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"I really didn't mean to."

"It's just that I was one move away from turning the tables..."

Yino moved the chess piece, puffing up his cheeks with an innocent look.

His reaction caused ripples in Yuyan's previously cold and fierce beautiful eyes.

Yuyan's heart softened in less than three seconds after she made up her mind.

After pondering for a moment, she chose to trust Yino this once.

Yuyan crossed her arms under her chest without speaking, silently watching as Yino's hand reached to the edge of the chessboard, finally placing another white piece in the blind spot under her chest.

-Where did he place the piece?-

Yuyan looked down suspiciously, but her view was still blocked by the protruding snow peaks, making it impossible to see the situation at the edge of the chessboard clearly.

-Tsk, I forgot about this because of my anger...-

Yuyan raised her hand to her forehead, silently sighing to herself.

She took a deep breath, crossed her arms under her chest, then leaned back slightly in an elegant manner until she could see the few white pieces at the edge of the chessboard from above her chest.

Actually, the slightly reclined sitting posture itself didn't look like much, but Yuyan had been taught from a young age to sit up straight with a graceful posture.

Now, as the dignified senior sister and sword maiden, she had to adjust her posture for such a strange reason under Yino's gaze. This was truly a challenge and training for Yuyan's sense of shame!

But oddly enough, Yuyan couldn't really say anything to him about this situation. After all, it was her own body that had grown such large obstacles, and she hadn't changed the stone table and stone stool for decades.

Moreover... Yino had been looking deep in thought since earlier, and it didn't seem like he was teasing her

"You want to reverse the situation with just three white pieces in the heart of my black pieces?"

After leaning back to see the situation clearly, Yuyan raised her eyebrows in confusion.

Yino didn't offer much explanation, but continued to play chess with her.

Each of his subsequent moves placed pieces under Yuyan's chest, but fortunately, Yuyan had become accustomed to leaning back and could see the situation clearly.

15 minutes passed.

As Yino proceeded, Yuyan's hesitation turned to shock.

She attempted to encircle the three white pieces on the edge, but the more she moved, the more Yuyan discovered that Yino was entirely in control of her thoughts.

"When did you start setting up this strategy..."

Looking at the white pieces that had escaped to safety along a predetermined route despite her attempts to surround them, Yuyan finally couldn't bear the humiliation, her face showing both embarrassment and grievance.

She had thought her strategy was flawless, but due to carelessness, she had allowed Yino three moves, resulting in a white snake-like formation parasitizing right through the center of her territory!

Just as Yino had said, the situation had indeed begun to reverse.

At first, Yuyan thought Yino was deliberately placing pieces under her chest to tease her, but she hadn't expected that even her angry reaction after being teased was all within his calculations!

Seeing the defeat once again set in stone, Yuyan sighed in frustration.

She put down the black piece in her hand, crossed her arms, and asked with both admiration and genuine curiosity:

"How did you come up with such a despicable, cunning, and outrageous strategy?"

"When you've seen enough, naturally you gain inspiration to break through," Yino answered without hesitation.

Soon, a strange look flashed in Yuyan's eyes: "Seen enough?"

She lightly bit her ruby lips, suspecting she had misunderstood, but also not quite sure, after all, these words coming from Yino's mouth somehow seemed very reasonable.

Yino held his fist to his lips and said meaningfully: "What I mean is, observing chess is also a field of study."

"Mm."

-It seems I misunderstood...-

Yuyan briefly repented in her heart, then sat up straight, gesturing for Yino to continue teaching.

"Playing chess is like strategizing, the fusion of yin and yang..."

"Mm."

"For example, this white piece, it's not only very white, but also big and round..."

"Mm?"

Halfway through listening, Yuyan raised an eyebrow slightly, feeling strangely cool on her chest.

"Sorry, I got a bit off-topic. Actually, just as in yin-yang theory — besides the white pieces, these crystal clear, smooth as jade black pieces are equally important!"

"?"

Hearing the description of the black pieces, Yuyan felt strangely cool on her legs too, unconsciously bringing together her black silk jade legs that were crossed under her skirt.

Her beautiful eyes now looked at Yino with resentment and coldness, seriously suspecting that the images in this little pervert's head didn't match up at all with the chess observation his mouth was talking about, as if they were speaking about different things.

At the same time, Yino also sensed that Yuyan's patience was reaching its limit.

He cleared his throat and said politely with a smile:

"All in all, this disciple is fortunate to play chess with the immortal senior sister. Such a dangerous and charming chess game requires much observation — only by watching intently can one find solutions to deadlocks."

"Are you really talking about chess?"

Yuyan let out a cold laugh, then turned her gaze away, biting her ruby lips in anger.

