, Prince Shen~"
"What did you call me?" Shen Fu heard this form of address for the first time.
"I... should I call you Husband?" Bai Zhihua asked timidly.
Shen Fu waved his hand. "Just call me Prince Shen. It sounds nice~"
Wan Zitian chimed in, "Then you should call me Miss Wan... wait, just call me Tian Tian~"

Amidst the joking, the food was served. Shen Fu's phone rang; it was Zhang San.
"What's up, Brother San?"
The voice on the other end sounded urgent: "Fu Ge, your new book hasn't been officially published yet, right?"
"Not yet."
"Has it been printed?"
"Soon~"
"Great, it's good that it hasn't been printed yet!" The other party sighed in relief.