Sui Yue. Li Xinyuan blinked, turning the na over and over again in his mind as he let out a soft hum.
It wasn’t a bad na. Sui Yue, the Distant Moon.
He nodded, it was a very good na, actually. But just because he liked it didn’t an that the halberd would too. With that thought in mind, Li Xinyuan frowned and looked at his weapon, very intently waiting for a reaction.
Any reaction, really.
After so ti passed, the halberd started shaking in Liu Mingyun’s hands and then called down, deathly stillness fell over them as they looked down at the weapon.
"So, is that a yes?" After soti, Li Xinyuan asked, feeling a little awkward as he glanced at the Crown Prince.
Liu Mingyun let out a sigh of relief, a deep breath rolled off his lips as his shoulders trembled and dropped, relaxing.
"It seems so, Xin’er." Having said that, he swiftly handed the halberd, now Sui Yue, to him and smiled, gently. "Congratulations, Xin’er. Now your halberd has a na, nevermind that it’s in my expanse." He pointedly added as an afterthought.
Li Xinyuan coughed, refusing to et his eyes as he nodded. "This lowly one thanks Your Highness for naming Sui Yue. It is a beautiful na."
As they made their way out of the Imperial Armoury, the Crown Prince glanced at the weapon and nodded. "It’s a na befitting both itself and..." he glanced at Li Xinyuan, his eyes raking over the surgeon’s body, handso face and breathtaking golden eyes. "It’s master."
Upon hearing those words, Li Xinyuan stiffened for a mont. Was Liu Mingyun just comnting or was it so sort of flirtatious remark?
Or was Li Xinyuan simply thinking too much??
He didn’t know!
The surgeon ducked his head, trying to hide the blush that spread across his cheeks as he cleared his throat and replied. "This lowly one thanks Your Highness."
"No matter, Xin’er." A smile tugged at Liu Mingyun lips as he looked at Li Xinyuan’s bowed head and waved. "No matter."
...
"Your Highness wants this lowly servant to engrave ’Sui Yue’ on this halberd?" Asked the head blacksmith, keeping his voice even as he wiped off the sweat gathering in his brows.
Liu Mingyun stared at Sui Yue for a mont and nodded. "Indeed."
"It shall be done, Your Highness." Master Zuo nodded firmly. Li Xinyuan glanced around himself, strangely enough, the Imperial Smithy was quiet. Uncharacteristically quiet, very much unlike the first ti he’d stepped into this place.
He then glanced at Liu Mingyun, a stark feeling of awe bubbled in his heart as it skipped a beat. So this was the power of the protagonist. And well, the Crown Prince.
A sweet warmth swirled in his chest the longer the surgeon entertained that thought. How sweet of the Crown Prince to quiet down the smithy long enough for Li Xinyuan to accompany him in engraving Sui Yue with its na.
It was almost giving him ideas. He let out a sigh. How good it was, to have a fiance like Liu Mingyun. He was rich — literally a Crown Prince — filthy rich. He was strong — canonically the second strongest — and powerful.
He was fit, extrely handso. He had silver hair (silver hair!!). So when he grew older, even if he started having white hair, who would be able to tell? Not Li Xinyuan, at least.
He was taller than Li Xinyuan too! And his body was — for the lack of better words and if the surgeon were to phrase it the way internet people did — daddy material.
The only flaw in this entire arrangent was that Li Xinyuan was destined to have a love rival in the form of a female lead and maybe more won.
It filled Li Xinyuan with a strange feeling that bubbled and swelled in his heart. It was an unpleasant feeling. Though it was sothing Li Xinyuan couldn’t quite na just yet.
Maybe in the future he would find its na, in the future when the female lead would make her appearance and Liu Mingyun’s attention would be divided between Li Xinyuan and her.
Until that day, regardless of how hard it may seem, the surgeon had quite so ti in gently nudging the story in his favour and changing the genre of the novel from Josei to Dani.
There was plenty of ti for him to do so, yet it wasn’t enough.
The thought of marrying Liu Mingyun was acceptable if not rather heartening, but when he thought of the female lead’s inevitable appearance in the story, in this tiline, it filled him with a sense of dread.
