Chapter 14 - 14: Missing A Person

Toby Damon was surprised to see the nickname "Knowing A Person". It was not a person's name at all. It was like a random combination of three words, with no meaning at all. People usually gave their nicknames some meaning, didn't they?

Before he could think much about it, the chess game began. Toby was playing the white pieces and could move first. He clicked a pawn and moved a step.

A black piece responded.

After a little bit of play, Toby Damon noticed something was wrong.

This feeling, déjà vu! The sensation made his forehead sweat.

It took more than half an hour to finish the game. Toby Damon tried his best. Finally, the system showed: checkmate.

Toby Damon's white pieces were lost. The black pieces had won!

The black pieces, moving weirdly and with strange tactics, seemed to be moved by an eye that saw through everything…the idea had arrived in Toby's mind when he started to play, and it only grew stronger.

It was the chess programming he had encountered at Mr. Pearson's house.

He was enraged.

Toby picked up his phone and called Grey Cooper, "I'm sorry, I'm not going to be a consultant for you! No matter how much money you offer, I just don't agree!"

Grey Cooper was confused, "We had a deal, right? Why have you changed your mind so soon?"

It hadn't even been an hour, and it seemed he had just changed his mind at will. He was so unreliable.

"You said you wouldn't use any chess programming for the tournament, didn't you? I just logged in with my account and played an account called 'Knowing A Man, ' which is chess programming, right? I know it's true, so what else can you say?" Toby said angrily.

"I will figure out this whole thing, Mr. Damon. Don't worry. I'll speak to the host." Grey replied and hung up the phone. He was disappointed in Toby Damon. He wouldn't have gone to him had he known that he would be so tricky.

Still, he called Albert Pearson, "Albert. That chess player, Toby Damon, said that you'd used chess programming to create a fake player. Is that true? I thought the tournament hadn't started yet."

Albert grunted, "Are you an idiot? Why would I do that? Toby Damon… Is he the chess player who played with me last time? Why does he always say his opponent is chess programming when he loses the game? Is he a bad loser? If he loses when he plays with a person face to face, does he say the person is a robot? No… Now the question is, why did you go to him?"

"I just wanted to help you out. It seems that Toby Damon enjoys undeserved fame. He has no skill at all. Forget it. I was going to help you get him as a famous competitor. But I didn't expect him to be so useless." Grey Cooper sighed, "He said that there's an account called 'Knowing A Person,' and he claims this is just a computer. Isn't that funny? I guess it's just a player more skilled at chess."

Albert Pearson was surprised, "What did you say the name of the account was? 'Knowing A Person'?"

"Yeah, it's a weird name, right? Just look at these three words, it really is like a name randomly chosen by a machine, isn't it? I wonder why the player chose it, and it doesn't make any sense."

Albert Pearson was silent for a while and, then, slowly said, "Longing for a person for such a long time. Missing a person for such a long time. But she can only tell her feelings to the moon above the lake. Knowing a person for such a long time."

Grey laughed, "Oh, I see. I've never heard this poem before. Is that chess player a genius? He has such a weird name, and it's actually a literary reference. I think this guy might win the championship. Who is he, I wonder? Does he have a ranking? No. People with rankings wouldn't play for just three thousand dollars. It would be beneath their dignity."

Something occurred to him and before Grey Cooper finished talking, Albert had hung up the phone, turned on the computer, and entered the game interface.

He searched, and sure enough, there was a user named "Knowing A Person". They were currently offline.

He sighed. Maybe it was just his foolish hope. How could she…

He had seen her autopsy report. He had seen her cremated. Maybe he just missed her so much that he would connect everything with her.

Even though he knew that no matter how much he missed her, she wouldn't show up again. He still couldn't help…

Albert Pearson hadn't known the origin of Sophia's name at first. He had read lots of books, but he couldn't remember everything he saw like Sophia Green. He could only remember some of the famous poems he had learned by heart.

Once, he asked casually, "Ms. Green. Was your name given to you by your mother?"

Sophia was doing an experiment. When she heard his words, she replied, "Yes. My mother liked classic literature. So she just picked a name from a poem for me."

"Classic literature?" Albert Pearson thought about it, "I can't think of any poem it might come from. It seems my knowledge isn't really up to scratch."

Sophia Green laughed, "Your knowledge is excellent, Pearson. You don't have to be too modest. It's an unusual poem. People usually haven't heard of it unless they're really into poetry. It's called "The Eternal Love". There is a section in it: 'Longing for a person for such a long time. Missing a person for such a long time. But she can only tell her feelings to the moon above the lake. Knowing a person for such a long time.' Actually, I don't really like this poem. It's too sad, right?"

Albert Pearson also smiled, "I think it's a good name and a good story. Is your brother's name also from your mother?"

Sophia shook her head, "No. My mother had difficult labor when she gave birth to him. She never got the chance to name him. My father gave him his name, and he just picked one at random. Speaking of that, you have a good name. Pearson. I can see that your parents expect a lot from you!"

The connotations of Albert Pearson's name were easy to understand, brilliance, and intelligence. Those were what many parents expected from their children, and Albert knew just how much his parents expected of him.

***

After the game, Sophia was tired. It had not been easy at all. She had just entered the game casually; she hadn't expected it would be such a battle. Interestingly, the way her opponent played was similar to someone she had played with before.

Maybe it was just a common way of playing chess.

Sophia was even less confident than before. If her opponent for the tournament was better than this one, she would probably lose. It seemed likely that there would be someone better than them.

She had thought she might get an Excellence Award, but now, it seemed unlikely.

While thinking, she heard the door open.. She turned off the computer, went to the living room, and saw Kate had come back.