Bai Wei woke up in the morning to his lover peppering kisses all over his face. Bai Wei laughed tiredly at the action and told Ding Zihua to let him sleep some more.

"Nope, you need to get up Bai'er. You have to train the new recruits this morning" Ding Zihua said while laying his head on Bai Wei's chest and acting spoiled.

Ding Zihua's general dislike and awkwardness towards Bai Wei had long since faded and was replaced by an innocent and sweet young love. It made for quite a sight as Ding Zihua was considerably larger than Bai Wei but he still insisted on behaving like a small puppy in front of the other. Insisting that he be doted on.

Despite this, Bai Wei thought that Ding Zihua was actually more of a wolf in sheep's clothing. Ever since their first time, Bai Wei had 'received blessings' from the other man at least once a day. By this point, there were few surfaces within his tent that he had not 'received blessings' upon.

Bai Wei grumbled for a moment before he got up. Ding Zihua dressed Bai Wei and fixed his hair before him sending out the door with a kiss on the forehead. Maids usually would have taken care of dressing and clothing their master but Ding Zihua insisted on taking over any matters that directly touched Bai Wei.

Bai Wei was more than happy to oblige the other in these endeavors and as such Ding Zihua was able to establish a high status within the camp. Ding Zihua told himself that it was because of his duties as a spy but he knew in his heart that was not the case.

As such, the days had carried on in such a way until a month had passed since they first met and the temporary peace had come to an end. The fragile sense of happiness that Ding Zihua had obtained was shattered as Bai Wei went off to fight another battle and Ding Zihua received the signal and went towards the other side of the camp to receive his orders.

Ding Zihua sat down on a bench near a forest and pretended to be observing the view over a large field when Li Zemin stepped out from the bushes and sat beside him. His weaselly face seemed unusually tense and his hands squeezed each other so hard that veins popped out showcasing his nervousness.

"... he is planning a surprise attack in Cross-ridge valley. To get there they will go through the Mande forest where you can... intercept them" Ding Zihua said through gritted teeth. He knew deep in his heart that telling this information was basically a death sentence for Bai Wei, but no matter what he had to protect his family.

It was simply impossible for him to sacrifice his family member over a lover who he had known for less than a month.

...He was doing the right thing.

right?

Li Zemin wrote down the information in a secret code and sent off a carrier pigeon with the paper tied to its foot. Ding Zihua who was watching the bird fly off couldn't shake the feeling that he was making a grave mistake.

...

A few days later, on the eve of the attack Bai Wei left at dawn with a few specially selected soldiers. Ding Zihua had acted normally and saw Bai Wei off after clothing the other and fixing his hair. The only difference was that he gave Bai Wei a kiss on the lips this time instead of the forehead. After the kiss he looked Bai Wei in the eyes.

"I love you"...and I'm sorry.

The later half of the sentence was left unsaid. Ding Zihua felt that he needed to express his true feelings before he sent off Bai Wei to certain death. He truly wished that they had met under better circumstances. He would have most certainly loved to watch the man in front of him grow old by his side.

[Ding! Target's favorability has risen by 15 and is now 70]

Bai Wei smiled triumphantly as he marched away to his 'certain doom'. This was the fastest he had ever raised the favorability meter. Bai Wei felt that life was great when his love didn't hate him abhorrently as soon as he came into the world.

In fact, Bai Wei had been watching the two people closest to him sell his information that day and had long since taken this into consideration. He simply changed the surprise attack location and went on his merry way to collect heads.

...

The entire day Ding Zihua spent in agonizing tension as he waited for the news of the general's death to come back so that he could make his escape. The minutes felt like hours as he imagined Bai Wei's death. The thought bothered him and he tried to push it away but it always came back. Ding Zihua wasted the hours away in the tent him and Bai Wei had been living in together for a little over a month now and waited for the news.

But, the expected news never came.

...And, neither did Bai Wei.

Ding Zihua waited on pins and needles as the hours added onto one another painfully slowly. It was not until the next morning that news of Bai Wei came back. The attack was successful, and Bai Wei had officially tipped the scale in Sichuan Nation's favor.

Additionally, Bai Wei beheaded Li Zemin immediately after returning to camp.

Ding Zihua felt his heart skip a beat at this news. He was both immensely happy that Bai Wei had lived and scared after hearing that Li Zemin had been killed. Had Bai Wei also found out that he was a spy? Was he the next on the list to die? Ding Zihua waited for Bai Wei with bated breath.

After a while, Bai Wei showed up at the front of the tent covered in blood. Ding Zihua was frightened when he saw this and rushed to help Bai Wei into the tent. Bai Wei stopped him quickly and said "Don't worry, it's not my own".

Hearing this, Ding Zihua calmed down immensely and followed Bai Wei back into the tent to help the other wash... and check to make sure he wasn't lying by the way.