Damn, How could my family be so wealthy?!-Chapter 495 - 494: Throwing a Bucket of Cold Water

"Ha ha ha..."

Seeing his dad adopting such a humble and modest demeanor, Su Mu couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

"He he he..."

Seeing her son laughing openly, Bai Xiuping also didn’t want to hold back her amusement any longer.

So now, Su Ruizhi was left to face Elder Su with nothing but seriousness on his face.

Meanwhile, his own wife and son looked on as if they were watching a good show, leaving him at a loss for words.

After Su Mu and Bai Xiuping had their fill of laughter, the family naturally continued their dinner in high spirits.

After all, it was just a small interlude that no one took to heart.

Bai Xiuping then reminded Su Mu about some things he might need to pay attention to when acting as a groomsman.

Since these were all minor matters, Bai Xiuping only mentioned a few points before moving on from the topic.

After dinner, Su Ruizhi, feeling that he had lost face by being defeated by his own son at chess last time,

was the one who suggested they play another game of chess.

Of course, Su Ruizhi wanted to regain some pride through this game.

Initially, Su Mu was also somewhat inclined to let his father win.

Su Mu knew that his dad was usually busy with company matters and hardly had time to touch the chess pieces.

Without touching the chess pieces, how could one possibly improve?

On the other hand, Su Mu’s situation was different.

Because Elder Su enjoyed playing chess, Su Mu would often spar with his grandfather on chess skills.

Through these matches with Elder Su, Su Mu’s chess skills had naturally made rapid progress.

This was certainly not good news for Su Ruizhi, who was already not as skilled as Su Mu.

So, Su Mu thought about going easy, not necessarily letting his dad win, but even a draw would be acceptable.

After all, it would be too obvious if Su Mu intentionally lost to his dad.

But a draw, with a bit more thought, could indeed be achieved.

Unfortunately, before Su Mu could put this plan into action, it was shattered by a remark from Elder Su.

"Xiao Mu, you must not hold back when you play chess with your dad later; it’s a form of respect for your opponent,"

Elder Su seemed to have foreseen his grandson’s intentions, preemptively cautioning him even before the chessboard was set up.

"Dad, the way you speak, it’s as if I’m bound to lose to Xiao Mu,"

Su Ruizhi now felt somewhat indignant.

Wasn’t the whole point of Su Ruizhi challenging his son to a chess match to win and recover some pride?

Yet, listening to Elder Su’s words, it seemed as though he was instructing Xiao Mu not to hold back before the game even started.

Doesn’t that imply he’s certain to lose to Xiao Mu?

Clearly, Elder Su was quite convinced of the difference in skill level between his son and grandson.

In other words, Elder Su was certain that his son would not be able to beat his grandson at chess.

That’s why he mentioned not holding back.

If Elder Su wasn’t sure that his son would lose to his grandson, then the outcome would be uncertain,

and there’d be no talk of holding back, would there?

What’s more, Elder Su had explicitly told his grandson not to go easy.

With that statement, the relative chess abilities of his son and grandson in Elder Su’s mind were immediately clear.

Of course, Su Ruizhi expressed his disagreement.

Su Ruizhi believed that the reason Xiao Mu had won last time was that he himself hadn’t been properly prepared.

After all, he had shared a two-bedroom apartment with his son for over a decade.

Su Ruizhi had never seen his son even touch a chessboard before.

This indicated that Xiao Mu had no interest in playing chess.

Even if Xiao Mu had often been accompanying Elder Su in playing chess recently.

Su Ruizhi felt that Xiao Mu’s skills couldn’t have improved so much in such a short period of time.

Therefore, Su Ruizhi thought that Elder Su’s words were solely because he had just "offended" Elder Su.

This was "retaliatory punishment."

Su Ruizhi hadn’t considered that Elder Su wasn’t such a petty person. How could he take revenge for such a trivial matter against his own son?

Elder Su had simply noticed a hint of hesitation in his grandson’s eyes and guessed that his grandson might indulge in the act of losing on purpose.

That’s why he had said that.

Helpless, Elder Su felt that in a game of chess, winning or losing wasn’t the most important thing.

The most important thing was to respect the game itself.

To win is to win, to lose is to lose.

If there were any intentional acts of losing, it would defeat the purpose of playing chess.

It wasn’t that Elder Su was deliberately targeting his son; it was just that Elder Su took things a bit too seriously.

