H͟o͟w͟ I͟ m͟e͟t͟ m͟y͟ Pa͟r͟t͟n͟e͟r͟, M͟y͟ Pa͟t͟z͟e͟r͟.....♡

𝖷𝗂𝖺𝗈 𝖹𝗁𝖺𝗇'𝗌 𝖯𝖮𝖵

𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 15 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵. 𝘐 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 2019 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 2011. 𝘔𝘺 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 29 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨.

Hi, Iam Xiao Zhan. 29 years old, working as a  fasion designer in a reputed company in Beijing. I wanted to participate in the United Way Campaign, run annually by the place I worked at. So, I organized a chess simul to raise money for people in need. You only live once and what did I have to lose?

Well, the worst-case scenario would be to lose all my games, raise no money, become extremely embarrassed, and submit my resignation. The best-case scenario, on the other hand, would be for me to win all the games and raise lots of money. But, the event turned out to be much more prolific than I could have ever imagined!

After having won the Chinese Boys Chess Championship in 2011, I abandoned competitive chess to focus on my studies and career. Getting back into the game after such a long time was like learning to cross a road again. You look left and right, screening for cars and buses, and then boom! You get hit by an airplane!

In the weeks leading up to the simul, I joined a local chess club to brush off some dust. But to my horror, I was blundering left and right, "Whoops, here goes my Queen. Whoops, I just missed a checkmate." Yikes! 

Yes, getting back into chess after a long hiatus is no bike ride. It requires, first and foremost, courage to overcome your own ego. "Will you be ok with embarrassing blunders? Will you tremble while playing far below the level you left chess at years ago? Will you give up to preserve the dignity of your past accomplishments?" The moment I realized that my ego had very little power over my losses and embarrassing games, I had won my first psychological battle. The battle against my own fears and my burning "don't-do-it" demons. And thus, my chess prowess began to come back to me.

There was only one other problem: playing against 15 people at the same time is far different than playing against one person. It is a real burden on memory, focus, judgement, calculation, and quick thinking. It also hurts your legs after a couple of hours. The simul is also a spectator's game. Everyone is watching your every move. And in my case, an arrogant (as they view me) young man playing against elderly doubled up the spectatorship and the pressure. "Will he crack?" my colleagues, especially Yubin and JiLi were wondering.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

As 12 o'clock rolled by the following day, I began my chess marathon. The room, where the event was taking place, was crowded with spectators who were my co-workers across the organization. Yubin and JiLi came to me and encouraged me saying, "You can do it ". I can see my  best friend, my grumpy Zhou Cheng glancing at me, debating whether to come over and wish me good luck. Atlast he settled with a thumbs-up and a smile, which I know he did with utmost care not to blow off his grumpiness. 

There was lots of chatter and laughter as people were betting on their colleagues to see who would win. With my heart thumping and full of adrenaline, I began to maneuver in a circle across 15 chess boards set up in a U-shape, making one move at a time. My reputation and career were on the line. A few wrong moves and I would be temporarily unemployed, by choice.As time went by, I started to win some games. The chatter was dying out, the room became emptier and everyone assumed a serious look on their face.

( 𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘡𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 ) 

That's when, for the first time, I really noticed the handsome man sitting at one of the chess boards. I remembered the rumours that one of the company's model is also going to participate. I had ignored it thinking its just a rumour. But now i realize it's not. What I can't understand is why such a striking person should participate in my humble program.

 Now that I think about it, I've seen him before . But not like this. His name is Wang Yibo, if my memory serves me well, he is known to be a cold prince amongst models , always wearing a stoic face. I've heard how scary he is when working from my colleagues. Thankfully as I started my career in this company just an year ago, I never had to come across him. But, now I don't know why he's  here with that adorably warm smile that makes me melt every time I look in his direction..

I began to continue the simul as if nothing happened.Each time I approached his board, Yibo looked me in the eyes with a silent plea of "don't be too hard on me, Zhan ." But his smile was something else. Did he see something in the position that I missed, while I was responding in haste? Was he bluffing? "It's a trap!", I told myself, trying to keep my cool.

Normally, professional chess players do not display their emotions during chess games, contrary to what is shown in Netflix's "The Queen's Gambit" series. But Yibo's smile was infectious. I would approach other chess boards wearing my poker face, but by the time I reached Yibo's board it would change to a smile - I could not resist it.

Wang Yibo continued to make his "romantic" moves on the chess board. First, he "sacrificed" his bishop, while getting nothing in return (oops!). Then, one of his knights fell, again without any compensation. But luckily for me, his charms did not distract me much during the game. Shortly after, I was able to break up the pawns that were hiding his king, exposing his Majesty to the deadly attack of my Queen and Bishop pair.

But then something strange happened: for the first (and only) time in my entire life, I did not feel like checkmating my opponent. I didn't want to "hurt" this smiling man's feelings, or undermine his innocent way of playing chess. I decided to prolong this game just a tad bit longer and to discover what lay behind Yibo's mysterious smile.

As I approached other chess boards to make my move, I took a quick peek at all of my opponents. They were all staring intensely at their chess boards, either scratching their heads, massaging their chins, or pulling on their eyebrows, deep in thought. All, but Yibo ... who was gazing at me. I caught him! And I had my answer.

"Checkmate," I told Yibo, as I reached his board and he gave me the brightest and sincerest smile I have ever seen. I had no idea that while I thought I was conquering Yibo on the chess board, he was apparently conquering my heart like I was stealing his . "When you smiled back at me, I knew I had to ask you out," he confided later.

