Chapter Text
Maomao walks out of the hospital much later than expected. But as soon as she crosses the street, she notices him in an all black jeep parked and waiting for her.
She can’t see him, he’s wearing a hoodie to hide his hair and sunglasses to obscure his face but she’d know him anywhere.
Maomao opens the passenger side door and he’s smiling at her.
“What are you doing here? How come Basen isn’t with you?”
There’s a mischievous glint in his eyes “I snuck out to come see you”
She looks at him incredulously, finally sitting in the passenger seat “That’s a terrible reason, Master Jinshi. What if something happens to you?” Again she thinks, her eyes lingering on the scar on his cheek from last year’s assassination attempt.
He frowns at her “Nothing’s gonna happen. Basen knows exactly where I am”
“And he allowed this?”
“Not quite.”
“So he doesn’t actually know where you are.”
“He knows, he just isn’t..happy about it.”
“You really should be more considerate of Basen if you’re being so wreckless, sir” she says pointedly, knowing that he hates it when she addresses him formally when it’s just the two of them.
“Don’t be like that. Besides, no one knows I’m me and this is Basen’s car.”
“You do know that’s a terrible excuse, right?” meaning it more as a statement than a genuine question.
Before she could say anything else, he places his hand under her chin, tilting face towards him and gives her a quick kiss.
“I haven’t seen you in two weeks, and I missed you.” The honesty in his voice made her stomach flutter, but she had to scold him for being that reckless with his safety.
“Still, you should have at least let Basen come with you”
“Speaking of Basen, he said that if I’m not back in an hour, he would send the special reserves.”
And with that, he drives them to his estate.
*****
Jinshi is in his home office looking over his schedule of engagements for the next two weeks. He lets Maomao sleep in, knowing that she’s probably tired from being on her feet all week at the hospital.
He’s grateful that she agreed to sleep over last night, though she wouldn’t admit it, he knows that she’s missed him too, these last few weeks.
His thoughts are interrupted by Chue knocking on his door.
“Your Highness, you may want to see this.”
Breaking News - The Moon Prince spotted with Mystery Girl
Jinshi felt his stomach drop.
Three pictures of last night appear on the screen: Jinshi sitting alone in his jeep, Maomao opening the passenger door and the exact moment he leaned in and kissed her.
The picture of him sitting alone, is zoomed in and cropped showing his scar, next to a picture of him from a press conference with his scar. IThe realisation hits him. That’s how they recognised him.
The picture of Maomao opening the door was undeniably her; despite the lighting, it would be fairly easy for anyone who knew her to recognise her.
With that, he realises that he is going to have a very uncomfortable conversation with a particular Grand Commandant in the very near future. Putting that thought to the back of his mind. He speaks up again.
"How long ago was this published?" Jinshi asked, taking Chue’s phone from her.
"Less than twenty minutes ago, Your Highness," Chue replied, her usual bubbly demeanor replaced by a rare, sharp seriousness.
Before Jinshi could respond, Basen storms into his office, face red and angry “I told you last night was a terrible idea!”
“Calm down, Basen,” Jinshi said, though his own heart was hammering against his ribs. He looked back at the screen, staring at the third photo. The kiss. It was too clear to deny it.
“Calm down?!” Basen practically yelled, “Lakan is going to murder me. He is going to murder you!”
Jinshi winced. The realization he had just brushed aside came roaring back.
Grand Commandant Kan Lakan. Commander of the Imperial Army. Maomao’s biological father.
Jinshi knew that Lakan knew about their not-so-secret-secret relationship. For the most part, he’s allowed it without saying anything directly to Jinshi about it but given the psychological warfare he endured from Lakan during his military academy days, he knew that Lakan did not approve of him dating his daughter.
Jinshi sighed. He stood up to leave, ignoring Basen calling after him.
He opened his bedroom door and saw Maomao, still asleep. He hated to wake her, especially knowing how tired she must be but they had to move fast.
Walking over to the side of the bed, he sat on the edge and gently shook her shoulder. "Maomao," he murmured, his voice tight with an urgency he couldn't quite hide. "Maomao, wake up. We have a problem."
"What is it?" she asked, her voice raspy from sleep as she sat up, pulling the blanket around her shoulders. He handed her Chue’s phone with the post.
"The press caught us last night. They figured out who I was because of the scar, and... Maomao, anyone who knows you will recognize you from these photos."
The realisation of what that means hits her. "Does...Does he know?"
“I’m not sure, but he will eventually.”
*****
15 minutes later, Jinshi gets a text.
Lahan: I unplugged the internet at the estate and told Rikuson to tell him that there’s a connectivity issue at the base. You owe me one.”
