Sheva was taken aback slightly when he heard his na co out of Dita Karenza’s mouth, asking unconsciously, "Do you know ?" Just to find himself felt his face flushed red in embarrassnt.
The girls just looked at him as if he were an idiot, and Anna giggled rrily at his tomato face. "Of course, she knows you, silly. Which chess player in this country doesn’t know Adrian Sheva?" She shoved his shoulder playfully.
Sheva nodded solemnly—or at least that was what he tried to hide his embarrassnt, ignoring Laysa, who was gagging on the back for their public display of affection. He himself also understood where the girl was coming from.
Not to brag, but Sheva knew that his na had been turned into a benchmark for every chess player in this country, a possible target for them to aim at. He was the na that all the coaches said, ’Look at how amazing he is!’, turning him into the one cousin that you would always be compared to in any family eting.
Just like Anna said, there was no way Dita didn’t know him here.
"Anyway, it is nice to finally et you. My na is Sheva, and I—"
The boy froze once again as, while he offered a handshake, the woman just clapped both hands like a Buddha and nodded politely at him. It was so subtle, but this was basically a rejection from Dita Kaarenza.
Now, his face turned fully red like a boiled lobster, and honestly, the full-blown laughter from Laysa only made him want to disappear on the spot.
’Oh, God! Eat alive and erase all the mories about from everyone!’ He moaned inwardly, covering his face so that no one could see his state right now. Unfortunately, it was no use, as Laysa was already laughing her ass off right then, while Anna herself was giggling furiously on the sofa.
His brain worked fast, and he quickly found sothing to bla here. "I apologize for my ignorance. I forgot that muslim people usually avoid physical contact with the opposite sex. It is just... Laysa is so carefree that she forgot about that for a mont." He turned around, glaring at Laysa fiercely.
Of course, the girl wouldn’t be willing to be the scapegoat here. "Hey, don’t put the bla on ! Sha for you to ignore that! Also, are you implying sothing here?" She narrowed her eyes dangerously.
"Ha? What is there to imply?!"
"You know what it is!"
Dita Karenza was astonished, not expecting to see the mighty Adrian Sheva, whom she had been reading so many tis on the news and seed to be so inapproachable, would be like this, goofing around and bickering left and right without the air of the ’big player’ like what she imagined.
’Yes, I forgot that with all of his achievents, he is just a... 19-year-old boy, right? Four years younger than ?’ She let out a small giggle, attracting everyone’s attention.
"Not you too!" Sheva whined, eliciting another round of laughter from all the people there.
"Sorry, sorry! It is my fault here for making things awkward! I apologize!" She giggled, wiping away tears from the corner of her eyes. "Anyway, my na is Dita Karenza, and I am a player of Novendra’s generation. Nice to et you, Adrian Sheva..." This ti, while she didn’t offer a handshake, the introduction was more proper.
Sheva still pouted slightly, but he couldn’t do anything when facing this kind of genuine laughter. Also, this helped ease the atmosphere because the awkwardness was gone at this point. Dita Karenza could be seen chatting and laughing with Laysa and Anna without any reservation, which was way better than any formality that he had imagined from the woman before.
"Wait, I swear, you seem to know her before this, right?" Sheva narrowed his eyes at Laysa.
Unfazed by the glare, the girl just grabbed Dita’s arm and got closer to the older woman cheerfully. "Yup! After our first-ever draw, I got to know her better, and now, we have beco besties!"
Sheva felt the corner of his mouth twitching again. ’Yeah, then again, this is exactly what I expect from her. She could make a friend out of an enemy, let alone a potential comrade like Dita...’
"Anyway!" He shook his head strongly, wanting to go back to the main topic. "I have been watching your ga for the last two... No, three rounds, I guess, and I can say that I am so impressed with the grit you show in every one of them. How could I have never heard of you before?"
This was also a part of his curiosity. Honestly, with her skill, she could’ve been a mber of the Olympiad team last year to replace Claudia, and the team could probably get one or two more wins than the original one. Don’t underestimate those, because they could propel the team higher, probably even for a gold dal.
For that question, though, Dita just let out a long sigh. "Do you think that everyone is as blessed as you, having an angel investor without any reservations? I still have to make a living, you know? I am 23, and if I were still stuck to chess without any backup, I would’ve been starving right now. That’s why I only join a tournant nearby."
Sheva scratched the back of his head sheepishly, realizing that this was another matter that could be solved with money. This was another ti he had to be reminded of how grateful he should be, since not all the players had a system that provided a lifeti sponsorship like this. Hell, he didn’t even know if there was any person in the world who had a system in the head like his, to be honest.
’Well, Magnus maybe has one, right? There is no way a human being could be that good...’ He pondered for a second.
"Hey, after this tournant, I bet you will not have to worry about sponsorship anymore, Sister!" Laysa chid in. "I an, a lot of people are here to watch Sheva’s ga, right? They would also pay notice to the won’s section, and you have been impressing everyone left and right!"
"Yeah, and I know that as well!" Dita nodded, genuinely happy for her current achievent. "Now, if only I can get into the World Cup, everything will be perfect for !"
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