"What?" Jin Zhewu's words caught Ling Tengyun completely off guard.
He thought he might have misheard the English and asked, "Excuse me, I don't think I understood what you meant."
Jin Zhewu shrugged and said, "You don't understand this either?"
"It's very simple. Didn't you say friendship first? So for the sake of friendship, why don't you just forfeit?"
"If you can do that, I guarantee you'll win the friendship of our country."
Ling Tengyun's lips twitched slightly, and then he said, "No, are you kidding me?"
"When we say 'friendship first, competition second,' we don't mean it the way you understand it."
"Oh really?" Jin Zhewu raised an eyebrow. "If that's not what it means, then what is it?"
"Are you trying to trick us?"
"China is such a big country, and now you're lying in front of so many people. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
Ling Tengyun's mind went blank.
He had fallen into Jin Zhewu's rhythm and quickly shook his head, saying, "You've misunderstood. I really didn't mean that!"
Jin Zhewu stared at Ling Tengyun like a snake eyeing its prey, as if trying to see through him, and said, "I misunderstood?"
"Are you trying to say my English isn't very good?"
"Mr. Ling, I passed the TOEFL and IELTS. It's not appropriate for you to belittle me like this, is it?"
"Or is it that your China is so arrogant that you look down on everything?"
"This... I..." Ling Tengyun couldn't argue with Jin Zhewu.
Coupled with the fact that so many people were watching, he didn't know what to say.
Ling Tengyun sighed with feigned seriousness, "Alas, I invited you all here because I wanted to make friends with you."
"But your attitude is so arrogant, it's truly disappointing."
"Are all Chinese people like you? If that's the case, then this country is truly..."
At this point, Jin Zhewu stopped speaking.
But such a pause was actually the most brilliant move.
For a moment, the audience was drawn into Jin Zhewu's narrative, developing a prejudice against China.
At this moment, the leader of the girl group blinked slightly, then sighed and shook her head, "I actually had a good impression of China, but your performance today is truly disappointing."
"Everyone, tell me, isn't this going too far?"
The people present were all fervent fans of the girl group, so when they heard the leader say this, they immediately became enraged.
Suddenly, shouts of "China get out of Bird Country" erupted in the venue, and everyone's faces were filled with burning anger.
The Chinese team was stunned by this sudden turn of events.
They hadn't expected things to unfold this way. How did they suddenly become the target of public criticism?
A team member said, "Brother Tengyun, I think we should leave quickly!"
"If we don't leave soon, I'm afraid we won't be able to!"
Ling Tengyun couldn't handle the situation and could only nod, "Okay, let's go, let's go."
But just as they were preparing to leave, Wu Tian suddenly said, "Wait a moment."
Everyone was stunned, and then Ling Tengyun angrily asked, "What else do you want?"
Wu Tian smiled and said, "How can we just leave like this? Wouldn't that be tarnishing China's reputation?"
Ling Tengyun retorted, "What do you mean? Are you saying I've tarnished China's reputation!"
Wu Tian said, "You really can't read the situation."
"This guy clearly came prepared, aiming to damage China's image."
"If we leave now, it will be hard to explain later."
Wu Tian continued, "Leave this kind of thing to me. I'm much better at doing dirty work than he is."
After speaking, Wu Tian smiled at Jin Zhewu, "Have you misunderstood our meaning?"
"In our country, the phrase 'friendship first, competition second' is for weaker nations, essentially to prevent them from feeling inferior."
"When we face equally matched opponents, we don't say such things, because such matches are interesting and worth fighting for with all our might, with no need to consider each other's feelings."
"Now, we've considered your feelings, yet you're pushing your luck, saying we should just hand over the victory to you. Are all people from your country so greedy?"
Wu Tian's counter-attack caught Jin Zhewu completely off guard.
But Jin Zhewu was not to be outdone and said, "What do you mean by that?"
"Are you implying that China has always looked down on our country?"
"If that's the case, aren't you too arrogant?"
Wu Tian showed a brilliant smile, "Sorry, I actually do look down on you."
"You!" Wu Tian's frank reply stunned Jin Zhewu.
He then gritted his teeth and said, "How dare you say such a thing? Aren't you going too far?"
Wu Tian shrugged, "I've always been like this. I treat people the way they treat me."
"So in the end, shouldn't you be reflecting on yourself?"
Jin Zhewu said angrily, "You, you are jeopardizing the relationship between China and our country. Can you bear the consequences of this!"
Wu Tian smiled and said, "There's no need to make it sound so serious."
"What does this have to do with international relations? Are you saying you can represent your entire country? Then you're truly overconfident!"
"If I take it a step further, are you going to run for president of your country next?"
Wu Tian's words made Jin Zhewu pause slightly, and then he quickly said, "Hey, don't talk nonsense. I have no such intentions!"
Wu Tian smiled and said, "Who knows if you have such intentions or not?"
"After all, it's in your heart. Whatever you say goes!"
Jin Zhewu didn't know what to say.
He had never expected that his carefully planned scheme against China would be disrupted by Wu Tian's few words.
Now, he was the one in an awkward position.
Of course, he couldn't take Wu Tian's bait, as such remarks were too sensitive.
If he inadvertently expressed any ambition, his family would surely face repercussions once the news reached his country.
The leader of the girl group, being sharp, noticed Jin Zhewu's predicament and smiled again, "Oh, let's not talk about this topic."
"It was just a misunderstanding. We apologize to you and to China."
"By the way, since you're already here, how about performing a show?"