However, Su Ruizhi completely misinterpreted this profound meaning, thinking that Elder Su was deliberately belittling him.

This only further ignited Su Ruizhi’s determination to win a game against his son.

As if winning against his son was a way to show off to his own father.

Su Ruizhi was now truly caught in the middle.

"Why not give it a try and see?"

Elder Su had a lot of confidence in his grandson’s chess skills.

Xiao Mu had also received personal instruction from Elder Su. Could Elder Su possibly be unclear about whether or not he could beat his own son?

Keep in mind that now, there were times when even Elder Su found it difficult to keep up with Xiao Mu’s chess skills.

Let alone Su Ruizhi, who was a mere amateur in chess.

For Xiao Mu to win against his own father, wouldn’t that be an easy task?

If Xiao Mu were to lose to his father, Elder Su felt that would be the real challenge.

Of course, Elder Su didn’t voice this thought; otherwise, it would have been too damaging to his son’s pride.

However, Elder Su’s expression made everything clear.

"Xiao Mu, did you hear what your grandfather said?"

Because his grandson hadn’t expressed an opinion, Elder Su specifically asked.

Elder Su wasn’t intent on seeing his son lose.

It was just that in the realm of chess, Elder Su had his own convictions.

Even when not playing himself, even just as a spectator, Elder Su wouldn’t tolerate any behavior akin to throwing a game.

"Xiao Mu, bring your full effort, and let your grandfather see for himself whether your father is so easy to defeat," Su Ruizhi said, now provoked by Elder Su, and was also making a bold statement.

"Got it, Grandpa, Dad, I’ll do my best," Su Mu replied somewhat helplessly because both his grandfather and father were watching him, waiting for him to take a stance.

Grandpa didn’t allow throwing the match, and Dad was so confident; Su Mu thought he might as well just play the game seriously.

Since the decision was to play seriously, naturally, he had to give a hundred percent.

After the chessboard was set, Su Mu and his father also got into the zone.

Having promised to give it his all, Su Mu truly kept his word, not letting his father win at all.

Su Mu knew that if he did throw the match, his grandfather would definitely notice.

Since Elder Su took these matters so seriously, Su Mu naturally didn’t dare to be careless.

"Sorry, Dad," Su Mu suddenly said, and then, under Su Ruizhi’s astonished gaze, he easily won the game.

"Dad, you lost."

Watching his father make no statement, Su Mu directly announced the result.

Indeed, Su Ruizhi had lost, and he had lost very cleanly.

Elder Su checked the time; it hadn’t even been ten minutes.

Thinking back to Ruizhi’s confidence just moments ago, Elder Su felt his son was perhaps too proud.

Without knowing Xiao Mu’s strength, how could Ruizhi underestimate him like this?

Suddenly, Elder Su realized that Xiao Mu had indeed made a valid point today.

There were indeed areas where he should implement some intensive training for Ruizhi.

Elder Su believed that since Ruizhi took over the company, the Su Family Group had been sailing too smoothly.

This led to Ruizhi not thinking about staying cautious while at ease.

Another thing, Ruizhi’s overconfidence displayed today, Elder Su felt, was also a taboo in the business world.

In short, during the days that Su Mu later went to Huangtong City,

thanks to his son, the hardship Su Ruizhi endured under Elder Su’s intensive training was unspeakably bitter.

"Xiao Mu, did you use any deceit?"

At this moment, Su Ruizhi had still not come to terms with the fact that he had lost so easily.

Su Ruizhi had been confident that he would win for sure.

Otherwise, he would not have foolishly suggested playing chess with Xiao Mu.

But now, before even getting a whiff of victory, he had lost so swiftly.

Su Ruizhi couldn’t make sense of it.

So, he subconsciously blurted out that question.

Su Ruizhi felt that with Xiao Mu’s level of chess skills, winning against him should not have been so simple.

If it wasn’t that simple, how could it be possible to win in such a short amount of time?

That’s why Su Ruizhi asked that question.

"Dad, when one is outplayed, they should admit it,"

Su Mu resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Deceit?

With Dad’s level of chess, was there a need for him to resort to deceit?

Moreover, can one really win a chess game by deceit?

Su Mu did indeed consider "deceit," but it was merely the thought of going easy on his old man.

Of course, Su Mu abandoned the idea because of Grandpa’s words.

Yet, Su Mu didn’t expect that, after winning against his dad, his dad would actually think he had won by deceit.

