Qiao Sang was still shaken from the ordeal.
Meanwhile, the Liejian Huoxiao turned and departed gallantly after carrying her away.
It could truly be described as: "Leaving with a flourish of one's sleeves, concealing one's achievements and fame."
Sitting in Audience Zone B, Hou Xiangyu looked completely bewildered as he watched Qiao Sang and Wei Wenya being carried up by Liejian Huoxiao and Sitong Yan, respectively.
Did the award ceremony start already?
Then what about him?
He was at least third place, for goodness' sake!
Why didn't they come to carry him?
Zero respect!
Don't tell me they want him to walk up there himself?!
Before he could vent more complaints in his heart, his body suddenly lost balance and appeared in mid-air.
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
Qiao Sang watched with a dazed expression as Hou Xiangyu was carried onto the stage by a Zhuangtong Feixiao that had flown in from outside the arena.
So this is what it feels like to watch someone else being carried onto the stage...
How embarrassing...
Qiao Sang made a decision.
If the organizers asked her to give a victory speech later, she was definitely going to curse them out a bit in front of all these people.
The prizes were distributed starting from third place, and it soon became her turn.
The first-place prize was 200,000 Alliance Coins plus a pet egg.
However, what was handed to Qiao Sang now was not a pet egg, but a voucher to select any pet egg at a pet base.
The organizers were generous!
Only then did Qiao Sang remember that the prize description announced on the platform was a random pet egg.
She had thought the organizers initially withheld the species to build suspense, but it turned out they were letting her go directly to the pet base to choose one herself.
Although this voucher could only be used to select a pet egg with a value not exceeding 500,000, it was infinitely better than being handed a random species without a choice.
A Beast Tamer only has a few contract slots, and each decision requires deep consideration.
If she had no choice due to restrictions, there was nothing she could do, but if she had a choice, she would certainly pick what she truly desired.
Qiao Sang's preferred types for her second contract partner were Water, Grass, and Flying types.
With money at this price point, her options were much broader.
"Contestant Qiao Sang, do you have anything to say about winning first place this time?" the host asked.
"First, I want to thank my mother; it is because of her support that I was able to contract my Fire-Fang Dog. Second, I want to thank my Fire-Fang Dog, who has always been by my side; without it, I wouldn't have won this competition. Finally, I want to thank the organizers..."
Once the group photo session of the award ceremony concluded, Qiao Sang called out to Sha Duo, who was posing for photos nearby: "Mr. Sha Duo, I have a friend who is a fan of yours."
...
Qiao Sang returned to the audience seating.
The final segment of the Baixin Tournament was a lucky draw for five winners, and Bai Yunmiao was not selected.
"Genius Qiao, are you going to check out that pet egg right away, or are you waiting until the Beast Manual has a second page?" Bai Yunmiao asked with a smile, showing no sign of disappointment.
"I'll probably head to the pet base tomorrow," Qiao Sang replied.
Bai Yunmiao wanted to ask more, but she saw Genius Qiao pull a piece of paper from her bag and hand it to her.
"I just asked Sha Duo for an autograph. Here, for you."
Bai Yunmiao froze for a long moment, taking the paper and looking down at it in disbelief.
A moment later.
"Ah! Genius Qiao, I love you to death!" Bai Yunmiao lunged at Qiao Sang.
"Yip!"
The Fire-Fang Dog, caught in the middle, let out a cry.
Bai Yunmiao quickly let go, terrified that the Fire-Fang Dog might snap at her.
...
A cafe near Shuke Garden.
The warm-colored, atmospheric lighting in the cafe cast shadows against the walls, creating a cozy and tranquil ambiance.
A pink-bodied pet walked toward a table of female customers sitting by the glass window, holding a tray with three cups of coffee with its two hands.
"Li."
It placed the coffees on the table one by one, its long, vertical, oval-shaped brown eyes crinkling into a smile.
"And this is?" Song Yuan asked.
"This is my friend, Bai Yunmiao," Qiao Sang introduced.
"Hello," Bai Yunmiao said with a stiff face, pretending to be mature and composed.
Qiao Sang felt somewhat helpless. Ever since she had given out Sha Duo's autograph, she could clearly feel that Bai Yunmiao had automatically "sublimated" their friendship.
Topics they used to avoid discussing were now being blurted out all at once.
The two of them took different buses home, so they had gone their separate ways after leaving the pet arena a few days ago.
But this time, when the topic of discussing a partnership came up, Bai Yunmiao was too worried to stay behind and insisted on following, claiming that the world was a treacherous place and that since she was only 15, she was easily deceived.
"Your friend is really beautiful. It's true that beautiful people have beautiful friends," Song Yuan praised.
"Not at all," Bai Yunmiao's face immediately reddened, and she lowered her head bashfully.
Qiao Sang: "..."
*She's like this just from a little bit of praise; she really is easy to deceive.*
After a few pleasantries, Song Yuan got down to business.
"This is the draft contract. Take a look first, and if there's anything you're dissatisfied with, you can let me know."
Qiao Sang took the contract and read it carefully.
Three minutes later.
"I can only sign this endorsement for six months," Qiao Sang said, looking up.
"Why? Are you dissatisfied with the terms I offered?" Song Yuan frowned.
The terms she offered were already quite good; Qiao Sang had won first place in the Baixin Tournament.
But once the hype of being first place faded after a few days, it would no longer serve as a traffic gimmick to attract customers.
She would have to rely on further promotion and packaging later on.
An endorsement fee of 600,000 a year was a price she had offered specifically because she saw Qiao Sang's potential and wanted to build a good relationship.
"Because the Fire-Fang Dog will evolve in six months, and the contract is signed for a 'Fire-Fang Dog' rather than a 'Blaze-Fire Dog.' If the image appearing in six months isn't that of a Fire-Fang Dog, I would be in breach of contract," Qiao Sang said rigorously.
An eyewear endorsement requires shooting a new hot-selling product every quarter; in six months, the Fire-Fang Dog certainly wouldn't be available to shoot for that product.
Song Yuan: "..."
*Evolve in six months?*
*Where does she get this confidence...*
*From that Baixin Tournament first-place title...*
*She contracted a Fire-Fang Dog, not a Caterpie...*
For a moment, Song Yuan somewhat regretted approaching Qiao Sang for a partnership.
Often, when rookie Beast Tamers won a few matches and achieved a little success, they tended to lose touch with reality, only waking up after a long time had passed.
She hadn't expected Qiao Sang to be that kind of person.
"Six months it is, then. If there are no other issues, I'll print the formal contract based on this one," Song Yuan nodded.
Although she held a slight prejudice against Qiao Sang in her heart, she remained smiling on the surface, no different from usual.
However, Qiao Sang sensitively noticed that the other woman's tone had become much flatter.
But she didn't think much of it.
She simply assumed the other party was dissatisfied that she would only sign for six months.
Once the contract was finalized, the three of them chatted for a bit longer before Song Yuan suddenly asked, "By the way, what is the Fire-Fang Dog's name?"
Qiao Sang blanked for a moment, hesitating, "Name?"
Song Yuan: "..."
Bai Yunmiao turned and laughed, "She's asking what other name you've given the Fire-Fang Dog, but you probably haven't given it one yet, right?"
Song Yuan added, "That won't do. We'll need to do promotions later; we can't just keep calling it 'Fire-Fang Dog.' It needs a different name to distinguish it from other Fire-Fang Dogs. What do you think of 'Hanggang's Number One Handsome Fang'?"
(End of Chapter)