Chapter 261 - SHE REALLY DID FREEZE ON THE SPOT
ONCE all the lights below the stage completely disappear, the guests inside the pavilion also started to leave. They were escorted by different NPCs. Some showed a satisfied expression, some looked thoughtful, while there were others who seemed very unwilling. With this, the live broadcast also ended. Whether it was a success or not could only be known the following days.
Yu Jiao was still sitting inside the private box provided to her as instructed by Luo Yan earlier. Thinking about what he said, that he would introduce her to his team mates, the thought made her even more nervous. What if they didn't like her? What if they thought she was weird? What if she embarrassed Luo Yan? Those thoughts kept circling inside her mind. Making her more and more nervous by the passing minutes.
She didn't even know how long she waited. Even the performances on the stage, she couldn't manage to enjoy. That's how nervous she was. She kept drinking tea to alleviate her nervousness. She probably had already drunk buckets by now. If this was real life, she'd probably gone to the comfort room a number of times already.
She was about to drink another cup of tea when the door of her private box opened. She turned her head towards the door and saw an elf with white hair walking in. surprisingly enough, the elf looked just like the NPC courtesan Luo Yan was playing. Well, at least the upper half of his face was. But this one was not wearing the red robe but a white cloak over a black costume.
"Jiao Jiao, are you ready?"
Hearing the familiar voice and seeing that familiar smile, Yu Jiao knew that the one in front of her was indeed Luo Yan.
"Um," she answered, standing up and walking up to him.
"Then, let's go?"
She nodded and followed Luo Yan outside. They started to walk towards a certain direction.
She wanted to ask about his team mates but she felt that it was a bit rude to just ask about that without any kind of preamble. So, she asked instead; "I-is this your real game avatar?"
"Yes. I didn't actually change my avatar, I just died my hair temporarily to black. Now, it returned to its original white," Luo Yan answered. "This look is prettier, right?"
Yu Jiao was unaccustomed with this side of Luo Yan. A guy calling himself pretty should be a bit disgusting in some way. But since it was Luo Yan, one couldn't help but feel that, 'yes, it's just right for him to consider himself that'. Because no matter what others said, he was indeed pretty.
"Both suits you," she answered honestly.
Luo Yan grinned. "I know. But I just prefer this one. It brings more magic in the air, don't you think?"
Yu Jiao nodded.
Luo Yan noticed that Yu Jiao was fidgeting, even clasping the hem of her shirt. This girl was probably nervous again. He already had an idea why.
"Don't be nervous. My team mates aren't scary people. They won't eat you," he assured her in a teasing manner. "There are only five people in our team and that already include me and Ah Jin. You're already friends with two out of five, so, there's really nothing to be nervous about," he added in a more serious tone.
Knowing that there were only five people in the team and two of them were Luo Yan and his brother seemed to be very effective. It made Yu Jiao less nervous by a hundredth fold. If there were only five people in Luo Yan's team, wouldn't that mean that this team was fairly new?
Since Luo Yan had the ability to own an establishment like this, she thought that he must belonged to a fairly big and famous team. It wouldn't even be a stretch if it's one of the top four teams. But now, it seemed like that that was not the case.
Luo Yan, of course, noticed the changed in Yu Jiao. She became more relax, no longer fidgeting around. She must be thinking that since their team only had five members, then it must be a small team that had only been formed. He had no plans to correct her conjecture. After all, if he told her that three of the players she'd be meeting were the first champions of the Arcadia Cup, she'd probably froze on the spot and refused to meet them. She'd probably even log out for all he knew.
So, to prevent that, he'd just let her have this illusion.
"Does Jiao Jiao already have a team?" he thought of asking.
Yu Jiao shook her head. "No. I don't think it's proper for me to join a team?"
"Why do you say that?"
"I- I sell the weapons, armors, and other accessories that I forge. If I join a team, others might think that I would be bias towards my team mates, giving them much better items. I-it would affect my business. So, I never thought of joining one. It's better for me to remain neutral."
Aside from that, Yu Jiao was certain that she wouldn't be able to function properly in a team. Even if this was VR and they didn't know the real her, she was sure that she would still be a stuttering mess while interacting with them. So, she'd really rather not.
Luo Yan nodded because what Yu Jiao said really made sense. If she joined a team and it was known by other players, it was only natural to think that she would provide better items to her team mates. Which in turn would cause dissatisfaction to her customers.
He felt a little lost. Because he was planning to invite her to their team. If he did, Yu Jiao would probably agree regardless. But he didn't want to be selfish. Since he had decided to treat Yu Jiao as a real friend, then doing something that might affect her business was simply a big no.
He no longer brought that subject up and the both of them continued to walk. Soon, they arrived in front of the private box of his team.
He glanced at Yu Jiao. "This is it," he said and opened the door.
Yu Jiao took a deep breath before following Luo Yan inside. When she raised her head and saw the people inside, just like what Luo Yan thought, she really did freeze on the spot.