Alright, since everyone is putting on an act.
Then let's see who can be more convincing.
Meeting Feng Xiaoman's pleading gaze, Jiang Liuyue also curved her lips, hooking a finger at Huo Yaochuan.
Her tone was unceremonious:
"Shouldn't I be angry?"
"Tell me, how long has it been since you replied to my messages!"
Huo Yaochuan immediately wore a look of self-reproach.
"I'm sorry, to make it to the Player Conference, I crammed all my work into the past few days."
"Sorry, Wanwan, I was wrong."
As he spoke, he gently raised his hand and ruffled Jiang Liuyue's hair.
Feng Xiaoman stood to the side, her heart feeling as if cut by a knife.
The three of them walked towards the inner area of the game event. Watching Yaochuan bow his head, patiently explaining things to Jiang Liuyue,
she was filled with bitterness.
Just then, someone called out from behind: "Is that the Guild Leader? I'm Bear Warrior from our guild."
A tall, straight, and burly man with a crew cut waved his hand.
His voice was loud.
Huo Yaochuan stopped in his tracks.
He nodded with a smile, "How did you know I was Yaochuan?"
Bear Warrior scratched his head.
"Oh, I just heard this beauty call your name."
"I figured there's only one player named Yaochuan in 'Jianghu Tianxia 3', so it must be you, Guild Leader."
After saying that, Bear Warrior's gaze fell on Jiang Liuyue's face, and he said in an excited tone:
"This beauty must be our Sister Wanwan, right?"
"Sister, you're so pretty, you and our Guild Leader are simply a match made in heaven."
Feng Xiaoman, standing to the side, felt her face turn green with anger.
She was standing right here too.
Why was this Bear Warrior acting as if he were blind? In the game, she already knew this guy was blunt and had no tact.
Who would have thought he'd be pretty much the same in real life.
Finally, he noticed Feng Xiaoman.
He asked curiously, "Huh? Is she from our guild too? What's her game ID?"
Feng Xiaoman was taken aback, unsure how to answer.
Jiang Liuyue glanced at her and smoothed things over, "Oh, this is my friend Xiaoman. She doesn't play the game."
Bear Warrior scratched his head again.
"Oh, I see."
Feng Xiaoman could only force out a stifled "Mhm."
When the group reached the players' table and sat down, all eyes turned to Yaochuan and Jiang Liuyue.
"Hello, Guild Leader."
"Sister Wanwan is so beautiful, finally meeting you in person."
"What a beauty, Guild Leader is so lucky."
Listening to the guild members' enthusiastic greetings and compliments one after another,
Feng Xiaoman felt as if she were sitting on pins and needles.
She tugged at Jiang Liuyue's hand, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Liuyue, after your performance, find an excuse to leave, okay?"
Before Jiang Liuyue could answer,
Huo Yaochuan from the other side cast a concerned look.
"What's wrong?"
Jiang Liuyue smiled and waved her hand, saying, "It's nothing. It's just that I have another role—I'm a performance guest invited by the organizers."
The guild members looked over with either surprise or excitement.
"Really?"
"Sister Wanwan is amazing, why wasn't this mentioned in the guild chat?"
"That's called being low-key, you guys don't get it."
Facing this stream of flattery, Jiang Liuyue smiled reservedly.
Feng Xiaoman, however, clenched her fists, secretly grinding her teeth.
These were supposed to be her perks.
If only she hadn't come to this Player Conference!!!
But thinking again, if she hadn't come, and Yaochuan and Jiang Liuyue had met, the truth would have been exposed even sooner.
Fortunately, she still had a way to salvage the situation.
Not long after the Player Conference began,
Jiang Liuyue entered the performers' passageway to change clothes and get her makeup done, preparing for her stage performance.
The organizers had prepared for her a cosplay costume replicating the in-game female apothecary's outfit, in a mix of goose-yellow and light green.
When the stage lights dimmed
and lit up again,
a figure in goose-yellow slowly rose from the stage lift.
