Feng Xiaoman, seeing her remain unmoved, could only return to her room alone to sulk.
For two or three days in a row, she gave her the cold shoulder.
Jiang Liuyue didn't seem to mind.
Soon, it was Friday afternoon. As Jiang Liuyue packed her suitcase to fly to City B, she saw Feng Xiaoman wheel a suitcase out of her room too.
Upon seeing Jiang Liuyue, Feng Xiaoman smiled, which was out of character for her.
"Liuyue, I'm going to the player convention too."
"We can go together."
Jiang Liuyue didn't know what she was thinking.
Perhaps Feng Xiaoman felt more at ease keeping her under close watch?
"Alright."
The two took a taxi to the airport.
During this time, Feng Xiaoman kept delaying the check-in process with various excuses.
After going through security, she claimed she had left something outside and asked Jiang Liuyue to accompany her back out.
She was trying to make them miss the boarding time.
Jiang Liuyue saw through every one of her tricks.
She even said,
"Xiaoman, you don't seem to want me to go to the player convention."
"Why?"
"Is it because of Yaochuan?"
Feng Xiaoman's breath hitched for a moment.
Her first thought was that Jiang Liuyue had discovered the truth.
But Jiang Liuyue's next words were,
"Don't worry, I keep my distance from my friends' boyfriends. I won't initiate a greeting."
"I'll treat him as a complete stranger."
Only after hearing this did Feng Xiaoman let out a long, quiet sigh of relief.
But she still felt uneasy deep down.
She even thought,
Should she send a real photo of herself to Yaochuan before the convention starts?
Maybe he would forgive her.
But... she still couldn't bring herself to do it.
And so it went until the plane landed, and right before the event was about to start on Saturday morning.
Feng Xiaoman was still in a state of internal conflict, unsure of what to do.
During this period,
Huo Yaochuan hadn't actively sent a single message either.
Feng Xiaoman didn't feel resentful about this; in fact, she felt somewhat relieved.
Otherwise, every time she saw a message from Yaochuan, she would be filled with guilt.
...
Huo Yaochuan chose not to travel with Zhou Che.
He didn't know why himself.
Perhaps, subconsciously, he wanted to meet someone alone.
After checking in at the entrance of the player convention, he wasn't in a hurry to go inside. Instead, he stood leisurely by the main entrance as if taking a stroll.
Until he saw a taxi stop not far away in the distance.
The first to step out of the car was a tall, graceful woman with bright eyes and white teeth, followed closely by a slightly shorter, cute-looking girl with short, wavy hair.
Almost at first glance.
Huo Yaochuan told himself in his heart.
They were Yi Liuyue and Full Moon Crescent.
His dark eyes fixed on them intently, lost in thought.
...
Jiang Liuyue and Feng Xiaoman noticed the check-in counter as soon as they got out of the car.
The two quickly walked towards it.
The staff member at the check-in counter, a young woman, greeted them warmly. After confirming their in-game IDs, she checked their names off on the lists for special invitees and guests respectively.
Jiang Liuyue had sharp eyes.
She saw a small checkmark next to the space for the ID "Yaochuan".
He had already arrived.
After check-in was complete, the staff member took out small bags of game merchandise and was about to hand one to each of them when
a magnetic and pleasant male voice came from behind them.
"Crescent."
Huo Yaochuan was standing behind them.
The two turned around.
Feng Xiaoman instinctively started to respond, but then she saw Huo Yaochuan, right in front of her, gently take Jiang Liuyue's hand, his expression tender.
She froze completely.
Even unable to move.
Her breathing slowed. She desperately wanted to rush forward and separate their hands.
To shout loudly at Yaochuan, "I am Full Moon Crescent."
But that would be tantamount to telling Yaochuan
that she had been deceiving him with fake photos all along.
On the other hand, Jiang Liuyue's acting skills were exceptionally good.
Having her hand held by a handsome, tall, and strikingly good-looking man,
her first reaction was to frown, forcefully shake off his grasp,
and then deliberately step hard on his leather shoe.
Her tone was filled with anger and a hint of fear.
"You...!" Are you crazy?
Before she could finish her sentence, Feng Xiaoman quickly pulled her by the arm to the other side.
Avoiding Yaochuan's gaze,
she suppressed the jealousy and torment in her heart.
Lowering her voice, she whispered into Jiang Liuyue's ear:
"Liuyue, I'm sorry."
"Can you please pretend to be me, Full Moon Crescent, and meet him?"
Jiang Liuyue looked bewildered: "...Him?"
Feng Xiaoman glanced sideways in that direction and continued whispering:
"That's Yaochuan. For some reason, he seems to have mistaken you for me."
Even now, she didn't want to explain that she had used Jiang Liuyue's photos.
Jiang Liuyue, of course, wasn't going to indulge her.
She turned to leave, retorting, "He's mistaken? Then just clarify it!"
"No!"
Feng Xiaoman gripped her arm tightly, putting some force into it, her face flashing with various conflicted expressions.
Just as Jiang Liuyue was about to walk away,
she gritted her teeth, stomped her foot, and confessed.
"I'm sorry."
"Liuyue, actually, I had a momentary lapse in judgment and accidentally sent him your photo."
"Yaochuan thinks that person is me... I'm sorry, can you please keep pretending to be me?"
"I don't want him to think I lied to him."
Jiang Liuyue let out a scornful laugh.
She looked Feng Xiaoman up and down before saying slowly,
"So that's the real reason you deliberately tried to stop me from coming to the player convention?"
"Feng Xiaoman, have you ever truly considered me a good friend?"
"We've been roommates since university and have lived together for almost a year after graduation."
Feng Xiaoman clasped her hands together, bowing her head earnestly, looking utterly contrite.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Liuyue, I know I was wrong."
"But please help me out just this once."
"After this player convention is over, I promise I'll explain everything properly to Yaochuan."
Seeing that she was on the verge of tears if this continued,
Jiang Liuyue didn't press further.
Mainly because Yaochuan, standing over there, seemed to be growing a bit impatient.
What?
Can't keep up the act already?
"Fine, I'll do it," Jiang Liuyue nodded.
"Thank you, thank you, Liuyue." A heavy weight temporarily lifted from Feng Xiaoman's heart.
The two returned to their previous spot.
Huo Yaochuan blinked innocently.
His gaze swept between the two of them, and then he said softly, with a hint of apology:
"I'm sorry, I just... did I mistake who was who?"
This was actually an opportunity for Feng Xiaoman.
If she had been willing to step forward and admit her mistake at this moment, perhaps all the misunderstandings and barriers would have dissolved.
But Feng Xiaoman didn't.
She said, "Hello, I'm Xiaoman, Crescent's good friend. Crescent was just angry with you earlier."
"Angry with me?" Huo Yaochuan looked puzzled.