The simul took several hours as there were a few fairly persistent players. I won 13 games and drew two. The event raised almost 10,000 Yuan, and I got to keep my job! And if this wasn't amazing enough, I also met my future husband!

✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫

When the simul was over, I got back to my office. My friends and colleagues congratulated me. "Congrats on finding your man" Jili said. But even under the mask of arrogance, I could trace out his happiness for me. The office hours was almost over. I opened my device to check my emails. From a hundred new ones, one of them stood out. It was from Yibo: "Great game, Zhan . Wanna go grab a drink?" I didn't know I was blushing till Yubin, as naive as he was asked about my red cheeks. I averted my eyes while JiLi and Cheng gave a knowing smirk. 

By that point, I started to realize what was happening and my heart skipped a beat in excitement. Yibo's charms started to work their magic on me. And while I always avoided office romances, I decided I could make an exception for my Yibo . Wait... 'My yibo'? 

I replied to Yibo's email with: "OK, Sure". Shortly after, I met him at the office entrance and he led me to his car. All the while I could feel the gaze of my colleagues which I didn't respond to, but I saw Wang Yibo smiling at them. Not only them, the other office staff especially girls began to squeal seeing his smile. For some reason, I didn't like it. Not at all. I glared at them which they didn't notice much to my displeasure. 

The car ride was silent, as we both were contemplating what to say and were at a loss how to start. But something happened that made my heart jump in excitement . Yibo stopped the car suddenly and turned to me. He slowly came forward, I could feel his gaze piercing mine and his lips were nearing mine. I closed my eyes, heart beating frantically, waiting for my first kiss to be taken by my patzer, partner. I opened my eyes when I heard him chuckle, I saw he was sitting in his seat properly. That's when I realized that he was buckling my seat belt for me. I was so embarrassed, I could feel my blushing cheeks. I averted my eyes. 

Soon, we parked near an expensive restaurant where he treated me to dinner . He was gazing me with so much love and adoration, for which the reasons I don't know. I was amazed seeing him ordering all my favorite dishes especially the lotus pork rib soup. Was he stalking me? Or is this a big coincidence? We ate in silence. Soon drinks were served, my favorite, Emporer's smile . I couldn't bring myself to ask anything. I vaguely remembered, my Shijie, a makeup artist talking about working with the famous Wang Yibo . Being a blabbermouth, she might have tattled all about me along with our family. Breaking the silence, Yibo started a conversation. Just some things related to work and a little about our home. I got to know that he lives alone in his condo, as his parents are out of country. He has a brother working as a manager in some other company. Likewise, I told him about me and my family. Slowly we began to relax. Time went very fast, dinner was over. 

As we settled into the car, an embarrassing silence engulfed us, as I remembered the seat belt incident. We were a little bit tipsy . Yibo didn't talk too. I could see his ear tips reddening. Is he having a fever?. Leaving the car, I was walking towards my home after a final wave. Suddenly I heard, "Zhan ge... Wait! "and the car door closing. It was Yibo. Is he going to confess?.... Zhan ge? Somehow, I got more drunk hearing the endearment. I felt butterflies in me. I slowly walked towards him as he was coming towards me. 

We gazed at each other's porcelain face and features. I suddenly had the urge to kiss his cherry lips. I know it's only been a day but I felt we had a deeper connection, something from our past life. I restrained myself. But to my surprise and also my satisfaction, Yibo pulled me towards him and embraced me. He asked me whether he can kiss me. I was delighted, but instead of showing that I just nodded. I can see the light in his eyes diminishing a little. Nevertheless he inched his face towards me glancing at my lips. But I felt that it's too slow. Maybe it's because of the alcohol in my system, impatient, I grabbed his nape and crashed our lips. I could see his eyes going wide. There goes my first kiss.. It was so soft, so fluffy that I could feel his lips melting against mine.

 After some time, we pulled away. Again an awkward silence. But overcoming it, I coughed soundly. Yibo peered at me, took a deep breath, like gathering courage for something. He suddenly took my hand, and kissed the back of my palm. He asked, "Will you be my Boyfriend?".Saying I was overwhelmed will be an understatement. Blushing like a maiden i replied, "Yes! I'd love to". The smile that appeared on his face at that time! How I wish I could keep it for the rest of our life! 

We lead a blissful life, dating each other, enjoying each other's company. We even had fujoshi shippers in our company. They named us Yizhan... There was haters too. But we didn't bother about it. We were glad that our parents didn't oppose our relationship. Instead, our mothers and jiejie too started shipping us. They took our photos and posted it in their groups. The confession that day was followed by an "I do" three years later. I was nervous, while walking down the aisle. But seeing Yibo smiling like a Sunshine, my nervousness melted away. Well, I can't deny he was my personal sun..I began my journey of life with him. We've been happily married ever since and even enjoyed a chess-themed wedding cake, as a token of our first Fortuitous meeting... 

✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

Fortuitous : Happening by chance rather than intention 

Patzer : a poor player at chess. (Here I mean, Yibo deliberately make mistakes, to lose himself to Zhan ) 

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘪𝘻𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.... 𝘔𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘢𝘥.

𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘪 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘵. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨  𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴.𝘚𝘰 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

𝘚𝘰, 𝘏𝘰𝘸'𝘴 𝘪𝘵? 𝘋𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯.... ♡('･ᴗ･')♡︎ 

& 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 ❣︎

♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎

@LEMMONADE

@XueYangsBrokenPinKy 

2541 words... phew... This is the first time I'm writing this much apart from exams...