Early in the morning, Cici got up to wash and get ready.
As soon as she looked up, she saw Charles Yin and Max Mo coming out of their rooms, both looking exhausted.
"What's wrong with you two? Why do you both look so tired?" Cici couldn't help but ask.
Charles Yin and Max Mo both jolted, glanced at each other, then turned to look at Cici at the same time.
In their eyes, a flicker of something unspoken flashed—a secret, a challenge, maybe even a hint of rivalry.
Cici felt creeped out by the way they were looking at her. "Hey, what's with you guys? Did you both get possessed or something?"
Charles Yin was the first to react. He gave Max Mo a meaningful look. "This time, I got ahead!"
"Not necessarily," Max Mo retorted, refusing to back down as he stared at Charles Yin.
"We'll see about that," Charles Yin said, a confident smile playing at his lips.
"Bring it on," Max Mo replied, not backing down at all.
Cici was instantly confused. "Hey, hey, hey, what are you two playing at?"
Before Charles Yin and Max Mo could answer, someone hurried over from outside and respectfully said, "President, the members of the other national teams have arrived. They'd like to invite you both to preview the competition venue together."
Cici's expression became serious. "That sounds good to me."
There were less than three days left, so it was indeed time to mingle with the other competitors and gather some intel.
Besides, before the competition, there's a welcome event that everyone needs to attend.
This time, it's a team competition, not an individual one.
So, everyone either wins together or loses together.
After seeing Cici's skills yesterday, the Chinese National Team members discussed it and finally put aside their arrogance, sincerely asking Cici to join them.
With Miss Cecilia Grant as such a powerful addition, the Chinese National Team members all felt more confident about this year's competition.
Charles Yin nodded and said, "Got it. We'll get ready and head over."
Max Mo pondered for a moment and said, "I'll go ahead first. You two can come over in a bit."
Cici nodded. Max Mo gave Charles Yin a meaningful look, then turned and left.
After Max Mo left, Cici couldn't help but ask Charles Yin, "What kind of secret code were you two speaking just now?"
Unexpectedly, Charles Yin didn't answer the question. Instead, he pulled Cici into his arms, his voice choked with emotion: "Thank heaven, I didn't miss out on you!"
Cici was left baffled by his words, completely at a loss as to what Charles Yin meant.
Although Cici didn't understand why the two men were acting so strange this morning, now wasn't the time to ask—there were still people waiting outside.
Cici quickly tidied herself up and hurried over.
Sure enough, when Cici arrived, everyone else had been waiting for quite a while and were just about ready to head out.
Seeing Cici arrive, Max Mo immediately said, "Cici, we were just waiting for you. There's still three days until the competition, but I doubt we'll have much time to train. We need to hurry and meet up with the other international competitors, and there are several official banquets to attend. As for your formalwear, don't worry—I've already brought everything you need."
Max Mo explained everything in just a few words, and Cici felt he was truly well-prepared.