Chapter 252 - HOW COULD I BE SO BLESSED?
YU JIAO was startled when she heard this call. She looked at the NPC clad in red suspiciously. She knew that this was the NPC who welcomed everyone earlier. She also vaguely remembered that this NPC was on the advertisement video. But why did this NPC call her name? No, wait- the NPC didn't exactly call her name but her nickname. There were only two people who called her in that way. Her mother and…
She looked incredulously at the NPC and then stared at 'her' familiar peach blossom eyes. All of a sudden, she had an answer to her question.
"Yan Yan?" she asked in the same unbelieving tone.
The two who recognized each other immediately became awkward. What was this situation? You unexpectedly met your new-found friend inside the game the both of you were playing and you both were posing the wrong gender. How should one properly react when this happened to them?
Luo Yan was only astonished for a few seconds but he immediately recovered. Because his face was thick enough to recover quickly from something like this. So, what if Yu Jiao saw him crossdressing? They're friends, so, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Besides why would he feel ashamed when he looked this pretty dressed in this robe?
He put down the tray on the table and sat opposite Yu Jiao. "Jiao Jiao, are you that famous Blacksmith - Vulcan?"
Yu Jiao fidgeted on her seat. After recognizing this NPC as Luo Yan, she became even more nervous. When Luo Yan told her that he was the owner of this pavilion and when she agreed to go to the opening night, she had already readied herself to meet him in her game avatar. But now that the real situation was here, she wasn't sure how to act.
At the end, she could only nod. "Y-yes."
Luo Yan was slightly surprised by that confirmation. But if he thought about it carefully, he probably would have already guessed it. After all, Yu Jiao did say to send her invitation to a place called Forge Etna. He had heard of Forge Etna. According to what he read in the forum, it's the shop of the current top Blacksmith in Arcadia. He specifically searched on that before because he and Luo Jin still needed a good weapon.
Just by that, he should have already suspected something. But when Yu Jiao mentioned Forge Etna, he didn't immediately equate it to the shop of the number one Blacksmith. When he did so, he just thought that maybe Yu Jiao was the apprentice of Vulcan. She's talented enough to be accepted as one. But who would have thought that she was actually the owner?
He looked brightly at Yu Jiao. He thought she was just a talented Blacksmith. He never thought that she was actually the current top Blacksmith. But wasn't that even better? "You're amazing!"
Yu Jiao's face flushed red. She wasn't sure how to respond to such a blatant compliment. "N-not really."
"What 'not really'? The fact that you're the number one Blacksmith in Arcadia should be something you should be proud about!" Luo Yan scolded gently. "Be more confident in yourself, Jiao Jiao. Especially when you look this handsome."
Yu Jiao's face became even redder when she heard the last bit. Being called handsome, should she also take that as a compliment?
"But why did you choose a male avatar?" Luo Yan continued.
"Because it would be more convenient," she answered, gazing down.
Yu Jiao had always liked games and designs. With her talent in drawing, she had long wanted to make a career as a game designer. So, when she finally managed to have enough savings to buy a VR helmet, she didn't hesitate to pick the Blacksmith class. She wanted to practice her skills in making and designing weapons, armors, and accessories. And she heard that a Blacksmith could sell the things they made either to weapon's shops or to other players. So, it wouldn't heard if he could also earn on the side.
She chose a male avatar because she didn't want others to connect her game account to her real-life self. Which proved to be a very good decision in the long run. Because she slowly gained fame as a Blacksmith and soon, without her even noticing, she already occupied the top seat.
She was glad for the money she earned from being a Blacksmith in the game. The pay was so good that she didn't even have to ask for money from her mother or her new family. The only downside was the fame and the unwanted attention people were giving her. She's still not comfortable with that. So, most of the time, she just hid in her forge and just let his NPC employees to deal with the customers coming to her shop.
The only reason Yu Jiao attended this event was because Luo Yan invited her and she didn't want to disappoint him. But now that she's facing him, she didn't know how to explain herself.
"Y-you… are you not angry that I didn't tell you about my identity in the game?" she asked hesitatingly.
"Of course not. Why would I?" Luo Yan said indignantly. "Or do you think I'm that shallow of a person?" he added acting all aggrieved.
With the way he was dressed and now with the expression on his face, it seemed like Yu Jiao was bullying a soft girl.
"N-no, I never thought of that," she quickly said. "I'm just worried that you might think I lied to you."
"You didn't lie though? You just didn't mention it. There's no way I would be mad just because of that. So, you don't have to worry," he assured her.
Yu Jiao finally let out a sigh of relief when he heard that. "But how did Yan Yan recognize me so quickly?"
"Remember when we video chat? Your hair was not covering your face and you're not wearing your glasses. Your game avatar looks exactly the same as how you looked then," Luo Yan explained.
Yu Jiao didn't expect that answer. She never even thought that it would be because of that.
"You should just go to school with this look. A lot of girls would definitely clamor for your attention," he added.
Yu Jiao smiled awkwardly, she wasn't sure how she should reply to that. So, he just changed the topic. "Yan Yan, are you a… girl in the game?"
"Of course not! I don't have that kind of fetish, okay? I'm just currently crossdressing so other players won't recognize me. I don't want them to know that I'm the owner of this pavilion."
Yu Jiao nodded. That actually made sense.
Luo Yan stood up and twirled around in front of Yu Jiao, making the skirt of his red robe swished with his movement. "What do you think, it suits me, right?"
"Yes," she could only agree. Because, well, it really did suit him.
"Even though I'm a guy, I still look this pretty even when wearing something like this." Luo Yan sighed. "How could I be so blessed?"
Yu Jiao finally couldn't help but laughed seeing Luo Yan act so exaggeratedly.
Luo Yan smiled when he saw that Yu Jiao finally laughed. Then he remembered that he still needed to go to other private boxes.
"Jiao Jiao, I have to go now. But don't leave even if the performances ended. I'll come back again later," he said. "I'll introduce you to my team mates, so don't leave, okay?"
Yu Jiao suddenly became nervous again when she heard that last sentence. But at the end, she still nodded. "Okay."