Chapter 523 - LAN YU

LAN YU was in an extremely good mood.  How could he not be when everything was just going according to plan?  Truthfully, he was a bit worried that the real 'Noctis' would go off and explain himself to everyone.  After all, if he made it clear that it was not him being mentioned on the article and someone corroborated that, the people from Yunyue for example, then his name would easily be cleared.

No matter how much people called team Yunyue as the 'fallen champions', its three remaining original members still had good reputations individually.  If all of them supported Noctis' statement, then it wouldn't be long before they reversed all the effort he put into this.

If he tried to fight that with more water navy, it would just be counterproductive.  People would definitely notice that something was amiss. 

Despite the possibility of failure, he still gambled on the possibility that Noctis wouldn't want his real identity to be revealed.  And it seemed like he succeeded considering that there hadn't been any statement yet from Noctis or any of the people in team Yunyue. 

Anyone normal person in that kind of situation would quickly find a way to clear their name.  But Noctis didn't do that.  His supposed team mates didn't even help him.  Lan Yu scoffed.  That Noctis probably really had an ordinary appearance in real life and he only beautified himself to the max to have that kind of game avatar.  That's why he couldn't reveal his real face. 

Even if he managed to get away from the persona of that live streamer written in that article, other players would still dislike him for faking his looks too much.  That's what he got from beautifying himself too much.  Maybe the other members of Yunyue found out about that when he asked for help from them.  They felt betrayed that's why they didn't want to help him. 

Lan Yu didn't feel pity for Noctis.  Why would he?  The other deserved it anyway.  Who told him to tarnish the reputation of his game account?  He would probably wouldn't be this angry if he could just use another account.  But the thing was, there's no way it would be guaranteed that he would receive the Angel race again. 

This race was his ticket to be on team Celestials.  He couldn't just let this game account go to waste just because people were calling him a 'white lotus'.  He just had to clear his reputation.  And that was exactly what he was doing now. 

He didn't care if he had to step on someone to do that.  Why would he care about another person?  His priority first and foremost was his happiness.  And right now, for him to be happy, he needed to be part of Celestials and get close to Li Xu Min. 

That had been his goal for a year now ever since he saw a commercial of his.  It's like he had seen a real angel coming down to Earth.  His features, the way he smiled, and just everything about him – Lan Yu couldn't forget a single thing.  Before he knew it, his fascination was slowly turning into obsession.  To the point that he had to play a game he had no interest in just so he could be closed to him.  And maybe, just maybe, attract his attention.

He was already considerably doing okay.  He believed that once he had a high ranking at the finals of the Rookie Carnival, Celestials would finally recruit him.  But before things could even escalate to such a point, that Noctis got in his way.

"Hey, you're Raphael, right?" 

A voice suddenly said, cutting off his thoughts.

Lan Yu was currently inside the game.  He had to log in just so he could the reaction of the players.  So, he stayed sitting outside of a café at Alryne City where many people could see him.  And so far, he was getting the reaction that he wanted.

Most were looking at him with pity and asking him if he was alright.  Whoever this person who spoke just now, he was sure that they would also do the same.

So, he readied his smiles and raised his head.  What he saw was a tall and bulky man with brown hair and lion ears on top of his head.  The upper half of his face was covered by a mask.

Lan Yu didn't think much.  After all, it was not a rarity to find players who hid their face or a part of it.  They're probably not very confident with their looks.  This guy was probably the same.  His interest vanished but he still tried to keep his smile.

"Yes?" he said.

The other suddenly sat down opposite him.  Which greatly annoyed him.  But he still controlled his expression as much as possible. 

"I read that article on Weibo today about Noctis.  Since the two of you had a connection of some sorts, in your opinion, do you truly believe that he was that kind of person?"

Lan Yu tried to laugh it off but deep inside, his annoyance level just increased even more.  "I don't think I'm the right person to give an answer."

"Why not?  Everyone is saying you're his victim.  Doesn't that mean your opinion will count for something?"

Lan Yu wasn't sure but even though the tone of the other was innocent, he felt like he was making a jab at him.  He didn't like it at all. 

"Sorry, but I have to go somewhere."

He was about to stand up when the other quickly stopped him.  "Wait- since you've been through a lot of bad things, I think you need this more than me."  Then the lion beastkin put down a sealed envelope on the table.  "I won that on some random quest today.  It's an invitation to a special gambling event at Yuexing Pavilion.  They said lot of famous players will come.  The captain of team Celestials for example.  I don't really have that much interest in it.  Why don't you go?  It might cheer you up."

Lan Yu momentarily froze when Celestials' captain was suddenly mentioned.  Before he could react, the lion beastkin had already left.

He looked down at the envelope on the table and slowly picked it up.

He must go!  If there was even a tiniest bit of chance that he could meet Li Xu Min, then, he should definitely go.