Battle for Top 3

Ning left for the stage with the paper in hand. People cheered from outside, all more than happy to see him finally come onto the stage.

As the black horse of the entire competition, while he hadn't managed to enter the finals, they at least wanted to see if he had what it took to enter the top 3.

Ning flipped open the piece of paper and read what was written in. When he read it all, he missed a step in surprise at what was written on the paper.

'Is this real?' he wondered. He couldn't imagine it being real at all. He wanted to go back and ask the headmaster if this was some sort of joke, but his match was already starting, so he continued there. 

He arrived on the stage, amidst the numerous cheers and waved his hands at everyone that supported him. Even the host gave a wide smile and walked up to Ning to say something when he paused.

His eyes narrowed for a second, almost unbelieving. 'Was that why he was late?' he couldn't help but wonder.