He didn’t know why he dreaded the thought of her appearance or why it filled him with unease to his very core.
But whatever the reason may be, he knew when to trust his instincts. Which was, well, most of the ti.
Was it because he knew that if things were to go according to the original story, Liu Mingyun’s affection would completely be directed towards the female lead.
Li Xinyuan pursed his lips together, the pink flesh pressing into a thin line as he fell a step behind Liu Mingyun who walked in front of him.
His thoughts were in a peculiar whirlwind. One mont he was thinking about the protagonist’s attractive features and the next, he was lanting the ti when the female lead would make her appearance.
"Xinyuan," Liu Mingyun’s deep voice, calling out to him in an even tone, snapped the surgeon out of his conflicting thoughts as he snapped his head up to look at the forr’s strong back. "You seem deep in thought. Is sothing bothering you?" The Crown Prince murmured.
Li Xinyuan’s eyes widened a fraction as he shook his head, pursing his lips tightly as he clasped his hands in front of himself, a deep sigh rolling off his lips.
"No, Your Highness. This lowly one is completely fine."
Liu Mingyun’s voice carried a candid frown that Li Xinyuan couldn’t see from where he was walking. "Is that so?" The Crown Prince murmured, seemingly mulling over the surgeon’s words.
"Yes. Yes, Your Highness." Li Xinyuan nodded, assuring the Crown Prince in a gentle voice as he strode after him.
As they walked through the palace, the servants bowed their heads as the protagonist passed by them. Their eyes cast down as Liu Mingyun strode away with his head held high and back ramrod straight.
The only person whom he had his eyes on was Li Xinyuan, and for so reason, the latter seed to be troubled by sothing.
Liu Mingyun was curious to know but at the sa ti, it was not his place to inquire or worse, force an answer out of him.
At best they were friends, and at worst nothing more than two males betrothed to one another, though in his eyes, their relationship was deeper than that.
With a slight shake of his head and a shallow sigh hanging on his lips, Liu Mingyun slowed his steps, falling back to match the surgeon’s pace as he patiently walked by his side, hands folded behind his back.
"Will Xinyuan go back to Jianghu or will he stay back for so ti?" After a few monts of silence, Liu Mingyun couldn’t help but ask.
On the outside, his expressions suggested they Li Xinyuan’s answer didn’t affect him all that much. Secretly, however, the Crown Prince couldn’t help but hope that Li Xinyuan would choose to stay back, at least until Sui Yue was complete and engraved with its na.
He hoped. With a swift glance from the corner of his eyes, the Crown Prince observed his betrothed’s reaction, taking in the sight of any minute changes in his expression as the latter contemplated.
Li Xinyuan wanted to stay back. At least until Sui Yue was complete. But apart from his halberd, he also wanted to spend so ti with Liu Mingyun—alone and away from prying eyes.
He wanted to spend so ti with the protagonist before their marriage could change the dynamic — if it even existed — between them.
Adopting a contemplative look on his face, Li Xinyuan bowed his head, eyelids fluttering as he blinked and then looked up. With a gentle smile on his face, the surgeon turned to look at the side of Liu Mingyun’s handso face and spoke, lips parting ever so slightly.
"Would Your Highness find this lowly one’s company disagreeable should he choose to stay for a few hours?" He asked, eyebrows furrowed slightly.
He hoped Liu Mingyun didn’t. He wanted to stay for so ti.
As soon as his words fell and the two cultivators turned a corner, walking through a more secluded corridor, Liu Mingyun’s breathtaking crimson eyes lit up for a mont, giving his face a beautiful shine.
"Why would This Prince mind?" He looked down at Li Xinyuan’s shorter form, firm eyes raking up and down his body as he canted his head a little. "Xinyuan should stay at least until the engraving is complete." He added after a mont. "This Prince would like to speak to you before we part ways and et as two different people. This Prince wishes to converse with you as... Friends."
At his words, Li Xinyuan stilled, pausing in his tracks as he opened his mouth to say sothing. But for a mont, no voice left his throat, no words left his lips.
He could only turn to stare at Liu Mingyun for a mont longer.
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