HUANG WEN looked around the tiny village. It looked like a collection the hut of the dwarves in Snow White. Except that it's snowing and there's a lot of Christmas lights around.
"So, are we going to look for that mistletoe something?" he asked while glancing around the place.
"Yes," Ying Chen answered with a bright voice, obviously very excited being in this place.
How could he not? Although Ying Chen knew that the legend of the mysterious mistletoe was just something fabricated by the game, he still wanted to try and find it. He wanted to see it together with Huang Wen. Even if he was the only one who knew of the meaning behind it.
Yes, it's such a loser behavior. But what could he do when he couldn't even confess his feelings to the other? The next best thing for him was pretending that they were together and looking for that mistletoe as if they were a real couple. At least, his imagination would finally match reality. Even if he had to delude himself to achieve that.
"But where would we find that mistletoe here?"
Huang Wen's voice brought Ying Chen back to his senses. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. "Don't worry. I actually got a clue from someone I know before coming here."
Well, not that it was a lie, he indeed got an information about the whereabouts of the mysterious mistletoe. It's just that, he didn't simply hear it, he bought it from someone.
You know how people post game walkthroughs online? Well, it was the same as that. The only difference was posting one about Arcadia was much more lucrative in comparison.
It's because there were players who would buy information about a lot of in-game stuffs. Like game events, as well as clues in finding hidden tasks, and many more. Players could contact those people on the game forum and they would both proceed with the transaction.
Those who chose to have a more immersive experience playing Arcadia would probably not buy information like that. Ying Chen also normally would not do that. If he was alone, he would have looked for clues on his own until he found what he's looking for. But Huang Wen was with him.
He knew how much the other didn't have patience for such things. It's one of the reasons why Huang Wen never had any interest in playing games. The beautiful scenery of Yule Island could only do so much. It wouldn't hold Huang Wen's attention for long especially if they ended up searching for clues instead of just simple sight-seeing.
"Let's go there," Ying Chen said, pulling Huang Wen towards the direction of the mistletoe.
According to the information Ying Chen got, the mysterious mistletoe was somewhere near the border of the village territory. If it was only that, then it would be pretty vague and they still needed to do quite a bit of searching. But it's a good thing he got the full location. Which was only natural since he paid quite a lot for that.
Although it's truly a mystery how that person, the one who sold the information, managed to find the location of the mistletoe when it changed every year. Maybe he had been searching for it since midnight. Or it could also be because he's connected to a game dev or something.
Either way, Ying Chen didn't really care. As long as he got the information he needed, then it wouldn't matter to him how it was obtained by the seller.
As they ran towards the direction of where the mistletoe was, Ying Chen only realized then that he and Huang Wen were actually holding hands. Courtesy of him pulling the other, of course. But it didn't stop him from imagining that they were running together hand in hand. Just like a real couple.
He smiled secretly. But then sighed just as quick. Man, he really was hopeless. He shook his head and just focused on running.
When they finally arrived at their destination, before Ying Chen could celebrate, he saw two figures already standing below the unremarkable tree. He felt a bit disappointed that someone beat them to it. But he quickly shook that off. Why would it matter? They could just wait until the two left.
"Let's go closer and wait until they go," Ying Chen said to Huang Wen.
Huang Wen nodded. He really didn't have that much of an opinion about it. He was just a bit skeptical if the mistletoe was really hanging in that not-so good-looking tree.
As they walked closer towards the tree, Ying Chen unconsciously stopped when he finally noticed that the two figures were actually both guys. He didn't notice at first because one of them had long hair. But with this distance, he could clearly see it.
Before he could even digest that fact, the two were suddenly shrouded by light coming down from above them. Because of that, the image of the two became even clearer.
He didn't think much at first because the two were both wearing mask, covering half of their face. That was until they removed their mask and he got a clear view of their face.
Ying Chen's eyes quickly zeroed in on the one with long hair. The other was eerily similar to Noctis. But because his hair was colored black, instead of the white-haired elf, the person who would come to people's mind, at least to specific people, was a certain third-year student of Guizu Academy.
Luo Yan.
He hadn't gotten over that surprised yet when the two people standing beneath the tree suddenly leaned towards each other and did something he never thought they would.
They kissed! And in a quite steamy manner at that.
After the initial shock, Ying Chen subconsciously turned towards Huang Wen. And just as he expected, the other was frozen on the spot. The way he was looking at the two people in front, Ying Chen could already tell what the other was thinking.
And as to prove that, Huang Wen called in a voice that was almost shaky;
"Luo Yan?"