A cool night breeze brushed the shores of Sea God Lake.
The departure of Yue Zhengyu and Xu Xiaoyan had left the atmosphere somewhat subdued.
"Next, let's welcome boy number sixteen."
Lan Muzi's voice broke the silence, drawing everyone's eyes to a slightly slender figure.
Xie Xie drew a deep breath and slowly walked to the center of the lake.
He lacked Yue Zhengyu's brimming confidence and Long Yue's imposing presence. He simply stood there quietly, as though speaking to his past self.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Xie Xie."
His voice was low, with a barely perceptible tremor.
"The second 'Xie' is the character from the word for a chance encounter."
He paused and gazed into the distance, as if his eyes could pierce time and space to see faraway Eastsea City.
"Because of my name, some other rich kids with influential families made fun of me a few times when I was little, but I didn't care."
Xie Xie gave a bitter smile, a complicated emotion flashing through his eyes.
"I actually... it's a name I really hate. You could say I don't hate my mother, who gave me this name, but I hate my father, who brought me into this world with her."
The entire gathering fell silent, everyone's attention captured by his words.
"Because my father only ever knew work, work, work. He forgot about my mother and me. Even when she died, he was still like that. He didn't even see her one last time."
Pain flickered through Xie Xie's eyes as he spoke, but he quickly suppressed it.
"I'm not saying this because I want your pity, or because I want you to pay more attention to me. I just want to get it all out and tell the girl in my heart..."
His