"Yeah, I'm fine." Theo nodded and raised his head, finding a pair of man and woman coming to them.
They both had slightly squinted eyes. The man had a formal red traditional Chinese coat with two big flower patterns on the top right and bottom left. He wore black pants to add contrast to them.
The female had a long royal blue qipao with flower patterns as well. They both smiled at Theo and Alea as the male introduced themselves. "Hello, we are pleased to meet you. We are China's representatives. My name is Cheng Sui and she is Deng Luoyang. Mister Theodore, I admire you for what you have shown us in the first block."
No one acted arrogantly in this place. After all, they were not that foolish to fail to understand that those who reached this place had a certain amount of talent that could literally go international.
Even a big young master like Cheng Sui needed to acknowledge Theo's talent, way of thinking, and connection with Nella Griffith. They also didn't like to make unnecessary enemies, so all of them behave politely to each other while observing their opponents.
"I don't know if I pronounce it or call it right… But, it's my pleasure to know you, Mr. Cheng Sui, Miss Deng Luoyang."
"Haha, it's quite complex, but you can simplify it by calling me Cheng Sui or Mr. Cheng. But the latter makes me feel a bit too old, so I guess it's the first one. As for the pronunciation, it's not in China, so you won't mistake anyone with the wrong pronunciation, so don't mind about it." Cheng Sui nodded with a smile, correcting Theo.
"Gladly, Cheng Sui." Theo nodded. "You can call me Theo to simplify my name."
"Yes. I am looking forward to the competition, but who knows if we will fight each other."
"I truly need to work really hard if I want to stay in the competition." Theo shook his head helplessly.
"You're looking down on yourself too much." He smiled and turned to Alea. "Hello, Miss Alea. It's my pleasure to meet a beautiful lady tonight."
"Thank you." Alea smiled sweetly.
"Haha, I can see why Theo is smitten by you. There's no way he can't say no to someone this beautiful."
"Of course. He just can't be honest with himself." Alea chuckled and tried to attack Theo once more.
Theo's eyebrows twitched, cursing. 'What the… You have your priorities wrong.'
"You're a perfect pair. Not only are both of you handsome and beautiful, but both of you have God Rank Blessings. I am in awe." Cheng Sui once again praised them, but his intention was clear to Theo.
He quickly shook his head in disappointment while raising his hand. "If only I have God Rank Blessing…"
With Cheng Sui implying them as a perfect couple with God Rank Blessings, he wanted to check Alea and Theo's reactions to see whether Theo indeed had a certain reaction.
Unfortunately, Alea didn't know about it while Theo played hard to get, preventing them from figuring out his blessings. Of course, Theo's statement couldn't be trusted blindly, but at the same time, they couldn't confirm it either.
Cheng Sui realized Theo was indeed cunning and dangerous.
"Ah, that's right. Since this is the first time you're here, do you know what we're going to do in this place?" Cheng Sui asked.
Theo thought for a moment and shook his head. "Just get to know each other?"
"That's one of the reasons, but it's the main priority for the second banquet at the end of the competition. This banquet's only purpose is to draw the lots for the main competition."
"Interesting."
"Indeed. I have fulfilled what I want to do here, so I won't occupy you any longer." Cheng Sui then left together with the woman.
Theo let out a breath of relief while turning around, seeing his teammates ignoring them and talking to other participants.
Obviously, they all wanted to tease Theo and Alea by forcing them together this entire banquet as the representatives of their group.
Alea was obvious to it, so Theo just resigned to his fate.
After that, several other Team Leaders visited him and Alea to have a chat with him, observing Theo's character. They were more scared of Theo than Alea after all.
Theo could see the diversity of the people here.
The US Team Leader was the female cowboy. She acted like a tomboy and acted extremely casual to Theo. In the end, her teammate came to him and explained that she was always like that.
On the other hand, Egypt was a bit more conservative. They were too polite when talking to Theo. Even Alea had trouble dealing with them. In the end, Theo just let Alea talk to them because she had more experience in this tiring conversation.
Meanwhile, Japan showed a bit of uniqueness. Alea couldn't sense it, but Theo felt something was wrong with their team leader, the only female in the group. If Theo was someone without a cool head, he might start ogling all over her. There was a kind of mysterious charm in her eyes that seemed to be related to her blessing, Theo thought.
Although Alea felt nothing to her, she sensed something weird in Theo's expression. As expected from her eyes, it picked something unnecessary.
Alea even teased him while feeling a bit of rivalry, wondering how that woman could invite such a reaction from Theo. Her beauty shouldn't lose against her, but Theo never showed such a reaction to her. It might not be necessary, but it certainly hurt her pride as a woman.
After a while, Sheira suddenly entered the hall while bringing a projector and putting it down on the ground, showing a huge blue screen with a bracket on it.
Without saying anything, all participants walked to her with a serious expression, knowing she would start soon.
Seeing everyone was already staring at her with anticipation, Sheira smiled and opened her mouth. "Hello, everyone. As you already know, I am Sheira. I am here to oversee the entire event and announce the rules for the main competition."