Chapter 962: Real and Fake Identity
The King's Avatar
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Cao Guangcheng really wanted to pounce on Feng Xianjun and pry some answers out of him, but even if he had ten guts, he wouldnât have enough to do that. Feng Xianjunâs group of three merely asked for Happyâs room numbers before turning and leaving for Elevator A. The staff that received them looked nothing but confused.
The staff began a whispered discussion among themselves, but when they turned their head, what they saw was Cao Guangcheng gaping like a fish.
Cao Guangcheng was a well-known journalist and had checked in, obtaining his pass today, so the staff recognized him.
"Reporter Cao..."
The call woke Cao Guangcheng from his stupor.
"Ah..." How could Cao Guangcheng, who had returned to the present, still have his mind on the problem of interviewing or not? His mind had already supplied a scene for him: inside Happyâs room, Excellent Eraâs two big heads and the chairman of the Alliance; what scene would all these big shots sitting together make?
As his thoughts turned to this, Cao Guangcheng couldnât stand standing around and waiting anymore, dashing to elevator A like a cheetah. However, out of the three elevators, one had just left and two were still at floors above ten. Cao Guangcheng was extremely impatient. Then he thought, well, it was just seven floors and whirled around for the stairs. As he ran, he took out his phone. Was Chang Xian still with Happyâs members?
"Hey, Brother Cao." Chang Xian answered the call and by his tone, he seemed pretty cheerful.
"Where are you?" Cao Guangcheng asked.
"In the hotel!" Chang Xian replied.
"Which room?" Cao Guangcheng asked.
"723..." Chang Xian had noticed the anxiety in Cao Guangchengâs tone.
"Whoâs in the room?"
"Happyâs team members... Steamed Bun and Luo Ji..." Chang Xian wasnât a stranger to the members of Happy anymore. He was even playing around in Steamed Bun and Luo Jiâs room now! Though no one had ever taught him, Chang Xian had a talent for being a team reporter. He didnât try to pry information out of these guys as soon as he saw them, but truly became friends with them, especially with the younger few.
"Which room is that guy called Ye Xiu in?" Cao Guangcheng asked.
"722..."
"Go over there," Cao Guangcheng ordered.
"Why?" Chang Xian couldnât understand. Room 722 was Ye Xiu and Wei Chenâs room. In front of these two veteran players, Chang Xian always felt under pressure. So when he was free and wanted to relax, he wouldnât seek those two out. Chang Xian was closer to Steamed Bun and Qiao Yifan. Since Luo Ji and An Wenyi werenât often at Happy, so he was more distant with them. Even though he wasnât as close with them, it was much less nerve-racking than being with Ye Xiu and Wei Chen. Thus, hearing that Cao Guangcheng wanted him to go to Ye Xiu, Chang Xian involuntarily questioned him.
"Hurry up and go; Iâll be there soon," Cao Guangcheng yelled.
"Ah..." Chang Xian was stunned for a moment. The call had already been ended, but by now, he had realized that this was probably implying that there was huge news to report.
"Iâm going to visit the room opposite," Chang Xian informed Steamed Bun and Luo Ji before charging out. Ye Xiu and Wei Chenâs room 722 was just on the other side of the hall to 723.
Room 722âs door was unlocked and as Chang Xian approached, he immediately heard voices coming from inside. It didnât sound like Ye Xiu or Wei Chen. Chang Xian didnât dare dawdle, hurriedly knocking on the door. Hearing a voice inside telling him to enter, he immediately charged inside.
There were many more people inside than he had expected. There were four from Team happy alone. Ye Xiu, Wei Chen, Chen Guo and Tang Ruo were all inside. There was also another two who were standing inside, having yet to sit down. Hearing Chang Xian entering, everyone looked towards him. Chang Xian instantly recognized the two people standing. It was Excellent Eraâs owner and its manager, both big shots!
Tao Xuan didnât know Chang Xian, but Cui Li felt that he was a little familiar. As a reporter stationed in H City, Chang Xian had come to Excellent Era a few times, but he was usually there to run errands for Cao Guangcheng. For Excellent Era, he might recognize others, but others usually didnât recognize him.
"Youâre here, Little Chang," Ye Xiu greeted him then, but didnât say anything after that.
"Ah... You seem... Rather busy..." The average person would leave upon seeing that the others seemed occupied with something. However, Chang Xian was a reporter and it was his job to be a bit more nosy than was usually expected. Seeing the two big heads of Excellent Era here, he knew there was bound to be drama, so there was no way he was going to leave.
He stood there dumbly and Happyâs members didnât chase him out. Cui Li, in the end, didnât manage to figure out where he had seen this familiar young man before. Tao Xuan had the air of a boss, merely glancing over before dismissing Chang Xian. Even if you wanted to ask someone to leave, it wasnât the job of a boss. He turned away, saying what he wanted to say without caring about anyone else.
"So this is where you are. What about that captain of yours, Ye Xiu? Where is he? I want to meet him!" Tao Xuan said.