Anyway, Su Mu knew that to win by deceit under the watchful eyes of everyone, one’s skills had to be extraordinarily incredible.

If one had such amazing skills, why would there be any need to win through deceit?

That would simply be a rhythm of outplaying the opponent instantly, right?

Su Mu was definitely not pleased; Dad was clearly slandering him.

This was a point Su Mu had to straighten out with his dad.

"Dad, why do you say I won by deceit? Where did you see any deceit from me?"

"I didn’t steal any pieces, so how did I use deceit?"

"Dad, why don’t you try to use some deceit and win for once?"

"Of course, your deceit can’t be detected by Grandpa; it has to be a skillful one."

Su Mu really admired his dad at this point.

With Grandpa, such a fair and just witness by their side, Dad dared to accuse him of deceit?

Wasn’t that telling Grandpa his son couldn’t accept defeat?

Su Mu felt that Dad was speaking without thinking today.

This is not the kind of demeanor the head of Su Family Corporation should exhibit.

Given Dad’s age, Su Mu felt that even if his father wasn’t the chairman of the Su Family Corporation, it was unlikely he would say such a thing.

Winning is winning, losing is losing, what’s there to argue about?

Worst case, if you lose a game, just try another round.

Of course, you need real skill to win.

Given Su Ruizhi’s current level of chess, winning against his own son was indeed a bit challenging.

"Xiao Mu, Dad didn’t mean that, I’m just shocked your chess skills seem to have improved a lot since last time," Su Ruizhi said.

Su Ruizhi was certainly not a sore loser.

That sentence was just an inadvertent slip due to his sheer surprise.

For Su Ruizhi, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t admit defeat in a game of chess.

It was just because the loss was to his own son.

Originally, Su Ruizhi had been full of confidence to win against his son and regain his pride from their last game.

Therefore, his reaction was indeed somewhat over the top.

After realizing his issue, Su Ruizhi immediately corrected his statement.

Su Ruizhi knew that Xiao Mu won against him on genuine skill.

Just like Xiao Mu said, he hadn’t cheated by moving or dropping pieces, and if he could win by deceit, he might as well win fair and square.

This only showed that Xiao Mu had the ability.

Moreover, Elder Su had been watching the whole time.

Su Ruizhi was well aware that Elder Su would never allow anyone to resort to dishonesty during a game of chess.

This is a very important matter for a seasoned chess aficionado.

"Xiao Mu, it hasn’t been that long. How have you improved so much?" Su Ruizhi asked.

"You haven’t enrolled in some kind of extracurricular class behind my back, have you?"

Su Ruizhi felt that even if he hadn’t spent time eating together or playing chess with Xiao Mu recently,

it hadn’t been very long since he last played chess with Xiao Mu.

It had not been long since Xiao Mu moved back to the castle.

In Su Ruizhi’s opinion, either Xiao Mu had dedicated some serious effort to chess, or he wouldn’t have won so easily.

Although Su Ruizhi didn’t play chess very often,

he was, after all, a whole generation older than Su Mu.

Su Ruizhi felt that even the occasional times he touched the chessboard should add up to more than if Xiao Mu had been playing with the chess pieces every day since moving back to the castle.

Therefore, in Su Ruizhi’s view, the only explanation for Xiao Mu’s victory was that Xiao Mu must have taken specialized training in chess.

As for why Xiao Mu had suddenly taken an interest in chess and signed up for those classes without telling Su Ruizhi,

that was something Su Ruizhi didn’t have time to ponder at the moment.

"Not at all, why would I need to sign up for any classes outside when Grandpa is such a great teacher here at home?" Xiao Mu retorted, dousing his father’s guess with a bucket of cold water.

Extracurricular classes?

Honestly, Su Mu was never that interested in chess to that extent.

If it weren’t for Grandpa’s love for chess, Su Mu suspected he wouldn’t even have bothered with the chessboard till now.

However, after playing chess with Grandpa a few times, Su Mu, although not particularly interested, no longer found it boring.

So, Su Mu was quite earnest when playing chess with Elder Su thereafter.

A top student’s intellect, coupled with a willingness to learn, of course led to rapid progress.

Another point Su Mu considered was that his father was looking too far for what lay near at hand.

Compared to those outside classes, Elder Su’s chess skills were undoubtedly many times superior.

Why then would Su Mu bother learning from anyone else?