The celebration that day was held at Vincent's private residence, and Shi Xingwu, as the ultimate victor, received much cheering and warm congratulations.
Originally, Xia Qingyu was supposed to have another match with Jona to determine second and third place.
However, Jona ran off and didn't return for a long time.
The referee was about to announce Jona's forfeiture of the match and award second place to Xia Qingyu, but she politely declined.
She knew the gap between herself and Jona. If they truly fought, she might not even last two rounds.
Furthermore, this was her first time participating in a relatively formal friendly match, and she was already very happy to take third place.
Xia Qingyu's words were elegant and her attitude humble, which made Master Shi very proud. Even Vincent praised her repeatedly.
Xia Qingyu, simply stating facts and maintaining her composure, returned to her family with a gentle smile.
It wasn't until the award ceremony that Jona returned, dejected.
Learning that his similar act of forfeiture had earned him second place made Jona even unhappier.
Did that Chinese woman look down on him?
What was the point of a second place that was handed to him? With his abilities, he could have earned second place honorably.
He immediately clamored to fight Xia Qingyu, but Vincent directly patted his head and reprimanded him.
Jona was Vincent's adopted son and usually respected and feared his adoptive father greatly. After the reprimand, he finally became obedient.
The celebration proceeded smoothly, and everyone concluded this friendly match amidst laughter and joy.
Everyone except Jona, whose arrogance prevented him from truly smiling.
"Xia." As the friendly match drew to a close, Jona called Xia Qingyu aside, "Next time, I will defeat you, and that Shi too. I will! I..."
Jona wanted to utter a harsh threat, but his Chinese was not fluent enough. His entire face turned red, and he couldn't get the words out.
"You can speak English or Finnish, I understand," Xia Qingyu said, blinking, in Finnish.
Hearing that Xia Qingyu understood Finnish, Jona immediately felt a sense of relief. He launched into a challenge for over ten minutes, expressing his dissatisfaction with Shi Xingwu and his disapproval of Xia Qingyu's actions this time.
Xia Qingyu was an excellent listener. She patiently listened to Jona's rambling until he had fully explained himself. Then, she smiled and extended her hand, saying, "Alright, let's compete again next time."
Seeing this, Jona finally extended his hand to shake Xia Qingyu's before turning to leave.
"What did that little foreigner say to you?" Shi Xingwu walked up behind Xia Qingyu and asked, "This Jona is quite enthusiastic, just a bit too serious."
Last year, he hadn't felt anything when he lost, so why was Jona so upset and stormed off this year?
Truly not mature or stable enough!
"Hehe." Xia Qingyu merely chuckled and didn't respond.
From Jona's ten-minute explanation just now, Xia Qingyu had come to understand.
Jona was upset by Shi Xingwu's nonchalant attitude, which did not align with Jona's own martial spirit.
But Shi Xingwu was simply that kind of person, and Xia Qingyu couldn't say much more.
Let it be as it is, let them be.
Besides, she had more important things to attend to now.
Xia Qingyu's gaze swept over Shi Xingwu's shoulder, looking at Tarik behind him.
"I'll talk to you later, I need to say something to him," Xia Qingyu said, patting Shi Xingwu's shoulder, "Eat less, there's more good food tonight."
"Don't worry," Shi Xingwu grinned and went to show off his trophy to Li Xiaozhong.
Xia Qingyu walked directly towards Tarik and said with a smile, "Had enough? Know what to report when you go back?"
"What?" Tarik was quite surprised when Xia Qingyu walked towards him. Hearing her words, Tarik realized Xia Qingyu might have misunderstood, "My presence here has nothing to do with my father."
When he learned that Xia Qingyu was actually his adoptive father's biological daughter, he was also very surprised.
He knew his adoptive father once had a daughter, and it was because of that daughter's existence that his adoptive father treated Cifu with more leniency and favor.
Tarik had never imagined he would meet his adoptive father's biological daughter in such a way.
Cifu also seemed to have been shocked by the news and had been keeping to her room for the past two days, being extremely well-behaved—which was a good thing for Tarik.
"Whatever you want," Xia Qingyu didn't care about Tarik's words. She just wanted to state her attitude: "No matter what you plan to do, I'm willing to play along. But please don't go too far, don't hurt my family, otherwise, I won't let you off."
"Oh? Are you threatening me?" Tarik's gaze shifted slightly, and the corners of his lips curved into a subtle arc.
"This is advice," Xia Qingyu knew that with her current abilities, she couldn't exactly threaten such a dangerous figure, but she had her limits, and for her cherished family, she would do anything!
"Advice? Heh." Tarik took a step forward, getting closer to Xia Qingyu, "Then I'll give you a piece of advice too."
Seeing this, Xia Qingyu leaned back, her thighs touching the edge of the table behind her.
"The meaning of advice is [sincere counsel]," Tarik's voice was soft, and his eyes turned dangerous, "The most important part is [sincerity]. Next time, don't give advice with a threatening attitude, otherwise, it might easily be mistaken for provocation, and I... am not afraid of provocation..."
"Your current behavior also has nothing to do with [sincerity]," Xia Qingyu pushed him back with her fingertips against his chest, "Stay away from me, unless you want to try my over-the-shoulder throw again."
Tarik's lips curved upwards. Looking at Xia Qingyu's face, full of anger, he found it somewhat endearing.
Speaking of over-the-shoulder throws, she was completely different when throwing her opponent compared to throwing him.
In that case, she was also very special to him.
"Qingyu." Lei Xirui had been looking for Xia Qingyu for a while. Seeing her now, she ran over excitedly, holding Xia Qingyu's hand and saying, "Congratulations, I've wanted to say this to you in person for so long!"
"Thank you," Xia Qingyu, interrupted by Lei Xirui, gave a gentle smile.
"You're really amazing!" Lei Xirui was still in a state of excitement. Only now did she glance at Tarik belatedly and then awkwardly ask, "Did I disturb you? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"Not at all," Xia Qingyu naturally linked her arm with Lei Xirui's, "Let's go chat over there, away from people who are [unrelated]."
"Ah? Oh..." Lei Xirui blinked, and was led away by Xia Qingyu.
"[Unrelated]?" Tarik raised an eyebrow slightly, watching Xia Qingyu's retreating back, and let out a light chuckle, "You say they're unrelated, and they're unrelated?"