"WHY were you working so early in the morning, by the way?" Wu Xiang Ye asked as he ate a bite of the scallion pancake.
"Have you forgotten already? We're going to meet up with Xiao Yun and the others for lunch," He Yu Lan answered, giving the other a look saying 'how can you forget?'.
There was a flash of realization on Wu Xiang Ye's face, as if he had only remembered that. But it was quickly gone and was replaced by an overly flattering smile.
"Lan-er, of course I didn't forget. I'm just amaze at how hardworking you are."
He Yu Lan only rolled his eyes at that. "Just finish your pending work. I don't want to see you rushing to meet your deadline."
Wu Xiang Ye made a playful salute. "Yes, sir!"
He Yu Lan did not respond and just continued eating. Wu Xiang Ye continued to stare at the other, feeling all happy.
Even though revealing their relationship to their family was as disastrous as expected, it didn't matter. He'd be fine as long as Yu Lan was with him. Both of them were now disowned and would probably later be removed from the family register. But since he and Yu Lan had already somehow expected something like that, it didn't really come off as that much of a surprise to them.
Although he had to admit that it made him a bit sad at first. After all, they were still his family. And he was sure Yu Lan felt the same way. But that sadness didn't last long since both their families tried their best in the coming weeks after that to try to separate them.
After a week of 'negotiations', they finally came to a 'peaceful' conclusion. And that was being disowned and removed from the family register. From then on, they would have nothing to do with the Wu and He family of B City.
From 'heart-to-heart' talk, to unprecedented blind date, and even threatening to cut them out of the will. Of course, none of those worked. When they did the blind date thing, Yu Lan was so angry that he almost packed their bags and bought two plane tickets to leave the country. If he didn't stop the other, it might have really happened..
He told him that if they left like that, knowing their families, they might be banned from permanently entering the country. So, they had to make a clean end. To make sure that they wouldn't be able to meddle with their lives.
After a week of 'negotiations', they finally came to a 'peaceful' conclusion. And that was being disowned and removed from the family register. From then on, they would have nothing to do with the Wu and He family of B City.
Not that it mattered in any way.
Wu Xiang Ye reached out and held Yu Lan's hand. "I love you, Lan-er."
He Yu Lan raised his brow, as if wondering what had gotten into him. But he still responded in a calm voice while clasping their hands together. "I love you too."
And that was just pure bliss.
----------
The members of team Yunyue grouped themselves into pairs so they could decorate the place much faster. It's not really literal decorating where one put decorations and all that, but more on clicking on items they had bought and having it appear automatically on the spot they wanted it to appear.
Luo Yan was, of course, paired with Shen Ji Yun. They were assigned to the lakeside area. As they were doing decorations, Luo Yan remembered something and asked Shen Ji Yun;
"Brother Ji Yun, you're going to meet Brother Xiang Ye and Brother Yu Lan later for lunch, right?"
They wouldn't meet in the game, but in reality. Since all of them were in B City, they decided to meet for one last time before the two left the country.
Shen Ji Yun nodded. "Does Yan Yan want me to relay any message?"
"No, it's not that. I'm just wondering if you can send me a picture of them?" Luo Yan asked.
Since all their interaction had been in the game, he still had no idea how the two looked like in real life. It probably wouldn't be too different from what they looked like in the game. After all, the two of them didn't seem like people who would use the 100% beautification filter of the game when creating their avatars. So, he still wanted to see a picture of the two.
Shen Ji Yun seemed to be pondering over something. Then he said, "Isn't a video call better?"
Luo Yan grinned. "Yes, that would indeed be better."
Shen Ji Yun also smiled back.
"By the way, Brother Ji Yun, didn't Brother Xiang Ye said before that they would tell their families about their relationship? Do you know what happened to that?" Luo Yan thought of asking after a while.
He was really curious about the outcome of that.
Shen Ji Yun stopped what he's doing, and then answered after a few seconds of pause, "It didn't go well."
"Oh, I see," Luo Yan could only say. "How bad is it?"
Shen Ji Yun became silent again before answering, "To the point of being disowned."
Now, Luo Yan was completely shocked. He didn't think some families would completely cut off a relative just because they loved someone of the same gender. That's wild in so many levels.
At least he was sure that even if his father found out about him and Shen Ji Yun, the other wouldn't disown him. He might get mad. But not at him. Shen Ji Yun would definitely receive the brunt of his anger.
"Are they okay with that?" he asked.
"I think so," Shen Ji Yun said. "They seemed to have already expected that result.
Luo Yan sighed. How sad was it for them to think that it was natural to not be accepted by their family - the people who should be the first to offer them support and acceptance?
"We're lucky that our families are not like that." Then, as if being reminded of something, he looked at Shen Ji Yun and added, "And no, I'm not talking about your maternal or paternal family. I'm just referring to Uncle Yi Mu."
Shen Ji Yun blinked and then chuckled before hugging Luo Yan. "Yes, I'm indeed lucky to have him on my side."