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"Well, that shouldn't have happened," Li Lianhua says, dazed, staggering back a few steps and then sitting—not collapsing—down on the ground.
He feels a lot like what he imagines running face-first into a stone wall would feel like, not something he's made a habit of doing, so it's not like he can be sure. He blinks again and lifts a hand to his face, touching it a bit gingerly.
"I think I'm going to have bruises," he says somewhat conversationally.
Only then does he tilt his head back, looking up at the rather unimpressed Di Feisheng. He feels a sudden rush of embarrassment, feeling more stupid than he has in— Well, in a long time.
It's just Di Feisheng, he's seen worse than you making a fool of yourself, he tells himself, but somehow that doesn't help. He feels a blush start creeping up his cheeks.
He wasn't embarrassed in front of Di Feisheng before they'd—
"You could at least make sure I'm not seriously hurt," he grumbles, mostly to hide his embarrassment.
Di Feisheng grunts and then, to Li Lianhua's surprise, crouches down in front of him, reaching out to grasp his jaw, and tilting his head back a bit. For all that his expression is still unimpressed, his touch is rather gentle. Di Feisheng's other hand reaches out, and Li Lianhua holds his breath as fingers carefully brush over his cheekbone.
He's pretty sure that now he really is blushing, or at least his cheeks feel remarkably warm. He's still just rattled from the rebound from trying to dispel that barrier, that's all, he tells himself.
"Did you forget you're back to a third of your strength?" Di Feisheng asks.
Meaning that he can actually use his inner force to heal himself now. Ah. Right. He kind of did forget. That's not something he's actually going to admit out loud. Maybe that barrier smacked him in the face harder than he thought.
That really had been such a stupid mistake. He's better than that.
Di Feisheng's fingers are still resting against his cheekbone. Li Lianhua reaches up to grab them. The fingers of Di Feisheng's other hand move against his chin, his thumb brushing up against Li Lianhua's lip. He gasps, leaning towards Di Feisheng slightly, before catching himself.
He suddenly wants to kiss Di Feisheng so badly, like he had when—
But clearly that had been a mistake, seeing as it's making him stupid and distracted. This probably wouldn't have happened if he had been thinking about what he was doing instead of thinking about Di Feisheng.
He's not sure what Di Feisheng had thought about the kiss. He hadn't exactly reacted. Or said anything. Or—
"Help me up," Li Lianhua says. Di Feisheng's eyebrows rise a little, but then he just stands up, offering his hand to Li Lianhua. Li Lianhua takes it.
Standing up, he still feels a bit dazed, except he's not sure if that's the hit to the head or something else. His face aches distantly, and with a bit of effort, he circulates his inner force to deal with that.
Di Feisheng still hasn't let go of his hand.
"Let me try that again," Li Lianhua says, and takes a step towards the barrier. Di Feisheng's grip on his hand tightens, holding him back.
"I'll do it," Di Feisheng says.
It's Li Lianhua's turn to raise his eyebrows in question. Di Feisheng only gives him an impassive look back.
Ah, Li Lianhua thinks and smiles at him, and maybe his thumb strokes the back of Di Feisheng's hand briefly before he pulls his hand away and gestures slightly towards the invisible barrier.
"Of course, I'm sure it will be no trouble at all for A-Fei," he says.
Di Feisheng grunts and turns away from him.
Well, maybe Li Lianhua will try kissing him again after all. He'll just let Di Feisheng take care of the barrier first.