198: Chapter 24: Counterattack 198: Chapter 24: Counterattack “I’m not very good at Shogi either.” Chikashima Airi modestly claimed as she continued to set up the pieces on the paper game board for Little Fan Fan.

Afterwards, she glanced at Tang Zheng expectantly.

The girl was the captain of the school’s Shogi club and had dabbled in various competitive board games, naturally keen to impress Tang Zheng with her skills.

“Excessive modesty can also be a form of pride.

I can tell by the way you handle the pieces that you play this game often.

You probably also dabble in Go,” Little Fan Fan said with a grin.

Suddenly, she produced a book titled “Introductory knowledge of Shogi” from her backpack and started to flip through it quickly.

Airi blushed deeply, embarrassed that her secret was revealed by a simple gesture.

“You’re not planning to learn as you go, are you?” Bai Guo, who was sitting next to Little Fan Fan, asked incredulously while munching on a rice ball, “Can I have a book too?”

“Here you go, okay, I’ll go first,” Little Fan Fan said, gripping a gold general in her hand, “What’s this called…

ah, pawn to king’s corner!”

Airi nodded in agreement then turned to Tang Zheng, “Aren’t you playing?”

“I’ll spare myself the embarrassment,” Tang Zheng chuckled as he watched Little Fan Fan.

This kid really liked to show off.

Airi was also a bit eager to see how things would unfold.

So she stayed to watch Little Lolita play.

Three minutes later, Lu Fan’s jewel was checkmated.

“Darn, I still couldn’t do it,” Little Fan Fan slapped her forehead frustratedly, cry out loudly, “Let’s go again!”

“For a beginner, you’re not bad,” Airi complimented Little Lolita out of politeness.

In her opinion, Lu Fan’s skills were downright awful, not fit for a challenge.

“Don’t be disheartened, one more time.” Bai Guo patted Little Lolita’s shoulder to encourage her, meanwhile pleading her to explain the movements of each piece.

Tang Zheng looked at Little Fan Fan, a playful smile dancing on his lips.

This little cunning child indeed lived up to the phrase ‘small but clever’.

Neither of the girls noticed that Little Fan Fan’s first shot at Shogi was without any mistakes.

She didn’t make any common wrong moves like blocking a diagonal with a straight line, nor did she ask anything.

She placed the pieces on the chessboard with utmost confidence.

“This proves that Little Lolita memorized the rules in a very short span of time,” Tang Zheng pondered.

From the moment she took out the beginners’ guide to the game until now, she had looked at it only once, spending less than two minutes.

As he listened to Bai Guo directing various questions at Little Lolita, which were patiently answered, Tang Zheng glanced at the beginner’s guide.

He was up for a challenge and he wouldn’t back down.

Just as he was about to reach out for the book, Li Xinlan called him.

“Little Tang, come to the restroom with me.” Li Xinlan, expressionless, stood up, seemingly unconcerned about the surprise reactions her request had elicited.

“Yeah, it’s risky to go alone.

It’s fine if Tang Zheng goes with her,” said Bai Guo, cluelessly drawing attention away from the awkward request.

“Alright.” Tang Zheng didn’t sense anything unusual, so he followed Li Xinlan towards the restroom in the train carriage.

“This won’t end well, she beat me to it.

But she wouldn’t do anything too outrageous, would she?

It must be my imagination,” Pang Meiqin hesitated about whether to follow them.

In the end, she chose to stay and enjoy the delicious food before her instead.

“There are actually three different types of restrooms in the hallway of the Shinkansen.” Li Xinlan glanced around the washroom, realizing no one was watching, she quickly headed inside one of the restrooms.

Concurrently, she grabbed Tang Zheng’s wrist with her right hand.

Tang Zheng also noticed the three types of restrooms and couldn’t help wondering whether they were all different inside.

But as he thought this, he realized that his wrist was suddenly gripped by a smooth and delicate hand.

“What’s happening?” Startled, Tang Zheng instinctively followed Li Xinlan’s lead and walked into the restroom.

Click, Li Xinlan closed the restroom door.

Then she turned around, looked up and kissed Tang Zheng’s lips.

“Quite a clean environment.” Li Xinlan scanned the surroundings from the corner of her eyes.

The white toilet, the neat metal washstand, and the scent of the freshener filled the air…

Not wanting to wait any longer after being stuck in an unfortunate marriage for nine months, she regretted letting Tang Zheng go by the creek on the isolated island last time.

She knew that Pang Meiqin was always trying to steal Tang Zheng away if she had the chance.

Qin Yan also found him attractive, a formidable competitor.

Though Bai Guo only adored him for now, it could further develop into something more.

Li Xinlan felt the pressure.

“I can’t let Tang Zheng restrain himself anymore, suppressing it might harm his health,” Li Xinlan justified her indulgence.

In reality, she just wanted to monopolize Tang Zheng and leave a deep mark in his heart.

Being a woman, she knew men generally can’t resist temptation.

She was extremely worried the previous night at Inoue’s house.

Seeing Tang Zheng decline the mother and daughter’s advances, and choosing to sleep in the hallway with Little Lolita brought great joy to Li Xinlan’s heart.

Tang Zheng was dazed.

What did this mean?

“Another Japanese girl has fallen for him.

If I don’t act now, I might not leave a deep imprint.

I might even lose the opportunity,” Li Xinlan contemplated.

Li Xinlan still regretted Zhang Yan, the 22nd-century girl, taking Tang Zheng’s first time.

Though she knew it was Yin Shangwu’s doing.

…

Five minutes later, Tang Zheng had to end their tryst.

He exited Li Xinlan’s body.

If they continued, Pang Meiqin and the others might grow suspicious.

“You go ahead, I need to tidy up.” After zipping up her protective clothing, Li Xinlan picked up her sportswear from the washstand, thought for a moment, turned up her nose at the dirty garments, and decided not to wear it.

“If I go first, it’ll definitely give me away.” Tang Zheng explained and pointed at the sink, “Dampen your clothes, nobody would suspect then.”

“Sneaky.” Li Xinlan wet her clothes, checked her appearance, ensured there was nothing unusual.

She listened to the outside, there seemed to be no sound.

So she opened the restroom door and walked out.

While Li Xinlan was closing the door, Tang Zheng locked it.

He definitely didn’t want anyone waiting outside to barge in and find someone else inside, that would be disastrous.

Even if there wasn’t anyone outside, he couldn’t step out just yet.

But Tang Zheng was lucky.

A minute later, he came out and returned to the train carriage.

He stood by the washstand acting nonchalant, calmly washing his hands, and checking his reflection in the mirror to make sure there was nothing amiss on his face.

“Ah, it’s you, the exchange student.

(To be continued.

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