Chapter 536

After parting ways with Gu Yurou, Wang Haoran didn’t go far. He contacted Shao Wanwan, who lived nearby, and the two went to grab some breakfast together. Once they finished eating, he drove straight back to Qingling University.

There was still a bit of time before the first class began, and some of the students in the classroom were gathered in small groups, talking excitedly.

From the way their voices heated up, it was clear the topic was trending.

Wang Haoran listened in briefly and quickly realized they were discussing the upcoming high-stakes chess match between the top young talents of Yan Nation and Korea.

Normally, he wouldn’t have cared.

But then he overheard some guys talking about how stunning the Korean girl was—apparently on par with the visual leads of top girl groups.

Wang Haoran’s interest stirred.

It wasn’t because he was lustful—he had a gut feeling this beautiful chess prodigy might be one of the female leads. More importantly, she might be tied to Qin Fan’s storyline.

He had done some digging into Qin Fan’s background and knew the guy had mastered ninety-nine god-tier skills, and that included chess.

Now, out of nowhere, this chess prodigy beauty showed up. The timing was too convenient to ignore.

Could she be one of Qin Fan’s disciples?

The idea came to mind, but Wang Haoran shook his head. That seemed unlikely.

A more reasonable guess was that the Yan Nation player was one of Qin Fan’s students.

As the students kept chatting, the conversation gradually turned heated.

The disagreement stemmed from differing opinions on who they wanted to win.

A few guys, clearly guided by their hormones, were rooting for the beautiful girl from Korea.

The majority, however, were patriotic, firmly supporting Yan Nation’s player.

Soon, the back-and-forth escalated into a full-blown argument.

“Big Zhaozhao, come over here,” Wang Haoran called out when he noticed Mu Zhao Zhao in the thick of the discussion.

She walked over, puzzled. “What did you just call me?”

“Mu Zhaozhao, of course,” Wang Haoran answered with a straight face.

“Oh… I thought I misheard,” she said, shrugging it off.

“I overheard you all talking about that chess match. How much do you know about that girl from Korea?” he asked.

Mu Zhaozhao gave him a sidelong glance. “Don’t tell me you’re into her too?”

“Of course not,” Wang Haoran said. “I’m all in for Yan Nation. I’m just curious about her, that’s all.”

“She’s called Jiang Yun’er. Eighteen years old. Looks pretty, I’ll give you that. But you know what Korea’s like—how many of their pretty girls are actually real?” Zhaozhao said with a wink, then grinned brightly. “Unlike me. All-natural, top to bottom.”

Wang Haoran chuckled, his gaze naturally drifting to her most prominent feature.

“Hey! Don’t stare!” she snapped, catching his look. “It’s real! Ask Sister Yunhan if you don’t believe me. We grew up together. She knows everything. Best witness you’ll find.”

Wang Haoran didn’t doubt her. After all… he experienced it firsthand before. Real or fake—he could tell the difference easily.

As for Jiang Yun’er being a plastic beauty? He didn’t buy it.

She was most likely a female lead. That meant she had to be pure, untouched by any surgeon’s scalpel.

Even if cosmetic surgery was common in Korea, it wasn’t fair to assume every pretty face was fake. Natural beauty still existed.

“Those shameless Korean people have the nerve to claim they invented Go,” Mu Zhaozhao huffed angrily. “It’s clearly our invention! If Jiang Yun’er wins, it’ll be bad.”

“Their media will definitely spin it—say their Go skills are superior, that it proves they originated it. Once Yan Nation loses, we’ll lose the right to speak up.”

“Jing Lu is our best young player. If even he loses, who can possibly beat Jiang Yun’er?” she sighed, looking genuinely troubled.

Wang Haoran found her frustration amusing.

Sure, Jing Lu might lose—but Yan Nation wouldn’t.

Because Yan Nation had Qin Fan.

If Jing Lu lost, Qin Fan could step in.

This whole “epic chess showdown” between the two nations was a perfectly tailored stage for Qin Fan to shine.

Wang Haoran could already see it playing out: Jiang Yun’er defeats Jing Lu, public opinion erupts, Yan Nation is mocked—then Qin Fan steps up, challenges her, and under the eyes of the entire world, defeats her.

Just like that, Qin Fan would earn boundless honor. That embarrassing “handiwork” video would be completely overshadowed. The scandal would vanish beneath a mountain of glory.

From then on, once Qin Fan walks the streets, no one would laugh. People might even look at him with admiration and respect.

After all, his “hobby” wasn’t some heinous crime.

It only became a joke because it went public.

Once that was balanced by enough prestige, he’d be a positive figure in the public eye.

Who knows—Tantai Yaoyue, Mu Nanzhi, Song Zhihui, those female disciples of his, might start seeing him in a different light. They might start admiring him again.

Or worse… something far more dangerous could happen.

Jiang Yun’er, the girl who loses to him, might start idolizing him… and that could very easily turn into love!

Damn it!

Wang Haoran cursed under his breath as the scenario unfolded in his mind.

He worked so hard to make sure Qin Fan had to keep his head down, unable to chase women openly.

If this match becomes Qin Fan’s big comeback, everything he’d done would be for nothing.

He absolutely could not let Qin Fan seize this spotlight. If he did, the consequences would be severe.

The only way to keep Qin Fan from taking the stage was for Jing Lu to win.

But according to the usual story rhythm, Jing Lu definitely wasn’t strong enough to beat Jiang Yun’er under normal conditions.

Then what? Make Jiang Yun’er unable to attend the match?

Maybe… kill her quietly before the showdown?

If she didn’t show, Jing Lu would win by default. That would completely eliminate Qin Fan’s chance to make an appearance.

No grand comeback. No redemption arc.

But the match had too much buzz surrounding it. If something happened to Jiang Yun’er right before it, the backlash would be massive.

Powerful people might get involved. If the investigation ever led back to him, it’d be a nightmare.

Not to mention… Jiang Yun’er was a female lead. And she was gorgeous.

So far, she was the only confirmed non-Yan Nation female lead.

Korean girls had their own kind of charm, after all.

If Jiang Yun’er dies… it’d be such a shame.

So… what now?

Maybe convince her to drop out voluntarily? Or make her go easy during the match?

But why would she listen to him?

Just because he was handsome?