Chapter 786 Still Waiting for Her Nod
The folks who were just ragging on Abella now had their jaws on the floor.
"How can someone so young pull this off? It's seriously impressive."
The crowd went wild with applause, but someone still had to be a smartass, "What if you were playing as black?"
Abella reset the pieces to match the painting and showed how to take down the white pieces as black.
She kept it short and sweet, but totally enlightening.
In under ten minutes, black had won again.
Now, everyone was clapping like crazy, finally getting how talented she was for her age.
"This painting's hers, but maybe some Go master helped her out beforehand. Not saying she's not skilled, but with all these Go masters here, none of them could solve it, and she found two solutions in no time?" That was Bradley, who came to this party just to get Clarence to take his daughter Enid as a student.
Now that Abella, a nobody, had messed up his plans, he was obviously pissed.
To him, Enid was a Go prodigy with a bunch of awards.
Being rich wasn't his main thing anymore; he wanted a good rep. If Enid could roll with high society as Clarence's student, she'd be a cut above the rest.
"Honestly, it's good to be upfront. Most of us are here to get Mr. Wodehouse to take us on as students. Now, Abella's wowed everyone with a pre-drawn Goboard and snagged Mr. Wodehouse's attention. It's a tough pill to swallow," said Colleen's mom, Blanca. "I think my daughter’s pretty good too. I want her to play a game with Abella."
"My granddaughter's got potential too. If Abella's down, I want my granddaughter to go up against her," Dawn chimed in.
"If you wanna be Mr. Wodehouse's student, you gotta beat all of us to qualify. With so many people, we might be here till tomorrow. My granddaughter Betsy has more Go awards than anyone here, especially this year's Libertya Youth Division. She's the champ! She should get a shot at Abella, right?" Noe was super confident in Betsy.
Betsy added, "Please give me a chance. If I beat her, it doesn't mean I'll be Mr. Wodehouse's student. I'm willing to compete fairly with everyone."
Abella looked at all these serious faces and didn't wanna say she had drawn this Goboard just today.
It was a joke to say she had help beforehand. Such a simple setup needed no guidance. She could whip up several more, even dozens of different ones, anytime.
Clarence saw everyone wanted a piece of Abella and said with a grin, "Alright, I'll settle this today. Let Betsy represent everyone and go up against Abella."
Betsy, hearing this, thought Clarence had picked her and was over the moon.
Noe was feeling pretty smug. Being tight with Clarence for years, his words carried some serious weight. Seeing the envious looks from the guests around, he was on cloud nine.
Abella checked the time; it wasn't even eight yet. She figured she'd play along.
Betsy didn't hold back and made the first move.
Abella played her move like she didn't have a care in the world.
Clarence could tell Abella was just toying with Betsy, not even using a fraction of her skill.
In just a minute, it was game over. Abella kept snatching Betsy's pieces, and Betsy was totally crushed.
Even Noe was in disbelief. His always-proud granddaughter got wrecked by Abella?
Another minute passed, and Abella had already won.
Now everyone could see Abella hadn't gotten any help beforehand; she was the real deal!
While playing, she casually sipped on some lemonade and munched on snacks while Betsy was sweating bullets.
So chill, so laid-back, without breaking a sweat, she beat Betsy.
Betsy was left stunned, staring at the board in shock, unable to react for several seconds.
Clarence laughed heartily. "This birthday is turning out to be quite the show. Noe, it's not your granddaughter's fault; it's just that Abella's skill is on another level."
With that, everyone looked at him in disbelief, then at Abella.
What did Clarence just say?
Abella's skill surpasses everyone? Including Clarence himself?
No way!
"It's no shock that Betsy lost to her. I lost to her last time too, haha." Clarence's words floored everyone again.
Abella's Go skill was really better than Clarence's?
But if it wasn't true, why would Clarence hype her up like that?
"Abella's Go skills were taught by me. She's been learning for over ten years, and now she's better than me. I'm super proud," Clarence said with a smile, "Some folks even say her skill can rival AI. I'm really happy."
Everyone was stunned. Over the years, they'd never heard of Clarence taking a student, let alone teaching for over ten years.
That Abella could earn Clarence's favor and surpass his skill meant she was truly talented.
"So, Abella has long been Mr. Wodehouse's top pick?" Colleen's mom, Blanca, kept a graceful smile and asked, "Is Mr. Wodehouse planning to pass on his Go skills to her?"
"I'd love to, but Abella hasn't agreed yet." Clarence laughed again. "You don't know, I've been begging Abella to learn my Go skills, but she hasn't agreed."
Everyone looked at Abella in shock.
To be valued so highly by Clarence and become his student was a dream for many.
It meant a smooth path to success and a completely different life.
But she hadn't agreed for years!
Some people were almost driven mad with jealousy, and some were nearly out of breath.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
