YING CHEN was startled hearing this congratulations.  He turned to the direction where the voice came from.  When he saw the white-haired elf, he automatically frowned.  It was not because of his dislike for the other.  Well, maybe a bit of it.  But mostly because, for a moment, he thought the one who congratulated him was Luo Yan.

The voice of the two just sounded so similar.  If he hadn't seen Noctis himself, he might have really thought that it was the brat who just congratulated him.  And then, there was also the fact that the two seemed to be the younger and older version of each other. 

His frown deepened.  Because he couldn't get the possibility that the two were actually one and the same out of his head.  Was it really that far-fetched?  His emotional side was telling him 'no'.  But the logical part of him was rejecting this idea.

His basis for this was the Luo family.  Everyone in the upper circle of S City knew just how much importance the Luo family put on Luo Yan.  Could they really allow him to participate in such a violent game?  The answer was definitely 'no'. 

But could two people really look so similar, even their voice sounding the same?  It was fine if that brat's appearance was something you could see just by walking down the street.  But it's not.  As much as he hated to admit it, Luo Yan was really beautiful.  So beautiful that it would be hard to find another person who looked like him.

Ying Chen suddenly felt annoyed.  Why was he even mulling over this?  Wasting his time like this when he could just ask directly.  So, he walked over to where Noctis was.

Luo Yan was quite surprised, seeing Ying Chen walking over.  But based on his expression, he doubted that it was for some friendly chat.

"You, are you Luo Yan?"

The smile on Luo Yan's face almost cracked when he heard such straightforward question.  But he quickly controlled his surprised and showed no excess emotion on his face. 

Hi tilted his head to the side and said in a very gentle voice, "I don't think it's polite to ask such question."

"It's a simple question answerable by 'yes' or 'no'," Ying Chen said, his suspicion only deepening.

"And it's my prerogative whether I want to give you an answer or not," Luo Yan retorted.

Ying Chen snorted.  "You might as well admit that you are Luo Yan just based on the way you're reacting."

"Or maybe I just want to piss you off," Luo Yan said with a sweet smile.  "And based on the reaction you're showing right now, I seemed to have succeeded."

Yes, because as soon as Luo Yan said he wanted to piss Ying Chen off, the latter's face crumpled like a piece of paper. 

Luo Yan did not wait for the other's reply and simply sat down on one of the couches.  He turned his gaze at the screen and no longer paid attention to Ying Chen.  But deep inside, he was really startled that the other would ask that so straightforwardly.  And then he simply found it quite interesting. 

Doing something like this clearly matched Ying Chen's personality.  Or at least what he had see so far about him.  A straightforward firecracker.  It's a wonder how Huang Wen hadn't notice yet that his friend actually had feelings for him.  Even Luo Yan noticed it immediately.  As long as one was observant enough, he believed that anyone could notice it.  Well, maybe Huang Wen was one of those guys belonging to the 'I'm dense, I don't know what you feel' club.

Because they were somewhat comrade-in-arms, Luo Yan felt bad for Ying Chen.  Just a little bit.  After all, being in love with a close friend of the same sex was no walk in the park.  It was probably even harder for someone as straightforward as Ying Chen, not being able to confess his feelings towards his friend.

He turned to where Ying Chen was standing and gave the other a pitying and understanding glance.

Ying Chen, who saw this, felt absurd.  Why was this guy looking at him like that?  It's making all his hair stand up.  As if the other was badmouthing him inside his head.  But that look reminded him again of that brat, Luo Yan.  Now, his suspicion was even stronger.

He walked again to where Noctis was sitting and stood in front of the other.  He gazed down, but his chin raised.  Which gave the idea that he was looking down on the white-haired elf.

"If I win tomorrow, you will answer my question," he said.  "No mind games.  Just a straight answer."

Luo Yan looked up, feeling amused.  "Sure."

He wasn't worried that this small 'bet' would result in him revealing his identity to the other.  Because all he had to do was win.  And win he would.

Besides, he's fine with people knowing that he's 'Noctis'.  The only reason why he hadn't announced to everyone that was because he didn't want to deal with the trouble that would follow after.

Ying Chen narrowed his eyes at Noctis.  "You better own up to what you just said."

Luo Yan smiled good-naturedly.  "Of course."

Then, their attention was taken by the cheers from the screen.  Both of them looked at the screen.

There, the fight between Sonata and Crossroad seemed to be reaching a climactic point while the two of them were having their conversation.

Crossroad was holding a gun with a long barrel, firing what seemed to be unlimited bullets.  His target was a girl with a flute in her hand.  The girl – Sonata – played the flute.  And the bullets coming onto her stopped in mid-air.  Then, she played a different tune and all those bullets changed direction.  They slowly turned around and rushed towards Crossroad.

It must be quite a surprise because he wasn't able to react quickly.  This momentary carelessness caused him the fight.

And the Duke of Hearts announced Sonata as the winner.

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