Chapter 229 - A PICTURE OF A FAMILY

"WHAT'S wrong?" Shen Ji Yun asked when he saw Luo Yan almost stumbling. He readily stretched out his hand to hold his elbow. But before he could do that, Luo Yan already steadied himself.

Luo Yan laughed, as if embarrassed. "I'm alright. Just lost my balance for a bit."

"Then does that mean you feel dizzy?" 

He raised his head and saw Shen Ji Yun's worried gaze. He tried to smile more genuinely to assure him that he's really alright. "I'm really okay, Brother Ji Yun. I probably just stepped on a small stone that's why I almost stumbled."

A small stone? Are the streets on Goldcrest City not paved properly? Was there a bug? Maybe he should talk to Brother Zhao about this. What if the next time Luo Yan was walking alone here, he tripped again and truly fell over?

Luo Yan looked at his pet. [What do you mean by 'marry'?]

Eclipse saw that his master was smiling when he asked that. But for some reason, he thought that if he gave the wrong answer, he would be punished. So, he decided to be honest and not be naughty. For the time being. [When Mashter marry someone, he would form an automatic connection to that person. It's a very special connection that would allow the two of you to communicate mentally and to feel whenever the other is in danger. That connection would also extend to Eclipse since Mashter is my owner. So, Eclipse would be able to talk to Mashter's partner.] 

With Eclipse's explanation, Luo Yan suddenly remembered that Arcadia did have a marriage system when it was still a PC game. Just like any other MMORPG games back then. He just didn't expect that it was still present here in the VR version. But that's not the problem. The main problem was Eclipse suggesting he married Shen Ji Yun.

[You do know that your master and the captain you like are both boys. We can't get married.]

[Mashter, you don't have to worry about that. His Majesty promotes free love. Even if you have the same gender, you can still get married.] – Eclipse said in a proud tone, as if complimenting the King of Arcadia for having a wide view of the world.

Luo Yan felt the corner of his mouth twitching. If he was still holding Eclipse, he probably already flicked his forehead. [That's not really the main issue. I and Brother Ji Yun are friends. We don't have that kind of relationship.]

[Mashter, how could that be an issue? Aren't most relationships start with friendship? With Mashter's beauty, Eclipse is certain that, sooner or later, Captain will be tempted and pursue you. With how excellent Captain is, Mashter will definitely not reject him. Then the two of you will get married. After that, Eclipse will be able to communicate with Captain.]

This time, Luo Yan didn't resist laughing. This little guy said so much nonsense, but at the end, the whole point of his tirade was he simply wanted to talk to Shen Ji Yun. He chose not to comment, unless Eclipse said more nonsensical things. Well, maybe not really all nonsense. After all, he was still on the stage of assessing whether he was truly attracted to Shen Ji Yun in that way. Though he was still not sure how he would do that without molesting Shen Ji Yun.

But it's not really something that needed his immediate attention. With his pavilion and the upcoming Rookie Carnival next month, he already had his hands full. He only had a month to prepare for that tournament. Not only did he need a good weapon, he also had to train with Eclipse so the two of them could fight seamlessly together. He wanted to win the championship. It would be his own way of telling the whole Arcadia community that the number one Assassin on the PvP leaderboard back then was finally back.

After that incident at the rooftop, he decided to just take his time to slowly understand his feelings for Shen Ji Yun, if there really was one. It's not as if the other would just vanish anyway. They're teammates. They see each other almost every day, albeit virtual. They even exchange messages on WeChat from time to time. That's why he firmly believed that sooner or later he would be able to grasp the reason why he felt those weird feelings sometimes when he's with Shen Ji Yun. 

"What are you two talking about?" Shen Ji Yun asked, because he was sure that the two were conversing with each other again. 

Shen Ji Yun's question temporarily cut-off Luo Yan's train of thoughts. He turned to him and smiled. "Nothing. Eclipse was just saying how much he enjoyed being hugged by Brother Ji Yun."

"I see," Shen Ji Yun said awkwardly.

[Mashter, although that's true, you're still lying. That's not what we talked about.]

[Yes, yes.] – Luo Yan said perfunctorily. 

Soon, they arrived at the Pet Supply Store. Luo Yan was the first to enter followed by Shen Ji Yun who was still holding Eclipse. Of course, just like on the streets, they still became the center of attention. But just like earlier, the two of them didn't pay the other players inside any mind.

The store was only a single floor but it's wide and had a number of stations dedicated to a certain type of product. For example, there's a station for accessories that could increase a pet's stats. There's also a station for cute onesies in all shapes and sizes. Another one was a station for potions dedicated for pets. 

Luo Yan glanced around and finally saw the station he was looking for. He walked towards there and stopped in front of shelves filled with colorful and succulent fruits. 

The female NPC assigned at that station approached Luo Yan. "Dear customer, can you tell me what you're looking for?"

"A fruit with a shadow attribute," he answered.

After saying that, the NPC picked up a black, round shaped fruit with a smoke-like symbol stamped on its rind. The fruit looked somewhat like a black pomegranate. "This is the fruit you're referring."

He turned to Eclipse. [How many do you want?]

[A hundred!] – Eclipse said, staring brightly at the black fruit.

[Hey, don't drool. Brother Ji Yun might throw you.]

[Mashter, Eclipse won't drool. How could Eclipse show such an embarrassing side to Captain?] – the little fox said as if he's some kind of virtuous young lady.

Luo Yan just chuckled and told the NPC to pack a hundred of those black fruit.

Not far from them, a female player with cat ears and tail was stealthily taking screenshots of the three. She stared at the last picture she took. An expressionless Qilin holding a black fox carefully in his arms while the moon elf was smiling at them. Xia Li couldn't help but feel like she's looking at a picture of a family. YUN was the dad, Noctis was the mom, and little fox was the baby.

She could already think of a fan-art that would perfectly match this. Ah, what a lucky day! Her decision to follow them was truly the right thing. Now, she just wished that the two would show her more sweet moments.