Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 381: Home (II)

It wasn’t just Sheva who thought he saw an illusion here. Everyone else was the same, somehow seeing a familiar face in their life appearing in this hotel. However, it was way more impossible, since they all knew that their families would never be careless enough to go to this kind of place. That was why, for even half a minute, an awkward silence fell into the hotel.

"Hahaha! This should be the reaction that we all have been waiting for, right?!" Suddenly, an old man who looked like a big shot, surrounded by a few people who seemed to be his subordinates, laughed boisterously. "Don’t worry, everyone! They are all here because of our invitation! Welcome home, our heroes!"

Right after that, the hotel exploded with cheers and applause, leaving everyone still confused and feeling awkward. Sheva himself still felt unreal, so he approached his mother slowly, as if afraid that she would turn into an alien that would kill him straight away.

"Are you really my mother?" He asked cautiously.

"What are you talking about, you stupid son!" His mother laughed helplessly, eliciting laughter from the others. "Should I start talking about your embarrassing moment to convince you? What about the day you are crying back when you are in 2nd grade, I think it should be because—"

"Okay, Mom! Enough! I trust you!" Sheva felt his face flushed red as he covered his mother’s mouth immediately, not wanting his black history to be revealed. "Anyway, what are you doing here?" He gave his mother a big hug first before asking a question.The boy also glanced around secretly, just to see that the other players were also catching up with their families here.

"Oh, I am invited by the minister himself! The governor is also here! Also, how is it that he is the one who informed me about your achievement, not you yourself?! What is wrong with you?!" His mom started hitting his shoulder playfully. However, Sheva could also see a hint of pride in her tone, which was enough for him to know that she was not serious here.

"Wait!" Sheva suddenly froze on the spot, as if realizing that he had missed something important here. "What do you mean by the minister and the governor?" He asked sharply.

"Well, it is exactly what I mean. Just look there!" His mother pointed at where all the older guys were gathering, surrounding two big shots as if they were trying to flatter them. After narrowing his eyes a little, Sheva could finally feel a cold sweat on his back, finally recognizing those big shots’ identity.

"Wait here, Mom!" Right after that, he rushed to that spot before apologizing quickly. "I am sorry for my rudeness, Mr. Zainudin! Mr. Anies! I didn’t recognize you before!" Inwardly, he also cursed Bagas for not reminding him about their presence.

"Hahaha! Don’t worry about it, young man!" Zainudin Amali, the Minister of Youth and Sports, laughed while also patting Sheva’s back fondly. "You really make the Garuda fly high in the chess world! Good, God! We are all so proud of you!"

Sheva could only smile stiffly, accepting the praise humbly.

"We also want to apologize to you for inviting your mother without consulting you first." Anies Baswedan, the Governor of Jakarta, added with a soothing smile on his face. "This is basically your friend’s idea. Instead of welcoming you at the airport, we should’ve just invited your families here, letting you relax while also giving you the flowers that you all deserve."

This time, it was Sheva who was stunned. He turned around, searching for Bagas just to find him and Sarah chatting with his mother. Honestly, this was just another episode of him being scared of Bagas’s vast connection. The boy didn’t know how or where his best friend pulled the string, but it seemed that even big shots like them also took his opinion seriously.

"Thank you for your consideration, Mr. Anies." Sheva nodded humbly.

They chatted for a while, but it seemed that the two big shots realized how uncomfortable Sheva was around them. In the end, they just let him go, especially since the camera hadn’t arrived yet.

"Damn, this is crazy..." Sheva sighed in relief. "Gas, how in the hell did you get them into this mess?" He asked incredulously.

"Trade secret." The fat boy just winked, putting one of his fingers in front of his mouth while smiling mysteriously.

"Oh, Sheva..." His mother suddenly spoke with a creepy tone that was enough to send a shiver down his spine. "What is this that I heard about you passing out in the middle of the game? How could I have only heard that by now, huh?"

Sheva could feel all the blood inside his body drain instantly. Of course, he didn’t forget to glare at Bagas and Sarah, knowing that those two traitors were the ones who ratted him out here.

"Urgh... I mean..." Sheva sweated under his mother’s cold gaze, trying to avoid the stare at all costs. Fortunately, Mr. Anies Baswedan saved his ass here by walking into the podium that seemed to be prepared beforehand to make an announcement.

"Can I have everyone’s attention, please?" The man said, snapping everyone’s attention within a second. Sheva himself also sighed in relief, knowing that he was off the hook for now. "Well, I know that everyone is exhausted already, so can the leader of both teams, as well as Adrian Sheva, Laysa Latifah, and Anna Marisa, come onto the podium with me?"

Right after the man said that, Sheva could feel that a lot of cameras were pointing at him, and it would be a lie if he said that he was not nervous. Fortunately, it was just a formality, taking a photo together to get posted in the news tomorrow. This happened so quickly, and Sheva even wondered whether this was a real celebration event or not.

However, before he could even step down from the podium, Mr. Zainudin finally dropped the bombshell here.

"For all the medalists, the government will give another bonus, which is money with the amount of about 500 million rupiah for the bronze medal and 1.5 billion rupiah for the gold medal!"

Right after that, Sheva felt his brain turn into mush, crash into pieces, and couldn’t process everything anymore.