Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!

"The place's name is Semmozhi Poonga, and I think it is a botanical garden," Sheva explained while they were sitting on the subway. "It is only 1.8 km from our hotel, but I don't want to embarrass myself by forcing myself to walk. Also, the street would be crowded, and I don't want to be sweating before we even arrive at our destination."

Sitting next to Sheva, Anna just smiled amusedly, knowing full well that Sheva tried to go with her preference here. "You know what? We haven't been on any normal date, right?"

"You mean, watching a movie, shopping, going to a candlelight dinner, and something like that?" Sheva scoffed. "Why would you think of that when we are out of Jakarta? Please, we have a chance to not be a normal city couple, let's use it as best as we can to go away from the mainstream line."

They chatted about a lot of things during the journey, enjoying every moment of it. They both were lucky here, since even though the subway was full of people, there were some seats that were still empty the moment they got in. It took about 10 minutes for them to arrive at the nearest station to their destination, and after that, they still had to continue the journey by walking for about five more minutes before they truly arrived at Semmozhi Poonga.

Before they even arrived, though, both Sheva and Anna felt like the atmosphere had changed. It was as if they were transported into a completely different place. Gone was the crowded, dirty, and noisy city, replaced by the peaceful greenery all around them. It was such a magical experience, and if not for them being sober enough to remember their journey here, they would've never believed that there would be a place like this in the middle of Chennai.

The moment they stepped through the gates, Anna's eyes widened like a child discovering a secret world. The entrance garden glowed in front of them; bright flowers spilling over the paths, sunlight shimmering on the fountain, colors soft and loud all at once.

"Wait—this is so pretty!" she whispered, as if afraid the place might disappear if she spoke too loudly. She took a few quick steps forward, almost bouncing, her fingers brushing the leaves as if greeting them one by one. For a moment, she looked completely lost in wonder, her face bright, soft, and glowing, as if the whole garden was a surprise made just for her.

Of course, Sheva, who just like any other man who didn't really have the romantic soul inside him, didn't quite understand Anna's feelings right now. However, he also kept quiet, letting the girl enjoy the peaceful scenery around. Meanwhile, he himself also took out his phone, starting to snap a photo or two of this beautiful place.

Honestly, picking up Semmozhi Poonga as the date place was probably the best decision that Sheva had ever made. After they paid for the ticket and walked through the entrance gate, both teenagers were still greeted by the same breathtaking scenery, all colorful flowers dancing around in a breezy wind as if they were greeting them.

Before they could even think about getting bored with the entrance garden, she spotted the narrow opening of the bamboo trail and tugged his hand softly, as if pulled by curiosity rather than strength. They stepped into it together, and the world shifted—tall bamboo rose on both sides, bending gently overhead like green curtains parting for their arrival.

Her voice dropped into a breathy whisper. "Oh… wow." The sound of it was small, but her eyes were huge, following every arch of the bamboo, every sliver of light slipping between the stalks. She walked slowly at first, then a little faster, almost drifting forward, her head tilted up as though she was afraid to miss even a single detail.

The air was cooler here, quieter too, and every step echoed softly on the path. Even though there were also some couples who enjoyed this scenery around there, it was as if they all reached an agreement here that if they talked out loud, the magical moment would be gone.

Well, Anna didn't really notice her surroundings. Right now, she was definitely enthralled by the scenery in front of her. The girl reached out and touched a bamboo stem with the kind of care people use when touching something magical and fragile. "It feels like we're walking inside a storybook," she said, half-laughing, half in awe.

The rest of the date went quite the same. Both Sheva and Anna were astonished by this beautiful place, even to the point that they started to get tired of admiring the scenery around them. In the end, they finally took a little bit of rest on a bench near the fish pond. It seemed that this place was one of the most popular destinations on Semmozhi Poonga, as a lot of people were also there. However, both teenager didn't really mind about it, as they both sat there while also enjoying the snack that they brought from the hotel.

"Oh, Ia would love to go to this place…" Anna let out a small sigh while also letting her eyes wander far.

"Really?" Sheva raised one of his eyebrows slightly while also enjoying a bag of potato chips in his hand. "I reckon that she is more of a city girl, you know? Going to the mall, shopping, playing in the game zone, something like that."

Yeah, for how she acted around her big sister, Claudia was pretty much different compared to Anna. The big sister enjoyed walking in nature, while the little sister more often than not preferred staying in bed playing with her phone, checking out some online stores without even buying anything. Not only that, the little girl also liked strolling around at the mall, looking at the newest food stall to try.

Claudia was the definition of an ordinary city girl from Jakarta, completely on a different spectrum compared to her big sister.

"Well, yeah, you might not be wrong here. She might enjoy the scenery, but Ia will probably be grumbling all over the journey before we finally arrive here." Anna smiled fondly as she recalled how her little sister usually behaved. "I wonder, though, how she is doing right now?"