Jinshi, not exactly relishing in the thought of owing Lahan a favour, is grateful to some extent that Lahan bought him some time to figure things out.
“So..what do you want to do?” Jinshi asks Maomao.
“What are our options here?”
“Well…We could say that we’re officially dating”
"Officially dating," she repeats. "Have you lost your mind?”
"It’s a valid strategy! If we control the narrative, the press will back off, and it protects your reputation. Besides, it’s not like it’s a lie."
Before Maomao can come up with a retort, the bedroom door bursts open. Basen stands there, still breathing heavily, followed by Chue.
"Lahan's little stunt bought us maybe two hours max," Basen says, "Lakan isn't stupid. He’s going to notice his subordinates acting weird, or someone will call his personal line to ask for a comment about his daughter."
“I think we should put out a statement that we’re courting, but first, someone call the Grand Commandant’s office.” Jinshi says finally
*****
An hour later, Jinshi is sitting in his office across from Lakan and Lahan with Basen to his side.
The air is tense. Jinshi is unsure if Lakan has seen the pictures but he knows that he couldn’t announce that he and Maomao are courting without at least having Lakan on his side.
“So…what has prompted his urgent meeting, Your Highness? Does it have to do with the press finally figuring out that you’ve been defiling my precious daughter?”
Shit, so he did see it.
"Grand Commandant," Jinshi begins, his voice steady despite the adrenaline surging through him. "I assure you, my intentions with Maomao have never been anything less than honorable."
"Honorable," Lakan repeats, almost mockingly. "Sneaking around in a black vehicle like a common thief at night, and exposing her to the vultures of the press. Is that what you’d call “honourable” Moon Prince?"
"That was entirely my fault and I must apologise, sir. But I do want to release a statement that Maomao and I are officially courting.”
"And what does Maomao say to this grand strategy of yours?"
Right on cue, the heavy wooden door to the office opens.
Maomao steps inside. Jinshi thinks that she’s more annoyed about having to deal with her father than the brewing media circus and how this entire thing is going upend her life
Lakan’s entire demeanor shifts in an instant. "Maomao! My precious, clever girl! Look what this reckless idiot has dragged you into! You don't have to agree to any of this. I can have the entire media company shut down by noon—"
"You're giving me a headache," Maomao says flatly, not even looking at him as she walks over to stand beside Jinshi’s desk.
“My apologies, my darling, but I need to know what you want to do. You don’t have to do anything he says” he said, directing a venomous glare at Jinshi.
“I think we should say that we’re courting. It would be the best option” Maomao says matter-of-factly, shocking everyone in the room.
Maomao had thought it over. She’s been in Jinshi’s orbit since she was 17. They’ve been dating since she was 21. This was bound to happen eventually. Sooner or later her and Jinshi would have either had to go public or break up.
Lakan sighs, “well if that’s what you want my dear, I’ll agree to it” he glares at Jinshi, “But just know that I’ll make your life a living hell for you if you don’t keep my daughter safe, understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
And with that, Lakan leaves Jinshi’s office.
“I think that went as well as it could have,” Lahan, who has been unusually quiet through the entire exchange, finally says, breaking through the tension of Lakan’s departure.
“Don’t worry, I’ll try to keep my honoured father away from the press as much as I can. Dear sister, I’ll handle our father, don’t worry” he says before leaving himself earning him an eye roll from Maomao.
*****
Now with only Basen and Maomao in his office, Jinshi finally turns to Maomao.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly, "You completely blindsided your father. And me, if I'm being honest. I thought you'd fight me on the courting announcement." He thought that she would be furious with him for even suggesting that.
Maomao sighed, "I told you, it was the best option logically,"Besides, I knew this would have happened eventually.”
Jinshi felt a sense of immense relief and pulled her into an embrace
"I'm sorry about all of this. I forced your hand like this," he murmured into her hair. "I didn’t think the scar would have been that noticeable.”
“I suppose that can’t be helped now. But…” Maomao said trailing off in thought
Jinshi looked at her, “But, what?”
“What has the emperor said about all of this?”
Shit, Jinshi thought.
Jinshi isn’t too worried about the Emperor’s reaction to their plan to announce that they’re courting. It’s not like they were a secret to him.
The real problem is that they should have decided to let the Emperor know before meeting with Lakan.
In the chaos of everything, Jinshi has not seen his phone and frankly, he doesn’t want to. He would actually prefer at this moment to throw it through the nearest window, but he knows he couldn’t just do that.
Luckily, his phone has survived the onslaught of texts and missed calls caused by the headlines but he stares at the single text he sees from his father.
Father: My office. 2PM. Bring Maomao. Do not be late.