Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]-Chapter 103: Crimson Spider Lily — VIII

Li Xinyuan felt his eyes and lips twitch at the question. While wholly innocent, somehow in the way Hu Lijing asked it, maybe it was the tone of his voice, it sounded like a mockery of the surgeon’s choice of career in his second life.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Li Xinyuan asked in a dry voice, tearing his eyes away from the splendid spread of stars that he — regrettably — couldn’t eat and looked at the side of Hu Lijing’s face, who’s gaze was trained on the giant glowing ball of borrowed light.

"What?" Hu Lijing asked in return, blinking with innocence in his amber eyes as he added. "What do you mean?"

Before he knew it, Li Xinyuan gently shoved Hu Lijing’s shoulder slightly, a light scowl decorating his handsome face.

"You old fox, was it a jab at my choice of occupation?" He asked in a mocking confrontational manner.

At his actions, Hu Lijing burst into a light peal of laughter, his eyes closing up as he grinned, curling to the other side as he giggled.

"—Hahah... My apologies, Young Master. My sincerest apologies." Finally when the nine-tailed fox stopped laughing he straightened against the grass and took a deep breath, eyes glancing at Li Xinyuan briefly before returning to the crescent moon. "It was more of a joke than a jab or a gripe. I’m merely curious as to why you would choose the same occupation twice despite having experienced it once already?"

Li Xinyuan answered him with a half-hearted sound, his focus remaining more on the fact that while it had been light, he had managed to make Hu Lijing laugh at least.

Half a moment passed before Li Xinyuan replied, his voice clipped and condescending as he turned his nose up in a comical manner.

"Wouldn’t you like to know, weatherboy?"

"Why, yes I d— Huh?" Hu Lijing interrupted himself, swiftly shifting his gaze from the moon to the surgeon lying beside him. "Weather-what? What did you call me, I mean what did you say?" He asked, starkly confused as his lips pulled down and his eyebrows twisted into a furrow.

The genuine bewilderment painted across the nine-tailed fox caused a guffaw to escape Li Xinyuan’s lips before the surgeon could even think of containing his amusement.

Well, wasn’t this going to be fun for him from now on? Exposing himself and his previous life came at a cost, but at least now he could enjoy the utter befuddlement on Hu Lijing’s face if he were to reference something from his world that the latter very clearly did not understand.

Li Xinyuan grinned to himself as he calmed down and returned to staring at the night sky. "I do not wish to provide you with any explanation, Lijing. It is not as if you will understand what I tell you—even with context and full information." He snorted, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Hu Lijing let out a noise of protest, his curiosity getting better of him as he shook his head. "That is unfair. You cannot do that, brat."

Li Xinyuan turned to look at him, meeting Hu Lijing’s eyes as he smiled smugly and stuck out his tongue. "Yes, I can, old man."

Hu Lijing’s expression soured as he struggled to control a grimace that threatened to spill all over his features as he crossed his arms and absolutely did not pout.

Wasn’t that just adorable? Li Xinyuan grinned in delight.

"Whatever." Hu Lijing scoffed. "What I meant my question was that why would you want to become a doctor once again if you’ve already done that in your previous life. Don’t you want to do something different this time around, something — I’m not sure — more exciting perhaps?"

Li Xinyuan turned to look at him, smiling wryly as he twisted his body and propped himself up on his side, carefully watching the slow changes on Hu Lijing’s face as he spoke his mind.

"And what would those exciting things be, hm?" He asked, the question was more rhetorical than anything else really.

Hu Lijing turned his head to meet his gaze, the former’s amber eyes narrowing thoughtfully as he let out a contemplative hum, uncrossing his arms so that the forefinger and thumb of his right had rested on his chin, his index finger tapping his jawline gently.

"For example," the nine-tailed fox started, drawling as his voice dropped an octave or two, taking a tentatively thoughtful cadence. "Becoming a martial artist? Roaming in Jianghu, cultivating to reach immortality...? I cannot say for sure, Xinyuan. The possibilities and the prospects seem endless to me."

Li Xinyuan slowly nodded along his words, showing his silent agreement with the nine-tailed fox spirit’s words till he finished speaking.

"You’re correct with your suggestions, of course, you are," he replied with a smile, eyes curling into crescents as the molten gold of his irises disappeared behind his smile. "But Lijing," he tilted his head to the side, tongue flicking out to sweep across his lips. "What if I want to do neither of the things you listed just now?"

Hu Lijing blinked at his question, eyebrows raising as his lips pulled into a slight downward curve. "Hm, why is that?" He asked, feeling somewhat curious.

Shouldn’t people generally be curious about new things? Especially those like Li Xinyuan who practically had all the required resources at his disposal on his fingertips?

So then, why did he still chose to be a doctor after all? This was a question he could not help but ponder upon.

In response to that question, Li Xinyuan merely rolled his eyes slightly, his gaze briefly flickering to look at the night sky before he stared at Hu Lijing once more. Somehow his gaze seemed to convey that the question Hu Lijing had just asked had the most obvious answer in the entire world.

"I do not know, Lijing," Li Xinyuan sighed softly and pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head slightly before continuing, his words a question. "Have you perhaps ever stopped and just... Wondered that maybe all the things that you mentioned a few minutes prior are dangerous in one way or another, especially since they are wholly unfamiliar to my ignorant self. And perhaps that I love the work I do, being a doctor and such?"

After saying so, the surgeon grinned slightly, drinking in the sight of realisation dawning upon the nine-tailed fox’s face as the vestiges of confusion cleared away.

"Oh. That’s why." He replied blandly. "Because all those things are foreign to you, and you love being a doctor not to mention are familiar with it, you chose to continue doing so."

Li Xinyuan nodded slowly. "Yes, you got that right now. I like being able to save people in an era where deaths are more common than long life or births. And I get to learn old medical practices, how great is that?"