Actually, back at the Grand Tutor's Mansion, Yuyan had already felt that Yino's gaze was not right, because every time they played chess, Yino's gaze would either linger on Yuyan's face in a daze, or fall on the shadow misalignment between her chest and the chessboard.

Yuyan had once suspected whether he was intently studying the chess or studying her chest.

After several days of interaction, although Yino still hadn't admitted it, Yuyan had vaguely arrived at an answer—

"So, is this how you came up with such a despicable strategy by constantly staring at my chess?"

This time, she also cooperated with Yino by actively avoiding certain words.

The reason was simple: firstly, Yuyan was too proud to break this tacit understanding, and secondly, even if Yuyan spoke plainly, what could she do to Yino?

Yuyan was very self-aware. Without solid evidence, her clumsy tongue certainly couldn't out-argue Yino, and in the end, she would just be left fuming with anger.

Moreover, Yino didn't have X-ray vision.

Yuyan's body was so tightly wrapped in fabric, at most Yino could only see the curves of her figure.

What harm could come from letting him look? Could he wear away stone with his gaze?

After these days of interaction, Yuyan had gotten used to it.

Yino wasn't stupid. Although he appeared frivolous on the surface, he actually acted very measured, with every behavior within the reasonable and legal framework, not leaving Yuyan any handle to grab onto...

So, whoever loses their temper first loses!

Just now while playing chess, Yuyan was too sensitive, which is why she was easily distracted by him.

She couldn't fall for the same trick twice!

"Observing a lot is certainly part of the reason."

"But after observing a lot, one must also learn to draw inferences."

"Only by knowing the enemy thoroughly can one strike at their core."

Yino continued to explain seriously.

Actually, he didn't want to make things so awkward, but since Yuyan insisted on asking, he could only answer so vaguely.

He couldn't just say outright that after looking at Yuyan's chest a lot, he suddenly discovered there seemed to be a blind spot under her chest, and then got the inspiration to exploit it...

"So, you thoroughly understood me, knew what would make me angry and distracted, and deliberately exploited my personality?"

Setting aside her sense of shame, Yuyan analyzed on her own, and actually found Yino's words quite reasonable.

Although his method was despicable, the thought process was quite enlightening for Yuyan.

She remembered a saying her father had taught her when she was young...

The more proficient a master is in formations, the less likely they are to be limited by the thinking of a small chessboard!

In a certain ironic sense, Yino had truly grasped the essence of chess.

"Senior Sister, you don't have to put it so bluntly."

Having his thoughts completely exposed made Yino's smile a bit awkward.

As a sword prodigy, Yuyan's comprehension was indeed very high.

Although Yino spoke in a roundabout way, she understood quickly and could even draw inferences, applying what she learned on the spot... Fortunately, Yuyan was a young lady from a noble family with good upbringing. Otherwise, if she were to be corrupted, she might become quite the player in the future.

"Aren't I just analyzing the essence of the chess skills you taught me?"

At this point, it was Yuyan, who had been blushing furiously earlier, who now crossed her arms and became nonchalant, snorting coldly with a hint of mockery: "I have to say, Young Master Yino has truly given this lady a profound lesson with this game of chess... You taught well, I miscalculated this time, but I won't let you succeed next time!"

"I'm honored by Senior Sister's acknowledgment..."

Being praised so sarcastically by Yuyan made Yino feel a bit embarrassed, and he averted his gaze in defeat.

Although he had won the chess game, in terms of demeanor, he still couldn't withstand Yuyan's interrogating gaze.

Yino felt that in the future, he should find opportunities to have face-to-face staring contests with Yuyan for ten minutes every day, gradually training his demeanor and mental state. Otherwise, how could he handle being glared at by stronger individuals in the future without feeling weak and panicked?

As they chatted, Yuyan also brought the Frost sword back to the gap in front of her chest.

"From this chess game, I've summarized the reasons for my defeat today."

"First, the position of this stone table and stone stool is a bit cramped. I'll have to go down the mountain later to move another stone stool."

"Second, I forgot to hold the Frost Chant sword in front of my chest today. Otherwise, with the deterrence of my lovely sword, I wouldn't have been taken advantage of by a scoundrel!"

She said with a faint smile. Although her words were polite, her tone and gaze made Yino feel as if she was warning him.

-Look at that, you still can't touch a tigress's tail!-

Yino suddenly missed Jinyue a bit, after all, the foxgirl was easier to bully. At least she, constrained by her persona and disguise, wouldn't dare to really put a sword to Yino's neck even if she was bullied.

As they chatted, the first chess game after their reunion had come to an end.

But Yuyan hadn't been distracted from the main issue.

She tidied up the messy chessboard, sat up straight again, holding her sword in her arms, and shifted her cold gaze downward until it rested between Yino's legs under the stone table—

"So, you still haven't explained to me where this little deer came from, the one that's been trying to sneak by unnoticed under your legs since earlier?"