WHEN the bell rang, signaling the end of the morning class, he almost sprung up his seat with excitement. He stood up abruptly and immediately stepped out of his seat. But due to that, he almost collided with a person that was about to pass by him. Because he tried to avoid any collision, he quickly lost his balance. He thought he was going to fall back but a pair of strong hands managed to hold his shoulders and prevent the fall.
"Thank you—"
He didn't manage to finish his sentence and his words just stuck in his throat. Because when he raised his head, he saw Huang Wen's annoyed face looking down on him.
Luo Yan's change in expression was very obvious – from grateful to guarded. It all happened the moment he raised his head and saw Huang Wen. That pissed off Huang Wen more than it should. So, he let go of the kid's shoulders as if he just touched something dirty and then said in an annoyed tone, "Watch it."
He didn't wait for his response and just turned around and walked out of the classroom.
Luo Yan stared at Huang Wen's back. He remembered the last time when the other interfered when that friend of his, what was his name again? Ah, Ying Chen, tried to mess with Luo Yan. Because of that, he discovered that Huang Wen was not all that bad. He's probably just in his rebellious phase. And because of his supposed 'rivalry' with Luo Jin, he couldn't help but be annoyed with him. Maybe he shouldn't be too guarded when he's around. After all, he hadn't felt that much of an ill-intent from him since they met.
He put the matter of Huang Wen at the back of his mind and turned to look at Yu Jiao's seat. The other was no longer there and was probably already on his way to the small restaurant. He also walked out of the classroom before his other classmates tried to talk to him.
When Luo Yan arrived at the ground floor, he immediately saw Luo Jin waiting for him outside. He quickened his steps and arrived at his younger brother's side in no time.
"Did you see Jiao Jiao passed by?" he asked.
"Yeah, she did, just a minute ago," Luo Jin answered.
"Then let's go. It's not good to keep the lady waiting," Luo Yan said before pulling Luo Jin towards the direction of the small restaurant.
"Why are you in such a rush? It's not as if that girl would disappear if we're a little bit late," Luo Jin complained.
"That's a bad habit to get used to, Ah Jin. How do you expect Sister Yuqi to like you if you have that kind of mentality?" Luo Yan said in a scolding manner while still pulling Luo Jin. "Remember, girls don't like boys who are always late. It makes them feel that they're not important enough, that they're not at the top of your priorities."
Luo Jin blushed. "W-who said that I w-want Su Yuqi to l-like me?"
But even though he said that, he still subconsciously remembered what his second brother said about not being late.
"Yes, yes, you don't want her to like you that's why your attention was always on her," Luo Yan said sarcastically.
"Yan!"
"Okay, I'll shut up now," he said because he knew how thin-skinned this brother of his was. If he continued teasing him, they might just delay more time. "So, let's hurry, okay?"
Luo Jin no longer spoke and just let Luo Yan pull him along.
After a few minutes of walking, they finally reached the small restaurant. When they entered inside, Yu Jiao was already inside and sitting on their usual table. The one at the corner.
Luo Yan let go of Luo Jin and ran towards the table. "Jiao Jiao!" he greeted, sitting in front of Yu Jiao. "Have you finished the drawing?"
Yu Jiao was slightly startled by Luo Yan's enthusiastic approach. But she immediately understood that he was just probably too excited to see the drawings he requested from her.
She smiled a little. "Yes. I already sent it to your email. You can check it out now."
Luo Yan quickly took out his phone from his pocket to check his email. He clicked on the topmost unread email and opened it. There were two attachments – one was named 'symbol' while the other was named 'boat'. He didn't expect that Yu Jiao would also finish the design of the boat.
He first opened the file named 'symbol'. His eyes shone brightly when he saw the drawing. It was a circle, half of it was a golden crescent moon lying down. On top of it, still inside the circle, was an eight-pointed star. There's a thin line that orbited around the circle. On the outer upper half of it were rays of light. And connected to the eight-pointed star by a thin gold line another star that was located at the outer bottom part of the circle.
It was a very appropriate symbol for Yuexing Pavilion. Because the words 'yue' and 'xing' meant moon and star respectively.
He next opened the design for the boat. It was similar to the design of an ancient Chinese boat. The one that nobles used to sail around rivers. But this one had the symbol of Yuexing engraved on the helm.
Luo Yan smiled brightly. He was very satisfied with these two drawings. Especially the 'symbol'. "Thank you, Jiao Jiao. I love them!"
Yu Jiao smiled shyly. "It's nothing. I'm glad I could be of help."
Luo Jin leaned over Luo Yan and peeked at his phone. He then saw the drawings there. He raised one of his brows. So, this was the reason why he was rushing here. He sat down beside his brother and glanced at Yu Jiao. But t's a bit of a surprise that his brother managed to convince this girl to draw something for him. Though if he thought about it carefully, this was Luo Yan he's talking about. His brother would probably be able to convince anyone to do his bidding if he just put his mind into it.
"I'll send you one of the invitations for the opening night. You must come. You'll be one of my special guests," Luo Yan send. "How about we meet in the game so I could give the invitation to you personally?"
Yu Jiao didn't have time to refute. Because before she could even do that, Luo Yan already said that last part. As if it's already a given that she would go the opening night of Yuexing Pavilion. She sighed. She already expected it but her heart was still not ready yet.
"Ahm, just send the invitation to Forge Etna. I'm usually there whenever I log into the game. I promise, I'll attend the opening night of your pavilion."
Forge Etna? Was that some kind of blacksmith shop? Does Yu Jiao work there or does she own it? But Luo Yan didn't ask those questions. Because, obviously, she's still not ready to tell him the answer. "Okay. You definitely have to come."
Yu Jiao secretly let out a sigh of relief when Luo Yan didn't ask any questions. Although she said that she would take a step forward, there were still some things she's not ready to tell Luo Yan. Like her identity in the game for example.
So, she just smiled and nodded.