Til Death Do Us Part (Yanqing x Yunli)

Chapter 6: A Shared Moment

"...w-what?"

Yanqing loosened her grip on Yunli's arms, and Yunli broke free of his grasp. She wasn't running away now, but she was rubbing the part of her arm where Yanqing gripped her, while not making any eye contact with Yanqing.

"You're... getting married?"

Yunli said nothing in response.

"...Who is it?" 

Yunli sighed.

"Some random IPC sleezebag, I dunno."

Yanqing felt defeated and devastated.

"...How... How did this-"

"Look, some IPC douchbags came to us, and they asked for more than we could give, and said they would seize the entire Zhuming for themselves if we didn't deliver."

Yunli went to the table in the middle of the garden and sat on her usual chair.

"And then they said their boss would forget all about our debts if... if I got engaged with him."

Yanqing was stunned and confused now.

"Li..."

"Of course I was against it! I'm not living the rest of my life in the pockets of some fat guy who steals from the poor and probably eats the crappiest "fine dining" food that serves anything barely edible on their plates!"

There was a moment of silence, and Yunli sighed.

"But... what other choice do I have?" Yunli said as she let out a sniffle.

Yanqing was now dumbfounded, but stayed calm. He walked over to Yunli's side and offered some solutions.

"There is something you could do, Li. I'll get a word to General Jing Yuan, I'm sure the Luofu can-"

"And do what? Wage war on the IPC?" Yunli said while wiping the snot from her nose.

Yanqing kneeled down beside Yunli to get to the same height as her head to look her directly in the eyes, with a hand on the chair that she was sitting on.

"No, but we can make up for what you lack, and pay off whatever debt they're asking for."

Yunli sighed again, while still looking away from Yanqing.

"It's not that simple, ponytail... the IPC's been increasing our taxes for the past few months, in response to our "growing military power", what nonsense. If you start giving them what they're asking for, they'd just start asking for more, and it's never gonna stop until we run dry or they finally seize our ship."

Yanqing went quiet for a moment.

"...Well, now that I've been made aware of your situation, you know I can't just let it slide."

Yunli turned to face Yanqing, her eyes were furious but teary.

"That's exactly why I didn't wanna tell you about it, idiot! I knew you'd..."

Suddenly, Yunli was starstruck by Yanqing's majestic eyes, filled with concern and care for her. She looked away in response, cutting her off from her trance.

"There... There must be something we could do, right?" Yanqing said.

There was another moment of silence from both of them. Yunli looked towards the night sky, while Yanqing looked towards the grass on the side. Suddenly, Yunli chuckled to herself, and she turned towards Yanqing.

"Well, there is something only you could do."

Now, it was Yanqing's turn to be starstruck by Yunli's eyes. A moment ago it was filled with anger and defeat, but this time it was filled with warmth and hope.

Suddenly, Yanqing uncontrollably leaned his face forward, inching closer and closer to Yunli's face. For some reason, Yunli wasn't backing off too, as if waiting for Yanqing to come closer as well. Then, both Yanqing and Yunli closed their eyes together, and their lips touched, sharing a warm and tender kiss. By now, Yanqing could feel his heart beating faster and faster, and Yunli felt the same too.

After a few seconds, Yunli widened her eyes, and pushed Yanqing away, making him fall onto the ground. 

"W-W-Why did you do that?!" Yunli exclaimed with a fully flustered face.

"I-I don't know! I-I just-"

However, as Yanqing was about to finish his sentence, Yunli leaped towards the roof of the nearest building, and disappeared into the night.

Yanqing, too embarrassed to pursue her, just sat on the ground and facepalmed himself, still blushing from what had just occurred.

It was now midnight, and Yanqing was laying on his bed, trying to get some sleep. He was tossing and turning, unable to stop thinking about Yunli, and the kiss that they just shared. 

Suddenly, he could hear a thump coming from his bedroom's balcony, and as he looked towards his balcony door, Yunli opened the door and walked towards Yanqing.

"Li, I-"

Yanqing got up from his bed and was about to walk towards Yunli as well, but Yunli caught up to Yanqing before he could even start walking, and Yunli kissed Yanqing, this time with more ferocity than earlier. Her hands were all over his body, and Yanqing got into shock.

After Yanqing calmed down, he closed his eyes and kissed Yunli back, with his hands all over her back. Afterwards, Yunli pushed Yanqing on the bed, and they proceeded to share a very intimate night together.