Summary:
<blockquote>When Mu Qing glanced over at Xie Lian beside him, he was startled to find him already watching him. A small smile played on his lips. “You know, Mu Qing,” he started—and if Mu Qing didn’t know any better he would say he sounded almost shy— “no one else that I fight with feels like a challenge. You’re the best of them all.”
Mu Qing’s throat was tight and his face was hot, like he was going to cry. His eyes were quite dry, though. “You’re the best. You always will be.”
/
Mu Qing can't seem to reconcile the simple facts of his relationship to the crown prince with his more complicated feelings for Xie Lian.</blockquote>
➤ mu qing pov from the xianle trio era
➤ ft. class issues and teen relationship drama
➤ xie lian is an enormous martial arts nerd and a naive but shining prince; mu qing is pining but hyper-aware of class boundaries and how everyone sees him; feng xin is ready to judge
➤ it's so great and succeeds so well at what it's doing, I love it
➤ I love the last scene, which it ends on, about xie lian's appearance after he ascends. perfect ending to the fic
➤ 7k words in length
