WHEN Luo Ren opened his eyes, he found himself inside an office. A very clean and organized office for that matter. There were no extra decorations. Everything had its own purpose. One could see that the owner of this office was the type who didn’t really care much about material things. They cared much more about comfort. He could see that this was something that Yu Jiao would arrange herself.
"Ahm, this is my office here," Yu Jiao started, glancing at Luo Ren while the other was looking around her office.
She was still a bit confused on why she ended up here with her friend’s older brother. She couldn’t say that they were close. After all, they only met once and today was the second time they interacted again. But Luo Ren had been very kind and gentle to her. Although he did tease her a few times. But it wasn’t the kind of mean teasing like how she was used to. It’s more like fun teasing. Which she didn’t really hate that much honestly.
He’s probably kind to her because she was Luo Yan’s friend. Which was probably only natural considering the close relationship between the three Luo brothers. Even Luo Jin who had a bad temper treated her with enough civility.
The relationship of the three was something truly enviable. If she had siblings, of course, step-siblings didn’t count, she would also want to be close to them the way the Luo brothers were.
Yu Jiao looked down and just noticed that the two of them were actually still holding hands. She became flustered and panicked. She quickly took back her hand. The warmth from Luo Ren’s palm still lingered there. It’s as if it traveled to her face, turning it all red.
"I- ahm, does Mr. Luo want to see the weapons and other items being sold at my shop? O-or do you want to check my workshop first?"
Luo Ren stared at Yu Jiao’s flustered expression. He really liked seeing those cheeks tinted in red. He didn’t even mind hearing that grating ’Mr. Luo’. Although it’s such a shame that she had to pull her hand back.
"I would love to see your workshop," he just said.
"T-then, let’s go downstairs."
Yu Jiao walked out of the office, Luo Ren following her.
Her workshop was located at the back of her main shop. There was a special elevator that connected the second floor to her workshop that was on the first floor. She designed it that way so that she didn’t have to go to the main shop in order to go to her workshop. If it wasn’t designed that way, then she would have no choice but to interact with the players that were browsing items in her shop. As much as possible, she didn’t want that.
That’s why she employed enough NPC to deal with things like that. It was enough for her to make good weapons to sell.
They arrived at the elevator and went inside. Yu Jiao pressed the button to the first floor.
"By the way, what is the name of Jiao Jiao’s shop?" Luo Ren asked while the elevator was going down.
"It’s Forge Etna."
Luo Ren nodded. "That’s a good name. Was it named after Mount Etna?" If he remembered correctly, it was a volcano that could be found at the east coast of Sicily. "Are you interested in going to that place?"
"Hmm, not really? I actually just named the shop that way because of the lore around Mount Etna. They said that Hephaestus’ workshop was located there. So, I thought it was just right to name my shop after the workshop of the Greek god of forge and fire." Yu Jiao smiled embarrassingly. "It’s not a really cool name, right?"
"Now that I know the reason behind the name, I think it became more wonderful and meaningful. Especially since I know that Jiao Jiao put a lot of thought into it."
Luo Ren turned to Yu Jiao and smiled.
Yu Jiao felt like something kicked in her chest when she saw that smile. She couldn’t help but think, ’ah, Mr. Luo is really handsome’. She was startled by that thought and quickly looked down. Hiding her flustered expression from the other.
It was a good thing that the elevator had stopped. That way, she no longer had to think too much about that momentary gaffe.
"H-here we are," she said after walking out of the elevator.
As Luo Ren stepped out of the elevator, he looked around the place. It just had the right dimness, not too bright nor not to dark either. There was a large glass cabinet filled with materials, a work table, and some kind of stone slab that had runes engraved on it.
The place was very clean and organized just like the office on the second floor. He was actually expecting some kind of hot and humid area with a lot of metal forge. So, seeing a place that was the opposite of that, it did surprise him a bit.
Yu Jiao probably saw his confusion, that’s why she said next, "Ahm, forging and crafting items in this game are not exactly the same as that of real life." She walked towards a stone slab with runes engraved on it. "All I need is this crafting table, the right materials, and the design of my making. Then I could make anything."
Luo Ren was not exactly sure how things worked. But it’s enough to see Yu Jiao being excited explaining things to him. She even stopped stuttering, showing just how much she liked this topic. So, he just listened and let her explain.
"If Mr. Luo wants any weapon or accessories, I can design and make one for you," Yu Jiao said after she finished explaining.
There it was again, that ’Mr. Luo’.
"Actually, there is one thing I want to request of you. I hope Jiao Jiao wouldn’t refuse. Don’t worry, it’s not something that’s impossible to do."
"Okay, what is it?" Yu Jiao asked, she was confident that she could make anything that Luo Ren might request.
Luo Ren faced Yu Jiao. "I want Jiao Jiao to call me ’Brother Ren’. If that’s not possible, then Luo Ren is also fine. As long as it’s not ’Mr. Luo’. You see, I feel a bit old whenever you call me that. It’s like I’m the same age as my father or something when I’m only about five years older than you."
He added that last bit in a teasing tone, so as to not make Yu Jiao feel awkward.
Yu Jiao was surprised hearing that. So, did that mean that every time she called Luo Ren ’Mr. Luo’, he felt uncomfortable? No wonder he teased her earlier about calling him ’Brother Ren’. He probably wasn’t just teasing her. He truly just didn’t want her to keep calling him ’Mr. Luo’.
She felt a bit guilty. It’s because she’s too awkward and careless that she didn’t even notice that.
"I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable."
"Hey, I didn’t say that to make you feel guilty or anything," Luo Ren quickly said. "I just want Jiao Jiao to call me by my name."
It’s really not that hard of a request. Besides, Yu Jiao needed to make up for the discomfort she had caused him. She took a deep breath and called softly;
"Brother Ren."
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