"Don't be afraid, Daddy and Tian Tian are outside, we're not going anywhere, come in quickly!" Ye Mingcheng reassured Ye Tong.

Ye Tong has social anxiety and is particularly afraid of facing strangers, except during competitions.

Nie Zhonghua did not attend the celebration banquet this time. The master originally wanted to attend, but he fell ill a couple of days ago. Ye Tong could only attend alone. When he saw that everyone at the banquet was someone he did not recognize, he panicked and hesitated to enter.

“You’ll definitely find teammates and coaches inside. Just go in and find them. It’ll be fine,” Tian Tian reassured her.

Just then, a handsome young man wearing glasses walked over. He was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a somewhat immature face, but a faint mustache could be seen above his lips. He strode towards them, his eyes flickered when he saw Ye Tong, and he forced a smile.

"Xiao Tong, why aren't you going in? Let's go in together!" The boy came over and greeted her warmly, even affectionately putting his arm around Ye Tong's shoulder.

When Ye Mingcheng saw it was him, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief, finally seeing a familiar face.

This young man is named Si Haoxing, and he is also on the national team. His life experience is very impressive. He won an award in a provincial competition when he was six years old. After that, he continued to rise rapidly and became the national champion at the age of twelve. He then joined the national team and won many awards in Asian competitions.

Unfortunately, Sihaoxing has never won a world championship. It seems that his talent has been exhausted, and his performance in the past two years has become increasingly unsatisfactory. However, he has always been ranked first in the national team and is currently at the eighth dan. The national team has high expectations for him. Before Ye Tong was accepted as a disciple by Nie Zhonghua, the national team's resources were almost entirely invested in Sihaoxing.

The national team also wants to cultivate a player who can defeat Choi Suk, and Si Haoxing is considered the most promising one in recent years. That's why the national team spares no effort in cultivating him and gives him the best resources.

However, Sihoss and Choi Suk had faced off several times, and Sihoss suffered crushing defeats each time. Sihoss also failed to achieve any significant results in world competitions, and his world ranking declined year after year.

However, because the other players' results were not as good as Si Haoxing's, he was still a key player for the national team to cultivate. But this situation changed after Ye Tong joined.

Compared to Sihaoxing, who is already on the decline, Ye Tong has an advantage in both age and talent. Therefore, Ye Tong is now the team's darling, and the tide has turned.

Rather than saying the national team believed in Ye Tong, it's more accurate to say they believed in Master Nie.

Previously, the national team wanted Master Nie to take Si Haoxing as his apprentice and invited him several times. Master Nie played three games with Si Haoxing and then said four words—

"Books can mislead people."

Master Nie rejected Sihaoxing without hesitation, saying he didn't want to waste time and that the national team couldn't do anything about him, so he didn't bring it up again. But Sihaoxing kept it in mind. On the surface, he seemed indifferent, but the thorn in his heart grew bigger and bigger.

"Xiao Tong isn't used to crowded places, so I'll trouble you to take care of her." Ye Mingcheng knew Si Haoxing and thought the boy was quite polite and a good kid. He felt reassured that Ye Tong was being looked after by him.

"Uncle Ye, don't worry, I will take good care of Xiaotong."

Sihaoxing readily agreed and put his arm around Ye Tong's shoulder, "Let's go in together. You'll sit with me, so what's there to be afraid of?"

Ye Tong shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't used to close physical contact, especially with strangers, but he was never good at expressing himself, so he just endured it no matter how uncomfortable he felt.

Sweetie quickly said, "Xiaotong isn't used to being touched. You can walk next to him, but don't touch him."