I'm a scientist, why can't I have faith?

Wang Dong woke up a little late today and was surprised to find that there were hardly any people in the hotel.

Indeed, many teams must have fought until the very last moment before taking a break yesterday.

The organizers were quite humane; the closing ceremony and awards ceremony were held in the afternoon, which was quite good.

Like the opening ceremony, it was held in the hotel lobby.

As usual, Academician Song Zhuohua gave the concluding remarks. This time, without Wei Linfeng and Lan Ce shouting and yelling beside him, Wang Dong felt that the whole world was much quieter.

As expected, Wang Dong's team won first place with the gold medal, while Natsuki Yuzu and Sugiyama Kensuke from the University of Tokyo won second place with the gold medal. They were the second to submit their results, and their accuracy was also 100%.

It seems it's not as mysterious as Senior Lan Ce said... This world is still very bright and benevolent.

After all, the third place team is also from Great Xia. If there really was a conspiracy, shouldn't it be the team from South Korea?

The first, second, and third place winners are each from one of the three organizers, which is quite reasonable.

However, in reality, only one team from South Korea won the gold medal, and it was a close call; they almost got the silver medal.

What Wang Dong didn't know was that this "little bit" was actually the result of manipulation.

Otherwise, it would be disrespectful for South Korea to receive none of the 13 gold medals. They contributed a lot of resources, and we can't let them go home empty-handed.

When it came to the awards ceremony, Wang Dong went on stage to accept the award as the team representative. In fact, he was the only one left on his team, and he had no choice but to go up even if he didn't want to.

I thought he would be a little nervous, since he always gets very nervous when giving a presentation (group report), which involves standing in front of a crowd and speaking.

Unexpectedly, he was relaxed when receiving the award today, and even seemed to enjoy the gazes of the audience.

Turns out, being in the spotlight isn't so bad after all.

Shouldn't the spotlight be warm and cozy when it shines on you? Why does it feel a little eerie?

Below the stage, Sun Yi was staring at the figure holding the gold medal with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

He's a slacker, he must be a slacker!

I could never lose to this pretty face; he must be clinging to someone with a bigger backer than I am!

Sun Yi refused to admit that he was inferior in skill. In his mind, how could someone not only be better looking than him but also more capable? Such a thing was impossible.

This is an almost abnormal form of obsession.

However, the reality is that there are people who are both more handsome and more capable than him.

Sure enough, Xia Muyou, who came in second place, took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Wang Dong.

"Your name is Wang Dong, right? Let's get acquainted. My name is Xia Muyou."

This unexpected approach left Wang Dong flattered and surprised.

"Um...hello..."

He hesitated for a moment, then half-grabbed the other person's outstretched hand.

"I didn't expect you to be such a gentleman. Thank you so much for your kindness on Gulangyu Island that day."

Xia Muyou bowed to Wang Dong, which made Wang Dong even more flustered.

Um... Japanese etiquette is really embarrassing...

Not knowing what to do, he also returned the greeting in the other person's manner.

Seeing Wang Dong's amusing expression, Xia Muyou couldn't help but laugh.

The girl's smile, so delicate and doll-like, left Wang Dong stunned for a few seconds.

It was only after Xia Muyou reminded him that he realized it was time to leave the stage after the awards ceremony.

"Wang Dong, you're very interesting. How about you consider studying at the University of Tokyo in the future? It sounds like it would be really interesting."

The University of Tokyo? Wang Dong seemed to have never thought about going out into the world.

He didn't even dare to dream of getting into a top university, let alone studying abroad.

Maybe it would be good to go outside and take a look.

A seed of curiosity had been quietly planted. Xia Muyou smiled quietly, then said goodbye and left.

Back in his room, Wang Dong quickly packed his luggage, preparing to return to Yanjing.

It seems like this trophy can't fit...

In addition to the grand prize trophy representing team honor, each contestant also has their own unique award certificate.

This thing must be carefully preserved; it absolutely cannot be damaged before it is handed over to the other companions.

There was no other way, so Wang Dong had to prepare a special bag and carry it all the way from Xia Meng back to Yanjing.

Fortunately, the million-dollar prize for first place was not awarded in cash, otherwise Wang Dong would not have dared to even take a plane.

At Xiameng International Airport, the Japanese delegation is completing the final check-in procedures.

"Professor Takeda, hurry up and board the plane, it's almost time."

Takeda Toshio glanced at the time on his watch. "Wait a little longer, my students haven't arrived yet."

Just before the deadline was about to end, Natsume Yuzu appeared in everyone's sight.

The entire Japanese delegation finally boarded the plane smoothly.

"Is everything done?"

"I've completed everything, Professor. I've extended invitations to most of the people on the list you gave me, at least to make them consider coming to the University of Tokyo."

Immediately after the match, Toshio Takeda gave Yuzu Natsuki a list of players he favored in the competition.

Natsuki Yuzu immediately contacted these contestants and extended an offer to Tokyo University.

This is also one of the purposes of Japan's trip: the competition for talent is never outdated.

"But professor, a few people left early, and I couldn't find them..."

"It's okay, we've already achieved our most important goal. All that's left is to win with sheer numbers."

Liu Qiang was pleasantly surprised by this trip. He hadn't expected that Kieran Burns' prized student would be having such a hard time in Great Xia. Since that was the case, why not come to Japan as an honored guest? The treatment there would be quite good.

The plane took off on time, and the Japanese delegation left Great Xia with satisfaction.

Meanwhile, there are also flights to Seoul, and the representatives of the Korean penny-pinching country on board have their own ulterior motives.

However, all of this was within Su Tiangong and Song Zhuohua's expectations.

Wang Dong was sound asleep on the plane to Yanjing, completely unaware that this seemingly simple international competition was actually rife with undercurrents.

In fact, if he hadn't left the hotel immediately after the match, he probably would have received a formal invitation from the University of Tokyo.

By the time he woke up and landed, it was already evening.

His excellent teammates naturally picked him up at the airport.

Lan Ce, Wei Linfeng, and Su Yuran were waiting for him at the exit to return to the capital.

"Seniors, these are your certificates, oh, this is a trophy, and here's the check for the prize money..."

Wang Dong wanted to quickly distribute the things in his arms to everyone so that he could relax a bit.

Lan Ce simply grabbed him and headed towards the parking lot.

"We can talk about those things when we get back. Right now, the most important thing is to have a big meal!"

After a hard day's work, you deserve a delicious meal to reward yourself.