Hearing this, Chang Xian was confused. Captain Ye Xiu? Wasnât he right in front of them? Was the boss of Excellent Era drunk? Chang Xian sniffed, not smelling any alcohol, and then he saw Captain Ye Xiu smile and say, "Ye Xiu? Isnât that me?"
"You really dare to admit it?" Tao Xuan gazed at him.
"Why wouldnât I dare?" Ye Xiu smiled uncaringly.
"Are you crazy?" Cui Li, standing beside them, couldnât figure out Ye Xiuâs attitude. "Youâre using a fake identity to play; do you think everyone is blind or something?"
"Who said that this identity is fake?" Ye Xiu retorted.
"Haha," Tao Xuan laughed dryly after hearing this. "Thatâs the funniest joke Iâve ever heard. If this identity isnât fake, then are you going to tell me that Ye Qiu is a fake identity? Donât think that because barely anyone recognizes you, you can go around changing your identity freely, Ye Qiu!"
Bang...
The door to the room suddenly slammed heavily. Everyone looked around and saw that it was Chang Xian, who hadnât really moved after coming in. Hearing Tao Xuanâs words, he had been unable to stay standing straight, stepping back and slamming the unlocked door into its place, which was now locked. He stared, dumbfounded, at Ye Xiu, his face full of surprise. He opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but couldnât manage to make a sound.
Captain Ye Xiu was Ye Qiu?
So that meant he had seen the God Ye Qiu that brother Cao had never seen multiple times? And spoke to him a lot? He had even interviewed him already?
But how could he also be Ye Xiu?
And how could he use Ye Xiuâs identity to register?
Using a fake identity to enter the Alliance? That was a serious violation of rules! The entire team might be punished because of it! How could they get through this? Though not many people recognized God Ye Qiu, there were still some! Like his ex-teammates from Excellent Era; they must recognize him, so wouldnât he be caught easily?
Chang Xianâs head full of question marks had quickly turned towards Ye Xiu in worry. Thatâs when he saw Ye Xiu rise and look towards Tao Xuan with a smile. "You guessed it. In reality, Ye Qiu is the fake identity. This isnât a joke, but a... lie."
"What did you say?" Tao Xuan and Cui Li stared in shock at this.
"Back then, the Alliance was just starting out and the teams had only just been formed. Management wasnât as structured and ordered. Many people had to go against the rules to become pro players, especially when it came to age..."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"You werenât of age?" Tao Xuan frowned. When the Alliance was just starting, without the same industrial system and commercial outlook of the present, there were naturally many strict rules regulating things. For example, those who werenât 18 yet couldnât become pro players. That was a rock solid rule of that time. After all, video games had long since been seen as a sort of digital heroin. A pro Alliance was a gathering for this addiction in the eyes of many people. They couldnât do anything but prevent underage people from entering, or else there would be an unbearable pressure from the outside world.
However, while there might be policies from above, there were ways to deal with them down below. To avoid the restrictions placed by this rule, faking your age became a trend of the early years of the Alliance. But Tao Xuan knew Ye Xiu from before the Alliance was formed. He had known Ye Xiuâs age before that and it made the requirements set by the Alliance back then. It wasnât possible that Ye Xiu was have predicted the formation of the Alliance and the rules and made a lie preemptively.
"No," Ye Xiu shook his head, "My situation was much worse than being underage. Back then, I... didnât have an ID card."
"So you made a fake ID!" Tao Xuan exclaimed in shock.
"Not exactly, I just borrowed someone elseâs ID card," Ye Xiu said.
"Someone elseâs..." Tao Xuan and Cui Li looked like they were listening to a cultivation novel.
"Yeah. Does having a twin make this seem like the plot to a novel?" Ye Xiu asked.
"Twin..." Tao Xuan and Cui Li thought that cultivational novels were far too weak compared to this.
"Yup, thatâs how it is. I used my younger twin brotherâs ID to register and the Ye Xiu Iâm using now is my real identity," Ye Xiu summarized.
"This... this..." Tao Xuan felt a little dizzy. Something seemed a little wrong about this; he needed to think for a moment.
Cui Li managed to react rather quickly though and immediately sneered. "You canât possibly think that now that youâre using your real identity everything would be like nothing had happened. Do you think people are stupid?"
"Of course not." Ye Xiu shook his head. "So thatâs why we all have to deal with this problem carefully."
"We?" Cui Li looked like he had just heard a joke.
"Yes, we." Ye Xiu nodded solemnly. "Back then, I was in Excellent Era, no? And I even used this identity to win three championships for Excellent Era, or have you forgotten?"
"...." Cui Li didnât know how to react and Tao Xuan finally realized what he had felt was wrong about this. This guyâs use of a fake identity was strapped to Excellent Eraâs name. So now, not only could Tao Xuan no longer use this fake identity issue to bring Happy down, he had to do his utmost to cover this up. He had to do it, not for this guy, but for Excellent Era.