Alistair said, "It's our fate to meet each other, miss. Please visit me often in the future." He liked Vania very much, not because seeing her reminded him of his lost daughter, but because he really liked her and felt close to her.
Vania also had a good opinion of the kindly old man. "I'll certainly visit you often when I have time."
Alistair's smile returned to his face. "That'd be great. Wanna play a game of chess with me?"
"I can only play a little. Please go easy on me, Old Mr. Jones," Vania replied modestly.
"Do your best and let me see how good you are." Alistair loved to play chess more than anything else. "Hanson is the only person among these kids who can play several rounds of chess with me." He was not at all chary of praising Hanson. "Hanson, come over and take a look, but don't say anything."
"Okay." Hanson held Vania in his arms, though he had wanted to help her. After all, Alistair was an expert chess player whom few people could beat.
Seeing that Alistair was in the mood to play, everyone gathered around them to watch them play. However, they were merely looking on; none of them thought that Vania could beat him.
The game of chess started with an ordinary and classic opening as Vania didn't ask to play with a handicap.
Over ten minutes later, Alistair put down his teacup and looked at Vania meaningfully. She was still knitting her brows, pondering over which chess move to make next with a seemingly troubled expression.
Half an hour later, Alistair began to frown. After an hour, he suddenly laughed. "Haha! Hanson, your wife is quite amazing."
Hearing the sudden compliment, the others couldn't figure out what was going on, but Hanson understood what he meant. "My wife is nothing less than outstanding."
Bryan curled his lips while despising Hanson inwardly. He's starting to show off again... At this moment, he became a chess referee. "Grandpa wins by a narrow margin."
The others were surprised. "A narrow margin?" In that case, Vania is indeed quite amazing.
Alistair was still laughing heartily while looking at Vania. "You didn't go all out. You were thinking about how to lose the game."
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