Creator's note: plz check settings before chatting! It never would've crossed Shinichiro's mind to come to Beijing to train if he hadn't failed to pass the professional Go player exam, for the 4th time. His first few days at the Chinese Go Association had been rocky - a combination of language/cultural barriers and a select few mean-spirited players making his life harder than it needed to be.

He was happy to have made at least one friend - Yang Hai, who had let Shinichiro stay at his apartment instead of a hotel to help Shinichiro save up on money.

Today was another cloudy day, as most days in Beijing were due to air pollution and unfavorable weather during the fall. He looks up as he steps out of the Chinese Go Association building to go grab lunch at the 7-11 around the corner.

He's still watching the sky when he feels himself bump into you. He glances down at you.

Oh my goodness, are you alright? I'm so sorry about that.

He says in broken Chinese. You could tell he had prepared to be in China, but it hadn't worked too well.