Slumbering Cherry Blossom — V

"Your Highness, it is far from common, much less normal, regardless of class," Li Xinyuan explained softly, massaging his head as he grunted. "Yes, I admit that being from higher class, clans and being a part of gentry as a whole could lead to a lost childhood too. But not to the point where it seems completely normal. At least that was not the case for me." He looked away, feeling a family emotion of sympathy rising in his heart.

Liu Mingyun opened his mouth, looking surprisingly innocent as he blinked. "Xinyuan… The more I talk to you, the more I feel like something is wrong with my thought process."

Li Xinyuan chuckled, biting back a wince as he turned to face the Crown Prince in the dark. "Well, there is nothing this Xinyuan can say to that, Your Highness. I understand why you think the way you do, being a part of the royal family, not to mention the Crown Prince of the nation… Of course, it is hard."

Liu Mingyun frowned, elegant brows furrowed as he leaned closer to the surgeon, lips drawn into a thin line as he murmured. "Does it hurt a lot?"

Li Xinyuan regarded him with a look of surprise. "Ah, yes. It… Does. It does hurt," after a while, he admitted in a low voice and waved his hand slowly. "But it is nothing unbearable, Your Highness. You needn't worry."

Liu Mingyun hummed thoughtfully, tilting his head as he blinked slowly, contemplating something. Li Xinyuan closed his eyes, unable to bear the intensity of his gaze as he turned his face away.

Out of sight. Out of mind.

After a long moment of stillness that surrounded the two men, rustling of clothes shattered the thin glass of isolated silence as a warm, large but gentle hand landed on Li Xinyuan's forehead, making the surgeon flinch in surprise, breath caught in his throat as he clenched his hands on his robes.

The slender but calloused hand caressed his forehead, his touch warm and long fingers fleeting on his forehead, absently swirling his black fingers.

It was a gentle touch, an incredibly cautious and warm one, soft and warm, yet rough and firm.

Liu Mingyun's deep voice rushed into his ears, warm breath spilling on the fragile cartilage as the hand pressed on Li Xinyuan's forehead before a slow, gentle rush of warm Qi poured in.

The warm gush slithered under his flesh, its warmth reminiscent of gentle sun on a spring day pouring onto the greenery of countless flowers and herbs scattered across the mountains where the Divine Phoenix Hospital was located.

It was comforting, it was gentle.

Li Xinyuan subconsciously relaxed, feeling the pain in his head ebb as the warm Qi continued to flow. Before he knew it, the surgeon leaned into the large hand pressed on his forehead, a quiet sigh leaving his lips as he took in a shuddering breath.

As time passed, seconds bleeding into minutes and the headache continued to lessen, Li Xinyuan dared not move, he dared not utter a word of neither gratitude nor protest.

He allowed Liu Mingyun to continue what he was doing. As a neurosurgeon, no one knew better than him how delicate the head, especially the brain, was. He feared that one wrong move would lead him to becoming retarted for the rest of his life.

While it might save him from marrying Liu Mingyun and having to change the genre of the novel as a whole, it was a huge loss he wasn't willing to shoulder.

He loved being a surgeon, he loved performing surgeries regardless of the era he was living in. He loved being a doctor and helping others find joy of health in their life.

He loved being the one to give those people that joy. To him, there was no greater joy than the smiles of his cured and no greater grief than being the reason their lives were lost, regardless of whether he was at fault or not.

And if Li Xinyuan lost his mind to the point of becoming stupid, he would lose the chance of continuing to help people and maybe even become rich from it.

His own money, not the clan's just like in his past life.

So losing his mind from a single mishap was a big no in capital letters for the surgeon.

"Does it still hurt?" Li Xinyuan jerked, nearly jumping out of his skin as the Crown Prince's voice entered his ears.

Liu Mingyun looked at him, head slightly bowed to better gouge his expression as he slowly pulled his hand back, fingertips grazing on the surgeon's forehead as he did so.

His hand curled into a loose fist, skin tingling from the sensation of the ravenett's soft flesh. It felt strange. But it also made him incredibly curious.

The Crown Prince wanted to explore this sensation more, if possible, with Li Xinyuan himself. Slowly, he leaned back, creating some distance between them to allow the latter to breath.

"Any discomfort still?" He asked softly, voice like a velvet soft fabric caressing Li Xinyuan's ears. The genuine care and curiosity in his tone was unmistakable.

Li Xinyuan blinked, still reeling from the phantom touch of the Crown Prince's warm hand on his forehead. Silently, he reached his hand upwards, long fingers tentatively touching his forehead as if to catch the meagre residues of his warmth.

A subconscious action, the surgeon realised before promptly dropping his hand on his lap, fingers curling inwards as he nodded, lethargically.

"I've troubled Your Highness," he mumbled, now that the crushing migraine was gone, the only thing left behind was the feeling of gratitude and accumulated exhaustion. "There is no more discomfort." He replied with a shake of his head.

Liu Mingyun nodded, satisfaction bleeding into his crimson eyes as he squinted and replied. "It is no trouble, Xinyuan. Even a doctor needs to be treated sometimes, no?"

Li Xinyuan dipped his head into a bow, smiling slightly as he moved to fix his rumpled clothes. "Of course, Your Highness. Those of us do need to be treated by others too. There is no greater poison than self-diagnosis, after all."

Liu Mingyun blinked, clicking his tongue as he stood up from the bed, smoothing his hands over his robes as he did so. "Is that so?" He murmured with interest as he took a step back.

"Yes, of course." Li Xinyuan answered him with a calm smile on his face, the Crown Prince watched him in silence.

Sometimes it was easy to forget that this youth in front of him was just fifteen. But truthfully, neither of them were of an age yet.

While Li Xinyuan was fifteen, Liu Mingyun himself was eighteen, despite their age difference, the latter found a meaningful friendship with the surgeon.

He liked being around Li Xinyuan, if not on the battlefield. To him being around the latter was a cathartic experience.

He liked to talk to Li Xinyuan, he liked watching the way the younger male's eyes would light up whenever they talked about something he found interesting.

He didn't, however, like the exhaustion on his handsome face.

Slowly reaching out his hand, Liu Mingyun held the surgeon's cheek, running his thumb on the smooth flesh, he suggested. "Why don't you get some more sleep. A peaceful one, perhaps?"

Li Xinyuan looked at him, eyes wide as he felt the rough touch of his gentle hold on his face. "Yes, Your Highness," he nodded.

Their faces were extremely close at this moment, Li Xinyuan — in all his grace — found it hard to breath in face of the sheer handsomeness of the man.

"Ah." From the door, a soft exclamation came, making the two men turn to look at them, still very much in the same position.

At the door stood Hu Lijing, surprise etched on his handsome features as he gaped at them. His amber-eyes roamed on their bodies as he took in the dishevelled state of their attires.

"... How unexpected." He commented, dryly.