She wore the same short dress as the in-game female apothecary.
The high-waist design accentuated her slender waist, and the skirt flared in an asymmetrical wave pattern.
The front was short and the back long, revealing her long legs. White half-boots hugged her slender ankles, the tips adorned with silver leaf patterns.
Jiang Liuyue also held an entirely milky-white apothecary staff, its shaft entwined with green vine patterns, topped with a hexagonal green crystal.
It was as if the game character had stepped into reality.
Everyone's eyes were filled with amazement.
"WOW, she's stunning!"
"It's a perfect one-to-one replica. The organizers are awesome, where did they find this girl?"
Feng Xiaoman stared blankly at Jiang Liuyue on stage.
It should be noted that her own character's class in the game was the female apothecary.
At that moment, she couldn't help but glance at Yaochuan.
Finding him gazing intently at Jiang Liuyue on stage, his focus unwavering, made her feel even worse.
It was a feeling of having to suffer in silence, unable to voice her bitterness.
After all, she was the one who had stubbornly created this situation.
But, she was still unwilling!
Jiang Liuyue on stage paid no mind to what she was thinking. As the background music slowly started,
her other hand, which had been lowered, held a microphone.
Her lips parted slightly.
A light, lively, and pleasant singing voice began.
Someone in the audience exclaimed in delight:
"It's 'Misty Jianghu'!"
"The organizers really thought this through. I thought they just hired a model to cosplay, but she's singing the theme song."
"Nice, I think this female version sounds even better."
"So beautiful, I was completely staring at her face. What she sang was irrelevant."
As the song ended,
thunderous applause erupted from the audience.
Jiang Liuyue returned to her seat at the table, and the guild members gathered around.
Their praises came one after another: Sister Wanwan is so amazing, Sister Wanwan sings so beautifully.
Feng Xiaoman listened, feeling both sour and somewhat satisfied.
No matter what, even if Jiang Liuyue was outstanding, she was using her in-game identity.
Others who didn't know the truth would only think that 'Full Moon Wanwan' was a goddess-level figure.
Huo Yaochuan's eyes were filled with a smile, and his gaze towards Jiang Liuyue seemed to have changed slightly.
Feng Xiaoman was the first to notice.
She stepped forward, blocking their line of sight, and said to her:
"Liuyue, didn't you say earlier you had something else to do and needed to leave early?"
Jiang Liuyue met Feng Xiaoman's pleading eyes and slowly nodded.
"That's right."
Huo Yaochuan curved his lips into a slight smile. "Liuyue, where are you going? I can give you a ride."
Jiang Liuyue noticed that after the first time calling her 'Wanwan', Yaochuan hadn't used that name again.
And now, he was following Feng Xiaoman in calling her Liuyue.
Feng Xiaoman, anxious, didn't notice.
"No need, Liuyue and I have already called a taxi. Thank you though."
"Alright." Huo Yaochuan didn't insist, merely escorting the two of them to the main entrance of the event.
He watched them get into a taxi and leave.
Right then, another car had just arrived at the event parking lot. Zhou Che found his guild's table by the number and,
after stating his game ID was 'Sleepless Night', everyone greeted him warmly.
"Brother Sleepless, so you really are a handsome guy."
"Yeah, yeah, not worse looking than our Guild Leader at all."
"But it's a shame you're late. Sister Wanwan just left, the Guild Leader went to see her off to a taxi."
Zhou Che plopped down, took a tissue, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
The reason he was late today was that someone had snitched to his family's patriarch, saying not only had he wasted a lot of money in the game instead of focusing on his proper work, but he was also planning to attend an offline event.
So he had been under surveillance since early morning and had only just managed to slip out with an excuse.
The player convention was already more than halfway through.
Upon hearing he had missed the chance to meet Sister Wanwan, Zhou Che lamented:
"Ah! No way!!!"
"How could I be so unlucky!"
