Chapter 103: The End
As the game between Irfan and Anna came to an end, all the people around them gave a round of applause for them both. They applauded for two things: one was because their game was the last one of the tournament, and the second was because with this win, Anna had just earned her first-ever IM norm in her career. She was still pretty young, just 15, yet her achievement was already among the best in the country. Everyone predicted that her career would be climbing higher and higher, and some even had a wild thought that she wouldn’t stop in the women’s section and delved deeper into the open section like the legendary Judit Polgar and Hou Yifan.
However, that was another story for the future. For now, Anna tried so hard to put on a polite smile as everyone was congratulating him.
"Good job, Girl! You are creating history today!"
"Anna, can I have a photo with you?!"
"Hey, hey, don’t push around!"
"I should be the first one!"
"Can I have your number?!"
Sheva, who was getting pushed outside by the crowd, frowned instantly when he heard that. Although most of the requests there were still quite polite, there were a few that crossed the line, especially when the one asking was a middle-aged man while Anna herself was just 15. The girl herself just smiled stiffly, wanting to get out, but couldn’t muster her courage to say it out loud. It was clear that even though she still entertained the crowd here, she didn’t enjoy every second of it.
"Okay, guys! Calm the fuck down!" In the end, he had no choice but to raise his voice. Fortunately, it was enough to stop the horde of zombies that approached Anna here. When all the people there turned around at him, they winced unconsciously at the ferocious glare that the boy gave them. "Okay, first of all, you are a bunch of humans! Not a fucking animal! Act like one, for God’s sake! Be polite when asking, and don’t push around! You are making a commotion here! Look! Even the security team is here already! Do you guys want to be banned from this kind of event again in the future?!" He asked with a high tone, pointing his fingers at the few people in the security team who had just come here.
Some of the people there looked sheepish and embarrassed, while the others were enraged by Sheva’s words. Normally, Sheva himself would cower when facing something like this. However, when he saw Anna’s relieved face, the boy knew he couldn’t back down yet, not now.
"What? You cannot accept that I put you guys on the same level as animals? Then, act like a normal human being! Be polite and don’t cross her private space, for God’s sake! Is that really difficult to understand?!" He glared at the crowd fiercely. "Also, old man there! Don’t think I didn’t notice you were trying to hug Anna’s shoulder before! The old man behind Anna, stop playing with her hair! She might not notice yet, but I can see you, creep!"
Those two old men whom Sheva pointed froze instantly as they got caught offhandedly. Their face turned pale as everyone turned their head at them. However, it couldn’t be compared with how pale Anna’s face was when she realized that someone was playing with her hair all the time here. She backed down immediately, hiding behind Sheva without hesitation while also glancing warily at the two creeps in front of her, trying to remember their faces so that she would know when those two were around her again.
The commotion there also gained a lot of attention, as some people who were about to leave went back again to check the situation. Hell, some of them even pulled out their phone, wanting to record the fun here. Seeing the attention the two perverts gained, they were sweating like bullets before scampering over as quickly as possible, not wanting to get escorted by the security team.
"We are sorry!"
Seeing them gone, Anna sighed in relief before smiling weakly at Sheva. "Thank you, by the way. I didn’t notice that someone—or two people—eyeing me like that."
"Hmph. The nerve." Sheva snorted, still fuming at those perverts. "Anyway, congratulations. You did a good job beating Master Irfan, you know?" He didn’t forget to congratulate the girl for her fabulous result in this tournament. He was also happy that Anna managed to get better, inwardly clenching his fist as determination to get better also burned inside his heart.
What he didn’t expect, though, was for Anna to blush at his praise. Normally, she would just brush it off with a simple thank, but this time, her face flushed while also avoiding Sheva’s stare. It seemed she was still affected by the crowd earlier.
Right after that, the commotion finally died down, and while some people were still gathering around Anna, they were more polite in their request, and none of them dared to do anything shameful like those two perverts before. Seeing this, Sheva walked away from the crowd instantly, letting the girl get the flower she deserved. There, outside of the crowd, Claudia had been waiting for him, and once he was already in her line of sight, she showed her gratitude immediately.
"Thank you for saving Big Sis over there!" She bowed her head slightly. "I know that Big Sis is always too kind to reject them, but I have never expected that someone would take advantage of that! Nevertheless, I am grateful!"
Sheva was dumbfounded for a moment before letting out a small chuckle. "Why are you suddenly becoming so polite like this?" He flicked her forehead playfully. "She is in a tough spot, so is it natural for me to help her?" He asked rhetorically. Yeah, in his mind, this matter was quite simple. However, for both Marisa siblings, what he did was a big deal, and they vowed they would pay it back later.
They chatted and hung out around the venue for a while, enjoying their free time after a full eight days playing high-level chess. Sheva also tried to relax, as it was rare for him to be able to do so without having to think about tomorrow’s opponent, just like in the last couple of days. After a while, though, they finally stopped since the stage had been cleared and everyone was called to go back to the venue.
Now, it was time for the closing ceremony.