"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.

...

In the tent, Ding Zihua was attending to his lover and washing the blood off of his skin and hair. Ding Zihua was very happy to find that Bai Wei really sustained zero injuries and marveled over the awesomeness of his lover for a second.

However, he couldn't help being extremely nervous because the tent was absolutely quiet except for the sound of the water in the basin sloshing around. This made for a stark contrast compared to their usual playful banter and made him somehow even more on edge than he already was. He even jumped when Bai Wei finally broke the silence, and it was hard to tell if he was more shocked by what Bai Wei said or the fact that he was speaking at all.

"What is your real name, Zi'er?"

Ding Zihua froze and looked at the back of Bai Wei's head that he was massaging before responding "Zi'er doesn't know what you are talking about master. Zi'er is just called Zi'er"

Bai Wei grabbed the hand on his head and held it to his cheek as he turned his head to look into Ding Zihua's eyes and said "No... shouldn't it be... Ding Zihua?"

Ding Zihua froze for a second and then stopped his motions to quietly kneel down in front of Bai Wei. An immense sadness flashed within Bai Wei's eyes as he confirmed the truth based off of Ding Zihua's response. Bai Wei held his head in his hands and said "d*mn it" in a defeated tone that broke Ding Zihua's heart.

Ding Zihua felt that his world was crumbling around him.

"I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, I just wanted to protect my family. You can do whatever you like with me ,but please know that I meant everything I said. I truly do love you" Ding Zihua tried to explain himself as quickly as he could. He even stopped masking his naturally deep voice and spoke in the confident tone that he possessed as the son of the prime minister.

Bai Wei faltered when he heard this and looked up to make eye contact with Ding Zihua for a long time before he stood up. He put his hand on Ding Zihua's shoulder(who flinched in response), helped him to stand up, and then gestured for Ding Zihua to leave.

In a daze, Ding Zihua complied and went back to his tent to wait for his punishment. Ding Zihua was prepared for any outcome: death, imprisonment , torture, or at least a heavy berating. However, he was so prepared for anything that he was unprepared for nothing. So, Ding Zihua sat completely shell shocked as the days piled onto one another without knowing what to do anymore. His days went by in a blur, he slept, ate, and exercised as if on autopilot.

Before he knew it, five days had passed and he was once again being summoned to Bai Wei's tent. A strange sense of relief flooded Ding Zihua's mind as he thought that his just desserts would finally be served to him but instead he found a haggard looking Bai Wei with bags under his eyes and a noticeably smaller frame. Ding Zihua rushed over to his lover without thinking and put his hands on his face to further inspect his condition. It was not until he confirmed that Bai Wei was truly not harmed that he realized his improper actions. He was about to withdraw his hands when he realized the relaxed and happy atmosphere around Bai Wei.

[Ding! Target's favorability has risen 5 points and is now 75 in total!!]

...

Bai Wei heard the sound of the notification and jumped slightly when he realized that he forgot to mask his happiness after seeing his love after such a long time. It was true that the past few days had been hard on him, but it was all completely intentional and highly controlled. All of his hard work couldn't go to waste so Bai Wei quickly snapped back into his character.

He pretended to snap out of a trance and his eyes once again clouded over with sadness and resentment. He continued to hold his love's hand, but applied more pressure to it and lead the other to a chair then sat opposite of him.

He sighed and leaned forward on his chair once more before looking Ding Zihua, who was now sitting very tensely, in the eyes and saying "So, what is the danger to your family that you were talking about previously?"

Ding Zihua was taken aback because he had not expected Bai Wei to listen to his excuses for a second before he began to tell his situation to Bai Wei in great detail. Bai Wei listened to the entirety of his story without saying anything. Afterwards, when the story was done the two sat in silence for a bit longer as Bai Wei processed everything.

Finally, after a while Bai Wei lifted his head and said "I see... I think I may be able to help you and your family"

Ding Zihua was surprised and said "Shouldn't I be punished for my crimes?".

"I believe what you say and-"

"But what if I am lying?"

Bai Wei's eyes flashed with amusement for a brief second before he got up and traced the corner of Ding Zihua's eyes as he said "Then you should be prepared to lie to me for a lifetime"

"Besides, no liar would remind someone that you could be lying" Bai Wei said while playfully tugging at Ding Zihua's nose before he leaned down and kissed the other's lips.

[Ding! Target's favorability has risen 10 points and is now 85 in total!!]

[Ding! Target's favorability has fallen 4 points and is now 79 in total!!]