Present. In the middle of the wild.
"I'm assuming you two did end up taking the so-called shortcut, after all?" Tentatively, Hu Lijing inquired, his voice low and slow at the same time.
Li Xinyuan tilted his head backwards, his eyes fluttering shut as he took a deep breath before exhaling deeply. "Yes, unfortunately as it is, I was not able to dissuade him strongly enough."
"I would say that you physically couldn't do that either." Hu Lijing responded, his words were in the defence of Li Xinyuan from Li Xinyuan himself.
"Yes," the surgeon agreed tonelessly as he hugged his knees closer to his chest and sighed. "But if I was fine enough to argue with him over mundane things, I should have been fine enough to dissuade him thoroughly."
Hu Lijing opened his mouth as if to answer that, but then closed it slowly as he realised the truth behind them. Really, Li Xinyuan was not wrong about that one.
