Trembling Buttercup — II

"This one heard Your Highness is going to hunt in the hills to provide for the soldiers." Quietly, Li Xinyuan hummed, hands tucked inside either sleeve as he gave the Crown Prince a sidelong glance whilst watching him polish his sword.

Liu Mingyun nodded, patient as a crane as he rubbed the blade, before glancing at Li Xinyuan from the corner of his eyes.

"Indeed, when the times are dire someone has to rise to the occasion, no?" He asked, eyes cast down and gleaming like a placid pool.

Li Xinyuan pretended to think for a moment before inching closer to him. "Your Highness isn't wrong." He mused aloud, face a little pale and bags under his eyes glaringly obvious. He then glanced at the Crown Prince's sword and leaned over his shoulder. "If not for the patients in the camp, this one might have joined you, Your Highness."

[Current Points: 205]

Li Xinyuan chose to ignore the floating panel and waited for the Crown Prince's answer.

Liu Mingyun's hands paused as he stared at his own reflection in the blade for a moment. Then with an amused huff, he put down the blade and turned to look at the surgeon's beautiful but haggard face.

"Xinyuan should focus on keeping himself healthy," he commented, red irises shining as they roamed around the said youth's face. "Look at you, all haggard. And what is that dark hue under your eyes? They seemed to be spread all over your face, Xin'er."

Hearing his words, Li Xinyuan froze, spine stiffening as he let out a disgruntled snort and looked away. "So now this lowly one cannot even offer Your Highness his assistance—" he pouted, pretending to sulk "—I see that's how it is. Now that the war is nearing its end Your Highness no longer needs this lowly Li Xinyuan. Your Highness even stabbed me where it hurts."

Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth to complain more. "Who am I doing all this for? Who am I destroying my beauty for?" He snorted, twisting his body away from Liu Mingyun. "It matters no more, perhaps. Since very soon our paths will diverge—" he stepped back, licking his lips. "—and then, Your Highness and this lowly subject will not meet. Ever again. Especially now that my beautiful face is almost ruined from hardships."

As soon as he finished ranting, silence greeted him. No, it would be more accurate to call it a stunned silence. The winter wind howling outside of the tent seemed louder than ever.

The silence was so loud yet deep that Li Xinyuan could — thanks to his enhanced hearing — even hear the distant sound of nature's cacophony.

Bothered by the thick silence, Li Xinyuan slowly turned to look at the Crown Prince with a small frown etched on his face. His elegant brows drew together tightly as his lips pursed together, golden irises tentatively peering at the sight in front of him.

Did he take the joke a bit too far? Or worse, did he somehow end up being too comfortable with the Crown Prince?

Li Xinyuan bit his lower lip, grinding the soft flesh between his teeth, he silently clicked his tongue.

How stupid of him. Some mere months of friendship made him forget the concept of propriety that he had been taught since childhood.

Li Xinyuan, you dumbass excuse of a genius! You better hope the Crown Prince doesn't put you on death row.

Freeing his lips from his teeth, Li Xinyuan resorted to biting his tongue as he contemplated on what to say in his defence.

In front of him, Liu Mingyun stood, stunned as he blinked, slightly bowing his head to look at Li Xinyuan's slightly anxious face.

What was going on inside his head? The Crown Prince couldn't help but wonder. How come he cooked up all these things Liu Mingyun hadn't even thought of thinking?

Li Xinyuan losing his beauty? For all he cared, the former could have most of his face destroyed and Liu Mingyun would still find the youth as beautiful as he did when they first met.

"What goes inside your head, Xin'er?" He asked mouth slightly ajar with disbelief stark on his face. "Why would I even think like that?"

Taking a step forward, he closed the distance between Li Xinyuan and himself in a stride and slightly bent forward, gentle hand resting on the latter's face and the pad of his thumb caressing the youth's eye bags.

"All I wanted— no, all I was going to say was that Xinyuan should take better care of himself and not stay up till the crack of dawn." With a shake of his head, the Crown Prince insisted. "Never have I ever been misunderstood to this extent. And that's not all, it actually baffles me that it comes from you."

Awkwardly, Li Xinyuan swallowed all the clarifications on the tip of his tongue and through the curtain of his eyelashes looked up at the Crown Prince.

For a moment, he allowed his body to react on instinct and leaned into the warm touch on his cheek, eyelids fluttering close. But before he could be drawn in the comforting warmth, the surgeon reminded him—

—The Crown Prince, Liu Mingyun, was just eighteen years old this year while Li Xinyuan himself had just turned sixteen a few months ago.

Well… This is awkward.

As soon as the train of thoughts ran through his mind, Li Xinyuan swiftly gathered his scattered mind and slowly leaned away from Liu Mingyun's palm.

Pursing his lips with a fist pressed on them, the surgeon forced out a dry cough and looked down at his feet with a muffled apology spilling from his lips.

"Forgive this lowly one, Your Highness. This one was just jesting." Liu Mingyun stared at his empty hand and dropped it on his side, fist clenching slightly as he looked at Li Xinyuan's reddened ears.

"Ah, This Prince failed to understand your jest, Xin'er." He remarked faintly, remembering the softness of the ravenette's cheek. "Next time, He will try to understand better."

Li Xinyuan nodded and cupped his hands into a solemn salute. "This one wishes for Your Highness' victory, both in today's hunt as well as this war."

Liu Mingyun nodded at him, a small smile dancing on his lips as he replied with a teasing lilt in his baritone voice.

"This Prince will have to win this war quickly and return to the capital as a victor. So that Xin'er can receive the Heavenly Dragon's reward and salvage his beauty, no?" He watched as a soft flush spread across Li Xinyuan's cheeks. "And This Prince must win for another reason." He nodded firmly.

After a pause, he added, slightly leaning down to meet Li Xinyuan's eyes. Once more, molten gold clashed with bloody red as the two colours collided into a festival of warmth.

"Why?" Li Xinyuan prompted, holding Liu Mingyun's gaze, hands clenched inside his wide sleeves.

Liu Mingyun smiled at him, eyes drooping as he whispered softly. "So that—" he leaned in until the distance between their faces was reduced to a single breath away "—This Prince can bestow upon Xin'er a gift befitting of his contribution to This Prince." He crooned.

Li Xinyuan swallowed, standing completely still as he looked into Liu Mingyun's gorgeous crimson eyes, their faces were so close that one wrong movement and their nose would brush against each other.

Subconsciously, the surgeon swallowed, a shiver crawling down his spine as his breath came in an erratic staccato.

He was technically older than Liu Mingyun. Yet when faced with such an action, he couldn't help but feel flustered beyond words.

It was almost embarrassing, really. But then again, Li Xinyuan had quite a thick skin if he were to say so himself.