Chapter Sixty-Seven: Ocean City and One’s True Name

October 29.

Lu Suo, Tian Shiwei, and the rest of the sprint team were waiting for their flight at the T2 terminal in the capital city. They were about to fly to Ao City.

The six athletes, dressed in matching uniforms, attracted quite a bit of attention from other travelers. Some bold young women approached them to ask for photos together. When asked what competition they were heading to and which sport they competed in, they replied, “East Asian Youth Games” and “sprint.”

The girls looked a bit puzzled, having never heard of the “East Asian Youth Games.” Only when Tian Shiwei explained, “It’s like a younger, smaller version of the Asian Games,” did they seem to understand.

As for the fact that the boys were sprinters, the girls seemed a little disappointed. The national sprint team was far from famous. “If you were on the table tennis team, it’d be great—you could totally form an idol group!”

The athletes couldn’t quite follow this logic. The girl explained, “Because table tennis is so famous here. If you were on the table tennis team, it’d be easy to become well-known. And you two are so handsome—you could form a group and be a hit on variety shows.”

It was a curious perspective. As Tian Shiwei chatted further, he learned the girl was actually a talent scout. But then… Tian Shiwei felt a little left out. “Why them? Am I not handsome?” he protested.

She was referring, of course, to Lu Suo and Zhang Zhen. She took the most photos with the two of them, but they didn’t get along, and even when standing together, they each looked in a different direction. Neither of them was interested in taking photos with fans, both wearing sulky expressions.

Unlike the enthusiastic Tian Shiwei.

But his enthusiasm was met with indifference.

The girl offered a consoling reply, full of gentle sympathy: “You’re handsome too—a regular kind of handsome. They have celebrity looks. It’s different.”

…

“How are you more handsome than I am?”

Even as they boarded the plane, Tian Shiwei was still brooding, glancing sideways at Lu Suo. That nose, that mouth, those eyes—he didn’t feel he came up short at all. Why should there be levels of handsomeness?

Lu Suo couldn’t be bothered to respond, arms folded as he feigned sleep. This was only his second time on a plane, and he was a little tense.

Just then, Tian Shiwei noticed the boarding pass in Lu Suo’s hand.

Wait a minute?

He spotted something odd.

He snatched the boarding pass away.

“What are you doing?” Lu Suo shot him a glare.

“Zhou Junyi?” Tian Shiwei read the name on the boarding pass. Whose boarding pass was this? Had Lu Suo taken the wrong one?

Lu Suo quietly took the boarding pass back.

But Tian Shiwei’s curiosity was thoroughly piqued. “Who is Zhou Junyi? Who? Why are you holding Zhou Junyi’s boarding pass?”

This guy just never stops talking… Lu Suo had no choice but to admit, “Zhou Junyi is me. That’s the name on my ID card.”

“So your real name isn’t Lu Suo!” Tian Shiwei stared wide-eyed—what a revelation.

“Lu Suo is a name I chose for myself. Zhou Junyi is the one on my ID,” Lu Suo explained.

“So your parents gave you that name… hmm…” Halfway through, Tian Shiwei fell silent. He remembered Lu Suo’s background—obviously, that was not something Lu Suo cared to discuss.

“Yes. My mother gave me that name, and I changed it,” Lu Suo said simply. But who could know what bitterness those words concealed? “But to get an ID, you have to go by the name on the household registration file, so I could only get an ID with that name.”

Oh… Tian Shiwei nodded, but then thought of something. If you need the household registration book to get an ID, did that mean Lu Suo was still in touch with his mother? He looked at Lu Suo in surprise.

“My mother transferred my registration before abandoning me—moved it to my grandmother’s record, who had already passed away. When she left, she gave me the household registration book,” Lu Suo said, his tone calm. “But Lu Xiaoyu is still unregistered. I don’t qualify to adopt her, so…”

“Leave it to me,” Tian Shiwei interrupted, thumping his chest in assurance. “Names on the registration book, Xiaoyu’s status—I’ll take care of it. My family might not be big shots in Peng City, but our local connections are solid. Won’t even cost money—a meal will do.”

“Thanks!” Lu Suo grinned. “It’s been worrying me for a long time. It’s not too hard for Xiaoyu to get into elementary school, but the high school entrance exam is strict—without registration, she can’t even take it.”

“No need to thank me. Your sister is my sister too. Besides, Old Lu, you still don’t treat me as a real friend. After all we’ve been through, you keep your troubles to yourself. Haven’t we been through life and death together? That’s not right!” Tian Shiwei punched Lu Suo lightly on the shoulder.

Lu Suo could only smile.

“By the way, is it okay to compete under a different name?” Tian Shiwei suddenly asked.

“No one said it isn’t. The coaches all know,” Lu Suo replied indifferently. In fact, he’d insisted on it—he didn’t want any connection at all with that old name.

…

Ao City.

The weather here was much like Peng City’s.

Having come from the dry, cold capital to the warm, humid air of Ao City, Lu Suo felt immediately at ease.

The north was a bit too cold for him—especially when he was tired and injured.

When they arrived at the hotel, Coach Dong Zijian once again arranged for Lu Suo and Tian Shiwei to be roommates.

In the hotel lobby, Dong Zijian went over the rules: no wandering off, no drinking, and absolutely no fighting or causing trouble. Everyone was to behave and be ready for tomorrow’s opening ceremony. Anyone who broke the rules would be immediately expelled from the team—no exceptions.

The team all nodded and agreed obediently.

But as soon as they’d checked in and dropped their bags in their rooms, Lu Suo and Tian Shiwei slipped back down to the lobby, where they were reunited with Zhu Nuo, whom they hadn’t seen in a month.

“Old Zhu!” Tian Shiwei shouted, charging over to tackle Zhu Nuo, only to be dodged and then kicked in the rear.

After a month apart, the three musketeers were together again—and of course, this called for a little celebration.

“How about Ao City hotpot?” Zhu Nuo suggested.

“Sounds good to me,” Lu Suo agreed. When it came to food, he and Zhu Nuo were often in sync.

“We finally made it to Ao City, and you’re thinking about food?” Tian Shiwei grinned mysteriously. “Don’t you want to see something special?”

See what?

Tian Shiwei didn’t spell it out, but Lu Suo and Zhu Nuo weren’t fools—they understood immediately.

As the country’s only city with legal gambling, Ao City was one of the world’s four great gambling capitals. In its three hundred thousand square kilometers, dozens of casinos were scattered throughout. If you came to Ao City, “seeing something special” could only mean visiting a casino.

“I don’t know…” Zhu Nuo hesitated. She was curious, but the opening ceremony for the East Asian Youth Games was tomorrow, and the coach had warned her not to wander off. Going to a casino seemed risky.

“Casinos in Ao City are like department stores—everywhere, and it’s not illegal. We’ll just look around for the experience,” Tian Shiwei tried to persuade them. “And the steamed sole at the New Lotus Hotel is amazing—best in Ao City!”

Zhu Nuo was tempted—curious, a little greedy, and she’d never set foot in a casino in her life.

“What do you think?” she asked Lu Suo.

“If you want to go, let’s go,” Lu Suo said.

“Hey, hey, can you two not leave me out when you make plans? Am I just a bystander? What’s with the secret talks?” Tian Shiwei protested. When two of the three musketeers seemed to be growing closer, the third felt left out—that wasn’t the three musketeers anymore, just a couple and a professional third wheel.

So that night, they had their gathering at the New Lotus Hotel, enjoying a hearty meal. Afterwards, Tian Shiwei wanted to check out the casino—not just look around, but actually buy some chips—only for Zhu Nuo to drag him right back.

Good kids don’t gamble.